Is Your Brand Really “Green”?
All the buzz seems to be about “eco” this and “organic” that. But with so much hype being green, it’s easy for wholesalers to mislead their customers – and themselves. Make sure that if you intend to be a green minded brand, you are in fact respecting what being green really stands for.
To begin, simply using the words “green”, “organic”, “natural” and “eco” in your brand name doesn’t mean you are in fact green. Instead think about your product, your business and your purpose and then determine a brand name that best represents what it is you stand for. The branding of your business can include all the eco-fabulous words you want, but they simply aren’t necessary in your actual brand name. Marketing is where all the fun begins when it comes to sharing your green product news. More importantly, how you present your product in it’s packaging and pitch should be visibly green without you even having to say so.
In addition to your brand name, you want to be careful you don’t make statements about your company that aren’t entirely true. If you plan to make claims that you are 100% green, then think about how that really affects your entire business. Do you print emails or anything else on paper? Do you drive out of your way for supplies when you could shop locally? Are you using recycled materials for all of your packaging? All consumers may not be savvy enough to think through these details, but as a business making claims – you should be. Respect what it really means to be green and why it’s so important to have a green minded business – the environment, the future of our children, the health of the world. If these details truly matter, then making the right choices in keeping your business green will easily follow.
There is a lot of value in green businesses, therefore wholesalers everywhere want to make the claim that they are a part of it, as well. If you are dedicated to the real purpose of being green, then positioning your brand will be a much easier fit. But for those of you just riding the wave of the green market, take a back seat out of respect so that the real green products can step forward.
Jo
There are two movement in the mix, evnvironmentally friendly products and the second movement is that people want to be educated on what they are buying. I designed an eco-friendly furniture line and I made sure to put descriptions beside each product explaining why it is eco-friendly, and what parts are eco-friendly. Consumer have to make sure to educate themselves before hand because there are to many companies throwing around the “green” word. It is the new “Low Fat”, and as we all learn’t the hard way, what does that really mean??
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Ashley
I couldn’t agree more. Eco words are just used ad nauseum and willy nilly these days – sort of the way “light” and “healthy” were used with foods for so long. Ultimately, they don’t mean anything. I saw on a website just the other day, a designer called her dresses “zero waste.” That’s nearly impossible for any company to achieve. Just the fact that she was posting on the web meant there was an electric grid somewhere, most likely burning coal, to light up her computer monitor. And her pieces were dyed – which clearly raises some questions about the zero waste claim. Having said all this, I’m not sure people really care if something actually is eco-friendly or not. I conducted a small survey a few weeks ago on this topic and, while people claim to care a great deal about green-ness, price trumps everything. The thought of regulating the use of this language is sort of daunting, and I think our government has bigger fish to fry. I have no doubt though that we are headed for a day when buying zero waste or organic or eco-friendly will no longer be a kooky lifestyle choice – it will be a necessity and a way of life for everyone. There won’t be anymore labels that say “Kind to Trees” because *everything will have to be kind to trees.