After an exhausting year, the GMO labeling debate’s finally gone from “if” to “when.” Just this past week a federal bill mandating the labeling of genetically modified foods was introduced in D.C. with strong bipartisan support. Across the country, 25 states have collectively introduced more labeling bills this year than ever before. Public support has never been stronger, but that doesn’t mean the movement’s immune to Big Ag’s money and influence. The playing field is far from fair, and 2013 will undoubtedly bring more setbacks.

So here’s a quick scorecard—a look at the movement’s recent wins and losses that might inform what types of challenges we can expect in months to come.

Loss: California’s Proposition 37, an initiative to make the labeling of genetically modified ingredients mandatory for food manufacturers in the US, was defeated in November of 2012. Companies such as Monsanto, DuPont, Coca Cola, Pepsi Co, Kraft Foods, Nestle, and General Mills collectively spent nearly $45 million dollars to persuade Californians to vote against the bill (while advocates spent $6.7 million).

Loss: The Vermont “Right to Know” GMO labeling bill did not pass last week. Vermont lawmakers allowed it to stall based on lawsuit threats against the state and claims that such food regulations should be handled at the federal level. Some Vermont lawmakers believe that the GMO labeling initiative will become priority again in 2014.

Loss: The so-called “Monsanto Protection Act” was added anonymously to a must-pass bill this spring—an amendment that most of Congress was unaware of until after the bill had passed. Misleadingly labeled the “Farmer Assurance Provision,” it removes the right of federal courts to halt the planting and sale of new or controversial genetically modified crops while their approval and safety is still under review by a federal judge.

Win: Nationwide support for the labeling of GMOs is stronger than ever. The defeat of Prop 37 ironically increased momentum for such laws across the country, with 25 states attempting to pass labeling bills by April of 2013. Some are moving full speed ahead, like Oregon (state lawmakers are considering eight different bills on GMO labeling, fish, and crops), Massachussetts (which introduced five different pieces of GMO labeling legislation for 2013) and Alaska (already has a law in place for labeling genetically engineered fish).

Win: Most ironically, Walmart (the country’s largest grocer) and several other major food companies that originally spent millions trying to defeat Prop 37 came out in support of voluntary labeling programs for their products. It turns out these companies lost so much credibility during their anti-labeling campaigns last fall that they were forced to suggest self-regulation in a scramble to salvage their image.

Win: Then there’s the game-changing move by Whole Foods. The company recently announced they’ll require all their suppliers for stores in the US and Canada to label GMO ingredients by 2018, making them the first US grocery chain to set a deadline for GMO transparency. In doing so, they’ll be working to grow their non-GMO supply chain in coming years and further increase their support of organic agriculture.

Win: Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon introduced a bill last week that would require the FDA to mandate GMO labeling. “For the first time in 13 years the US Senate has recognized consumers’ right to know,” explained Colin O’Neil, director of government affairs for the Center for Food Safety. This bill would apply to all foods currently under the FDA’s purview. According to Boxer, surveys indicate 90% of US consumers would support it.

So where are we now? Experts claim labeling laws aren’t a matter of “if,” but “when.” How long do we have to wait, then? After decades of debate, the FDA currently requires the labeling of over 3,000 ingredients. We earned the right to know the names of things in our food, but not whether they’re genetically engineered (using processes not yet deemed safe by the FDA before going to market).

Here I’m reminded of Mark Bittman’s article from New Years Day 2013 in which he stresses the need for patience:

“Change takes time. Often—usually—that time exceeds the life span of its pioneers. And when it comes to sustainable food for billions, we’re the pioneers of a food movement that’s just beginning to take shape.”

2013 will be another big year for GMO politics, but it certainly won’t be the last. Stay tuned.

Sustainable fashion caught my attention earlier this year when I helped to promote a Columbia Business School Alumni Club panel event with some particularly forward-thinking members of the fashion industry. To be honest, I’d never been impressed by so-called “green” fashion. I was often let down by the niche styles and (most importantly) sub-par quality I’d seen from small vendors at environmental events.

Apparently I was out of touch. Panelists like Project Runway winner Gretchen Jones and FIT Assistant Dean Sass Brown assured me that high-end green fashion is not only a “thing”—it’s now mainstream and surprisingly luxurious. In fact, well-known brands like Giorgio Armani, Diane Von Furstenberg, Donna Karan, Kate Spade, and Calvin Klein have all experimented with sustainable product lines, while high-end designers like Ermenegildo Zenga, Phillip Lim, and Stella McCartney have come up with some truly innovative ways of reducing their footprint. But I also learned that designing clothing with materials that are both premium and sustainable is not an easy feat, and those brands that do strike the balance must take great care to ensure that they make no compromises to quality in the process.

So I’m impressed by designers that take the green leap and was glad when one of my favorite clothing brands, Free People, told me they’d be launching a new eco-fashion line on Earth Day. They call it Maheya, which means “from the earth,” and its Bohemian Chic vibe mirrors that of the rest of their clothing. All seven Maheya pieces (prices ranging from $90 to $520—not too far off from the rest of their products) are colored with natural dyes that are not only healthier for the environment, but also act as antioxidants for the wearer’s skin.  Along with using natural fabrications of silk and cotton, the line integrates natural materials like marigold flowers, rhubarb, lilac, natural indigo, pomegranate skin, and annatto seeds.

I asked Free People’s Ana Hartl, Managing Director of Design & Image, what made eco-fashion  a priority for the brand in 2013, and as it turns out, it’s not too far of a departure from concepts they’ve explored for years.

“As a brand we’ve always experimented with natural dyes,” says Hartl. “Upon seeing the dyed fabrics created by Ruppa’s team in the heart of Mumbai, India, we were instantly inspired to charge forward in developing the concept.”

