Green retail, flea markets, and the ‘buy local’ movement

Whether it’s “locavores” eating local produce, architects and builders sourcing materials locally to meet environmental standards, or people who want to support the local economy, individuals and businesses alike seem to be moving towards buying local products of all kinds. How far the trend will go and what effect it will have long term on local businesses is difficult to predict, but the trend does appear to have real potential for small business owners of all kinds, including vendors at swap meets and flea markets.

Check out my entire article on FleaMarketZone.com.

Lowe's jumps on the LED bulb bandwagon

I've already mentioned Home Depot's adoption of the LED light bulb. Now comes word that Home Depot wanna-be Lowe's is doing the same. Cnet's Green Tech reports that the number two home improvement giant will be carrying a new Osram Sylvania 60-watt LED bulb. That's 60-watt equivalent, of course. The whole point is that the light only draws 12 watts of energy to produce the same illumination as a traditional incandescent bulb.

Lowe's: Three green steps forward, one step back

In September, number two home improvement giant Lowe's announced it was rolling out its Energy Center concept nationwide, and putting recycling centers in every store as well. The Energy Centers are an  in-store gathering of energy-efficient products, while the recylcing centers let customers bring in rechargeable batteries, cell phones, compact fluorescent lights, and plastic bags. 

And this month, the EPA named Lowe's its WaterSense Partner of the Year for the second year in a row; Lowe's is the first retailer to be tapped two years running.

But in Salem, Mass., environmentalists are attacking the company's plans for a new store.

Farmers markets for friend and faux

Local farm markets are eco-friendly on several fronts. They generally use less pesticide, so they are less polluting. They bring food to consumers over tens or hundred of miles, not thousands — that decreases the carbon impact of shipping produce from other states and continents. Indie farmers are more likely to grow heirloom varieties, not monocultures bred for transport and consistency of appearance over taste — that increases biodiversity and resistance to plant disease.

More to the point, customer awareness of these issues is rising, and consumer demand for organic produce is on the rise. So, attracted to the higher prices that organics can now demand, farmers' markets are on the upswing. And so are con artists hoping to cash in on the trend.

NBC News' LA team took a look at farmers markets recently, and found that some farm market vendors are buying wholesale non-organic produce and reselling it as "organic." In some cases, the "farm" in question were just fields of weeds. NBC offered three tips for identifying true farmers at your local market:

• Try to get to know a few vendors really well. Ask where their farm is located, how long they've been farming, how they handle pest and disease issues. See if they're listed on sites like LocalHarvest -- not all farmers are, but it doesn't hurt to check. Ask them the specific variety of whatever produce they're selling. If they really grew it, they should be able to tell you that those are 'Emerite' filet beans, not just "green beans."
• Look over the display. Really look. This is a great tip from Homegrown Evolution. Are all of the tomatoes the exact same shape and size? Do the apples have that waxy supermarket look? Are the cucumbers all perfectly uniform? Are they selling "local" watermelon in Detroit during the first week of May? If so, they probably went to the warehouse club and bought produce to sell at a premium at the farmer's market. Steer clear.
• Know what's in season! If you see watermelon in April or peppers in December in Minnesota or Michigan, chances are good that they have not been grown locally. While some farmers have large heated greenhouses to grow produce year-round, not all do, and it pays to ask questions if the vendor is displaying a lot of out-of-season produce.

And here's another sign that there's a buck to be made selling faux organic produce: Supermarkets are setting up "Farmers Markets" in their parking lots!

Retailers continue to push green practices

Momentum continues to build for environmentally friendly practices in retail settings. The U.S. Green Building Council is expected to release its LEED for Retail standards later this year; in the meantime, many retailers are pursuing other forms of certification under LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).

Since 2000, 2,600 retail projects have been registered with the USGBC, and half of those were approved last year.

And retailers achieving certification include not only big chains but also independent retailers. For example. JCPenney won kudos for recycling, installing energy-efficient lighting, and motion sensor faucets. Office Depot got LEED credits for skylights, Energy Star rated HVAC equipment, ands low-flow urinals. Even a small retailer like a Goodwill store in Macedon, N.Y., was recognized for adding carbon dioxide sensors to control air quality and a white roof design to reduce heat.

