We have all had times when we say yes to someone but really want to say no. It's often difficult to say no because of the desire to be loved: we want to be helpful, we want to show we care, but we may have little to give, are tired, over worked, or need alone time. Do you feel that if you aren’t there for someone they may reject you? Or, that you're somehow obliged to help as it makes you a 'good' person, parent or friend? Do you ever feel validated by being needed?

It's easy to believe that any time you take to relax or meditate is time that could be used elsewhere. But taking time out doesn't mean it is selfish or even wasted time. Think about what happens when your day is spent constantly caring for others. Do you get resentful, irritated, or even angry? Do you find stress building up? Does the quality of care that you offer become affected by that inner tension? Or are you so used to being this way that it seems impossible to imagine being any other way? You may even think you're not the relaxing type, or that if you do relax you won't be able to cope with all the things you have to do.

However, by taking time for yourself, by lowering your blood pressure and releasing stress, you are immediately creating a more harmonious environment that can only benefit all those around you. When you take time out to be quiet it means you don't get so angry, resentful, or frustrated; instead you connect with who you really are. Then what you share with others is coming from that peaceful space. When you are energized and feeling good you will be able to do far more than if you are dragging yourself through your day with little energy or in a bad mood.

So, rather than being selfish, such activity is actually the least selfish thing you could do! This is when saying no to others means you are affirming yourself. The power of saying no is that you are empowered!

Our yoga master, Sri Swami Satchidananda, said, "Never compromise your peace, whether it be to your children, parents, husband, wife or friends." Unless you are at peace, what you give to others is your stress or anxiety. Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh has a telephone meditation where he teaches that, when the telephone rings, just wait, breathe in and out and slowly walk to the phone, so you are at ease when you answer. Then the person at the other end will feel your peace.

No one can make time. No one can change our habits or routine. For meditation to have any effect in our lives, we need to make an agreement to honor ourselves by doing it. This is actually a commitment to our own sanity and freedom. It is not to anyone else—not to a teacher or even to our family—but to living. That choice has to be made by each one of us. We can change the way we look, where we live, even who we live with, but unless we connect with who we are inside then none of those external changes will make much difference. Remember, happiness is an inside job!                    

Entering into the Quiet

Taking time to meditate is not the same as going for a walk or quietly listening to music. These are wonderfully relaxing activities, but they do not have the same effect as simply being still. Even just ten minutes a day will help you and all those around you. Others will find it easier to communicate with you, will enjoy being with you, and will even be motivated to help themselves more. As peace is contagious, let's start an epidemic!

There is a great beauty and joy that is our birthright, and we find this when we let go of resistance and stress and reconnect with that quiet space within; when we discover our essence rather than focusing on the content. A stressed mind sees life as a burden or constraint, while a relaxed mind meets life with dignity and fearlessness.

Sitting Quietly

Sit comfortably with your back straight. Take a deep breath and let it go. Eyes are closed; breathe normally. Begin to silently count at the end of each out breath: Inhale... exhale... count one; inhale... exhale... two; inhale... exhale... three. Count to five, then start at one again. Just five breaths, and back to one. Simply following each breath in and silently counting. So simple.

****

Your Body Speaks Your Mind

A 4-week webinar (on-line course) with Ed and Deb Shapiro, to learn how repressed, denied, or ignored thoughts and feelings are linked to specific body parts and illness. Starts October 25 but you can join in and download classes anytime

Meditation – The Best Friend You Will Ever Have

A 4-week webinar (on-line course) with Ed and Deb Shapiro, on discovering the greatest friend you could have: meditation. Starts November 5, but you can join in and download classes anytime.

See our award-winning book: BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Byron Katie and many others.

Deb is the author of the award-winning YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness.

Our 3 meditation CD's: Metta—Loving kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi–Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra–Inner Conscious Relaxation, are available at: http://www.EdandDebShapiro.com

Happiness cannot come from without. It must come from within. Helen Kelle

It would seem that regardless of emotional and physical hardships there is a place inside each of us that is essentially happy and free—but we have a tendency to ignore this place, or to think that being happy is dependent on circumstances or fortune.

Some years ago we were in Pondicherry, India, walking through the city as night fell, stepping carefully to avoid rats and dog pooh, when we saw two boys preparing for bed, which was on the hard concrete of the sidewalk. What really struck us was, in spite of their clear hardships, they were laughing loudly and happily.

Then, the other morning we were going to the gym, when we passed a little girl holding hands with her father. The girl was happily skipping along. Obviously, this was because skipping and jumping are expressions of happiness. But it made us think about how we express our happiness once we get to be adults.

For Deb, the little girl skipping "made me remember that when I was little I used to sing to myself. No particular tune or song, but I would often find myself humming or singing without even realizing I was doing it. Ed says I still do that. The interesting thing is that, even though I didn’t have the happiest of childhoods—mother divorced father for cruelty, I was in boarding school from age eight, and so on—there was a happiness inside me that was all mine, untouched by drama, trauma, or circumstance."

 While for Ed, "I used to dance on stage with my sister and brother; we had a whole dance routine the three of us would do together. I come from a one-bedroom apartment in the Bronx with a stepmother who made life difficult, but I was always able to find a place to dance. When I danced I was at my happiest, it took me out of my daily reality and was the way I could really express myself. I was even a dancing teenager on television and won the NYC dance championships!"

In the West we correlate happiness with economic prosperity: the more we have the happier we are meant to be. As Danny DeVito jokingly said in a movie: "You wanna know what life's about? I'll tell you. You accumulate as much as you can and whoever has the most at the end wins."

But in Bhutan, a small but beautiful country in the Himalayas squeezed between northern India and China, they determine their country’s wealth by the quantity of Gross National Happiness (or GNH): people's level of happiness serves as a monitor for the economic and development plans of the country.

Bhutan is not a materially rich country and life for most people is hard—there were no roads before 1960, they farm the high mountain fields with oxen, and certainly most don't have central heating or air conditioning. But their happiness is that deep sense of appreciation and inner contentment. This is seen in their sense of community and caring for one another, and their radiant smiles.

Gratefulness is the key to a happy life that we hold in our hands, because if we are not grateful, then no matter how much we have we will not be happy—because we will always want to have something else or something more. Brother David Steindl-Rast

Given the current economic difficulties many people are facing, perhaps this is the perfect time to reassess what gives you happiness and how you express it—to reconnect with the inner joy that made you either skip or run when you were younger—for it is easy to forget to be happy. Do remember, unconditional happiness is an inside job. Supreme happiness is within you.

****

Meditation – The Best Friend You Will Ever Have

A 4-week webinar (on-line course) with Ed and Deb Shapiro, on discovering the greatest friend you could have: meditation. Starts October 25 but you can join in and download classes anytime.

Your Body Speaks Your Mind

A 4-week webinar (on-line course) with Ed and Deb Shapiro, to learn how repressed, denied, or ignored thoughts and feelings are linked to specific body parts and illness. Starts October 24 but you can join in and download classes anytime

See our award-winning book: BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Byron Katie and many others.

Deb is the author of the award-winning YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness.

Our 3 meditation CD's: Metta—Loving kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi–Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra–Inner Conscious Relaxation, are available at: http://www.EdandDebShapiro.com

If you're in business, you should know your current customers. Sounds like common sense, right? Believe it or not, many companies cannot clearly identify their buyers. In fact, in a perfect world, you should know them by name. One of the best ways to be a conscious leader is create a buyer persona that defines the person behind who your product or service is trying to reach. A buyer persona is not just another marketing buzzword, but a useful and strategic tool to help you connect with your audience and develop lasting, more meaningful relationships.

A buyer persona exemplifies the real person you need to influence and is developed from research and conversations with actual customers.  It enables you to determine your potential audience to target marketing efforts toward this specific group.

Once you really get to know your buyer, like where she shops, what she eats and what she does for fun, creating content that speaks to her will be as easy as talking to a good friend. You’ll feel like a proud parent when you’re done creating this wonderful person, so give him or her a name!  Are they a Jane or a Jade? Don’t forget to name your different personas to really bring them to life.

