Green-minded neat freaks
have spent years struggling with all-natural, but sometimes less effective household cleaners, shunning noxious conventional
sprays and detergents in favor of fringe products promising citrus scents and safer ingredients.
Now the demand for eco-friendly
and child- and pet-safe cleaners has gone mainstream. According to Chemical & Engineering
News, big corporations such as Clorox are responding to consumer needs with products that, until now, have been located
in the far aisle of health food store.
Michael McCoy, assistant
managing editor of the publication, writes that chemical companies are under pressure from the cleaning products industry
to create products that “are both environmentally friendly and keep cleaners performing in the way that consumers have
come to expect.”
And, while Clorox is a well-known
powerhouse in the cleaning industry, its Green Works line will have to compete with the popular Method Home and Seventh Generation
lines that, although smaller corporations, are “well-entrenched and attract a loyal clientele. Seventh Generation, for
example, enjoyed 28% growth in 2006 and is approaching $100 million in annual sales,” writes McCoy.
Looking forward to a future
free of nasty lung-burning fumes? How about the proliferation of awesome grocery bags, advertising your love of the environment
as well as your favorite responsible retailer?
Michal Ann Strahilevitz,
marketing professor at San
Francisco’s Golden Gate University,
is an expert on branding and an avid shopper at the popular green-minded grocers Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.
“Whole
Foods just came out with great
new bags. They are bright. They are colorful. They are large enough to hold a ton of stuff. They are very reasonably priced.
Consumers will end up using them for far more than groceries. I use mine to go to the gym. I use mine to take extra things
to work. Guess what? Every time I ride [San Francisco’s
public transport system] BART or walk into a classroom with one of these bags, that is free
advertising for Whole Foods,” Strahilevitz says.
The professor doesn’t
mind doubling as a Whole Foods spokesmodel. “I don't mind. I am happy to reward them for a great move for the environment. Also,
in truth, I really do like the bags. Good for the earth! Good for consumers! Good for Whole Foods!
The only losers I see here are the competition!”
Whole Foods is not the only eco-friendly retailer cleverly combining
customer loyalty and love for the earth.“Trader Joe’s, a favorite of mine, also has these bags. Not as bright
and not as big, but consumers often love Trader Joe’s so much that they are happy to carry a bag with that name on it,”
Strahilevitz states, citing TJ’s famously fierce customer loyalty.
