Mixx Marketing

Floppy Wide Brimmed Hat: Protecting your skin from UV rays has never looked so good. Originally worn by style icons such as Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver and Yoko Ono, the ’70s staple is back and can be found everywhere from H&M to Target. Whether in raffia or cotton, this is one accessory that is anything but extraneous. Your sunspot- and wrinkle-free complexion will thank you.

Trendcentral -March 2008

Green Retail
While this market segment, as defined by Gallup Management Journal, has household income over $75k the green here isn’t dollars. It’s a commitment to, and interest in, environmental issues. Four out of five (80%) “Mass Affluent Women” consider themselves active in or sympathetic to the environmental movement compared with only 65% of men in the same income group. Here is your green product target group.

Does the market want it? If there is demand, certainly. The natural foods and natural products market is growing. Take the success of stores like Whole Foods and Wild Oats, for example. In stores like these and others, natural foods cross over into gourmet category.
But, you can’t force green products on a market that isn’t asking for it yet, or one that doesn’t want to pay the price.
Another challenge as a small retailer; can you offer the selection and diversity to satisfy the market? How many wool sweaters and lotions does one person need? If you only carry a small number of products, can you be unique enough, and create a strong enough brand to drive traffic? It’s a lot of work.
Some of the smaller retailers in my community are doing a great job of offering organic alternatives in addition to their other traditional product lines. There is definitely a market here with all of us ‘granolas’ on the west coast of BC.
In my mind, ‘green retail’ is an exciting area to watch. It means different things to different people, and seems to be growing and changing rapidly. If you are a retailer in this arena, you really need to keep your finger on the pulse of the market and new developments in the industry.
In the future ‘green’ is going to be a choice that customers expect to have as a minimum standard. You see this in grocery retail already - small retailers to supermarkets are offering green/organic alternatives to avoid losing part of their market. Another example is printing - everyone carries recycled paper stocks as an option. More and more retailers are going to need to adjust, and retailers who only carry organics, or ‘green’ products will need to be more competitive.
The topic of ‘green retail’ is huge. Any other thoughts?
Melanie McIntosh
Inspire Retail Solutions

i play.® has launched a new line of 100% Organic Cotton – something different, something special, something more than the ordinary for baby. i play.® , Organic Cotton Baby Products, supports creating a more sustainable planet while simultaneously providing alternatively stylish clothing for the next generation. 

i play.® has created a new place for organic baby clothes, breaking the mold of the color combinations of naturally white and ecru. i play.® offers organic cotton knit layette & eco circle fleece winter wear, made from recycled products, for babies including gowns, bodysuits, caps, bibs, booties, blankets, and outerwear in soft pastels, featuring “forest friends” that are stitched on each piece of clothing. And i play.® summer wear coordinates with eco circle fleece winter wear. 

One of the unique features i play.® offers is unique outer stitching on the garments. All of the seams are on the outside, so there are no rough edges rubbing against baby’s skin. Additionally, i play.® Organic Cotton Baby Clothes have carved out another niche and are some of the most affordable organic cotton baby clothes available for extraordinary parents. 

Founder of i play.® Organic Cotton Babywear, Becky Cannon, has been a long time friend and advocate of the organic movement and was a visionary before organics came into vogue. Becky was keenly aware of the benefits of organic and pesticide and chemical-free farming and offered natural fiber cotton wear in 1992 – serving noted companies such as Seventh Generation and Coop America. At that time, the demand for these products was low and they were discontinued due to lack of sales. 

i play. launched new organic wear in 1995 with a complete layette line. Becky thought parents were more educated and would see the value of organic clothing for both the environment and for their children. Again, the market was not strong enough to support organic cotton babywear. 

Fast forward to 2007, and welcome i play.® Organic Cotton - i play.® is better for the environment and baby, as well as soft, comfortable, chemical-free, produced without any harsh chemical bleaches or dyes, has nickel free snaps, and is more durable than regular cotton. The line has an edge over competitors with fashion-forward style at a reasonable price.

The environment is increasingly on consumers’ radar screens, according to the 22nd Annual Holiday Survey of retail spending and trends, commissioned by Deloitte. The survey revealed that almost one in five consumers (18 percent) will purchase more “eco-friendly” products this holiday season than in the past, and 17 percent will shop at more “green” retailers. Additionally, almost one-third of consumers (27 percent) surveyed will use fewer plastic bags from supermarkets and other stores this holiday season, and one in five (20 percent) will consider not wrapping holiday gifts to conserve paper. These responses concerning the environment and holiday shopping intentions were consistent across gender, age and income groups. “Most importantly, a significant number of people–17 percent–are willing to pay more for green gifts or supplies, which tells us that this issue is on shoppers’ minds this year and is becoming more central to consumers’ purchasing decisions,” said Stacy Janiak, Deloitte’s U.S. retail leader. “Savvy retailers are taking concrete steps to become more environmentally friendly, and are incorporating this sensibility into their operations, as well as their customer communications. At the same time, they should be cautious about promoting their eco-initiatives too early, before they’ve made real progress, due to the potential for consumer backlash.”