Trends Show Retailers Going Green Rising To The Top

By Rick London

The facts are obvious. Retailers are retailers, even the big dogs, are "going green". It was bound to happen and it is about time. Of course the Wal-marts, Targets and Sams Clubs of the world, most likely, will never go fully earth-friendly, and merely offer sections in their stores rather than become another Whole Foods, it is still a very good sign. I was in Kroger's last week, a place I'd not shopped in awhile. It is clearly going green with, what appeared to be more than half their groceries stamped organic.

Smart retailers understand that it is good for them, and good for the consumer. The obvious part is that anything a person, organization, company, or group and do, in any tiny way, to leave the planet a bit cleaner than how we found it. The signs of a vulnerable ecosystem have been with us for awhile. It is nothing new. Today, one does not need to be what was commonly referred to as a "tree-hugger" to do their part in pitching in to help in their own small way by being a little more green.

I am a cartoonist and online retailer. I sell licensed images of my cartoon images on a myriad of products such as Tshirts, mouse pads, coffee mugs, and others. When I told my friends I was planning to open a 100% organic cotton (using nontoxic dyes) T-shirt shop as my latest online venture, a good many of them laughed. And not at my cartoons. Some felt I was "losing it". The truth is, I am finding it. Though I don't know if I will ever become 100% earth-friendly in my entrepreneurial pursuits, that is my goal. I still have many existing customers at other stores who have supported us all these years, and they are a completely different market. It is imperative to cater to them and provide a product and service that they have come to appreciate. It does not make them "bad" or me bad for providing that.

I would consider myself "bad" if this opportunity to get into the "green sector" of business, not to have taken it. I had been attempting it for many years. I could not make a deal with a manufacturer that suited me. I wanted to find one in which I could provide an extremely high quality fabric, and have my cartoon images imprinted with natural dyes that would not harm the skin. There were a few our but there was always an issue or minimal purchases, quality control, and other obstacles always surfaced. Though I am a small businessman, I will not post products at prices that are not competitive. So I waited and I am glad I did.

Because of the good works of several fine firms such as Zazzle.com, and contracts they have with American Apparel and Edun Organics (two of the best), I can offer the quality green tee and have it printed and drop-shipped anywhere in the world within 24 hours. And price-wise, I am now competing with the bigger dogs, and often beating them.

From Portland to Miami and everywhere in between, tees remain the rage. According to a study, the average American has at least thirty designed tees, and almost one hundred percent have a "favorite one". In addition, it is apparent we are becoming more health-conscious people these days. We try to eat healthier foods, take organic vitamins, eat less red meat, consume less trans-fat. The skin is the largest and most absorbent organ the body has. We use dyes that have no toxins. And wearing premium ones, paying a few dollars more than one would for a regular cotton or cotton blend tee is even smarter. It looks softer and sexier and feels better on the body. And one is doing their part to help the planet a little. To me, that kind of peace of mind is worth a lot more than a few packs of gum.

About the Author:

Rick London is the first cartoonist to go earth-friendly. CLICK HERE to visit his organic cartoon tshirt shop

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Humor info

There was a wonderful science fiction story written many years ago by Murray Leinster called "First Contact" which concerned the first contact between an alien race and human beings. Both races took great pains to conceal the location of their home worlds and made contact with a fair amount of anxiety and paranoia about the intentions of the other. All the while the senior diplomats and military were parlaying, he had spent the time with a junior soldier of similar rank telling jokes to each other. The idea that the aliens had the same sense of humor as the earthlings was enough for him.

Using humor in public speaking can be very beneficial, both for the audience and the presenter. A speaker who can effectively use humor to engage and entertain their audience possesses a valuable gift. You will be appreciated for providing heartfelt laughter; laughter that has therapeutic effects on listeners. And you will be remembered, talked about; your reputation as a truly great speaker will be enhanced and spread about.

Actually, new research suggests, humor talent does offer a possible advantage in the contest to proliferate offspring. Humorous men might just be a little bit more attractive to potential mates.

Second, not all perceptions of humor actually produce overt laughter, thus ``tends to produce'' rather than ``produces'' in the fundamental postulate above; this allows for laughter with or without humor and vice versa. So there may be unobservable instances of humor perception, where it is impossible to tell if someone finds something funny or not.

First of all, it�s a truism�as well as true (or at least truthy)�that people are hungry for authenticity in their public figures. And a good sense of humor is the most reliable contemporary signifier of authenticity.

Remember, as the group facilitator you will be setting the tone of the group. If the environment is stuffy and dogmatic, little laughter and divergent thinking will occur. However, if you can make the environment comfortable, flexible, and supportive, the group will cultivate a sense of humor along with a positive learning environment.

Is it necessary to go to comedy school? No, being relaxed, smiling and alert to student needs are good starts to a better sense of humor. The integration of humor into a group session can be a slow process that requires trial and error. Try out jokes and stories ahead of time on family and peers to make sure they are humorous and non-insulting. A "Don Rickles" approach to humor would not be particularly productive for a group environment. Positive humor is evident when groups develop their own identification through nicknames, group history or on-going gags.

When students and teachers were asked what element makes learning effective and exciting, a "sense of humor" was rated high on the list. Shared laughter is a powerful way to reinforce learning.

There is no longer any doubt that your daily mood or frame of mind makes a significant contribution to your health--especially when it persists day after day, year after year. Anything you can do to sustain a more positive, upbeat frame of mind in dealing with the daily hassles and problems in your life contributes to your physical health at the same time that it helps you cope with stress and be more effective on the job. Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health.

Citing previous research, the scientists speculate that men do appreciate a mate with sense of humor, but that the notion of "sense of humor" means different things to men and women. Some evidence suggests that women like men who produce humor, and consider a man to have a good sense of humor if he produces high-caliber jokes. A man, on the other hand, considers a woman to have a good sense of humor if she laughs at his jokes. "Men may prefer women who signal appreciation of their humor because humor appreciation may signal sexual interest," write Bressler and Balshine.

The movie is sporadically funny in an anarchistic way. But Cho and Penn don't have the needed personality or comic identity to sustain a franchise and their non-drug humor is so crude and scatological that -- to say the least -- it leaves a very bad taste in the mouth.

Note that in Jong's piece there is no evidence of any recognition that while perhaps unfair, male journalist attention to looks is inevitable; worse, both men and women are typically curious about how a woman presents herself. Mitt Romney may well have lost the primaries, in part, because he looked "too perfect" for many voters and his looks were commented upon with regularity. The salient point is that Erica Jong has lost her sense of humor and it shows in her tiresome and uninformative piece.

The limited research on stress-related hormones and humor has shown that laughter reduces at least four neuroendocrine hormones associated with the stress response, including epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone. This is consistent with research showing that various relaxation procedures reduce stress hormones.

It has long been recognized that stress weakens the immune system, leaving you more vulnerable to illness. Only in the mid 1980s, however, did researchers begin to study the impact of humor and laughter on the immune system. The best evidence that humor boosts the immune system comes from studies where immune system measures are taken before and after a particular humorous event--usually a comedy video. But research showing that individuals with a better sense of humor have stronger immune systems is also significant, since it shows the importance (for your health) of making the effort to improve your sense of humor.

In any case, the study's implication that women crave humorous men requires further investigation with more sophisticated humor. "The humor in this study showed a restricted range of quality," Bressler and Balshine admitted. "Examination of the influence of different types of humor . . . would be a valuable addition to this research area.