An oilman goes green?

Who would have thought that environmentalists' biggest ally would be a good ol Texas oilman!

But that seems to be the case. T. Boone Pickens, legendary oil tycoon has decided that our dependency on oil -- namely foreign oil -- is out of control. Our dependancy on foreign oil has grown since 1970 from about 24% of our total consumption to 70%!!!

And he has decided that we need to take advantage of wind and solar power to break this dependency and has used his own money to fund a plan for how to do just that. He even has commercials running on network TV.

Take a look at his plan at www.pickensplan.com

Brand Loyalty

In Marketing 101, people learn that the whole point of marketing is to raise brand awareness and create brand loyalty for your products. (Sorry for going back to b-school on you folks..) So, I get the concept in theory. But it has never been enough to get me to pay more for an item just because of the brand. Marketers tell us that the improved quality, smell, taste, ease of use, cleaning power etc justify the additional price you would pay for the item. Some items are priced higher because of the status assoicated with having them. But I come from a line of bargain shoppers and label readers. It is very rare that I buy something just because of the brand. I have no problem buying a store brand. In fact, sometimes store brands are actually better! I will pay a premium for actual quality differences, but not implied ones (which means I will actually test/compare, weigh the pros and cons etc.) But the other day, I was presented with one of the most distinct brand loyatly questions i have ever confronted in my life as a purchaser or consumer of good and services.

I am looking to buy some new flooring for my rental unit. I wanted to get some nice neutral carpet tiles that I could install easily myself. I knew about this company called FLOR who make carpet tiles in all these cool patterns and colors so I was considering purchasing some of them.

They are even produced not too far from here so shipping time does not take long. However, I was looking back at an email I had gotten from the company and I noticed this little one line ad served up at the top of the mail message. As many of you may know, Google has made adserving a science. When you do searches, in the gel on the right hand side, they serve up related links that sponsors have paid for Google to present. They also apply this concept to email. If an email contains certain words or comes from a certain company, they can ad serve similar content right above the email message you are looking at. Anyway the add was for icarpettiles.com a company that sells small lots/leftovers/overstocks of carpet tiles online. And it is MUCH cheaper than FLOR, like 1/3 the price! I was concerned that this might be because you have to install them with carpet glue but they also have double-sided tape that you can use as well. It might not be as nice looking but, come on!, this is a rental property. It just needs to be something neutral.

So, this is a no brainer, right? But the cheaper ones online!....

But here is the dilemma... FLOR is owned by the Interface Flooring company, which is dedicated to promoting sustainability as part of it's business model. For those of you who don't know what sustainability is, and I didn't either until I ended up majoring in it in bschool, it is the concept that

Interface bases its sustainability plan on Seven Fronts through their Mission Zero effort:

Eliminate Waste: Eliminating all forms of waste in every area of business;
Benign Emissions: Eliminating toxic substances from products, vehicles and facilities;
Renewable Energy: Operating facilities with renewable energy sources – solar, wind, landfill gas, biomass and low impact hydroelectric;
Closing the Loop: Redesigning processes and products to close the technical loop using recovered and bio-based materials;
Resource-Efficient Transportation: Transporting people and products efficiently to reduce waste and emissions;
Sensitizing Stakeholders: Creating a culture that integrates sustainability principles and improves people’s lives and livelihoods;
Redesign Commerce: Creating a new business model that demonstrates and supports the value of sustainability-based commerce;

Traditionally, the carpet industry is one of the more environmentally taxing industries there is. Carpet fibers are spun out of petroluem and old carpets have a ridiculously long half life. By 2020, Interface has a mission to reduce it's negative environmental impact completely and this is reflected in the FLOR products. (You can read more about their sustainability mission here.)

FLOR tiles are not stuck to the ground. Rather, you lay them out and stick them to other tiles with these adhesive circles called FLOR Dots so there is no toxic glue or waste left behind. 1 dot goes in each corner of the tiles but because the entire layout is so large and you cut it to fit your space, the carpet doesn't move. The recycled content in their products has been increased to about 16%. Their R&R (return and recycle) will take back old and unused tiles to turn them into new carpet tiles, and they pay the shipping!

So it is a cool company that is in line with my value structure. And for the first time, I think I might buy something that costs much, much more because of the ideals the company. espouses....

Cute little things....

