 Eco Smart - October 2009  |
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The Many Shades Of Green What it means to be "truly" green in today's market
From implementing a “green” business plan, to producing a truly eco-friendly product, the green movement has shaken away its initial stigma as a “trend.” Its existence in the market is somewhat ironic: while the purchase of a product with a “green story” should make the consumer feel good about doing their part, encouraging the consumer to make that purchase with a true understanding of why it makes a difference may be headache inducing. Here is a look inside the eco-fashions sector, with help from “green” pioneers who explain how even small “green” initiatives are steps in the right direction. Green Is Here To Stay To keep a blind eye to today’s ever expanding and evolving “green” movement would be a lesson in futility. “Five years ago, environmentally friendly products still remained in their own realm, sold at specialty eco-stores, and bought by staunch environmentalists,” says Carmel Campos, owner, LOOP. “But as more information circulates about the importance of choosing eco-friendly products, a wider group of people will be searching for these products at the places they normally shop. I believe the traditional retailers that bring in more eco-friendly products for shoppers to choose from will benefit from this newly emerging trend and will feel the effects of the good will reflected in their brand.” Even for industry newcomers, addressing eco-friendly has become a primary goal in long-term business plans. In addition to creating Snooze Innovative Bedding’s patent-pending duvet securing mechanism called “Corner Keepers,” a fixture that has been implemented in all of its comforters and duvets, Emi Deguchi, president, Snooze, also did research to be sure to offer a variety of well-sourced materials, including organic and eco-friendly cottons. “Considering the real and immediate implications of population growth, consumption and waste, global warming and fresh water depletion, we think eco is not only an immediate trend, but will be a necessity sooner than most of us in this business can easily conceptualize. Our company has some serious socially and globally conscious aspirations,” says Deguchi. Education Is Key
As Michelle Adams, owner, Rubie Green, sums it up, “I think the most challenging aspect of being a designer in the eco-interiors industry is educating my customers without overloading them with information. The ‘green’ world is, unfortunately, a bit tricky to navigate as there are many companies making false claims about their products, many processes which sound environmentally friendly, but in fact are not, and many certification agencies that are actually not legitimate.” As explained by Adams, herein lies one of the fundamental complexities in the eco-fashions sector: while the fact that more and more “green” products sprouting up in the market may be considered a step in the right direction, some companies who have been “green” from the get-go note that there’s much more to producing a truly “green” product than using recyclable fibers. According to Raksha Bella owner Carrie Peters, “deep green,” a term she coins as meaning genuinely eco-friendly, is two-fold: to develop a business with the desire to empower people as well as protect and encourage organic farming on a global scale. “With more awareness, statistics like conventional cotton using 25 percent of the world’s pesticides, will become a household fact, and people will turn to our products when they want to help,” she says.
Co-founder and ceo Patty Grossman, O Ecotextiles, finds, “Green considerations are not paramount in people’s minds and this lack of knowledge is troublesome. Educating people about green issues, especially where fabric is concerned, is not a big topic of conversation, even within the industry. Textile processing is very complex—to grow, prepare, spin, dye, print and finish, this uses a lot of water and chemicals, and it can be an environmental disaster. From an education standpoint, on the manufacturing side, while we need to communicate this, the message is hard to translate because we are really two steps away from the end client,” she says. In an effort to push through this barrier, Comfortex has created an EcoGreen Rating Scale. This allows customers to see at a glance where products stack up relative to one another, rating them on responsible materials, sustainable manufacturing and energy efficiency to educate both dealers and customers on how green a product is. Embracing new media outlets such as Youtube, Corina McRee, senior product manager, also filmed a video on the program, explaining how the scale works. “We put all the facts out there and let customers decide for themselves,” she says. Providing a breakdown of “organic” certifications is also crucial, LOOP’s Campos explains. “Proving we are authentically green, with proper certification is important in educating customers about why deciphering green claims is so important,” she says. “GOTS certification is the highest set of standards for organic textiles. A GOTS certified product tells you not only that all organic fiber has been used, but that the processing of the fabric was also done without harsh chemicals.” Education also plays a role in explaining the issue of cost, which can be a tough point to tackle with customers. Deb Dyer, marketing director, Cuddledown, has found that it’s pivotal to explain that paying an arm and a leg for eco-friendly products is a fallacy and should be addressed. “Perhaps this misconception comes from grocery shopping for organic food—which is more expensive—but with our vendors, this is not the case,” she says. Tactics for spreading the word are also