But would Maheya really hold up to the brand’s established standards? I’ve worn plenty of Free People clothing and know that it tends to last long and fit well, but eco-fashion lines often earn a different reputation. Hartl assured me Maheya is merely a new expression of the same quality and character Free People’s known for.

“To keep all pieces up to Free People standards, the fabrics and fit of each garment were approved through our in-house tech and production teams,” she explained. “Of course we do recommend that customers wash before wearing to seal in color.”

So it all sounds and looks great, but here’s my favorite part: each item comes with a seed paper hang tag printed on 100% recycled paper that will grow into wildflowers if planted. So the tag from your dress made with wildflowers can become wildflowers. It’s gimmicky, sure, but you had me at “100% recycled.” Overall it’s a fun, forward-thinking line and I think they’ve done a great job. Be sure to browse the photos below for a closer look, and visit their website if you’d like to start shopping.

Dream Weaver Maxi ($520)

Cold Shoulder Long Kaftan ($140)

Tabu Texture Tank ($90)

Saraswati Tunic ($90)

Drop Waist Jersey Dress ($120)

Lotus Path Top ($210)

V-Neck Button Trim Long ($270)

By Michelle Hardy

“Eco-friendly” products are bought in vain when they aren’t used and disposed of efficiently. Such disruption in the green product life cycle is all too familiar to Jacquelyn Ottman—green marketing expert, author, and adviser to Fortune 500 companies. Now, she’s determined to help well-intentioned consumers make the most of their purchases with her latest endeavor, the WeHatetoWaste.com online community.

There’s no shortage of grim statistics on wastefulness, but for me, food offers the best illustration of our desperate need for communities like WeHatetoWaste. I learned from the Natural Resource Defense Council’s recent study that from farm to fork to landfill, 40% of food goes uneaten in our country—a country where 15% of people are food insecure. The average US household of four throws away approximately $1,350 to $2,275 annually by discarding uneaten food. At restaurants, 17% of meals remain uneaten.

I think of how often I scrutinize food purchases, carefully weighing each product’s ecological claims, and I compare that behavior to the little regard I give to portion measurement and food preservation. I know now that once I send leftovers to landfills, it doesn’t matter if I bought them at an organic farmer’s market; I’ve still added to the uneaten food causing 23% of our country’s methane emissions.

This sort of holistic accountability, says Jacquie, is critical to the success of the green movement. With WeHatetoWaste.com, she wishes to remind consumers that they’re responsible for the fate of each product that passes through their hands and their home—and that they deserve to reap the full benefits of those products.

I recently had the privilege of interviewing Jacquie on her new website launch, so read on to learn how her waste-hating community plans to help members save money, time, and resources.

Your background is in green marketing, the success of which depends on people constantly buying new things. How has that experience influenced or challenged your ideas on reducing waste?

Preventing waste and buying greener goods are very complementary.  Buying green is an important part of the equation, but we need consumers to use those same greener products in non-wasteful ways. We need them to turn off the Energy Star-rated lights when they leave the room, turn off the water when they brush with Tom’s of Maine natural toothpaste, and make sure the recyclable Coke cans actually get recycled.

Of course, avoiding waste also means not buying anything that you don’t need, no matter how green it might be!   So this could lead to communications like Patagonia’s now famous Black Friday ad, “Don’t Buy This Jacket”.  It could also lead to new business models. For instance, members of the “collaborative consumption” movement (also known as the “sharing economy”) like to tell us “the greenest product is the one that already exists.”

For me, waste is actually an old emphasis. I’ve been allergic to waste ever since I was 4 years old and my brother and sister called my Junky Jacquie because I used to drag home “treasures” like old board games and other toys, from the neighbor’s trash.  Some of the projects I’ve enjoyed working on in my nearly 25 years as a green marketing consultant involved some form of efficiency — advising Energy Star on marketing strategies, or being a juror for Heineken’s recent Sustainable Packaging Challenge.

Waste prevention is increasingly important in a world that’s going to have to feed, clothe and house nine billion people by mid-century. We’re already seeing tremendous shortages of fresh water, precious minerals and food. With the WeHatetoWaste.com blog and website, I’m hoping to change the culture around waste. I’d like to help make it cool to prevent waste and preserve resources — change the paradigm around Jimmy Carter and the sweater, if you will.

In your opinion, which industries have the greatest unrealized potential for reducing waste? Which industries are failing to capitalize on strategies like collaborative consumption, digitization, new business models, etc.?

There are many areas within the broad swath of consumer products (my particular area of expertise) that could benefit from reducing waste, among them:

Food preservation, storage and creative use of leftovers: I look forward to the day when bringing your own collapsible doggie box to restaurants becomes as ubiquitous as using refillable water bottles. And then there’s the opportunity to use all the leftovers from our own tables.  A blogger of ours just published one of the first cookbooks I’d ever heard of that’s focused on leftovers. It’s called The Refrigerator Files: Creative Makeovers for Your Leftovers. Similarly, Tamar Adler recently published An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Grace and Economy, which inspires readers to make the most of their food by employing creative recipe strategies.

Water conservation:  I predict that in the future, we’ll not only be taking shorter showers but also fewer showers thanks to technologies that enable waterless bathing, waterless hair “shampooing”, and waterless shaving.  We’re already seeing clothes that don’t get dirty quickly, and Unilever is currently marketing a dry shampoo.

Energy conservation:  Smaller, more efficient homes equipped with furnishings that do double duty (I’m personally inspired by LifeEdited.com) should help to cut down on energy needed for lighting, cooling and heating.  Another big opportunity is getting consumers to turn that water down to cold when they do the laundry.  I’m excited about the “Washright”  campaign in Europe and am looking forward to the possibility of something like this coming to the U.S.  First we have to dispel the myth that clothes aren’t as clean when washed in cold water.

What are your favorite examples of conventional products redesigned or reinvented to make it easier for consumers to minimize waste?

