you ask, they answer!

So hey, got a question for method? (Well, particularly, method UK! But hey, they've got the same method products, right? Maybe just no Target questions (cause uh, I don't think they have Targets) and perhaps stick a "bloody" or two in front of all questions. Ok, ok, so stereotypical of me! I should be ashamed! Do me a favor, leave the "bloody"s out, ok?)

Over on the site guardian.co.uk they've got this nifty little Q&A session going on all week long with method! You have a question? They have an answer!

"Green cleaning firm Method joins us this week to answer your questions on its eco credentials and quirky-looking products. Founded in San Francisco in 2000 by Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan, it spread to the UK in 2006 and is now a serious rival for the long-standing king of "ecological cleaning", Ecover.

So how does it compare to Ecover on its environmental pedigree? Are the chemicals in everyday cleaning sprays and lotions really "poisons" to the natural world and people too, as Method claims? Want to know what the company thinks of eco labelling schemes, such as the EU Eco Label or organic certification?

Whatever questions you've got about its recycled packaging, "natural" cleaning or baking powder and vinegar, this is your chance. Method will be online from Monday to Friday – just post your questions below."

+

So ask away (click on the link and post your question there, not here! Or uh, it won't get answered!) If you do ask them a question, it'd be really grand if you'd let them know "method lust sent you!" Thanks!

tom fishburne: back to school

Alright. Here's a very interesting video (I say that all the time, don't I? But hey, if it wasn't interesting, do you think I'd put it here on method lust?! Do you? Well, ok, I probably would. BUT, let's just go with the "he's telling the truth, it's interesting!" and be done with it, ok? If you happen to become uninterested, there's always that pause button!) coming from Tom Fishburne's site (who is currently senior marketing director of method, UK!) Now, I'm not the smartest fish on the planet, so I'll be upfront and let you know, some of what he's talking about... whoosh, over my head! BUT, if you take a moment to view this video, it gets really interesting in just how stores like Target (and Tesco for the UK folks) work! With brands you buy every day. It's rather eye-opening! So give it a gander! Here's his intro. from his site, Tom Fishburne Brand Camp cartoonist:

"Last summer, London Business School created a teaching case on our experience launching the method brand in the UK, as part of their entrepreneurship curriculum. It was great fun and culminated in my joining a class to hear 80 students debate all of our decisions.

I then went to the front of the class for a good grilling. I just got a copy of the video and here's a short snippet. It gives a little color to life in an entrepreneurial brand and some opinions on marketing in general."

mind the gap

Over on method's very own people against dirty blog, Danny Alexander has written (and Julie Kim has posted) a great little piece on a recent trip some method San Francisco-ians took!

"Hello from London! A few of us from the method San Francisco office have spent the last 4 days wandering the mean streets of London on a quest for inspiration. Gordie, Sally, Nate, Eric and I, Danny, have been keeping mighty busy over here, but have been having a blast nevertheless.

Our first objective here was to visit our UK office, which was a great opportunity for a method family mini-reunion. We talked business a bit, reviewing how wonderfully they've grown in the two years since method launched here and making sure we're all on the same page with our 2009 plans before taking turns hula-hooping. Although the office here is much smaller than our home base in San Francisco, it makes up for it in charm and quirk, and it's so exciting to see the method spirit alive and well half way across the world. It's nice to have such a welcoming home away from home.

While we had the whole gang together we spent yesterday morning walking the method mile (or High Street in Kensington, if you'll be in London any time soon), visiting a few method retailers and taking note of how the product looked on shelf. We may speak the same language (more or less), but the UK and the US are very different markets with very different needs. Talking to our UK workmates while walking the aisles gave us a better sense of how to design specifically for the UK market, so hopefully our future designs will be even better!..."

Head on over to people against dirty to read the rest of the post, and see more great pics!

squeaky green: the method men

The Times Online UK has a nice method article (which includes Adam drinking some method bathroom cleaner! Gah!):

"Lydia Slater

Eric Ryan pours out a tumblerful of pale-blue, frothy lavatory cleaner, lifts it to his mouth and swallows. “Hmm,” he says, licking his lips. “Not bad, actually.”

Encouraged, I take a sip too. It’s sticky and acidic, and tastes of mint and eucalyptus. While nobody is recommending that any kind of cleaner should be consumed, the fact remains that if you drank a shot of Toilet Duck, you would be on your way to hospital. As the co-founder of Method, the ecological home-care company that’s put the glam into green cleaning, Ryan is proud to be able to say that he can put his products where his mouth is.