Here are some simple steps to create a buyer persona who wants to follow your lead:

1.     Find out the Facts.

Finding out specific demographic information about your buyers will help you visualize who they are and create a realistic picture about their needs, wants and goals.

• Are they male or female?

• How old are they?

• Are they married?

• Do they have kids?

• Where do they live (city, suburb, rural)?

• What’s their education level?

• What is important to them?

2.      Understand their Daily Life.

Now that you know the facts, put yourself in their shoes. Knowing their habits, lifestyle and daily activities will help you create a consistent message about why your product or service is useful and how it positively impacts their daily life.

• Do they work?

• What do they do for fun?

• What are their hobbies?

• Where do they shop?

• What music do they listen to?

• What do they read?

3.      Discover their Challenges and Needs.

Businesses in the LOHAS marketplace understand that it’s not just about selling products or services, but solving problems and fulfilling needs. How does your offer help solve a problem in your buyer’s life? Get specific about it. For example, if you sell organic coffee beans, think about how your beans meet your buyers desire to be healthy.  Create messaging that speaks to the benefits that your organic coffee has on a person’s health rather than how your beans are the “best” or “most unique” beans out there.

4.      Identify How they Search.

Understanding how your buyer finds and consumes info is essential to being found by the right audience. Do they search in Google? Are they active in social media? If so, are they more likely to spend time on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest? Do they ask friends and family for referrals, or read online reviews from consumers?  Do they read industry blogs? Do they attend LOHAS conferences? Once you know how they find information, you can focus on reaching them in the right channels.

5.    Say Hello!

Now, take a look at all the information you’ve gathered. Chances are, you’ll have a clear picture of your ideal target audience. Once you know whom you’re speaking to, don’t forget to say hello! It’s easy to have a conversation with your customers thanks to social media. Make it a priority to spend several hours a week just being human and talking to your audience through social media channels.  It’s also a great way to ask direct questions to get authentic feedback about your products and services.

As a content marketing agency, we work with entrepreneurs and busy marketing directors who are passionate about what they do, believe their brand story is worth telling and care about building meaningful relationships with their clients. Let us know how we can help you!

Pizza, beer, ramen noodles—yep that about sums up the diet of a typical college student these days. Short on both cash and time, students take what they can get in the way of sustenance, no matter how bad for them it really is. The more we learn about nutrition and our bodies, the more we realize just how damaging habits such as these are. Sure, it's likely that these are only temporary routines that will eradicate themselves upon graduation, but there's a chance they won't. And then what are we left with? A society of out-of-shape, malnourished individuals eating themselves into an early grave.

Luckily, knowledge is indeed proving powerful as more and more students and individuals everywhere are taking a stand against this less than beneficial trend. One example of this is the Real Food Challenge in which numerous students are participating.

Serving as both a campaign and a network, the challenge's main mission is to increase the procurement of, and therefore availability of, real food on college and university campuses everywhere. They have set a national goal to hit 20% real food by 2020, which will hopefully then make waves for the food industry as a whole, as it's obviously not a problem on just the college level.

What is "Real Food"?

It's believed that presently less than 2% of our nation's food economy consists of "real food"—a problem that must be corrected if we hope to see any real change as a society. But what exactly is this "real food" about which everyone's talking?

Known as other names as well such as "slow," "local," or "green," real food is food that is humane, local, ecologically sound and fair. It is not artificial in any way and generally makes a trip straight from the farm to plate. There is no intricate processing involved, it's just good old fashioned nourishing sustenance—a far cry from the processed junk that makes up so much of our diet these days.

How Does the Challenge Work

From the development of college farms, fair trade initiatives and "Farm-to-cafeteria" programs, many institutions of higher learning are making conscious changes for the future. Currently, the challenge's organizers have coordinated informational summits, trainings, and campus visits to spread awareness of their cause.

Currently, over 360 schools across the country are participating, and as student leaders and campaign directors continue their efforts that number is only expected to grow. While it may not seem like the participants are doing much, taking the time and investing the effort to get the word out is what needs to happen at this point. People have to first be informed before they can make smarter decisions—and that's the primary driving force behind this initiative's organizers.

Getting the next generation of leaders and policy makers involved is crucial to making and long-term, substantial change, hence the importance of starting this on the college front.

Lauren Bailey is a freelance blogger who loves writing about education, writing, and health. As an education writer, she works to provide helpful information on the best online colleges and courses. She welcomes comments and questions via email at blauren 99 @gmail.com.

We will always blame and condemn those we feel are responsible for wars and social injustice, without recognizing the degree of violence in ourselves. We must work on ourselves as well as with those we condemn if we wish to move towards peace. — Thich Nhat Hanh, nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Martin Luther King Jr.

There is lots of fear mongering going on at the moment. Fingers are being pointed. Rage is being tossed around. This makes us quake in our boots, be fearful of the "enemy" or the "opposition," or anything else outside our known world.

Fear mongering is easy. Fox News political analyst Juan Williams said in 2010 how he gets nervous if he is on a plane with Muslims. Immediately, all his listeners felt a sense of empathy with him, it kindled their own fear, and showed how, when a seed of fear is planted in our mind, it generates instability to the point of paranoia, which can spread like wildfire.

A single match can burn down an entire forest. In the same way, anger can spread and affect all it meets, like a 15-minute video, itself the result of anger and irrational fear, that has ignited anti-US clashes from Morocco to Malaysia to Sydney, Australia. At the time of writing seven people have been killed, thousands injured and innumerable buildings destroyed.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself – President Franklin D Roosevelt in his first inaugural address

Fear has many faces, many disguises. There is fear that is a natural response to physical danger; and there is fear that is self-created, such as a fear of failure, of the dark, of being out of control, being different, lonely, or of unfamiliar "other people." Just as people fear communism, now they also fear Muslims. And such fear easily becomes racism. As Juan Williams also said in 1986: "Common sense becomes racism when skin color becomes a formula for figuring out who is a danger to me."

Ultimately, fear is about survival of the ego, the me-centered self, especially when the structures we have created to keep us feeling safe are, in our limited view, being threatened. The ego-mind casts a shadow of fear of potential loss and destruction. Many of us live our whole lives this way, with shadows haunting us like ghosts wherever we go.

When fear is in control we become irrational, resistant to change and spontaneity; we get angry, defensive, hidden behind self-constructed walls of protection, which reinforces separateness, isolation and enmity. Fear makes us cling to the known and reject anything that is unknown. Violence invariably arises out of such fear. Unacknowledged, it can wreck havoc in our own lives and in the world around us, as seen in terrorist attacks, gang fighting, rape, or forceful and abusive behavior.

This is the real enemy within: the part in us (whether it is bitter, angry, fearful, ignorant) that refuses to recognise we are all interconnected to each other.

We become fearless only when we can turn fear around and face it, get to know it, release resistance to it, and open our hearts. When we acknowledge and take responsibility for our own fearful and aggressive tendencies, when we see that the enemy within is actually more harmful than the enemy without, then we have the ability to change not only our own lives but the world as well.

We can make tolerance, acceptance, forgiveness and love our priorities. Which doesn’t mean we are always in spaced out bliss while ignoring the conflicts around us, but it does mean we have shifted our focus. Those people we have a difficult time with are really our teachers, as without an adversary—or those who trigger a strong reaction such as anger—we would not be motivated to develop loving kindness. So we should be grateful to them for enabling us to be more compassionate, and, as the Dalai Lama says, for teaching us greater patience. We can actually thank our exasperating partners, reckless teenagers, competitive colleagues, or misguided fanatics for the chance to be kind. What a gift!

All this is possible through meditation that not only invites us to witness anger, but also to get to know and make friends with ourselves, to dissolve the “me versus you”, the power struggles and one-upmanship. It gives us a midpoint between expressing anger and repressing it, a place where we can hear our feelings with awareness and acceptance.

Meditation may not be a cure-all; it is not going to make all our difficulties go away or suddenly transform our weaknesses into strengths, but it does enable us to rest in an inclusive acceptance of who we are. This does not make us perfect, simply more fully human.

