My Winter Solstice List

(This article appeared in the December '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

While the events of the last few months have been monumental, stimulating an enormous volume of concerned thought and conversation among friends and acquaintances, citizens and economic actors, spinning out the various scenarios for economic recovery, change in government, and the sacrifices we may all have to make in the coming year, my thoughts this time of year naturally turn to the cool stuff I want. I admit that sounds a bit shallow, selfish and not really all that “green”. But in this case, the products on my wish list are really innovative, green, and maybe even virtuous.

First on my list is the WaterMill, from Element Four (www.elementfour.com), a product that produces clean, fresh drinking water from the air. Fitted to the outside of a home, this nifty little device condenses the water vapor in the air by drawing it through an air filter and over a cooling element. The droplets of water collect, up to 13 quarts a day, then pass through a carbon block filter and an ultraviolet sterilizer, before going onto a dispensing point inside the home. Performance will vary with local air conditions – very humid air yields more water and dry air less. Aside from an obvious appliance for any off-the-grid shelter, imagine the usefulness of the WaterMill in a drought or post-disaster situation. After a hurricane or earthquake, solar-powered WaterMill stations could provide some relief.

Continuing on the theme of self-reliance, the second product on my wish list provides free heat from the Sun. The SolarSheat from Your Solar Home, (www.yoursolarhome.com), is a do-it-yourself thermal solar heating solution for a single room. It’s well designed, and simple, so that virtually anyone can perform the installation and get it right – a first, or near first, for a renewable energy product. In colder climates, space heating comprises a large part of a family’s energy budget, which means that the SolarSheat can save money, too.

There’s another product on my list that will also save on home heating bills: ThermaProof™ Windows from Serious Materials, (www.seriousmaterials.com), a super insulated, exceeds EnergyStar requirements by 400%. Energy efficiency will be a hot issue across a range of product categories in the coming year, but these windows have already staked out a significant performance lead over their nearest competitors. It’s a result of Silicon Valley innovation getting together with green building know-how – the products are produced in Sunnyvale, CA. And they didn’t stop with windows, as they also produce ThermaRock, an energy-saving alternative to drywall, and will soon launch EcoRock, another drywall alternative made with 85% recycled content and manufactured with 80% less energy.

Last on my list is a nifty little water saving device that can turn virtually any residential toilet into a high-efficiency dual flush. It’s called Perfect Flush from Brondell, (www.brondell.com), and it seems like a perfect solution for generating big water savings without having to tear apart the bathroom. The retail price is significantly less than buying and installing a new toilet, and there will likely be rebates available in the near future. It’s well designed and easy for just about anyone to install correctly. Finally, it’s customizable so the user can dial in the most appropriate water flow for each flush.

These innovations are cool and functional, but they're tip of the iceberg, so to speak, with hundreds more cool new innovations in the pipeline. They also represent some important new steps toward water and energy conservation in ways that promise an exciting new year to come.

Green Collar Jobs

(This article appeared in the November '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

While the scramble is on to bail out our nation’s banks and financial institutions, most of the rest of us are wondering what’s next. The economy may well be headed for a nasty recession with rising unemployment and sinking consumer confidence. Is this the beginning of a structural economic adjustment analogous to the industrial restructuring of the 1980s that shipped thousands of manufacturing jobs overseas, what we call “Globalization”? Many longer term economic trends point in that direction: rising shipping costs, higher manufacturing costs in China, greater emphasis on green house gas reduction and local sourcing, huge venture capital investments in “green tech,” and government policy promoting green building and clean energy, to name but a few.

But what about the short term? Will the bank bailout keep people in their homes, bring mortgage rates down and provide a small boost for our industry? Will another stimulus package from Congress do the trick? It just may be that the eventual economic recovery will be based, at least in part, on a grass-roots movement that is gaining traction with both local and national policymakers: “green collar” jobs.

From Oakland to Los Angeles, from the South Bronx to Chicago, New Orleans to Newark, local green collar jobs programs are revitalizing neighborhoods and giving people a chance to participate in the still growing green economy. A national organization, Green For All, (www.greenforall.org), founded by Van Jones and Majora Carter serves as a clearinghouse and resource center for local nonprofit-led programs, as well as municipalities seeking to develop their own program. These programs train workers for the clean energy economy and many include weatherization and retrofitting programs for existing homes and commercial buildings.

This is where it gets interesting for home improvement retailers. Getting involved in your local program could provide some immediate tangible benefits – you could be supplying the necessary products for these programs: weather stripping, insulation, lighting, roof coatings, and more. There are also opportunities to provide local leadership and expertise, gain community recognition, free publicity, find trained and motivated new workers, forge links with potential new customers, and more. And with federal green collar jobs programs coming soon, there may even be more opportunity.

