With all of the attention on environmental issues these days, it was simply a matter of time before consumer shows dedicated to homes and gardens, cars and boats, and food and wine were joined by events focused on conscious consumption.
So, this past weekend, I wandered the floor of EPIC, Vancouver’s second annual home-grown conscious consumer show. EPIC, which stands for “Ethical. Progressive. Intelligent. Consumer.”, was preceded in February by the Vancouver debut of the Green Living Show. Yes, this city is definitely home to a high number of socially and environmentally aware residents. But, is there room for two such annual events just weeks apart in a region of just over two million people?
EPIC, a product of the Globe Foundation, the organizers of Vancouver’s respected biennial environmental trade show and conference, was launched with much fanfare last year. However, rather than emphasizing a “green” angle, EPIC bills itself as a place where products and services mix style and quality with sustainability. It’s a similar approach to method, the phenomenally successful household products that emerged from the Bay Area a few short years ago. With a marketing campaign that incorporates silhouettes of obviously “hip” people, EPIC’s approach also reminds me of the iPod® ads that have graced televisions, billboards and magazines the world over (you know, the ones with hipster silhouettes grooving to their favourite tunes while sporting their ubiquitous white ear buds).
So how does that groovy image carry to the show floor? Overall, it has a warm and inviting feeling with lots of positive energy. While there were few multinational brands, the show has a big emphasis on local home-grown companies and community organizations. From the town that brought you Lululemon, Mountain Equipment Co-op, Nature’s Path, Happy Planet, and Vancity, EPIC definitely felt “very Vancouver.”
This past February, the Green Living Show (GLS), first launched last year in Toronto, marketed its first show in the city as Vancouver's premier consumer show dedicated to all things green. This was reinforced by their tagline, “It’s all green. It’s all good.” The GLS, with it’s clean white background and sparing use of elements of nature, mirrors TELUS’ longstanding ad campaigns with their parade of flora and fauna.
For its Vancouver debut, the GLS pulled in some headline speakers like Stephen Lewis, Ed Begley Jr, Roberta Bondar and Sheila Watt-Cloutier. They also had some neat features like a small urban forest and a track where you could test-drive electric scooters and bikes. The show featured many of the same exhibitors found at EPIC but was notably different with the presence of big brands like General Motors, Home Depot, and Walmart. However, this show seemed to lack soul and energy. When I attended on the opening Friday night, it was quiet at best. Even Stephen Lewis’ keynote presentation that evening barely filled half the seats. Reports from other exhibitors and insiders also indicated that traffic was lighter than expected.
Incidentally, I must admit I have mixed feelings about seeing big mainstream brands at shows like these. I have similar thoughts about Clorox buying Burt’s Bees, Unilever owning Ben and Jerry’s and Danone owning Stonyfield Farms. On one hand, it feels like they are co-opting the green agenda just to sell product. But, on the other hand, making the environment cool and mainstream is what many of us having been working for.
I also wonder whether consumer shows like EPIC and GLS are really part of the solution to the serious environmental and social issues facing our planet. Do they make us more aware of our consumption choices? Or, do they merely allow us to think that it’s okay to go on consuming without fundamentally addressing the unsustainable rate of consumption in developed countries? This conversation came up a couple of times with people I spoke to at EPIC.
I’m looking forward to seeing how the dueling green consumer shows play off one another. Will they distinguish themselves more dramatically? Will they tackle this consumption issue head on? Or will they simply combine forces? Join me on the show floor next time when I expect answers to at least some of those questions will be revealed.
