Last week, I noticed that the bottle had changed.  It is now made of a darker blue plastic, and has a slightly different shape.  When I looked closer, I saw that the label included a new logo, with the phrase, “ECO SENSE BOTTLE.”  There is a trademark symbol after eco-sense, which makes the logo look pretty official.  Here’s a picture I took with my phone:

Image of the "ECO SENSE BOTTLE" logo on new 5-gallon Poland Spring bottles.

Given my interest in green marketing and green business issues, I looked closer at the bottle, hoping for an explanation of what eco-sense means.  Unfortunately, the only language that could be considered an explanation was, “our eco-sense bottle is returned, refilled and recycled.”  As far as I know, the large bottles on water coolers have been getting returned, refilled and recycled for years.  In fact, when the Poland Spring delivery team comes to our office, they drop full bottles off and pick up empty bottles to be cleaned and refilled.

Unfortunately, the bottle does not have any more information on what the company, owned by Nestle, means by the new logo.  Therefore, I called Poland Spring late last week and connected with someone in their Consumer Affairs department.  When they learned that I was calling about a bottle typically delivered to businesses, they connected me to a group that fields questions and comments for their business services group.

I spoke with a very nice representative who explained, “We’re trying to use less plastic on the actual bottles.” She also explained that they are made from “an easier plastic to recycle.”  I asked a follow-up question about the ease of recycling the material, but she didn’t have specifics available.  I made the suggestion that future bottles include this additional information about containing less plastic and being easier to recycle.

The key lesson from this experience with Poland Spring is one that I and others in the green marketing community have been emphasizing for years: when you make green claims, you must be transparent and provide the details behind the language and numbers. Wherever possible, it helps to provide third-party references for your claims.  Poland Spring did not do this, which surprised me, given their past experience: Nestle Waters was hammered with greenwashing claims by bloggers when they came out with their eco-shape bottle across all of their water brands in 2007-2008 (of which Poland Spring is one) – here’s another example of criticism they received.  I understand why they have been accused of greenwashing for their retail side bottles, as the majority of plastic bottles end up in landfills, and the eco-shape logo gives people the impression that they are being environmentally-friendly by drinking bottled water.  Terrachoice, a leading environmental marketing agency, defines greenwashing as “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.”  I personally try to drink water out of a reusable bottle whenever possible, and my firm has given them to all of our employees as a way to practice what we preach.

The difference in the case of the eco-sense 5-gallon bottle is that it is not greenwashing, but rather a failure of a major brand to provide clarity on its green claims.  Large water coolers enable people to cut down on bottled water consumption in favor of filling up reusable water bottles like those made by Sigg or Nalgene.  Poland Spring went to the trouble of trademarking “eco-sense” and creating a special logo for the term, but they didn’t take the extra step of providing consumers an explanation of what the term means.  According to Cone, a leading cause marketing agency, 91% of consumers want to hear about companies’ social and environmental commitments.  More than the high-level green logo or tagline, conscious consumers want to “get under the hood” and understand the details behind companies’ green claims.

By failing to include further explanation of their eco-sense logo, Poland Spring failed to give their customers the option of learning more.  I would strongly suggest they address this lack of transparency, and immediately start adding further information about their eco-sense program onto the larger bottles.  It may cost a few more cents per bottle in printing fees, but they will more than make up for it with stronger customer relationships.

As I’ve written on a number of occasions, “green” envelopes are an important part of an organization’s marketing and communications efforts (we have already sold more than a quarter billion envelopes made with 100% certified wind power over the past couple years).  In fact, they are often the first component of a direct mail piece that a recipient sees, and it is important to take that opportunity to send a values-laden message through the materials/inks/energy that are used to produce the piece.

Obviously, using green practices for direct mail should be just one of the many sustainable business practices that organizations employ – otherwise they could be accused of greenwashing.  However, given recent developments in technology, mailers can make their pieces more environmentally-friendly without adding much, if any, cost, which removes the most critical barrier to adoption.  Research has demonstrated that consumers want to buy products from companies that do business in an environmentally-responsible manner.  Marketing collateral is one way for organizations to demonstrate this commitment.

Here’s a link to the full article.

Image courtesy of Cone

Cone, a leading marketing firm headquartered in Boston, recently published a report on cause marketing in conjunction with the firm’s 25th anniversary.  Cone turned to my firm, Grossman Marketing Group, to print it in the most environmentally-friendly way possible (100% certified wind power, 100% post-consumer recycled paper, and soy inks were all used).

As part of the publication, Cone featured a study it conducted along with Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, on consumers’ feelings toward cause marketing.  According to the report, “aligning with a cause can positively impact actual consumer choice and exponentially drive sales.”

For a more in-depth article on the report, please see the write-up from our friends at Environmental Leader.

Please click here to download a full copy of the report.

Once an organization has decided to adopt green practices, it is very important that they quantify the benefits to the environment.  In fact, according to Cone, a leading cause branding and marketing agency, the details matter a great deal.  Cone, in collaboration with The Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship, conducted its 2008 Green Gap Survey, focusing on on consumers’ understanding of and attitudes toward corporate environmental marketing claims.  According to the survey, 70 percent of Americans indicated that quantifying the actual environmental impact influenced their decisions to purchase a product or service that has an environmental benefit.

Therefore, when my firm works with a client to produce a piece of marketing collateral that has environmentally-friendly elements, we strongly encourage them to devote some real estate to the numbers (i.e. when using 100% post-consumer recycled fiber, you can quantify, for example, energy, paper and water saved versus a non-recycled alternative).

A recent example of a best practice in green printing was the annual report for the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation, which my firm produced.  Inside the back cover, the foundation devoted a half page to the environmental benefits of using a specific Mohawk paper that is made with 100% post-consumer recycled fiber.

Please click here to view the inside back cover of the report.

I have written in the past about resources available to quantify such environmental savings.  One great paper calculator is managed by Environmental Defense, a leading environmental organization.  I prefer it over other alternatives because it is a third-party tool and is not affiliated with the paper industry.  Research has shown that when certifications are independent and transparent, they resonate more with the end user.   Please click here to visit that post.