Want to shop less and live more? Maybe reading about how companies entice you to buy stuff you don’t need will help you avoid their pull. Martin Lindstrom’s book “Brandwashed” could help you do just that. Martin, a guy often hired by major companies to convince people open wallets to products, shares his trade secrets in this book — arming readers with the knowledge to figure out when they’re being taken advantage of.

“Brandwashed” is full of both hilarious and shocking stories of how companies get people to buy. Sure, you may think you’re above all the ads that unrealistically promise everlasting love and fantastic sex — yours simply for buying a product. But did you know companies start grooming you for their goodies — while you’re still in utero? Some of the crazy tactics companies use — from stealth social marketing to skeevy online info mining — will likely shock you.

Buying unnecessary products means buying into more enviro damage — so greenies have a clear impetus to avoid such clandestine marketing ploys. But “Brandwashed” will open your eyes to even more reasons to avoid conventional products, to shop less, and to opt for eco-friendlier products on the occasions you do need to buy. Did you know, for example, that some conventional lip balm products actually contain ingredients that chap your lips? Or that Silk, when it started selling conventional soy milk, simply kept the same packaging while swapping out the word “organic” for “natural,” thereby fooling harried shoppers into buying their unorganic stuff?

The news in “Brandwashed” isn’t all doom and gloom for environmentalists. Sure, there’s a lot of greenwashing going on, and even more goods being marketed quite fantastically without even a nod to eco-friendly ideals. But one of the strongest form of marketing, according to “Brandwashed,” isn’t even done by companies. Instead, it’s done by individuals like yourself, through word of mouth.

Walk your green talk then talk about your walk — in an attractive, non-creepy, non-judgemental manner, of course — and you’ll be able to influence your neighbors into doing the same.

“Brandwashed” is available at bookstores now — and online. Amazon has it for $15.39.

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Can the Grammys go green? The Grammys are working on reducing their impact on the environment by implementing a series of steps to minimize energy, food and packaging waste, and to raise public awareness on the need for individuals, events, and corporations to make changes now for a healthier future. Natural Resource Defense Council‘s helping The Grammys learn ways to implement these goals -– definitely a step in the right direction.

This year the Recording Academy (the institution behind the Grammys) organized the 2nd Annual Greening Summit: The Sound Of Social Change at the Conga Room at L.A. Live. The event was sponsored by Waste Management, and featured a panel focusing on “Corporate responsibility in sustainability and how industry insiders can use their collective power to drive change in greening.”

The panel of corporate executives representing four companies working on incorporating initiatives to lessen their impact on Earth’s ecosystems, and two companies focused on sustainability consulting featured Bridgette Bell, global sustainability manager for Yum! Brands (owners of Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut); William Brent, executive vice president of Weber Shandwick’s Cleantech; Jennifer Miller DuBuisson, associate manager of global sustainability for Mattel; Michael J. O’Brien, vice president of corporate and product placement at Hyundai; and Tim Sexton, co-founder of environmental policy business association Environmental Entrepreneurs (E2). Greg Baldwin, executive director of Environmental Media Association, moderated the panel.

There are definitely two ways to interpret the success of this event, a la Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, due to the complexity of the issues surrounding corporate sustainability.

(more…)

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Green bloggers struggle with their own set of strange, unanswerable questions. Would sending in this raggedy bra to the Bosom Buddy Program be a help or an insult? Can I justify going to this green nonprofit’s fundraiser if the only way I can get there is by car? Are these climate change-denying trolls hired to comment for a living by the tea party?

And most importantly: What happens to all those free reusable bags given out at practically every green event?

Longtime readers know that too many reusable bags are a pet peeve of mine — so much so that I actually came down on readers who seem to be stockpiling reusable bags in some sort of black hole instead of actually reusing them! Yet, in the six years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve been unable to stop the incessant flow of reusable bags into my life. At first, I gave away these bags one by one on my blog. Then I had to resort to giving them away en masse — a strategy I still employ from time to time.

Doing so, I’m still left wondering — What happens to all the other reusable bags that were given out to attendees who, say, don’t have blogs on which they host weekly giveaways? Where do these bags disappear to?

Well, if reading this is making you go red in the face because you’ve been a reusable bag stockpiler, I’ve got a solution for you. The City of Santa Monica’s just launched a Share A Bag program. The gist: Those with too many reusable bags can drop off their extras at Share A Bag locations, while those without reusable bags can pick some up for free. It’s like those leave a penny / take a penny dealios at cash registers — except with bags instead of coins.

