• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, February 13, 2008

In the last few days, retailers seem to be caught up in one do-the-right-thing spasm after another.

Target, for example, will reportedly launch two store prototypes this year, both certified green. There are reports that Safeway--which just weeks ago announced it would convert its entire fleet of trucks to biodiesel--will change the way it buys chicken, pork, and eggs, reflecting concerns of animal-rights groups. Staples is said to be on the verge of severing all ties with a major paper supplier over its poor environmental record. And Trader Joe's has let consumers know it will stop selling a number of items from China; the produce is safe, it says. It just doesn't want shoppers to worry.

While the trend certainly isn't new, observers are impressed with the sudden escalation. Maybe, in a soft economy, it's a way for retailers to build a little extra trust--or to deflect attention from all those depressing "sales are down" headlines. Either way, they say, it's what consumers want.

"It took a while for 'An Inconvenient Truth' to settle in, but the verdict by most consumers is 'Hey, we've got a problem here'," says James E. Dion of Dionco, a Chicago-based retail consulting firm. He believes the escalation also reflects rising energy costs, as stores struggle to find ways to save money on operations. "Retailers are getting that they need to do two things--show consumers ways that they are trying to reduce their carbon footprint, in their own operations. And then sell products that help consumers do the same."

"For the consumer, there's this growing feeling that environmentalism just makes sense," says Howard Davidowitz of Davidowitz & Associates, New York, a retail and investment banking consulting firm. "Everybody recognizes that these issues are all tied to energy costs. And while environmental issues and ethical issues--like animal rights questions --aren't necessarily the same thing, in consumers' minds, they're all increasingly tied together."

And as more retailers tiptoe into this expanding green zone, once owned by chains like Whole Foods Markets, such initiatives are becoming a competitive necessity.

Retail giants like Wal-Mart--as well as U.K.-based chains like Tesco and Marks & Spencer--have set the environmental bar pretty high for retailers, says David Zucker, a partner in the corporate and public affairs practice of Porter Novelli, a New York-based public relations firm. "There's a strong sense of 'You gotta keep up'," he says, "and retailers do want to stay on par. And where it's been a handful of key players who set the tone, you're now seeing signs of the broader sector wanting to step up."

For now, there's still time for environmental responsibility to be "a real point of differentiation" among major retailers, adds Davidowitz. But as more and more stores take on such projects, he says, it will quickly cancel itself out as greener practices become the norm, not the exception. In other words, stores will have to be green, or get negative publicity. But they won't necessarily get any points with consumers for doing the right thing.

What's also interesting, observers say, is the way that seemingly disparate issues--fair-trade practices, health concerns, labor, environmentalism, and even concern about animals--are increasingly being lumped, in consumers' minds, anyway, under one large umbrella. "Consumers in general are looking to engage with companies based on a core set of shared values," says Zucker.

Target, for example, intends to launch two store prototypes this year, reports the Minneapolis /St. Paul Business Journal, rolling them out to more than 100 locations nationwide next year. Both types of stores will be LEED-certified, using such environmentally friendly elements as low-flow fixtures to reduce water usage and HVAC systems that reduce energy usage by 30% more than required by most cities.

Safeway--battling Tesco's Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets, which in just a few months has established itself as a leader in environmental issues--is stepping it up a notch. In addition to many recent environmental initiatives, The Wall Street Journal says the chain is changing the way it buys meat and eggs. Going forward, it will look to buy more poultry killed with humane techniques, pork from growers that don't confine sows during pregnancy, and more cage-free eggs. (In the past, the supermarket chain has been the target of PETA protests, which dubbed the retailer "Shameway.")

For consumers, the learning curve is still vast. TransFair USA, for example, reports that while's it has grown a great deal in recent years, only 27% of consumers know what "fair trade" means.

"It's gotten easier to talk to Americans at this point about energy use," says Dion. But he says it's still a big leap to say that just because the typical consumer has a greater awareness of energy or agricultural issues, "that they are also thinking about things like child labor practices, the cost of living of the average Chinese worker, or awareness of health issues facing Guatemalan farm workers."

For now, experts say, it's not an easy road for retailers.

Many stores, Zucker points out, offer canvas bags as an alternative to plastic; fewer companies have had much luck getting shoppers to use them. "Smart companies are seeing they can build that emotional connection by demonstrating how they as a company are living those values," says Zucker, "and then engage with consumers around this mutual interest."