green products come from green companies - by julie kim

(pictured above: our biodiesel truck)

from the start of method's existence as a company we've been focused on how to do good through our business. from both social and environmental perspectives, we've tried to ensure that we leave things better than we found them - hopefully radically better. when making our products, we've focused the design process on the greenest chemistries, materials and formats around and constantly push to raise the bar. and this has been successful - we are fully confident of the health of the materials from which we make our products and stand behind our record of innovation in designing products.

now we are taking the next big step – using this same design mindset to redefine the processes that are used to actually manufacture the products. the trick is, we don’t own any of these facilities. this means intense collaboration with all our supply chain partners, helping them develop green manufacturing as their bread and butter so that our processes improve in terms of the materials, water and energy they use.  we are making the leap from product design to process design.

we are gearing up to start into this in earnest in the coming months, and will share our tales of blue collar sustainability as we make the transition from designing green soap to designing green processes to make the soap.

what other companies do you admire for their ability to design a process for operating green in addition to making a green product?

new product line – comment to win pro chef! - by anna boyarsky

whether you’re a serious cook or you think cooking involves a phone and a take-out menu our newest pro chef line will be sure to please you. kitchens tend to be the central gathering place in the home and pro chef is just the right line to get your kitchen ready to greet guests or make a sandwich.

the pro chef line is now available exclusively at Bed Bath and Beyond stores.

 

the line includes a stainless steel cleaner that is a whopping 28 oz. of superpowered formula to avoid  leaving any streaks behind. so not only can you purchase less often you can also finally wipe those nasty fingerprints off the fridge. 

also included is a 28 oz. spray bottle of granite cleaner, specially designed for granite, marble and other natural stone countertops and surfaces.  natural stone is classic and durable, but it needs special care to be sure you don’t strip the sealer and allow water to get in the stone.  

lastly, we have a special multi-surface cleaner to get rid of grease and food splatters while leaving behind a yummy citrus cilantro scent. it smells so good people will think you’ve been chopping fresh herbs and lemon wedges with a touch of lime.    

comment below about your love of a clean, green, kitchen and we will randomly choose a winner to receive our new pro chef line! contest ends 10.2.09 at noon pst.

teacher's pet...i wanna be teacher's pet - by anna boyarsky

back to school for students means picking out your first day’s outfit, getting your trapper- keeper in order and finding out which of your friends are in your class.  but for teachers it means the grueling task of organizing, decorating and cleaning the classroom to prep for a year of learning.

lucky for us we have a great arsenal of “teachers against dirty” who choose to clean their classroom with method products.  here is a profile of this year’s “teacher against dirty” susan n., her words are in italics.

where do you teach?

i teach in st. charles, missouri at barnwell middle school, 6th grade science.

why do you use method to clean your classroom?

i like to use method products in my classroom because; i know the surfaces will be clean,the aroma is pleasant and i do not worry about the ingredients - i would not use a bleach-based product or anything with harsh chemicals (you never know who is sensitive). and i don't worry about harmful contaminants polluting my kids' immediate environment.

what method products do you use?

i use method all purpose spray on my student desks at least once a week (i teach science so some days are messier than others). i also use method dish washing soap to soak dishes in the sink in my classroom.

what is the dirtiest thing that has happened in your classroom?

unfortunately one time the sewer backup in one of the sink! yuck. thanks to duct tape and plastic wrap, we made it through the day.

thanks susan! at method we are big fans of what you do and are glad that our products are helping make your job a little easier.

thanks for doing a back to school piece! i hope this encourages more teachers to bring "people against dirty" into the classroom.

take a seat, save a state park - by anna boyarsky

 

it’s that special day of the year again…park(ing) day!  in case you don’t remember, we created a park(ing) space last year that doubled as a mini golf course.  we are at it again this year, taking over the exact same spot in san francisco (on front + sacramento), just a few blocks from our office.

this year’s theme is save california state parks. due to california budget cuts, 100 state parks are in danger of closing. in the theme of the japanese wishing tree, we are asking people to  choose a state park that is important to them and fill out a “leaf” that is a letter to their state senators asking for those  parks to stay open. we will then mail these leaves to the senators, encouraging them to keep the parks open.

huge thanks to the folks at re-bar, the art and design collective, who started this movement. if you’re in san francisco, be sure to stop by!

 

 

gardening tip from a person against dirty - by anna boyarsky

every now and then, one of our People Against Dirty writes in with a method tidbit on how to use one of our products for something other than its intended use. while we can’t endorse these uses (darn lawyers), we  love to hear them from you.

here is our latest person against dirty tip, sent in by brad in colorado.