What is perhaps more revolutionary is the packaging design. The washing-up liquid comes in an hourglass-shaped bottle created by the award-winning industrial designer Karim Rashid, which squirts fluid from the bottom through a nifty leakproof spout. It’s also recycled and recyclable. No wonder, then, that you will find Method cleaners in Stella McCartney and Madonna's cupboards.

The label has also become set-designer shorthand for right-thinking cool, appearing on gleaming sinks in Will & Grace and Desperate Housewives.

The germ of the concept came to Ryan, 35, when he was sharing a bachelor pad with four twentysomething friends.

“It was probably the dirtiest apartment in San Francisco,” he says. Cleaning up after one particularly wild party, he realised that it wasn’t so much the stench of stale beer that was making him feel ill as the products he was using. “There’s a reason that your eyes water and you have to hold your breath with all those harsh cleaners,” he says. “They contain a lot of toxic chemicals, so you’re polluting when you’re cleaning — you’re using poison to make your house healthier. And that didn’t make sense.”

Coincidentally, one of his flatmates, Adam Lowry, was a chemical engineer and environmental scientist. Together, the pair launched Method in 2001, with four spray cleaners, made and bottled in the grotty flat. Even in green-leaning, early-adopting San Francisco, they struggled to survive at first.

“I expected us to fail, quite honestly,” Ryan says. The pair borrowed money from their family and friends. “That’s pressure, because you really don’t want to let grandma down. So you keep going forward, no matter how bad it gets.”

At one point, they had £8 in the bank, £51,000 owing on credit cards, and their label company refusing to make any more until the outstanding bill was settled.

Finally, funding came through from an investor: Method became profitable three years ago. It now has a turnover in excess of £51m and is widely available in the UK (at shops including Boots, The Co-op and Waitrose).

The latest range is a collection of cleverly designed baby products, inspired by Ryan’s daughter Anya, 2. The cute, squeezy, otter-shaped bottle of children’s body wash is designed to be used with one hand, while you hang on to your slippery baby with the other; the baby hair and body wash has a cap that doubles as a rinsing cup.

Ryan has also written a book with Lowry, called Squeaky Green: The Method Guide to Detoxing Your Home, which makes unnerving reading. Did you know that most big-brand toothpastes contain pesticide? Or that non-iron sheets are often treated with formaldehyde? Or that fabric softeners are made from beef fat? The good news for ecoworriers is that Ryan insists detoxing even the most chemically dependent home will take only two weeks, and you will have not only a healthier house, but a cooler-looking one, too."

radio interview

Take a listen to this UK radio interview, featuring Adam Lowry, co-founder of method! Enjoy!

the clean team

The Independent (over in the UK) has a nice write up on method.

Clean team: the young entrepreneurs set to mop up the eco-market
By Josh Sims

That Adam Lowry and Eric Ryan should receive a Valentine's Day card is not surprising. Both in their thirties, they are brainy, clean-cut, all-American business types. That the card should be made of cut-up packaging is unusual. But that it should express love for their range of household cleaning products is plain off the wall. And yet this is not unusual: Method, Lowry and Ryan's eco-friendly brand of floor polishes, disinfectants, leather cloths and other friendly cleaners, which is now being rolled out across Britain seems to attract fanatical followers.

Indeed, in taking a stance in an industry that has done its best to ignore the need for green alternatives to the toxic chemicals with which we routinely douse our homes, Lowry and Ryan have made products associated with chores hip and desirable. Their safe liquids, sprays and gels come in the kind of sculptural, minimalist packaging that appeals to the iPod generation. And they are as new wave in their business practices – using solar energy, supporting workers' rights and fair wages – as their products. They are the Ben and Jerry of the toilet bowl – with a loo cleaner made from lactic acid, wipes made from sustainable bamboo and packaged in the world's first fully recyclable film pouch, and a mop made from recyclable, plastic they were told was impossible to manufacture.

"A lot of customers buy our products because they look cool. But the reason why most of them stay loyal is because they're green," reckons Ryan, a former advertising executive who speaks of Method being "an organisation of fun", whose employees gather for a "Monday huddle" to crack jokes and talk business.

Their beliefs are not, however, something the duo have been keen to bludgeon customers with. The greenness of the products is only passingly mentioned on their packaging, though it is explained on their website. Rather, touches of humour aim to provoke thought: "Does your home have a chemical dependency?" asks one tag-line; "You may not know what your bathroom tiles taste like, but your kid does," states another.

