For all the traditional merriment they embody, Christmas trees are a) awkward to transport and b) terribly depressing when they're discarded in January.
No longer if L.A. landscape architect, Scott Martin, has his way.
Scott founded The Living Christmas Company, which gives L.A. residents the chance to rent a living Christmas tree and have it delivered right to their door.
Unlike regular Christmas trees, around 20 million of which are felled each year in the US, living trees are transplanted, roots and all, into pots for the festive period.
After the holidays, Scott and his team pick up the trees, replant them and nurture them until next year.
Customers can order a tree from the company's website, and sizes range from 3–8 feet and prices—including delivery and collection by bio-diesel truck—are comparable to those of felled trees.
While the company isn't the first to offer tree rentals for Christmas, it is the first we've seen that lets customers adopt a pine, allowing them to share Christmas with the same tree year after year, watching it grow along with their family.
Adopted trees are tracked by barcode.
The concept will certainly appeal to eco-conscious Angelenos, who may not get a white Christmas, but can now choose a greener one.
Ref. http://www.springwise.com/eco_sustainability/livingchristmas/
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International No Shop Day back in 1997 was marked by the 'grand opening' of No Shop – the shop that promised everything but sold nothing.
The No Shop, an installation by designers Thomas/Matthews in collaboration with Friends of the Earth's Art and Nature Programme and the Royal College of Art, displayed all of the tempting window design and special offers used to lure in shoppers, while the space inside simply contained images of empty shelves and a single 'No Sales Assistant' behind an image of a cash register.
Visitors received a special paper shopping bag with a 'receipt' containing information on International No Shop Day and thanking the 'shopper' for ‘not shopping at No Shop’. (Thanks to JW for this one.)
The event is focused on the need to reduce material consumption and pollution to within defined ecological limits, and questions whether increasing consumerism can deliver a better quality of life.
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Frito-Lay is putting out Sun Chips bags that contain plant-based materials. It’s one more example of the way companies are rethinking how they package their products for the good of the environment.
Frito-Lay announced its plant-based bag last month, and is planning to have a chip bag on the shelves by Earth Day 2010 that’s made of 100% renewable materials and completely compostable.
Where the compostable Sun Chips bag will differ from most other bioplastics is that it can be composted in home composting systems, not just industrial systems that few consumers have access to. Tony Knoerzer, Frito-Lay's VP of packaging research and development, said he put samples of the 100% compostable bag in his home compost bin, and it was gone in eight weeks.
When questioned why Frito-Lay is slowly adding renewable materials to the bag, starting at 33% instead of jumping straight to the 100% content bag, he explained the barrier is getting the right amount of scale.
“Even if the bags don't get composted at the end of their lives”, he said, “They have additional benefits: they were made from a renewable, non-petroleum resource and lead to fewer greenhouse gas emissions.”
Ref. http://www.GreenerDesign.com/blog/2009/05/20/greener-design-reducing-remaking-and-eliminating-packaging
If pop art were to cross paths with prefab housing, the result might resemble this Warhol-esque prefab home.
Designed by Austin + Mergold, A-House-In-A-Can is a single-family residence built in the round interior of a grain silo.
Constructed with off-the-shelf components and clad with a prefabricated steel facade, this innovative prefab home design could be the answer to your farm-living, Warhol-loving dreams.
Grain silos aren’t difficult to source from farm supply companies and they’re both fairly sturdy and weather-proof.
Made from galvanized corrugated steel (a little over 1/16″ thick), a grain silo could serve as a beefy, industrial-looking exterior for a home.
Similar in concept to using a shipping container as the shell for a project, grain silo fabrication is easily and cheaply accomplished.
The House-In-A-Can home design utilises a 36-foot diameter grain silo and features three levels totaling 2,000 feet2 of living space.
Two or three bedrooms can be located on the second level, with the living and dining space on the bottom.
The top floor can be used as a deck, extended living space, or even a greenhouse.
And multiple silos could be connected to each other to create larger homes or even an apartment block.
Green Depot began as a supplier of green building materials, and after a rise in public awareness and interest, they recently took the plunge into the consumer world.
Green Depot’s store on the Bowery NY showcases all things to do with ‘living’, from building materials to gardening supplies and lighting options.