“i also forgot to tell you about using method in the garden. i don't know if it has any negative effects, but because method is biodegradable and all natural, i have been using it in the garden to discourage bugs from eating my plants. i guess they don't like the taste (or maybe it kills them in some way). anyway, I have used diluted dish soap and straight all purpose cleaner to spray on the leaves. it does shrivel some blossoms (petunias) but it definitely keeps the bugs at bay (they do come back but less forcefully in about 2-3 weeks).”

 thanks for the tip, brad! 

hi, i'm drummond, and i approve this fragrance - by anna boyarsky

 

think about how many times you’ve passed someone on the street and realized that all of a sudden you were transported back to high school, remembering that sweet, curly gal you let get away. then you rummage through your brain wondering, “where did that thought come from?” your nose knows – that woman you just passed was wearing her perfume.
 
scent has a way of ultimately changing and enhancing our experience by taking us back, lifting us up, or simply allowing us to enjoy that “ahhh” moment.  at method, it’s the reason we revel in it and see its importance in just about every product we make.
 
fragrance blends like mandarin mango contain both essential oils from natural sources (like citrus oils) and complementary components that are man-made. the essential oils are selected to best capture the essence of natural scents, while the man-made materials are selected to deliver the broadest possible pallet of aromas by enhancing or complementing the natural oils.

when we’re developing a new fragrance (enter mr. mango), we start with a list of safe ingredients. all of our fragrances avoid commonly used dirty ingredients -  like phthalates, alkylphenol ethoxylates, styrene, irritating materials like musk derivatives, and other nasties.

we work closely with our fragrance houses to develop innovative aromatic experiences that exceed our strict internal health and environmental standards. like all the ingredients we use, our third party partner, the epea, assesses the materials we plan to use to make sure they are safe for people and pets non-irritating, non-toxic and non-allergenic and will biodegrade in the environment.

 

once a fragrance has passed all of our tests (including, of course, the sniff test), we blend it into our soap, and it becomes the star of the show.

yeah...we're big in hollywood - by anna boyarsky

we’ve teamed up again with our friends behind the adorably dark movie sunshine cleaning, starring amy adams, emily blunt and the uber-talented alan arkin. if you missed it in theaters, hightail it over to target starting tuesday, august 25, where you can purchase the movie on dvd or blu-ray.

the film is great, and the best part, in my humble opinion, is what’s inside the box: a method coupon booklet with $10 in discounts on Method products from target. don’t you love target? it’s my happy place. grab sunshine cleaning for movie night, crack that dvd box open to get the coupon book, stock up on your favorite method goodies, then swing by the snack aisle for popcorn. mmm, popcorn.

about the movie:
desperate to get her son into a better school, single mom rose (amy adams) persuades her slacker sister norah (emily blunt) to join her in the crime scene cleanup business to make some quick cash. with the help of their ill-fated salesman father (alan arkin), they climb the ranks in a very dirty job, finding themselves up to their elbows in murders, suicides, and…specialized situations. but underneath the dust and grime they also come to discover a true respect for one another, and create a brighter future for the entire lorkowski family.

here are a few photos that i snapped at the red-carpet premiere in l.a. in march. the entire audience, including cast and crew, received method goodie bags after the screening. is it possible that amy adams spot cleans her makeup mirror with our glass cleaner? perhaps emily blunt swipes a fabulous prada pump with method leather love wipes? one can only hope!

 

announcing method prom 2009 - by anna boyarsky

while the summertime is synonymous with long, lazy days, lemonade and bbqs, for us here at method summertime really means one thing: prom. yes, that’s right, it’s prom time. except this time everyone has a date, that football jock isn’t going to steal your girl, and no one is left standing alone with a corsage.  it’s how we all dreamed prom would be when we were in high school.

most companies hold annual meetings in some hotel conference room, serving bad snacks and liters of diet coke; but when we get together at method, it’s about more than just reviewing forecasts and financials. it’s about coming together and remembering why we are all part of such a great company with such an important mission (and having a little bit of fun, too).

method’s prom history began in the summer of ’06 with the “come as you were” theme – meaning employees literally crawled into their attics and pulled out that hot teal taffeta number with 500 ruffles on it. everyone was encouraged to wear their actual prom attire, if it still fit!

pictured here: adam (method co-founder/ prom king) + theresa (sales team/ prom queen) 

 

the next summer, method channeled andy warhol and the craziness that ensued at studio 54, and everyone did their best to party the whole night through. 

pictured here: jim (sales team) + amanda (jim’s wife extraordinaire)

  

in 2008 we went with the leaner times and had a 1920s prohibition themed party. 

pictured here: erik (packaging engineer) + sally (creative team)

 

so what’s the theme for 2009??? well by popular vote, method demanded AQUATIC! yet the prom committee has banned co-founder eric ryan from wearing his famous sailor costume – which he wore to the past 2 proms. sorry eric.

