I was recently asked to speak at BCIT’s  Marketing Week, where I got to tell all my scary sustainability stories to the people who will be responsible for the marketing I get to complain about in my old age.

The theme of my talk was Sustainability Literacy, and as part of this Powerpoint extravaganza, I ended up compiling a few resources for further reading. It occurred to me that some of my regular Green Briefs readers might be interested in a couple of these links as well. So here is your Sustainability Literacy reading list for the week.

5 Green Consumers You Need To Know
This is actually cheating, as it is a link back to my own blog article. But even though this list was compiled 4 years ago, the idea behind sustainability behaviour as a technology adoption curve still stands.

Global Reporting Initiative
The global standard for corporate sustainability reporting. Short-cut to the G-3 standards page for a how-to lesson in compiling your own sustainability report. Not light reading, but thorough.

The Sins of Greenwashing

My friends at the environmental agency Terrachoice started this concept over 5 years ago, and it is still going strong. This is the definitive guide to critical analysis of product claims, and while it has been criticized for being too critical, the theory is sound. Kudos for their new family-friendly site, too.

Nature’s Path Organic Sustainability Report
One of the most readable, user-friendly documents on the subject that I have yet found. Not a thick corporate tome, but practical and warm. All from a great family company that continues to buck the Big Food Corp trend. Scroll down the page to read it onscreen in a virtual-magazine format. Buy their food, too.

GreenDeal.ca by London Drugs
Another shameless self-promo, I guess. (Copy and branding by Unicycle Creative) But as an overview for a retailer who is doing some great things, it’s one client case I love to share. Green products, package take-back and even styrofoam recycling. Everyone should shop there.

Patagonia Footprint Chronicles
Ever want to know where that sweater came from? Follow along on this visually-compelling site. A great supply-chain primer for anyone wanting to understand more about the effects of globalization on manufacturing.

Sustainable Brands Conference
This is my favourite annual event for green marketing, and the people who put it on, (Sustainable Life Media) do a great job of maintaining the network of professionals all year long. Click to see my video below from the 2011 event for an idea of what it is like.

Nike Better World
OK, I know, the old Nike marketing example. But they DO a great job, despite all the money and resources they have at their disposal. I love the way they link sports to a better world, and for an inside look at how they are planning to embed sustainability throughout the organization, check out their internal launch video as well. Narrated by CEO Phil Knight, no less.

So what’s YOUR favourite sustainability or branding link?
Share and I’ll send you a prize*

(*Quantities limited, not for resale, prize must be accepted as offered, no rainchecks, void where prohibited, and oh yeah, I may forget…)

“Well I woke up this mornin…
and my SUV had died.

And my dog ran away… to get some
free range exercise.

Then my woman she left me…
to take that long SkyTrain ride

I got them low down Crazy,
Sustainable Commuting Blues…”

That’s how my Thursday morning started as I joined the herds heading for work with the Crazy Sustainable Commute 2011. Naturally, unicycling came immediately to mind as an appropriately whacked mode of transportation, but I thought singing the blues accompanied by ukulele would top it off in a suitably twisted fashion.

This is the second year for this event that challenges commuters to find really alternative ways to get to the office. It’s also the second year that Unicycle Creative has created a promotional video for the event. If you haven’t seen the incredible chicken-powered rocket sled, you should check it out here.

I must say, riding a unicycle while playing an instrument is definitely a challenge. There were several times when I had to choose between missing a chord and missing a curb. Overall, I don’t think it’s going to replace my usual city bike. And now I wonder how I’m going to top it next year…

A recent post on the Environmental Leader website highlighted some of the ‘green’ guidelines recently updated by the Federal Trade Commission, for communicating environmental claims on everything from toothpaste to tires. According to the FTC website, the guidelines are made to ensure ‘voluntary compliance with such laws by members of industry’. Those found in contravention, however, could face ‘corrective action’. I’m not sure what that means exactly, but if the FTC is anywhere as humourless as US border guards, it’s not something I’d risk an eco-friendly natural-latex rubber-glove interview over. So here are the Green Briefs Notes from the article. You can link directly to the whole legal-beagle article here (it’s a good read) and for policy weenies, the FTC document resides on a large server here.