These retailers are not just looking for environmental cred or good public relations. They are moving to green practices to add to the bottom line. For example, consider Wal-Mart. According to the USGBC, studies show that daylight has a significant potential to boost retail sales. “Skylights incorporated into Wal-Mart’s prototype Eco-Mart in Lawrence, Kansas yielded a surprising discovery,” reads a USGBC report. “To cut costs, skylights were installed over only half the store. Sales per square foot was significantly higher for those departments with access to natural light. Wal-Mart subsequently mandated daylighting in all new stores.”

Online, there are many suggestions for increasing a store’s eco-friendliness; here are a few:

• Eliminate waste: reuse shopping bags, and encourage shoppers to use canvas rather than paper or plastic.
• Use sustainable materials: certified wood can be used for interior construction, and durable recycled carpet is now available.
• Sell green products: Do the research necessary to source and offer green products to your customers.
• Save energy: Reduce a store’s carbon footprint with smart thermostats, lighting on timers, and energy efficient bulbs. There are even ways to reduce the energy wasted by electronic cash registers and computers.

There may be a side benefit for retailers in going green as well: a more motivated work force that feels a sense of accomplishment.

Even flea markets can be green

Check out this article I wrote at my new job:

Trends converge to make eco-friendly flea markets even greener

Store design can be beautiful and eco-friendly

Check out this blog post with clever ideas on using recycled materials in store interior design.

Retailers recognized for green efforts

I've noticed a slew of recent articles discussing green trends and surveying green stores. Here are a few links.

From Triplepundit, Are Big Box Stores Advancing or Detracting Sustainability Efforts? Yes.: "Over the past five years, big box stores have recognized that mitigating their environmental impacts and those of the products they sell can be important marketing tools."

In the Seattle Times, 'Green' is the new black: "Even during the recession, shoppers have increasingly asked for more clothing, shoes and accessories made from sustainable and organic materials. Manufacturers and retailers are responding."

On MNN, 10 eco-friendly retailers: "Every greenie loves to hate Walmart. But the retail giant has been making huge strides in providing average people with eco-friendly options by filling its more than 8,000 retail stores worldwide with green living items like Energy Star appliances, non-toxic cookware and organic-certified groceries."

From Refinery29, Green Mile: Our Guide To Eco-Friendly Shopping In NYC: "From borough to borough, more and more businesses are taking extra steps to introduce green options."

Office Depot to seek LEED certification for all new stores

The office supplies giant announced that it will pursue LEED certification for all new stores it opens, starting June 2010. The chain has been a leader in green retailing for some time now, joining the USGBC in 2007 and opening its first LEED-certified store in June 2008. With the success of that unit, the chain has decided to go green with all future stores.

Although the prototype store in Austin, Texas -- pictured here at its groundbreaking in the photo, courtesy Office Depot -- has achieved LEED Gold certification, the chain did not commit to that level for future stores, simply saying, "the company will pursue Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Commercial Interiors (CI) certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for all new Office Depot retail stores."

Also noteworthy: The company cited "impressive energy and monetary savings" as part of its expectations for the planned green stores.

Canadian big-box retailers to meet at eco-summit

Wal-Mart Canada has invited its competitors and other companies to a green business conclave to be held just before the Winter Olympics. Companies who have agreed to attend include Coca-Cola Canada, Colgate-Palmolive Canada, and McDonald's Canada, as well as rivals Canadian Tire and Home Depot Canada. Altogether, 300 executives from business, government, and non-profits will be there.

Here's what Wal-Mart Canada CEO David Cheesewright in a Vancouver Sun op-ed:

Wal-Mart Canada will host some of Canada's top business executives, non-profits and government leaders at the Wal-Mart Green Business Summit in Vancouver. There are two concepts driving the summit. The first is that by demonstrating the business case for more environmentally sustainable business practices, whether lower costs because of greater efficiencies or greater sales because of increased green product, we can show business that green should not be seen as a new set of restrictions: It is a world of opportunity. This will move business to change faster than any regulations can. The second concept is that collaboration is a must. The planet does not have time for all of us to work in silos, wasting time and money recreating more sustainable business practices. We must share green knowledge.

The event, timed to build on publicity from the winter games, seems to be equal parts marketing hoopla and serious summit. Check out the statement from Canadian Tire, as cited in the Environmental Leader:

Competitor Canadian Tire said it viewed its participation in the summit as a platform to discuss its “leadership position” in sustainability.