I like the idea of using natural principles, like gravity, to help us use up all of the contents of the products we buy.  I was glad to see that Seventh Generation has now turned its dish washing liquid upside down.  It will save me all the trouble I’ve been going to when I used to set the Palmolive bottle on its head overnight, so I could get those last drops down to the cap where they can be easily accessed. Another simple idea: I’d like to see many more reclosable/resealable packages that help to keep foods fresh longer.  Too much food still goes to waste while it’s in the fridge or the cupboard.

What are some of your favorite waste-reducing strategies that also save time and money?

We have seven of them that we use to organize the posts on WeHatetoWaste.com. They include:

Reduce (e.g., make do, do without, maintain your possessions)

Quality not quantity  (e.g., buying one Rolex rather than several Timexes)

Getting the most from the products you buy before you recycle or throw them away, (e.g., re-purpose, reuse, buy secondhand, get all the mayo from the side of the jar)

Food preservation and conservation  (e.g., preserving food as long as possible, making over the leftovers)

Resource Conservation (e.g., turning off the water when you brush)

Efficient Lifestyles (e.g., smaller footprint homes, living close to work)

Recycling and Composting (e.g., last resorts to the examples above; recycling packages with no more useful life, turning food and other waste into soil)

Your website seemingly appeals to people already loyal to the green movement. What are the key benefits of mobilizing a converted audience?

A lot of waste prevention occurs in private (No one sees me dropping the unused bar of hotel soap in my bag. — OK, I’ll admit that I do that!). Diehard “Waste haters” have zillions of tips that we’ve invented that we can pass along to others. So we want to make it safe for these Waste Haters to come out of the “waste closet,” if you will, and start the ball rolling to uncover and share these many ideas.

The community’s ideas will in turn inform our work at J. Ottman Consulting and ripple out to the world at large. We can tap into the creativity of our WeHatetoWaste.com subscribers by discussing our clients’ initiatives, meanwhile exposing our clients’ products to some very mindful and influential consumers.

How does one become a WeHatetoWaste.com blogger—one of the people you call your “Waste Watchers?”

It’s easy. We want to make our blogger community as large and diverse as possible so we can explore a full range of ideas on reducing waste in all kinds of households. Anyone who would like to blog for us can send a sample post to me at info (at) greenmarketing DOT com, and we’ll edit it, if necessary, and then post it with the individual blogger’s bio and head shot.  We even have editorial guidelines that we’re prepared to send would-be bloggers to make it easy to share one’s stories in a way that will be very readable. Of course, anyone can comment on the posts and subscribe to receive free posts as they’re published.

We’re also very anxious to explore the potential for videos to communicate with a much wider audience. We think a lot of waste-hating activities are quite amusing, so videos could be entertaining as well as instructive.

Jacquelyn Ottman is founder and principal of New York City-based J. Ottman Consulting, expert advisers on green marketing and eco-innovation to Fortune 500 sustainability leaders as well as several U.S. government eco-labeling programs. The author of four award-winning books on the subject, her latest is The New Rules of Green Marketing: Strategies, Tools, and Inspiration for Sustainable Branding (Berrett Koehler, 2011) and named one of the top Sustainability Books of the year by Cambridge University (UK).

Last year, U.S. advertisers spent about $60 billion in television and approximately $30 billion online. Such splurges on fleeting, intangible brand messaging leave a lot of room for waste.

But what if brands could use ads to fund sustainable energy infrastructure, better educational resources, new jobs for the unemployed, and savings for taxpayers? And what if they did so without using any money beyond their usual marketing budget?

EcoMedia, a CBS company, found a way to do just that with their truly groundbreaking model for modern advertising – literally; their ads spur reforestation projects and the planting of gardens, after all.

The concept is simple: When a brand wants to buy ad space for CBS network television, local affiliate stations, radio stations, or digital platforms, they can do so through EcoMedia and have part of that money allocated to community projects in the regions in which the ad is served. Every one of these ads contains a special watermark to show viewers that the brand spent wisely, and additional promotions then raise awareness for the meaning of these watermarks.

Through EcoMedia’s programs – EcoAd, WellnessAd, and EducationAd – brands can support initiatives in the realm of environment, health, or education. And with money coming from colossal clients like Chevrolet, Toyota, and AT&T among others, those initiatives lead to big results.

While numerous outlets offer brands ways to sponsor causes, EcoMedia is unique in its ability to play an integral role in the guidance and implementation of projects for their community partners. Their intricate third party verification system also ensures that the projects they support yield quantifiable benefits.

In short, EcoMedia facilitates life-changing projects while simultaneously helping brands to multiply the efficiency of their marketing budgets – a win-win if there ever was one. If more entities begin adopting this exact model (as responsibly as EcoMedia, that is), the media marketplace could certainly see a diversification of offerings. Just look at the recent consumer movements that prompted companies to voluntarily add social value to products to capitalize on increasingly thoughtful and informed shoppers. Could this same socially conscious cohort transform billions of advertising dollars into unprecedented opportunity?

I was fortunate enough to hear EcoMedia President and Founder Paul Polizzotto speak at New York’s Green Festival kick-off event this spring, and now, I’ve asked him to elaborate on his organization’s unique value proposition in the interview below. Share it. Tweet it. Show your fellow green business proponents what everyday advertisements can become.

Photo courtesy of EcoMedia

What value does EcoMedia’s model provide both clients and communities? How do these benefits differ from those of direct CSR donations to community projects?

On the advertising side, our one-of-a-kind model brings increased value to our clients, giving them the unique opportunity to use their advertising dollars — money that would be spent anyway — to help meet some of our country’s most pressing environmental, wellness and education challenges.  Simply by choosing the EcoAd, WellnessAd, or EducationAd programs, advertisers make a meaningful, tangible contribution in local communities where their consumers live and work.

