Greenpeace Lends Its Name to 500 Products in Brazil
9/27/98
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Title: Greenpeace Lends Its Name to 500 Products in Brazil
Source: InterPress Third World News Agency
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 9/27/98
Byline: Mario Osava
RIO DE JANEIRO, Sep 27 (IPS) - Greenpeace has begun lending its name to
more than 500 products in Brazil, providing them with a green-friendly
stamp of approval as part of a new front in environmental activism and
fund-raising.
Food produced without toxic agro-chemicals, biodegradable credit cards,
shoes and other goods manufactured with ''vegetable leather'' and
chlorine-free paper are just some of the products promoted by the
international environmental watchdog in Brazil.
While Greenpeace licences ''ecologically-correct'' products in other
countries as well, nowhere is it done on such a large scale or with such a
broad range of products as in Brazil, which is at the ''vanguard'' of the
new trend, said Samy Menasce, owner of Todaba, a company that signed a
contract with Greenpeace last year to carry out the project.
Based in Sao Paulo, Brazil's largest city, Todaba identifies, develops,
licenses and deals with the marketing aspect of products that meet the
requirements for carrying the Greenpeace label. Royalties from the
Greenpeace label are shared, with nearly two-thirds going toward financing
the expenses and environmental activities of Greenpeace, Menasce
explained.
The aim of lending the Greenpeace trademark to products is to demonstrate
that ''environmentally sound production is economically viable,'' and show
business that demand exists, and that consumers are even willing to pay
more for green friendly products, said executive director of Greenpeace
Brazil Roberto Kishinami.
Nearly 100 organically-produced foodstuffs, mainly chemical- free produce,
now carry the Greenpeace label. Other sectors with a number of products
that have been licenced are the textile, apparel and leather industries.
The first brand of coffee bearing the Greenpeace stamp of approval went on
the market last month in Brazil, sold by the Gazzola Chierighini company
based in Itu, a city near Sao Paulo. (The close to 30,000 sacks a year of
organic coffee already produced in Brazil are exported.)
The Greenpeace trademark is only lent to products which demonstrate that
they meet environmental standards at each stage of the production chain -
from the raw materials to the industrial, distribution and marketing
processes, said Menasce.
The Visa credit card and checkbook covers of the Excel- Economico Bank,
recently acquired by the Spanish Bilbao Vizcaya bank, boast the Greenpeace
label as they are made of biodegradable plastic. The bank's books, made of
recycled paper, also carry the label.
Lojas Renner, a chain of 19 large stores selling a range of products,
mainly textiles and leather, concentrated in southern Brazil but rapidly
expanding, especially in Sao Paulo, has a section of products carrying the
Greenpeace label.
The t-shirts, pants, handbags, backpacks, ceramics and ornamental and
wooden objects are selling well, said Aline Autran de Morais, products
manager in Renner's purchasing department.
The warm reception is due to the fact that ''many people are aware of
environmental issues,'' and the use of the label ''has strengthened the
Renner name,'' the manager added.
A Greenpeace section may also be set up in Brazil's largest supermarket
chain, Pan de Azucar, if negotiations currently underway give fruit, said
Menasce.
Also expected to appear soon on the market is a Greenpeace album of songs
performed by famous singers known for their environmental activism, such
as Brazil's Gilberto Gil and Milton Nascimento and the Irish band U2.
Greenpeace Space, a store that opened last month in Sao Paulo with more
than 500 green-friendly products, has also emerged from the environmental
organisation's association with Todaba. The store sells products ranging
from food to clothing, crafts and other ''100 percent ecological'' goods.
Next year, after the experience has been fully assessed, more stores will
start opening through a franchising agreement, according to Menasce.
Thanks to growing demand, especially in markets already saturated with
goods, the business of green-friendly products is booming, he remarked.
Menasche explained that Todaba, which has been working with ecological
products for 10 years, also promotes the development of new products
through its ''participatory consultancy'' which orients all aspects of
green-friendly production and marketing ''from A to Z.''
Todaba's experience with Greenpeace Brazil has caught the attention of
other countries, and discussion are already in progress with Argentina,
Chile, Germany and the Netherlands, he commented.
[c] 1998, InterPress Third World News Agency (IPS)