Great post, Anne, and great comments. All of us in this business of oxymorons - green marketing, ethical advertising, sustainable commerce, etc. - are wrestling with something that may, in the deep analysis, be an impossibility. Or at least an impossibility in so far as we can understand it from our perspective. Is there in fact a way for 7 billion-and-counting human beings and all our technology and energy "needs" to live sustainably on the planet?

That's a critical question to be tackled by people better suited to such research than I. But for me and the good folks who are in this oxymoronic line of work, the crucial thing is to make the supreme effort. And to do so, as opposed to wringing hands and casting aspersions on the sidelines, one of the necessary elements is a healthy embrace of imperfection: to roll our sleeves up, recognize that it's a big contradictory mess, and get down to action in best alignment with our integrity.

In fact, that's why our agency calls our work "Integrity Marketing" - because we don't want to get too distracted by the crossfire about the meaning, let alone feasibility, of sustainability. We have clients who don't have the resources to be certified sustainable, though they are all but so. They're good people doing worthwhile things, and they're working in the trenches of imperfection and uncertainty - with integrity. Of course, resisting the urge to use "sustainable" and "green" in our tagline sometimes seems downright contrary in a climate where those words have a lot of persuasive value, but our clients get it - and they see themselves in our call to integrity.

The thing is, there's a place for everyone in this work. We need the hardcore purists to challenge us on the big questions, and we need the pragmatists to forge ahead even when things get messy. It's all hands on deck. As a kind of opening manifesto in our blog, I invoked the spirit of Buckminster Fuller, who embodied the visionary leadership to give it his all, without being held back by the myriad worries and concerns that could have blocked him: http://www.helsinqi.com/archives/2010/01/whats-your-electric-intersection

So here's to everyone who isn't taking the easy way out. Even those who "come out with guns ablazing." Let's just make sure that friendly fire keeps us honest without jeopardizing the movement.

Cheers,
Leo Daedalus
HELSINQI

"Everyone sells. Preachers do it to make you believe in God,"

Any action taken based on Blind Faith is an evil act. "What is the definition of "success" in the eyes of a marketer or entrepreneur?" must be asked within the context of the current System of Capitalist Systems.
If the vast majority of your measurement is based on money as God, then you will sell God, Guns, Germs, or Gurus in any name you can think of just so that you can eat.
The justification of this 'selling of your soul' is that the ends (eating) justify the means (manipulating people to use money they otherwise wouldn't use).
The bottom line is that people don't think. They let the Money Numbers on spreadsheets and bank statements do their thinking for them. That's why we have the government we deserve for the consumers that we are.
If there was no tax deduction for marketing expenses, how much of the junk mail would disappear? How many newspapers might start reporting actual news?
If the actual costs of the things we DON'T need was reflected in their prices, then how many of the things we DO need would be profitable to make closer to where they are needed?
There are no "green jobs". If it's a job, it isn't green. If it has to be "marketed", it isn't green. Just because someone does something dumber than you doesn't mean what you are doing isn't still dumb.
If the train is heading for a cliff and we only apply enough brake to cut the speed in half, the train still goes over the cliff.
We have to REALLY reexamine our decision-making, and most of the things that are marketed are unnecessary and destructive. If a human being really needs something, they will go out and find it.
Case in point is my useless rambling on topics like this, where I talk and it offends people because they I speak the uncomfortable truth as I see it when I question their beliefs. Meanwhile, I am distracted from work I should be doing. In other words, I am just as susceptible to manipulation and emotions as anyone. I am just not afraid to admit it and point it out. I don't rationalize my irrationality. I am simply trying to see if it can help someone realize their own.

Anne,

Your post was better than a cup of coffee this morning. Fired me right up!

I think the problem is that dirty word “marketing”. It is right up there with the other nasty sin “selling”. The naive would have you believe that you can be successful without either of these components in your business. I guess you’re supposed to take a pure soul, create a product, chat among other like-minded people and “poof” success will be yours?

Cutting to the chase? Everyone markets. Everyone sells. Preachers do it to make you believe in God, Teachers do it as they excite you learn to read and write, Activists do it to grow their numbers. Those who don’t use techniques to make an emotional connection to their customers don’t last that long.