In many ways, their range's designer aesthetic is a cynical one, an admission that few people are likely to be converted to using green cleaning products on eco-credentials alone: stylish design is a Trojan horse to get into the homes of people more concerned that detergents and cleansers should smell nice or match the cupboards. But the strategy is working. In 2005, Method recorded sales of $15m (£7.7m). Last year they were nearly $100m. "When you're David against Goliath, the likes of giant companies such as Unilever and Procter & Gamble with endless dollars to spend, you're never going to win playing their game," says Lowry, a former chemical engineer and climate scientist who worked on the Kyoto Protocol and whose business title is now chief greenskeeper (Ryan's is ripplemaker). "You have to redefine the game."

That said, their beliefs have had to be strong even to get their brand this far. First, there were factories to persuade. "Normally, they solicit a brand for business, but we had to make the sales pitch to them: I'd walk in, tell them we had no money to buy shelf space in stores, show them a rendering of a funky bottle that's hard to make and tell them we wanted to fill it with a substance others were convinced could not be made. Oh, and that we didn't expect to sell much," says Lowry.

Resistance from manufacturers was followed by doubt from retailers. According to Lowry, with sales of household cleaning products in decline, the market offering nothing distinctive and the major manufacturers squeezing retail profit, interest in anything new, green or not, has been at an all-time low.

John Lewis was the first UK retailer to take on Method, and it's now sold in Waitrose, Boots, some Sainsbury's, Co-op and Tesco stores, as well as many independent shops. Finally, consumers have had to be lured into a new way of thinking. "There is still this misconception that "green isn't clean", that such products don't work," explains Ryan. "A lot of that comes from the big companies who are constantly drumming on about 'new and improved', that they deliver superior cleaning power," he says. "And we grew up with a lot of these old brands, so we don't look at that as evil, as they potentially are – there are chemicals in those products that really shouldn't be there. Ours is a simple mission: a happy, healthy home."

Thanks to their success in the US, they may not be alone on that mission for long. Lowry and Ryan suggest that it is, in part, convention that has stopped major players from tackling the green market. But there are also, they add, philosophical barriers. "There has been apathy, a lot of saying 'green cleaning products can't be made' or sitting on the sidelines asking, 'is this green thing going away, or is it going to stick around?'," says Lowry. "It shows these companies have no spine in having a clear point of view people can buy into. We don't want to wait to see if green thinking becomes the norm – we want to make it happen. Now those giant companies are realising there is a market for green products, they're going to try to out-Method Method."

That, potentially, is good for the planet. It proves a big problem for Method. But the duo draw a parallel between their company and Apple, which keeps being imitated but is always innovating to stay ahead. Method has new products in the pipeline, among them a concentrated laundry detergent it promises will be revolutionary, as well as moves into personal care, including new baby and kids' lines – all while pioneering new and, of course, chic bio-packaging. There's also a book, Squeaky Clean, a guide to detoxing your home.

"They're a way to bring delight into drudgery," says Lowry of their products. "And they're green. But all cleaning products should be."

flashback/flashfoward

It's just like Lost! Flashback, Flashfoward! What, you don't watch Lost? Geesh! What's wrong with you? Eh?

Here's a cool look at before + after. The photo on the left shows Eric Ryan, method co-founder, way back in the day when they were first spreading the word about method cleaning spray; traveling personally from store to store! Then right shows those UK folks promoting method today! (Well, not really today, as in actually this day; but more so as in this year. Or perhaps last year, but like, not that long ago. Definitely not as long ago as the Eric pic, cause that was like, a long time ago, and such, uh, yeah, am I making any sense? No? Ok, just checking!)

it's not easy bein' green

And interesting article from vnunet.com, focusing on talking with Adam Lowry (above on the right), co-founder of method (but come ON, you know that by now, right? I thought so!) This article is from December 2007, but hey, I hadn't seen it til today! And you know what NBC says "If you haven't seen it, it's new to you!"

"Green companies think they just have to stick a leaf on the label

BusinessGreen: Can you give us a bit of background on Method?
Adam Lowry: We are a home care and personal care company, providing household cleaning and laundry products, as well as personal care products such as soap and handwash.

How did you come to found the company?
My background is as an environmental scientist and chemical engineer. I worked for the Carnegie Institution and was involved in work on the Kyoto Accord and the second IPCC report. My role was to do the science that was meant to lead to policy change, but while I loved the work, I often felt it was only reaching other scientists and wasn't really reaching the mainstream – so I started looking for business ideas that could better help drive sustainable ideas.

