It wasn’t that long ago that styrofoam came standard in packaging. A mix of consumer demand and growing awareness on the part of brands led to the eco-gregious material being largely phased out. Now, for example, Big Macs come in paper boxes. As recycling seeps into our subconscious as just part of how we expect to live, we see new examples of reusing and reducing everywhere we turn.

A restaurant owner in Taichung, Taiwan, for example, has decided to furnish his place with cardboard tables, chairs and decor. Once you’re finished dining, enjoy some cardboard replicas of  iconic attractions- a cardboard Eiffel Tower, Leaning Tower of Pisa, and more. Check out the slideshow via TrendHunter.

As a Vermont-based blog, we’re always happy to promote a good Vermont idea, and, thankfully, this state boasts a lot them. From Seventh Generation to Gardener’s Supply, Burton Snowboards to Orvis, Ben & Jerry’s to Green Mountain Coffee, there are plenty of examples of great consumer brands that were built upon a foundation of better products and a commitment to social responsibility. True Body Products, which makes all-natural, eco-friendly soaps, is a newer addition to this landscape of thoughtful Vermont brands. The company was started by three friends who shared what they call “a commitment to useful products, happy people, strong community and a thriving planet supports the pursuit of a healthy bottom line.”

As their site explains, “the origins of True Body Products go back to a series of water-cooler sessions with a group of friends and colleagues at Seventh Generation in Burlington, Vermont. We dreamed and schemed of ways we could put a personal stamp on Seventh Generation’s challenge to make the world a better place. Fast forward to a cold morning in December 2006, when, over coffee, everything came together around an opportunity to make a good-quality natural product that would be accessible to more people. We formed True Body Products (originally known as Orange Mountain) to make True Body Soap: a 100% natural, environmentally-conscious product that’s priced significantly lower than other natural soaps.”

True Body Soap is an all-natural, basic, everyday bar of soap, made from only five ingredients—Coconut Oil, Palm Oil, Water, Vegetable Glycerine and Sodium Citrate. The minimal packaging is also eco-friendly.

We look forward to seeing True Body become another in the growing list of successful and responsible Vermont brands.

The World Cup kicks off in just over three months. For those of us who care- and, by the way, of the top ten most watched sporting events on the planet, the World Cup is #1 by a considerable margin, with the Super Bowl squeaking in at #10- the four year wait for South Africa 2010 is nearly up. Adding some eco-consciousness to the Cup’s drama, Nike has unveiled its 2010 World Cup uniforms which are made from discarded plastic bottles, plucked from landfills in Japan and Taiwan, melted down into yarn and then spun into fabric.

As Brit Liggett writes for Ecouterre, all of Nike’s national teams, which includes England, Brazil, Portugal, and the Netherlands, “will be wearing jerseys made from recycled polyester, which the sports-apparel giant is hailing as the most environmentally friendly and technologically advanced kits in football history.”

Each shirt is made from up to eight recycled plastic bottles. Additionally, Nike claims to have diverted nearly 13 million plastic bottles from the landfill—enough to cover more than 29 football pitches.

Liggett explains, “if the recycled bottles used to produce the jerseys were laid end to end, according to Nike, they would span more than 3,000 kilometers (roughly 1,860 miles), a distance that exceeds the entire South African coastline. How do you say “amazing” in all the players’ languages?”

[Sources: Ecouterre, + World Cup,+ Nike]

Fast Company, infographic by Rob Vargas

Last week, Fast Company singled out the five top cities in the U.S. for ‘Green Jobs.’ As Maccabee Montondon explains, “the greening of American industry is in full bloom. Consider the numbers: From 1998 through 2007, the number of green U.S. jobs shot up 9.1%, while the rest of the workforce saw an increase of 3.7%. President Obama is certainly doing his part to make sure such progress continues apace: His stimulus bill dedicated $30 billion to exploring and expanding clean-energy technologies, and in January a $2.3 billion in tax credits went to companies developing new energy ideas and solutions.” The mag thinks New York, Boston, Portland OR, San Francisco and, surprisingly, Detroit are “making the most of this decidedly green moment in the economy.”

