Check out the new tune and teaser site from UK rock-sensations Goldfrapp.

So last night I get two telemarketing calls at dinnertime.  One from Bank of America offering me some new program and another from Audi seeking input on their customer service.

Considering both organizations have my email and home address I find myself amazed that their corporate marketing honchos continue to approve home phone invasions.

But then today, I get an email from a client about this incredible story of customer service by the tiny, online shoe company Zappos:

"One bright, extraordinary note in all of the sad stuff of the last few weeks – in May we had ordered several pairs of shoes from Zappos for my mom. She’d lost a lot of weight, and her old shoes were all too big. She had a whole new wardrobe of clothes in pretty colors, that fit, so I wanted her to have some pretty shoes that fit, too, when I took her up to Oregon to stay where her sister is. Out of seven pairs, only two fit….

Yesterday, when I came home from town, a florist delivery man was just leaving. It was a beautiful arrangement in a basket with white lilies and roses and carnations. Big and lush and fragrant. I opened the card, and it was from Zappos. I burst into tears. I’m a sucker for kindness, and if that isn’t one of the nicest things I’ve ever had happen to me, I don’t know what is. So…" (Original post here).

Why is it that the big brands are willing cede decency and flexibility to the little guys?

Let’s hear it for the challengers. Thanks for the note Tim!

In a recent post, we marveled over the stampeding crowds trying to get their paws on the limited edition Anya Hindmarch “I’m not a plastic bag” totes sold at Whole Foods. But as our friend over at freakgirl points out, the bags are produced under unethical conditions in China.

Which points to another green buzzword – greenwashing. Now that green is “in”, the concern is that some companies are marketing products under false, green pretenses. But Anya Hindmarch claims they never set out to create a sustainable product. They were simply designing a fashionable alternative to plastic bags.

Fair enough. But if a company is operating anywhere near the green movement, they better learn fast if they want to be seen as credible. Today’s consumer, especially when we’re talking LOHAS, demands the whole truth and nothing but the truth in the products they purchase. Full disclosure is critical. Even, it seems, if the whole truth includes some not-so-pretty details. Like manufacturing in China. LOHAS consumers are OK with imperfection. But they’ll do far more than stampede if they find out a product wasn’t as eco-friendly as it was made out to be.

I’ll admit it. I’ve scoffed at some of the articles claiming that “green is the new black.” No doubt, the green movement and the rise of the LOHAS segment is huge. But – come on. The new black?

I may be eating my words of doubt. As of dawn this morning, Whole Foods has sold out of their just-released “I’m not a plastic bag” totes by London designer Anya Hindmarch (whose bags typically retail for $1500 or more) amid horrendous lines and in some cases, stampeding. The sold-out bags are now being auctioned on eBay for over $200.

The NYC release follows several other city debuts of the bags. Most notably, eager purchasers in Taiwan stampeded, sending 30 people to the hospital and requiring the presence of the riot police. In Hong Kong, the police closed down the entire shopping mall.

The designer of “I’m not a plastic bag” (in this New York Times article) says, “I hate the idea of making the environment trendy, but you need to make it cool and then it becomes a habit.” True story. Here at Mortar we’ve spoken with a lot of LOHAS consumers and many would fit into what we would call the “green bandwagoner” mindset. I guess green really is the new black.