So where did the idea for green cleaning products come from?
At the time, I was living in a bachelor pad in San Francisco with five friends from university, one of whom was Method's co-founder, Eric Ryan. Eric had a background in branding and marketing and he recognised that one of the sectors in greatest need for a complete branding overhaul was the cleaning products space. At the same time, I knew from my work that from an environmental perspective these were some of the most pernicious products available. We started the business from that flat in San Francisco in early 2000, originally going door-to-door to local retailers with the products.

And how large is the company now?
We now have 100 staff and our annual turnover is $100m. We also made our first move outside the US last year, launching in the UK. We've got a fully staffed office in Richmond, west London, and are repeating the start-up model that worked in the US. Our products are already available in John Lewis, Waitrose, Tesco and Sainsbury's.

Why did you target the UK as your first overseas market?
The UK consumer is so far ahead of their US counterpart when it comes to green issues that this was the obvious choice for our first international market. We're seeing healthy growth, albeit from a low base, but the interest in green issues is definitely driving demand.

Cleaning products have a long history of using hazardous and environmentally damaging chemicals. How did you go about developing clean alternatives?
The simplest way to explain how we develop the products is through an equation: risk = hazard x exposure. The conventional approach to developing cleaning products is to focus on the risk part of the equation and argue that you can use hazardous materials as long as you only use a little bit of them. Our approach, right from the first design phase, is to focus on the hazard part of the equation and try to remove the hazardous elements. So if a child drinks it, nothing bad happens, or if a whole bottle goes down the drain, nothing bad happens.

How feasible is that?
It can be very challenging. The problem is not necessarily finding replacement chemicals and materials but finding high-performance replacement materials and chemicals. The solution is to either develop new chemicals, which we've done in some cases, or develop new formulations of chemicals, which we've also done. This approach can prove expensive and also takes a lot of time. For example, we've just launched new products for scrubbing tiles and cleaning toilet bowls that took eight years to develop.

You say that this green approach is expensive, but isn't keeping the price as low as possible critical if you want to compete with conventional alternatives?
Absolutely, and we try to keep the price premium as low as possible right from the start of the design brief. Most of our range costs £3, while typical rival products cost £1.80 to £2.20. That is a price premium of 30 to 40 per cent, which we think is good for the improvement in performance, design and fragrance you are getting – not to mention the environmental credentials.

How do you go about marketing new green products such as these?
I think this is where a lot of green companies get it wrong. Our aim is to appeal to customers beyond the typical green consumer, because if you can do that then you have really made the breakthrough and can make a difference with green products. There is this common problem where green companies just target the green consumer.

What tactics should you employ to reach beyond the traditional green or ethical consumer base?
You need to focus on other components of the products besides the environmental elements. For example, we have a full-time design team and we invest really heavily in product design. A lot of green product companies forget about other aspects of the product beyond its environmental credentials. They think the green consumer market is growing so all they have to do is target that and stick a green leaf on the label. We are trying to go for a different approach. The green credentials are still critical – after all, I've invested my entire career in green issues – but it is just one attribute of product quality. You have to appreciate that green credentials are not the only reason a customer buys a product and you have to focus just as much on price, quality and design. The goal for green companies has to be to make sure that all products in a market are green. When that is achieved, where does it leave the product with the green leaf on the label?"

scrubbin' in the uk!

For those of you over on the other side of the pond (that'd be the UK, as far as my understanding of that phrase goes!) you can sign up to win yourself a set of Bathroom Flushable Wipes and a Tub + Tile spray cleaner. The people over at Tesco are currently taking entries, and they have 100 sets to give away! That sounds like a really great chance to win!

The contest ends at 10 am, April 14th; with the winners being announced that afternoon (man, they're fast!) So all you UK people, head on over and sign up now! Good luck!

why is tiny always so cute?

Check out these tiny little pink grapefruit spray cleaner bottles! They've got them over across the way (in the UK!) and while I'm not sure if these were for sale, or were simply for marketing purposes (free samples?) I think they rock! They're packaged in the same way as the Holiday spray cleaner line is here in the ole' US! Which got me to thinking?

Wouldn't a continuation of that line work wonderfully throughout the year! Now that method has introduced special edition candles (starting this Spring; and they always having Fall and Holiday editions); what if they started doing mini spray cleaners, just like the holiday line, but as special editions for each season! Imagine, tiny floral scented cleaning sprays for spring (or uh, what about Lemongrass? OH MAN, what I wouldn't give for the return of Lemongrass! Uh, anyway...) or a cut grass special edition cleaning spray for the Summer? How about some Clove + Mandarin spray for Fall? (Hint, hint?)

