Green, Eco-Friendly and... Commercial?

I remember being about 10 years old and recieving a package in the mail from my aunt that contained a book from the Kids for Saving Earth organization. She had picked it up for free at a stand in the mall or something, and decided to pass it on to me. My best friend Miriam and I thought the book was great, and decided to start our own Kids for Saving Earth club. We set up a clubhouse in her basement and set to the task immediately. We worked pretty hard at our child-sized projects for a few months or so (until something new came up!), but it wasn't hard to push the club to the back burner because, of course, we were the only two members!

Growing up, I heard random mention in school about making efforts to save the environment. We were taught about recycling for example... and of course, my little sister (who was a huge Barney fan) was always singing that big purple dinosaurs song about "never letting the water run" when you brush your teeth. But for the most part, I grew up in suburbs that never thought twice about driving a few blocks down the street, never really put those yellow/blue recycling bins out on the road, and didn't really thing about where the trash ended up after you stuffed it in those plastic bins and the magical truck came and took it away.

It seems as though talking about organic food, recycling, preservation, and the "3 R's" was left to a certain type of person... hippies? Urban Hippies? "Crunchies?" However, thanks to Al Gore and his documentary on Global Warming, it seems as though saving the earth is actually becoming a task at hand for... well, everyone on it.

The other day at the gym, I had sadly forgotten to bring my own magazine or book to read, and was left with only ONE option of reading material for my 30 minutes of Cardio... a copy of Elle magazine. Normally, I won't be caught dead holding a magazine like Elle, or any fashion magazine for that matter. However, left with the choice of staring at a blank wall or reading a magazine, I had to choose the magazine. Much to my surprise...this copy of Elle was ENTIRELY on being "E-Friendly." No, not electronically friendly, as the letter E used to mean for so many years... we are talking ENVIRONMENTALLY Friendly... Elle? The entire article featured fashions, beauty products, and "romantic getaways" that were all Environmentally Saavy... basically, these were earth friendly products and services but with the price tag a loyal "Elle Woman" would expect to pay = $$$$$!

It was while riding that exercise and reading Elle that I realized... encouraging people to be environmentally friendly in their purchases is not only smart, it's a money making GOLDMINE!!! Make people throw all their nasty, paraben bearing products away... and have them buy NEW "ALL NATURAL ORGANIC" products. Companies that don't comply to environmental standards? Psh psh... let them go out of business, don't they deserve it anyway? From food companies, to clothing companies (even cotton can be organic! Or better yet, make shirts out of hemp... bamboo... driftwood...), to makeup and car companies... there are TONS of opportunities to market to people who are looking out for the environment. And it's not just the hippies or bohemians with limited incomes that are seeking these products... it's CELEBRITIES! The RICH! People with high disposable incomes!!!

I walked into Chapters yesterday, and right in front of me was a whole new line of school and work products... all designed from recycled paper! Biodegradable! Made with Rice/Coconut/Bamboo!!! All corporate products, probably from the same companies that make the stuff that takes 500 years to disappear...

Essentially what I'm talking about here, is corporations. Corporations, along with their market researchers, have clearly tapped into what people want... they want in on the latest trend... saving the earth! Now on with the mass production of earth friendly products! There is money to be made!

How do I feel about this? Mostly, I am glad. If there is going to be a trend that big corporations buy into, it may as well be saving the earth, promoting awareness, and working to preserve the environment. I'd much rather see companies putting their money toward advertising for a shiny environment than just advertising shiny things. However, part of me also wants to tell them to screw off because they are the original source of the problem, and that their involvement just looks boldly ironic and is rooted in greed...

Thoughts?