The Green House Effect

Folio: The Magazine for Magazine Management, July 1, 1999 by Jo Bennett

Environmentally friendly title offers shelter from toxic living.

For some, the term "environmentally-conscious" conjures up stereotypical images of tree-hugging, Birkenstock-clad vegetarians. But a more realistic portrait is people whose primary "green" efforts consist of transferring the recycling bin from the garage to the curb on trash day. Natural Home targets the latter group--specifically, upscale, married women.

Editor in chief Laurel Lund, who previously served on the editorial staffs of Better Homes & Gardens, Home and several regional publications, feels that her own interest in the green movement mirrors an evolving social mindset. This, she says, is evidence that the time is right for the launch. After all, she asks, "Who wouldn't want to live in a healthy home?"

The Loveland, Colorado-based shelter title aims to inspire and inform a mainstream audience about how to create a healthy home environment with coverage that runs the gamut from teaching about furnishings and finishes that are nontoxic to "choosing decor that nourishes body and soul," Lund writes in her first editor's letter. "We want to show people how easy it can be to bring health and harmony into the home," she explains. "Maybe you just want to change your showerhead to low-flow; in that way, you're contributing not only to energy and water conservation, but also to the health of the planet."

The May/June premier issue includes a look at an "Environmentor"--a label that refers to people who are mentors for the environment. The first "Environmentor" profile features Dennis Weaver. Most remember him as television's "Steve McCloud" or as "Chester" from the television show "Gunsmoke." But to Natural Home readers, the actor/activist is just a guy who's so passionate about eco-friendly living that the walls of his house are constructed of adobe-covered used tires.

One regular section is "Natural Home Journal," a collection of service pieces and product news excerpted from natural/green publications. The lineup of future articles includes a piece on choosing natural and non-toxic paints, and a profile of Paul Newman's daughter, Nell Newman, who started the organic division within her father's eponymously named line of foods.

One advantage that the fledgling title has going into the game is its multimedia components. In addition to a Web site, three weeks prior to the title's debut the Natural Home brand was extended to radio with a once-a-week, hour-long nationally syndicated call-in show, hosted by Lund. Plans are also in the works to film three segments for The Discovery Channel this fall.

Given the title's muted color palette and 60-lb. matte stock, president and publisher Logan Chamberlain's likening Natural Home to "Martha Stewart with an environmental focus" doesn't seem far-fetched. But a magazine geared toward people who merely dabble in eco-consciousness might have some built-in challenges. Even if NH does initially pique readers' interest, the question is whether they will become a devoted audience.

Rachel Newman, editor in chief of Hearst Magazines' 400,000-circulation Healthy Living, believes that environmental consciousness is a passion that can't be adequately served within the confines of a shelter publication. "You can't separate your health from your home, from your garden, from the Earth," she explains. "It's all connected." Newman suspects that Natural Home's audience will be "very small."

But Darrin Duber-Smith, associate publisher at Natural Business Communications, a business-to-business publishing company that covers the health and natural products industry, is optimistic about the launch's circulation and advertising viability. "More and more you see magazines appealing to baby boomers and their concerns with healthcare and products that are good for the environment," he says.

In Smith's view, Natural Home should fare well on the advertising sales side: $23 billion worth of so-called "natural" products were sold in the United States in 1998, he says, up from $18 billion in 1996. He adds that the sector should experience healthy double-digit growth over the next several years.

In recent years, many established companies have introduced healthy/eco-friendly product lines. Chamberlain cites some examples: Ford Motor Company now has a program to recycle old car parts; EnergyStar makes washing machines that cut water usage in half; even pet-product manufacturers like Ralston Purina are getting in the house with preservative-free dog food.

But Natural Home is not courting just green" advertisers. Of the 30 ad pages that ran in the 96-page inaugural issue, many clients, such as Aveda shampoo or Pella windows, would be endemic to any shelter/lifestyle book.

"We've found a niche that exists between shelter magazines and the natural products market," Chamberlain asserts. "Our magazine will work because it's not a political magazine preaching about saving the Earth--we're just normal people who believe that you can live a healthier life."

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