Author Archives: George Gastis

GREEN THIS, ECO THAT
It’s a marketing epedimic, as if it was a radical new discovery that our world is in dire need of some serious loving.  This is nothing new, but apparently the latest trend weaved into branding initiatives and corporate messaging these days.  I have a family member who’s convinced that global warming is a ploy to sell the world new light bulbs and other energy saving devices.  Somewhere between conspiracy theories and blatant ignorance is a reasonable medium.  It all seems like common sense and I do believe that minor efforts made by small businesses or individuals have a significant impact when viewed on a collective, global level.  We’ve all heard the stats…if every household only flushed after every other visit to the bathroom we would save zillions of gallons of water each year.  If you recycle at home this registers each and every time you haul out that overflowing bin for pick up.  ["WOW, this all went into some hole in the ground before all this"].  You quickly do the rough math in your head to factor the world’s population into the equation and suddenly it makes sense.  ["But how do they separate the cans from bottles from paper products?"] OK, re-focus.

WHICH GREEN DO THEY MEAN?
Oil companies may be the extreme example, but they too are now motivated to solve the world’s environmental crisis.  While it is encouraging that corporate decision makers are tuning in and dollars are being allocated to the cause in nearly every industry, it’s hard not to question the sincerity of some of these claims.  I’m all for it, but also fear that the important underlying issues and good intentions can be overlooked when twisted with excessive amounts of sales hype and marketing muck.  Without question, many companies are making real decisions that make a real difference.  But where human-impacting problems exist, so do opportunities for consumer exploitation.  Clearly, many consumers make purchasing decisions today based on enviro-conscious or otherwise responsible business practices, even at a cost premium.  Disregarding for a moment the new grocery stores in your area, check out your local, established chain and note the growing “organic” product lines or “all natural” sections with each visit.  Clorox now plays in this space–CLOROX!  All Natural Cheetos; is this for real?  Free-range meat and poultry?  What a kind gesture prior to slaughter and human consumption.  I’m just saying…

The same builders that flattened another 100 year old house on my street and replaced it with a multiplex contemporary monstrosity, must feel they have a sales advantage based on their signage and sales materials, because they are “green-builders”.  This smells like a conflict of interest to me and I struggle with the green pitch in this case as well. 

RIDING THE GREEN WAVE
BrainSpark had this simple epiphany a while back and we began hauling our major recyclables home since our office building was not eligible for recycling services provided by our city.  What a shame; the paper products alone are enough to make you lean green when you stop and think about it.  Most recently, we somehow convinced our landlord to squeeze us in under her residential service and now our building has an ad-hoc but functional recycling service available for tenant use.  While it’s tempting to jump the bandwagon and spin this into a PR campaign that boasts the global impact we’ve made, it’s almost as funny as an eco-friendly oil company.  I enjoyed a good chuckle as I envision the press release headline and re-branding strategy:

BrainSpark Media | Lean, mean and green: the world’s first green-built, eco-friendly, and environmentally responsible interactive agency. 

We’ll change our corporate colors to earth tones, change the name to GreenSpark and build all our sites using recycled web pages.  But wait, “spark” suggests energy and energy companies are evil.  GreenSprout Media it will be…

MY GREEN PICKLE
The barrage of information today leaves me feeling inadequate.  I recycle and have been doing so since my dead-head days as an enviro-go-getting college student.  I’ve been composting for years and I’m also an organic gardener for all the right reasons.  We buy eco-friendly, organic, fair trade and the like, but I’m such a poser despite my geodiligence (inventing words…it’s Comcastic!).  Must I also buy a hybrid car, stop eating meat, sell all my possessions and start firebombing expanding ski resorts?  Now those people are making a difference.  I suppose the eco-grass is always greener or maybe I’m just green with eco-envy. 

 
Written while contemplating recycled paper

DISCLAIMER: The views presented in this blog posting are my own, and do not necessarily reflect those of BrainSpark, Inc., or its employees, contractors, or customers.