Sprint and Samsung have launched what the two companies are calling an “eco-friendly” cell phone. Samsung’s phone, the Reclaim, does boast some environmental improvements over other phones, namely:

• Made from 80 percent recyclable materials (not to be confused with recycled materials)
• 40 percent of the phone’s outer casing is made from bio-plastic derived from corn
• Is free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR)
• Outer packing and inside the box phone tray are made from 70 percent recycled materials
• Images and text on the box and phone warranty are printed with soy-based ink
• Phone’s paper manual has been replaced with a virtual manual
• Phone charger meets the highest energy efficiency standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and comes with a visual indicator of when the phone is fully charged

Samsung and Sprint deserve credit where credit is due. The Reclaim is certainly environmentally-friendlier than most cell phones, and Sprint is working on some sustainability initiatives that are important and noteworthy. But to say that this cell phone is eco-friendly as Omar Khan, senior vice president of Strategy and Product Management for Samsung Mobile, did is a stretch.

Samsung Reclaim is more than just an eco-friendly device, it’s also a powerful and stylish phone that’s easy-to-use. When you combine the Reclaim’s impressive feature set with its bio-plastic hardware and eco-friendly packaging, you’re using a phone that is good for you and the environment.

A home compost pile is good for the environment. Planting a tree is good for the environment. A cell phone manufactured across the world with precious metals like copper, nickel, gold, palladium, plastics, lead, mercury, cadmium, and other hard to dispose of inner materials is not. Yes, using corn based packaging and recycled boxes are a nice touch. So is removing certain harmful additives like PVCs, most of the BFRs, and donating two dollars from every phone to the Nature Conservatory. Just because the phone contains 80 percent recyclable material, does not make it good for the environment. Plastic soda bottles made from oil are 100 percent recyclable, and 100 percent unfriendly to the environment. If the plastic bottles were made from 100 percent recycled material, you might be able to get away with saying that they’re eco-friendly. Saying something is “X” amount recyclable is misleading as a claim for being an eco-friendly product.

We realize there are business and technological limitations to creating a cell phone that is good for the environment. However, consumers understand that technical limitations exist, and do not expect companies to create products that are not profitable. Consumers will not forgive a company they see as misleading, or not forthright. The cute butterfly and animated ear of corn on the Sprint web page, and the word “eco” emanating from a leaf on the back of this green colored device seem a bit like examples of misleading marketing.

Companies should be encouraged to discuss green initiatives with consumers. We recommend that accomplishments are highlighted in a straightforward manner. If a company wishes to share its green initiatives with the public in a non-misleading way, we encourage it to do so. We’ll even help. For example, Sprint is implementing some very important and effective sustainable initiatives such as:

• Recycle 50 percent of operational waste from commercial facilities by 2017
• Transitioning to using 10 percent renewable energy by 2017
• Significantly increase phone recycling efforts (which is a tremendously important task)

Samsung for its part deserves a nod for producing a slightly more eco-friendly cell phone. However, producing a greener device, and one that is “good for the environment” or “eco-friendly” are two very different things. While this device is certainly a step in the right direction, efforts should be made to market the product appropriately.

Do you believe the new Reclaim is an eco-friendly phone, or do you agree with us that this is another case of greenwashing?

In these tough economic times, there are very few areas of growth.  Currently green purchasing is bucking the trend. A recent IRI Times & Trends Report showed that green-product popularity has grown for the past five years.

You might ask just who is buying more eco-friendly products? Interestingly, the report showed that the most environmentally focused consumers aren’t increasing their purchasing. Probably because their shopping baskets are “already saturated with sustainable products.” On the other hand, consumers who are slightly less committed to a sustainable lifestyle have yet to reach their green purchasing limit. It’s these folks who have increased spending on sustainable items by 15 percent.

The report goes on to break consumers into several categories, or segments:

• Eco-Centrics are the most well-informed and actively involved in environmental issues. They are willing to pay more for eco-friendly products.
• Respectful Stewards are idealistic and community focused. They are also willing to pay for more eco-friendly products.
• Proud Traditionalists are hard-working and focused on family. They run environmentally responsible homes and experiment with eco-friendly products.
• Frugal Earth Mothers are lower-income women looking for ways to save money wherever possible. They are more focused finding good, wholesome products for their families.
• Skeptical Individualists are highly-educated, high-income men who tend to be skeptical about corporate green initiatives.
• Eco-Chics are young adults who see green as new and hip. Impulse buyers and early adopters, they tend to be drawn to environmental causes but aren’t necessarily well-informed about them.
• Green Naives are young, lower-income shoppers with little interest in environmental responsibility.
• Eco-Villians – generally middle-income men – do not environmental concerns into their purchasing choices.

Think about which segments your products attract and target your marketing to suit their needs. They’ll beat a path to your door.

green is gold

If the IRI report isn’t enough to convince you that environmentally friendly products are selling, a recent national poll found that two thirds of people who buy “green” have maintained their spending  through the recession and one quarter have actually increased their eco friendly purchases.  Only eight percent of people purchasing “green” had reduced their spending due to the economy.

companies are feeling the pressure

What’s more, according to a recent U.K. study conducted by YouGov, one in four people consider a company’s ethics before purchasing. One in seven people don’t purchase anything from companies with poor environmental records. In the same study, 59 percent of consumers are skeptical of the environmental claims made by companies, and 44 percent want more information on a company’s environmental record.

It seems everyday more studies and polls are showing that consumers want sustainable, green products, and that this is not a fad but a trend with staying power. Even with the recession consumers are not changing their habits. The fact that consumer demand for green products hasn’t waned under economic pressure, and that it is one of the few current growth segments, makes producing green an enticing option for companies seeking growth.