Grape Thinking » organic http://www.grapethinking.com Lifestyle, Wine, Culture, and Technology Thu, 29 Jul 2010 05:40:29 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Breaking Sustainability down into Markets http://www.grapethinking.com/breaking-sustainability-down-into-markets http://www.grapethinking.com/breaking-sustainability-down-into-markets#comments Mon, 30 Mar 2009 03:42:58 +0000 Greg http://www.grapethinking.com/?p=1560 more...]]> I’m always talking about sustainability, and as awesome as it is to ponder how it will save the planet and create a spiritual transcendence and all that good stuff that makes us feel warm and fuzzy inside, I thought it’d be smart to put a practical edge on the whole thing by taking a look at the actual markets that make up LOHAS (lifestyles of health and sustainability) and what type of numbers are behind them. This movement is growing fast and is creating incredible value in our economy. I believe it will gradually work it’s way into every imaginable vertical and serve to harmonize the economy into a holistic transcendence beyond capitalism. My friend Lee and I like to call it ecolism as I’ve mentioned in past posts. Here’s a breakdown of the current markets of the “sustainable economy”, what products and services they offer, and which ones are growing fastest.

The LOHAS market in total represents $209 billion in consumer sales!

Personal Health: $118.03 billion

  • Natural organic products
  • Nutritional products
  • Integrative health care
  • Dietary supplements
  • Mind body spirit products

Green Building: $50 billion

  • Home Certification
  • EnergyStar appliances
  • Sustainable flooring
  • Renewable energy systems (solar)
  • Wood alternatives

Eco Tourism: $24.17 billion

Natural Lifestyles: $10.6 billion

  • Indoor & outdoor furnishings
  • Organic cleaning supplies
  • Compact fluorescent/LED lights
  • Social change philanthropy
  • Apparel

Alternative Transportation: $6.12 billion

  • Hybrid vehicles
  • Biodiesel fuel
  • Carsharing programs (pickup pal)

Alternative Energy: $300 million

  • Renewable energy credits
  • Green pricing

Biggest Market Growth:

  • Retail Sales +28%
  • Organic foods +15%
  • Solar energy +20%
  • Eco-tourism +23%

*Information provided courtesy of Lohas.com

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]]> http://www.grapethinking.com/breaking-sustainability-down-into-markets/feed 0 If It Ain’t Real, Spit Out Your Meal http://www.grapethinking.com/if-it-aint-real-spit-out-your-meal http://www.grapethinking.com/if-it-aint-real-spit-out-your-meal#comments Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:00:19 +0000 Jake http://grapethinking.com/?p=683 more...]]> If you are what you eat… what are you?   Yellow #5, Xanthum Gum, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Sorbic Acid??

We’ve been following the organic movement across the world, as consumers begin to understand the level of toxins, chemicals, pesticieds, preservatives, etc.. that are injected, grown, sprayed, or bred into the things we eat and drink.  In an effort to encourage  you to more closely scrutinize those items that you put in your body, we present “The Mouth Revolution” by Free Range Studios.. the same group that brought us, “The Story of Stuff”

Mouth Revolution hones in on the fact that we need to be more considerate of what we put into our bodies, and need to promote a culture of health within our communities.  By being more conscious of those items that are harmful.. The “Mouthifesto” or “Declaration of Indegestion” is a great starting point for understanding those items you should always avoid.  

In all of its humor, we really respect the team at Free Range Studios for their creative efforts in raising awareness about these major issues that we must all face in order to better our race.  We share a similar passion for connective todays fast paced lifestyles with an understanding of our responsibilities to the planet.  

In case you missed it last time, you can read our post on “The Story of Stuff” here.

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]]> http://www.grapethinking.com/if-it-aint-real-spit-out-your-meal/feed 0 Wine Proof Pants http://www.grapethinking.com/wine-proof-pants http://www.grapethinking.com/wine-proof-pants#comments Sat, 09 Aug 2008 13:30:07 +0000 Ruarri http://grapethinking.com/wine-proof-pants On a recent trip to the Benicassim Festival in Spain, I purchased a pair of quick-dry camping pants from Titanium for the trip. Walking to outside the festival grounds and sitting on our back-packs whilst waiting for the campsite to open, we took the opportunity to crack a bottle of Rioja we’d got on RENFE (a quick note on RENFE – if you’re on the site and can’t select English you need to select the drop-down labelled Seleccione su Idioma to make it so, which means you have to speak Spanish to get the site into English, go figure!)

Red Wine is a perfect libation for festivals – primarily because it doesn’t need to be kept cold; it doesn’t lose its fizz and if you’re drinking wine locally produced its dirt cheap and super-good. Within minutes of popping the cork however I’d managed to spill the Rioja on my new pants and was questioning the merits of wine in a situation where a shower is hard to find… when suddenly, with a splash of from my water bottle – the wine was gone. Brilliant! Wine proof pants – what more could a young millennial wine-lover at a music festival wish for? I reckon marketing the pants specifically as wine-proof and selling it at Bonnaroo could be a good gig.


Festivals have become huge in the UK – and I guess the States is now picking up. Winemakers have a huge opportunity to sponsor music festivals – because the combination of music, nature, art and alcohol are what festivals are all about. Festivals have re-invented themselves since the days of Woodstock and are a perfect platform for not only entertaining people, but many organisations use them to spread awareness and raise money.

The Green Man Festival coming up next week is one of the most prominent indie festivals – where, much like the Big Chill – and both less commercially than Glastonbury, it promotes organic food, green living, sustainability etc. There’s a huge oppotunity in this concept and I’d really like to see some of the Oregon wineries putting on some music festivals and promoting their wines together with bands from Washington State and around. Many vineyards have acres of land and there’s plenty scope to host festivals on the vineyard grounds themselves. Once millennials cotton onto the benefits of wine and the contribution of viticulturalists to the environment and to local communities – it’ll certainly be the final push needed.

Now that I’ve found a pair of wine-proof pants; and have finally sprung for a decent festival tent whilst having fallen in love with festivals on the first night of Benicassim in a monent of sitting with my wife and two close friends, Will and Anin, drinking Rioja as a pre-game at the campsite with Sigur Ros about to play… I think it’ll be hard to go back to taking normal holidays.

Hopefully next year the Grapethinking team can bring some of the fabulous Tastevine collection to Bonnaroo and some of the other festivals in the US, and one day to the UK – we’ll provide a tent, picnic blankets and a selection of some of the best and most affordable wines from around the world… we’ll leave the music to the musicians though. Don’t forget to bring wine-proof pants…

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