They have a ‘filter’ system that evaluates the environmental impact of their products, so as to squarely address greenwashing.
The jewel in the Green Depot crown is their cleaning agent refill bar.
Anyone can bring a bottle in and have it refilled with all-purpose cleaner or dish soap.
The stuff is literally on tap, and a friendly barista (soap-tender?) is on hand to fill the bottles and tape on new labels.
The cost? Twelve cents an ounce, which works out cheaper than buying a new bottle.
Ref. http://peopleareamazing.wordpress.com/
What began as an assemblage of 1,000 empty beer cartons pulled together by residents in East Germany has now evolved into an incredible open-air public library.
Designed by Karo Architekten in collaboration with local residents, the grassroots project revitalises a post-industrial district in Magdeburg, Germany by creating a cultural centre and pop-up library where books are free to take and leave 24 hours a day.
Libraries and book lending are great green practices insofar as they encourage the use of shared resources and cut down on crates of pressed tree pulp circulating the globe.
They’re even better when they foster a communal spirit of sharing, as does Magdeburg’s new Open Air Library.
In addition to its book lending facilities, the Open Air Library also introduces a burst of green public space to a post-industrial district.
The grassy plaza features a reading cafe and a stage that hosts elementary school theater plays, public readings, concerts, and other cultural events.
Ref. http://www.inhabitat.com/2009/11/03/stunning-open-air-library-pops-up-in-east-germany/
Companies who employ disruptive thinking to position unique, game-changing products and services have an edge.
For those that don’t, this might just be the optimal time to step back and reassess.
If sales are ailing, mightn’t the company benefit from a fresh new point of view? Tweaking products, packaging and the marketing approach might be exactly what the doctor ordered.
Products in every category are becoming commoditised at a faster rate than ever before. That brings us all back to the true role of marketing: that of providing clear differentiation and memorable experiences for the customer as job #1.
Packaging continues to grow in importance in the marketing mix. It brings branded products to consumers in a tangible manner, so it’s time to take a fresh, new and yes, disruptive, approach to it.
Ref. http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2009/09/-how-can-your-packaging-become-disruptive.html
Lufthansa has found an innovative way to get its name pinged around the web.
Through its free MySkyStatus service, fliers can sign up for flight status updates to be posted automatically to their Facebook or Twitter profiles.
Available for flights on any airline, passengers enter their flight details and Facebook or Twitter login details beforehand, and MySkyStatus will post regular updates about their departure, altitude, location and arrival as they travel.
Besides providing social media addicts with a cool new trick, MySkyStatus reminds us of FlightCaster for the helping hand it gives anyone expecting the arrival of a friend or co-worker.
MySkyStatus taps into two growing consumer trends: the whole world is engaged in ongoing conversations that smart brands can be part of, and 'real-time' is becoming an integral element of many products and services we use.
In using this as a marketing tool (a short ‘powered by Lufthansa’ is tacked on to every update), the airline smartly chose to open MySkyStatus to people flying with any airline, thereby initiating conversations that its competitors might not be part of.
Ref. http://www.trendbird.co.kr/3062
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Paul Coudamy is a French architect whose work is a contemporary mash-up of inventiveness supplied by today’s technologies and materials.
Paul’s ethos is to mix new technologies while diverting from their original use.
His latest masterpiece, aptly named Random Resurrection, is a table and chairs made up of furniture found on eBay.
Paul’s designs are not only about making or re-purposing things to create new ones but to question and disrupt the original form of an object.
How could you take this principle say into food, drink or finance?
Ref. http://www.psfk.com/2009/11/paul-coudamys-random-resurrection.html
From France to Fiji, bottled water brands rely on spring-based provenance to lure customers.
And now a newcomer is focusing on a different kind of message: positivity.
A Bottle Of, which claims to be Australia's first Naturally Positive spring water, currently comes in three varieties: wellbeing, love and strength.
Launched by Heidi Albertiri, a flower stylist who believes in the power of positivity, A Bottle Of hopes to lift people's moods, encouraging them to ‘Sip it - Say it - Absorb it - Feel it - Think about it - Repeat it - Believe it’.
Given the size of both the self-help market and the bottled water industry, there's something to be said for a brand that combines the two.