A little combative, sure. But if big companies are jockeying to be king of the green retail mountain, that's progress, right?

Explosion of expos

The local home show has long been a staple of home improvement professionals at convention centers around the country. I bought my first ladder at a home show, myself. But there is a new, eco-friendly twist to the phenomenon: the green expo. More and more of these are popping up. Consider these events, to pick a few:

• Living Green Expo, in southern New Jersey.
• Northern Green Expo, in Minneapolis. 
• Go Green Expo, in seven-plus cities, including New York.
• Idaho Green, in Boise.
• Greenbuild, in Phoenix in 2009, Chicago in 2010.

If you are thinking about exhibiting at one of these events, whether a trade show or a home show, your cred goes up if you keep your own booth as environmentally friendly as your product. To that end, here's some advice for attending green shows:

• Make sure give-aways are actually likely to be useful, and make them from recycled materials. Use canvas bags, not plastic.
• Give out information on CDs or flash drives. If you have to use paper, use recycled paper and avoid coatings that are hard to recycle.
• Design your booth components to be reusable and recyclable.

And in the Do-As-I-Say-Not-As-I-Do Department, here's a Web page with the promising title, "Green tips for exhibitors" -- but the page offers only this:

For this years show National Funeral Exhibitions will be encouraging exhibitors and suppliers to improve environmental performance. An information sheet giving simple and practical green advice will be distributed to all exhibitors.

Translation: Nope, no info online, but we have eco-tips for you printed on dead trees. Epic Fail, as the kiddies say.

Photo hat tip: Alternative Consumer.

Boulder, Colo., eco-home center changes hands

Ellie's Eco Home Store, formerly a subsidiary of Eco Products, has been acquired by Steve Savage, a former president of Eco-Products, according to a report in the Boulder County Business Report. Both companies are based in Boulder, Colo.

New green LBM dealer plans to launch 25-unit chain

California developer and entrepreneur Rich Rifkin is launching a chain of eco-friendly lumber and building material units in California. The chain, New Home, has started a Web site and gotten some press. The first store will open in Dublin, Calif., in January. Eventually, Rifkin plans to push the chain throughout California and eventually the United States, according to reports. The company Web site mentions plans to open 10 in the San Francisco Bay area alone.

The art of recycling at retail

The paradox of making beautiful things from trash existed long before the green movement gained the momentum it has today. But as appreciation of the environment has grown, recycled art has become mainstream. So much so, in fact, that retailers are taking advantage of the trend in several ways.

Some retailers are selling recycled art. Home Depot offers a swing sculpted of used tires. Look at these lovely drawer and cabinet pulls made of recycled glass and pottery. Here's a directory with many recycled art product links.

Canadian home center Rona recycled an Apple iPod billboard to cleverly promote its paint recycling program (photo above).

And retailers are using recycled art in window displays. A Whole Foods in Hawaii offers a sea and surf theme. An English coffee shop window has a bug theme. And this blogger has two examples in Seattle.

For retailers seeking to wear their green cred on their sleeves, consider using art to make the case.

The lease you can do

Here's a detailed blog post on green leases in commercial real estate. I especially like how this essay combines practical info with a realistic mindset -- for example, giving examples of green tech gone wrong and stressing the importance of keeping on schedule and in budget -- while also pushing the most strict levels of certification, based on LEED standards and the 2008 BOMA Guide.

Green building is generally more costly and timely than the standard construction process. Landlords and tenants must realize this when determining the tenant improvement allowances detailed in the lease. Although having a green space is obviously an important issue, having a finished space ready in the necessary time period is generally a far more important issue. It is thus important for both parties to discuss these potential timing and cost issues with construction and design professionals that have green building experience that can provide advice in regard to both of these concerns.

Natural lighting boosts retail sales -- at least it did in 1999!

I was browsing the Web, following interesting links, and I came to a company -- Entech Solar -- that makes skylights for commercial businesses. And that led me to a link at the bottom of that page, on Skylighting and Retail Stores. (If you want to read the report, you have to go there and click on the link yourself, since I was unable to embed it.)

