LIKE AN AWE-INSPIRING EXPO OR WORLD’S FAIR DEPICTING A BRIGHTER, SMARTER FUTURE

What else can you expect? Well, try immersion in a world already gone green in innumerable ways, and all on constant display and readily available for easy interaction, badinage and play. Not bad for $15, which gets you in both days and provides access to all speaker presentations and festival events (see the complete schedule for details). Seattle’s Green Festival will feature a Music, Arts & Culture Room, Community Action Pavilion, Green Living Pavilion, Fair Trade & Social Justice Pavilion, Local Food & Farming Pavilion, DIY Zone (featuring hands-on workshops), Green Kids’ Zone, Blue Corner (all things aquatic) and Exhibitor Marketplace. It’s a lot to take in, even spread across an entire weekend.

The not-to-miss Exhibitor Marketplace can be a bit overwhelming (there are more than 350 businesses spread throughout the exhibit hall), and my recommendation is to hit it early before it gets too crowded and difficult to maneuver in a timely manner. It’s a great opportunity to wander serendipitously and see the latest developments in green products and services, and to chat with the people either behind them or representing them. Talk about rapidly emerging markets in the new green economy—this is positive ground zero, where you’ll find everything from wind-energy-powered web host providers and sustainably grown herbs to electric bikes and green burials/home funerals (yep, you read that right, the ultimate in cradle-to-grave-and-back self-realization).

In addition to Lovins, the many speakers well worth seeing in Seattle include Amy Goodman, John Perkins, Thom Hartmann, David Korten and festival-cofounder Kevin Danaher. But this event—which also takes place at various dates in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Chicago—is about much more than merely listening to an informed quorum of speakers: it’s about the strong vibe, getting sweaty-palmed, heartbeat-aflutter caught up in a momentum-gaining movement that transcends social, political, commercial and religious/ethical/philosophical boundaries, and becoming part of something that’s attempting to affect true positive change in an era sadly being defined by financial scandals and hardships, environmental degradation and disaster, political stalemate and savagery, across-the-board apathy and, well, let me stop there—the Green Festival is for, lest we forget, yeasayers not naysayers.

I hope you can make the Seattle event this weekend, but if not, Washington and San Francisco Green Festivals take place this fall. All aboard the brighter, smarter future that’s here and now.

—Allen

GOING GREEN HITS ITS STRIDE with the bright and buoyant, fast and fabulous Brooks Green Silence racing flats—”racing flats” are performance/competition running shoes for all you non-Runner’s-World-subscribing-I-live-to-trim-seconds-from-my-miles normal folks out there. These foot rockets go a long way (potentially literally) in proving that cradle-to-cradle eco-conscious design doesn’t have to compromise one iota to deliver a championship-calibre performance. Waterproof/breathable/ultra-lightweight hats off to Brooks for bringing these kicks to the finicky (read, I readily admit, elitist) marketplace of outdoor/sports-geek gear.

So what did Brooks do and how did the Green Silence perform when it came to race time? Let me share.

It all started several years ago when Brooks announced it was going to create a truly eco-friendly shoe, utilizing more eco-conscious design, manufacturing processes and sustainable materials; this may not be the full-blown, cross-the-board commitment of, say, a Patagonia (see Patagonia’s “Footprint Chronicles,” for example), but it’s a sizable DfE (Design for Environment) stride in the right direction. In 2008 Brooks launched the BioMoGo midsole, “the world’s first biodegradable running shoe midsole that breaks down 50 times faster than traditional midsoles in an enclosed, active landfill.” That same year Brooks also debuted a new shoe box made of fully biodegradable, 100-percent recycled paperboard. The Green Silence soon followed.

You can take a quick interactive tour of the Green Silence on the Brooks website, but here are the salient facts:

• Constructed with just 48 percent as many parts as comparable shoes
• More than 75 percent of the shoe’s materials are post-consumer recycled
• All dyes, colorants and adhesives are nontoxic, with VOCs lowered by 65 percent
• Midsoles, collar foams and sock liners are completely biodegradable

What you end up with is a lightweight racing flat—it weighs just 6.9 oz.—that features a minimal 8 mm offset, or drop, from heel to toe: you’re not running barefoot, by any stretch, but you’re low to the ground, and thanks to the compression-molded BioMoGo midsole, I found, well-cushioned. Just add human accelerant and you feel propelled forward by warm jets of eco-conscious good will!

