Cha-ching! (6-29)

Now that green is a favorite color among members of the industry and the lion's share of their customers, more garden centers are looking for projects that can be both earth-friendly and profitable at the same time.

Briggs Garden & Home in North Attleboro, Mass., offers its customers a 25-cent refund for every pot with a Briggs label that is returned to the store. The gesture has an eco-smart element to it, for sure -- the pots are recycled to help cut down on the carbon footprint. But it also shows shoppers that this is a garden center that doesn't just pay lip service to the idea that we need to take better care of our planet.

A garden center that does that usually sees those customers return to the store. And you know what that leads to? That's right: "Cha-ching!"

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