SUSTAINABILITY? Brain Sensory Food & Calories in the Belly

I read about the Kroger Marketing Alliance with Feeding America - in MediaPost. Kudos to the brand stewards for strategizing and launching the initiative.

As great as the art work on the website - The Bread Art Project, I have a hard time trying to fathom the fact that there are thousands of people that starve every single day when some of us in the western world can appreciate the finer art in food.

Second harvest was about feeding the hungry, are we now taking the same food to feed the brain through art?

And is the satisfaction from viewing the art the same to a hungry child and a hungry family the same as putting a slice of bread, a toast into their bellies?

I have to applaud the creative senses of the artist but cannot resist saying "The appreciation of this art is in the stomach of the hungry".

Back to the basics - Needs and Wants

Brands and our survival on the planet

As consumers develop greater awareness of the impact packaging leaves on the environment they start to get selective with brands. Over the past year I have been introduced to terms like: Precycling, Upcycling, Downcycling, Grass-tic, etc.

Here are a few interesting links...
Brandchannel - Pre-thinking Recycling: the New Eco-Consciousness
P&G has yet another point of view - Tide Swash
Cycling at - Terracycle

The ANA captured the essence in this single slide.

Experience of fundamental core values

This week's LOHAS newsletter captured a new movement or a new fad - 'guilt-free and eco-friendly' in an article from NMI - Consumers Are Seeking a Deeper Values Experience.

Insights from the article:

• Consumers are aspiring to achieve the double pay-off of exclusive experiences while supporting guilt-free and eco-friendly goods and services
• From luxury hybrid cars to couture dresses made from organic and sustainable fabrics, it is not enough to have it all, consumers also want to feel better about what they have
• Shopping at natural food supermarkets is up 20% from 2001.
  
• The influence of the "USDA Certified Organic" seal on foods has increased 22% since 2004 and is now at least slightly influential to more than four out of ten consumers.
  
• The percentage of primary grocery shoppers who agree that organic foods/beverages are worth paying an extra 20% for increased from 17% in 2002 to 26% in 2006.
  
• With this increase in values-driven experiental shopping, NMI projects that sales of organic products could reach $24 billion in 2011
  

NMI Publishes Marketing Research:

• The 2007 Health and Wellness Trends Report
• The 2005 Organic Consumer Trends Report
• Understanding The LOHAS Market Report™ Series
  

What is your carbon footprint?

It is hard to ignore the topic of sustainability with the media coverage on the issue of global warming & climate change. An article in the MarketingNPV journal addresses the issues of Metrics associated with a brand and organizations environmental friendliness.

How Green Are Your Metrics?: At the dashboard level, there are four key areas companies should be making improvements in and measuring when trying to affect a positive change in greenhouse gas emissions:

• reducing your carbon footprint;
• reducing energy/fuel consumption;
• utilizing more renewable and sustainable resources; and
• recycling or reducing waste.

Some links:

• Redefining Progress
• My Footprint
  
• Hybrid Center
• Natural Step
• Global Footprint Network
• Turn the Tide
• Gaiam