The Green Bandwagon

It seems like everyone these days is jumping on the green bandwagon.  From car manufacturers to retail chain stores, “going green” is redefining how we make our purchases.  Advertisements about sustainable choices, green products, and eco-friendly companies are everywhere – the TV, billboards, websites, subway cars, bus stops...  Going green has become part of our 21^st century culture.  Retailers have successfully helped us realize that this new environmental movement is no longer just for the long-haired, hippie tree huggers – it’s also for the soccer moms who want their kids to eat right, the young couples who want to save on bills, and the business executives who want to redefine their image.  Retailers what us to know that everyone can go green!

Photo: Can we really buy sustainability as retailers would like us to believe? Livingston Manor, The Catskills, NY

 But unfortunately, many environmentally-friendly advertisements promote the false idea that we can all buy-into sustainability, quite literally, by buying.  What retailers really mean by “go green” is “BUY green.”  Wouldn’t it be so nice and easy if all we had to do to protect our natural environment was to buy stuff?  Buy a new car and POOF!! the rainforest is saved!  Buy an organic apple and POOF!! there are no toxic chemicals in the groundwater!  Buy an Energy-Star washing machine and POOF!! there are no water shortage problems!  Yes, it would be nice if we could simply buy a healthy environment. 

Faulty as it may be, this idea of buying sustainability and promoting a green image is working.  For example, the hybrid Toyota Prius has become an indelible green-status marker, letting all others know that this driver has reached, “Harmony between man, nature, and machine.”  Reusable bags have become the latest must-have fashion item.  Bags like Envirosax® ensure that you are “spreading the eco-friendly message with style!”   Food stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods, which sell “the highest quality natural & organic products,” have built their entire image around being green.  Even conventional retailers like Walmart want you to know that they are going green – you can even view Walmart’s recent Global Sustainability Milestone Meetings on their website via webcast. 

Objectively, green advertising isn’t a bad thing.  If you do drive a Prius or shop at Whole Foods, then heck, that’s great!  But there are two things that are problematic with green advertising.  The first is that a product advertised as green may not actually be all that beneficial to the environment.  You always want to investigate the story behind a green product or a type of green certification.  Secondly, once you buy a green product you’re done – there’s no next step.  Except of course to discard that product when a newer, greener one comes out.

To truly improve our environment, we need to do more than just buy the latest green trend items.  We need to volunteer at our local nature center.  We need to grow our own vegetables.  We need to donate to environmental charities.  We need to invest in scientific research that will provide solutions to local and global problems.  We need to start our own compost pile.  We need to plant more trees.  We need to help our children develop an appreciation for nature.  We need to support the development of local laws that protect open space.  We need to support our local farmers.  We need to hike in the woods.  We need to DO more, and BUY less. 

Photo: We need to do green acts, like planting trees. Virgina Tech Campus

There is a lot of green that needs to be done.  Instead of just buying green, also remember to DO green.