This comes via Core77, and we’ll chalk this up as another reason Nike gets it. Since 1990, Nike has been innovating new ways to recycle old sneakers, repurposing over 25 million pairs in that time. Nike Grind, the material that is derived from the recycling of the various parts of the shoes, has been used to create gym floors, running tracks, playground surfaces, courts, synthetic turf and more.

The above video shows how the city of Tempe, AZ has partnered with Nike to create new tennis courts. The city collects pallets of used shoes, sends them to Nike’s recycling facility in Oregon, and, in return, receives the materials to resurface the municipal tennis courts.

Starwood Hotels has partnered with VingCard, a leading hospitality security provider, to create the first ever Smart Check-In Pilot Program for its Aloft Hotels brand. In the pilot program, Starwood Preferred Guest members (frequent travelers) will receive an enhanced Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) keycard. On the day of a planned stay, a text message is sent directly to the guest’s mobile device with the room number at the property. Upon arrival, guests can skip the check-in line and proceed straight to the room, where the RFID keycard will unlock the door.

In the future, VingCard explains, the keycard may function as an all-access pass to purchase cocktails and food throughout the hotel.

Sleek, convenient, and no more cards thrown away after each stay.

For all Boston’s great qualities- rich with historical treasures from Faneuil hall to Fenway- it has to be the worst city to drive in. Even my Garmin GPS moans as we drive east on the Mass turnpike. As the above video- courtesy of our friends at Inhabitat- explains, Boston also lays claim to the title of ‘worst city for bike-riding.’ Not just in the country, in the world! It boasts a sad 180 yards of bicycle lanes. The clip is an interview with Nicole Freedman, Boston’s Bike Czar, about her efforts to make Boston a more bike-friendly town. For the full interview and more information, visit www.inhabitat.com.

All eyes were fixed on Beijing two years ago as it hosted the Summer Olympics. The opening ceremony alone was enough to demonstrate that China was firing on all cylinders and reveling in the attention. Shanghai now takes center stage, as it prepares for the 2010 World Expo, set to begin on May 1st. This year’s theme, “Better City, Better Life,” will provide the context behind the backdrop of some remarkably innovative new buildings, the first of which was unveiled this week.

The Monaco Pavilion, designed by Naço Architectures, is a 2000 sq ft solar powered building wrapped in an illuminated wave of energy-effficient LED lights.  Naço Architectures describes the structure as “a rock surrounded by the dancing light of a perfect sea”. Inspired, curiously, by the waters of the Mediterranean, the entire building is surrounded by an “undulating high-tech facade” that projects ripples of LED light across its face. The facade is designed to soak up solar energy throughout the day and then burst into light as soon as the sun sets.

Stay tuned for other innovative pavilions expected to be unveiled ahead of the Expo.

[Source: Designboom via Inhabitat]

The medal winners in Vancouver are being presented upcycled medals. Coined by authors of Cradle To Cradle, ‘upcycling’- though it does sound a little like an Olympic sport- refers to the practice of taking something that is disposable and transforming it into something of greater use and value.

Cast out of materials salvaged from old circuit boards, the medals are designed by Canadian artists Corrine Hunt and Omer Arbel. The medals have been etched with a design that evokes the undulating shape of Vancouver’s landscape.

Here in Vermont, we’re proud of our athletes at the Winter Games. So is Ben & Jerry’s, announcing yesterday that Gold Medalist (and Vermonter) Hannah Kearney will have her own flavor (following the likes of Jerry Garcia and Stephen Colbert). A spokesman for the company suggested it might be called “Kearney’s Java Jolt Bolt & Cookies.”

