Green Marketing Gone Wrong

One lesson that green organizations and their marketers need to learn is that if you stake out a ‘green’ position, you need to be green. It’s another example of living the brand. I know it sounds simple, but it’s not. These companies need to be aware of green marketing and advertising practices such as green direct mail (yes, it really exists, although the notion is troubling) and more sustainable printing practices. The US Postal Service is now promoting its green direct mail program. Check out this recent NY Times article on green direct mail.

If you are a green restaurant and marketing yourself using a green platform, you ought to do everything you can to keep your marketing practices as environmentally-friendly as possible. That’s why I was surprised today to receive a broadcast fax (very much old school technology) from a restaurant/catering firm in my market that is striving to become a Certified Green Restaurant. (I honestly didn’t know there was such a thing as a Certified Green Restaurant, but I like the notion.) I was struck by the irony of this environmentally-aware group spreading word through the use of a fax machines where they can in no way control whether or not the message is printed on recycled paper. Not only that, but imagine the unnecessary use of paper as this fax arrived at businesses who had no interest in the message. This was not a targeted nor environmentally-friendly approach. And yet the mailer was all about their eco-friendly practices: recycling, buying in bulk, washing and reusing dishrags, eliminating styrofoam, the use of green cleaners, and the use of organic produce. This all sounds great (and is great) but it was diminished by their decision (probably mindless) to use a non-eco-friendly marketing vehicle: the fax machine.

None-the-less, these folks are trying to do a good thing but clearly haven’t thought it all the way through. I applaud their desire to create a business that is kind to the environment and encourage them to learn more about green marketing. They are making mistakes that thousands of other businesses are making because as Kermit the Frog once said: “It’s not easy being green.” If you’re curious, you can check them out at http://www.gardenofeatingcatering.com. So this blog post ends up being a win-win: I get fodder for my blog and they get a free plug for their green catering service!