****

Meditation – The Best Friend You Will Ever Have

A 4-week webinar (on-line course) with Ed and Deb Shapiro, on discovering the greatest friend you could have: meditation. You can join in and download classes anytime. A free introduction on September 20, and a 4-week webinar starting September 27.

Your Body Speaks Your Mind

A 4-week webinar (on-line course) with Ed and Deb Shapiro, to learn how repressed, denied, or ignored thoughts and feelings are linked to specific body parts and illness. Starts September 19 but you can join in and download classes anytime

See our award-winning book: BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Byron Katie and many others.

Deb is the author of the award-winning YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness.

Our 3 meditation CD's: Metta—Loving kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi–Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra–Inner Conscious Relaxation, are available at: http://www.EdandDebShapiro.com

Check out the 2012 LOHAS Forum overview video that highlights interviews of some of the speakers and attendees and their opinions on what LOHAS means to them. The video includes CEOs and company founders including Chip Conely, founder of Joi de Virve Hospitaltiy, CEO of Terracycle, Tom Szaky, Jonathan Ellerby who is CEO of Tao Inspired Living, CEO of Mrs. Meyers Kevin Rutherford, founders of Back to the Roots who also won the 2012 LOHAS business plan competition and 10 year old Milo Cress, founder of Be Straw Free and many more.

The next LOHAS Forum will be held June 18-20th, 2013 in Boulder. Details on the program, sponsorship & exhibit opportunities and speaker application can be found on our website. You may also register now to reserve your spot at THE event that cannot be missed for conscious businesses.

Ted Ning is renowned for leading the annual LOHAS Forum, LOHAS.com and LOHAS Journal the past 9 years Ted Ning is widely regarded as the epicenter of all things LOHAS leading many to affectionately refer to him as ‘Mr. LOHAS’. He is a change agent, trend spotter and principal of the LOHAS Group, which advises large and small corporations on accessing and profiting from the +$300 billion lifestyles of health and sustainability marketplace.  The LOHAS Group is a strategy firm focusing on helping companies discover, create, nurture and develop their unique brand assets.  For more information on Ted visit  www.tedning.com

LOHAS is proud to announce we have partnered with FLOR, a company of Interface, to launch our regional networking events across the U.S.

These are designed for executives to network among other LOHAS minded professionals within their regional areas. We hope you can join us and others at one of our events for an evening of networking and conscious business conversations.

Upcoming Events:

Boston, Thursday - September 27th
236 Clarendon Street Boston, MA 02116

Boston has a strong LOHAS following and our event looks to bring an eclectic mix of professionals together.

REGISTER HERE

Washington DC, Friday - September 28th
1037 33rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20007

Our event is paired right next to the Greenfestival and anticipate many from GreenFest as well as those in wellness and social responsible investing. Where else would they meet other than at a LOHAS event?

REGISTER HERE

San Francisco, Wednesday - October 10th
2226 Bush Street, San Francisco, CA 94115

The Bay Area LOHAS following is one of the largest and we anticipate a full house of enlightened business executives focusing on green business, social responsibility, wellness, organics and all of the other elements that are inherent to both San Francisco and LOHAS.

Vist our website for updates.

Palo Alto, Thursday - October 11th

We are thrilled to be in Palo Alto with our first event there. The attitude and lifestyle are so in line with LOHAS values it makes sense that we provide an event that connects those in the community.

Vist our website for updates.

New York, Monday - November 12th

The Big Apple is always a treat and this will be our 6th LOHAS networking reception. Our last NYC event had over 150 executives attend and was buzzing with networking. We anticipate this to continue.

Vist our website for updates.

 

2013 Dates TBD
Los Angeles - January 2013
Denver - February 2013
Seattle & Portland - March 2013
New York - April 2013
Minneapolis - May 2013
Atlanta - May 2013

More details can be found on the LOHAS Website.

If you are interested in sponsoring any of these events please contact us.

Want to help?
We are seeking assistance with these events in the following areas:
• Outreach assistance so that we get the right mix of people at the events
• Volunteers to help with onsite needs
• Photographers to chronicle each event
• Staff to help with sponsor table demos

If you wish to assist in the planning of any of these events please contact us.

We hope that you consider joining us and contributing to the expansion of the LOHAS market!

Ted Ning is renowned for leading the annual LOHAS Forum, LOHAS.com and LOHAS Journal the past 9 years Ted Ning is widely regarded as the epicenter of all things LOHAS leading many to affectionately refer to him as ‘Mr. LOHAS’. He is a change agent, trend spotter and principal of the LOHAS Group, which advises large and small corporations on accessing and profiting from the +$300 billion lifestyles of health and sustainability marketplace.  The LOHAS Group is a strategy firm focusing on helping companies discover, create, nurture and develop their unique brand assets.  For more information on Ted visit  www.tedning.com

Pinterest may be the newest social media/bookmarking site that most college students are enamored with at the moment—after all it features tons of great fresh and trendy DIY crafts, recipes, and clothes—but the digital pin board can also be used for a greater purpose: teaching users how to live a greener lifestyle. Whether you're looking for inspiration to transform your home (or dorm room) into an eco-friendly haven or you're simply wondering what new clean technologies are in developments, Pinterest can help satisfy your curiosity. That said, below are some prime "green" Pinterest boards you should start following today.

Plants Anything Green Garden

One of the easiest ways to promote sustainability is to plant your own herb or vegetable garden in your backyard. But if you're unsure of where to start, what to plant, or how to construct beds for your plants, then this board can really help you out. With more than 78 fabulous pins that explain what perennial herbs are and how to construct a DIY self-watering planter for example, this particular board is loaded with tons of useful information for the eco-conscious. Just make sure to double click the images to re-direct you to the original location of the pin for step-by-step directions.

Green Buildings I Digg

Like the name suggests this board is filled with beautifully constructed sustainable buildings that the owner, Bidgette Meinhold, finds interesting. But we find her particular taste interesting too. If you're looking for some inspiration on how to design and construct your new eco-friendly home or you just want to know what some consumers in various parts of the world are doing to make their homes and businesses sustainable then become one of the 300 plus followers of this board.

Clean Tech

If you're interested to know what certain clean tech gadgets and tools universities are working on then this board would be essential to follow. While it allows users to get a better idea of what's in store for the future, it also has some great clean tech DIY tips that the average user can construct at home, such as how to turn your plants into a cell phone charger. Hopefully the owner Planet Forward continues to add to the 34 pins already featured on the board.

Green Lifestyle Consulting

Green Lifestyle Consulting, which like the name suggests is a board that is designed to help users live a greener lifestyle. The board is run by a wife-husband duo. There are so many different pins featured that they're organized into different categories, including: For the Home, Political Action and Ideas, Tips to go Green, and Raising Green Children.

LOHAS

And of course there is the LOHAS board that provides visuals of the various elements LOHAS embodies. For those who are visually inclined it may provide a clearer picture on how LOHAS sectors are connected and the best contexts to consider when explaining it to others or determining if one is LOHAS. Boards include personal develolpment, images of nature, food and energy efficiency to name a few.

An expert in the construction industry, freelance writer Kristie Lewis offers tips and advice on choosing the best construction management colleges. She also enjoys writing about green building practices for business and home owners. She welcomes any questions and comments you might have at Kristie.lewis81@gmail.com.

The environmental problems we face as a society are so vast. How can we personally connect with these problems? By getting out of our heads and returning to the body, we can see that body links us with the world outside ourselves. We need to turn off the televisions sets and turn off our minds and feel the connection we have with the world around us. There is a problem right now in the world and it is our duty, right now, as human beings to address this problem.

The climate change crisis is really an opportunity to truly connect with the world around us, an opportunity to enhance our mental health by stepping out of alienation and aimlessness. For too long, we have been disconnected from our bodies, each other and our environment, but now, mindfulness in the present moment provides a road to connect outside ourselves to this crisis we all face. The present moment is a highway to connection. Only here and now we can we connect outside ourselves because the past and future are mere concepts. Only here and now, can we disregard assumptions rooted in the past so we can contend with future challenges.

