For those of you who don't know, LOHAS has a tremendous following internationally. If you attended LOHAS 2009 you saw us connect live to a German LOHAS green business conference. There is also a LOHAS Japan, MyLOHAS magazine in Taiwan and even a LOHAS Park in Hong Kong. The problem is that there seems to be some delution in the overseas translation specifically in Asia.




Take for example the new ILOHAS water from Coca Cola Japan. The 'twist' on this product is that once you finish it you can crumple up the bottle and reduce the space it takes up in the recycle bin by 40%. The twist factor for the bottle seems to have the same hypnotic pull as does bubble wrap. Other than that I don't see how this is a LOHAS product. Where is the water sourced? What message other than crumpling up a bottle are they sending? Where does the plastic go once it is in the trash or recycle bin?

The other example is the new LOHAS Park being built in Hong Kong. This is a 1.4 million sq ft residential development with 40% designated as a common greenery area. 21,500 apartments will be available in 50 residential towers. The project is being built by Hong Kong's transit system MTR so there will be a train station under the park. The LOHAS specific aspects touted are the planned 440,000 liter recycled water system for the gardens a 19,000 sq meter park and walkways that are not near traffic. I think all of these are nice but there could be SO much more. What about the green design options for the residential units? What about the power used for the apartments and park maintenance? What about education for others on recycling, gardening or otherwise?

Are these true examples of corporate sustainability plans in action or are they green business strategies that are naive and taking hold of trends in Asia? I personally think there are a lot of opportunists in the world who jump on the LOHAS bandwagon. In my travels I have seen LOHAS labelled beer, coffee shops and LOHAS branded department stores sales that really don't have anything to do with sustainability and healthy living other than a minimalistic type of display. Yet one could argue that this is a demonstration of LOHAS orientation of doing less with more and a good start for those new to green understanding. Ahh the curse of knowledge. If they only knew what we do eh?

My goal is to educated those that are interested in learning green business solutions and  the true essence of what LOHAS is and why it is important rather than just make money selling a different product. We all need to take care of the planet, ourselves and each other. Healthy and organic living can mean a lot of different things to different people. There is so much potential and momentum that has been built. It is now a matter of channeling it all and creating new sustainable green business opportunities.