Socially and environmentally responsible living and business practices are becoming more and more of a priority - thanks to peer influence and consumer demand. From the gem industry to the furniture industry to the lawncare industry, our friends/neighbors; and, as marketers, our customers, are questioning where things come from and where they will eventually go.


Last week in my presentation to the American Gem Society, I noted that what will be key in the way independent jewelers serve women - affluent or not - will be in keeping to the highest business standards and in preparing for the tough gem-source questions yet to come. This is in addition to their goal of providing the finest product and most incredible customer experience as well (I never said it got easier).
Then, yesterday, in working with a client in the custom, high-end furniture industry, I realized that even though the company's longstanding clients might not be so interested in sustainability, in order to grow the business from here on out, sustainable wood sources and the related certification cannot be ignored. Future high-end custom furniture clients will be all over it.
Finally, there is lawncare: that polarizing issue that re-emerges each spring (argh). As the lawnmower and fertilizing season have just begun in my neighborhood (remember, I am in the far north country...), I am once again exposed to that loud buzz at all hours. Sigh. In addition, I must now be diligent in keeping my dog's feet off the fertilizer overspray on the sidewalks.
(My own lawncare approach is to create as many hardy plant garden beds as possible so my already non-thriving grass areas will just continue to shrink. I'm sure I have a few neighbors who wish I were more traditional.)
Anyway - I took note when up popped a press release in my inbox from Safelawns.org.
Apparently, The Organic Lawn Care Manual written by their spokesperson Paul Tukey (who is the founding editor and publisher of People, Places, Plants magazine) sits firmly in the topsellers of garden books on Amazon. Could the summer of 2007 be a tipping point?
It seems that consumers are clearly making their demands known with the books and magazines they buy, and the questions they are now asking. Industries that might previously have felt immune to the pressures are waking up. People are certainly acknowledging the environmental/social facts in their purchases and moving forward with their new mindsets, so businesses must do the same.
For most consumers, this awareness of the bigger picture, and the higher expectations that follow, aren't just a fad. The bastions of the (traditional) American Way have come and gone - and now they have to turn green.
This just in: Honda's "Environmentology" campaign is being pulled, according to an article in Brandweek. Apparently it was not as successful as the car company had hoped.
I wonder if "green-ness" in the bulk of industries by now is more or less the standard expected by consumers (see above-mentioned tipping point)? So, rather than developing entire campaigns around the single issue, companies (auto and otherwise) should perhaps target the environmentally/socially responsible customer as the more sophisticated, it-all-matters buyer that he/she is.
More on this to come...