Conscious Consumers

In a few weeks time a remarkable event will happen in Boulder, Colorado. Over 500 large and small business leaders will come together to learn how each is contributing to a meaningful and safer world, while still managing to make a profit and even to live a relatively stress-free life.

This gathering is the annual LOHAS Forum, aka Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, to be held June 23-25.

LOHAS offers a rare opportunity for both business owners and consumers to meet with the decision makers from many large companies, including Coca Cola, Petco, eBay, and the CEO of Ecover, and for those larger businesses, who may not know how to navigate the rapidly changing market, to learn from smaller ones who are making it work. It is also a place to find out about new trends and approaches to engage conscious consumers, who pay close attention to more sustainable and ethical ways of doing things.

With the current economic downturn affecting us all, many business people are asking themselves: “What am I doing and can I do it better, for both my business and for the planet as a whole? Can I, even if only in a small way, make a difference?” Last year we were all holding onto our financial dashboard with white knuckles, hoping we would be able to pull through. But now, LOHAS organizer Ted Ning tells, “People are asking, ‘Why was I in the rat race to begin with? I want to make decisions and spend my money with a greater awareness of the outcome but I don’t know how to do this or where to go.’ LOHAS provides an enormous amount of information to assist those who are making changes so they can understand how to maintain their business and market position.”
 

Who knew that a laptop bag could be practical, eco-friendly and offer cutting-edge style? Thanks to English Retreads, who recently debuted the Bentley Luxe Laptop Bag, sustainability meets functionality, as well as fashion. English Retreads turns recycling into a bold fashion statement with eco-chic vegan handbags and accessories handcrafted in Boulder, Colorado. The Bentley Luxe is made from repurposed rubber and recycled PET, and expands a growing line of English Retreads vegan totes, clutches, and accessories which combine to make a high-impact fashion statement with low impact on the environment.

The Bentley Luxe accommodates 17” MacBook or 15” PC laptops in a padded and secured compartment; additional features include specialized inside and outside zippered pockets, a mesh bottle holder and adjustable padded shoulder strap. Reclaimed tire inner-tubes are given new life as the external material for the eco-bag and five internal color options of Scarlet Red, Quarry Blue, Jet Black, Apple Green, and Pumpkin are available using a 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottle PET material. 

When asked about the Bentley Luxe, Heather English, Founder and President of English Retreads, said “We recognize the emerging opportunity to integrate fashion and environmental consciousness on behalf of the green consumer's need for a stylish and sophisticated laptop carrier. With the addition of the Bentley Luxe, we are excited to lead the market in innovative repurposed raw material use, while simultaneously delivering on functionality with a unique style all our own – our Company could not be more excited to be able to go to market with our new eco-bag on this very special 40^th anniversary of Earth Day.”

Thanks to English Retreads, every day is a day to honor the earth. Let the new Bentley Luxe Laptop Bag, as well as other English Retreads products, act as reminders of your contribution to reducing, reusing and recycling, all while looking good!

For more on English Retreads go to www.englishretreads.com

8 PRINCIPLES FOR EFFECTIVE MULTICULTURAL COMMUNICATION

Every day, thousands of businesses, nonprofit organizations, and public agencies encounter the challenges and the benefits of working in an increasingly multicultural society. From reaching out to potential customers, clients, donors, and taxpayers to providing critical products and services, every organization in today’s society must make effective communication in a multicultural context a key priority. It is an absolute necessity for organizational success and for building healthy communities.

Taking a multicultural approach to communication increases the relevance and impact by recognizing, respecting, and engaging the cultural backgrounds of all stakeholders and framing communication in ways that invite real participation and dialogue. Effective multicultural communication unlocks new resources and brings additional perspectives and talents to the table to develop innovative and sustainable solutions to our most challenging social, environmental, and economic issues.

An analysis of the raw data highlights the significance and growth of our nation’s increasingly multicultural population. Take ethnicity statistics alone: ethnic and racial groups account for 30 percent of the U.S. population, or more than 90 million people. By 2050, communities of color will make up 49 percent of the U.S. population, or more than 209 million people.

Through our work with leading businesses, nonprofits, and public agencies, we have distilled eight principles for effective multicultural communication. You will see that many of the principles make great sense for communication to all audiences and are built upon well-established communication and social marketing theory.

1) Check Your Assumptions at the Door: Begin With Yourself
Before beginning to work with any group that is culturally, ethnically, or racially different from your own, it is critical to step back and identify any assumptions, preconceived beliefs, or stereotypes that you might hold about that population. Your best intentions may be undermined by old assumptions or isolated experiences that can impact your ability to develop a sound strategy that effectively achieves the behavioral, attitudinal, or systematic change you seek. It is also essential that you not assume a particular group holds the same set of values or beliefs as your own.

2) Understand the Cultural Context(s) of Your Audience: Do Your Homework
The goal of any communication is creating shared understanding. As communicators, when we relay a message (language, symbols, images), it is with the expectation that the receiver can interpret as the sender intended and has the ability to take action accordingly. This is not always the case. Various cultural groups have unique ways of perceiving, organizing, and relating to information. They may have different needs, values, motivators, and behaviors. The norm for one group may not necessarily be relevant or appropriate for another group. The message must fit the cultural context (the norms, ideas, beliefs, and totality of meaning shared by a cultural group) of the audiences you want to reach.