On the national stage, it appears that plans to stimulate the growth of green collar jobs are already underway. Thanks in part to the efforts of Green For All and other grass roots organizations, Congress passed the Green Jobs Act as part of the 2007 Energy Bill, calling for $125 million to create the Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Worker Training Program. It’s a pilot program that would, (if funded in the next appropriations bill), jumpstart green collar job programs across the country. The House is currently discussing another stimulus package that would include investment in green collar jobs. In addition, both presidential candidates have expressed their support for growing green collar jobs. In any case, it appears that the green collar job issue is here to stay and that should be good news for hardware and home improvement retailers.

Time for a Green Event

(This article appeared in the October '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

Fall is here. And for do-it-yourselfers, their attention has turned to pre-holiday home projects, like painting a room or making the house a little more energy efficient. For green builders, this is the season of two of the most important green building industry events, West Coast Green, in San Jose, California and Greenbuild, in Boston. West Coast Green happened in late September, (see what you might have missed here: www.westcoastgreen.com,) and has firmly established itself as a leading showcase for building innovation and education for pros and homeowners. Of course, the US Green Building Council’s Greenbuild Conference and Expo, coming up in mid November, (visit their website, here: www.greenbuildexpo.org) is the big green building event. So, with home projects and green building topics top-of-mind for many of your customers, it might be time to host a green event at your store.

Hosting a little green event in your store can bring in some of your best customers, as well as new customers. It can also bring other less tangible benefits including creating positive word of mouth, strengthened relationships with community leaders, and staff enthusiasm. The best part is that it doesn’t have to cost very much, especially if you elicit support from your suppliers and local organizations. Let me share some examples of what some of the best green retailers are doing on the West Coast.

Creating a workshop around a cool product or new building technique can bring in motivated customers. American Clay (www.americanclay.com), a natural plaster product from New Mexico is being stocked by a growing number of green retailers throughout the country. It’s a beautiful alternative to paint, but it takes a little extra know-how to apply it correctly, so the manufacturer and their dealers host workshops in the store. These little events cost virtually nothing to produce and have proven to be a boon for the retailers. Customers pay for the workshop, buy the product, and come back with their friends. A more traditional home improvement dealer in Northern California, Central Valley Building Supply, added the line last year and has hosted several American Clay workshops, finding that sales of other products get a boost, too.

Having a sexy, niche product can be an effective draw, but that’s not the only way to attract motivated customers. Virgil’s Hardware Home Center in Southern California recently hosted an event promoting water conservation. With support from the local water authority and their suppliers, they set up product demos and distributed rebate information, connecting customers to the right products for their project and the right rebate information for their community. Given that rebate information can be confusing to some people, it provided a real community service, saved their customers money and boosted sales.

There are other simple themes one can create an event around – one retailer I know offered 15% off for all women on a Women’s Day promotion and set up tables with information from local non-profit organizations promoting awareness of common household chemicals. The main point is to create an event that will be compelling in some way. But that’s not enough – you need to get the word out to your customers and influential members of your community. Have your cashiers hand out small flyers with every purchase for a couple of weeks in advance – print double-sided on recycled paper, of course. But most importantly, make a few personal phone calls to local green building advocates and community leaders and let them know what you’re doing. It boosts your reputation and will boost your business. Oh yes, and remember to have fun.

GHG and Retail

(This article appeared in the September '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

When the topic of green building comes up in our industry, it usually starts up the debate about certified lumber. SFI or FSC? Which is better? Is chain of custody certification worth the trouble? The questions are valid, but the debate is essentially over and has become a distraction from understanding the real issue driving the green building movement. Carbon. It may bring as much change to the hardware and building materials channel as the “big boxes” did decades ago. Let me explain.

The green building movement continues to gain solid support from state and local governments. Solid? San Francisco recently passed mandatory green building guidelines that are the most stringent in the nation, but it’s not another example of West Coast eccentricity. What’s driving the green building movement on the West Coast and the rest of the country isn’t some “tree hugger” ideology, but a science-based approach to curbing green house gas (GHG) emissions, which includes carbon dioxide.

The building industry accounts for nearly half of all green house gas emissions, which includes both embodied energy – the energy required to produce the building materials and move it to where its needed – as well as the energy required for operations, such as lighting, heating and cooling. (See www.architecture2030.com for more information on this, as well as really nice graphics that illustrate the depth of the issue.) Cities and states are focusing on green building related policies as one strategy for limiting GHG emissions because that’s the sweet spot.