And what are those challenges? Climate change imperils our future right now, but that future can be salvaged if we all work together. Being present right now carries high stakes for the health of our environment and for a our mental health. We do face a crisis of meaning in our culture and the solution to that crisis is combating climate change. If life today has meaning, that meaning is fueled by the existential crisis that climate change is becoming. If we are protecting the earth’s sustainability for future generations, then our life has meaning because we are acting in connection with others and the natural world that has made all our lives possible.

And what about the LOHAS revolution? The LOHAS revolution shows us that the climate change crisis is not just a moral, political and intellectual crisis, but a spiritual and emotional one rooted in connectedness. For too long, we have been cut off from other people and the world that surrounds us. More than just political change, Lifestyles in Health and Sustainability require a change in consciousness, a change in how we perceive the relationship of our self with the world.  Sustainability is more than just a set of policies, it is a spiritual principal that colors life with meaning. LOHAS is a means of using the climate change crisis as an engine of spiritual renewal. It is an opportunity to lift up our society from despair, nihilism and isolation and become immersed in connectedness and responsibility.

Honestly speaking we cannot imagine how our lives would be without meditation. As soon as we become still and quiet we enter a calm spaciousness within which questions are answered, while difference and dramas dissolve. Such stillness always comes as a great relief from the madness each day can contain. 

Some years ago we were attending a silent meditation retreat. Each day we were asked if we were feeling happier than we were the day before. The inquiring monk had a contagious smile, knowing that we were each confronting numerous obstacles to our happiness, primarily the ones in our own heads.

Yet despite his humor, the monk’s question was sincere. If we were not beginning to feel happier from practicing meditation, then what was the point of doing it?

We were asked the same question each day. To begin with this emphasized how preoccupied we were with inner confusion, doubts, conflicts, and discomfort, even how difficulties could actually feel more familiar than joy. Yet, why be there if we were struggling so much that we weren't enjoying it?

Our smiley monk was teaching us that it is vital to make friends with meditation, that it is not your adversary. Rather, meditation is a companion to have throughout life, like a best friend we turn to when things get hard to deal with and we are in need of inspiration, clarity, and even inner happiness.

Admittedly, meditation can sometimes appear insurmountable, but it is our own mind that contains the obstacles, not the practice of sitting quietly, as the chattering mind can create endless dramas. Practicing meditation means slowly and gently training the mind to do something it may not have done before: be quiet and still.

One way to overcome resistance and make meditation your friend is to start by just sitting for a few minutes at a time, instead of feeling you have to meditate, and then feeling guilty if you miss the allotted time or only do ten minutes when you had said you would do thirty. It's far more important to practice for just a few minutes and to enjoy what you are doing, than to sit there, teeth gritted, because you have been told that only thirty minutes will have any affect.

If your purpose is to try to achieve a quiet mind then the trying itself will create tension and failure. Instead, you are just with whatever is happening in the moment, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant. No judgment, no right or wrong. Watching whatever arises and letting it go is all that is required. It is more of an undoing than a doing.

During meditation we gently let go of distractions so we can genuinely be present. Like a child watching an ant walking down the sidewalk carrying a crumb, that is all that exists in their world at that moment. They are not thinking about what they had for breakfast, or what they will do with their best friend at their next play date. They are only watching the ant.

Meditation enables us to stop trying, to let go of the story, the dramas, our stressed mind, and to discover an inner easefulness. Some people describe this as a sense of coming home, as if they had been away or out of touch with themselves without even realizing it; others experience it as a huge relief as there is a release of anxiety and self-centeredness and they enter into a more peaceful state of being. And many feel as if they are simply hanging out with a good old friend, always there when needed.

Meditation Is Not What You Think

A 4-week webinar (on-line course) with Ed and Deb Shapiro on discovering the greatest gift you can give yourself: meditation. Clear your mind, open your heart, and dive into the wonder of your own true self. Starts July 09, but you can listen at any time.

See our award-winning book: BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Byron Katie and many others.

Deb is the author of the award-winning YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness.

Our 3 meditation CD's: Metta—Loving kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi–Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra–Inner Conscious Relaxation, are available at: www.EdandDebShapiro.com 

Ever since the resurgence of environmentalism in 1990, consumer polls have attempted to measure awareness, attitudes and behaviors towards environmental issues and products. Poll after poll has found that consumers claim to be concerned about the issues, they report high levels of green product purchase, and even claim willingness to pay a premium for greener products and packages.

But empirical evidence doesn’t seem to jibe with the research. In some markets, green products barely eke out 3% share, in contrast to the near majorities of consumers who express to pollsters interest in all things green. And despite consumer pronouncements otherwise, premium-priced green brands often gather dust on shelves. 

What can explain the gap between the polls and actual in-market performance? Are consumers lying to pollsters in an attempt to look virtuous?  Is the spirit willing but the pocketbook weak?  Or is it possible that we ourselves need to change the way we view the green consumer market — and ask different questions?  I suspect the latter.

What is “green” — exactly?

One of the biggest challenges in defining “green”, whether it be consumers, products or ads, is that “green,” like the planet itself, encompasses everything — air, water, biological life, chemicals, energy, you name it. 

When it comes to zeroing in on “green” products, what constitutes “green” can run the entire gamut of one or more attributes spanning a product’s lifecycle starting with raw materials (“sustainably harvested”, “organic” and “recycled”), right through to disposal  (“compostable”, “recyclable,”) — and everything in between. 

And most consumers can be said to be “green” in some way. For instance, NMI’s 2011 US LOHAS Consumers Trends poll found that 83% — an overwhelming majority of consumers — said they identified with green at some level.  (Who wouldn’t be for green?).

So when majorities of consumers say they are concerned about environmental issues and express interest in buying green products and recycling their newspapers and bottles, chances are they are telling the truth. 

Consumers may think they are actually greener than we give them credit for.

Is it possible that polls may overstate green consumer purchasing and behavior because consumers think that some of the conventional products they buy are actually green? 

Consider the language on the back of bottle of Tide. Every bottle of Tide, and many other big laundry detergent brands, too, now carries a recycling label and these messages:  “Bottle made from 25% or more post-consumer plastic,” “Contains no phosphates,” “Ingredients include biodegradable surfactants (anionic and nonionic) and enzymes.”  This all sounds pretty green to me!   

Even without such language, is it possible that consumers may believe that trusted brands from reputable companies are “green” —or that the government is watching out?

Do greener products need to scream green via eco-logos and images of planets, babies and daisies to merit a check mark in the “green” column?   Consider, too that white vinegar and baking soda have long been touted as green cleaning aids but don’t sport eco-logos of any stripe.

There may not even be such as thing as “green” marketing.

When the FTC Green Guides are issued in revised form (likely this year), what are referred to as “generalized environmental claims” will most likely be discouraged.  So “green” marketing is really an umbrella term for educating consumers about the various specific environmental benefits and attributes of one’s products or company.  Babies, planets and daisies are quickly disappearing from the vernacular and in their place are claims for particular environmental attributes.

So the answers to the $64,000 dollar questions of green marketing:  Who is the “green” consumer and will she pay a premium for green? Maybe that all  (or, okay, most ) consumers are green consumers since most consumers may think they are already buying green products, however they may define them.  And the extent to which they are willing to pay a premium may be no different for “green” than other products and that is: Do they provide value?

The Path Forward

What we seem to be dealing with, then, is a question of semantics, and the challenge of knowing which questions to ask to help us understand green market opportunities.  “Green” is a cozy, easy to remember term, but it may not be so useful in communicating with consumers who likely have their own interpretations of  ”green” expressed throughout their day-to-day lives.  And misleading polls results don’t help to build credibility for investment among skeptical businesspeople who for the past 20-plus years have been hearing that consumers “don’t care” and “won’t pay a premium”.

To those willing to take a shot at rebuilding interest and credibility in all things “green”, remember three important things: 1) Most consumers want to do the right thing. They want clean air and clean water, healthful food to eat, litter-free parks and beaches to play in, and energy to run their lives; 2) Whether it be keeping their bathtub clean, saving for retirement, driving the speed limit or eating healthfully, all consumers tend to overstate virtuous behavior to pollsters. (More than we would like, they report the person they aspire to be, or who they are just part of the time. ) And; 3) just like for all products, most consumers will only pay a premium when products demonstrate genuine added value.