3) Invest Before You Request: Create Community-Centered Partnerships
Historically, there has been a tendency to reach out to organizations serving special populations at the point when businesses, issue advocates, or other organizations need help accessing a community or seek to expand service or products to a community. Too often the first introduction is a request for assistance in conducting outreach, sharing information, facilitating market research, or referring participants to programs. In many cases, communication has been one way and self-centered—what can this person or organization do for us? By investing in the community—learning about organizational needs, attending events and community forums, and participating in community-based efforts—you can build trust and the foundation for long-term engagement. By taking this step first, before you have a specific programmatic request, you invest in building connections that lead to long-term partnerships.

4) Develop Authentic Relationships: Maintain a Long-Term Perspective
Authentic relationships are those that engage community members in idea generation, feedback, and decision making. Such a relationship is patiently developed because there is no need to rush to get to know and understand each other. The relationship is based on a true sense of shared values and shared mission and is focused on ongoing collaboration rather than a specific project. Communication, contribution, and commitment are all two-way.

5) Build Shared Ownership: Engage, Don’t Just Involve
As you seek to engage the community in your work, look for opportunities for the community to become vested in the mission that drives your work and its outcomes. Identify opportunities for leadership roles for members of the community and engage them as decision makers and owners of strategy. Actively seek their guidance and input in evaluating and refining strategies and messages. When there is more than one cultural group that you wish to engage, identify the needs, values, and motivators that the groups have in common and use these to develop messages and strategies that help unify the groups. This approach helps build community, ensure that groups do not feel they are in competition for attention or resources, and also helps to identify and elevate shared community needs and values that help shape ongoing community dialogue.

6) Walk Your Talk: Lead By Example
All of us have had experiences in which the message conveyed by an organization is inconsistent with its actions and behaviors. The classic example is a retail business with a huge welcome sign in the window and a staff that ignores you. This is just a manifestation of the challenges audiences experience when the message doesn’t match the experience. If you say that your programs are flexible, open to all members of the community, and based on community needs, then that must be what your audience experiences. If you commit to collaboration, then you must behave collaboratively. If you are committed to providing services to “everyone” in the community, your organization’s staff, governance, and partnerships need to reflect the community, and your resources need to benefit that community.

7) Relate, Don’t Translate: Place Communication Into Cultural Context
Successful multicultural communication requires more than just translating English-language content. It requires embracing the social nuances of diverse cultural groups and markets and actively engaging them in the creation of relevant communication strategies, tools, and messages that have the best opportunity to achieve the desired action. When existing strategies are deemed effective, the process of adaptation for new audiences is much broader than the words on a page. In fact, more important than deciding which language to use in your materials is ensuring that the content resonates with the culture and identity of your audience.

Effective multicultural communication entails appropriate interpersonal communication dynamics, the right context, and appropriate usage of culturally relevant imagery, vocabulary, vernacular, metaphors, or slang. Translation makes things readable, not necessarily relevant. A better approach is to make a conscious choice between translating existing concepts that work, relating existing concepts into new images and words that convey ideas more effectively, or developing completely new creative (message frame, copy, imagery).

8) Anticipate Change: Be Prepared to Succeed
Bringing new people and new perspectives into your organization, especially those from a cultural group that has not been previously engaged—be they staff, volunteers, clients, customers, members, investors, donors or community partners—will naturally change the dynamics of your organization. It may change how the organization is structured, governed, and staffed. It may impact how consensus is built, how meetings are managed, and how decisions are made. It may impact how a product is reformulated or how a marketing campaign is planned and executed. When conducting multicultural communication, answer the questions: “Are we prepared to succeed?” “Are we ready for change?”

Cases Study Examples:

The YMCA offers many examples of community-centered partnerships.

Issue: The YMCA of the Columbia-Willamette in Portland, Oregon, was interested in connecting with the fast-growing Latino population in the area. It wanted to increase Latino participation in programs and encourage that community to volunteer and become potential donors to the organization.

Strategy: The YMCA’s president was new to the area, recently relocated from Los Angeles, where he had worked extensively with Latino youth and families. He reached out to a local Latino-led community organization that served children and youth through a variety of programs. He offered transportation, access to facilities, and staff to lead nutrition and fitness classes free of charge.

Results and Impact: The pilot program sparked multiple on-site programs and joint fundraising efforts over several years. The Latino organization gained access to quality facilities, expert staff, and curriculum about health, fitness, and nutrition to supplement its educational and workforce development programs. Hundreds of children and teens benefited from year-round health and fitness programming. Over time, this relationship led to new Latino board members, an increase in Latino volunteers, and an increase in the number of Latino youths and families attending YMCA programs and services (the original goal).

New Seasons Market is a good example of investing before requesting.

Issue: New Seasons Market is a chain of Oregon grocery stores committed to building strong communities and supporting a healthy regional food economy and environment. Unlike many stores that carry a wide array of natural and organic foods, New Seasons has opened several stores in underserved neighborhoods that include the established African-American community, a growing Latino population, and many new Southeast Asian and Eastern European immigrants. These stores are in locations that were abandoned by traditional grocers decades ago. New Seasons needed to establish community support to build the stores and a strong customer base in neighborhoods other grocers had considered unprofitable.

Strategy: New Seasons’ CEO and other leaders began attending neighborhood meetings prior to siting new stores. They learned from community members that a major need and priority was bringing a grocery store with healthy food into the neighborhood. They garnered community feedback on store location, product mix, and service needs. They began hiring and recruiting from the neighborhood for jobs in their other stores while new stores were in development. They participated in priority neighborhood projects, from street tree plantings to sponsoring a youth entrepreneurship program at one store. They advocated as an ally of the community for improved transit and other needs.