Our programs also allow corporations to target specific markets through the bricks-and-mortar projects they fund.  And the projects themselves create a lasting legacy for our advertisers — a long-term, concrete connection with consumers that isn’t a feature of traditional advertising.

Communities that benefit from our ad programs see job creation and taxpayer savings in addition to the realization of vital projects that simply wouldn’t have happened without the critical gap funding that our advertisers provide. Some of these projects include installing solar panels on schools and community centers, creating lighting and energy efficiency retrofits for low-income housing, planting organic gardens, providing school supplies, awarding scholarships, building fitness zones, and giving nutritious meals to school children.  We offer a classic win-win…if we do say so ourselves.

Do EcoMedia ads pull funds from a client’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) budget, or are these donations part of marketing expenses – dollars that would have otherwise been allocated to non-philanthropic ad buys?
The latter; we do not receive donations. Our programs are funded by our clients’ advertising budgets, which means that, with one media buy, corporations can meet many of their multi-silo objectives in the areas of marketing, environmental affairs, government affairs, community relations, social responsibility, and public relations.

This, too, makes our model unique.  In offering our clients more value for the dollars they already spend – and using those dollars to support important projects and programs nationwide – we’ve created a media model that is truly sustainable.  We’re very proud that our work is a real-world example of the sustainability ideals we promote.

What challenges have you faced in attracting and keeping high-profile clients to participate in your ad model?
It’s not a question of keeping accounts; our clients are so happy with the results they see from our ad programs that they tend to become repeat customers. The challenge we’ve faced is getting the word out. But when you’re creating something truly new and innovative, that comes with the territory.

Have you encountered potential clients who want to use EcoMedia program logos on their commercials while their overall business model doesn’t demonstrate a solid commitment to social issues?
First of all, it’s important to note that EcoMedia’s advertising programs are not certification programs, nor are the EcoAd, WellnessAd, or EducationAd logos seals of approval. EcoMedia does not in any way certify, endorse or make any representations about EcoMedia program advertisers, their products or services. Our mission is to fund critically needed environmental, wellness and education projects in communities all across the country.  So, we’re not out to change or enhance the image of our advertisers; our goal is to redirect funds that would otherwise be used solely for advertising into community projects that make a positive and meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Frankly, if participation in our ad programs is the first socially responsible action an advertiser takes, we’re gratified.  That means our model’s working; it’s attracting clients who might not otherwise contribute to local communities in such positive ways.  It’s our hope that once advertisers benefit from our programs’ many and unique offerings, they’ll continue to find new ways to green their supply chains and to give back.

Which accomplishments of EcoAd, WellnessAd, and EducationAd are you most proud of?
We’re exceptionally proud of every tree and organic garden we’ve helped to plant, and every solar panel and lighting retrofit we’ve helped to install, but we’re most proud of the network of relationships we’ve built with many of the nation’s leading non-profit organizations.  Our non-profit partners work with us to identify and manage the projects our advertisers support. We literally couldn’t do what we do without them.

Our nonprofit partners include the Starlight Foundation, the Children’s Health Fund, Trust for Public Lands, Kids in Need Foundation, Ronald McDonald House Charities, Little Kids Rock, Fisher House, Volunteers of America, Junior Achievement, Enterprise Community Partners, National Association of Counties, Waterkeeper Alliance, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Forest Stewardship Council, Association of Science-Technology Centers and Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP).

What sorts of precedents do you believe EcoMedia can set for the advertising industry as a whole?
It may sound bold, but we believe that the EcoMedia model has the power to transform the industry landscape.  Already, our programs are changing the traditional advertising paradigm – a one-way monologue from advertiser to consumer – into a two-way dialogue. Through our ad programs, consumers are beginning to understand that advertising can create tangible, meaningful improvements in their communities.

Ultimately, we hope consumers will come to expect and demand these kinds of benefits from all the advertising they watch, hear and read. We hope they’ll ask of every ad, “How does this improve the quality of my life?”  Then the bar will be raised for the advertising industry as a whole. It will no longer be enough for advertising to inform and entertain; it’ll have to do something more.

Follow EcoMedia’s YouTube channel, Facebook page, and Twitter account to see what social initiatives they take on next.

View my original article on Mother Nature Network here.

Photo courtesy of EcoMedia

By Michelle Hardy

Good green marketers push the innovation of different products. Better products. But can we profit from making less products in the first place? “Swap Don’t Shop,” the most recent of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club’s Making Green from Green events, explored this very dilemma.

The panel began with a sobering point; Moderator Cameron Tonkinwise of the Parsons School of Design Strategies reminded his audience of green business advocates that for all the sustainable sourcing, the holistic manufacturing, the reusable materials, and whatever else constitutes our so-called green products, efficiencies are cancelled out the moment we manage to sell a greater quantity of those products.

Odile Beniflah, International Senior Product Manager for Carpooling.com, is preparing for a U.S. launch after watching her service become a mainstream transportation option for millions of Europeans. (Photo by Michelle Hardy)

If, however, we use our efficient products within business models that require fewer of them to be in circulation, we’ll most certainly reduce waste. The real question, then, is whether there’s money to be made in doing so.

The “Swap Don’t Shop” panelists – all entrepreneurs within the “sharing economy” predicted to reach $110 billion in value – answered this question with a resounding yes.

Take Carpooling.com, for instance. The company’s International Senior Product Manager Odile Beniflah explained how the tremendous demand for this car-sharing service has grown to two million users a month across 45 countries. She’s now preparing for their launch in the U.S., where the average car is used merely one hour per day while having 3-5 empty seats.

“The greatest public transportation infrastructure we have is the empty seats on the road,” Beniflah explained.

This correlation between wasted materials and wasted money was a common theme throughout the panel discussion. When products aren’t being used to their fullest capacity, or when they could be resold on a secondary market, why not take advantage of these unrealized opportunities for profit?

This is the goal of “mesh” companies, or those companies that use websites and social media to convert a product need into a service offering, therefore extending the life and use of each product while removing the need for consumer ownership.

