10/14/02

Green Products Alliance October Newsletter

Greetings Entrepreneurs!

Some thoughts from the Expo East natural products show in Washington DC.:

The Green Products canvas banners and the new logo were a big success. Please continue to display them at shows and in your stores! A $12 donation covers their cost. Please add $3 for shipping. Checks can be made out to Vermont Soap for now.

Traveling through the Eastern States; New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland; seeing the franchised American dream anew, I am struck by the banal sameness of our current level of civilization. A Mickey Mouse atmosphere prevails - pay no attention to the man behind the screen! Increasingly, I view American popular culture as an insult to intelligent people everywhere.

Eating crabcakes under a green neon light I wonder; does it really take green neon lights to sell crabcake? Or does the quality of the crabcake sell the product? Who sells the most crab cakes - the master chef or the master marketer? How many consumers are sophisticated enough to know the difference? Is one crabcake maker living a life with more meaning and substance than the other?

Clearly we play to a smaller audience. The challenge of producing a quality, natural product, bringing it to market, and actually making a profit is extraordinarily daunting. Those that survive and thrive at this, exhibit a dedication that transcends the compulsive pursuit of dollars. There is a sense of being part of a greater evolutionary movement within our society. Creating a sustainable economy, building quality products to build quality people. Many trends are occurring at once, which will win out?

The planet raping transnational pirates control the money, the politicians that buys, the media, and the control of the thoughts of a majority of the population. How do you fight a hurricane? The answer of course, lies in being supple rather than rigid. Non participation is the most powerful statement we can make. How many of you own stock? Is YOUR retirement funding the machine? I recently chose to put my minuscule IRA into a Calvert (socially responsible?) fund in Europe. It seems to me they have an underrated market and are practicing a more sensible and sustainable form of capitalism. The US financial system seems overpriced and overrated, under supervised and under duress. I'm putting my money on our cousins across the pond.

Publicly held companies invaded the natural products industry just eight or nine years ago. Their consolidation of power continues. Everyday the corporatization and standardization grows. Barriers to new products and innovative companies continue to challenge the upstart. Independent retailers must face the challenge of corporate America - same as the small producer! We are in fact, the natural allies of the many small, independent health food retailers. Our mutual challenge is to first reach those retailers, and then to work with them to connect with the millions of people yearning for safe, effective, natural products at a price and location within their reach.

Independent retailers NEED Green Products Alliance type products. They cannot survive selling the same items as Whole Foods at a higher price.

How can we work together to reach these retailers?

Seriously, are you guys willing to pay into a monthly co-op advertising and promotion budget? One with some muscle? I want us to co-op a catalog. We direct mail this to independent retailers in the health, spa and gift markets. In this way, retailers can access a number of natural personal care companies at the same time. Each company processes their own orders. This is similar to being a distributor, except that companies ship each order and bill separately.

Individually, we cannot pull a huge mailing like this off. Collectively we can. If each of us puts up $50 to $200 a month, we can effectively form our own distribution system. Think of it as buying an ad, only considerably more effective. Co-op marketing. Let's do this!

What if we made this GPA "dues", with a guarantee that 90% of all revenue goes directly to co-op marketing? E-mail me with your thoughts on this! I need feedback!

Back to the show: So there we are, sandwiched between the MSM soap guy (he also sells sphincter wash - as seen on Howard Stern) and the Witch of Rodeo Drive. Thinking how an aisle section with just the good companies would separate, elevate and elucidate the Green Products Mission. Also, we would have more fun. Do a couple of co-op ads before the show. Maybe reserve a block of hotel rooms with a suite we can use to throw a party. These shows need something - I am getting tired of the clutter! Please email me if you are doing this show next year. I'd like a big enough section to Fung Shu a corner (fountain, plants, lighting, comfortable chairs). The buyers will never want to leave! This last show just wasn't fun enough, or WOW enough to justify the 9 hour drive.

Organic Standards: My understanding is that USDA is going to start looking at personal care October 21'st. We (that's you) need to let them know we are watching. The organizations that worked for years on the food organic standards are not paying close attention to this - WE need to. The Organic Trade Association ( a front group for BIG BUSINESS and Greenwashing), is claiming that natural alternatives to the common synthetics do not exist. We need to let the USDA that alternatives are already in use. If we do not help clarify what Organic means in personal care, someone else will.

Synthetic Shower Gels: Some of our members are still formulating with synthetic shower gels. Although there are non SLS formulas being sold now, these are still far from natural. All they are doing is substituting sodium oleic sulfate for sodium lauryl sulfate. I do not like to use GPA as an advertising forum for Vermont Soapworks, but please note that we manufacture the worlds only soap based shower gel. Made from Castile liquid soap with vegetable glycerin and vegetable gum. Actually feels and performs better than the synthetics. We sell in bulk and can also fill and label your bottles. www.vermontsoap.com

Keep on Truckin'!

Soapman