Results and Impact: New Seasons opened two large stores in neighborhoods without a grocery store and hired staff at all levels that reflected the local community. The diverse customer base from the neighborhoods has made both stores very successful. New Seasons has forged strong community partnerships and relationships, providing it with allies on priority issues of food policy. In turn, New Seasons has been engaged as an ally for community development and economic equity priorities. Further, local communities have pointed to New Seasons as an example of the expectation they have for other companies that benefit from doing business in their neighborhood.

The Lee y serás campaign (an initiative of the National Council of La Raza, Scholastic Inc., and Verizon) is a good example of “relate, don’t translate.”

Issue: Currently, 86 percent of Latino fourth-graders and 91 percent of Latino eighth-graders in the U.S. read at or below basic skill levels. Fewer than 25 percent of Latino 17-year-olds can read at the skill level necessary for success in college and the increasingly high-tech workplace. This achievement gap actually begins before children enter kindergarten. A major goal of this national bilingual early-literacy initiative is to empower parents and childcare providers to play a first teacher role.

Strategy: As the education system has increasingly encouraged learning English, non-English speaking parents do not receive encouragement for and may even be discouraged from reading to their children. Also, the traditional message of “Read to your children so they will be better prepared for school” does not resonate as well in the Latino community due to a belief by some segments of the community that learning begins in school, not at home. Clearly, traditional literacy frames would not work with this audience. New materials and a unique creative approach were needed in Spanish and best developed within a cultural context that the various Latino subpopulations could relate to.

The campaign’s focus group research guided the development of a message framework that centered on succeeding in life, rather than the dominant literacy message frame, “Read to your child so they can succeed in school.” Latino cultural strengths such as storytelling, rhymes, and singing were emphasized. Further, based upon an understanding of the work-life demands (another cultural context factor) of the primary audience, the message frame highlighted how talking, telling stories, and singing to children could be incorporated into parents’ daily activities. 

By recognizing that many parents have multiple jobs and cannot meet the demands of traditional messages that call for a set amount of time spent reading each day, the campaign created a culturally relevant frame that was effective with parents and primary caregivers. Six pilot campaign markets were selected to reflect cultural needs of specific subpopulations such as Chicanos and Mexican-Americans in Los Angeles, Cubans and South Americans in Miami, and Puerto Ricans and Dominicans in New York.

Results and Impact: Initial impact assessments in the six markets show very promising success. Parents involved in the program clearly and enthusiastically articulate and act on their first teacher role and articulate the core messages of the campaign in their own words when describing what is important for their children to succeed. Cultural aspects of the program such as rhymes, stories, and songs have been particularly well received.

Conclusion
Effective multicultural communication is a critical factor in engaging and garnering support from the full spectrum of voters, donors, customers, constituents, and stakeholders that make up the American mosaic. By applying the eight principles, your organization can better advance your goals and help create a stronger and more equitable society. While there are many nuances, approaches, and perspectives to learn and apply, ultimately it all comes down to what we like to call the 3Rs: Relevance, Relationships, and Results.

Metropolitan Group is a full-service social change agency that crafts and integrates strategic communication, resource development, and creative services that empower social-purpose organizations to build a just and sustainable world. More information is available at www.metgroup.com.

When we buy without thinking, motivated perhaps by a super-low price, lust, or naked appetite, we are guilty
of Zombie Consumerism. But the parallels to sustainability and Zombies don’t have to die there. From gorefests (Grindhouse), to classic literature mash-ups (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies), to freeway sign hacks (“Warning Zombies Ahead”), it’s clear that Zombies represent something culturally current. And acquiring Zombie culture as a lens provides a deeper look at our relationship with sustainability.

For example, George Romero’s Zombie movie Night of the Living Dead (1968) has been classically read as a commentary on race-relations. The movie’s African American hero is seemingly (and finally) mistaken (by a white redneck) for a member of the undead in the movie’s final scene. In 1978 Romero returned with part two of the ultimate Zombie trilogy with Dawn of the Dead. True to his intent to shoot a Zombie film every decade that would reflect modern culture, in Dawn Romero keeps pace with our ever-changing American psychographics by turning his blade to consumerism. This late seventies flirt with consumerism is a perfect place to begin a Zombie dialogue about sustainability. 



In Dawn, a band of heroes hide out in a mall, gorging themselves on free food as the Zombies pound at the doors. There are scenes of mass consumption as the survivors play with a pastoral sense of American bounty – everything at their fingertips to consume for free.

And the Zombies? They want in on it too. The thinly veiled undercurrent of the move is revealed as two main characters ponder why thousands of Zombies are stumbling around the mall parking lot, looking for ways to get in:

[Fran and Stephen are observing from the roof of the mall] Francine: “What are they doing? Why do they come here?” Stephen: “Some kind of instinct. Memory, of what they used to do. This was an important place in their lives.” 



Later, Peter says “They're after the place. They don't know why, they just remember. Remember that they want to be in here.” 



Shopping is in the Zombie’s blood. As in the current sustainability movement, the “mall as hope” is a clear tope in Dawn. Almost gleefully, one survivor yells to others “we’re going to the mall!” as the escape from the undead. 



