In the last four days that I’ve been back in the states I’ve had to pay for bags three times (at CVS, Ikea and Trader Joe’s). It’s a surprising and welcome development, particularly as I’m not in California or Boulder, but in Washington, D.C.

My reaction to the pay-for-bag-system has also evolved in step with consumer and business attitudes. I remember being charged for bags five years ago at Ikea (this time in California, after another move) and feeling indignant. How could the store charge me, a customer, for a bag to carry what I had just paid them for? Of course, later I settled into the routine of bringing reusable bags to the store with me when it wasn’t needed. And it became a point of pride, a small, visible signal to myself that I was being responsible. The stores neither encouraged my actions nor rewarded them.

But now that’s changing.  Trader Joe’s charges 5 cents per bag and credits you 5 cents for every bag you bring. As my better-late-than-never-sustainability-practicing husband pointed out, “That’s a 10-cent cost for every paper bag you use.”  CVS sells Greenbagtags to attach to any reusable bag for 99 cents and rewards you with a $1 credit every fourth time you use your bag. Each tag sold also triggers a 5 cent donation to the World Wildlife Fund.

So why are companies getting in the game?  Is it saving on bags? Customer loyalty (e.g., CVS’ Greenbagtag program)? Public image? Market relevance? Each factor in itself is reason enough because there’s adequate social proof to enforce the practice of reusable bags, which means that customers are less likely to view this restriction as negative. But what about Ikea five years ago? Surely I wasn’t the only customer irked I had to pay for bags.  What was the value of the risk for Ikea?

The value is in what the company stands for: less waste, sustainable sourcing and labor (as well as inexpensive well-designed products).  Last month, Ikea announced that by January it will no longer sell lights that use incandescent bulbs.  That’s also a brazen step sure to bug some consumers.  Five years down the road, however, it will likely seem de riggueur as consumers reap the financial savings of energy-efficient lighting.

In a market that is so consumer driven, it’s exciting to see companies influencing consumer behavior for the better.  And it’s a good business strategy. When Nike makes a product that gets me running more and Ikea improves the way I light my home, I am grateful (and a loyal, evangelizing consumer).

When I talk about the benefits of building a business with a social mission, consumer support and loyalty come up a lot. One of the rewards of being a socially driven company is that consumers like to buy from you and will often take it upon themselves to share your mission with others.

A new company out of California is reversing this proposition by giving companies the tools to incentivize sustainable behavior in consumers.  Through Bolder, companies challenge readers to complete a certain action each week. Readers who complete the action and report on it with a Tweet-length story are rewarded by the challenging company with a product voucher or coupon.

Timbuk2 recently challenged readers to “Make a Car Trip a Bike Trip.”  Readers who completed the challenge and shared their experience received $20 off a custom-made Timbuk2 bag. Here’s one shared tweet: ”Biked 11 month old son to daycare down the street. Will do it again!”

Bolder’s concept accomplishes several goals: it gives individuals manageable, singular sustainability challenges that they might incorporate into their lives, it acts as a product coupon and discount site, it promotes companies organically through social media channels, and it offers companies a more integrated and fresh way to engage consumers around their core brand and message.

The site is still young and participation is low right now (Timbuk2′s sponsored challenge had 90 participants), but it will be interesting to see its growth and further applications, e.g., can utility companies offer discounts for people who install usage meters or could classrooms carry out larger group challenges?

Imagine frequenting your local coffee or sandwich joint and receiving said item on your tenth visit.

Imagine being rewarded with a free trip from Boulder to Boston after choosing Continental for 100,000 air miles worth of travel. Easy, these customer loyalty programs have been around for a while, working seemingly well for both high-margin and low-margin products.

But now imagine making your fifth donation to Room to Read or Mercy Corps. Your likely reward will be more mail asking you for more money as you’re moved through the fundraising pipeline.

So here’s my proposition to nonprofits and companies savvy enough to know that cause partnerships work, but aware of creeping cause marketing fatigue to consumers: Create a contributor loyalty program by matching every donor’s nth donation to the nonprofit organization.

Take charity: water as an example. As a contributor, I would get an email letting me know that once I’ve made five donations over $20, charit: water’s partner (let’s go with Clorox’s Brita water filters) will match my donation up to $50.  Brita and charity: water would also attract new donors (Twitter and Facebook are low-hanging fruit) with Brita’s pledge of a future match. And sure, why not have Brita email me a coupon for a water filter at the time of its donation, giving me an action to channel my new brand awareness and enthusiasm.

