Turning Transparent in a Green World

SLM: The Marketing of Green May 31- June 4 Monterey, CA

Do you have green building products that span both the Business to Business and the Business to Consumer worlds? You may want to attend the Sustainable Life Mediaconference at the end of the month in Monterey, CA. Sustainable Life Media focuses on green brand management and everything you need to make those brands authentic and market changing.

The event contains mostly consumer goods, but what happens in consumerland spills over into B2B world. The one sector reinforces the other.

You'll hear about:

• Transformations
• Capturing the essence of sustainability
• Consumer product case studies
• Green brand messaging
• How to inspire employees and customers alike
• Collaboration programs
• Give Back Programs
• Low impact packaging
• Social Media shifting consumer thinking
• Eco Labeling 
• Green event planning
• Social footprints

Check out the whole line up here: http://sustainablelifemedia.com/events/sb09

Other key presentations:

LCA on a budget, Jeremy Faludi, Professor, Stanford Design School.

Top 10 Online Sustainable Brands Stories and the Tools That Got Them There

A Legal Look at Green Marketing Claims and the FTC's Green Guides

Transparency & Green Materials: Key Building Blocks for Tomorrow's Brand Leaders

Leonard Robinson, California Dept. of Toxic Substances - DTSC Goes "Wiki" With Green Chemistry "On September 29, 2008, Governor Schwarzenegger signed Assembly Bill 1879 and Senate Bill 509, two laws that authorize California state government to develop an alternatives analysis framework to stimulate the rapid acceleration of replacement of harmful chemicals and ingredients with safer alternatives in products sold in California. One of the most forward-looking initiatives in the world, Mr. Robinson will share his perspective on the implications of this initiative and the doors it might open for new product innovation for a greener future.

Check out the Who's Who list of attendees and go if only to meet the sustainable innovators inside a company who might want to bring your product into the mix.You never know who you might be sitting next to.

Be there or NOT be talked about.

 

RainTube takes the Sustainability Award at Green Building Pages

Congratulations to the RainTube team for taking the Green Building Pages top Sustainable Product Award. They accumulated 689 points out of 1000 possible across the Green Building Pages sustainable benchmarking system. We spoke to co-owner Steve Spratt to get an update on RainTube's sustainable progress. (Steve is on the right of CEO Bill Savage and Director of Administration, Paula Savage.)

For their full product disclosure, go here. RainTube provides LEED credit contributions for erosion and sedimentation control, water use reduction, recycled content and innovation & design.

ON THE GREEN BUSINESS FAST TRACK

RainTube went from "an idea" in 2007 to a company supporting 10 employees and 100 independent installers with international accounts with distributors in Canada, UK, Israel, Poland, and the Netherlands in 2009. Granted, they had a jump on sustainability, the entire company was designed to be green from the beginning. Instead of being bogged down with legacy issues, they took the greenest route by business model design. 

First, they looked at what was missing from the market and would be useful even if it wasn't green. (porous gutter filtering system) Second, they looked at how they could make it in the greenest way possible and still be a highly functional product. Lastly they looked at how they could establish themselves quickly as a trusted green product line.  Full history on our first post.

While the RainTube concept is anchored in solving the issue of keeping rain gutters clog free, it also solves a new problem coming along in the western states - how to harvest rainwater for later use.

GOING FROM SAYING IT TO PROVING IT

Being an unknown company with an unknown product, RainTube wanted to establish their green credibility quickly. 

"We looked around the web to see who provided the most detailed information and the Green Building Pages was the most comprehensive. Once we were listed, we could link customers and distributors to the page and they could read it for themselves".  

But they didn't stop there...

Steve and his co-owner Bill Savage knew that disclosing information on their own wasn't going to be enough, they would need to be certified. They  decided to go with C2C certification because they liked the certification's reuse philosophy and Raintube is made of 100% downcycled HDPE.

