lohas

so i spent a few days attending lohas (lifestyles of health and sustainability) conference this week. even though lou reed was a no-show at his meditation session (bummer!), there were a lot of great sessions going on.

one of my favs was a panel discussion regarding the sustainability of, well, sustainability with the fab-u-lous danny seo; mother jones publisher jay harris; food activist and author deborah madison; and david barber, founder of the blue hill restaurants (which emphasize the use of local, seasonal ingredients) in new york state.

i also really enjoyed john rooks' (dwell creative) perspectives regarding marketing in this space (sorry, it’s, you know, my job). and jan bruce of body+soul magazine was interesting (when she finally started getting down to the nitty-gritty).

and gary hirshberg, ceo of stonyfield farm, was just wonderful. not only was his discussion on the future enlightening, but stonyfield is a perfect example of how eco-effectiveness and economy can go hand in hand. and their marketing tactics are just way cool!

then there was joel makower, author of greenbiz.com, among other things. i liked his session on the future of green business, but walked out of it with more questions than answers. and, perhaps, that was the point.

last one, and this was just for poops and giggles, was a session on reaching the next generation through entertainment – specifically, through live music events. while the folks from reverb were interesting and its great to see so many bands that are greening their tours, i’ll be honest and say it felt a tad too promotional to be of any great value. tom feeqel, from live earth, was fascinating. while I didn’t walk away with information i can directly use, it was cool to see all that they’re doing to prep for this worldwide concert (which will include a spinal tap reunion… great promo video).

a few of the major talking points throughout the conference was the need for transparency and authenticity. companies must be open about what they’re not doing, as much as being open about they they are – lest they lose credibility (this lohas population is smart… it does its research… and it calls “foul” when necessary). and “green” is becoming such a generic term that it is quickly losing its meaning (if it hasn't already). I mean, if wal-mart can be considered green, then who can’t? and how “green” is green enough? lots of questions that made my head spin (then again, perhaps it was the organic wine and acai liqueur tastings :)

anyhoo, all in all, it was a really enjoyable conference… hippie, without too much dippie. just how i like it.