[This is a repost from Oct, in honor of some great gold medal performances yesterday]

What’s greener? Buying a new hybrid/EV or picking up an old used car? The answer isn’t quite as straight-forward as you might expect. Of course, in the long-term, replacing fossil fuel-burning, carbon-emitting cars with a fleet of cleaner, greener cars should be our aspiration. But, in the short-term, as Cliff Kuang explains in Fast Company, the “most eco-friendly move of all is to simply use what you have, as long as you can.” In his article, ‘Why Can’t Buildings Changes Clothes, Just Like You Do?,” Kuang is talking about the ‘green building boom,’ but many of the same rules (and question marks) apply.

Kuang suggests, “it really doesn’t make sense to build a brand-new green building, if you can simple retrofit one with a high-performance ’skin.’” And while “new buildings still command all the headlines,” a new trend is emerging, one that recognizes the value (and economy) of minimal interventions.

A few facts you might find interesting: the Earth’s population has doubled since the mid 1970s. Though the rate of population growth has almost halved since its peak (2.2%) in 1963, it still averaged a robust 220,988 new Earthlings every day in 2009. China and India account for nearly 40% of the world’s population- compare that to the U.S. which is about 4.5%, and Europe about 12%. Nearly a third of the world’s population is under the age of fifteen. Projections differ greatly, but some experts predict that we’ll hover between 9 and 10 billion by mid century.

In what Thomas Friedman calls an increasingly hot, crowded and flat world, population and innovation are closely linked. Where will 21st century’s world-changing innovation come from? And in what form? Some predict that nations will matter less than cities, regional hegemony far less than global collaboration. Ideas now travel at the speed of light, and access to information and technology grows by leaps and bounds.

Andrew Revkin writes in his recent post on NY Times Dot Earth,

As the human population heads toward nine billion and simultaneously becomes ever more interlaced via mobility, commerce and communication links, the potential to shape the human journey — for better or worse — through the sharing of ideas and experiences has never been greater. (My own sense is that the upside will dominate.) From Darwin through Havel, there’s been a vision of breaking down tribal and other barriers and enveloping the planet in what some have called noosphere.

While some old tools for disseminating information, the nightly newscast and morning front page, are suffering, it’s clear that the thirst for community and communication is stronger than ever.

But language remains a barrier to having a truly global conversation, or perhaps I should cast that in the past tense now.

As some of you certainly already know, and I’ve just learned, that future is already sketched out, in the form of Skype Translate, MeGlobe and similar experiments in instantly translated text chats.

Apture™

We’ve been keeping a keen eye on China’s interest (and growing influence) in clean technology. From its massive wind energy projects and construction of the world’s greenest skyscraper in Guangdong Province to its heavy reliance on coal, China is certainly still straddling two worlds. But, as Thomas Friedman summed it up, China is going green out of necessity, because “unless China powers its development with cleaner energy systems, and more knowledge-intensive businesses without smokestacks, China will die of its own development.”

We spotted a recent article from Reuters that went further in arguing that the global race to develop clean technology is “shaping up as a contest between Chinese-style capitalism and the more market-oriented approach fancied by the United States and Europe.”

The article continues, “Beijing’s top leaders have made clear their intention to have their nation dominate this new industry, up and down the value ladder. And in their quest for the prize, they are not burdened by concerns facing their Western counterparts–such as the impact of wind turbines on landscapes, higher energy prices for consumers, or investor returns.”

Will the West’s efforts to create meaningful clean tech advances be hamstrung by special interests, recession and the ‘luxury’ of free and open debate about climate change? Will clean tech be China’s moon shot? China may well ride this combination of necessity (go green or “die of it’s own development”) and authoritarian control (a “cozy relationship” between state-owned utilities, grid companies and banks) to clean tech dominance.

The article asks ‘Can The West Prevail?’ Many in the West still “believe the United States still has an advantage in innovation. The owner of patents, not factories, will likely earn the biggest profits and win the technology race.”

Time to start innovating!