A major component of every green building program concerns energy usage. Adding renewable energy, like solar or wind, can earn a building project lots of green points. So too, can adding a host of energy saving features. While federal rebates for solar may end soon, most pundits predict a future that includes more rebates for renewables and energy saving products, coupled with ever stricter building codes. In fact, there is a movement afoot to set the green building standard at carbon neutrality, or zero-energy, well before 2030.

This increasing focus on energy and carbon reduction will create business opportunities and threats. Ikea recently announced their intention to sell solar panels and other home energy products in the next five years. Is this a sign of some big changes headed for this retail channel? Could be. New products in the pipeline will make it easy for do-it-yourselfers to install small-scale solar and wind systems for room additions, out buildings, etc. There’s lots more new energy saving products coming our way, too. Because these products deliver big margins, it’s attracting the attention of retailers like Ikea. And because “alternative energy” is becoming mainstream, established “alternative energy” retailers, such as Northern California’s Real Goods, are seeing tremendous growth opportunities. It’s a sure bet that in the years ahead there will be new retailers focused on meeting the demand for carbon-free energy and challenging traditional home improvement/hardware dealers in that category.

What will all this mean for traditional home centers and building materials retailers? For those that are energy savvy, the new wave of carbon-busting products will add growth to the bottom line. Retailers today that have a solid lineup of Energy Star products and, perhaps, a relationship with a solar installation outfit, have a head start and will be well positioned to take advantage.

Merchandise and Merchandising

(This appeared in the August '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

As far our industry is concerned this economy is absolutely abysmal, but there is a silver lining. The only aspect of our little corner of GDP that seems to be moving in the right direction is green building, both in terms of projects in the works and the products that go into them. In past columns, we’ve talked about a variety of things you can do as a retailer to take advantage of this growth. Now, we turn our attention to the core issue: selecting and selling quality green products.

If the goal is to stock green building products your customers want, it will help to know a little about green building guidelines. For our purposes here, we can generalize what guidelines call for and categorize the products according to resource, energy and water conservation; and indoor air quality. Sourcing products and materials locally is also a plus.

Here’s a short list of green building products everyone should probably stock:

• GreenSeal certified, low-VOC paint
• Low-VOC, formaldehyde-free adhesives, caulks and sealants
• Formaldehyde-free, recycled content insulation
• Energy Star lighting – fixtures, CFLs and LEDs
• EnergyStar ventilation
• High-Efficiency Toilets (HET) – more than one model!
• Tankless water heaters

One can go much farther, of course. There are hundreds of green building products one could put on the retail floor, too many to talk about here. And probably you already have many of the less obvious ones, such as pipe insulation. But once you’ve source them, you have to sell them.

The first big question most merchandisers pose is whether or not to put green items in their own section, end-caps, or mix products in with the rest. It’s a good question and generally the answer is, “Yes!” A large home center in Northern California, Friedmans Home Improvement, has 20 feet of shelving at the front of the store with a broad sampling of green products, in addition to end-caps, and mixing the green products in with their conventional brethren. Since most people shop by category, the green products must be found with the other product in their category, along with appropriate signage. Segregating green products into green-only section is a recipe for failure. On the other hand, adding end-caps to highlight a product line or a solution, such as green paints, recycled rags, and recycled paint rollers, is generally good retailing practice for promoting any sort of product.

I mentioned signage above, and there’s more to say about that. Since we’re talking about selling green building products, it’s important to identify them on the shelf for your customers. Shelf talkers that indicate whether a product meets green building guidelines are simple enough to produce. Adding posters and banners that call attention to green building products, the fact that you have them, where they can be found in the store, prompting questions, etc., all contribute to creating a positive selling environment.

Finally, if you have contractor sales desk there are several little things you can do here that will make a big difference. First off, educate your sales staff about the guidelines in your area and the products you sell. Have them ask each customer that comes to the desk about their interest in green building and what you’re doing to help them. Second, have at least one binder at the desk with product literature for each of the green building related products you stock and those you can source through special orders. Third, have signage on the desk that talks about what you’re doing, brochures about the local green building program.

Get Connected: building community around your store

(This appeared in the July '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

For generations, the hardware store was a focal point in the community, where folks could get great advice, discuss the issues of the day, or catch up on the latest gossip. Obviously, things have changed as “big box” retailers have muscled in and literally changed the landscape. And it seems the bigger “the box”, the less community connectedness. In contrast to that disturbing trend, a recent report from Conscientious Innovation, a sustainability think tank, found that consumers ranked feeling connected to family and community as their most important sustainability issue. Also ranking high was the desire to support locally-owned businesses. These results lead to an important insight - forging deep connections within your local community just may be one of the greenest ways you can grow your business.

