S.Café seems like one of those ideas that Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz wishes he'd come up with. Sounding like Nescafe, it's the trademark name for a composite fiber used to make yarn which is then knitted or woven into fabric and is made from coffee grounds and plastic bottles.

It's garnering a reputation as the foundation fabric for 'green' comfortable clothing that offers odor control, UV protection and quick-drying features. It's now used by apparel brands including North Face, Mizuno, Puma, Wacoal and Timberland, which describes their jacket using the fabric as “our most environmentally conscious performance jacket ever.” 

The already brewed grounds, collected from coffee shops as waste, require less energy in the production process, which is highly calibrated as too much java in the fiber would make it easily prone to snapping.Continue reading...

Timberland is proud of its sustainable store design, talking up the eco-conscious retail elements at its San Francisco flagship in the video above.

It isn't just green at heart; it's considerably more green in the wallet, too. That's because it was just sold to the VF Corporation for $43 a share, or a whopping $2 billion.Continue reading...

Apple store employee moves to unionize.

Chipotle expansion plans hit by rising costs.

Citi defends delay in disclosing hacking.

Dell gives precedence to Chinese market for tablet roll-out.

Dole blitzes US cities to pump up banana sales.

Edmunds.com to launch Groupon-type channel for cars.

Ford is ordered to pay $2 billion to dealers in old pricing dispute.Continue reading...

When many Americans think of New England, they likely think about lobsters in Maine, a game at Fenway, a vacation to Nantucket, or (cue Sarah Palin joke) Paul Revere’s Wild Ride. 

But when the approximately 400 marketers across the US were asked to think New England, they had quite different things on their minds: Timberland, T.J. Maxx, and ESPN, among 22 others.Continue reading...

Renault brought its Facebook page to life — and directly to the brand's fans and other car buggs — at AutoRAI 2011, the Netherland’s biggest automotive event. Visitors can ‘Like’ the brand's with an RFID Facebook card.

Renault placed specially made "Facebook pillars" in front of its cars on display. By holding their pass in front of these pillars, a connection was made to users' profiles and the car was automatically "shared" on their wall — sharing their offline car experience with their online friends.

Other fresh twists on branded Facebook marketing below.Continue reading...

Last week we saw GoodGuide come out with sustainability grades and give Levi Strauss an A for do-gooder denim moves.

Today sees the formal launch of an industry-based Sustainable Apparel Coalition, an almost unimaginable collection of commercial companies (including Levi Strauss) and brands, governmental agencies, and nonprofit organizations. The group is out to change the world by developing a set of common metrics and standards.

They may not have the flashiest logo, but they have bigger aims: namely, to develop "a comprehensive database of the environmental impact of every manufacturer, component and process in apparel production, with the aim of using that information to eventually give every garment a sustainability score," according to the New York Times.Continue reading...

Brands of all sizes are finding that cause-related marketing, when the cause aligns with the brand's values, can create a halo effect that can build loyalty and generate goodwill. High-profile examples of brands putting doing business by doing good include Timberland, which is expanding its commitment to eco-friendly products, and Pepsi, which this year skipped the Super Bowl in order to fund its pro-social Refresh Project to support community-based philanthropic projects.

Bold Girlz, though, is a brand built from the very beginning to "give back." The brand's "Bold" name is an acronym for Brave, Original, Loving, and Daring. Launched earlier this summer, this fashion brand creates teen apparel and accessories with a difference. While other brands give back to charity, Bold Girlz says it is "focused on highlighting and empowering girls."

How? For one thing, they don't use professional models — Bold Girlz uses "real" customers and their stories to bring their products to life.Continue reading...

Timberland's latest campaign extends its Earthkeepers eco-friendly collection, which last year partnered with Wyclef Jean as the brand's designated "Earthkeeper hero" for his Haiti relief efforts, even collaborating on a limited collection to celebrate the partnership.

The popular footwear brand is hoping others will want to be Earthkeeper heroes, too, and make a lighter carbon footprint by adopting its eco-friendly products and ethos.Continue reading...