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Some Sweet News about Chocolate…

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I am a certified chocoholic. I still remember being wowed by the first Whitman’s Sampler I saw as a kid. And through the years I discovered M&Ms and Hershey’s chocolate bars and Godiva and See’s Chocolates – to name just a few.

Chocolate companies need to source their cocoa ethically.

Chocolate companies need to source their cocoa ethically.

The “dark side” of chocolate

So I was dismayed to learn from Green America about how much cocoa production involves child slave labor. The global chocolate market is $83 billion a year, of which the cocoa farmers get a pittance.

This past Christmas was the first where my family skipped our usual boxes of Godiva’s and See’s. My daughter was not happy, but as a high school student she is old enough to understand that feeding our “sweet teeth” should not come at the expense of children.

Since learning about this issue, I’ve paid attention to some of the big chocolate companies. I was underwhelmed by Hershey’s response, which was to drag their feet for years and then announce in 2012 that they would source 100% Fair Trade cocoa by 2020. That’s an 8 year lead time. In the life of a child, 8 years is an eternity. And who really “recovers” from being a slave?

But there is some recent good news to share:

  • Harry Potter fans persuaded Warner Bros. Studio to source ALL of the cocoa for their chocolates from Fair Trade sources by the end of 2015. That’s this year. If you’ve read the Harry Potter books, you know that magical chocolate frogs figure prominently.
  • Hershey just announced that they are ahead of schedule in sourcing their cocoa from Fair Trade sources.  “30 percent of their globally sourced cocoa was independently certified and verified in 2014—this reflects an accelerated pace for achieving its goal of sourcing 100 percent of its cocoa supply from certified and sustainable cocoa farms by 2020.” That’s still not fast enough, but it’s better.

I’ve often wondered why can’t we grow cocoa beans here in the US. There’s huge demand for it, it’s healthy for you in moderation, and we’d eliminate the emissions that currently arise from shipping beans by boat across the Atlantic. I’m sure there’s an agricultural scientist out there who knows why that won’t work. But if urban dwellers can grow their produce on their apartment walls, then there must be opportunities to grow the much-beloved cocoa bean in news ways and places.

Sharing Great Green Content from Earth911

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My New Year is off to a fast start, and that’s a happy thing.

Today I’m sharing some posts that I wrote late last year and early this about cars, food, jets and the circular (green) economy.  Disclaimer: I was paid to write these for Earth911.com – a client – although not by the individual companies. I think the information is useful.

Earth911.com is a treasure trove of information.

Earth911.com is a treasure trove of information.

Creating Awareness

As I work with businesses and talk to people, I am struck by the continuing lack of awareness around green businesses and the products they create. Green business is not a “scam” or a “hoax” or a “threat to jobs.” On the contrary, green businesses are here today. Green businesses range from behemoths like Google to tiny ones like Great Green Content. They are profitable AND they minimize harm to the planet.

Green businesses create jobs

And while the oil and gas industries have grown with the shale oil boom, scientists have told us for years that using fossil fuels puts greenhouse gas emissions in the air, which leads to global warming, which leads to climate change. And all the droughts, floods, storms, property damage and weather-related insurance claims that that entails. Fossil fuels need to stay in the ground.

It reminds me of a bumper sticker I saw when I lived in North Carolina. It said, “Tobacco put my kids through school.”  Unfortunately, that tobacco probably killed or sickened people as well. People need jobs, but not jobs that harm other people.

So here is a sample of my articles. It heartens me to know that green business is taking off in all directions. And I want YOU to be heartened – and more aware – too!

Really, this is just the tip of the green business iceberg. I’ll be writing weekly for Earth911.com, so if you are interested in even one of these, there are plenty more on tap.

A Simple Green Success Story

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Last month, I ran into a business that doesn’t bill itself as “green” but really is – through and through.

It’s Simple Green Smoothies. The word “green” here doesn’t mean “eco-friendly.” It means that all the smoothies contain spinach or kale – 2 green veggie powerhouses. And the smoothies taste fantastic.