Last month we talked about things you can do to “green up” your store’s operations, suggesting that offering CFL, battery and paint recycling provides a valuable community service. Recycling programs provide convenience to your customers, but deliver something more important to your community. By diverting toxic waste, such as mercury that accumulates in the food chain, from the local landfill where it can leach into the ground water, you demonstrate a concern about the health and well being of your patrons.

But to get really connected with your community, you’ve got to get involved. Contact your local green building organization - it might be a city agency or a local non-profit – call them on the phone as soon as you’ve finished this article, go to their meetings, and let them know you want to be involved. This will get you access to valuable know how and help you connect with local green building leaders. Most cities with green building programs embrace interested retailers and will even include them in promotions. In San Francisco recently, the city took out ads in the local paper promoting the local hardware stores stocking green building products.

But don’t stop with green building, connect with other non-profit organizations. If your store is locally owned, join the Business Alliance for Local Living Economies, or BALLE, (www.livingeconomies.com). BALLE’s mission is about building community through local business networks. They can help you build the “buy local” advantage in your market. Don’t forget to support your local schools and parent groups. Making a small donation of organic compost for the school garden, participating in their fundraisers, sharing information about non-toxic alternatives – those small ways of showing your support will help to build long-lasting relationships. There are probably other organizations in your area that are focused on protecting local watersheds and bays, wilderness areas or providing job opportunities for young people. Find out what your staff members are interested in and encourage them to get involved, too.

You should also consider participating in local green events where you can educate your local community members about what your store is doing to make less-toxic, environmentally friendly, and resource conserving choices available. Better yet, host a green event at your store. If you’ve gone out and developed relationships with local green building and other sustainability organizations, you should find no shortage of enthusiastic help. Enlist the aid of your local green product manufacture and distributors, as well. After all, they are an important part of your community, too.

Getting connected with concerned community groups will make you feel good about offering eco-safe and non-toxic alternatives. It will also build your reputation and generate excellent word-of-mouth referrals, bringing new appreciative customers into your store. You can do good and do well and that’s what getting connected is all about.

Walking the Talk: making your store a little greener

(This appeared in the June '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

The demand for greener product choices is clearly growing from both pros and consumers. Last month we talked about what makes a product green and how to identify them. Stocking greener products will help retailers take advantage of this growing business opportunity, but is that enough? Not necessarily. Advertising and other communications are essential, of course, but to effectively connect with the green customer, there has to be credibility behind the claims. If you, the retailer, are not “walking the talk” it may all be for naught.

Most everyone these days has heard the term, “greenwashing.” Cynical attempts to jump on the green bandwagon, misrepresentations of environmental claims, and hypocrisy are the kinds of things that earn the “greenwash” label and it can result in losing customers fast. So, what can retailers do to walk the talk and build lasting relationships with their new green customers? There are three really easy things a retailer can do to start building their green cred: 1) become a community resource, 2) reduce operational impacts, 3) increase staff’s product knowledge.

1) Many cities have programs in place that make it easy for retailers to become a community resource for recycling batteries, paints, and fluorescent lighting. Being a collection point for these kinds of items provides a valuable service to your community. These programs, whether through your local city government, utility or third parties, also provide opportunities to connect with local schools and non-profits that will be happy to promote the good work you’re doing. Make sure the store and lumber yard are recycling their own waste, and inform your pro customers about recycling on the job site.

2) Operational impacts are sometimes hidden from customers, but doing something in this area can save money and build brand loyalty, especially when your efforts are known. Change lighting from inefficient incandescents and T12’s to CFLs, LEDs and T5’s. Swap out your inefficient toilets for High Efficiency Toilets (HETs) and/or waterless urinals. These measures often come with aggressive rebates – take advantage! If your locality has a Green Business Program, participate!

3) Getting your staff educated about the greener choices on the shelf is the easiest of all to accomplish. Most manufacturers and distributors are more than willing to come into your store and educate your staff on the ins and out of their soy-based sealer, energy-saving-device, or zero-voc paint. Product knowledge sessions are a good way to get even your crustiest department heads on board and you can incorporate them into an in-store event.

There are other things retailers can do, of course, such as put solar panels on the roof or use bio-diesel in your delivery vehicles. The main issue, however, is that retailers that make a genuine effort to reduce the impact of operations, educate staff, and take advantage of community programs, while stocking greener products, will establish themselves as the green leaders in their communities.

