Many companies can dye their products green, make their packages green, or use the word “green” or “natural” on their label. They’ll do so to persuade consumers and critics such as NGOs that they are well-intentioned, or to attract potential investors interested in social responsibility, or of course to increase profit by expanding their market share to rival those not participating in greenwashing.

This seems to be a touchy subject for some folks because according to Suzanne Shelton, the head of market research firm, The Shelton Group, “Shoppers want green products, but they don’t know how to define what green product is. They don’t trust manufacturers to tell them the truth about how green their products are, but they’re turning to manufacturers because they don’t have anyone else to turn to.”

Yet they’re ready to slam a company for lying to them.

GREEN EYED CHALLENGES

Stephen Wenc, the president of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) Environment, sums up four basic challenges to effective green marketing:

• Lack of credibility or trust by consumers and end-users
• Confusion regarding green or sustainable product claims
• Reputational risk from “misleading claims”
• Liability risk from “greenwashing” under Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Green Guides

GETTING CLEAR

Brooks Beard, a partner at law firm Morrison Foerster, showed how the FTC offered four steps to avoid claims — and possible legal charges — of “greenwashing”:

• Pick the products or services you promote on green grounds with care
• Be specific with word choices (focus on the specifics rather than the
broad)
• Be specific about what part of your product or packaging is green
• Substantiate, substantiate, substantiate — always back up your claims

By following these simple procedures, manufacturers will gain integrity and customer loyalty, all while trying to reduce their carbon footprint in producing goods that are genuinely environmentally-friendly.

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

Seeing Green: Mirage or Fact?

Technorati Tags: environmental, green, Greenwashing, Marketing, natural, roxine plummer

- Sunny Lam

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

Forget the Competition

Absolutely hilarious.

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

The Blogger’s Ultimate Must Have Music

Technorati Tags: Blogging, copyblogger, song, theme, words, Writing

Read the full post at FoodCycles.org.

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

Eat This Recession for Breakfast

Technorati Tags: agriculture, economic crisis, farming, green economy, green jobs, recession

(Image via Regillo Consulting Group)

Dell has done a lot to make social media a big part of their communications strategy. Social media however turned out to be more than just news and special offers. It is (as many veterans already know) an important way to build relationships and has to be a part of every department — including sales, customer support and product development groups.

SmartBlog On Social Media » How Dell took social media mainstream: “The paradigm shift from broadcast to direct communication via social networks has changed the way PR professionals, marketers and customer service teams work. As social media evolves, it’s becoming a vital and vibrant way for professionals to stay in touch with colleagues, suppliers and partners — and not just for communications purposes but for product development, innovation and more.”

(Via Smart Blogs.)

WHAT ARE DELL’S 3 TIPS?

1. Listen first

When everyone talks no one hears anything. Be the bigger soul, listen to what your customers are saying. Yield the right of way. As Seth Godin would put it – listen to the tribe. As I would say it, “Listen to the heart beat of your community.”

2. Get your employees used to and excited about social media.

3. Encourage employees to set up social media accounts.

Just make sure you have a social media policy especially if you have Gen Y employees.

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

3 Tips to Build Social Media into Your Business

Technorati Tags: corporate communications, engagement, Social Media, social networking

Photo via The Wind Power database

Denmark is the leader in wind energy. Not only do they have a country full of powerful breezes they also have the vision, foresight and willpower to pull it off. An amazing 19% of Denmark’s electricity power comes from wind.

Denmark’s Wind of Change – TIME: “But technology, like the wind itself, is just one more part of the reason for Denmark’s dominance. In the end, it happened because Denmark had the political and public will to decide that it wanted to be a leader — and to follow through… As a result, wind turbines now dot Denmark, the country gets more than 19% of its electricity from the breeze (Spain and Portugal, the next highest countries, get about 10%) and Danish companies control a whopping one-third of the global wind market, earning billions in exports and creating a national champion from scratch. “They were out early in driving renewables, and that gave them the chance to be a technology leader and a job-creation leader,” says Jake Schmidt, international climate policy director for the New York City-based Natural Resources Defense Council. “They have always been one or two steps ahead of others.”"

(Via Time Magazine.)

Denmark’s people are a bright example of where words and ideas are backed up by committed action and execution. After all, what is an idea without action?

