How can companies get consumers to help combat climate change?

    For Rick Ridgeway, vice president of environmental initiatives at outdoor apparel retailer Patagonia, the answer sometimes means going against the principle mission of his company: to sell clothes.

    Last summer, the company announced that it would start buying back and reselling customers' used Patagonia gear as part of its Worn Wear program. The campaign "encourages customers to think twice about whether they need to buy anything in the first place," Ridgeway explained Monday during Fortune's Brainstorm Green conference.

    The program saves customers money and is good for the environment, Ridgeway said, but it still protects Patagonia's bottom line since the company hopes that when customers really do need new clothes, they'll still invest in the company's long-lasting and repairable gear. He adds that, through Worn Wear, the company is appealing to new American consumer behavior and consumption habits that developed during the 2008 recession when people began recognizing that investing in quality products was a better value proposition.

    Another panelist, Jonathan Bass, director of communications at SolarCity (SCTY), agreed that catering to consumers' financial concerns is key to getting them to make decisions that are good for the environment.

    He told the Brainstorm Green audience that a recent survey of 1,400 American households found that 62% of respondents were interested in solar power for their own homes. But of the 110 million households in the United States, just 500,000 are solar-equipped. "Consumers don't like to change, you have to give them a compelling reason to do so," he said And the rising cost of retail electricity might be SolarCity's best selling point.

    Solar power can help consumers save on their utility bills in 15 states -- many of which have big incentives for renewable energy, Bass explained. "SolarCity comes close to doubling every year, we're moving in the right direction not because we're an app that's going to go viral," he says, but because the company is giving consumer a discount on their utility rates.

    各家公司如何推动消费者帮助应对气候变化？

    户外服饰零售商Patagonia环境行动副总裁里克•瑞奇威的答案是，有时候要背离“卖衣服”这项首要任务。

    去年夏天，Patagonia公司宣布，作为“旧衣新穿（Worn Wear）”计划的一部分，它将回购和再出售消费者用过的Patagonia装备。瑞奇威在《财富》（Fortune）绿色头脑风暴大会（Brainstorm Green）上解释称，这个活动“鼓励消费者重新考虑他们是否真的有必要购买新装备。”

    瑞奇威称，这个计划不仅可以帮助消费者省钱，而且对环境有益，但依然能保证公司的收入，因为它希望，当客户确实需要购买新衣服时，他们依旧会花钱购买公司持久耐用、可以修理的装备。他补充道，通过“旧衣新穿”活动的举办，公司正在引导美国消费者新的消费行为和消费习惯。这种习惯形成于2008年经济衰退期间，当时人们开始意识到，投资高质量的产品是一种更好的价值主张。

    参与讨论的另外一位成员、太阳城（SolarCity）媒体总监乔纳森•巴斯同意这种做法。他认为，促使消费者做出有利于环境的决定，关键因素在于对财务考虑。

    他对绿色头脑风暴大会的观众们表示，最近对1,400个美国家庭的调查发现，62%的受访者对在自家使用太阳能兴趣浓厚。但在美国1.1亿个家庭中，仅有500,000个家庭安装了太阳能。他说：“消费者不喜欢改变，所以你必须给他们有说服力的理由。”零售电力日益高涨的价格或许是太阳城最好的卖点。

    巴斯解释称，太阳能可以帮助15个州的消费者节省水电费——许多州为可再生能源提供了丰厚的激励措施。他说：“太阳城以每年翻一番的速度增长，我们正朝着正确的方向前进，但这并不是因为我们可以像某个热门应用一样获得病毒式传播”，而是因为在公共事业费率方面，我们让消费者真正享受到了好处。

    （财富中文网）