New keywords/Green products/ot

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Here's an idea for your keywords...

 

K

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*Creating an online environment for comparing " green " products

*

 

The new ShopGreen section of PriceGrabber.com puts front and center

merchants like Patagonia and Backcountry.com promoting environmentally

friendly products. " We have north of 20,000 products we've identified as

green, " says PriceGrabber president Ron LaPierre.

 

PriceGrabber launched the ShopGreen section this week in answer to consumer

demand for environmentally friendly products, LaPierre says. " As we looked

at the marketplace, it became clear to us that there is a growing demand

among consumers to find eco-friendly products, " he says. " But we also found

it was difficult to find good green products from a selection of retailers

in one location. "

 

A number of retailers agree. Mark Shimahara, manager of online customer

acquisition for Patagonia Inc., a manufacturer and retailer of outdoor

apparel and sports gear, says the ShopGreen site supports a strategy of

promoting eco-friendly products that Patagonia started in 1993 when it

developed apparel products containing polyester recycled from soda bottles.

" We've always been committed to the green market, " adds Bill Boland,

Patagonia's web site creative director, noting that Patagonia began

developing a market for organically grown cotton in 1996. " Now the green

market seems to be exploding. "

 

Shimahara and Boland say they're not aware of other comparison

e-marketplaces offering a site dedicated to green products, but that

Patagonia is also building a presence on GreenDeavor.com, a site still in a

pilot stage as a combination social networking and rewards site geared to

eco-friendly products. Patagonia is No. 257 in the Internet Retailer Top 500

Guide <http://www.internetretailer.com/top500/>.

 

PriceGrabber, which says it will contribute 5% of ShopGreen profits to

non-profit organizations that promote environmental causes, divides the

ShopGreen site into six shopping categories: Home, Office, Kids, Fun, and

separate apparel and accessories sections for men and women. PriceGrabber

defines as environmentally friendly products that have an " Energy Star "

rating, contain materials grown organically without chemical pesticides, are

made with biodegradable ingredients or have other characteristics that

minimize adverse effects on the environment, LaPierre says.

 

The ShopGreen site also displays several banner ads across the bottom of its

home page, featuring retailers including Patagonia, outdoor sports apparel

and gear merchant Backcountry.com, PlanetShoes.com, beauty products retailer

Sephora.com and Novica, an affiliate of the National Geographic Society that

sells apparel, crafts and jewelry from artisans across the world.

 

In the Office section of ShopGreen, a recent search on " Energy Star

Notebooks " produced a list of 399 computer laptops from major manufacturers.

Among those listed near the top were an Apple MacBook model offered by 21

sellers, starting with PCConnection.com, OnSale.com and Abe's of Maine in

that order; and a Sony Vaio model offered by 16 sellers.

 

At Backcountry.com, which recently launched the Green Goat logo to identify

eco-friendly products and a section of its site that merchandises them,

ShopGreen is offering a way to reach a broader audience of shoppers

interested in green products. " We need to find a way to call out these

products just like any other merchandise facet of our product base, " says

Brian Gulotta, visual merchandise manager at Backcountry, which is listed as

No. 111 in the Internet Retailer Top 500

Guide<http://www.internetretailer.com/top500/>.

 

 

Patagonia's Boland adds that the more the retail market promotes and sells

organically grown cotton and other eco-friendly products, the more that

suppliers will develop them. " This really helps the supply chain, " he says,

adding that growers of organic cotton need to be assured of a market to sell

it. " It makes it easier for farmers to commit to growing it. "

 

PriceGrabber will donate 5% of ShopGreen profits each month to the

non-profit organization chosen by site visitors through an online voting

feature on the ShopGreen site, LaPierre says. The inaugural organizations

include the Nature Conservancy, The Trust for Public Land, Environmental

Energy Study Institute and Lloyd Center for Environmental Studies. Visitors

can also nominate the names of other environmental organizations, he adds.

 

 

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Cheers!

Kathleen Petrides

The Woobey Queen

Http://www.woobeyworld.com