An "eco-friendly" company, that doesn't preach "green."

An “eco-friendly” company, that doesn’t preach “green.”

When I found their website, I saw something very deft – a green business that doesn’t preach “greenness.” Instead, they focus on health and feeling great and getting your kids to “drink their veggies.” They made me a convert.

This website does a lot of things right. It has:

  • a sense of fun. When you see the pictures of Jen and Jadah holding green “mustaches” to their faces, you can’t help but smile.
  • a focus on health, something most people want, rather than on “being green.”
  • a friendly vibe. When you read that Jen and Jadah are “two friends on a mission to spread the love of green smoothies,” you understand that right away. It’s simple and authentic.
  • lots of lovely images. A picture of a green smoothie looks – to the uninitiated – like “green sludge” (Jadah’s words, not mine). So instead, they photographed the ingredients. Berries, bananas, mangoes – beautifully arranged – look colorful and healthy and enticing.
  • lots of “how to” information. Everything from how to blend a smoothie, to what ingredients you can substitute, to where to find the right kind of blender. They make it easy for people like me –a former non-smoothie person – to try this.

The site promotes “green behaviors” without calling them that

Instead, they describe them as:

  • Ways to save money. For example, in the FAQ, there’s a section on how to do smoothies on a budget. Every tip that follows could be lifted from a page titled “How to Grocery Shop in a More Eco-friendly Way.” But instead they focus on another customer value – saving money – that has both broader appeal and matters to their audience.
  • Friendly suggestions. A second place they sneak in “green”  behaviors is on the “Essentials” page.  They suggest using mason jars, stainless steel straws, and re-usable travel cups. These are all wildly eco-friendly tips. They are simply suggested as the best way to drink your smoothie – as Jen and Jadah do.

A successful, profitable green business

Simple Green Smoothies is a profitable, successful business. More than 500,000 people have taken their green smoothie challenge. They focus on health, feeling great, and losing weight through the power of green smoothies. But they also model and encourage “greener” behaviors in their business and among their fans, without calling them that. And that’s OK.

In more ways than one, their site helps people adopt “greener” behaviors in a “smooth” and enjoyable way (sorry – bad pun.) It’s a model many other businesses can emulate.

“How Whole Foods is Taking Over America”

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Fortune magazine’s cover story this week is titled  “How Whole Foods is Taking Over America.”

While I think that’s a stretch,  I am a fan of this company. (And no, they’re not paying me to say that.)

Whole Foods Market is taking over America, according to Fortune.

Whole Foods Market is taking over America, according to Fortune.

Whole Foods does several things that a green business – food-related or not – can emulate:

  • They aren’t afraid to charge higher prices. But they also carry a mix of price levels. Their in-house “365 Every Day Value” brand is a relative bargain. While “greener” may mean more expensive for some items, Whole Foods is flexible where they can be.
  • They are a niche, but the niche is getting bigger, and that is due to the efforts of Whole Foods itself. If customers consider your green business  a niche, that need not limit you. When I shop Target or Publix, I see more organic foods than ever. They are responding to the pressure of having a Whole Foods in the neighborhood.
  • They re-imagine what a grocery store can be. Whole Foods is focused on food and customers – not just logistics and warehouses. According to co-CEO John Mackey, “Grocery shopping used to be a chore people did – like laundry or taking out the garbage… That’s completely the opposite of what food is.” So Whole Foods is about food and people, and the simple pleasures that can arise from that.

  • They are good neighbors. When they came to my neighborhood, they didn’t just open a store. They put in bike racks to encourage customers to ride over. They put in electric car charging stations with primo parking spots by the door. And they contributed to the local YMCA, which was a few doors down. 

  • They’re patient. The first Whole Foods opened in 1980 in Austin, Texas. That’s 34 years ago. Today’s emphasis on speedy returns would get Whole Foods laughed out of an investors meeting. But we would all be the poorer for it.

Last, and not least

Oh – and Whole Foods is scary profitable. Revenue has doubled and profits have tripled since 2007. Now that’s the kind of sustainable, green business I’m talking about.