"C2C, conducts indepth testing of things. They require  a third party chemical analysis, and any heavy metals identified. It can't be over a certain level or it can't be certified as green."

But C2C certification wasn't enough for Steve...

While the company obtained a  C2C Gold level of certification on their product's composition, they still didn't have an ISO Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)which looks at how the product is manufactured and the entire supply chain inputs.  RainTube is in the middle of completing that process now.

 "The astute manufacturer, consumers and everyone else knows that green is more than fadish and they are trying to sort out the wheat from the chaff. They are looking for the third party certifier. The smartest ones [manufacturers] are gravitating that way. At first they did it because they were proud of what they are doing, but now it's more a matter of survival... The green aspects are definite edge plus our price points are right and we do hold patents on the products... Having certifications carries as much weight in the market as the patents."

WHAT'S WORKING NOW?

"Having an effective low cost product - that's the biggest one... Rain gutters didn't work well, leaves always keep them jammed up. To build up our distributor network we went after the first movers - those who hold green like a religion. One green architech will get the product in front of many homeowners... 

"The biggest problem is with the installation and roofing people only because that group knows nothing about Rain tube and sometimes they aren't interested in doing things a new way. "

"As for tradeshows, Greenbuild is exceptional because it gets up in front of the right people...   Now with investors and political people coming on board, Greenbuild adds huge credibility."

Our congratulations again to RainTube for not only creating a necessary and useful product, but for continually improving it's certifications and providing what the market wants - proof of sustainable performance. Once they have completed a life cycle assessment, they'll be able to increase their benchmarking points to the platinum level.  

Steve Spratt can be reached at info@raintube.com or by calling 866-724-6356.

Market Case Study: Liberty Valley Doors

Liberty Valley Doors recently received a Benchmarking Sustainability Award for "High End of Life" achievements from Green Building Pages. We spoke with Sustainability Manager and Marketing Director, Stephen Pastryk about the lessons they've learned in eco-marketing. (Stephen is on the left of his Dad, Mike Pastryk, the Founder of Liberty Valley Door.) For a profile their Transparent Sustainable Performance of their products go here.

GETTING STARTED
It's a classic story of going from chicken feed to feathering one's nest. Back in 1980, Mike Pastryk decided that he wanted to run his own wood working business, but all he could afford to lease was half of an old chicken barn in Petaluma. It was there he decided that his business would remain custom and not try to compete with stock door companies.

Since that decision, Liberty Valley Doors have been creating first impressions and interior experiences at wineries, churches, schools, restaurants, commercial buildings and of course, homes.

The company is long past its chicken-barn-based days, and hums along at its current location with 15-18 steady employees. 
 
EARLY RECYLING FOR SAFETY, PROFIT and SOCIAL EQUITY
As a door manufacturer they had plenty of leftover scrap wood which became a fire hazard. Rather than pay for it to be hauled away, Mike put containers of scrap out on the curb and let other budding craftsman help themselves.

"They often came back and show us what they made. Today  we set aside pallets of scrap wood for Rancho Cotati high schools' wood shop class... with all the budget cuts they still get wood every month or so. We also have a guy who stops by and picks up the sawdust to use on local farms..”

That early recycling started them thinking about what additional things they could do and soon they were analyzing everything that went into the trash.

"We were able to reduce our weekly waste by 85%; going from a 15 yard dumpster to one, 64 gallon trash can for the entire business.... we even show people what we accomplished on our website." 

A Win, Win, Win, Win Outcome
• Pay less in trash pickup
• Provide high school woodshop students with raw materials
• Provide organic material for farm animal bedding
• Have a story that inspires customers and other businesses to do the same.

MIDCOURSE CORRECTIONS
You have to admire any company that is self-funded. The money to lease the chicken barn came from the selling of Mike Pastryk's two motorcycles in 1980.  Boot strappers such as Mike are natural risk takers. When the chance to use the sun to run their business came up, he went for it and living in a sun abundant area made it and easy decision.