Which gets me to my trial-by-fire race: the annual mid-May Pole Pedal Paddle relay race in Bend, Oregon. This crazy, fun, challenging event features six legs, starting with a downhill skier on Mt. Bachelor who slaps happy with a cross-country skier who fist bumps a bicyclist who quick taps a runner who passes speedy karma to a kayaker/canoer who finally lends spiritual propulsion to a sprinter who then crosses the finish line at the Les Schwab Ampitheater in Bend’s Old Mill District. Sound fun? It is. This year, the PPP’s 34th, had the most participants in its history, 3,005. The best time was posted by Marshall Greene of Bend at 1:44:27.

I was part of one of three teams from Journeys, a highly recommended wine bar and pub in Portland’s Multnomah Village neighborhood, and took part in both running legs. My Green Silence were anything but (and if that vibrant, asymmetrical gold and red color scheme doesn’t work for you, Brooks has more colors in the works), and easily got me under 6-minute miles on a course that included road, sidewalk, some trail, a few small climbs—and all at an average elevation of around 3,625 feet. The Green Silence fit comfortably, provided quite adequate support, created no race issues and had a springiness to them that made running a total pleasure—they totally kicked it. I also tried a little trail run with them, but unless you’re on smooth dirt only, I definitely wouldn’t recommend them in this capacity—nor would Brooks, I’m sure.

Way to go, Brooks, in setting a new standard in radical, challenging green stuff and truly embracing the DfE ethic. It may be “Silent steps to a Greener future,” but I want to make a lot of noise about it now. Looking forward to my next race in the Green Silence.

—Allen

I KIND OF LIKE TO THINK

eBay’s Earth Day-conscious Green Team, not one to miss such an opportunity, has launched a “Green Team Challenge” now through Earth Day, April 22—in case you missed it, this year is Earth Day’s fortieth anniversary. So yep, we’re talking consumerism, albeit “reduced,” the buying and selling of used, refurbished or vintage merchandise (as eBay puts it, “the greenest product is often the one that already exists”).

This is internet-enabled activity, certainly, to generate profit, but it also encompasses the idea of recycling, of consuming less of what’s new, making do with what’s already out there and that, in turn, gets us in a nice low-impact “spin cycle.” Thrift stores of all varieties do it, craigslist does it and the one I’m most behind, Freecycle, does it with its heart clearly in the right place. Corporate green teams have been growing in popularity the last few years (eBay’s started in 2007), and it’s certainly a huge green positive to see such (often) grassroots ventures continue to gain footholds, spark employee and community involvement, and expand company initiatives and enterprisewide practices.

eBay’s Green Team Challenge is to get their customers “to reuse what exists in the world, and we’ll do our part to make your impact come to life.” eBay has joined with Team Earth to protect three rainforests in the Congo, Brazil and Mexico, promising to protect an acre in each customer’s name who takes the challenge (plus, there’s an added pecuniary incentive and prize drawings). Information and slideshows for each of the rainforests are on the Green Team Challenge website to aid in voting. The challenge, in essence then, is an acknowledgement of self-agreendisement, of Yeah, I want to do the right thing and make use of what’s already out there, and I want others to know about it and get involved, too.

“Selling green makes sense,” the eBay Green Team site says—absolutely true!—and necessary now more than ever—in so many ways. It’s like going to the head of the class and shouting, “Let’s make every day Earth Day!”—and if only it were so simple to share this sentiment globally. But hitting eBay’s 90-million-plus active users, via the Green Team Challenge, certainly doesn’t hurt. Recycle that thought next time you’re in search of, say, vintage Hamm’s or Schlitz barware or a sturdy babystroller with low miles and a tiny footprint.

