Lately we have been hearing the word “green” a lot. It seems that everyone, especially the advertising industry, is jumping on the green colored band wagon. Everything seems to have a green tag hung on it. There are green clothes, foods, vacations, homes, cars, even green cement. There are people out there who have been green for years and there are those of us who until recently thought that green was someone's favorite color. Global warming spawned the green movement and it quickly became an advertising tool. So what is green?
Green is not a label on a product nor is it one specific place or thing. Green is a mindset, an attitude. It's not about drastically changing our lifestyle, it's about changing the way we look at things and it doesn't have to be a sudden sweeping change either. It is best to gradually ease into a green conscience. Take a minute here or there to glance at websites or catch a TV program about the environment. Start learning about what can harm Mother Earth and what can be good for her. Most important, however, is the fact that we want to embrace a new attitude.
I mentioned earlier that green is not a particular product, place or thing. Purchasing everything with the word green on the label while we are out shopping and then calling it all good won't work. If we actually read the labels on some of these products we will realize that the contents have not changed. Producers now claim they are green because they used a “real” or “natural” product in the manufacture of their item. Brand Y lunchmeat is green because there is “real” meat in it. Brand Z t-shirt is green because it is made with “real” cotton. We are paying more for these “green” products even though the ingredients or materials have not changed at all. Taking a “green” vacation to Brazil may mean that within a five day visit the promoter has arranged a two hour visit to a local rain forest with a mention that it is endangered. Let the buyer beware.
Going green has more to do with impact. It is not so much that the product was made with “real” materials; rather, the company bought those materials from locals and didn't have them shipped in. They did not add to the demand for gas and oil, they did not add pollutants to the air, they did not add to landfills with discarded shipping containers because they did not have these items brought in from elsewhere. That visit to the rainforest won't make an impact unless we do something for the rainforest, like plant more trees or help erect signs that explain the delicate nature of rainforests, their place in nature and why they need protecting. If we purchase a notepad made with recycled paper, the manufacturer still had to run a plant to make the paper, have employees commute to run that plant and have the product shipped to stores. More gas, more pollution, more landfill. If everyone kept one sided used paper for notes, then the demand for notepads - recycled or not - will go down and so will the impact of production residue. Also, these recycled products are usually more expensive and that should tell us something right there. If it costs more, then more is used to make that product.
Once we start getting into the habit of really noticing what goes into the manufacture and production of a product then we can learn to know what to look for. How far were the production materials shipped to the manufacturing plant? How far were the products shipped to the store? Start thinking in terms of overall impact and not simply what is on the label. Going green means seeing the whole picture. We need to go around what producers and advertisers tell us up front and explore what is behind a product or service. When we understand negative impact we will then be able to make a positive impact on Mother Earth. Oh, and honestly, green has always been my favorite color.