"We now create 100% of our energy from the sun over the course of a year as the summer sun produces more energy than we need making up for what is lacking in the winter...” 

What they didn't anticipate was the start up time and cost.
 
"...We wish we did more research on our solar contractor. The entire job took 1.5 years when it was suppose to be 4 months. That took our time away from building doors and put it into overhead management.

Like the recycling effort, however, going to solar energy gives them an additional green story to tell which has been incorporated into the website along with the energy recording visuals into their website.

ECO-INSTRUMENTAL PARTNERS
Who has helped them grow and promote sustainability?

"We've had contractors start working with us because we use FSC Certified and reclaimed wood... Hammond Fine Homes is one of them. Mahoney Architects is another. Two other alliances that have helped us get the word out have been The Green Home Center and Green By Design. 

PACKAGING SOLUTIONS
Packaging is one of those legacy issues that needs an overhaul.  Liberty Valley Door has come up with a unique solution.

"First we request that suppliers use less packaging and request that the lumber isn't wrapped in plastic. Local orders are shipped via our truck, but when we have to ship a large order out of state, ee use PODS instead of typical shipping services.  The POD offers protection as well as shipping.  It can be delivered right to the site and it will keep the rain out until it's unloaded and readied for pickup again. This way we can ship our PODS with others going across the country. That's how we shipped the doors to Noah’s Corp, a recreation center in Utah."
 
WHAT'S YOUR MARKET EDGE?
From a product point of view it's their reclaimed wood doors. While only 10-20% of their business today, their beauty and unique craftsmanship brings customers in the door, per se. 

"Using reclaimed wood greatly increases profits.  When we first started the product line in 2005 we used wood from demolition sites. The final doors were beautiful without one tree being cut. To date we've sold over 800 of them. Using FSC wood is a big draw as well. About 70% of our other custom doors are of FSC requested wood, but even if the wood is not requested FSC certified, we still build it that way. "
 
What about their communications, are they doing anything different to keep going during these down times?

"Mainly guerrilla marketing tactics, the story sells itself. The Discovery Channel – Planet Green came out for Renovation Nation and did a feature story on us. It was a 5-10 minute segment. We also write articles for blogs, use Google Ad Words and track where customers are coming from. If 15 new people contact us, whether they buy or not we've found that 12 out of the 15 came from Google.  We also attend Co-Op America's green business network and sustainability conference.... Once a month we talk to others at the green home center in San Francisco and share ideas and exhibit at West Coast Green and Live Green Live Well. " 
 
It's through conferences and tradeshow events that they have had the most luck. People they meet during the networking portion are telling others of their craftsmanship via word-of-mouth. 
 
WHAT'S HOT NOW
 
"Doors out of FSC Mahogany or Douglas Fir, they are about 70% of our volume and about 80% of that work is residential.”
 
WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU WANT OTHERS TO KNOW?
 
"Our commitment to the environment... we run on Solar power. We did that only after analyzing all parts of the business, looking at the components and garbage... like analyzing the glue for formaldehyde content...  I tell people to look at everything and see what you can do to change. We’re also very proud to be recognized as Cotati’s Business of the Year for 2008.”

Stephen Pastryk and be reached at Stephenp@LibertyValleyDoors.com

Market Case Study: EcoTimber

Our thanks to Dan Harrington, Director of Product Development at EcoTimber. Dan oversees design, sourcing and factory relations which include environmental and technical specifications. For the past eight years he's worked with EcoTimber as it grew from 3 people to 25 and became an eco-force of it's own. Dan@EcoTimber.com

EcoTimber won the Benchmarketing Sustainability Award for Installation, Use & Maintenance. For a complete look at EcoTimber’s triple bottom line facts click here.

BUILT IN INTEGRITY

EcoTimber started off in 1992 when Jason Grant, Aaron Maizlish and Eugene Dickey came together to sell and promote "good wood." They visited and vetted each forest for diversity and social equity long before FSC [Forest Stewardship Council] became the adopted label by many environmental groups. Today EcoTimber promotes FSC certified wood, but still continues to vet the process with their own on-site visits.