The visual metaphor of Zombies consuming their way through endless isles of low-priced, but culturally-costly (Save money. Live better at the expense of others.) goods without concern for impact, save their own desire, is not a stretch. Spending time at any low-cost, big box retailer in the pre-dawn hours, and Romero look like a sustainability prophet. (Interesting overlap: you can find 69 different super cheap Zombie-related items for sale at WalMart.com.) 



Romero was pointing out that shopping malls are important cultural spaces. From coming of age films (Clueless, Mallrats) to chase and fight scenes (Blues Brothers, Terminator 2) the mall is an important social space that pushes forward many plots. Compare the malls in the original Dawn (1978) to its remake in 2004, and there is little structural difference, aside from new versions of old brands and anchor stores. The malls, the shoppers, and the Zombies (aside from speed) haven’t changed much in 30 years. But culture change takes time…or apocalypse. Both work, one faster than the other. (A quick side note on Zombie dexterity: It has been argued that the theatrical shift from slow moving Zombies to fleet-footed gymnastic Zombies as in 28 Days Later and the Dawn 2004 remake is a reaction to the digital age and speed of computers, or to continue the analogy, computer viruses).

In the movie, the mall serves cross-purposes – to feed the consumptive hunger of the unthinking Zombie and as a haven for the living. The irony is easily spotted as the survivors go binge looting and consume nearly everything in the mall and must find a new place and new source of food (or become a food source). To the survivors, it is at once the luxury of a shopping spree and a prison. In the original, as men are filling wheelbarrows with appliances, Francine says of the mall, “Stephen, I'm afraid. You're hypnotized by this place. All of you! You don't see that it's not a sanctuary, it's a prison! Let's just take what we need and get out of here!” Inside the mall it is un-conscious consumerism. Outside the mall it is just un-conscious. Consumerism in Dawn’s mall is just a liberating as in today’s shopping escapism – it numbs the pain. And if shopping can be painted as part of the solution to climate crisis, then by all means, keep calm and carry on shopping. It is escapism and delusion (isn’t that a good description of most inauthentic communication too?). All of this of course is wrapped up in the sustainability strategy of “shopping our way out of climate crisis.” 



Ultimately, in Dawn, leaving the mall or not having access to a mall is synonymous with death. (No sprawl. No life. Know sprawl. Know life.) So when Zombies attack, I hope to be a victim of sprawl and have a Wal-Mart within running distance. Of course the point Romero is making is that the difference between the mall-dwelling survivors and the mall-thirsty undead is blurry at best. In Romero’s view, we are them. They are us. But who creates whom? 



Moreover to the comparison, in pop culture (as opposed to authentic Haitian anthropology), most Zombies have a common origin: man’s hubris creates some kind of virus or environmental accident that (1) makes the dead undead; or (2) makes the living undead. Either way, man makes Zombies. As in climate crisis, we are the makers of our own demise. In Bio Zombie (1998), director Wilson Yip’s take on Romero’s Dawn of the Dead set in Hong Kong, the Zombies are created by sodas tainted with Iraqi bio-weapons (Note: the film is from 1998, not 2008). Control of the environment is a familiar theme in Zombie movies as it is in sustainability. Bioengineering, genetically modified food, cloning and now god-like climate engineering and Zombies all seem to stem from the same master. Why inconvenience culture with sustainable actions when you can engineer the science around it?

Even the Zombie taste-buds can be used in this lens. The consumption of brains is an apt metaphor for both the movies and the dumbing down of America through advertising – think about Hulu’s playfull ad campaign owning up to its role in culture. But really, hunger is about appetite. And as in the modern sustainability movement, Zombie Consumerism is about appetite for more. Not better. Just more. 



Zombies reproduce through consumption of the living, which serves as a nearly endless supply of brother and sister Zombies. Consider earth’s current human population explosion as a metaphoric never-ending supply of both brains and new Zombies. As one character in the original Dawn says when warning survivors of the process: "It gets up and kills. The people it kill get up and kill." It’s a never-ending supply of both consumables and consumers (a capitalist dream). But, of course, the perishable items (bread and bullets) in the mall run out. And when they do, survivors need to make very difficult choices. Where’s the next mall? What place do we pillage next? An island, perhaps? 



As today and in the Zombie world, sustainability and survival are interchangeable. When the resources for survival run out and the malls have been picked clean, then we will reach for sustainability as a final solution.

Or we will eat brains. 



John Rooks is the President of The SOAP Group, a consulting firm activating sustainability and social justice through communication projects that create positive cultural dialogue.   www.thesoapgroup.com.

From EnlightenNext, based on a talk by Andrew Cohen given at the LOHAS Forum 2009

Global warming. An increasing potential for pandemics. Weapons of mass destruction. Such threats to human survival understandably arouse fear. This fear can cause our perspective to contract rather than expand. Ironically, a focus on survival can impede our survival. The best way to survive and thrive is to evolve, not only as individuals but also as a species. The impulse to survive greatly differs from the impulse to evolve. The former can lead us to focus so narrowly that we lose touch with higher consciousness; the latter does the opposite.

The impulse to survive is ancient and instinctual. Like other animals, we’re biologically programmed to respond to threats to our individual or group survival. In contrast, the conscious desire to evolve—to become more as individuals and as a culture—is relatively new and not experienced by everyone. You experience the evolutionary impulse when you feel passionately excited about your potential to reach a higher level of consciousness. In becoming aware of your infinite potential, you get in touch with the best part of yourself and have an overwhelming sense of goodness. If we harness this evolutionary impulse, we can work together to accomplish all of the important things we want and need to do.

