Green Memo: Retail Promotions

Barneys New York: Dreaming of a green Christmas

Upscale department store retailer Barneys New York has gone all out to create a slightly tongue-in-cheek but earnest green holiday promotion this year in its famous New York City store.

"The green movement can be earnest and preachy," Barneys creative director Simon Doonan told the hintmag.com fashion magazine today. In response, Doonan has created green-themed store window displays with a bit of fun to them. There's Rudolph the Recycling Reindeer, with (we presume) his nose so green he will recycle all your gifts tonight. There's nothing preachy about green-nosed Rudolph though. He gets his eco-message out with his tongue planted firmly in his cheek.

The (green) Twelve Days of Christmas also have a prominent spot in one of Barney's large display windows. These green days leading up to Christmas feature "three solar panels, two tons of tofu, and a Toyota Prius in a pear tree." says Doonan.

The promotion just began and will run through Christmas eve, December 24.

Barney's also has teamed up with some green-minded designers who are creating "eco-friendly" clothing products, accessories and other goods for sale at the store during the "green" holidays. Portions of the sale of each of these items will be donated to environmental charities and organizations, says Julie Gilhart of Barneys.

One of the main green designer product features is the limited edition Goyard (the designer) grocery shopping bag pictured at the top of the page. The bag is made of 100% recyclable canvas. It sells for a mere $310. However, a portion of that money goes to green charities. We expect the Goyard canvas grocery bag will be a big hit with Manhattan's green-conscious shoppers for the holidays. After all, it's tough to find a decent pair of stiletto high heels at Barneys for $310, the price of the Goyard bag. Therefore, Why not buy it instead and do some good?

The retailer also is selling a selection of limited edition green holiday gift cards. The cards have different green sayings on them such as Green is Groovy, Join The Green Revolution, Save The Planet and other pro-environmental slogans. The gift cards range in value from $50.00 to $1,000.00, and a portion of the sale of each card is donated to environmental charities, like Barneys is doing with the designer items and accessories.