What Makes A Product “Green”?

(This article appeared in the May '08 issues of Merchant Magazine and Building Products Digest.)

Last month’s Earth Day is now behind us and the media frenzy around all things green was truly impressive. Major retailers and manufacturers, from Wal-Mart to Clorox, sought to establish their “green” credentials, announcing initiatives, reformulated products, carbon offsets and renewable energy plans. As the news stories and advertising begin to subside, most of the rest of the retailing world is taking notice and asking what they can do to better address the rising demand for greener products and services.

In this, and future columns, we’ll seek to answer those questions in ways that help independent retailers in the hardware and home improvement channel win over new customers and reinvigorate relationships with existing ones. So let’s start with one of most frequent questions I’m asked: What exactly is a “green” product?

As with most questions of this sort, there are simple answers and slightly more complex answers. OK, simple answer first: green products pose no health threat to the user, are good (or at least not harmful) for the environment, and are made in ways that do not negatively affect the communities where they’re made or the workers who make them. This, of course, is an ideal that most “green” products approach but cannot attain if no other reason than most production and distribution requires energy in the form of fossil fuel, which carries with it some serious negative impacts in the form of air pollution and green house gas emissions.

So let’s look at a slightly more complex, more useful definition of what makes a product “green.” And to do that, we need to consider the context. Who’s buying the products in the first place? In our business, we generally serve two types of customers, building professionals and consumers, each with their own set of motivations and criteria.

For building professionals, the relevant context for products and materials are green building guidelines, such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), as well as numerous local and regional programs. These programs define design and construction criteria that make commercial or residential buildings energy and water efficient, healthy, and with minimal negative impact to the environment, specifying material and product characteristics that earn credits, or points. Building projects that gain enough points are awarded “green” status, such Silver, Gold or Platinum in the case of LEED. Using lumber certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), for example, will earn LEED credits, as will using low-VOC paints, adhesives, and caulks, materials with renewable or recycled content, etc.

While the USGBC and other programs don’t identify specific product brands, other resources do. One of the best building product guides comes from Building Green, a well respected organization in the world of green building, who publishes the GreenSpec Guides. GreenSpec is also online at www.greenspec.com. These guides ostensibly cut through marketing noise to identify the best-in-class products for use in any green building project. If you’re a retailer with a strong pro customer base, GreenSpec is a must have publication for your buyers and contractor sales team.

For the consumer market, the task of identifying green products is a little more involved because there is no comprehensive program like LEED to guide product choices. A good place to start is with the consumers themselves. While green builders may be motivated by lower operating costs, enhanced rent and real estate values, or regulation, (building green is becoming mandatory in some communities,) consumers are increasingly motivated by concerns for the environment and personal health issues. It is this rising tide of shifting consumer attitudes that is powering the growth of Whole Foods, for example. These consumers tend to be skeptical of manufacturer claims, respond better to word of mouth than traditional advertising, and are willing pay a little more for a greener product.

Product certifications don’t yet exist to help us identify products in every category for the increasingly green consumers, but they’re catching up. Energy Star has been around for awhile, of course, with nearly universal recognition, and it’s expanding to include new electrical products, such as cordless power tools. The EPA recently introduced a similar program for water-related products called WaterSense, which covers High Efficiency Toilets (HET), faucets, showerheads and irrigation products. The growing popularity of organic foods and other products has helped to drive demand for organic supplies for the garden. Lawn and garden products that carry the OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute) label have been certified to comply with the USDA’s National Organics Program. And of course, there are other products in these categories that would certainly be considered green but aren’t covered by these certifications, such as smart power strips that shut down phantom energy loads, solar lighting, water purifiers, and composters.

Identifying green product choices for the rest of your store gets a little trickier. Cleaning products, for example, is probably the most vexing category because there’s no trustworthy certification program and manufacturers are not required to disclose ingredients. Unfortunately, unverified claims can’t always be trusted and some claims, even if verified, might not be relevant. For example, a household cleaning product might be biodegradable, but may contain ethylene glycol, a chemical that studies have shown to be linked with reproductive harm. That’s obviously important since women are the primary users of cleaning products in the home. Non-profit organizations, such as the Center for a New American Dream (www.newdream.org) and Healthy Child Healthy World (www.healthychild.org) offer good background information on common chemicals and even make a few product recommendations.

There are a growing number of products coming to market that do represent greener choices for both consumer and building professional, outpacing the ability of certifications to keep up. By looking for products that conserve resources and promote healthier living, asking questions of your suppliers, and doing a little research, you can do a lot on your own to begin offering greener choices to your customers.