A mesh company can even avoid holding inventory altogether by facilitating peer-to-peer product trading, as demonstrated by the “Swap Don’t Shop” panelists.  Carpooling.com enables people to advertise empty seats in their personal vehicles. Snap Goods uses an innovative tool to help people find the members of their own social networks most likely to trade certain goods with them. Similarly, Closet Raid helps people sell, swap, or give away products to their own social media contacts. Key WiFi helps people rent their Internet connection to those who can’t afford to be connected in hopes of fostering a more efficiently connected society.

But while the supply of “sharing economy” services often thrives on ecologically minded entrepreneurs, it seems the demand for those shared goods is usually motivated by a different sort of green. According to the panelists, their services are marketed first and foremost as ways of saving money – not ways of avoiding excess waste.

Such indirect messaging isn’t a new idea. Green marketing expert and CBSAC committee member Jacquelyn Ottman cleverly brought the industry’s attention to this fundamental principle in her latest book, The New Rules of Green Marketing. When branding sustainable products or services, core messaging must appeal to consumers’ self-interests. By underscoring the primary benefits most relevant to that item’s function (such as how car sharing saves you money or how responsibly manufactured clothing makes you look good), you establish your brand as more of a need than an idealistic want.

Most importantly, this subtle approach broadens your target market. It was this latter rationale panelists emphasized the most. For a sharing economy to expand and prevail, after all, the philosophy must pervade mainstream consumer groups. In the same respect, it must pervade mainstream companies. Try telling brands that incorporating sharing services into their business model could lower costs, broaden their target markets, and extend the profit-making capacity of every product involved, and you might drive greater change than you would with environmental guilt appeals.

But in the end, it won’t matter if companies actually like product sharing; they’ll have to live with it. That’s why General Motors and Ford invested in peer-to-peer car sharing companies this year, and it’s why major auto manufacturers in Germany, such as Volkswagen, recently launched car-sharing programs. Ironically, it’s possible that companies investing wisely in sharing could face more opportunity than risk. Car-sharing revenues in North America, for example, will hit $3.3 billion by 2016 according to Gartner Group researchers.

Adam Black, CEO and Founder of Key WiFi, believes companies that fail to reduce resources and tap into sharing models will be at a disadvantage amid the unstoppable product sharing trend.

Overall, it seems possible for a healthy national sharing economy to yield many macroeconomic benefits. Sharing services could create countless jobs for entrepreneurs. Sharing options could open up niche or expensive products to much wider consumer markets. Sharing frameworks adopted by manufacturers could extend the money-making capacity of their products without requiring additional production costs. Just imagine a major manufacturer or retailer that is the producer or designer of products – and the facilitator of sharing services for those products.

While ownership and one-time-use will never become obsolete, scarce resources will dictate that they become less frequent in most product categories. For this reason, sharing may very well be the 21st century’s miracle fuel in that it is nearly immune to ecological constraints. After all the efficiencies gained from the Industrial Age and the Information Age, the greatest efficiencies of all may be yet to come in the Sharing Age.

All of this brings to mind the saying so cleverly recalled by Key WiFi founder and CEO Adam Black. “Cavemen didn’t stop building with stone because they ran out. They stopped because they found better materials.”

We have plenty of materials… for now. Only thinking about now, though, has never made anyone rich or famous. Will cooperative networks power our future?

By Michelle Hardy

Shop Your Values Week has arrived, meaning hundreds of conscious consumers will gather May 3 – 10 to enjoy some of New York City’s most ethical dining and shopping outlets selected by ethikus.com. If you haven’t already taken the SYVW pledge, it isn’t too late to introduce yourself to some of the city’s most impressive small businesses – as well as the like-minded shoppers who frequent them.

Ethikus formed earlier this year in hopes of guiding both consumers and businesses toward responsible commerce. Already, they’ve done an excellent job of building a well-informed, ever-growing community.

“Making day-to-day sustainable purchasing decisions can be easy and fun,” explains ethikus team member Nestor Bailly. “If we’re all more aware about where we shop and eat, and follow up by shopping our values, we’ll collectively make a huge impact.”

SYVW will use events and discounts to promote small businesses that support the betterment of community, environment, and employees. To do so, ethikus is offering just about every imaginable resource one could need for a week of value-based shopping and dining; a searchable directory of ethical businesses, extensive information on the social benefits of participating outlets, collaborative Meetups to draw inspiration from community members, and even “pro-tastes” – a delightfully creative take on protests in which advocates armed with positive signs and slogans can commend progressive businesses.

“Participants will see how easy it is to align their purchases with their values in New York, and how easy it is to feel good about what they’re spending,” says Bailly. “They’ll have access to great free events and discounts while discovering that many local businesses are sustainable and community focused – not just the ones who brand themselves as such.”

Ethikus has also planned plenty of community-building events throughout the week to help SYVW pledgers bond, some of which include a free dance party, free bike tour, free BBQ with the White Roof Project, free Yoga Your Values Day, and free home brew beer events.

All vendors participating in SYVW completed an extensive survey that gauged their commitment to community improvement. It asked, for example, if employees are promoted from within and given formal training, if retailers work with suppliers to reduce excess packaging, if food is composted, if they donate product or time to local organizations, if they’ve done an energy audit, if their cleaning supplies are nontoxic, etc.

Pledgers can look forward to celebratory incentives at each of these participating businesses, such as pre-fixed menus, discounts, donations, or sustainable product giveaways. Some of ethikus’s favorite offers include Veselka’s free cup of borscht, Jill Anderson’s 15% off all regular priced items, Green Table’s free glass of wine on tap with purchase of an entree,  20% off at Murray’s Cheese, and 25% off the Eco line frames at Spectacles of 7th Avenue when a complete pair is purchased.