The city’s even put together a handy Google Map with all the Share A Bag locations — which include farmers markets, some government offices, and resale stores — including my favorite consignment store and pre-loved fashion store.

View Share a Bag Program Locations in a larger map

This program’s launched to prep the city for the recently passed plastic bag ban in the city, which starts going into effect this September. Locally, L.A. County’s bag ban for the unincorporated areas of the county went into effect at the beginning of this month, while Long Beach’s will go into effect in August. Nationally, Portland just made news for passing its own bag ban — to go into effect in October.

So tell me: What is the reusable bag situation in your home? Do you have too many? Not enough? And more importantly — Do you feel a strange compulsion to grab a reusable bag if it’s free — even if you don’t actually need one? That last question is the one I really wonder about — because I do think the “It’s free? I’ll take 2!” attitude of our consumer culture can be tough to kick….

Earlier: Styrofoam and the City: The fate of plastic bags and polystyrene in LA

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There are two main ways to go with eco-friendly packaging. Choice one’s the more expensive route: Make it pretty by investing in good design made with sustainable materials for an eco-luxe look. Choice two’s the practically free route: Make it using what you’ve got — and celebrate the ugliness of upcycling.

And when it comes to online shopping, there are two eco-beauty stores that exemplify these two options. NuboNau goes with choice one (above), wrapping each of its eco-luxe high-end beauty products in recycled paper and nestling everything in beautiful, recycled honeycomb protective packaging.

In contrast, Soap Hope‘s trying to make ugly the new eco-pretty.

Soap Hope’s one store that’s taking upcycling to the extreme — by celebrating just how ugly it can be. Case in point: The store ships its products in what it calls the “Ugly Box” — made by roughly cutting up and taping up used boxes. Each of these come with a label on top — explaining why the packaging’s ugliness is really eco-smart.

As you may have guessed, the inventory at NuboNau and Soap Hope differ quite a bit, with the former focusing on more high-end, eco-luxe beauty brands like Strange Invisible Perfumes and John Masters Organics, and the latter on more affordable, basic beauty products from companies like Hugo Naturals. Soap Hope also has an additional altruistic goal with a Kiva-like model. The company lends all of its profits, interest free, to a nonprofit that works to empower women — getting back the money a year later.

What type of packaging do you prefer from your eco-beauty online store? I’m more likely to opt for Soap Hope’s method when shopping for myself — but to go with NuboNau’s way when shopping for gifts. Do you think your order should arrive prettily packed — or do you celebrate the ugly of reuse?

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Would you pay a grand for a pair of shoes? How about a pair of used shoes? Before you answer, keep in mind these shoes come gently worn with great stories — and attached to a great cause. Buy a pair of these pricy pre-loved shoes, and you’ll be sending a grand to the Rescue Union School District in Northern California, which is facing serious budget cuts.

Shoes to the Rescue is the brainchild of Michele Miller, the principal of Jackson Elementary in El Dorado Hills. According to Sacramento Bee, Michele decided to donate the shoes “hoping they will help close a budget gap she says is estimated at a minimum of $1.4 million.”

If you love shoes — but often have trouble justifying the high cost of new shoes both to your wallet and the environment — buying from Shoes to the Rescue should be a near guilt-free experience. After all, all your money goes to keeping libraries open and supporting personnel at public schools. And the shoes are pre-loved — so you’d be reusing!

Interested in the shoes? You can pick from a wide variety — from boots to sandals to sneakers — which come in sizes between 6 1/2 and 7 1/2. Each pair of shoes will be delivered with a little card with a handwritten story by Michele, recounting the favorite time when she wore that pair of shoes.

It’s unclear how many shoes are up for sale, exactly. Sacramento Bee says 285 pairs, Shoes to the Rescue’s website says 300 pairs, while Michele herself says 350 pairs in the video she made for her fundraising effort. What is clear is the price per pair of shoes: A simple $1,000, regardless of the type of shoe.

Of course, you can always give more than a grand to the cause. Want to give less? Shoes to the Rescue will take donations of any amount! You won’t get to walk in Michele’s shoes, but you’ll give support to Michele’s school district.

Earlier: How to shoe shop green while saving green

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