It’s tremendously important, then, that we inspire people to change, not in small ways or for petty purposes but profoundly so that they maximally participate in and contribute to the evolutionary process that continually produces greater consciousness. In other words, people must become enlightened. By enlightened I mean becoming deeply aware of one’s own consciousness and also igniting a desire to expand, or evolve, that consciousness.

Scientists believe that the known universe began about 14 billion years ago. All but a small fraction of that time passed before the appearance of self-reflective consciousness, awareness of one’s own awareness. However, the capacity for such awareness must have been present from the beginning of time. Otherwise, such awareness never could have emerged. Earth progressed from lifelessness to insentient life to sentient, or conscious, life. As organisms became more complex, mentality—interior existence—emerged. Eventually, humans developed the capacity to reflect on their own consciousness. The fact that sentience arose from insentience indicates unimaginable potential. We all share in that potential. To the extent that we actualize new and higher potentials, we advance the evolution of consciousness. That evolution is a process of expansion.

The opposite of such expansion is personal ego, a narrow focus on one’s own desires and fears. The ego is the perennial obstacle to higher spiritual development, especially in contemporary Western society, which, for all its advances, also ends up encouraging narcissism and self-absorption. In early infancy we’re entirely egocentric, aware of only our own needs and desires. We don’t realize that there are perspectives other than our own. As we mature, we become increasingly aware of others’ needs and perspectives. In most cases, our sympathies expand to include family members, friends, and other people with whom we have direct contact and then extend to all people who share our ethnicity, nationality, race, and/or religion. Many of us progress further, to a sense of oneness with all human beings. Relatively few progress still further and develop a sense of community with all sentient beings, all creatures who possess consciousness.

If God is everything that exists, then all consciousness can be said to be the mind of God. Your own consciousness, as well as that of every other sentient being, is part of that mind. Therefore, we all are part of the infinite and its boundless potential.

I first experienced a sense of infinite potential as a teenager. I had a feeling of great expansion, an increased awareness of consciousness—indeed, a cosmic sense of all consciousness. When you experience such awareness, you become inspired. You gain a new purposefulness that transcends personal circumstances. Acting on the evolutionary impulse, you’re filled with creative energy. Instead of seeking personal gratification, you see yourself as a vehicle of consciousness, the ultimate mystery. You shed your ego, which confines, and are free to experience fully. By regarding situations and events from a cosmic perspective, you realize your higher potentials and advance the evolution of consciousness.

Consider highly creative, intensely motivated people such as artistic and scientific geniuses or deeply inspired political leaders. Such people radiate positive energy. They’re passionately engaged in their work. Innovators, they envision what’s possible and make it reality. Like evolution itself, they turn the latent into the manifest. Driven by a desire for greater consciousness, they tap into infinite potential.

You, too, can tap into that potential. To the extent that you don’t, you’re only partly awake. At best, you cope. You don’t move yourself and others forward. The best way to overcome negative thoughts and feelings is to move beyond the narrowly personal and recognize that you’re part of something much larger than yourself: the very evolution of consciousness.

Engineers can design robots that calculate and that perform other functions, but engineers can’t create awareness. Consciousness has been evolving for billions of years, since the beginning of the universe. You can reflect as you do because of that long history. The direction of evolution has been toward ever-greater consciousness. If you’ll contemplate the amazing evolution of consciousness, you’ll feel awe and wonder that are the opposite of ego. At the same time, you’ll realize that you’re part of that miraculous evolution. You’ll appreciate the preciousness of consciousness and of the capacity for consciousness. You’ll marvel at the infinite potential that enabled consciousness to emerge and that becomes increasingly manifest as consciousness continually grows.

According to the Big Bang theory, all matter could fit on the head of a pin when the universe began. We all derive from that original matter. All things truly are one. If you understand and ponder that, you’ll begin to realize your higher potentials. You’ll experience oneness with the entire creative process. That oneness will liberate and empower you. You no longer will feel separate or insignificant. Instead you’ll have a cosmic, God-like perspective. Seeing the infinite potential in yourself and others, you’ll arrive at a higher level of consciousness. Through such consciousness, we won’t just survive . . . we’ll evolve.

If you want to view a video of Andrew's presentation from the LOHAS forum click here.

I get many inquiries on the latest LOHAS market trends from various businesses, students and other organizations targeting the 17-19% of the adult population that makes up those avid conscious consumers who trive on ecological thinking, socially responsible investments, yoga, energy healing and green business.

So here is my quick solution for those searching for LOHAS data. We have uploaded the keynote sessions from the 2009 LOHAS Forum to Youtube and Facebook.

Below is the Natural Marketing Institute's presentation part 1 of 5. I recommend viewing them all. Enjoy!



 

Remember there are 4 more vids that are part of this so please view them all. If you are looking for the ultimate green business conference then register for the 2010 LOHAS Forum set for June 23-25th in Boulder Colorado.

 I have been designing environmentally friendly interiors for over 15 years (pre-the-green-hoopla), one of the vital services I offer is getting my clients to connect to their homes: both their immediate space (and self) and the larger environment, our planet.

I refer to what I do as mindful design or conscious design because it goes well beyond ‘green’. VITAL DESIGN includes all economic levels, all styles and does not have any eco guilt attached. It is all about coming from a place of love (I refer to it as the stevie wonder of home design). I believe the most successful spaces express the inhabitant’s personality (not the designers), and I act as a conduit to help one feel confident in his or her ability to create a unique expression of themselves in their home. The result is always a beautiful, safe, non-toxic, happy and healthy environment that lifts the spirit, similar to a stevie wonder song!

