Topic: Consumer Products and Services

Kimberly-Clark Gives in to Environmentalists, Agrees to Stop Destroying Forests

Greenpeace harassed Kimberly-Clark into submission by dispensing information on its practices, protesting at Kimberly-Clark buildings and at various events, sending over 30,000 emails, and persuading over 760 companies to stop buying from the tissue maker until it changed its policies.READ»

Marketing Tuesday: The Customer is King - or Just a Maharaja?

I flew half way across the world day before yesterday- further even- due to certain mishaps that occurred along the way. While doing so I came to certain conclusions. Here’s how it all unfolded… I missed my connecting flight ...READ»

Kimberly-Clark Wipes Away Its Eco Guilt With Recycled Toilet Paper

We've covered the destructive practices of tissue and toilet paper companies extensively--specifically, the destructive habits of bathroom tissue giant Kimberly-Clark. But now the company, often criticized for using virgin fiber ...READ»

Leadership Lessons from... Classic Toys

Associated Press staffer Mae Anderson wrote a very interesting article for TIME about the value of old-school toys in these tough economic days. In Hard Times, Nostalgic Toys Strike a Chord By AP / MAE ANDERSON (NEW YORK) — ...READ»

Jeffrey Wigand: The Whistle-Blower

Six years after disclosing the tobacco industry's deepest, darkest secrets, Jeffrey Wigand, the ultimate insider, remains as outspoken as ever. Here's why he believes the war against big tobacco is becoming more important, and why he thinks Enron's Sherron Watkins is no hero.READ»

Ivy Ross Is Not Playing Around

For years, Mattel has worked to grow beyond Barbie. One strategy was growth through acquisition. Ivy Ross's strategy is to inspire innovation -- to reinvent how the world's number-one toy company designs its toys.READ»

Kimberly-Clark: Destroyer of Ancient Trees, Energy Star Partner of the Year?

After Greenpeace released its tissue-buying guide last month, the Internet was up in arms about the destructive practices of tissue and toilet paper companies. Chief among the offenders is Kleenex producer Kimberly-Clark, which ...READ»

Toy Story

What will prove this year's Tickle Me Elmo? Here's how three companies are taking on the notoriously fickle holiday toy market--and what their prospects are.READ»

Patagonia Politics II

Luke's entry this weekend about the politics of Patagonia -- and FC Now reader John Moore's response -- reminded me of another company that infuses its sales and marketing, if not its retail environment, with political messaging: ...READ»

The Safety Issues with Children’s Toys

Of all the things in this world that you would think should be safe for your children, you would think toys would be.READ»

Is This the Kindle Killer?

Plastic Logic was in the news just yesterday for its partnership with Barnes and Noble, but today it's also revealed a tie-up with AT&T that directly pitches it against Amazon's Kindle. And, just possibly, for much more than ...READ»

Bread and Circuits

At lunch today, I passed by an Au Bon Pain. In the window, there was an advertisement for a new turkey with cranberry chutney on ciabatta bread sandwich--their Thanksgiving special, I assume. What caught my eye was the slogan above ...READ»

Barbie Gets Life

No, I'm not talking about Martha Stewart. One of the most difficult marketing challenges is keeping a long standing product relevant with its target audience, especially when the target is children whose attention span at best can ...READ»

Microsoft Bets Big On Halo 3

Microsoft hopes its strategic partnerships sell not only the final installment of its Halo franchise but the Xbox 360 as well.READ»

• Halo 3's Octopus Marketing Strategy

Rick Hind

Legislative Director, Greenpeace Toxics CampaignREAD»

Hands-On Design

OXO International's handiwork: a wall of gloves.READ»

Hands-On Design

OXO International's handiwork: a wall of gloves.READ»

Plastic Logic Finally Unwraps Its Que E-Reader

Plastic Logic has been in and out of the news for months with its supposed Kindle-killing e-reader, but we really haven't seen much other than prototype tech. That's just changed, as the Que's been given a teaser unveiling. Turns out, ...READ»

JVC Releases Monster 10MP Projector

JVC [NYSE:MC] first showed off its 10-megapixel projector about a year ago, and it's just now getting around to making them available. The DLA-SH4K is about the size of a computer CPU, and sports a model name that could rival Sony ...READ»

Patent Leader

PatentCafe recently released its list of the top 200 companies, ranked in terms of how many patents they received. Here are the top 10: International Business Machines Corporation 3,254 Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. - ...READ»

Tools You Can't Use

First, the Concorde. And now this! The humble slide projector is on its way to becoming a dead technology. In June, the Eastman Kodak Co. will stop manufacturing its lines of the one-time office supply-closet staple. The reason for ...READ»

Warning: This Web Site May Be More Than You Want to Know

Cigarette makers are starting to tell the truth on their Web sites. Gee, what if everybody did that?READ»

Barnes & Noble's Technicolor Kindle Killer?

Amazon's obviously proud of its Kindle e-reader, but this morning its execs may have something to worry about: Barnes & Noble may be about to stamp on the Kindle's future hopes... with a slick color e-reader from Plastic ...READ»

High Definition Headache

With several announcements at the Consumer Electronic Show in Las Vegas this week, the high-definition landscape has become a quagmire. The hi-def war was once a simple battle between Sony's Blu-ray and Toshiba's HD-DVD--each format ...READ»

JCPenney is Losing its Shirt

-- Literally -- Today JCPenney announced the largest private brand launch in the company's history, a 2007 release of a private label Lingerie line called Ambrielle. Capitalizing on what many say is an underserved market, ...READ»