GETTING STARTED

The fledging founders began with a sustainable idea - harness the marketplace to support sustainable forestry. They used their own capital and that of friends to launch the concept and then in 1995 they received over a million dollars which included monies from the MacArthur Foundation. It was the first and only investment into a for-profit business that the foundation has ever made.

During these early days, no one really knew the benefits of sustainable wood. EcoTimber owners got the word out by spending lots of time talking to architects, architectural communities and to large influential corporations. They had good success and landed accounts at Nike, Banana Republic, Whole Foods, Patagonia and Disney, but it eventually spread EcoTimber too thin.

MIDCOURSE CORRECTIONS

Serving multiple products lines and markets became too difficult. In 2001, they  sold off all the inventory, keeping only the flooring and selling it with the brand to Hayward Lumber. Fast forward six years - two new investors  bought the EcoTimber flooring from Hayward and have been taking it forward ever since.  Lesson learned? Focus, focus, focus on one thing - flooring.

ECO-INSTRUMENTAL PARTNERS

Dan reports that they work with many architectural firms, and  that Gensler has been very active in specifying the FSC wood.  "Gensler goes the extra step to make sure contractors follow through and buy what is specified. Not many firms do that," Dan admitted," but Gensler does a good job of hammering it home."

PACKAGING SOLUTIONS

"We've gone to recycled cardboard and limited plastic," says Dan. "We want to improve and use even less plastic, but right now we have to protect the product from moisture and that's the only thing that will work. We're looking for plastic that will biodegrade eventually. We try to keep the cardboard at a minimum and use a simple sticker at the end of the wood vs. coating a big box with ink. The customer often doesn't see the packaging anyway. They order it online or from a dealer and by the time it arrives at their home or worksite, decorative packaging isn't needed."

CONSUMER/SOCIAL EQUITY

"We did some focus groups and found that 'saving the rain forest' came in second to health issues," says Dan, "Consumers want to know that their products are formaldehyde free and won't endanger their children. Even so, we don't slack off our original mission. We still vet the sites ourselves and don't work with factories which don't pay attention to social issues or workers rights. Customers appreciate our authenticity and level of first hand knowledge.” Dan added, “While the forest is our mission, we did change our tag line to reflect our customer’s needs and our policy regarding the use of toxic chemicals that might off-gas in the home. It went from “Quality Woods from Environmentally Sound Sources"  to  "Healthy Forests. Healthy Homes."

WHAT'S YOUR MARKET EDGE?

"I think it’s our integrity and knowledge. Customers trust the information we give them and they like having products that are in stock and ready to ship," says Dan.  

WHAT'S HOT RIGHT NOW?

Hand scraped flooring and strand woven bamboo," he said.  And yes, he assures me, it is scraped by hand by fair-wage workers in the US.  The bamboo is shredded and then resin infused (with no urea formaldehyde) to create a "tropical hardwood at a bamboo price." EcoTimber is working with a bamboo supplier that will have its FSC certification this spring.

WHAT IS ONE THING CONSUMERS NEED TO KNOW?

"I wish people did their research on standards, there is a proliferation of them out there and many are muddying the water. We've done some on the homework on our website, but ultimately the end buyer has to demand it," Dan stressed. "FSC is the best of the many forestry labels that are popping up, but it isn't perfect. Companies who buy small amounts of FSC wood can use the label in their advertising... showing the label does not mean that all the wood they carry is FSC certified. The only way a customer can have that guarantee is to ask for FSC wood and then look on the invoice and make sure the line item identifies the wood as FSC certified. We hope that as more people understand what FSC stands for the more they'll understand why so many environmental groups back it." 

Dan Harrington is a 36 year old dad of two kids, ages 2 1/2 and 4 months. Some day he'll tell them stories of how he worked to save the rain forests through sustainable tourism and then eco-commerce.