Or go a step further and create a branded product available only to repeat donors. After my fifthth donation of more than $20 to The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Timberland matches my next donation up to $xx and sends me a coupon for a pair of TNC-branded sandals (unavailable to the public), which label me as committed supporter of the environment.

This type of campaign would generate more goodwill for the company than a normal percentage-of-sale or buy-one-give-one campaign because the matched donation isn’t dependent on the consumer buying a Brita or Timberland product. Rewarding donor commitment also requires a long-term partnership between the nonprofit, the for-profit and the donor, which is an important component of successful cause campaigns.

I’d love to hear from you, from whatever perspective you bring–nonprofit, corporate, new donor or committed donor. Is this inspiring enough? Do you feel it provides enough rewards to the company in the short-term?
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An article profiling Subaru’s new badges for owners catalyzed this train of thought. Subaru owners can now order badges to stick on their cars indicating how many Subarus they’ve owned (and how many of which they’ve driven over 100K miles) and what type of outdoor activities they like. The badges have been a surprising success for Subaru since they launched two weeks ago.

Are you letting me know why I should make a donation, sign a petition, cast a vote or buy what you’re selling?  It’s an obvious statement, but one that’s not always executed on, despite perception.

Kiva.org has faciliated more than $100 million in loans in a few short years. Really outstanding, except it could be millions of dollars more. Nearly half of the people who create member accounts on Kiva don’t end up making a loan. One reason for this is because Kiva doesn’t show you the impact of your potential loan at decision-making time. A lender only sees the impact of the loan he made some months after he made it. Instead, imagine this

Welcome Olivia!

Want to see what Jim did with $25?  His $25 funded 20% of the money Amelia needed to buy a refrigerator to store the lunches she makes and sells. Now she sells one-third more lunches by traveling to new neighborhoods. She used to spend every morning making food to sell that afternoon, but now Amelia can make food one day and spend the entire following day selling it, allowing her to reach more customers.

How far can you make your $25 go? Here are a few suggestions to get you started…

Does this give you greater incentive to part with $25?  People who lend through Kiva make an average of five loans, so Kiva’s lending power will grow exponentially, but it’s critical to get people in the pipeline and hooked on the feeling of direct impact.

Framing your message and setting up the action for users doesn’t need to be complex. 37Signals shows their products by how you will benefit from them. Simple, clear language; no humorous, clever or emotional pitch needed. 

Your next pair of Levi’s might come with a clothesline or shoebox-sized dryer.  After a recent lifecycle assessment, Levi’s realized that 60% of the climate impact of a pair of jeans comes after the jeans are made and sold; nearly 80% of this is from drying the jeans in a dryer.  The presumed and easy response to this would be for Levi’s to say, “Not our problem. We abide by fair labor practices, use recycled and organic fibers and run fuel efficient trucks to transport our jeans. What happens after we sell them has nothing to do with us.”

But Levi’s didn’t.  Instead, it launched Care to Air, an awareness campaign and contest to shift consumer behavior in favor of the environment.  In partnershihp with Myoo Create, Levi’s will award $10,000 for the world’s most innovative, covetable, and sustainable air-drying solution for clothing.  This isn’t a money maker for Levi’s.  You don’t have to buy jeans, or even own Levi’s products, for the campaign to be a success.  And since Levi’s has chosen the environment-at-large as a beneficiary, it doesn’t get to leverage the credibility or press that a nonprofit partner would bring to bear.

So why do it?  Is it just about being viwed as a socially compassionate brand?  That’s part of it–and it’s not taboo because the Levi’s actions consistently reflect a commitment (rather than lip-service) to sustainability.  Part of a company’s responsibility (I know, I task them with a lot) is to educate and involve its consumers in making more responsible choices and to pressure their competitors to raise their responsibility game.  Influencing consumer behavior also happens to be one of Levi’s commitments: “To reach far beyond the boundaries of our company to influence not only what people wear but the way people think and act.”

This is exactly what Levi’s is doing with Care to Air, and it’s brilliant because as much as you register the brand behind this campaign, it isn’t about the brand at all.  It’s about what I do with my clothes at home and how I understand this to affect the environment.