expire-images2009-4-20

Macy's Makes Some Green Moves Just in Time for Earth Day

Filed under: Green

Next up in the oh-look-we-are-green-too category comes Macy's which has announced that they will start using shopping bags made in part with recycled paper at its Macy's stores and biodegradable packaging for online shipments. The shopping bags will be made from paper that uses 30% recycled material and will be 100% recyclable. The previous Macy's bags were laminated and not recyclable, which is a big deal when you consider. Macy's uses more than 43 million handled shopping bags each year. Like other stores, Macy's will sell their own branded totes. The reusable cotton tote bags for $3.95, with $1 going to the National Park Foundation. On April 26, the first 100 to 150 customers at every Macy's store will receive a free reusable tote bag.

Better news is that macys.com and bloomingdales.com, are ditching those annoying synthetic packing peanuts in favor of biodegradable packing materials made from raw ingredients such as potato starch. In another green move, company plans to put solar panals on more than 30 of their stores, many in California. Other retailers making similar moves recently include eLuxury, which has stopped printing paper catalogs and Nordstrom which has introduced environmentally-friendly packing materials.

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Tags: expire-images2009-4-20, green, macys, recycling

Bentley Headed For A U.S. Downturn?

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

In the past five years, once-staid Bentley has been the car of choice for those with six figures to spend on transportation. But could the current economic downturn finally be starting to affect the luxury carmaker? The Times reports that Franz-Josef Paefgen, chief executive of Bentley, has said the English brand is noticing less sales in their number one market, the good old U.S.A. Traditionally, cars at the highest end of the market are more immune to the economy than those in the middle-to-upper range. Just a couple of months ago, we heard news that 2007 was the the best year ever for Bentley. The luxury car company sold 10,014 units worldwide, outselling Rolls-Royce, which also broke through the 1,000 mark for the first time last year, by around 10 to one.

But Dr .Paefgen says that Bentley, which is owned by Volkswagen, is now experiencing lower demand in their two top U.S. markets, New York and California. Bentley sells about 45 per cent of their cars in the US. Many of Bentley's deep-pocketed customers are in the financial sector which is an area that has taken deep hits recently.

Bentley's saving grace may come from China and Russia which are both just beginning to to really catch fire. In 2007 in China, sales grew by a blistering 93%, offering the automaker hope for a growing market.

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Tags: bentley, cars, economy, expire-images2009-4-20

Blogging From the Luxury Summit: How the Wealthy Spend When Times Get Tough

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

With dire economic news coming out nearly every day what is going on in the luxury community? Are consumers worried? Have they stopped buying? At the American Express Publishing Luxury Summit the second annual Survey of Affluence & Wealth in America produced by American Express Publishing Corporation and the Harrison Group was revealed. As the survey reveals, no one is stopping their shopping anytime soon but they are shifting from what they call an "iWant" economy to an "iNeed" economy and finding new ways to spend money.

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Tags: economy, expire-images2009-4-20, luxury summit, LuxurySummit, recession, shopping

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Shopping Oprah's Hand-Me-Downs at the Oprah Store

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Celebrity Shopping

In Los Angeles there are few places to buy a celebrity's castoffs but you likely have to be a size two or four but if you are Oprah-sized (sizes 10 to 14) you might want to head to Chicago. Across the street from Oprah Winfrey's studios you'll find Oprah's Closet located in The Oprah Store, a souvenir shop full of Oprah-related accessories. Oprah's Closet features her designer cast-offs with names like Chanel, Prada and Yves Saint Laurent including a large selection of lightly worn shoes. The prices are still pretty high, these are designer duds after all and the provenance has its own value.

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Tags: expire-images2009-4-20, oprah, oprah store, oprah winfrey, OprahWinfrey