Welcome to Issue 31 of Branding for Good News, Added Value’s newsletter focused exclusively on sustainable marketing; the challenges, opportunities, our solutions and points of view. Read more…
Recyclebank
A master in the principles of gamification and nudge theory to encourage behaviour change. To date, the company has over 3.5 million members (US & UK) who receive reward points based on their level of recycling. They are now taking the principles perfected for recycling and branching out into changing our transport behaviour. In conjunction with Transport for London (Tfl), their new initiative rewards people for ditching the car and choosing to cycle or walk. One to watch – launching next month. Read more…
General Electric recently released an online campaign encouraging Chinese entrepreneurs to partner with them to address China’s most pressing environmental and resource challenges.
A noteworthy aspect of the campaign, titled “Future Folklore”, is how environmental issues are grounded within Chinese history and culture. This departs from a persistent stereotype which encourages local consumers to fight against Chinese tradition to achieve environmental outcomes. The typical tone is often condescending – where normative behaviour is inevitably Western and Chinese are asked to “get in line” and “abandon ancient thinking”. Read more…
In China a common way to distinguish people is by the generation in which they are born. The terms “post 80s” and “post 90s” have become the default to define different values of Chinese who have grown up in the period after the politically disruptive Cultural Revolution (which ended with Chairman Mao’s death in 1976).
These terms are so widely used, that brands have consciously started to deploy them to target specific age groups. Li Ning, a local sports apparel giant, presented a provocative campaign in 2010 that suggested “no-one understands the post 90s”. The relationship between the post 80s and post 90s is relatively caustic. The post 90s argue that the post 80s are out of touch with new China. While the post 80s dismiss the post 90s as selfish brats who are selling out to the “West”. Read more…
Welcome to Issue 30 of Branding for Good News, Added Value’s newsletter focused exclusively on sustainable marketing; the challenges, opportunities, our solutions and points of view.
Luxury and sustainability: two opposing concepts? At first glance, perhaps. After all, the word luxury derives from the Latin word “luxus” and conjures up images of ‘pomp, excess and debauchery’. Whereas sustainability, by definition, invites us to ‘meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs’.
The two sound paradoxical indeed. And consumers seem to agree. In a recent survey by Salon 1.618, consumers put the luxury industry last in a ranking of industries associated with sustainable commitments; ranking lower than the financial and petrol sectors.
So should the luxury industry admit defeat and never embrace sustainability? We think not. For several reasons: Read more…
Luxury Trash
Will Spring 2012 see the well-heeled wearing discarded fish skins on their feet? Marcia Patmos and Manolo Blahnik have teamed up to create the sustainable Marcia Patmos for Manolo Blahnik collection of shoes for the spring — made entirely of discarded tilapia skins, cork and raffia. This is the first eco-friendly endeavor for Blahnik, who has worked with Patmos on two styles, a double strap, open-toe flat and a strappy, high-heeled sandal in color combinations of electric blue, black, nude and yellow. Each creation will retail for $895 at Manolo Blahnik stores.
Food in a tube
A group of Scottish entrepreneurs have delivered the concept of vertical farming on a smaller scale. Consisting of two spiralling tubes that wind around a wooden post, the Whirligro reduces the need for pesticides, excessive watering and is perfect for those with limited ‘growing’ space.
Spotted first by ‘Springwise’
Ever thought how powerful the combined weight of the UK’s big trusted brands could be if they threw themselves behind one message, even just for one day? Well, 1st November 2011 will be that one day – the biggest mobilisation of the marketing community ever. On and around that day, many of the most loved brands will be delivering inspiring messages of simple behaviour changes, to help the UK public ‘do more, with less’, and help the UK as a whole take one more step towards a more sustainable future.