 

prom – it’s just another way we’re keepin’ it weird at method. 

-gina “prom committee president”

"guest star" mandarin mango debuts - by anna boyarsky

hi, i’m suzanne, and i develop method’s delicious product fragrances. i started my career at a global fragrance house and had the good fortune to be trained by perfumery experts in new york, geneva, and paris.  i’m excited to introduce you to the latest addition to the method fragrance family…. our very own “guest star,” mandarin mango. exclusively available at target.

when given the opportunity to create a new fragrance for our hand wash line, the fresh, fruity direction was a natural addition to the portfolio. a few of our existing fragrance categories are: 

• citrus – ex) pink grapefruit 
• herbaceous – ex) cucumber + lavender 
• watery – ex) sweet water 

the synergy between color + fragrance + name is essential to all product launches. we work with our creative team to select a color that will complement our line. then we select the fragrance that is appropriate for the color as well as a good fit with the rest of our portfolio.

then the fun part starts: choosing a name. our internal team agrees upon a list of finalists and we ask our “people against dirty” to help us choose the winning name.  **pssst…if you sign up to become a person against dirty, you get the chance to help us with the naming process. 

we worked closely with our fragrance partners, and the result is this fresh, fruity hand wash with top notes of vibrant mandarin, mid notes of ripe mango, and accents of white nectarine. sounds tasty, right? 

method hearts bloggers - by anna boyarsky

we came, we met, we blogged.  rachel (pr manager) and i (community manager) attended this year’s blogher conference in chicago.  we showed up, wide-eyed and fairly overwhelmed, along with 1,500 women bloggers, and a few humble goals in mind:

  ·      connect irl (in real life) with blogger friends of method

  ·      attend conference sessions to catch up on the latest within the blogging communities that relate to our brand (moms, foodies, eco-bloggers, design-focused, to name a few)

  ·      check out how other brands are engaging with bloggers, what’s resonating, and what’s obnoxious

  ·       explore new ways to interact with bloggers and their audiences to help get the word out about method’s mission and make a positive impact on the blogging community

  ·       throw a party, of course

as brand representatives, we weren’t quite sure how attendees would react to us mingling at parties, attending sessions and speaking up during q&a sessions to offer our perspective. after all, we are not daily bloggers, per se. although blogging is part of how we communicate from inside our company, it’s not a huge part of our day-to-day at method. would we be the kids who crashed another school’s prom? 

lucky for us, bloggers love method, and they even applauded (yay!) when anna got up to ask a question during one panel discussion. but we chose to fly under the radar at the conference this year.

in a word, we chose to not ‘overbrand’ our brand. as first-time attendees, we wanted to soak it all up and decide if/how our presence would make sense for future blogher conferences. and although we missed out on the opportunity to have hundreds of influential women at the leading edge of trends go home with a bottle of beautiful method hand wash in their gift bag, we stayed true to who we are as a brand. that felt good. 

that’s not to say we wouldn’t consider blogher sponsorship opportunities in the future. after all, major sponsors (with major budgets!) are the ones that keep conference fees low for attendees, making it accessible for so many. as a brand, it really is a fantastic opportunity to show support and to validate the importance of bloggers and the power of their voices.  

and of course you  know how much method likes a party so we threw a casual get-together in our hotel suite on friday night. whole foods catered organic snacks, and our method mojitos were a huge hit among thirsty bloggesses. we even had danny seo on hand to teach a ‘detox your purse’ session.

 

all in all, i’m really happy with how we participated in blogher ’09. we connected with some incredible women, and learned valuable lessons about how to work in a respectful and mutually beneficial way with this influential crowd. 

in closing, a few blogs/bloggers that inspire us:

-          designmom.com

-          mindfulmomma.com

-          velveteenmind.com

-          ecochicorganizer.com

-          alphamom.com

-          mommywantsvodka.com

-          momspark.net

-          debontherocks.com

-          ishouldbefoldinglaundry.com

-          mom101.com

-          greenyourdecor.com

-          mochamomma.com 

tell us – did you attend blogher ’09? what are your thoughts on how brands should participate in the conference?

we can’t wait for blogher ‘10 in nyc!