Although it might take a little doing, most consumers have the wherewithal to understand the building blocks of “green”, e.g., “recycled”, “recyclable” and “biodegradable”.  Happily, businesses have the wherewithal to address consumers’ needs and to do it sustainably. Their motivations: a competitive advantage, profits, brand loyalty, motivated employees, the ability to innovate, and the promise of a business that will be sustained over time.

My book, The New Rules of Green Marketing  (LINK: http://www.greenmarketing.com/our-book ) includes detailed strategies and tools for businesses looking to positively address consumers’ environmental consciousness without fear of backlash.  On the top of the list, is the need for customized research to understand one’s own consumers’ attitudes and awareness of specific environmental attributes, including carefully segmenting the marketplace, and marketing one’s products accordingly.

Considered the nation's foremost expert on green marketing, Ottman is also a sought-after speaker and author of four books on green marketing. Her latest book is The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler, 2011). It is being hailed as "The New Green Marketing Bible" and "a must read for all marketers." Link here   (LINK:  http://www.greenmarketing.com ) for more information.

Vacations are a time to try new adventures, hang out with loved ones, or even find a quiet place to relax. But travel can also leave a footprint on the environment.

For several years, Sierra Club Outings and NativeEnergy have teamed up to provide eco-conscious travel options. Sierra Club offers hundreds of conservation-based vacations, from service trips to international expeditions. With NativeEnergy, adventurers can calculate the carbon emissions from their travel and purchase carbon offsets that counteract them.

Every action helps. Whether you hit the beach or the International Date Line, follow these simple tips to green your travel:

1. Plan low-impact activities
Exploring and enjoying the planet without leaving a large carbon footprint is easy. Focus on activities such as hiking, kayaking, nature walks, swimming, or snowshoeing that get you moving outdoors.

2. Choose group transportation
If you’re driving, plan a carpool. Some national parks even offer shuttle or train access. When visiting an urban area, opt for public transportation. The Earth will thank you, and so will your wallet.

3. Pack it in, pack it out
Everything you bring into the outdoors should leave with you. Plan meals carefully and repackage ingredients into reusable containers to minimize garbage. If you see litter on the trail, pick it up!

4. Volunteer
Give back to the wild places you love on a service trip. You’ll work on a variety of rewarding tasks, like repairing trails and removing invasive plants, with plenty of time to relax: www.sierraclub.org/outings/national/service.aspx.

5. Stay local
Many of the best trips are right in your backyard! Unsure where to start? Check your local Sierra Club Outings chapter for a list of awesome and mostly-free adventures near you: www.sierraclub.org/outings/chapter/.

6. Offset your emissions
Help finance the construction of wind, solar, and other carbon-reducing projects to offset your travel emissions with NativeEnergy. Calculate your travel footprint at www.nativeenergy.com/travel-carbon-calculator.html.

About Sierra Club Outings
Sierra Club Outings provides environmentally-friendly outdoor adventures—from Tahoe to Tibet—for people of all ages, abilities, budgets, and interests. With more than 100 years of experience, we’re the oldest outfitter of environmental travel. Visit us at outings.sierraclub.org/national for trip listings, detailed itineraries, and other resources to select the adventure that’s right for you.

About NativeEnergy
NativeEnergy is an expert provider of carbon offsets, renewable energy credits, and carbon accounting software. With NativeEnergy’s Help Build™ offsets, businesses and individuals can help finance the construction of wind, biogas, solar, and other carbon reduction projects with strong social and environmental benefits. Since 2000, NativeEnergy’s customers have helped build over 50 projects, reducing more than 2.5 million tons of greenhouse gases, and the company has over 4 million tons under contract. All NativeEnergy carbon offsets undergo third-party validation and verification. Learn more at www.nativeenergy.com.

Original source

Photo courtesy of Bigadventures

Unlike this lucky bloke,  green innovation is starting to feel pretty dam hard.

Many out there are struggling to develop new sustainable strategies, products, processes and implementing them all by pushing against the current flow.  Most are attempting to look at this world with green tinted glasses and reform almost all of the products and processes we live by.  The opportunity is certainly abounding and yet the reality can be sobering.  
Innovators are being asked to be more even more compelling, operate with less resources, and eek-out more value to each respective need.  A greater responsibility to improve current models, under the lens of sustainability, is falling on the brave and courageous few people to change the world.  The true goal may be to actually recruit "green" marines, the few and the proud… Hooo-Rah!


Pick any challenging real world issue and look closely… you can find just a handful of truly passionate social entrepreneurs working for change in that arena.  Whether the innovation is in food, agriculture, energy, technologies, products, or waste... we are being asked to redesign them all.  Only a few out there are truly developing system-wide changes to save time, resources and precious money, all in the greater name of sustainability.  When did the fate of so many lay in the hands of so few? But are we all trying to rebuild a ship after is has hit the iceberg and taking in water? Let's hope not.


At some point it all begins to feel like paddling upstream against the current while having "conventional" rocks appear in your path.  One can imagine the timeless innovators felt this great resistance… maybe we are no different now.  Oddly, most what we are transforming makes a product, service or process- simpler, easier, cheaper, with have less impact.  Consider clean technologies such as electric vehicles; simple to use (no gas), effective operations (gets you there) and easy to power (plug-in). Yet in today's ecological thinking, we must still prove the business case for them. Who is being asked to prove the business case for pollution, obvious waste with the harsh negative impacts we see daily... no one!


A collective grand vision for the green movement is to get all parties involved into the millions of innovations, as our evolution is seeking the best collaborative solutions to our varied modern problems. If we leave these crucial tasks only for a few to solve, making major inroads may simply take too long.  The conventional model is to work in a resource constrained systems that are functioning under old corporate cultures of; time equals money, bigger and better, and of course... not "my" problem.  

Our greatest task as innovators is now recruitment of conscious leaders... yes I do mean you! If you have made it this far, then you too could decide that now is the time to rally and gain momentum. Whether it be for noble ideals, lofty aspirations, personal gain or for the greater collective good of future generations... does it really matter anymore?  What matters now is what you do, how you live and what you support. We are all gifted with constant access to new communication channels, reliable information and available resources.  Even though there are few valid excuses left to claim… some certainly will.


If we wait, if we dilly-dally, if we decide not to give these bold efforts 110% now... where will it leave us all exactly?  Will we be able to move our own evolution forward fast enough to make real progress? Can we recruit others fast enough to the grand vision, so they can grasp it for themselves and realize this is our only way forward.  It may simply come down to values and a few questions to ask.


Trust- Do we have enough to move forward together?


Integrity- Similar to trust, can we commit to do what we say we will?


Responsibility- Can we find our own and help others see theirs?

Creativity- Can we look at the real issues with freedom and inspiration?


Motivation- Will what we are building move others to action?

Interested to hear your ideas, solutions and opinions?  Please share them here, it is a first step towards change. 

Jared Brick recently attained an MBA in Sustainable Management at the Presidio Graduate School in SF.  He is developing the first ever reusables tracking platform, rewarding consumers everywhere in their retail experiences.  Follow the journey at traxactions.com or on twitter: traxactions

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows. Buddha

With six months to go before the election, President Obama has officially launched his campaign. This is an important time for him not to take anything for granted, but also to stay true to his beliefs and ethics.

It is extremely hard to stay balanced during difficult and challenging times, as there are always those who want to bring you down, who disagree, criticize, or act like they know better. It is obvious that it will be a nasty presidential campaign. Both Obama's religion and his birthplace are constantly questioned yet he holds his head high, speaks calmly and intelligently, and seems to have no malice. His reaction to such dissenters has simply shown his determination to keep going forward. As he said: "What we can do, as flawed as we are, is still see God in other people, and do our best to help them find their own grace. That's what I strive to do, that's what I pray to do every day."