Our ultimate goal is to create a haven and sanctuary (again, both inner and outer), which begins when one honors oneself, and one another, inclusive of all religions and cultures.

We have all experienced spaces that made our hearts soar, why shouldn’t your home be one of them? In this blog I will engage you in a dialog with your home, and help you look at your home in a wonderful new light. Whether you’ve been wed to the same space for eons or this is a brand new relationship, there are many wonderful ways to transform the mundane into the magical - I look forward to sharing easy, tried and true home enlightening tips. Please do try this at home…. 

Yours in service for a green, non-violent and happy planet, 

Cheryl Terrace

VITAL DESIGN LTD

917-226-2391

www.vitaldesignltd.com

What is a million dollar thinker, anyway?

Million dollar thinkers think about things like money and making decisions in a different way from the average person, using both the conscious and the subconscious mind.

As an example: suppose you were $10,000 in debt. The average person would focus on the debt, how to pay it, how to get out of it. They may take on a second job to pay the debt.  The focus, no matter what, would be on the debt.

A million dollar thinker, on the other hand, would take that same situation and look at it 180 degrees differently. The million dollar thinker would look at the $10,000 debt, and immediately come up with a plan to earn $20,000. Focusing on solving a problem and strategizing how to make more money is infinitely more interesting, thought provoking and ultimately more prosperous than focusing on the negativity of debt.

Right now, make a choice to understand how your mind and thoughts work. The exploration of the subconscious mind and belief systems that keep us from realizing our biggest dreams is a fascinating study – and one that is well worth the time and effort to anyone who wants to be successful.

First, take a look at your belief systems – you know, the ones that everybody talks about but never really digs into?  Do you have thoughts like…

“I’m not good enough”

“I could do better”

“Money doesn’t grow on trees”

“There’s not enough to go around.”

“Money is tight”

“I don’t have enough”

Or even “if I have more than my share, someone else will suffer.”

These are beliefs that infiltrate the conscious mind; ones that people hold onto very tightly, unaware of the damage that they do. Of course, none of those self defeating thoughts is true but they feel very real when you’re thinking them.

It’s important to learn more about the mind and how these beliefs work. – especially, how the mind can create exactly the circumstances or situations we are thinking about. Even the bad ones. This is powerful stuff.

The subconscious mind is a subset of our entire brain system.  There are really three types of processing controls in the brain.  First is the unconscious mind.  It controls things like breathing.  Next is the conscious mind.  It is the part of the brain you are using to process the words on this page, to think thoughts, meditate, create and sort information.  It is the part of your brain that gets very busy, congested and filled with information and random bits of thinking, songs and entire paragraphs of text.  It is that little monster or angel on your shoulder that tells you great things or hurtful things about yourself.

Last is the subconscious mind. The subconscious mind is kind of like a factory, processing the thoughts that your conscious mind gives it. It has no control or discerning capabilities to determine whether a thought is productive and serves you well, or tears you down and makes you cry. Either way, it just goes about its business, carrying out the thoughts you send to it.

If you can, picture the subconscious mind like a bunch of little workers, running around to make sure your thoughts are carried out. When you say to yourself “This is hard work,” then the subconscious goes to work, making sure your thoughts are carried out and the result is “This is hard.”  The subconscious mind has no line between good and bad, it simply works to the logical conclusion, which is the ability to make your thoughts come to fruition.

The subconscious mind does not understand things like “can’t,” and it is unable to comprehend the difference between what you want and don’t want.  Like a picture in your mind, it only sees the end result, and goes about achieving that end result. The subconscious mind has a lot to do with what actually shows up in your life, based on the pictures, words and language you use to describe what you want.

For instance, consider what it takes to train a dog to sit. Many dog trainers use a praise method to show the dog when they did something agreeable. Using the mind, they are able to create a picture of a desired result – in this case getting a dog to sit. Most people, however, think very hard about what they don’t want. In the case of the dog, they may concentrate not on sitting, but on not having the dog run away. In the mind, the picture of the dog running away — which is the exact image of what you do not want — is clear. The subconscious goes to work to make sure the end result is achieved and presto! the dog runs away.

The idea is to break negative subconscious beliefs. There is a Process to enable you to do exactly that. Here it is –

First, think. What beliefs are holding you back? Do you feel not worthy of success? Not smart enough? Not lucky enough? What originally led you to believe the thought(s) that is/are holding you back? Take one, for a start –

Say you grew up in a family where money was tight. You remember hearing your parents say, “We’ll never get ahead. To get ahead I this life, you have to have breaks. We just don’t have that kind of luck.” You listened to that and internalized it, growing up to believe that the deck is stacked against you. That, no matter how hard you work, the Universe is predisposed to keeping you in a state of lack. And so your work habits keep you sabotaging yourself – a way for your subconscious mind to stop you from being successful, and therefore disloyal to your family, who never achieved any great measure of success.

Now, close your eyes.  Take a few deep breaths and get very comfortable. Imagine being in a very beautiful place, a safe place – somewhere where you feel completely at ease and relaxed. Perhaps at the beach? The sand is white and perfect, with waves crashing up onto it at frequent and even intervals. The sky is a perfect and beautiful blue, and the sound of the surf is soothing and comforting. Sit down in the sand and relax.

