Green merchandise and merchandising

By Jay Tompt

A S FAR as our industry is conla.cerned. this economy is absolutely abysmal, but there is a silver lining. The only aspect of our little corner of GDP that seems to be moving in the right direction is green building, both in terms of projects in the works and the products that go into them.

In past columns, we've talked about a variety of things you can do as a retailer to take advantage of this growth. Now, we turn our attention to the core issue: selecting and selling quality green products.

If the goal is to stock green building products that your customers want, it will help to know a little about green building guidelines. For our purposes here, we can generalize what guidelines call for and categorize the products according to resource, energy and water conservation, and indoor air quality. Sourcing products and materials locally is also a plus.

Here's a short list of green building products everyone should stock:

. GreenSeal certified, low-VOC paint

Low-VOC, formaldehyde-free adhesives, caulks and sealants

. Formaldehyde-free, recycledcontent insulation

. Energy Star lighting - fixtures, CFLs and LEDs

EnergyStar ventilation

. High-Efficiency Toilets (HET)more than one model!

. Tankless water heaters

One can go much farther, of course. There are hundreds of green building products one could put on the retail floor, too many to talk about here. And probably you already have many of the less obvious ones, such as pipe insulation. But once you've sourced them, you have to sell them.

The first big question most merchandisers ponder is whether to put green items in their own section or separate end-caps, or just mix them with other products. It's a good question and generally the answer is, yesl

I mentioned signage above, and there's more to say about that. Since we're talking about selling green building products, it's important to identify them on the shelf for your customers. Shelf talkers that indicate whether a product meets green building guidelines are simple enough to produce. Adding posters and banners that call attention to green building products, the fact that you have them, where they can be found in the store, that prompt questions, etc., all contribute to creating a positive selling environment.

Friedmans Home Improvement, a large home center in Northern California, has 20 ft. of shelving at the front of the store with a broad sampling of green products, in addition to end-caps and mixing the green products in with their conventional brethren.

Since most people shop by category, the green products must be found with the other products in their category, along with appropriate signage. Segregating green products into a green-only section is a recipe for failure. On the other hand, adding endcaps to highlight a product line or a solution-such as green paints, recycled rags, and recycled paint rollersis generally good retailing practice for promoting any sort ofproduct.

Finally, if you have contractor sales desk, there are several little things you can do here that will make a big difference. First off, educate your sales staff about green building guidelines in your area and the products you sell. Have them ask each customer that comes to the desk about their interest in green building and what you're doing to help them.

Second, have at least one binder at the desk with product literature for each of the green building related products you stock and those you can source through special orders.

Third, have signage on the desk that talks about what you're doing, plus brochures about the local green building program.

- Jay Tompt is vice president of green product development at Plan-lt Hardware, San Francisco, Ca., which distributes green products for hardware and home improvement stores throughout California, and a leading expert in sustainable business and supply chain issues. He can be reached at info@plan-ithardware.com or (415) 359-9914.