Basic Idea 1: Avoid the general, go for the specific. By now we should all know that terms like ‘Eco-Friendly’, ‘Natural’, ‘Planet-Friendly’, ‘Green’ and ‘Whale-Lovin’ are pretty vague. OK, I made the last one up. But you get the idea. If you have a legitimate claim, spell it out. Better yet, get your product or service certified by a legitimate third-party organization.

Basic Idea 2: Pay close attention to the ‘able’ in Compostable, Degradable and Recyclable. If your product only breaks down in a large scale, commercial composting facility, better make sure there’s one nearby that your customers can get it to on garbage day if you want to call it ‘compostable’ without further explanation. Same goes for ‘recyclable’. Unqualified recyclable claims should only be made where product or package can be  recovered from the solid-waste stream through a recycling program for reuse or use in manufacturing. Otherwise you have to say something like ‘recyclable where facilities exist’ – which is quite lame.

Basic Idea 3: Don’t claim your product is ‘Free Of’ one toxin if you’ve replaced it with another. There are more synthetic chemicals these days than you can shake a test tube at. If you are removing the bad-boy ingredient of the week and adding something else that does the same thing, better make sure it doesn’t have the same M.O. And no shady semantics with taking stuff out that has nothing to do with the category. ‘PVC-Free Applesauce’ might get you a visit from the FTC.

If you are in Canada, ignore the above. Apparently, our fair nation trusts its manufacturers and snake-oil salesmen a lot more, because even though we launched some similar ‘DRAFT’ legislation back in 2008, it does not seem to yet have been given teeth.

But why not just do it right-ish in the first place? You may have to export to the US or Europe someday, and in the meantime, your Green Karma will build nicely.

Tired of rising fuel prices and spiraling carbon emissions? You may soon be clucking your way to work, if inventor Dr. Helmut Von Hunn’s new commuting system is successful. An expert in avian locomotion physics, Von Hunn recently invited us to document the background development and launch of his new invention to inspire commuters everywhere. A word of caution: this video may forever change the way you look at commuting – and chickens.

We wish to thank producer Shelley Stevens, Director and Cinematographer Don Barnard and our talented friend Hermann Fruhm, who was the stunt double for Dr. Von Hunn. For more information on commuting options, please visit http://www.crazyzustainablecommute.org

An Emily Carr Art Student Installation I think

Biking the Greenway to a meeting in East Van, I spotted this news box outside the Emily Carr University of Art campus. Nice work, whoever. You got it in one.

Talk about something right under my nose. I have had this ‘stuff’ box for about 3 years, but it wasn’t until just now that I realized it was trying to tell me something. It’s boxy facial expression conveys perfectly the ambivalent boredom of stuff. Sigh.

On Thursday, July 14th, Vancouver City Council met to hear feedback from the public on their Greenest City Action Plan, a robust document that outlines how our fair burg plans to become the Greenest City in the World by 2020. As ‘green’ is my business, my passion and a large part of my day, I felt obliged to share my support of the plan along with a few ideas on how it could be improved for local small business. (Basically reiterating what I said in my blog on November 6, 2009 when the first draft plan was announced) Below is the approximate text of my speech, minus the stuttering and stammering.

“Good Afternoon, Mr. Mayor, Councilors, Citizens. Thank you for the opportunity to speak today.

My name is Lorne Craig. I am a Vancouver business owner and have been for over 20 years. I run Unicycle Creative, a strategic marketing agency focused on sustainable business. I also write the GreenBriefs.ca blog on sustainability.

In other words, I am a Green Capitalist.

Unicycle Creative is one of the 395,000 small businesses that run the engine of BC’s economy, providing some 57% of private sector jobs. And believe me, I’m pedaling as fast as I can. So today I wish to speak out in favour of adopting the Greenest City Action Plan. Because for small business, green is a growth industry.

Every day I work with great local green businesses. I am also fortunate to advise regional companies like London Drugs as they implement industry-leading recycling programs.

Today I would like to talk about the value of the Greenest City brand.