Of course, there are those who are ethical and those who cross the line. Effective marketers and salespeople help others understand the story of their products and create a narrative that helps people understand how their lives will be enhanced by using their products. The more they tell their stories, the better educated we will be and the more we’ll come to expect sustainability as a given.

Providing clear definitions of what it means to produce green products will set expectations that will either be met or not. But without rules and regulatory teeth, we will always be pointing fingers -- often at companies who are what they can to reengineer processes that have being in place for decades. The crazy part is that most people expect one thing from their government leaders: we want them to protect us. We need to sever the twisted relationship that mixes business with politics. These two conflicting forces impede efforts to fundamentally change the playbook.

In some circles there is a debate over Seventh Generations’ new relationship with Walmart. Some say they are selling out -- but I believe they are “selling in”. In this brilliant move they are working with one of the largest distributors of products in the world to bring non-toxic products to people. No preaching. They are simply bringing their solution to people who need to have the opportunity to make a choice about the products they use. They are removing the “better than thou” pricing and placement that puts good products out of reach for average consumers. As a result, fewer chemicals will wind up polluting our waterways, fewer people will suffer allergic reactions, fewer children will be exposed to chemicals that can cause serious illnesses in later life. How is that bad?

Thanks for a wonderful post,

Wendy

Anne, thanks for writing about this and for the important work you are doing to support visionary entrepreneurs. This conversation brings up several related issues/themes for me. One theme is the extent to which so called “green marketing” does enough. That depends on the problem you’re trying to solve. I think we make a fundamental mistake when we think that reducing our carbon footprint solves all the problems in our economic lives. Does it go in the direction of trying to reduce certain negative impacts of business? Yes, and as such it’s a good start. Yet, I’ve experienced numerous so called “green” companies using invasive, manipulative tactics to sell their products in order to achieve unsustainable sales goals. Many marketers who claim to be green don’t do marketing much differently from those that don’t; they just choose clients who are trying to be green, sustainable or triple bottom line. A bigger “reframe” of marketing is needed. Marketers are not the architects of our current economic system; we can’t be held accountable for the entire military-industrial economy. But there are stronger steps that can be taken besides going digital, using only recycled papers and soy inks in order to create the world we all want for ourselves and our children. Principally these steps involve widening our perspective to embrace stakeholder systems and their needs, and taking strategy and brands aligned with stakeholder needs more deeply into the organization. It’s interesting to note that many exemplary triple bottom line or sustainability companies say they don’t do a lot of marketing. Research shows they pay less for advertising and external promotion. Is it actually true that they aren’t doing marketing? I don’t believe so, although I believe they spend less on external promotion. Instead of paying marketing specialists (like you and me) to “do” their marketing, they have internalized the highest aspects of marketing as part of their culture – serving their customers and stakeholders, truthful communication, cradle-to-cradle product design, authentic communication in the sales process, supporting standards in the supply chain. They don’t “do” marketing. They embody the best of marketing. This paradigm shift is occurring largely under the radar. I have written on my own blog what this new paradigm looks like here: http://blog.hosfeld.com/uncategorized/the-transformation-of-marketing/ I have a placeholder term for this which I called “Transformed Marketing,” but I suspect that the form of marketing that is creating the biggest difference in service of the common good is not or may not be called marketing at all.

Anne -- Am not surprised this hit a nerve with readers. Green marketing has been & remains fraught with peril of exaggeration or outright fabrication. And yet I remain convinced this is critical i.e. that we find a way to engage consumers on the values/interest they profess to have in more sustainable products and services. We have been grappling with this at SustainAbility -- see our piece Five Principles for Sustainable Brands if of interest at http://www.sustainability.com/library/five-principles-for-sustainable-br....

Mark

Think of how many tons of junk mail have been traded for the ability to target potential clients online... junk mail that was designed on computers, then printed with chemicals, and then thrown in the trash. Also, marketing and communications is one of the few industries where a complete telecommute is possible. You can't answer phones or serve coffee from home. I consider my business green for a number of reasons- not only do I help other green companies get their message out into the world, but I also have virtually eliminated my reliance on gas, and I also help my clients with highly targeted, online marketing which saves resources as well.