Re: Maybe Not So Green

**nancy szerlag s*@earthlink.net**

I guess it's time to put my two cents worth in Susie. Jeff Ball ( my life
partner)  and I garden organically and we tout the use eco friendly
practices and products in our weekly columns and daily blog.  Because both
of our weekly columns are distributed by the two largest newspaper in
Michigan (circulation in the half million range) we reach a great number of
people. Our Homestyle tab is the best read section in the Saturday paper
next to comics so the readership is larger then the circulation figure.

I work very closely with a number of garden centers as well as distributors
and manufactures to keep a handle on what's up and I make it a point to
write about new products and practices.  These garden centers are expanding
their lines of of non tox chemical and fertilizers and there is  increasing
interest.  However, when it comes to price more often then not customers
tend to choose the cheapest or a so called known quantity. Scotts 7 million
dollar advertising budget has made it and Miracle  Grow a household name.
Also Master Gardener programs continue to recommend chemicals.  Their mantra
is the plant can't tell the difference. And don't leave out the big boxes
where chemicals are king.  When Franks was alive the chemical smell was so
strong I avoided going into their stores.

The point Jeff was trying to make is the progress is slow. The use of the
word trend is often translated as trendy - the latest fad or fashion. To be
honest, we ain't there yet, but we are working on it.

Nancy Szerlag
The Detroit News 

> Jeff, I'm surprised you don't consider yourself an early adapter, or
> someone willing to jump on a bandwagon before it gets full. The
> environmental movement has taken on global momentum and eco conscious
> products in all categories and consumers who want this choice are only
> growing in numbers every year. From hybrid cars and green office
> buildings to organic store brand milk and bamboo clothes, eco chic
> consumers are making conscious decisions to go green every day.
> 
> Eco chic by no means is booming in the L&G industry. With less than 5
> out of 91 million households saying they are all natural gardeners, I'd
> agree this is not a huge number -- but that means there is tremendous
> room for growth. It is our job to help the other 86 million who don't
> garden with an environmental awareness to understand the consequences
> and the benefits of the alternatives -- and they are not all 100%
> organic. Many gardening methods can be eco friendly without being
> extreme - either in ideology or practice.
> 
> Susan McCoy
> Office: 610-388-9330
> Mobile:610-220-8400
> 
> IMPACT Marketing/Garden Media Group
> PO Box 758
> Chadds Ford, PA  19317
> www.gardenmediagroup.com
> 
> "We make you popular with your customers!"
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: gardenwriters-bounces@lists.ibiblio.org
> [g*@lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jeff Ball
> Sent: Wednesday, April 12, 2006 10:05 AM
> To: Garden Writers -- GWL -- The Garden Writers Forum
> Subject: [GWL] Maybe Not So Green
> 
> Suzie, you are one of my favorite people in the whole world, and yes
> you need to spread the word for your clients.  But for those of us on
> the street, that eco green is still more talk than do.  The Bonide
> Company is number two in sales of pesticides in this country and have
> way more organic products than the number one company - Ortho.   Yet
> last year, their total sales of organic products represented less
> than 5% of total sales.  People are still mostly buying the synthetic
> chemicals.  I personally do not believe that there is any increase in
> vegetable gardening, and certainly no increase in organic vegetable
> gardening.  The main reason is that organic vegetable gardening is
> hard and time consuming and now I can buy almost anything I can grow
> for a reasonable price at the organic grocery store.  I try to keep
> up with new product introductions in the pesticide industry.  In the
> past two years or three, there have been only a very few new
> introductions on the organic side.  On the synthetic side, the
> herbicides are more powerful and the insecticides are more broad
> spectrum.  The heavy hitters are what people are buying.  On the plus
> side, many of the new products are in fact less toxic to the
> environment than the predecessors.  It takes much less active
> ingredient per 1000 square feet to do the job.
> When SUV sales start going down in a big way, when the MacMansions
> start getting smaller and more heat efficient, and alternative energy
> research starts to get the big bucks, I'll jump on the eco chic
> bandwagon.
> 
> Jeff Ball
> jeffball@usol.com
> 810-724-8581
> Check out my daily blog at www.gardeneryardener.blogspot.com
> Check out my extensive web site at www.yardener.com
> 
> 
> 
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