When people speak badly about you, you should respond in this way: Keep a steady heart and do not reply with harsh words. Practice letting go of resentment, and accept that another’s hostility is the spur to your understanding. Be kind, adopt a generous standpoint, treat your enemy as a friend, and suffuse your world with affectionate thoughts, far-reaching and widespread, limitless and free from hate. Buddha

The Buddha's teaching is based on our interdependence and interconnectedness. In a very broad sense, the role of the president is similar -- to recognize how we all affect each other, which is our basic interconnectedness. Obama's recent announcement of his support of gay marriage is an example of this, as it reflects the desire that all beings be treated equally. As Obama said four years ago: "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek."

We are delighted that Obama has recognized gay marriage as a fundamental right, for the soul is neither male nor female, gay or straight. The cover of Newsweek features an image of Obama with a rainbow-colored halo above his head. The main story is: "The First Gay President." We all breathe the same air, drink the same water, eat, sleep, and want to be happy. Love is not determined by gender. Why should anyone be denied the right to live the life they want, as long as they are not creating suffering for another? When we first met with the Dalai Lama at his residence in northern India we prostrated before him, as is the custom. He quickly lifted us up saying, "We are all equal here."    

But the differences between us can be huge. Although Obama pledged bipartisanship, in the last four years we have seen the worst partisanship ever, with the Republicans determined to say "no" to whatever Obama proposes. To find unity, we have to go beyond those differences; we have to surrender our own needs for the benefit of all. In the process, our enemies can teach us great patience and even compassion!

It is a man's own mind, not his enemy or foe, that lures him to evil ways. Buddha

Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule. Buddha

There have been some great achievements in the last four years as well as promises that haven’t been kept. But perfection is knowing ones own imperfections, which gives us the ability to get up each time we fall.

Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without. Buddha

****

See our award-winning book: BE THE CHANGE, How Meditation Can Transform You and the World, forewords by the Dalai Lama and Robert Thurman, with contributors Jack Kornfield, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Byron Katie and many others.

Deb is the author of the award-winning YOUR BODY SPEAKS YOUR MIND, Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages That Underlie Illness.

Our 3 meditation CD's: Metta—Loving kindness and Forgiveness; Samadhi–Breath Awareness and Insight; and Yoga Nidra–Inner Conscious Relaxation, are available at: www.EdandDebShapiro.com

A radical shift is happening in the marketplace—consumers are increasingly basing purchasing decisions not just on value, but on their values.

As I describe in my book, The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler; February 2011), now more than ever, consumers of all stripes are demanding that the brands they buy and the companies that make them, share their own personal social and environmental values.

Consumers are increasingly seeing businesses as linchpins with the resources and the incentives to address pressing societal needs (and this is especially so when government is seen as falling behind or inadequate in this regard.) This perception is changing the rules of the road for marketers who must respond quickly or risk being left behind by offerings viewed as more authentic and committed to sustainability.

As I detail in the book, new rules are being written by consumers for manufacturers and marketers.

1. Values guide consumer purchasing. Historically, consumers bought solely on price, performance, and convenience. But today, how products are sourced, manufactured, packaged, disposed of - and even such social aspects as how factory and farm workers are treated - all matter. This green consciousness is not confined to the younger generations. Over half of Baby Boomers consider themselves socially conscious shoppers. That’s 40 million green boomers who choose to organize, pluck resource-conserving products from the shelves, boycott products of companies that pollute, and “pro-cott” the products of companies that give back to the community.

2. Life Cycle considerations are important. Today’s consumers are doing more than just checking prices and seeking out familiar brand names. They turn over packages in search of descriptors that reflect a panoply of environmental and social issues that can impact a product throughout its entire life cycle. In the same breath, consumers can look for products that are at once, “pesticide free” “fair trade” and “sustainably harvested.” Representing a sea change in the history of promotion, marketers need to move beyond sheer product benefits in their messages and tell the whole story behind their offerings.

3. Manufacturer and retailer reputation count now more than ever. Not all greener products have ecolabels or green claims emblazoned on them. Many consumers defer to manufacturer and retailer reputations as a defacto eco-label. Consumers are asking, “Who makes this brand? Did they produce this product with high environmental and social standards?” That’s one reason why S.C. Johnson is quick to remind us that they are “A Family Company”, and why CEOs such as Tom Chappell (Tom’s of Maine), Gary Hirshberg (Stonyfield Farm) and Yvon Chouinard (Patagonia) maintain high profiles.

4. Businesses are their philosophies. It used to be that companies were what they made. International Business Machines. General Foods. General Motors. Now, businesses and brands are what they stand for. San Francisco-based Method’s innovative line of household cleaning products uses design, fragrance, efficacy, and environmental and personal safety to make cleaning a positive experience for the individual and the environment. Their “People Against Dirty” campaign” featured on the methodhome.com website and their equally empowering “Say no to (laundry) jugs” campaign supporting their new 8X concentrated laundry detergent in waste-free squirt bottle equip consumers with the wherewithal to make a difference.

Meanwhile, “Starbucks proves that a global company serving 50 million people per day can turn a proactive approach to sustainable sourcing and operations into a strategic and profitable part of its brand. And Timberland’s attention to quality, passion for the environment and society, and commitment to transparency has helped earn a strong customer following willing to pay its premium.

5. Nearly everyone is a corporate stakeholder. A reflection of the growing social consciousness that exists among today’s consumers, corporate stakeholders are no longer confined to just customers, employees, and investors; today, publics of all stripes are now corporate stakeholders including environmentalists, educators, and children - even the unborn. For instance, the astronomic rise in cause-related marketing efforts, now refined to a science helps business such as Starbucks and in turn, their enlightened customers support people living with AIDS in Africa.

6. Authenticity. It’s not enough to slap on a recycling logo or make a biodegradability claim. Brands viewed as the most genuine integrate relevant sustainability benefits into their products. That’s why HSBC and Stonyfield Farm aim to reduce the carbon impacts of their corporate operations. Their industry-leading track record for managing their carbon footprint (which we at J. Ottman Consulting advised them on) undergirded HSBC’s Effie award- winning “No Small Change” green marketing campaign which empowered consumers to reduce their own carbon footprint, in line with the bank’s own experience.

*** Jacquelyn Ottman is the founder and principal of J. Ottman Consulting, Inc., an expert advisers on green marketing to consumer product marketers and U.S. government labeling programs. She is the author of four books on green marketing, including the recently released The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler, 2011).
Download a free chapter and get more information her.

Excerpted from The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler 2011) by Jacquelyn A. Ottman. 
 

Ever since the resurgence of environmentalism in 1990, consumer polls have attempted to measure awareness, attitudes and behaviors towards environmental issues and products. Poll after poll has found that consumers claim to be concerned about the issues, they report high levels of green product purchase, and even claim willingness to pay a premium for greener products and packages.

But empirical evidence doesn’t seem to jibe with the research. In some markets, green products barely eke out 3% share, in contrast to the near majorities of consumers who express to pollsters interest in all things green. And despite consumer pronouncements otherwise, premium-priced green brands often gather dust on shelves. 

What can explain the gap between the polls and actual in-market performance? Are consumers lying to pollsters in an attempt to look virtuous?  Is the spirit willing but the pocketbook weak?  Or is it possible that we ourselves need to change the way we view the green consumer market — and ask different questions?  I suspect the latter.

What is “green” — exactly?
One of the biggest challenges in defining “green”, whether it be consumers, products or ads, is that “green,” like the planet itself, encompasses everything — air, water, biological life, chemicals, energy, you name it. 

When it comes to zeroing in on “green” products, what constitutes “green” can run the entire gamut of one or more attributes spanning a product’s lifecycle starting with raw materials (“sustainably harvested”, “organic” and “recycled”), right through to disposal  (“compostable”, “recyclable,”) — and everything in between. 

And most consumers can be said to be “green” in some way. For instance, NMI’s 2011 US LOHAS Consumers Trends poll found that 83% — an overwhelming majority of consumers — said they identified with green at some level.  (Who wouldn’t be for green?).

So when majorities of consumers say they are concerned about environmental issues and express interest in buying green products and recycling their newspapers and bottles, chances are they are telling the truth. 

Consumers may think they are actually greener than we give them credit for.
Is it possible that polls may overstate green consumer purchasing and behavior because consumers think that some of the conventional products they buy are actually green? 

