Brand Action: Whole Foods Getting Rid Of Disposable Plastic Bags

Happy to see this initiative starting to take at least some hold on our side of the pond. Across all its stores on April 22nd (Earth Day), Whole foods will cut the "plastic" out of "paper or plastic".


The company is trying to make the transition easy for shoppers accustomed to plastic by providing an array of options:

"We make it easy by offering a wide selection of reusable bags for sale at our stores — check out our “Better Bag” — only 99 cents and it’s made from recycled plastic bottles. Helping the environment in two ways!" (from their website).

Disposable bags have long been discouraged in many European countries (Ireland recently joined the cause, instituting a tax on bags to get people motivated) and earlier this year even China stepped up.

A smart move and something that all of us can do in our collective effort to fight pollution, and fits well with Whole Foods vision on sustainability and our future.

And also, maybe it'll help offset some of the backlash that co-founder John Mackey caused with his message board blunder last year. Hope you learned your lesson, John (just remember: Transparency).

Politics 2.0: John McCain- Kinda Like Hope...

...but not

The Launch of 'One Laptop Per Child'

Happy to see this article yesterday in MarketingVox announcing that this project will finally start mass production in October of this year. Made by Quanta Computers of Taiwan, the computers are kid friendly to the fullest-- sunlight readable, a pull chord to recharge, built in wireless...

An incredible idea and even more incredible that government red tape and bureaucratic bullshit did not hinder this til the end of time. Though my worry is that somewhere along the chain that may still be the case, and we'll see this drag on...

But that brings and interesting opportunity for Quanta. I don't know how profitable these computers can be for them, but the PR exposure and benefit to our global society they are providing are an incredible incentive for this company to push this thing through with whatever they have.

And for all of us it's a chance to connect with kids that have largely been ignored and kept out of sight from most developed nations because it's easy to put the problems of people "over there" out of mind. How cool is it that we may be, hopefully sooner than later, able to hear their voices, understand their view on the world, listen to their opinions, learn about their life. Those who have the most reason to feel rejected by the world will now have the chance to let us all know what they think. Amazing that even 10 years ago this was a relative impossibility.

Call me an optimist when it comes to this project, but with every good sign of progress I'll continue to keep my hopes up, because if it pans out I think it will be a great step forward for all of us.

Though I wonder, who will be first on the Election '08 ballot to try and use this to their political advantage?

Politics 2.0: "I Got a Crush On Obama"

Politics 2.0: Elect Susie Flynn

9 million children in America lack health insurance. Children’s Defense Fund wants you to do something about it—not just feel sad. By harnessing the power of people, we are trying to give this issue the fuel to ignite mass action and make politicians listen.


Results (3 months into our campaign)

Stage 1: Growing a Citizen Army from 3,000 to 20,000+
By courting the attentions of influencer segments—Mommy Bloggers, Youth/College, Educator/Health Advocates, Faith-Based Activists, DC Elite/Politico Insiders, NetRoots, as well as Traditional Mainstream Media—we boosted our supporter ranks from 3,000 email subscribers to almost 20,000 Susie soldiers.

(A) Amplified the conversation through chat rooms, blogs, and
dinner tables.

• Over 420,000 Google search results link to ElectSusie.com
• 20,000 Web activists and 1,000 friends across MySpace and Facebook
• 60,000+ unique visitors to the Web site, mostly referred by word-of-mouth
• 160,000+ pageviews
• High conversion rate—30% of visitors also signed our petition
• Over 800 letters of support to Susie Flynn
• 30,000+ viral video viewings on sites like YouTube
• 160,000+ brand minutes engaged with electsusie.com and her YouTube channel

Lacking budget, we exploited the viral rewards of every possible “earned media” opportunity: press coverage, email pass-alongs, social networks pages, blogs, YouTube video, and OOH to garner attentions.

B) Provoke More News Media Coverage of This Important Issue
• Over 26.5 million PR impressions valued at $600,000

Stage 2: Activating the Citizen Army
C) Expect Increased Pressure on Elected Officials at Local and National Levels
Within a month of launch, CDF secured the support of Congressman Bobby Scott (D-VA) who introduced the All Healthy Children Act (HR 1688), which is currently pending congressional review. Web site visitation and signatures are highest in the Washington, DC metro area.

Susie is well on her way to agitate the willing public to influence legislation. If successful, 9 million children will be guaranteed health insurance by the end of 2007.

Sign her petition @ website and en Espanol

Watch her videos @ YouTube

Make "friends" with Susie Flynn
@ MySpace
@ Facebook
@ Care2