Last month I attended Sustainable Brands 2011 in Monterey California, North America’s largest green branding conference. There, I discovered that Vancouver is already on the radar as a green business hub. But I believe our opportunity is even greater. One by one, world-leading brands took to the conference stage with their sustainability plans and accomplishments. And these were not the corner hemp store type of companies. These were Nike. SCJohnson. Starbucks. Adidas. Unilever.

These forward-thinking companies know that the tides of public concern, demand and legislation are steadily turning toward a more sustainable future. They also see there is money to be made. That’s why, all across the globe, corporations are investing to embed green thinking and practices directly into their operations and business models. So I think it makes sense for the City of Vancouver to do the same.

To the critics of this plan who say it ignores traditional industry sectors, I say that ‘green’ is not a ‘sector’. It is a survival strategy that runs through all businesses and sectors. From more sustainable film production, to high technology companies that enable greater efficiency, to resource companies that must do their jobs in new ways.

Our cities are where we must import food, live with pollution, deal with waste and generally start to clean up the mess. This is a time for bold goals, and municipal governments are in an excellent position to set them.

Striving to become The Greenest City in the World, Vancouver will attract the best businesses, while providing a role model for municipalities on the world stage.

But the local small green businesses of Vancouver could use more. We need more networking opportunities, quicker local procurement policy development and more small business support.

All of this could be achieved by taking Vancouver’s Green Capital brand just a bit further. Unite local green businesses under a ‘Green Capitalist’ brand extension. Organize local business trade shows and events. Let our legions of Green Capitalists proudly declare their status in the City of Vancouver and beyond.

I look forward to seeing the Greenest Cities Action Plan being approved by Council, and to be part of it as a proud citizen and Green Capitalist.

Thank You.”

No Photoshop – this actual sliced sign was spotted in Yaletown. My favourite part – the line at the bottom. Glad the Director of Planning advised it!

Make a visit to Honest Ed’s Bargain store on Toronto’s Bloor Street and you are instantly transported back to an almost impossibly innocent era of extra buttered popcorn, cars without seatbelts and genuine retail optimism. This magical feeling, in large part, is due to the proliferation of hand-painted signs on everything in the store. From a basket of 99¢ ‘leather’ wallets to a 10-foot high cuckoo clock, literally every piece of in-store communication is lettered by a (very talented) human being with a brush.

So why wouldn’t they just use a digital printer like everyone else? Honest Ed Mirvish was one of the original rags-to-riches entrepreneurs – perhaps he just never wanted to spend money on a computer. But perhaps he knew that a real bargain has to feel like a bargain, not a cheap rip-off. And perhaps he had an intuitive sense that hand-lettered signs would someday play a part in differentiating his store from the big-box retail annihilators that would eventually sweep most of his kind from almost every town and city on the planet.

When is the last time you saw a real hand-painted sign? Looking closely you can actually see the imperfections and brush strokes on each individual letter, yet the fonts are remarkably consistent, and each stroke is confident and clean. If you have every tried to paint your own ‘Garage Sale’ sign, you will know just how difficult this is.

I am a self-admitted non-big-box shopper. Yet in Ed’s Honest environment I found myself happily buying souvenirs for my family back in Vancouver, while marveling at the unique range of items offered. (Purple tuxedo vests anyone?) I chalk this feeling up to a sense of escapism, from the supply-chain-paranoid world of globalization back to a simpler era. The fact that Ed’s itself is an independent brand has much to do with it, but I think there’s more.

What these signs add is a sense of humanity that no number of ghoulish, price-dropping WalMart happy faces can ever hope to emulate. People are employed. A sense of beautiful handmade imperfection is brought to the retail environment. Maybe it’s OK to get a bargain once in a while, and enjoy shopping again.

On second thought, I hope WalMart never reads this.

——-

For graphic designers, sign geeks or anyone who doesn’t believe humans could possibly paint this many signs, this excellent blog from the Torontonian takes you inside the world of Honest Ed’s in-store signwriters: http://torontoist.com/2009/04/boards_of_ed.php

When those wimpy patio gardening containers just won’t cut it, try filling your car with dirt. You’ll never have to vacuum it again, and good luck to the tow-truck driver who tries to enforce the 2-hour limit.

Spotted in Toronto’s Kensington Market, a neighbourhood thast shows just how creative you can be when city bylaw officers aren’t allowed in.