Month: February 2013

Valentines day. For most it is a time of love and romance. A time where “I love yous” are exchanged, chocolates are consumed and candles are lit. At its core it is about spreading love, however, in our age of consumerism this “love” is now being shown more and more with things. Teddy bears, jewelry, chocolate treats, and most of all flowers. We, women especially, have such high expectations of receiving, yet has anyone stopped to consider the impact of these novelty gifts on our planet?

After reading an article called “How Green Are Your Flowers?” it caused me to ponder this exact question, specifically with regards to the beautiful roses I recently received. I had never really considered where they came from or who worked to create the beautiful bouquets, never mind if they were grown in a sustainable manner.

According to this article, if you buy a bouquet online or at a corner market (in the US), there is an 80% chance it is being imported from Columbia or Ecuador. So much for trying to purchase local. However, don’t fret, if you still want to ensure your flowers are ethical you can check to see if it carries a label certification from programs like Fair Trade USA, the Rainforest Alliance or the Florverde Sustainable Flowers brand.  By buying these certified products, you can be assured that fair labor requirements are being met and that workers are provided with safe conditions. While this is certainly a step in the right direction, these programs only cover a small share of global flower production and still leave many issues of social and environmental sustainability unsolved.

So, while I hate to put a downer on Valentines Day, I think it is important to consider the impact of our everyday purchasing decisions, including those special occasions of the year. Are there other ways to show our love without fueling consumption and giving into the mass marketing brainwashing? One club right here at UBC had an innovative solution. Bring in paper from your recycling and they would create paper rose bouquets for your special someone. Just goes to show that maybe “green” and Valentines Day can in fact go hand in hand.

You don’t have to be ridiculous to be green.

This is the tagline from the latest Clorox GreenWorks marketing campaign aimed at making eco-friendly people friendly again. This campaign comes shortly after some research by the company was conducted that found that women in particular are drawn to the “trendiness” of being green with more women saying they felt pressure to be green (39%) than skinny (29%). In addition, it was found that 73% of Americans would choose a green product from a mainstream brand over a product from a lesser-known green company, yet the biggest barrier is price. With this in mind, Clorox has now made it their mission to make green accessible and practical for a wide range of consumers.

Having recently done a case study on Clorox and their growing green portfolio of brands, I was initially impressed at their effort to try and make green mainstream and thought that co-branding Green Works with the Clorox brand name was a strategic move. However, judging from this campaign, that strategy may have taken a turn for the worse. Take a sneak peak, if you haven’t already, at the Green Housewives.

While I personally did not take offense to this campaign, I understand why there has been so much outcry from consumers via social media. Instead of making green accessible, they seem to be alienating their biggest base of consumers, women who are into sustainability. While I do think it’s okay to poke fun at how ridiculous being “green” has become, shouldn’t those people be the ones being rewarded not ridiculed for their behavior which is surely having a much greater positive impact that those who are just switching cleaning products?

References: Clorox Green Works: What were they thinking?, Clorox Mocks ‘Ridiculous Green’ Consumers