Comments on: Green vs. Clean: A Consistent “Brand Name” Could Help the Cause http://catchwordbranding.com/catchthis/branding/green-vs-clean-a-consistent-%e2%80%9cbrand-name%e2%80%9d-could-help-the-cause/ Professional Naming Company Mon, 06 Feb 2012 18:19:43 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Burt Alper http://catchwordbranding.com/catchthis/branding/green-vs-clean-a-consistent-%e2%80%9cbrand-name%e2%80%9d-could-help-the-cause/#comment-899 Burt Alper Fri, 13 Feb 2009 23:04:08 +0000 http://www.catchwordbranding.com/catchthis/?p=1288#comment-899 Thanks for the reply Paul. Good point about the context driving the optimal terminology. Of course, by the time we all agree on what the best term is, it will be passe and there will be some new, hip term we all need to understand. Until then, I guess we're stuck with Clean, Green and Sustainable. Thanks for the reply Paul. Good point about the context driving the optimal terminology. Of course, by the time we all agree on what the best term is, it will be passe and there will be some new, hip term we all need to understand. Until then, I guess we’re stuck with Clean, Green and Sustainable.

]]> By: Paul Smith http://catchwordbranding.com/catchthis/branding/green-vs-clean-a-consistent-%e2%80%9cbrand-name%e2%80%9d-could-help-the-cause/#comment-898 Paul Smith Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:37:56 +0000 http://www.catchwordbranding.com/catchthis/?p=1288#comment-898 Great article, an interesting question to ponder. The thoughts I have are, do these terms work well in their respective realms? As in cleantech works in that engineering dominated realm, where clean instantly signifies the machines, inputs, outputs being "cleaner" then their "dirtier" counterparts. And perhaps it's a conscious choice to differentiate from "green," which has had more fuzzy, soft connotations, and credibility issues due to overuse and, shall we say, people overeager to apply it to what they're already doing? The term sustainable seems to have a hard time sticking in people's minds. It has a dictionary definition that doesn't quite mesh with the connotations people have now attached to it. When I was a student at Presidio, the sustainability focused MBA program, it was a constant question: What is sustainability? It's a moving target really, with different points of importance depending on who you're talking to. So what's the answer? Use the term that works best with the people you're wanting to reach. Perhaps ask them for alternatives they'd suggest. See what comes up most often. Test it out. Keep checking. In the end, I agree with you, that green is a good umbrella term, and with further credible certification of green claims and increasing legitimacy of the term, and the companies that use it, it will have increasing utility. Great article, an interesting question to ponder. The thoughts I have are, do these terms work well in their respective realms? As in cleantech works in that engineering dominated realm, where clean instantly signifies the machines, inputs, outputs being “cleaner” then their “dirtier” counterparts. And perhaps it’s a conscious choice to differentiate from “green,” which has had more fuzzy, soft connotations, and credibility issues due to overuse and, shall we say, people overeager to apply it to what they’re already doing?

The term sustainable seems to have a hard time sticking in people’s minds. It has a dictionary definition that doesn’t quite mesh with the connotations people have now attached to it. When I was a student at Presidio, the sustainability focused MBA program, it was a constant question: What is sustainability? It’s a moving target really, with different points of importance depending on who you’re talking to.

So what’s the answer? Use the term that works best with the people you’re wanting to reach. Perhaps ask them for alternatives they’d suggest. See what comes up most often. Test it out. Keep checking.

In the end, I agree with you, that green is a good umbrella term, and with further credible certification of green claims and increasing legitimacy of the term, and the companies that use it, it will have increasing utility.

]]>