Undoubtedly, if you have traveled around or lived in Europe you have noticed these cute little cars driving around... They are tall but short and seem to be a parallel parkers dream, able to fit into all those just too small spaces you runinto when searching for parking around the city. They are called Smart cars and here is a picture of one that I snapped while in Paris a couple years ago.....

Well, the Smart car is coming to the US in 2008. There are 3 models, one is a convertible and you can reserve yours now for just $99 with a credit card. Starting this month, Smart will be touring the country, demoing the cars and providing test drives.

History:

Ironically, the concept of the Smart car developed in the early 90's through with a Joint Venture between Mercedes-Benz and Swatch, the makers of Swatch watches known for their wide array of colorful designs. Nicolas Hayek, the inventor of the Swatch watch brought his ideas for an “ultra-urban” car to Mercedes-Benz.

Price/Features:

The models start from $12,000 to $17,000 and the convertible the fortwo passion cabriolet comes with an upgraded soundsytem with mp3 player connection. Leather seats are also available for an additional cost. Other innovations like the selection of energy efficient and recyclable materials, the removable door panels (you can change the color of your smart as you desire) and a high driving position for great visibility in a small car combined to make smart a true revolution in driving style.

Safety:

So I have this personal mindblock that small cars are dangerous, there is just not enough metal around me for me to feel safe. Apparently, the Smart is stock full of safety features usually reserved for high end cars incuding a protective “tridion safety cell”, electronic stability program (esp), anti-lock braking system (abs), Electronic Brake-Force Distribution Control, Acceleration Skid Control, and four airbags.

Fuel Economy/Speed:

The vehicle is designed to achieve 40 plus mpg under normal driving conditions and current standards. The car can achieve top speeds of approximately 90mph.

Size:

The cars are:

• 8.8 feet long (you can usually fit two smart fortwos in an average parking space!)
• 5.1 feet tall (the smart still has as much headroom as most luxury vehicles!)
• 5.1 feet wide (two six foot, five inch plus people can sit side by side with plenty of shoulder room to spare!)

Also, the fortwo has 8 cubic feet of storage space – 12 feet if you load up to the roof line. This area can accomodate commonly transported items such as numerous bags of groceries, gym bags and other items , including golf clubs. For trips to the airport, the trunk can also accommodate many sizes of luggage. The front passenger seat also folds down creating additional space for other long items such as skis.

So, I don't know if the Smart is right for you but it will be an interesting and refreshing entry into the American market. It would be a cute, soot around the city car.....

For more info, check out www.smartusa.com

Watch out, Kermit! It's getting easier and easier to be green!

Okay, I don't want to get a reputation of being the tree-hugger of our little blogger community but it is Earth Day/Week so I thought I would just pass on these links.......

http://www.walmart.com/green - purchase CFL lightbulbs and clothing made with organic cotton

And please don't think that this in no way indicates an endorsement of any of their employment policies.... these products can be bought at other stores.......

Earth Friendly Goods - Sells items like this organic cotton/soy blend skirt and other earth friendly goods.

Under the Canopy - clothing made from organic cotton and soy fabric

"Lucy - Cotton/Soy workout clothing

Moonrise Jewelry - This collection features designs made entirely of ethically-sourced materials and Fair Trade Semi-precious Gemstones.

Green Karat- offer jewelry made from recycled precious metals to reuse the waste of extractive gold mining.

Sumiche Jewelry Co. - Sells handcrafted fine jewelry made from Certified Fair Trade/Eco-Gold and Platinum and conflict-free diamonds.

So consider buying these items when you have a need for clothing, jewelry, lightbulbs etc.... It will send a message to the market that there is a need for non-extractive, safely and less environment destructive goods and hopefully lead companies to change some of their manufacturing processes.

Doing good for the environment.... daily and palatably

So, I recently came across this website called Ideal Bite, which provides readers with "bite sized ideas for light green living." The site is designed to provide fun, conventient tips for how people with busy lives can do little things that have a big effect on our environment. The information is designed not to be scary or require a lot of sacrifice but to provide reasonable things that regular people can easily do to make an impact. They also provide "biters," as they call their readers, with daily email "bites" delivered to their email box.


So, check them out by clicking the logo below. You can do good for the environment in easy ways without having to gett out your granola, birkenstocks & tie-dyed tshirts!