Timberland’s Earthkeepers initiative is one of our favorite examples of corporate social responsibility. The NH-based boot maker begins with a simple premise; they love the outdoors, but they also make their living catering to those who share that active lifestyle. As the environment is threatened- by climate change, pollution, waste…- their way of life as well as their business model is threatened. As their site explains, “we realize that by making our products we’re part of the problem. We believe it’s time for companies like ours to take a look at how the way they do business affects the environment and do something about it. Earthkeepers is one way we’re trying to do exactly that – with the mission to inform, inspire and engage one million Earthkeepers.”

As part of the Earthkeepers mission, Timberland has launched Voices of Challenge, which puts thought leaders, issue experts, practitioners and everyday consumers at the heart of an online dialogue designed to present ideas for future innovation. In seeking to provoke (and moderate) an open conversation, the company has begun by asking a question that corresponds with one of its four CSR pillars: energy, product, workplace, and service. Below are some examples, along with links to join the conversation.

more…

We tend to focus on new ideas and how they might shape our tomorrow. But from time to time we draw inspiration from companies that are making old ideas work in a new, global economy. We spotted an interesting piece in the Burlington Free Press [click here to watch our interview with its whip smart publisher, Brad Robertson from last year] on one such company, Cabot Hosiery Mills. Makers of Darn Tough socks, the company is the last sock manufacturer remaining in New England, once a stronghold of the garment industry. As Matt Sutkowski writes for the BFP, “once upon a time, maybe 100 years ago, New England was dotted with hosiery companies. Gradually, they all went to the southern U.S., and then overseas with the rest of the Northeast garment industry as labor costs became prohibitive.”

Cabot Hosiery’s operations are essentially a three-legged stool. One leg is the original part of the business, making socks for retailers such as L.L. Bean. Another leg is the Darn Tough line of socks, which are durable, colorful footwear mostly geared toward sports enthusiasts. The third leg is socks for the military. The company has a roughly $10 million, four-year contract with the U.S. military to manufacture socks for troops, mostly the Army.

The recession has not harmed Cabot Hosiery, Marc Cabot said. “When the economy gets tough, our inner selves need to feel good,” he said. “Accessories always do better in tough economic times.” So people buy socks, rather than more expensive purchases, to make themselves feel good. “Instead of buying a $2,000 suit, they buy $15 socks,” he said, adding a person can make an old suit look new with a fresh tie and socks.

For more, check out the BFP article.

How is the internet changing the way you think? That’s this year’s question from Edge, a nonprofit foundation, modern-day salon and informal gathering of “some of the most interesting minds in the world.” The essays, from a range of contributors (college professors, technology analysts, scientists, artists and creative thinkers), are reliably thought-provoking. Will this access to information, our capacity for sharing, the relentless barrage of new ways to plug in…lead to a new age of Enlightenment or, as some suggest, a cultural Dark Ages?

One notable response is a piece by Clay Shirky, Social & Technology Network Topology Researcher and Professor at NYU’s Graduate School of Interactive Telecommunications. In ‘The Shock of Inclusion,’ Shirky writes, “The Internet has been in majority use in the developed world for less than a decade, but we can already see some characteristic advantages (dramatically improved access to information, very large scale collaborations) and disadvantages (interrupt-driven thought, endless distractions.) It’s tempting to try to adjudicate the relative value of the network on the way we think by deciding whether access to Wikipedia outweighs access to tentacle porn or the other way around.”

more…

It was not that long ago that Hyundai was the poor cousin of the other cars coming from across the Pacific. Just as Japanese carmakers Honda and Toyota have distinguished themselves as trailblazers in innovation, South Korean Hyundai has enjoyed a remarkable surge in brand value, with its Genesis being recognized at last year’s Detroit Auto Show with ‘Car of the Year’ honors.

At this year’s Detroit auto show, Hyundai is still generating strong buzz, this time over its Blue-Will plug-in hybrid concept car, unveiled earlier this week.