While all businesses part of SYVW have shown they’re profoundly impacting the local economy, here are a few standout examples ethikus is especially proud to promote:

• 4Food is technologically advanced and very sustainable, 75% locally & organically sourced. They provide healthcare & dental benefits to full & part-time employees as well.
• Brooklyn Grange, which has the largest rooftop farm in the country.
• Think Coffee’s owners personally know every producer represented in their coffee blends and have been to all their farms.
• 61 Local has great local beers and products, and features the home brews of local brewers.
• Rouge Tomate is high-end and sources sustainably and locally.

During the week, pledgers can also sign up to receive future information and invites related to environmentalism, business ethics, healthy eating and social activism. Ethikus will then follow up with prospective volunteers to help them join more long-term community initiatives. SYVW, after all, is only the beginning.

“Stay tuned for future offerings from ethikus that will make day-to-day ethical consumption easier and more fun,” says Bailly. “The next Shop Your Values event isn’t far off!”

Remember to take the Shop Your Values Week pledge here to join in the week’s festivities.

It’s been beyond energizing to watch 20,000 of the Big Apple’s conscious consumers, green entrepreneurs, and environmental thought leaders gather this weekend at the Javits Center for the 2012 Green Festival. For the first time in its 11-year run, this Green America event is being hosted by New York City.

The tremendous green business presence here is especially encouraging. Both the diversity of participants and level of corporate sponsorship prove how sustainable commerce is a concept far from fringe. In fact, a good portion of businesses that passed Green America’s rigorous set of participation criteria are among some of the most popular brands in the country.

“Green is now mainstream,” confirmed green marketing expert Jacquelyn Ottman during an address regarding her newest book, The New Rules of Green Marketing. “83 percent of consumers identify themselves as some shade of green.”

“We’ve been inching up toward that tipping point for our green products,” said Sharon Rowe, CEO and Founder of ECOBAGS. “And now, we’re so close to reaching that critical mass. Just look around. None of these products were here 20 years ago.”

And with that encouragement, Rowe provided a word of caution to her green business colleagues in the crowd. When she first began advocating the use of reusable shopping bags, she was featured on Oprah and subsequently saw a rapid rise in demand for those bags. Soon afterward, other companies began rushing in to take advantage of the rise in demand – in the quickest and cheapest ways possible. Rowe warned that green marketers and entrepreneurs must be ready for that rush and cognizant of who their real allies are. Competition can threaten the integrity of a business venture’s original intent.

Yes, green has reached the mainstream. This means we’re empowered with more outlets than ever for making green consumption choices. This also means it’s more important than ever for sustainability advocates to remain aligned and focused on their core principles as indifferent businesses rush in to ride the wave of green enthusiasm. Gathering thousands of opinion leaders for a weekend of knowledge sharing and community building is certainly one way to stay in sync.

Below are just a few of the many inspiring faces, ideas, and products you can expect to see. Stop by today for all the Earth Day festivities, or visit Huffington Post Green to watch the live stream of the festival.

As one of the festival's corporate sponsors, Ford proudly displayed its hybrid vehicles while demonstrating its process for creating vehicle parts from materials like soy or recycled plastics.

Over 1,000 volunteers make sure discarded items end up in the right place, letting the festival miraculously recycle or compost almost 96% of its waste.

Panelists Ajax Greene, Sharon Rowe, and Nathan Gilbert discuss B-Corp certification opportunities in New York and the growing strength of supporting legislation.

Green marketing expert Jacquelyn Ottman stops by to discuss and do a signing of her new book, The New Rules of Green Marketing. Download a free chapter at http://www.greenmarketing.com

Panelists Jameelah Muhammad, John Valverde, and Michael Johnson Chase discuss green certification and training opportunities.

Francis Moore Lappe, 18-time author and co-founder of three organizations including the recently formed Small Planet Institute, discusses ways for green activists to transform fear and doubt into powerful human energy.

Festival sponsor Honest Tea serves up the truth about conscious consumption.

A Zip Car representative does some doodling on "the car for people who don't want one."

Representatives from green investment firms took up an entire row at the Green Festival.

A little reminder that disposable school lunch trays create a whole lot of waste.

Sweet potato is on the menu at the vegetarian cooking demonstration.

Peak Organic invited everyone over for a little sustainable beer and wine tasting.

How are YOU green? Leave a comment below.

Attend “Swap Don’t Shop” in NYC on Apil 24th to gain insights from entrepreneurs in the sharing economy. To reserve your spot, register here.

The founders of Carpooling.com are driving us toward the future of a sharing economy. (Photo: flickr/carpooling.co.uk)

By Michelle Hardy

Why clutter the earth with more of your products when you have enough to loan and trade? It’s a philosophy that’s gaining steam as rapid growth continues for service-oriented “mesh companies” (think Zip Car), as well as facilitators of product trading and sharing. In other words, the way we buy and sell products may be fundamentally changing. Cringe as they might, it’s time for marketers to consider how this likely unstoppable trend could yield lucrative new business units – if not entirely new business models – for their brands.

To explore the untapped opportunities of this sharing economy, the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York is hosting “Swap Don’t Shop: Making Green in the Sharing Economy.” This April 24th event in New York City will feature successful entrepreneurs and visionaries eager to provide insights on the untapped potential of the sharing economy.

I had the privilege of interviewing panelist Odile Beniflah, the international Senior Product Manager for Carpooling.com. This successful European company now facilitates carpooling in 45 countries, creating a car-sharing culture that’s “easy, safe, and accessible to all.” Read her responses below, and don’t forget to register for “Swap Don’t Shop” today.

How would you describe your company Carpooling.com as part of the sharing economy?

Carpooling.com helps people share rides in 5,000 cities and 45 countries. With just a few clicks, drivers can offer available seats and passengers can book a ride. By sharing a ride, people save gas and money, reduce auto emissions, and meet new friends. Pollution, traffic, parking and road maintenance are reduced, so everyone benefits!

