Browse
Engage
Research
Today's quiz: How well do consumers understand "green" brands?
(1) They are savvy.
(2) They don't have a clue.
(3) They don't care all that much.
(4) All of the above.
The answer, judging from the results of this year's ImagePower Global Green Brands Study, is (4) all of the above.
Hey, who ever said communicating about "green" is simple?
The survey, which comes from advertising and marketing giant WPP, is based on interviews with about 9,000 people in eight countries.
In the U.S., where researchers conducted 1,200 interviews, consumers identified these Top 10 green brands:
1. Seventh Generation
2. Whole Foods
3. Tom's of Maine
4. Burt's Bees
5. Trader Joe's
6. The Walt Disney Company
7. S.C. Johnson
8. Dove
9. Apple
10. Starbucks, Microsoft (tied)
One important caveat: Consumers chose these brands from a universe of 45 brands in limited product categories, including personal care, grocery, household products and electronics -- which is why you don't see the Toyota Prius or Stonyfield Farm on the list:
If you want to argue that (1) consumers are savvy, read the first four names and stop. They four are what the researchers call "born green" companies, that is, companies that from the get-go set themselves apart from competitors by touting their environmental credentials.
Seventh Generation makes non-toxic cleaners and household products, Whole Foods sells lots of organic fare, Tom's of Maine uses only ingredients found in nature in its toothpaste and Burt's Bees offers earth-friendly personal care products.
"Consumers really get their authenticity," says Annie Longsworth, global sustainability practice leader for Cohn & Wolfe. Having reported on all four companies, I agree that they deserve to be on any list of green brands.
That's not so with the next name on the list, Trader Joe's, a privately-held company that doesn't reveal much about its supply chain, doesn't report on its footprint and has been a target of activists. [See my 2009 blogpost, Greenpeace ridicules Traitor Joe's.] The belief that Trader Joe's is green supports the believe that (2) consumers don't have a clue.
oh, i know. im not saying
oh, i know. im not saying that they dont like the extra $$. I'm saying that because people think trader joe's is a green company, they confess as though we care.
Starbucks has spent a lot
Starbucks has spent a lot money on sustainability and embraced a green culture. However, as one of the largest chain store companies in the world, it consumes over a billion coffee paper cups, plastic coffee lids and heat barriers. I know Starbucks has been working hard on alternative solutions like using post-consumer material, biodegradable and compostable material.
I work for a packaging company called Dragon Natural Packaging ( www.dragonnatural.com ) in Shanghai, China. I would say Whole Foods is a real green brand. Not only does it sell organic foods, it also demand green packaging solution from its suppliers. My client supply and sell at Whole Foods.
Kevin, You're concerned
Kevin,
You're concerned (rant) about hippies trying to carry their groceries home, yet you offer the company line that "trader joe's is really about bringing exotic foods from all over the planet for as cheap as possible".
You might want to educate yourself on food miles and then compare the cost to society of these cheap exotic foods versus the cost of some piece of shit reusable bag.
But then that's why you're filling the reusable bags at the end of the chack out line...
The largest companies that
The largest companies that make the most profits are also the same companies that can make the biggest impact through sustainable choices. So this list is not surprising.
oh, i know. im not saying
oh, i know. im not saying that they dont like the extra $$. I'm saying that because people think trader joe's is a green company, they confess as though we care.
I'm sure your boss is crying
I'm sure your boss is crying a river when your store guilts suckers into buying "more" reusable bags.
honestly, lets face it 90% of
honestly, lets face it 90% of Americans want quick and easy,my kids bought a bouch of reuseble bags for shopping, last time I saw them they had spare parts for my mustang in them. and yes I prefer paper, i wanna know an owl lost its home so i could take a steak home.
i work for trader joes. i am
i work for trader joes.
i am constantly annoyed by people who confess that they had forgotten their reuseble bags. people do think that we are some hippy collective working to protect the planet. were not, were just a grocery store that originally started out as a convience store.
trader joe's is really about bringing exotic foods from all over the planet for as cheap as possible.
TJ's is on the list b/c they
TJ's is on the list b/c they sell quite a lot of organic foods (and at considerably lower prices), although their lack of disclosure carries over to wondering if those foods really are organic or a breach of USDA rules.
Disney is on the list b/c of its kid-friendly and happy...which can blindly translate to future-friendly, safe...and green.
Even when Walmart's sustainability story starts to be told in the mainstream, it'll get lost b/c they're just too darn big and too darn about cheapness to be considered green. Their greatest challenge--and ironic at that--would be convincing people that green isn't necessarily more expensive.
lol, Starbucks with their $4
lol, Starbucks with their $4 cup of coffee? No way dude.
www.complete-privacy.no.tc
Jeez. When will the $4.00 cup
Jeez. When will the $4.00 cup of coffee meme die?! Starbucks does not sell $4.00 cups of coffee. A venti brewed coffee (20 oz.) costs less than $2.50. A tall brewed coffee (12 oz.) costs less than $2.00. What costs considerably more are the coffee beverages, for example, the Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino. Extra ingredients increase the cost.