The car can run solely on its lithium polymer battery for a range of 20 to 40 miles, features low-friction tires and a full-length undercover for better fuel economy. The frame is also low weight, made possible through use of carbon-fiber reinforced plastics and bioplastics. The company has pledged to reduce the average weight of its fleet by 10 percent by 2015, said Dave Zuchowski, vice president of national sales at Hyundai Motor America.

No word on when or how the Concept car would make it into production, but, with successful debuts two years in a row at Detroit, Hyundai is now consistently delivering innovation.  Further proof of the company’s innovation- and growing influence- came in the midst of the recession last year. It launched the ‘Hyundai Assurance’ program, where a consumer could lease a car knowing that if he/she lost a job the car could be returned and the customer released of obligation. Other car companies were quick to follow suit.

No longer a butt of jokes, Hyundai is making a strong case to be considered alongside other innovators like Honda and Toyota.

The advent of cell phones has transformed the developing world- where land line infrastructure can’t keep up with demand. India is now the second largest telecom market in the world, not surprising perhaps considering it is the second most populous country in the world (around 1.2 billion people)- but consider this: India had less than 10 million telephones a decade ago. That growth, especially in parts of the world that don’t have reliable access to the electrical grid, makes this green gadget an innovative game-changer. A Mumbai-based company, ideaForge, is touting what it calls the world’s first truly sustainable mobile phone charger, the Roto Charger. By either cranking the handle or rolling the device on any surface, the device allows the user to charge the phone using manpower. [Btw, check out last year's post on the Baylis Eco-Media Player, which uses the same technology to power mp3 players]

The Roto Charger will cost around $7, and one minute of cranking provides three minutes of talktime and about thirty minutes of stand-by time.

[Source: Eco-Gadget, via Technology Review] 

Jackson Family Wines is introducing a new water recycling technology that returns 90% of water for reuse and can cut total water use up to 70%, a move that could signal a new era of efficiency in the wine industry. If the technology is adopted by even a third of California winemakers, the wineries could conserve as much as one billion of water annually.

The company, best known for its Kendall-Jackson brand, recently completed a yearlong “proof of concept” pilot program that hinted at the technology’s potential. For the program, Jackson Family Wines partnered with Napa-based Civil Engineering firm Riechers Spence and Associates, and winery wastewater specialists Heritage Systems, with the University of California at Davis providing independent third-party validation of testing results.

The system returns 90% of water, much of which is used for rinsing wine barrels and tanks, enabling a winery to reuse water up to ten times. Since the recycled water also retains 75 percent of its heat properties, the new process will also reduce energy use and cost.

“This is the first time that the wine industry has seen a water filtration system that is so efficient and cost effective,” said Jess Jackson, founder and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines. “We expect this to have a major beneficial impact on water and energy use not only in the wine industry, but in many industries throughout the state. As a family business, we remain committed to being a leader in responsible stewardship of our natural resources.”

For Jackson Family Wines, the system is expected to result in annual reductions of 6,000,000 gallons of water, 133,000 kWh of electricity, and 73,000 therms of natural gas, part of the winery’s Sustainability Program, focused on the triple bottom line and takes into account the environmental, social, and economic needs of the world. Over the last year, the Jackson family’s investment in energy efficiency initiatives has resulted in electricity savings of 9,000,000 kWh per year (equal to 1,300 homes usage).

Check out two of previous posts on innovation at wineries (Picking The Right Wine To Go With Your Planet, from Dec of 2008, and Wineries Getting Greener, from Aug of 2008).

[Source: GreenBiz]

How’s this for the kicking off the new year in style?! Cow flatulence! As Vermonters, we have firsthand knowledge of how the wind carries the smell of cows around. But it’s the way cows break wind that has researchers at James Cook University concerned. According the group at James Cook, the world’s domesticated cattle population accounts for as much as 20% of methane emissions. The scientists, though, have found that feeding “algae cakes” to cows results in a significant reduction in their methane emissions. The theory behind using algae is that cows can digest it more easily, because it contains more starch and less cellulose than conventional fodder.