—Allen

WHILE FAR FROM A HOUSEHOLD NAME ON OUR SHORES

Sakamoto’s been involved with green pursuits since at least 1994, when he first moved away from plastic-jewel-case CD packaging to biodegradable paper sleeves. And he’s traversed some mighty terrain since then—as he puts it, “turning ego into eco”—which includes his latest release, Out of Noise, featuring two haunting tracks (“Ice” and “Glacier”) inspired by a Cape Farewell Project trip to Greenland viewing imperiled arctic glaciers.

Sakamoto—whose music encompasses classical, experimental, film scores, ambient, pop, jazz and electronica—is at the forefront of a larger movement that’s afoot. The vibrant relationship between the worlds of music and that of environmental concern has unquestionably gained momentum of late, and has seen genuine far-reaching and -ranging adoption (and not mere feel-good, get-on-the-bandwagon lip service to sell more tickets and product) by artists as diverse as Willie Nelson, Radiohead, Melissa Etheridge, the Roots, Pearl Jam, Moby, Bonnie Raitt, the Dave Matthews Band and Green Day. Good for the Earth? Absolutely! Good for your ears? Ditto that, and perhaps coming this summer, in a carbon-neutral manner, to a concert venue near you.
RETURNING TO SAKAMOTO’S ACHIEVEMENTS, before widening the gyre to include larger industry eco-trends and best practices, it’s easy to be inspired by his actions. Consider the following: In 2001 he used a small windmill and solar panel—both portable, of course—to generate energy during a tour; by 2005 he had completed two 100-percent carbon-free tours of Japan. He also used biodegradable cups, plates and garbage bags; set up flyer kiosks where patrons could choose the materials they wanted rather than be presented with a bundle that would end up in the trash; he also requested upcoming concert attendees to utilize as much public transportation as possible. What then remained of carbon emissions were offset with carbon-credit purchases from alternative energy companies. In 2006 his Japanese record label, commmons (the extra m is for music), became the nation’s first green label, operating its administrative activities using alternative, renewable energy, with all packaging completely carbon-free the following year.

And there’s more: Sakamoto established moreTrees in 2007 as a means to conserve and plant trees in Japan and abroad. Audi Japan sponsored his fall/winter 2009 European tour, in support of Out of Noise, to offset carbon emissions (the just-prior Japanese tour even included a carbon-offset cost in the ticket price). Out of Noise, as mentioned earlier, includes two mesmerizing compositions inspired by his Cape Farewell Project trip. Sakamoto includes ambient sounds recorded both above and below the sea—you discern the cry of seabirds and dripping of meltwater within a gently cascading soundscape of acoustic and electronic instrumentation: it’s both ominous and soothing/meditational in an Enoesque “music for …” kind of way, a musique concrete decrying cataclysmic climate change. (Read PopMatter’s insightful review of Out of Noise.)

But Sakamoto can’t do it alone. Other artists (those listed above and many more) and organizations are hoisting high the green banner when it comes to music. Reverb, a nonprofit formed in 2004 that works with green rock tours, regularly sets up eco-villages with environmental displays and activities at shows, provides carbon offsets for attendees, displays eco-slideshows on venue jumbotrons, assists with biodiesel fuelings and waste recycling/reducing, and lots, lots more. MusicMatters, a for-profit, is another leader, practicing “Effect Marketing.” It describes this as “[g]oing beyond just promoting awareness of a cause or product … incorporat[ing] initiatives that encourage consumers to take action and produce quantifiable results on important and environmental and social issues.” MusicMatters works with musicians as well as a wide variety of companies (e.g., Annie’s, Ben & Jerry’s, Clif Bar, Nature’s Path, New Leaf Paper, Utne, Working Assets).

In the greater scheme of things (and doesn’t it always come to that?), do these ventures make a real impact on the environment? According to Ken Caldeira, a climate scientist at Carnegie Institution and as reported in The New York Times, “In general, these offsets do some good, in the sense they usually help fund projects that are beneficial.” He goes on to state that the direct benefits are hypothetical as carbon offsets defer future emissions, not what’s being produced by the tour at that time. But these tours, as pointed out, are also utilizing other creative means to curtail emissions (Radiohead’s use of low-power LED concert lighting a few years ago also comes readily to mind) and their green evangelical/educational component is highly significant, which, couched in a pop-culture setting and given a grand stage, certainly doesn’t fall on deaf ears.