expanding beyond the word of mouth and other tried-and-true marketing methods. As co-founder and co-owner of Plover Organics, Sheila Mulvihill explains, other than the press they’ve received, she finds that blogs have helped promote the brand to customers. “Blogs [we’ve been featured in] really help us,” she says. “A lot of people reference their favorite blogs for what’s new and worth checking out, which helps create awareness with consumers and buyers, and we think once they are familiar with our bedding, it kind of sells itself.” What Sells Besides educating consumers on what constitutes eco-friendly, there’s another point these “green” experts agree is indisputable—“green” alone does not sell. “Number one, the value needs to be there and evident, and then number two is our green story,” explains Ralph Rossduetscher, founder and president, Natura World. “We can educate with all the details of the fibers we use and the factual logistics behind our decisions, but if the product is green and has a scratchy material, people won’t buy it. Value has to be there first.” Due to the degree of separation between manufacturer and end customer, as Grossman, O Ecotextiles, mentioned previously, “Though we do urge our sales reps to explain the green story behind our natural fiber fabrics, those already interested in our green story will care to listen, but that’s not the driving source of sales,” says Grossman. “We reel business in because of our high quality, luxury fabrics.” For Comfortex, its GreenGuard Certified Energy Efficient cellular shades sell well, since reducing energy usage is the most basic of all eco initiatives in the window treatment industry, and customers see the function and value right away, McRee explains. Its Symphony Cellular shades are selling just as strong now if not better than pre-recession. “The peace of mind that comes from GreenGuard certification, along with the energy use reduction makes this a great product, no matter how the economy bumps,” she says. What’s Trendy Value aside, design is still of utmost importance and eco-friendly does not mean void of style in any sense of the word. What’s trendy in this sector is similar to what’s trendy in the market as a whole. Lynne Minchello, sales development and marketing manager, cmi (Colonial Mills Inc.) agrees. “We are seeing that trendy colors are in the neutral color family, with beiges, browns and subtle grays being popular. Eco-fashions have definitely influenced the neutral color scheme, but products do not sell just because they are eco-friendly. The color must be the correct neutral color to match the consumer’s decor.” Defusing the misconception that green equals simple, Joanna Notkin, looolo textiles, says that while they try not be too trendy, “We have noticed that in the last year there is more and more texture in yarn goods, accessories and soft goods for the home. Texture has been our trademark since we started looolo, but we feel that strong prints and beautiful bold colors will be the next wave of design to come into the home,” she says. Plover Organics, which has made a name for itself with graphic prints, finds that open patterns with bright colors and even one-color prints are popular. “We’ve been liking some ‘60s wallpaper designs that are minimal and bold in color,” says Mulvihill. “Stores also like ‘limited editions’ lines so they can offer something exclusive to consumers.” New Technologies And Initiatives As Devanshi Patel, director of marketing, Venus Home Fashions, sums it up, more and more companies like Venus are striving to bring eco-awareness to a manufacturing and product development standpoint. At LOOP, new product offerings include bath towels which highlight the superior quality of organic Turkish cotton fiber. “At the moment we are sticking to organic cotton because of its universal appeal,” says Campos. “As far as exploring other fibers, we are still skeptical of some other fibers, so we are staying with organic cottons for now.” On the other hand, Home Source International continues to push both “green” and “organic” lines, and demonstrates that while “organic” and “green” are two separate distinctions, the end goal is still, as Scott Sorgeloos, the company’s vice-president sales, explains, to provide American consumers with a top-notch product they can feel good about buying. Known for its 100 percent bamboo bedding, he explains that while bamboo cannot be certified as organic, it still has a place as a “green” product in the industry. “Our organic products are all 100 percent GOTS certified. As for bamboo, there are chemicals that go into the manufacturing process of a bamboo home textile product, but the fabric itself, bamboo, is certified by eco-friendly standards.” As for additional technologies, Adams from Rubie Green chooses to digitally print her fabrics, a less common technique. “I found a printer that prints with water-based, non-toxic inks that have zero VOC’s (volatile organic compounds),” she explains. “What really sold me, however, was the fact that in addition to these benefits, the factory uses one gallon or less of water per day and my fabrics can be printed on demand, which eliminates the need for wasteful warehousing.” “This new market does require a new way of thinking and a new way of marketing,” says Notkin, looolo textiles. Notkin aims to separate looolo from other designers with her new line of printed cushions that do not use screen-printing, a toxic process in itself. “We try to educate but still offer a stylish product while doing the best we can for the planet and human health.” While it’s not quite easy being green, as these industry experts have explained, the challenge is still worth the efforts involved. Resources
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