We’ll admit it, it’s difficult to predict what type of innovative thinking will inspire us here at LTT. We’ll watch this story and hope it’s not just more hot air from down under.

[Source: The Australian, via CleanTechnica]

We may be Macs at Love Tomorrow Today, but we’re quick to acknowledge that Apple doesn’t have a lock on innovation. IBM has unveiled a list of impressive innovations that could to change how people live, work and play in cities around the globe in the next decade. For this, our last post in this decade, we wanted to recognize IBM’s remarkable initiative to create “smarter cities.”

IBM officials point to an important milestone that the planet reached last year; for the first time in history, more people live in cities than in rural areas. An estimated 60 million people are moving to cities and urban areas each year – a staggering 1 million+ every week. Mindful of this unprecedented urbanization, IBM is working with cities to address increasing populations and deteriorating infrastructure, to make them smarter so they can sustain growth, be healthier, more efficient, less polluted. IBM is helping cities develop an infrastructure that resembles a living organism, one that can sense and respond quickly to incidents and save resources.

Earlier this year, we profiled the efforts of Amsterdam and Stockholm to become “smarter cities,” both working with IBM to create smart electricity grids, add smart meters and other broad and ambitious measures to reduce energy use throughout business, residential and public spaces.

As the former mayor of Denver, Wellington E. Webb, has said, “The 19th century was a century of empires. The 20th century was a century of nation states. The 21st century will be a century of cities.” Cities are complex systems of systems, and as our planet becomes more interconnected, more instrumented, we have an opportunity to connect these systems in intelligent ways that can improve our lives. It’s clear that IBM is leading those efforts.

Thanks for all the support this year, and, from those of us at LTT, here’s to a happy, healthy, innovative 2010!

For more on IBM’s effort, visit the company’s dynamic site The Smarter City.

When Nissan’s all-electric vehicle, the Leaf, arrives next year, the on-board communication system will help drivers locate charging stations. One of the challenges for the EV market has been the lack of infrastructure that could support widespread use and long distance travel. While efforts are being made to address the infrastructure issue- Better Place, in particular, has raised a remarkable $200+ million and partnered with governments and utilities to develop the necessary infrastructure and technology to make the electric vehicle a viable alternative to conventional (gas-guzzling) cars- the scarcity of charging stations will remain an issue in the near term. The Nissan Leaf may be the necessary stop gap until people like Better Place’s Shai Agassi can raise more money.

The Leaf’s communication module will connect via satellite to Nissan’s global data center. Similar to existing telematics systems, such as GM’s OnStar, the Leaf’s module will display usage, remaining battery life, the location of charging stations and which stations are within range. If the driver sees the battery is low on power, he can put the car into “limp” mode, so it drives at the most-efficient speed to ensure maximum range.

Once at a charging station- at least one that is equipped with high-voltage plugs- the recharge will take as much as 30 minutes, an eternity compared to a conventional fill up. Recharges at home will take 16 hours, based on voltages available in the U.S. or Japan.

Could telematic systems be the answer to the infrastructure question? Nissan is counting on it. “Most people think that the charging infrastructure is the Achilles’ heel of an electric vehicle project. But it’s really not,” says Mark Perry, Nissan’s director of product planning and advanced technology strategy. “We are doing this to address peace of mind. We think people will recharge at home 80 percent of the time. But this lets people feel comfortable with the what-ifs,” he added.

[Source: Technology Review]

Earlier this year, we wrote about how US Air Force Academy cadets were designing more fuel efficient wings for the massive KC-135R air tanker. Meanwhile, the Korean Air Force Academy is doing some innovating of its own, announcing that its cadets have developed a pedal-powered aircraft. Dubbed the Sky Runner, the airplane weighs in under 100 lbs, has a wingspan of roughly 100 feet and is a propeller craft that is to be pedaled during take-off and flight.