Now, bring your parents into your mind’s eye picture, and have them sit down with you.  When you’ve done that, say these words. “Folks,” say to them in your mind, “I have an opportunity to be successful beyond my wildest dreams.  I’m holding myself back out of loyalty to you and I don’t want to do that anymore. I am choosing to be very successful in my personal, professional and financial life. I love you very much and respect everything that you are, and I want you to support me in this choice.”

In your mind’s eye, see your parents smiling, and speaking words of comfort and encouragement, such as —  “Darling, don’t you dare follow in our footsteps. You are a smart, wise woman and we want you to have anything you dream of. We love you too, and support you in your decisions.”

Now, don’t you suddenly feel lighter, freer? The monsters in your mind quieted? Open your eyes slowly. Know that you can use this new tool any time you feel concern for your well-being.

Beliefs such as “I’m not good enough” that can haunt your conscious mind, need close scrutiny.  Believing the “I’m not good enough” part can be easy, but where does it come from? Somebody gave you the belief!  But who?  When? If not your parents or other close family members, perhaps important people in your childhood? Perhaps a teacher once said to you, “You’re smart, but you don’t try hard enough. You could do better.” Your conscious mind will then repeat the teacher’s belief, telling you that you can do better.  Soon, the “I can do better” belief is firmly implanted in your brain, pervasive in your conscious thoughts.

Once you recognize that this was someone else’s belief and not your own (and not necessarily true!), you can begin to let go of it. Using the tool you were given above, have a meditation session with yourself to remove the mental file that holds the “I can do better” belief.  Replace it with a new file in your mind called, “I do things well the first time.” What a difference it can make in your thinking.

Then continue, taking a close look at many of the self defeating beliefs you’ve held, eliminating them one by one from your life, your vocabulary and your conscious thought. Once you bring your beliefs to the surface and determine the source, letting go of them is the next step to help you evolve as the successful person you want to be.

Can you identify your self defeating beliefs?

Ironically, massive pesticide spraying actually causes massive pest outbreaks.[2] The boll weevil has been a major cotton pest longer, and has caused greater cash losses, than any other insect in the history of agriculture. Since the mid-twentieth century, all attempts to eliminate boll weevils with pesticides, including DDT, toxaphene and methyl parathion have failed. Many of these efforts have led to major ecosystem imbalance and crop failures. Advocates of continued spraying acknowledge that while the cost could reach $650 million, such expenditures would likely have little effect on the boll weevil.[3]

Organic cotton is grown using methods and materials that have minimal impact on the environment. Unlike conventional chemical agriculture, organic farming systems help preserve our air, water and soil, supporting biologically diverse agriculture. These days, organic cotton is showing up in everything from personal care products to home furnishings, all kinds of apparel, toys, diapers and even stationery.

The greening of the apparel industry is a trend driven by consumer awareness of health and environmental concerns and the issues surrounding ethical production practices. Organic apparel and home consumer goods are the second fastest-growing category of all organic products, with sales jumping from $85 million in 2003 to $160 million in 2005.  In 2006, sales of organic linens and clothing reached $203 million in the US, a twenty-six percent increase over 2005.[4]

The organic movement has made a significant impact on the Food market sector and is making inroads into sustainable apparel and home goods. Manufacturers and niche retailers Nike and Patagonia have joined and mainstream retailers such as Wal-Mart and Nordstrom’s in actively promoting stylish eco-conscious goods.

A growing number of designers and manufacturers are marketing goods with sustainable practices, which could include Fair Trade ethical labor practices, certified organic natural fibers, use of low-impact or natural dyes, and minimal or environmentally appropriate packaging.

A few years ago Wal-Mart became the biggest purchaser of organic cotton, launching a full-on organic offensive in 2006. However, supply did not seem to meet their demand. The up-front investment required to convert crops to organic is difficult for many farmers. They need to be in the game for three years before their crop can be certified “organic” and profits begin to kick in. Transitional cotton is cotton that has been grown organically, but for less than three years.

According to Wal-Mart spokesperson Tara Raddohl, “In order to encourage farmers to switch to organic cotton farming, Wal-Mart purchased more than 12 million pounds of transitional cotton from approximately 1,000 farmers at the same premium cost of certified organic cotton. “We heard from our supplier and other partners … that this was necessary in the market,” Raddohl said. 

"It is about carrying on what has been our legacy: making items accessible to a broad spectrum of consumers.  Our research found that folks said if it (organic clothing) were available and affordably priced, they would be likely to buy it."



I attended the Naturally Boulder conference last week that brings together the organic and natural product gurus, industry leaders and entrepreneurs that reside in Boulder. This was the fifth year of the event and it was amazing to see how much happens from the LOHAS cradle of Boulder Colorado when it comes to the natural and organic market. I guess you could equate it to the Silicon Valley of organics.

To give you an idea of the concentration here are some Boulder based companies you may have heard of or seen on shelves (I am now inhaling deeply to include them all in one breath…)

Izze Soda, Rudis Bakery, Celestial Seasonings, White Wave, Horizon Dairy, Aurora Dairy, Gaiam, Pharmaca, Pangea, 3rd St. Chai, Sounds True, Eco Products, Pixe Mate, Wild Oats Markets, New Hope Media, Twist, Lumia Candles, Greenmont Capital, Larabar, Chocolove, Boulder's Best Organics, The Organic Center, Bakti Chai, Organic Vintners, Evol Burritos...and the list goes on.

