When I was young (and my heart was an open book…), I had not one, but two favorite colors; orange and green.  As the years passed, I publicly switched my allegiance to blue—dumping orange completely, but always maintaining a secret fondness for green.  Sometimes I’ll go for a nice teal as a compromise.  Anyway, it got me wondering about how all those green initiatives are faring in the current economic climate.  And more to the point, as marketers what should we be doing to lessen our environmental impact while preserving our financial sustainability?  Hilary Bromberg, Strategic Director at egg, a brand communications agency located in Seattle, had this to say in her article “Ten Steps to Sustainable Marketing in an Uncertain Economy“:

People who have incorporated sustainability into their identities feel great about touting products in this space – it’s still so difficult to find great “responsible” products and services out there that conscious consumers tend to do a lot of talking within their networks about what they’ve found. And a great find reflects well on a person’s sensibilities and, crucially, their values – unlike purchases in the vast unsustainable space, which merely identify a person as a consumer.  So master the digital space – start Twittering, develop a Facebook fan base, keep a transparent two-way conversation going with your core consumers (and cultivate evangelists whenever possible)…

Do yourself a great big favor and read her entire article.  I’ll wait… hum da dee doo dum… All done?  Good.  While you’re at it, check out “Tools for designing green print” by Gail Nickel-Kailing, Managing Director of Business Strategies, Etc.  Of course, my personal idea of going green has less to do with print and more to do with domes.  Stick-frame homes are sooo last millennia.