During its early test flights, the Sky Runner flew up to 500 feet, which the team apparently accepts is inadequate, but they contend the distances will improve “through systematic pilot training.”

The developers suggest the pilot needs to pedal fast enough to generate roughly 0.3 horsepower to keep the plane flying up to 1.2 miles. That’s some serious pedaling, though, in fairness, no one is quite sure how much power a horse would actually produce on a bicycle.

The Air Force Academy says the project has cost about $290,000 and makes South Korea the world’s fifth country to fly a human-powered aircraft.

[Sources: EcoFriend, Hanopolis]

Unnerved by the sight of post-Christmas trees heading en masse to the wood chipper, Scott Martin, Los Angeles-based landscape architect, saw a business opportunity and a chance to make Christmas a little greener. As Jennifer Steinhauer explains in her NY Times piece- Business Delivers Christmas Trees For Rent- Martin’s “new business is delivering live, potted Christmas trees that are taken away once the toys have been unwrapped and, possibly, already broken, and the New Year’s confetti has been swept away.”

Rentable Christmas trees is not an entirely new concept, especially in eco-minded cities (Portland, Oregon, for one), but, as Martin tells Steinhauer, the idea is a perfect match for Los Angeles, “where Christmas trees have’an image issue,’ and escaping a drive through traffic with a tree strapped to a car roof is especially welcome.”

Steinhauer writes,

To rent a tree, a customer visits his Web site, www.livingchristmas.com, picks out a tree from among several varieties and then awaits delivery. Delivery days are determined by geography, to save time and gas. Prices range from $50, for a two-to-three-foot number, up to $185 for something considerably bigger. While two weeks is the recommended length of stay for a live tree in a house, Mr. Martin lets his customers keep them for three weeks.

The tree is then picked up to join its evergreen cousins; they will summer together on industrial properties where Mr. Martin rents space for pennies on the dollar to house his inventory. People who want the same tree next year ask for the tree to be tagged with their name, so it might return next December, taller.

Extra-credit groovy points: The delivery trucks run on biodiesel; the trees are cared for by adults with disabilities; the drivers will pick up donations for Goodwill and used wrapping paper for recycling; and his Web site also sells eco-friendly, fair trade ornaments.

[Source: NY Times]

LA Metro: Promoting Mass Transit from EMBARQ Network on Vimeo.

When Los Angeles Metro set about trying to make Mass Transit more relevant in a car crazy city, it did something no other transit agency in the country has ever done: it created an in-house ad agency to launch an ambitious new rebranding effort. The above video, shot by Emily Calderone and posted by EMBARQ (an organization focused on supporting sustainable transport solutions in cities), details how those efforts are beginning to pay off.

In Eat Big Fish marketing terms, the villains were clear: the stress and expense of owning/operating a car, the inconvenience of getting snared in the web of the city’s absurd traffic, and some of the worst pollution anywhere in the United States. Ads proposed Mass Transit as the hero, the solution to all these stresses. Matt Raymond, the Chief Communications Officer for Metro, tells Embarq that the creative services department’s job was also “to make public transportation cool.” So buses were repainted vibrant fun colors (California Poppy, or, to you and me, orange) and Metro purchased space its playful billboard campaign.

Raymond suggests that the Creative Services division of Metro was instrumental in the success of Measure R, a 1/2 cent sales tax that is expected to generate 40 billion dollars over the next 30 years for improving transit services in LA. To get the 2/3 vote required, Metro convinced the vast majority of Angelinos, most of whom commute by private car, that they should pay for transit out of their own pockets.

In the video, Clayton Lane from Embarq poses an interesting question- if the auto industry spends $20 billion a year promoting their products, what if transit agencies spent a similar amount promoting mass transit? The early successes of LA Metro provide a tantalizing view of that potential and also speak to the power of innovative marketing.

[Source: Embarq]