What it means to be green(er).

Ferns

5 years ago it was THE THING. Your Laundromat started using eco-friendly cleaning agents. Grocery stores encouraged you to bring a fabric bag, instead of using plastic bags. No one could go anywhere without seeing the green bandwagon trend loud and clear. It was everywhere.

Like most trends, the green movement has become a saturated one and is questionable at best when you consider who has more money to promote ‘greenity’ and how a product claiming to be healthy, turns out to contain an agent that is extremely hazardous.

So how does the fast moving green market relate to marketing and design? In the product and service world, especially amongst well-funded, well-established companies, consumers are made aware of forward thinking/eco-friendly advancements through branding and marketing, which ultimately are created by marketing teams and designers.

I can attest to spending long hours working for said companies, either in naming or developing messaging (disclaimer: I am not a designer, but a marketing writer working at a design firm). Going through round after round of revision (and money) to develop the best possible outcome for the market. It’s the same predicament for all of our designers.

We are in a conundrum because now in this ubiquitous market, we as consumers must consider what is green(er) beyond the well-funded marketing campaigns distributed by large companies.

Let’s take a look at a few growing industries who are developing truly green products, but are unable to produce the product at an affordable price and equally as important cannot compete as a brand with the high budget players.

Bio-diesel: Do you EVER see an ad on television, in a magazine, or online for bio-diesel? No. I have never in my days seen one. Why? Because bio-diesel is a community driven fuel in that most producers are co-ops who pick up oil, share machinery expenses, and convert the fuel on their free time, after work. I know this because maoStudios’ own President and CEO produces his own bio-diesel fuel (Dr. FuelGood) with a co-op of 6 other working professionals in the Seattle area. He and other businesses attempting to produce for profit like Dr. Dan’s Biodiesel do not have the budget for branding and still are on the more expensive side.

Solar Power: I recently watched a documentary called “Powering the Future” on Science HD. The documentary covered several innovative advancements, but the one that struck me most was solar power paint. The idea has been around since 2008, when Swansea University in the UK started to develop a way to paint solar cells onto steel sheets that lined industrial buildings. The idea worked and still works. There are more scientists working on this today, but as the documentary states making it affordable for consumers is what’s keeping the product from entering the market.

Water Wars: Living without water or having to buy privatized water is not something we have actively been exposed to in the US. However, it is a current concern in third world countries and we are moving closer toward experiencing it here. The (self-funded) documentary, “Blue Gold” discusses a strategy that is not widely known regarding the world’s largest privatized water companies buying up water from aquifers and selling it back to us in nicely designed bottles. It's happening in the US too, we just aren't aware of who's doing the buying and where the water comes from. Water is a limited resource and one just a handful of companies are fighting over.

We are most definitely dedicated to branding at maoStudios, but we are also dedicated to producing a green way for any business when approaching their chosen market. It's our job to be educated about alternatives to traditional, wasteful methods, and advise our clients on how they can reduce their carbon footprint.