Yellow Pages Environmental Forum

Sure, everything you see, read, and hear is about “going green”, being “eco-friendly”, “environmental consensus”, etc. etc. etc. But the bad news is that the average consumer doesn’t have a clue what that really means.

The Shelton Group, a Knoxville, TN based ad agency that is suppose to specialize in energy efficiency and sustainability (now there’s a new twist), recently conducted a national study, the “Eco Pulse”, which asked consumers open-ended and multiple-choice questions about green issues. The findings suggest there is a whole lot of confusion out there.

Some of the major findings:

• Name which features a home would need to have before they would consider it green? 42% said they didn’t know.
• While 49% of respondents said a company’s environmental record is important in their purchasing decisions, only 21% used that information when making a product decision. Even worse, only 7% could name the product they purchased.
• “Given a choice between your comfort, your convenience or the environment, which do you most often choose?” Surprise (NOT). Most Americans put their personal comfort ahead of the environment – 46% chose comfort and 31% chose the environment.
• We love the media — 40% admitted to negative or ambivalent responses (”skeptical,” “irritated,” “guilty” or “unaffected”) to increased media attention regarding our impact on the environment
• We only do it to make us look better — when asked why most companies that adopt environmentally friendly practices do so, the most common response (47%) was “to make their company look better to the public.”

The message from this study is it is still early in the development of what “green” is or should be. It does offer all Yellow Page publishers an opportunity to make their print and IYP products a source for the valuable information consumers will need.

In today’s Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required), was an interesting story that Pepsi has moved to reducing the amount of plastic it uses in its non-soda drink bottles.  For example, the new half-liter (16.9 oz.) bottle will actually contain 20% less plastics than the one it is replacing.  The thickness of the bottle will be reduced from 23.5 grams to 18.6 grams.  The drinks affected are some of the Lipton ice teas, Tropicana juice, flavored Aquafina FlavorSpalsh and Aquafina Alive.

We bring this to the attention of Yellow Pages publishers because we mentioned in a recent post (A Bag is More Than a Bag) that Discovery Packaging was open to working with publishers on a reduced thickness delivery bag.  Sounds like a real opportunity to be an innovative market leader and more environmental oriented.

Some new research from The Nielsen Company just caught my attention — more than half of U.S. consumers would give up all forms of packaging provided for convenience purposes if it would benefit the environment.

• 58% feel that packaging designed for easy stacking/storing at home is dispensable
• 55% would give up packaging that can be used for cooking, or doubling as a re-sealable container
• 53% don’t need packaging designed for easy transport

Another interesting finding in the research was the range of attitudes toward packaging in different parts of the world.  For example:

• Almost 60% of Europeans and North Americans are willing to give up packaging designed for stacking and storing at home — but only 42% of Asians would be willing to give up these types of convenience packaging
• New Zealanders are the nation most prepared to give up all packaging aspects for the sake of the environment

Specific observations from U.S. households that Yellow Page publishers need to take note of:

• Nearly 80% of consumers make a point of combining shopping trips to save gas most, if not all of the time – hello Yellow Pages.  Sounds like a marketing opportunity to me
• More than half of U.S. consumers claim (I added the emphasis on “claim”) to recycle cans, bottles and/or newspapers all the time  – hello Yellow Pages.  Sounds like some recycling information in the front of the book is a requirement to make the print product even more valuable
• About 40% of consumers will sometimes think to look for products with less packaging –  hello Yellow Pages.  Sounds like an opportunity to highlight more eco-friendly businesses in both print and online products

Maybe you saw this little gem from thedailygreen newsletter:

So I guess that line of idling limo’s I saw outside the receiving line didn’t count?

Sure, we all want to be more eco-friendly, but let’s make the efforts real and not just an attempt to be hip. Check our your local PRINT Yellow Pages for more green tips or to find those truly environmental consensus businesses.

Everything seems to a “green” twist now.  Why not romantic undies.

Just in time for Valentines Day an eco-friendly British company called “Green Knickers” offers panties made from 60% hemp and 40% silk.  And if you order now they will arrive in “fair trade recycled gift box”.   The link to their site:  Greenknickers.org.

Smashing.

What heading would you find these under in a print Yellow Pages, “environmental” or “womens lingerie”???

We all know that natural disasters can be devastating to property, families and communities. Many experts have suggested that global warming produces more extreme weather, and they are pointing to the effects of Katrina as a financial gauge.

According to the USA Today, the people of New Orleans have filled some 489,000 claims for damage and death related to their catastrophic losses from flooding by the hurricane. But some of the requests are more than a little over the top. For example, one claim was for $6 trillion and another was for – are you ready – $3 quadrillion (as in a 3 followed by 15 zeros). That single extraordinary claim only is valued 250-times the U.S. gross domestic product ($12 trillion).

This post is not meant to diminish the suffering that the people of that area have gone through. And you would have to believe that many of these bogus claims will be denied. But it does point to how the impact from a natural disaster can be twisted to accommodate the agenda of an overly zealous green supporter, all of which does nothing to help those of us trying to find solutions everyday on how to make this planet a better place to live while maintaining our standard of living.

Private Clubs Magazine (http://www.privateclubs.com/) reports that sports apparel maker Izod has added anew twist to golfers — shirts using “…lightweight, comfortable fibers and yarns made from recycled coconut shells…”  (www.izodg.com)

Aren’t we getting a bit ridiculous about the extent to which we are trying to be green??