Mmm, I think it's a great idea! Now I want to know what you think? In the past, the Holiday line has remained at the same price point as the larger spray cleaners. But I tend to look at it is a fun splurge, since they don't stick around for long! Would you be willing to purchase these?

the ideal solution (is method!)

We like to keep up with all our worldly goings-ons! And what with method expanding everywhere (uh, Hong Kong, Canada, Australia, anyone?) we got a lot of work to do! The folks over in the UK are currently set up at the Ideal Home Show in London (and would I LOVE to be there! Man!) In fact, they're inviting you! Check it out, via the method UK blog:

"we would love to invite all of you over to our home for a cuppa, but we don’t have nearly enough chairs. so we set up a cozy home away from home at the Ideal Home Show in London, complete with bathtub, aroma bar, and a lot of squeaky green method products (including some of our coveted “plastic bag rehab” bags).

if you’re in the Earls Court area, please stop by and take a load off (or even a bath). you can find our shiny happy faces at stand 2M1 through the 6th of April."

The show began March 14th (I didn't know, or I would have posted it earlier! Please forgive me, I'm only human. Well, mostly.) And check out their own environmentally green dog, Squeaky (you can see him in the photo above, in the upper left hand corner! Aw, cute! You can even get your own little dog here! He's not green, but I sure think orange is awfully swell!) Even the San Francisco-ian method team has gotten in on the fun, which features sneak peeks of the new squeaky green book, and an aroma bar (Heavenly!) where you can tantalize your senses and win a full Detox Home kit (one up for grabs each day) just by letting them know your favourite method scent! See the pic below for all the sniffing goodness!

And speaking of goodness, who knew such hotness worked for method! I mean, where did they all come from? Yowza! (And the girls are pretty cute, too!) I gotta go take a cold shower now, you gotta check out the Ideal Home Show!

wipe it, wipe it good!

Speaking of method home in the UK, check out this version of the wipes packaging! Isn't it adorable! The US version still comes in the plastic bottle form. I wonder if we'll be switching over to this style down the line! I think it'd be a great idea, especially since they're already doing this style with the bathroom wipes, and to an extend even, the wet dryer sheets come in a similar packaging (though with a hard backing.) And they'd be easier to tote around (with your kids, in your car, etc.) I think it'd be great! What do you think?

bloody right!

Ok, that title? I had to! Because here is a great article from the method home UK blog (yes, Virginia, there is a method UK home office! How cool is that?!) concerning antibacterial soaps. Man, do I hate that stuff with a passion! So here is the article in full:

"Antibacterial soaps are pesticides. Meaning the ingredients in them are used to kill bugs.

When you use these soaps on yourself or your children, you could be absorbing pesticides into your system via your skin.

Many public bodies such as The American Medical Association do not recommend antibacterial soaps. They don't recommend them for use in your home. They don't even recommend them for use in pediatrician's offices. The only place they'd like to see these soaps is in hospitals.

Antibacterial soaps aren't effective at killing viruses that make you sick. The companies that make antibacterials have made a fortune pushing their “bacteria are evil” agenda. Through their marketing and advertising campaigns, they’ve created a sub-set of the population that’s compulsive about wiping down everything from grocery store carts to airplane armrests.

Antibacterial soaps claim to kill 99% of bacteria. But you don’t catch the common cold or the flu from bacteria. You get them from viruses. So is that antibacterial soap really making you less sick, or just exposing you to a dirty ingredient?

In addition, adding chlorinated water to some antibacterial products creates chloroform, which you then inhale. Chloroform is a suspected carcinogen. It’s also that stuff that bad guys use to knock out their victims in action movies.

Keep in mind that antibacterial products are designed to kill living things, namely bacteria. Guess what else is a living thing? You.

The Solution:

Wash your hands with good old soap and water. Done properly, it’s effective in getting rid of pesky germs.

Ideally, you’d wash with warm water and a good, paraben-free soap that is made from good stuff. Also, take your time with it. Your routine should take you anywhere between one and three minutes to really get the job done. Remember too that dirt you can see will come off right away, but the germs that you can’t will need some scrubbing before they go slip-sliding down the drain."

Now, go get some method Ginger Yuzu hand soap, and wash yourself clean!