From “out of noise” a powerful message can emerge, turning “ego to eco”—it’s as true coming from Ryuichi Sakamoto as it is from Willie Nelson or Green Day. And the audience, potential change agents all, is listening.

—Allen

LET’S JUMP RIGHT IN

#1 You should never, ever, ever use the word “green” in your name, tag line, PR or marketing materials.
There is nothing wrong with using the word “green”—if you mean it. Sure, it’s particularly ubiquitous these days and already attached to a multitude of businesses, products, ideas, publications, groups, etc., but it still connotes a space and position and way of thinking that resonates with the public. Co-op America changed its name to Green America, and it’s working out just fine for them. If you attend a Green Festival, you kind of know what to expect—and attendance, and spirits, are high. Don’t make your usage bandwagonesque, tenuous, forced or misleading (let’s call this “fuzzy quasi-green”), resulting in reverse marketing that’ll bite you deservedly in the butt, whether you’re wearing green jeans or not.

#2 Don’t talk publicly about your own green victories, policies or practices—let someone else blow your horn of green goodness, lest you appear a pompous, self-righteous puffer.

If you believe this myth, you might be waiting a long time for notice to be taken—think about a brilliant new shoot sprouting in the forest and nobody around to hear or see it, comment on it, ring the bell, tell the neighbors, alert the media, etc. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with sharing your green goodness—if it’s legitimate. You think Starbucks and 3M are not going to talk about their latest green initiatives and the awe-inspiring (hopefully!) resultant qualitative and quantitative results?

#3 If you tout your greenness, you invite super-intensive scrutiny and withering calls of “Liar, liar! Get the greenwashers!”
Kind of related to myth #2 and equally fallacious. Scrutiny is good—unless you’re not being open, transparent and honest. And if that’s the case, well then, you are being a jellyfish-backboned lying greenwasher. The examined life is the only life worth living, right? Figure out what you’re doing green, determine where you can improve practices and then share the results. Many companies fear sharing what they do that’s green because it doesn’t represent all their activities, and they’re going to get “found out” by drawing attention to themselves. So? Put a plan in place to improve those other practices—and share that, too!

#4 If you call something green, it is perceived as inferior—not to mention overpriced, inconvenient, overtly liberal, just for treehuggers and difficult to find.
Definitely a monolithic myth that needs some serious busting! Perceptions have shifted in this realm—thank the Green Goddess of Goodness!—as has the inferiority marketing complex along with it. Why? Enough green products, services and businesses are of very high quality, often of superior quality, and the populace, or at least an exponentially growing segment, gets this now—unless what you’re proffering is truly shoddy and shouldn’t be out there to begin with (a sorry page ripped right from the syllabus of Bad Business Practices 101). In that case, don’t give green a bad name—you’re gonna be called out and it ain’t gonna be pretty. As Joel Makower writes in Strategies for the Green Economy, “[T]here are encouraging signs that the consuming public is finally ready to vote with their pocketbooks, choosing greener products or products from companies perceived to be green leaders.” Spread the gospel of green goodness!

#5 Just marketing the green aspects of your product or service will turn enough heads to achieve major PAYDIRT!
Boy, if it were only so easy! Certainly while green is good, it shouldn’t be your first selling point (even when you’ve zeroed in on a viridian target market that lives sustainably in a compostable Emerald City—okay, well maybe in that case, or when going directly after the LOHAS savvy, you can make an exception). This isn’t residual bad chi from the sad legacy of myth #4 but, as Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston nail it in Green to Gold, “Selling a product on its environmental qualities alone is a recipe for trouble. If you have a new product that’s cleaner and greener, marketing these advantages can make sense. But be careful. Customers need other reasons to buy. Price, quality, and service will remain core concerns for most of them.” Nuff said here, I think.