Consider the language on the back of bottle of Tide. Every bottle of Tide, and many other big laundry detergent brands, too, now carries a recycling label and these messages:  “Bottle made from 25% or more post-consumer plastic,” “Contains no phosphates,” “Ingredients include biodegradable surfactants (anionic and nonionic) and enzymes.”  This all sounds pretty green to me!   

Even without such language, is it possible that consumers may believe that trusted brands from reputable companies are “green” —or that the government is watching out?

Do greener products need to scream green via eco-logos and images of planets, babies and daisies to merit a check mark in the “green” column?   Consider, too that white vinegar and baking soda have long been touted as green cleaning aids but don’t sport eco-logos of any stripe.

There may not even be such as thing as “green” marketing.
When the FTC Green Guides are issued in revised form (likely this year), what are referred to as “generalized environmental claims” will most likely be discouraged.  So “green” marketing is really an umbrella term for educating consumers about the various specific environmental benefits and attributes of one’s products or company.  Babies, planets and daisies are quickly disappearing from the vernacular and in their place are claims for particular environmental attributes.

So the answers to the $64,000 dollar questions of green marketing:  Who is the “green” consumer and will she pay a premium for green? Maybe that all  (or, okay, most ) consumers are green consumers since most consumers may think they are already buying green products, however they may define them.  And the extent to which they are willing to pay a premium may be no different for “green” than other products and that is: Do they provide value?

The Path Forward
What we seem to be dealing with, then, is a question of semantics, and the challenge of knowing which questions to ask to help us understand green market opportunities.  “Green” is a cozy, easy to remember term, but it may not be so useful in communicating with consumers who likely have their own interpretations of  ”green” expressed throughout their day-to-day lives.  And misleading polls results don’t help to build credibility for investment among skeptical businesspeople who for the past 20-plus years have been hearing that consumers “don’t care” and “won’t pay a premium”.

To those willing to take a shot at rebuilding interest and credibility in all things “green”, remember three important things: 1) Most consumers want to do the right thing. They want clean air and clean water, healthful food to eat, litter-free parks and beaches to play in, and energy to run their lives; 2) Whether it be keeping their bathtub clean, saving for retirement, driving the speed limit or eating healthfully, all consumers tend to overstate virtuous behavior to pollsters. (More than we would like, they report the person they aspire to be, or who they are just part of the time. ) And; 3) just like for all products, most consumers will only pay a premium when products demonstrate genuine added value.

Although it might take a little doing, most consumers have the wherewithal to understand the building blocks of “green”, e.g., “recycled”, “recyclable” and “biodegradable”.  Happily, businesses have the wherewithal to address consumers’ needs and to do it sustainably. Their motivations: a competitive advantage, profits, brand loyalty, motivated employees, the ability to innovate, and the promise of a business that will be sustained over time.

My book, The New Rules of Green Marketing includes detailed strategies and tools for businesses looking to positively address consumers’ environmental consciousness without fear of backlash.  On the top of the list, is the need for customized research to understand one’s own consumers’ attitudes and awareness of specific environmental attributes, including carefully segmenting the marketplace, and marketing one’s products accordingly.

Considered the nation's foremost expert on green marketing, Ottman is also a sought-after speaker and author of four books on green marketing. Her latest book is The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler, 2011). It is being hailed as "The New Green Marketing Bible" and "a must read for all marketers." Link here for more information.

Fair Trade USA recently published its 2011 Fair Trade Almanac: a compliation of data that the organization's certification department collects from both business partners and producer organizations. The report serves as a key indicator for the health and growth of Fair Trade in the United States.

The 2011 edition showcases monumental growth in Fair Trade Certified™ imports, record-breaking community development premiums, and Fair Trade USA’s reinvigorated efforts to strengthen producer organizations through a variety of new cooperative development programs. This parallels significant increase in consumer awareness, which has quadrupled in the past 5 years.
 

Continuous Growth in Fair Trade Certified Imports
Thanks to conscious consumers across the United States, and more than 800 committed companies, Fair Trade Certified products are now available in virtually every major supermarket in America as well as thousands of restaurants, cafeterias and cafes (nearly 100,000 retail locations).  In fact, in 2011 the vast majority of food categories showed impressive growth, including:  Coffee (32%), Cocoa (156%), Tea (22%), and Sugar (31%).

Here are some exciting highlights from the 2011 Fair Trade Almanac:

Coffee
In 2011, Fair Trade USA certified a record 138 million pounds of Fair Trade Coffee from 22 different countries around the world, 52 percent of which were also certified organic. In total, coffee imports were up 32% versus 2010, resulting in almost $17 million in Fair Trade coffee premiums paid to producer organizations, a new record for Fair Trade premium returns in one year. The money generated by the surge in consumer demand for ethically and sustainably sourced products is invested into farming businesses to build infrastructure and capacity, as well as into farming communities for schools, roads, health care and other development efforts.

Produce
2011 showcased growth across nearly every country. Notably, 2011 marked the first time that Fair Trade Certified bell peppers, cucumbers and bananas from Mexico were imported into the United States. One of the most outstanding trends within the produce category during 2011 was continued growth of organic imports, up 64% over 2010.

Co-op Link
In addition to what farmers earned in both sales and community-development premiums, since 2006 Fair Trade USA and its partners have invested over $7.4 million in programs to strengthen small-scale farming communities in projects spanning sugar, cocoa, produce, tea and coffee.  Building on this deep history of development work, in 2011 the organization took an invigorated new approach, called Co-op Link.  Fair Trade USA surveyed farmers to better understand their most pressing needs, raised $5 million in 2011 alone for programs to address these needs, and worked with NGO’s and local service providers to execute programs.

Green has gone mainstream. Not too long ago, just a small group of deep green consumers existed. Today, 83% of consumers (Source: Natural Marketing Institute, 2009) - representing four generations, Baby Boomers, Millennials, Gen Ys and Gen Zs - are some shade of green. Each in their own way, these generations are quickly transforming what used to be a fringe market that appealed to a faction of eco-hippies is now a bona fide $290 billion industry ranging from organic foods to hybrid cars, ecotourism to green home furnishings. Teen daughters of yesterday’s activist moms search out Burt’s Bees lip balm made from beeswax while their “twenty-something” brothers opt to clean their new digs with Method ‘s cucumber-fragranced dish liquid. Today’s Dads boast of higher mileage, fewer fill-ups, and the peppy look of their new Mini Coopers or diesel-powered Jettas that get 50-plus miles to the gallon; expect their Gen X sons to be kicking the tires of Nissan’s electric Leaf, now heading towards showroom floors.
 
Thanks to advances in materials and technology, today’s “greener” products (defined as having a lighter impact on the planet than alternatives) and today’s more “sustainable” products (those that add a social dimension, e.g., fair trade) now not only work well, they likely work better and more efficiently than the “brown” counterparts they were designed to replace. Channels of distribution have changed have changed, too.  As I point out in my just released book, The New Rules of Green Marketing (Berrett-Koehler, February 2011)  today, sustainable products are readily available in conventional supermarkets such as Fred Meyer and Safeway, brightly lit emporiums such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market, while mighty Wal-Mart leads the charge towards lifecycle-based standards for products through its groundbreaking Sustainability Consortium
 
Once confined to open spaces and rooftops, solar power is now mobile, fueling a modern-day, on-the-go lifestyle embedded in cellphone chargers, backpacks, and even the latest fleet of powerboats. Or confined to the tissue boxes or wrappers of days gone by, recycled content is now good enough for Kimberly-Clark’s own Scott Naturals line of tissue products (with its new “coreless role”)  and Staples’ EcoEasy office paper, Patagonia’s Synchilla PCR (post-consumer recycled) T-shirts made from recycled soda bottles, and Aveda’s Uruku cosmetics packaging made from recycled newsprint, to name just a few.
 
A sure sign that caring for nature and the planet and the people who live here now and in the future is here to stay – “Sustainability” is a core value of every living generation, starting with the Baby Boomers, the nation’s primary household shoppers and societal leaders who led the green charge back in the mid to late-1960s, and extending right through to Internet-savvy Generations X, Y, and Z who promise to transform markets as future decades unfold.
 