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

Denmark’s Wind of Change

Technorati Tags: alternative, Energy, renewable, turbines, wind power

Figure 1: By creating a tri-fold business card, Trella’s clients not only have her contact information but also a handy list of her spa’s services. Photo and caption via CreativePro.

Looking for an alternative to LinkedIn and social media to post your resume? Maybe you like the old fashioned pen and paper way? Well forget them both because one gal decided to turn her business card into a full fledged resume-CV-fold up brochure. I agree with Jeannette, it’s absolutely deviously effective.

The Shrinking Resume |: “Not so fast, Gary.  I was at a networking reception last evening and good friend and colleague and I began to chat.  She’s in the job market.  But instead of whipping out a resume (actually she would never be so gauche as to do that in good company), she pulled out her ‘business card.’   She doesn’t believe in the old fashioned resume, either.  What she had done was turn her business card into her resume.  It was quite ingenious.  The business card had two-folds and each of the three little sections had everything included about her professional experience, volunteer activities and education.  She even had room on the first page for her color photo.”

(Via Write Speak Sell.)

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

Shrink Your Resume by 9 Times

Technorati Tags: accomplishments, business, business card, curriculum vitae, CV, folding, networking, resume

Photo via Shavua Tov!

Jeannette Paladino had an excellent quote from a gal named Maya Angelou about why it’s important to help others – anyone be it a friend, someone in need or a young person at the start of their career. I just had to blog about it because it speaks to the importance of the work of many wonderful people out there.

Don’t Go Through Life With a Catcher’s Mitt in Both Hands |: “From Maya Angelou:
‘I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on both hands; you need to be able to throw something back.’
‘Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.’
‘I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.’
‘There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.’
‘If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.’
‘I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.’
‘I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way s/he handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and tangled Christmas tree lights.’
‘Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it!’
‘You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead pursue the things you love doing and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off of you.’
Words to live by.”

(Via Write Speak Sell.)

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

Don’t Just Catch – Give

Technorati Tags: charity, generosity, guidance, kindness, Life, mentor, public spirit, relationships, trust

So is social media like Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube just a quick game, a passing fad? The statistics don’t say so. Think about it – humanity has gotten this far because of relationships, because of community. Emotion and the ties that bind (not facts) remain the most powerful motivation for any action even when you’re faced with things like global warming or worse.

It’s an unfortunate truth because those same emotions and relationships led to things like Bernie Madoff and the economic crisis. Yet at the same time fortunate. It seems many are waking up to the importance of not just relationships but also trust.

Businesses can’t just dump and drop people like a bunch of nameless marbles anymore.

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

Social Media is Bigger than Porn!

Technorati Tags: facebook, hulu, linkedin, pornography, revolution, video, youtube

Photo via Wikipedia: 1 hour = 60 minutes – are you making every minute count?

An 18-Minute Plan for Managing Your Day – Peter Bregman – HarvardBusiness.org: “…we start every day knowing we’re not going to get it all done. So how we spend our time is a key strategic decision. That’s why it’s a good idea to create a to do list and an ignore list. The hardest attention to focus is our own.”

(Via Harvard Business.)

Of course the real challenge as one might say is not having the great idea – it’s about getting it done. According to Jack LaLanne that’s ritual. Personally I like to call it discipline. Managing time has to be a ritual according to Peter Bregman and apparently it only takes 18 minutes over an 8 hour work day.

Here are the steps in short:

1. Set the Plan Before You Turn On Your Computer (5 minutes).

What will make your day a success to you? Write it down.
Put the most important and hardest things first before even the email.
If you can’t fit it all, re-prioritize.
There is a psychological thing for people to do what they say they will do if they say when and where.

2. Refocus (1 minute every hour)

Set your watch, phone or computer to ring every hour. When it does, take a breath and ask yourself if you’ve spent the last hour being productive. Look at your calendar and see how you’ll work the next hour.

3. Review (5 minutes)

Shut off the computer and think about your day. What worked and what didn’t?

Practicing something over and over again is ritual and it will certainly hone the knife’s edge. Ritual means you’ll do it no matter what even if there’s a mountain standing in your way.

Post from: Sunny Lam & Associates

18 Minutes to Master Your Day

Technorati Tags: focus, Productivity, time management