Media Clipping – February 23, 2007, The Chronicle-Herald

A burning question

Candle maker seeks optimal balance of profits, green goals

By BILL POWER Staff Reporter

At a time when the business benefits of going green are being lauded from all directions, a company like Burnt Out Solutions Inc. of New Minas should be laughing all the way to the bank.

The business goes to extreme lengths to produce environmentally friendly candles: soy wax is used instead of paraffin, the holders are reusable, and even the wicks are biodegradable. Most of the company's candles are free of artificial scents and colours and packaging is minimal, with recycled material used whenever possible.

A line of hand-poured soaps also reflects the company's environmental sensitivities.

However, budget-minded customers want old-school products that are less environmentally sensitive.

"We like to provide green options. The problem is consumers do not want them. They are interested only in the bottom line," Burnt Out's product manager Michelle Kulyk said of resistance the company is encountering in the marketplace to its environmentally friendly products.

That's not to suggest Burnt Out is no longer a success story, because sales of some of its products are booming. It's just that those products aren't necessarily the ones the company, which considers itself socially and environmentally responsible, started out to sell.

The company has learned it can struggle to put out a green product with no artificial colour, no extra packaging, recyclable glass and biodegradable labels but which has marginal sales, or it can take the same candle, add artificial colour, put it in non-recyclable glass, pack it in a fancy box, label it like crazy — and orders will pour in.

"Consumers want products that have been tarted up," Ms. Kulyk lamented.

"They could care less if you are using environmentally friendly products and packaging."

So the company that was founded on green precepts is filling more orders for products that look like those available at mainstream department stores.

"We have to make what sells to stay in business and it is not what we originally thought we would be doing."

Businesses should look very carefully before taking too big a leap to get on the environmental bandwagon, she said.

"We're going to continue making environmentally friendly products, but it is a struggle."

There is a troublesome barrier of consumer resistance to green products, say people closely associated with the environmental movement.

Derek Gillis, who volunteers with GPI Atlantic, a non-profit research group responsible for the Genuine Progress Index, said there is an obvious need for more consumers to pay attention to the benefits of shopping green.

He said the situation presents a "moral challenge" for producers.

"Look around any supermarket or department store and you can see there are many thousands of items out there that do not really require any packaging at all."

Mr. Gillis said organizations like his want to get the word out that Nova Scotians can do more to reduce their environmental footprint.

One recent GPI Atlantic study noted Nova Scotia is part of the richest one-fifth of the world that consumes 84 per cent of all paper products, compared to nations among one-fifth of the poorest that use just 1.1 per cent of available paper products.

He said more young consumers are alarmed by numbers like this and are heeding the green message.

"More young people are becoming mindful of selecting products that are environmentally friendly with minimal packaging."

When it comes to green purchases, there is a big gap between what many people say and what they do, said Ramesh Vencat, associate professor of marketing at Saint Mary's University in Halifax.

"The market penetration of green products is growing, but at a very slow rate," he said.

Mr. Vencat said sluggish sales projections for hybrid cars show consumers are reluctant to pay a premium for environmental benefits.

"The hybrid is expected to capture about five per cent of the market by 2013, which is really not a lot."

Following the green path has opened profitable doors for P'lovers Environmental Store at the Park Lane mall in Halifax. Everything in the store was made in what it calls an environmentally and socially responsible manner.

Owner Liz Crocker is keen on businesses that are environmentally aware, and agreed that sometimes it isn't easy being green.

"Making the shift toward products that are environmentally sensitive demands tenacity," she said.

North American consumers love fancy packaging, especially when buying gifts, she said.

"Some Japanese have a tradition of presenting gifts wrapped in second-hand scarves, which puts them far ahead of us on the packaging front."

( bpower@herald.ca )