Four Generations of Green
The consuming power of the four current generations is remarkable if marketers can target them by what appeals to them uniquely.
 
Boomers: The First Modern Green Generation
Now the heads of millions of U.S. households, the Baby Boomers and been influencing society since the 1960s when they planted the seeds of the modern day green movement when as idealistic youths, gathered to celebrate the first Earth Day, in 1970, followed by the first Solar Day in 1971. Their peaceful demonstrations of concern gave rise to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the founding of the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1970, the Clean Air and the Clean Water Acts that same year, and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
 
The Middle East oil embargo, marking the beginning of the energy crisis of 1973-75, then focused the Baby Boomers on the need for smaller, more fuel-efficient cars.  Witnesses to the 1979 the release of the fictional The China Syndrome, a movie about safety cover-ups at a nuclear power plant, serendipitously opened at theaters two weeks prior to the partial core meltdown at the Three Mile Island nuclear-generating station near Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. They learned first hand about the need for renewable energy.
 
Taking the values and attitudes they have instilled upon society and have imparted to their children and grandchildren to supermarket aisles, today, over half of Baby Boomers consider themselves socially conscious shoppers. That’s 40 million green boomers who, as illustrated in the chart below. choose to organize, pluck resource-conserving products from the shelves, boycott products of companies that pollute, and “pro-cott” the products of companies that give back to the community.
 
GenX: Eyes on the World
CNN brought global issues into the living room of this generation 24/7.  Counting among them actors Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz as two of the most outspoken environmentalists of their generation, Gen Xers see environmental concerns through a lens that aligns social, educational, and political issues. They witnessed the fire in the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal India, and the aftermath of the explosion in Chernobyl. In 1985, the Live Aid concert helped to instill in them the need for famine relief in developing nations to an unprecedented 400 million worldwide, and more pointedly, in 1989, Gen Xers saw the massive devastation wrought by the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
 
Millennials: Digital Media at Their Command
This generation grew up in front of computers and unleashing the power of the Internet is second nature to them. Having lived through Hurricane Katrina and the BP Oil Spill, and with growing awareness of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (the size of Texas), they tend to be distrustful of government and authority, and are quick to challenge greenwash and other marketing practices they deem to be unauthentic or untruthful. With their majority believing that humans cause climate change and the Millenials (aka Gen Y) are twice as likely to buy green products than those who believe climate change is occurring naturally.
 
Green is an integral part of this generation’s college experience. Legions of students now opt for newly created environmental studies courses (and majors) and are active in campus sustainability initiatives.
 
Reusable water bottles and coffee mugs are ubiquitous on college campuses where many savvy companies now reach out with sustainability messages to future householders with significant incomes. Not content to sacrifice all for the almighty dollar, Millennials seek to balance “quality of life” and the “quest for wealth”; they seek to work for socially conscious employers.
 
As the offspring of the Baby Boomers whose social and environmental values they share, Millennials are the likely new leaders of the modern-day green movement. With the ability to express their opinions through blogging, texting, and social networks, they are capable of mustering immediate responses from millions around the globe.
 
Generation Z: Green is a Natural Part of Their Lives
The first generation to be brought up entirely in an environmentally conscious world, green is part of their everyday life. This generation - currently under the age of 16 - think nothing of living in solar-powered homes with a hybrid car in the driveway. In school and at home the 3Rs of waste management, “reduce, reuse, and recycle,” are as common as the 3Rs of “reading, writing, and ‘rithmetic.”  Sorting paper and plastic for recycling is a normal part of “taking out the trash.”  As school kids, they likely viewed The Story of Stuff, a 20-minute animated video that divulges the environmental impact of our daily consumption. Environmentally sensitive cleaning aids, locally grown produce, and recycled-paper goods likely top their parents’ shopping lists; clothes made from organically grown cotton and biobased fibers are part of their own Gen Z uniform.
 

******
Jacquelyn Ottman is the founder and principal of J. Ottman Consulting, Inc., an expert advisers on green marketing to consumer product marketers and U.S. government labeling programs. She is the author of four books on green marketing, including the recently released The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler, 2011).
Download a free chapter and get more information here. Excerpted from The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler 2011) by Jacquelyn A. Ottman. 

Conventional marketing is out. Green marketing and what is increasingly being called “sustainable branding” is in. According to the new rules of green marketing, effectively addressing the needs of consumers with a heightened environmental and social consciousness cannot be achieved with the same assumptions and formulae that guided consumer marketing since the postwar era. Times have changed. A new paradigm has emerged requiring new strategies with a holistic point of view and eco-innovative product and service offering.
 
Historically, marketers developed products that met consumers’ needs at affordable prices and then communicated the benefits of their brands in a memorable way.

Paid media campaigns characterized by ads with catchy slogans were de rigueur. Green or “sustainable” marketing and branding is more complex. It addresses consumers’ new heightened expectations for businesses to operate and requires two strategies:

1. Develop products that balance consumers’ needs for quality, performance, affordability, and convenience with the lowest impact possible on the environment, and with due concern for social considerations, e.g., labor, and community.

2. Create demand for the resulting brands through credible, values-laden communications that offer practical benefits while empowering and engaging consumers in meaningful ways about important environmental and social issues. These communications represent value to consumers for what they provide functionally and what they represent, and often positively reinforce the manufacturer’s track record for sustainability as well.

The new rules being laid down by today’s eco-conscious consumers cannot be addressed with conventional marketing strategies and tactics.

Brand builders in the 21st century are accountable to tough new standards. Sustainability represents deep psychological and sociological shifts - not to mention seismically important issues - as did one of its predecessors, feminism, which forced marketers to develop more convenient products in step with two-income lifestyles and to portray women with a new respect.

Meeting the challenges of today’s level of green consumerism presents its own mandates for corporate processes, branding practices, product quality, price, and promotion. To realize that the rules of the game have changed in a big way, one need only recall the unsavory backlash that is now occurring over what is perceived by environmentalists, regulators, and the press as inconsistent and often misleading eco-labels and messages. The resulting deluge of skepticism, confusion, and regulatory nightmares that spurious green claims - dubbed “greenwash” - are spawning in the marketplace proves that environmental marketing involves more than tweaking one or two product attributes and dressing up packages with meaningless and often misleading claims. Too many marketers are learning the hard way that leveraging environment-related opportunities and addressing sustainability-related challenges requires a total commitment to greening one’s products and communications.

Green marketing done according to the new rules also affects how a corporation manages its business and brands and interacts with all of its stakeholders who may be affected by its environmental and social practices.
 
The Seven Strategies for Green Marketing Success

Under the new rules, the currency of sustainable branding is innovation, flexibility, and heart. I have formulated seven strategies which I believe can help businesses address these deep-seated and lasting changes in consumer sensibility. Reflecting our learning from working with sustainability leaders over the past 20-plus years, they can be summarized as follows:

1. Understand the deeply held environmental and social beliefs and values of your consumers and other stakeholders and develop a long-term plan to align with them.

2. Create new products and services that balance consumers’ desires for quality, convenience, and affordability with minimal adverse environmental and social impacts over the life of the product.

3. Develop brands that offer practical benefits while empowering and engaging consumers in meaningful ways about the important issues that affect their lives.

4. Establish credibility for your efforts by communicating your corporate commitment and striving for complete transparency.

5. Be proactive. Go beyond what is expected from stakeholders. Proactively commit to doing your share to solve emerging environmental and social problems - and discover competitive advantage in the process.

6. Think holistically. Underscore community with users and with the broad array of corporate environmental and societal stakeholders.

7. Don’t quit. Promote responsible product use and disposal practices. Continuously strive for “zero” impact.

***Jacquelyn Ottman is the founder and principal of J. Ottman Consulting, Inc., an expert advisers on green marketing to consumer product marketers and U.S. government labeling programs. She is the author of four books on green marketing, including the recently released The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler, 2011).
Download a free chapter and get more information here.

Excerpted from The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett-Koehler 2011) by Jacquelyn A. Ottman.