With one billion cars in the world, carpooling.com believes that everyone should have access to affordable transport.

Our growing user base! Today we transport 1 million people per month and we have more than 100,000 Facebook fans who tell us how we help them travel, protect the planet, and have great adventures. We even counted 10 weddings.

Initially, the site “mitfahrgelegenheit.de” was created to benefit the founders themselves. As students in Germany, they wanted to find a cheap way to go visit their family and friends. One of them had a girlfriend who lived far away, and none of them could afford to drive alone or buy a train ticket.

The  service got 41,000 registered users in its first year without any marketing budget, only through word of mouth. While the founders had other jobs, the site continued to grow quickly, reaching 1.5 million visits a month in 2007. That’s when the founders understood that people really needed a cheaper, greener way to travel.

In 2008, they started the business and offered the service in 8 other countries. The site had instant success in every country where it launched: Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, France, Spain, the UK and Greece.

Today we get requests from people living all over the world – Brazil, India, Ukraine, Bulgaria to name just a few. Ridesharing is a simple solution with enormous economical, ecological and social benefits for people and communities.

My husband and I gave up car ownership in New York in 2000 and we have managed to live quite happily with 3 children in 5 countries ever since. We use cars when we need them or we take public transportation. When I moved to Germany and found out about the ride-sharing phenomenon, I could not believe that something so simple did not exist anywhere else.

I joined the company to launch the service in France. Then, when I had to move to New York, I had an incredible opportunity to promote carpooling in America – the country that needs to reduce its gas consumption and carbon emissions the most!

As a European who has lived in the States for 10 years, I know how much better our public transportation system is in Europe. However, as a car-centered society, America can lead the way in showing how to use cars in a smarter way.

These are 2 of my passions: sharing experiences and using technology to improve people’s life. With carpooling, people get to know each other by spending a few hours together in a car, and they get access to cheap, green and social transportation.

On a large scale, I only see positive effects. By sharing resources, we have access to what we need while preserving the environment. We connect with people around us and feel less isolated. We share, trade, barter or swap, and in doing so, we can reach out to each other when we face difficulties. On the other hand, the sharing economy is also enabling powerful peer-to-peer networks that threaten traditional industries. These companies need to adapt their business models to the changing needs of the consumers if they don’t want to become obsolete. Finally, there should not be any negative feeling associated to the people who can’t or don’t want to share. The sharing economy is about enabling the people who want to share to do it. Empowering these people is already a huge step forward in the right direction.

My old time favorites are eBay and Craigslist, who helped me so much in my life. On eBay, I try to follow a simple rule of not buying a large item before I manage to sell a similar one I already own. The other sharing model I love is the car-sharing model. Not owning a car gives you so much happiness: you don’t have to deal with parking, insurance and maintenance and you choose the car you like when you need one. I can’t wait to register to a peer-to-peer car sharing service when it becomes available in New York. Finally I love space sharing sites such as Homeexchange, Couchsurfing, AirBnB or Bedycasa.

I hope to make everyone want to try it! Swap, share, trade, sell, buy, give… share what you have and you will love it!

Our experience shows that people always start sharing for the money-saving opportunity but come back to it because they enjoy the experience. On our site, we connect people who end up spending a few hours together in a car. We get so many amazing stories about their rides. It makes me want to hop on a car and hit the road with carpoolers each time I read them…

Hear more from Odile by registering for the April 24th event “Swap Don’t Shop”

By Michelle Hardy

The labyrinth that is New York’s local business scene just became more navigable for conscious consumers thanks to ethikus, the city’s new compass for ethical shopping.

Ethikus.com uses weekly suggestions to promote small businesses representing all things green and good. These vendors are chosen using a comprehensive audit system to determine whether they meet the site’s strict standards on sustainability and fair labor practices. When room for growth is identified, ethikus uses its network and resources to help businesses reach a new set of ethical benchmarks.

Ethikus founder Jeff Hittner discusses Shop Your Values Week with fellow green activists (Photo: ethikus/flickr).

The website currently supports local, sustainable vendors in the lower Manhattan area, and this May, the group will hold a city-wide event called Shop Your Values Week to celebrate hundreds of these like-minded small businesses.

This event, along with the website as a whole, will serve as far more than a promotional vehicle. Founders Jeff Hittner and Jon Schwartz believe ethikus represents a movement – an online community through which good intentions can be translated into new, long-term consumption patterns. Considering that Jeff founded IBM’s Corporate Social Responsibility Consulting practice and Jon is a tech guru skilled in designing websites and databases, the initiative has a lot of promise.

Read their interview below to learn exactly how ethikus is advancing ethical commerce in New York.

How do you help responsible businesses gain exposure within their local communities? Have you seen your efforts translate to new customers for your partners?

First we highlight featured businesses in an email to a growing community of consumers who care about businesses that support community, environment and employees. Second, we do a unique video interview with the business owner in which they describe their values and efforts along with promoting their business on our social networks and blog. For example, one of our first featured businesses, Zerza, had a party of 20 ethics students dine at their restaurant because their professor, a member of our community, had seen them featured on our site and decided to host her class there because of their ethics and sustainability efforts.

Could you explain the screening process you go through to determine whether local businesses are ethical and sustainable? What sorts of information or reports do these businesses share with you?

We have a mobile app that allows us to walk into a store or restaurant and survey them on our smart phones or iPads. The survey can also be completed online. We survey 4 core areas: Environmental mitigation, community engagement, employee support, and product sourcing. For example, we ask if they use chemical-free cleaning supplies, whether their employees are given formal training, and if their products are local and organic. When we film the video with the owner, we often discover additional innovative practices that people should know about.

What are your primary goals for your upcoming event, Shop Your Values Week?

To create a movement. We really should call it the Shop Your Values Movement. We want to help people make better purchasing decisions – better for themselves, their community and their environment.