That research report, in PDF format, had some interesting results, including these:

Skylights were found to be positively and significantly correlated to higher sales. All other things being equal, an average non-skylit store in the chain would likely have 40% higher sales with the addition of skylights, with a probable range between 31% and 49%. This was found with 99% statistical certainty. After the number of hours open per week, the presence of skylights was the best predictor of the sales per store of all the variables that we considered.

and also

Informal interviews with shoppers repeatedly confirmed that the vast majority of shoppers were not aware of the skylights. The questioner, looking just like any other shopper, would approach a shopper and ask: “May I ask you a question?” The response was universally affirmative. We then asked, “What do you think of the skylights in this store?” The typical response was to look up, look puzzled, and then say, “That’s funny. I never noticed them before.” Out of 42 interviews in 10 skylit stores, only three shoppers could be found who were already aware of the skylights. Two of those volunteered that they had only noticed the skylights because their small child had pointed them out on an earlier trip, while looking up at a balloon or other bright object.

and also

A store with skylights is observed to have a sales index higher than an equivalent store without skylights. This is clearly the largest effect of any of the variables considered, (at B=+1.55). It is possible that there may be other reasons that the skylit stores are performing so well as a group. In our site visits, we made every effort to try to identify other characteristics of the skylit stores that might contribute to higher sales, but we did not find any obvious candidates. However, that possibility should always be kept in mind when examining these results.

and this

These results show that adding skylighting to the average non-skylit store within the chain would be likely to improve its performance by 40%, with a probable range somewhere between 31% and 49%. Thus, if this non-skylit store were averaging sales of $2/SF, then its sales might be expected to increase to between $2.61 and $2.98 with the addition of a skylighting system.

But here's the biggest caveat -- the study was conducted in 1999! Ugh. I have a call in to the research company, and I'll post any updates I hear about. The research was sponsored by the utility company PG&E, which encourages me, since a utility company would not, I think, preferentially seek out research that suggests decreasing electricity use. Food for thought.

Sustainability in the home

Mainstream attitudes toward sustainability -- especially in everyday living -- are getting greener and greener. Take this essay on Sustainability in the home. And as consumers look for eco-friendly solutions, retailers should not dismiss the opportunity of offering shoppers the products and services that let them do so economically and easily.

Weatherization report tells how retailers use tax credits to drive sales

Here's a special report by the staff of Home Channel News on energizing sales at retail by making the most of the weatherization incentives in the recent stimulus package.

For many Americans, the new tax incen tives provi de the perfect justification they need to replace drafty windows and doors; add insulation to the attic; or install a new, energy-efficient water heater. These incentives are targeted to the retrofit market, providing remodelers — and their suppliers — some much-needed revenues.

Full disclosure: I'm the managing editor of Home Channel News.

Survey: 41% of retailers say sustainability is "key"

Prenova and Chain Store Age magazine have teamed up to produce a free report on sustainability and energy issues for retailers. You have to register with some basic data before you can download the PDF, but it's worth it. Here are a couple excerpts:

Without question, sustainability is a serious concern for retailers, regardless of the sales volume of the chain or the number of stores. In the survey, the largest percentage of retailers, 41.2%, said that sustainability is a “key component” of their strategy, and 38.6% said that sustainability is “important but not one of our top priorities.” Only 3% said “sustainability isn’t something we worry about.”

Why are the smaller-sized retailers slower to formalize their strategies? Is it simply that larger retailers have more resources to dedicate to the initiatives? Of those surveyed, only 13.9% of respondents — generally the larger-sized retailers — say that their sustainability strategies fall under the responsibility of an “energy management department,” whereas the majority of smaller retailers seem to parcel out the responsibilities to disparate groups, including facilities management, construction and finance.

Full disclosure: I'm the managing editor at Chain Store Age.

A tree grows in Brooklyn ... and in Harlem, and in Times Square

Even though the news is mostly bleak in the retail environment -- heck, through the entire monetary ecosystem -- it is heartening to see some sparks of encouraging life at home here in New York City

Here's a little neighborhood shop just opened to cater to a green customer base in Brooklyn.

Here's a big multi-family housing and retail project going up in Harlem -- to be LEED Silver certified.

There's a push to power the giant billboards in Times Square with wind and solar energy.

And Inhabitat says the city has a plan to roll out super-efficient LED street lamps.

You go, Big Apple!