The event had about 280 people attend and among them were pioneers such as Steve Demos, Mo Seigel, and Mark Retzlof mingling with younger 30 something entrepreneurs.

Magic Mark Retzlof was honored with the lifetime achievement award for his efforts in the organic world. Everything the guy touches seems to turn to gold. He co founded the beloved Alfalfa's market the was bought by Wild Oats, Horizon Dairy and Aurora Dairy, Rudi’s Bakery and also Greenmont Capital just to name a few of his achievements. Kudos to a well deserving person for the award.

There was a very interesting presentation on the state of the nutrition industry economy by Nutrition Business Journal's Patrick Rea. What was most interesting is the rapid growth of the pet supplement industry that is up 11.6%. Personal care is also a strong segment of the market. NBJ estimates the growth of the natural and organic space to be around 8-9% which is not the double digit growth people are used to but - hey any growth is good growth these days.

The other interesting panel I saw was moderated by Steve Hoffman, the president of the Organic Center. The members of the illustrious panel were Official Natural Products Legend  Steve Demos founder of White Wave who tried over 200 product lines before discovering Silk soy milk, the drummer of Rage Against the Machine, who’s now founder of a yummy lemonade stevia drink suitable for diabetics and health-conscious, sugar-avoiding families; the man behind Bear Naked granola, and Tami Simon, founder of Sounds True, who talked about her calling to provide service and crystals. She made a few good jokes, too. It was good to hear what they had to say about hanging in there during tough times we are facing today.

Coming out of this I was once again awestruck at the concentration of successful entrepreneurs that are locally based. If you didn't know any better you would think that moving to Boulder and starting a natural and organic oriented company would be easy. But it is a lot of blood sweat and tears that many have had that make them successful. One key phrase that Demos said that stuck with me is that our society is based on the success of achievement rather than fulfillment. I feel this is so true and that many in this industry work to carry that mantra. It is a very supportive community of people who look to help each other and better the industry. Not to say there are not problems but this event does not focus on that.  I would have liked to have seen more Colorado based companies attend the event instead of the usual Boulder crowd. I also see tremendous opportunity for cross pollination of other Boulder based groups to learn from each other - i.e. the Outdoor Industry, Naropa University, clean tech and other groups that target the same audience.

But it was definitely a good reason to meet great people and share an organic beer.
 

I attended the Naturally Boulder conference last week that brings together the organic and natural product gurus, industry leaders and entrepreneurs that reside in Boulder. This was the fifth year of the event and it was amazing to see how much happens from the LOHAS cradle of Boulder Colorado when it comes to the natural and organic market. I guess you could equate it to the Silicon Valley of organics.

To give you an idea of the concentration here are some Boulder based companies you may have heard of or seen on shelves ( I am now inhaling deeply to include them all in one breath):

Izze Soda, Rudis Bakery, Celestial Seasonings, White Wave, Horizon Dairy, Aurora Dairy, Gaiam, Pharmaca, Pangea, 3rd St. Chai, Sounds True, Eco Products, Pixe Mate, Wild Oats Markets, New Hope Media, Twist, Lumia Candles, Greenmont Capital, Larabar, Chocolove, Boulder's Best Organics, The Organic Center, Bakti Chai, Organic Vintners, Evol Burritos...and the list goes on.

The event had about 280 people attend and among them were pioneers such as Steve Demos, Mo Seigel, and Mark Retzlof mingling with younger 30 something entreperneurs.

Magic Mark Retzlof was honored with the lifetime achievement award for his efforts in the organic world. Everything the guys touches seems to turn to gold. He co founded the beloved Alfalfa's market the was bought by Wild Oats, Horizon Dairy and Aurora Dairy, Rudis Bakery and also Greenmont Capital just to name a few of his achievements. Kudos to a well deserving person for the award.

There was a very interesting presentation on the state of the nutrition industry economy by Nutrition Business Journal's Patrick Rea. What was most interesting is the rapid growth of the pet supplement industry that is up 11.6%. Personal care is also a strong segment of the market. NBJ estimates the growth of the natural and organic space to be around 8-9% which is not the double digit growth people are used to but - hey any growth is good growth these days.

The other interesting panel I saw was moderated by  Steve Hoffman, the president of the Organic Center. The members of the illustrious panel were Official Natural Products Legend
Steve Demos founder of White Wave who tried over 200 product lines before discovering Silk soy milk, the drummer of Rage Against the Machine, who’s now founder of a yummy lemonade stevia drink suitable for diabetics and health-conscious, sugar-avoiding families;
the man behind Bear Naked, and Tami Simon, founder of Sounds True, who talked about her calling to provide service and crystals. She made a few good jokes, too. It was good to hear what they had to say about hanging in there during tough times we are facing today.

Coming out of this I was once again awestruck at the concentration of successful entrepreneurs taht are locally based. If you didn't know any better you would think that moving to Boudler and starting a natural and organic oriented company would be easy. But it is a lot of blood sweat and tears that many have had that make them successful. One key phrase that Demos said that stuck with me is that our society is based on the success of achievement rather than fulfillment. I feel this is so true.  
I would have liked to have seen more Colorado based companies attend the event instead of the usual Boulder crowd. I also see tremendous opportunity for cross pollenation of other Boulder based groups to learn from each other - i.e. the Outdoor Industry, Naropa University, clean tech and other groups that target the same audience.

But it was definitely a good reason to meet great people and share an organic beer.