#6 Green marketing efforts during times of economic turmoil fall on deaf ears.
Complete and utter balderdash. Green marketing helps promote money- and resource-saving solutions; it pushes efficiency and calls for less waste—and often less consumption, which makes even more economic common sense when times are tough. If ROI is a little down the road after initial investment, spell it clearly out—again I’m advocating being completely open, transparent and honest. Gaining trust, after all, is a key to achieving success.

#7 Traditional marketing and green marketing are pretty much synonymous.
Far from it. While they share many best practices, including strategies, tactics and methodologies, green marketing is more attuned to environmental issues, as they’re usually built into the product, service or business it is supporting. And you better look more than twice at printing and packaging options, your supply chain, where products will end up and what your attuned-to-the-times audience is expecting when it comes to your messaging, placement and ultimate followthrough. Sure, all consumers (and other businesses, you B2Bers out there) are persnickety, but if you’re operating in a green sector, you better walk the walk as well as talk the talk. See myth #3 for additional props on this point.

#8 Adding an eco prefix or mentioning “sustainability” gives you an instant eco-advantage in the sustainability space.
Okay, okay, I said “green” was just fine when shattering myth #1, but here—what?!?!—I’m striking down “eco-” and “sustainability”? Buzz words put you on the bandwagon but that shouldn’t be equated with credibility. You might momentarily capture someone’s interest (or a trawling search engine)—at least until they dig deeper or are just plain tired of everything being eco-this and sustainable that. And what exactly does sustainability mean these days? Everyone seems to be claiming, and clamoring for, primary stewardship of the term. Webster’s New World College Dictionary defines sustainable as “1. capable of being maintained 2. a) designating, of, or characterized by a practice that sustains a given condition, as economic growth or a human population, without depleting or destroying natural resources, polluting the environment, etc. [sustainable agriculture] b) governed or maintained by, or produced as a result of, such practices [sustainable growth].” Use these terms sparingly and definitely don’t expect an instant eco-advantage, a congratulatory call from Robert Redford, a shout out from Kermit (see myth #9), a cuddly hug from the World Wildlife Fund panda, etc.

#9 It’s entirely fine to use the phrase “It’s not easy being green” in your marketing materials or whenever the spirit of dear ol’ Kermit strikes you.
Google, Bing or Yahoo! the phrase and you’ll instantly realize ENOUGH IS ENOUGH! After punching in the phrase, I received more than 92 million hits on Google. Sorry Kermit pal, this pop culture badinage has run its course and is now situated so deep in platitudinous Clicheville that it has very little to absolutely no meaning. It’s now more an indicator of laziness or non-engagement on the part of the user. Work on coining your own phrase or slogan, or perhaps adopting an original mascot (ideally other than a frog or polar bear)—impactful visuals are equally important when it comes to green marketing. I was recently struck by the originality of “Patriotic Polly,” the “trumpeter of truth” spokesparrot adopted in Ralph Nader’s utopian novel, Only the Super-Rich Can Save Us—clever, memorable and entirely on-target.

#10 Green marketing is simply business; it’s all about driving sales, not saving our world.
Well, to the jaded and wholly avaricious, this may be the case, but for the rest of us, this is just NOT TRUE. Green marketing has the task, no, the responsibility, to share the stories, the challenges, the opportunities, the solutions and the victories of the multifarious businesses it supports. “Green (and sustainable) products are not just responsible,” writes John Grant in The Green Marketing Manifesto; “They are better: more durable, cheaper, nicer, healthier, more thoughtful, offering extensions into social communities, belonging to something.” Green marketing, then, is a prime opportunity to educate, inform and empower, while working in an increasingly critical space focused on doing the right thing and achieving a greater good before it’s too late—let me refer to last week’s Green Dynamind post about the Blue Green Alliance and its mention of David Brower‘s fateful warning, “There is no business to be done on a dead planet.” Are we talking triple bottom line here? ABSOLUTELY! People, planet, profit; equity, ecology, economy—however you want to slice it. Green marketing, in its own small way, can help save the world—by enabling ecologically sound decisions through pertinent information and education, and by getting more and more people to vote with their wallets on the kind of products, services and businesses they want to see thrive. So get on, or polish up, that green marketing plan—now’s the time to start blowing your own green horn.

—Allen