Are you dark green or light green?
Thursday’s Working for Change: Listen to an eye-opening (or is it ear-opening?) story on American Public Media’s show Marketplace about what motivates people buy enviornmentally friendly products — it’s not the environment. (The segment is near the end of the show, so if you’re not interested in other business stuff skip those stories).
Along with that little piece of “I don’t buy environmentally friendly stuff to be friendly to the environment” irony, the story also explores the idea of the “dark green” enviornmentalists (that is, the small segment of people who truly buy and act based on what’s good for the environment). Should the dark greens welcome “I buy for me” light-environmentalists into the fold? Does the blending of dark greens and light greens water down the environmentalism movement or broaden it’s brush stroke?
Similar questions arise in the vegan/vegetarian movement, too. Does the mostly vegan person help or hinder the movement? Is it better to invite people wherever they’re at in their walk to come along on any social change train you happen to ride, or is it better left to the committed club? Time will tell…
Photo credit: iStockphoto.com (Bill Fehr)
