Mary Schmidt Marketing Troubleshooter

I do my best to be responsible but all this green stuff is exhausting! Even Wal-Mart is pitchin’ a brand of potato chips as “green!”

So, how - as marketers and consumers - do we separate the green goodness from the green noise? I don’t have the magical answer. However, I submit it all comes down to - ta-da! - good old-fashioned common sense. We simply can’t do everything, save everything, analyze everything to the micro degree (Are paper bags really the best choice? What’s the true bottom line costs of those hybrids? What really happens to all that glass I put in the recyclig bin?) Otherwise, we get so frazzled, we’ll just say to Hell with it.

So, here’s my own personal Greenie list:

1. Consume less. And doesn’t that sound pompous and simple-minded? But, really, I don’t need anything. I can check out books, DVDs, and magazines from the library. If I really feel I have to own a book - I can buy it used from the library. Then, I can donate others back to the system. Round and round it goes. I also have plenty of shoes; the old television works fine (and I can only watch one at a time); the car is paid for and practical; granite countertops aren’t going to make my food any tastier…and so on.

(I also use those gazillion canvas bags I’ve accumulated from years of trade shows for shopping. I’ve got all sizes and capacities. The trick is remembering to take them into the store.)

2. Drive less. Do I really need to run to the store right now? Or, can I plan my shopping route so I can hit all the places in one outing? (Yeah, I know this is hard if you’ve got a family, but it’s worth a shot. And, does everyone in the family really, truly need a car? Hmmmm…) I’m also driving slower (which, if you knew me, is downright miraculous.)

3. Buy used. Sure, some people turn their noses up at flea markets and thrift stores…and then turn around and pay Pottery Barn for a ripoff of something that sells for next to nothing at the Salvation Army. My personal example: My solid wood swivel chair. I paid $12 at the S.A.; a much lower-quality imitation is now “on sale!” at P.B. for $379.00. Anthropologie (which I love to browse, I admit) is nothing more than flea market stuff newly made at jaw-dropping prices (chenille bedspreads, pottery, etc.)

4. Give myself permission to say “to Hell with it” sometimes. It’s impossible to be perfect. So, yep, sometimes that glass jar goes right into the trash, unwashed. (I feel equal amounts of guilt and glee when I do this - my ego, id, and superego all do their little dances.)

As for green marketing, here’s a wacko idea - tell the truth. Don’t slap the green paint and buzzy words around and call it good.

Happy Friday! I’ll be hitting the flea markets tomorrow looking for patio furniture.

Related Post: Earth Day And Why Bother?

Tags: green marketing, green wash, green exhaustion