During this week, we’ll concentrate our audience’s attention on stores and restaurants that are actively supporting their employees, environment and community. We expect to drive change on the business side as well by requiring 20% of businesses that want to participate but don’t qualify to commit to and implement sustainable business practices.

By encouraging our community of local businesses and shoppers to make commitments beyond the week, we will hopefully enable a movement that supports long-term sustainable consumption in our neighborhoods.

Have you noticed any trends in how businesses may struggle to advertise the value of behind-the-scenes sustainable actions?

Part of the reason why ethikus was created was to fill 4 gaps:

- Some businesses still don’t know how important it is to have these practices
- Others don’t know there’s a consumer interest in their good practices
- Even more don’t know where to access the resources to help them make the changes towards sustainability
- And some have done amazing things but just don’t promote it!

What we want to do is help businesses with all these things!

What do you view as the greatest challenge for start-up green businesses? Do you feel it’s more often an issue of cost, communication, or accessibility of resources?

If you’re talking about ethikus, it would be access to funding, simply put. While there is hype about green or social investors and investments, our experience is that the money is looking for far more mature businesses than those truly at the startup stage.

While fostering a tight-knit community around the concept of sustainable business, do you feel that ethikus could inspire greater accountability and consistency among consumers and vendors alike?

Absolutely. That’s exactly what we’re doing! And it goes beyond accountability. On the consumer side, we believe the 3 largest barriers to sustainable consumption are lack of information, perceived higher prices and complacency. These can be addressed by what we’re doing with our directory, our initiatives like Shop Your Values Week, and our continued outreach to businesses and consumers. On the business side, by surveying businesses and connecting them to our community and sustainability partners, we aim to support improvements in business practices. We all have a shared set of goals, and we know that the best way to achieve them is to collaborate and bring people together.

To get involved with New York’s community for ethical, local businesses, follow Ethikus on Twitter, “Like” them on Facebook, and visit their website for green shopping inspiration. You can also attend one of their bi-monthly Meetups, at which you’ll join other socially conscious shoppers for brainstorms and discussions.

This article was originally published on Mother Nature Network.

Can those fleeting tweets of ours really fuel positive social change? Social media professional and entrepreneur Harrison Kratz founded Tweet Drive to do just that. By striking a balance between real-world and virtual-world community building, he has rallied philanthropists across the country to hold toy drives and charity events for underprivileged children around the world. Harrison’s efforts in 2011 resulted in 3,500 toy donations over 37 events, in addition to raising thousands of dollars for local charities.

My following interview with Harrison explains how Tweet Drive established this thriving model for philanthropy – and how they did so within a mere 14 months.

MH: What inspired you to create Tweet Drive, and how have Twitter’s unique capabilities enabled this initiative to recruit such a large national base of donors?

HK: In 2009, I organized a small toy drive for my local homeless shelter. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life. The next year, I wanted to do more and saw social media as a way to really spread this cause on a larger scale. Our goal has stayed consistent: bring holiday cheer and positive change to underprivileged children through the tools and culture of social communication.

Twitter has given all of our champions, advocates, and volunteers a platform through which they can be heard and enforce positive change within their own communities. We continue to operate without any monetary donations or funding, and Twitter has been our driving force of conquering that aspect and empowering everyone who wants to get involved.

MH: What made you choose Twitter as your philanthropic vehicle? Why not choose a platform where you can provide more consolidated background information and news about your cause, displayed all in one place?

HK: While having a core platform displaying background information is really important, I realized from the beginning that we needed to operate as swiftly and loudly as possible. Twitter gave us a way to do that. It helped those who wanted to get involved to communicate quickly and to as many people as possible. I knew Twitter was where we could build a community in the least amount of time.

MH: What have been some of your greatest success stories while running Tweet Drive?

HK: There have been a lot of great stories, but when I look at what embodies Tweet Drive it is our Houston and Seattle events. They have built incredible communities and haven’t just done a lot for Tweet Drive, they’ve created a culture of giving back in their communities. That is what we strive for with all of our events.

MH: How effectively do you feel Twitter can strengthen people’s relationships with social causes? What sorts of appeals does Tweet Drive usually use when trying to connect with potential donors – emotional, moral, logical?

HK: I think Twitter can strengthen a person’s connection to a cause but its really only a gateway and there’s a lot more to it. Social causes that are the most successful provide both real life experiences and content that inspire donors to give back. You need to utilize these tools and experiences to convince that they’re not just donating but actually making a positive impact on the world.

MH: How do you believe Twitter’s ability to raise awareness differs from its ability to foster genuine activism? Basically, I’m comparing sustained action in the real world versus the virtual world. Consider, for instance, the highly regarded Malcolm Gladwell article written for the New Yorker last year entitled “Small change: why the revolution will not be tweeted.” Gladwell argues that while social media platforms like Twitter can raise awareness among loosely connected networks, they cannot prompt significant action and dedication beyond the computer screen. He believes that for social movements to incite real-world change, participants must have real-world relationships with one another and operate within a hierarchy of defined leaders. Alternatively, social media operates by loose connections and lateral structures. Based on your experiences, how accurate do you find Gladwell’s argument?

HK: He is 100% right. That is why I make an effort to go beyond Twitter and have as much of a personal connection as possible with my volunteers, partners, and event attendees. I understand the power of a community, and it is my job to build it any way I can in both the real world and online.

MH: If you could give one piece of advice to fellow socially just, socially connected activists, what would it be?

HK: Use your voice and understand that social media is only half the battle. When you start understanding the culture of being social, you can start to inspire positive change in the real world.

Harrison Kratz is the Community Manager for MBA@UNC, the new online MBA program from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He sticks to his entrepreneurial roots as the founder of the global social good campaign, Tweet Drive. Feel free to connect with him on Twitter, @KratzPR.

This article originally appeared on Content to Commerce.