A Bottle Of is currently sold through a small number of retailers, yoga centres and gyms in New South Wales and Victoria, and the company is actively seeking stockists in Melbourne and Sydney.
Furthering its message of positive change, a nickel from each bottle sold goes to Food Water Shelter, a not-for-profit organisation that builds eco-friendly children's villages in Tanzania.
Ref. http://www.springwise.com/food_beverage/abottleof/
The Hotel Everland is a portable, green, rectangular room.
Conceived by Sabina Lang and Daniel Baumann, it’s been stationed in beautiful landscapes and cities in Switzerland, Germany, and France.
In the picture below, it sits like a jewel on the roof of the contemporary art space, Palais De Tokyo in Paris.
The views from the large windows provide uniquely stunning views.
While inside the green and white container is a comfortable room with a king-size bed, a fully working bathroom in beautiful blue mosaic tile, a large lounge, a record collection, an over-stuffed mini-bar (included in the price), and breakfast is delivered to your door in the morning.
However, unlike a traditional hotel, guests are allowed to stay for one night only in the year and it's also open to museum visitors during the day.
Everything, including top class service, seems to deliver the ideal of luxury and indulgence most modern hotels want to deliver.
Well worth experiencing, the room costs around €333-444 to book for the night and bookings happen online exclusively.
To give everyone a fair shot, bookings can be made only two months in advance and new booking slots are opened every week.
Ref. http://www.coolhunting.com/archives/2007/12/everland_hotel.php
Many brands don't seem to want to educate their customers, just in case all the extra effort goes to waste or benefits a competitor. Not so Intelligentsia Coffee. This small chain operates a ‘lab’ in New York dedicated to helping people learn more about coffee.
They offer barista classes, coffee and food pairing, home-brewing, milk steaming and latte art, cupping, espresso and brewed coffee tasting.
Ref. http://www.influxinsights.com/blog/article/2417/making-your-customers-smarter.html
http://www.intelligentsiacoffee.com/about/about-us
Hint Mint was founded on the idea that simple objects (like a tin of mints) can also be beautiful lifestyle accessories.
Calling themselves the original designer mint, Hint Mint turn a commodity product associated with bad breath into a ‘designer breath accessory’, and describe their mints as a ‘gesture of kindness’, hinting to potential buyers that they ‘need this mint’.
As well as beautiful and functional pocket accessories, Hint Mint is also using their limited edition approach to support worthwhile causes like breast cancer.
(Thanks, Wadey, for sharing your trip to the Algerian coffee shop.)
Ref. http://www.hintmint.com/
Male grooming brand, Bulldog, is biting back.
Their 100% masculine products provide an answer to those stripped down ‘for men’ versions of female brands.
Bulldog’s affordable range also aims to provide men with a new, natural and pioneering alternative to the chemically over-laden grooming sector.
Packaged with strong but simple branding, Bulldog clearly knows its market: men who care about their skin but who aren’t interested in fussy lotions and potions.
Simple and reasonably priced, it does the trick without the girlie frills – just right for these credit crunch times. (A big thank you to Lee for this.)
Ref. http://meetthebulldog.com/
How can you help shoppers feel less guilty when shopping for luxury? One of the hottest new stores in Paris, Merci, is fusing fashion with philanthropy. The store's light, loft-like space is as trendy as any other concept store, and stocks brands such as Stella McCartney, special versions of Annick Goutal perfume, flowers and used books.
The ‘guilt-free’ difference is that all profits, after operating costs are paid, go to children's charities. Last month, Merci (founded by Marie-France Cohen as a way of giving back after selling luxury children's clothing label, Bonpoint) opened a temporary one-month shop in New York with help from Gap.The charity aspect may give consumers another reason to visit the store, Ms. Cohen says, although she believes ‘a consumer who’s tempted by an item goes back to being just a consumer.’
More and more companies are homing in on the ‘guilt-free’ aspects of environmentally safe products, and are even trying to do their bit to reduce waste and – interestingly – overconsumption. Last year, upscale Swedish clothing brand, Filippa K, opened a secondhand store in Stockholm that sells its own used clothes for at least 50% off.
Ref. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704597704574487342734060448.html?mod=WSJ_hpp_sections_lifestyle
Greg Taylor
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