Archive: June 2005
Go on green

By Ralph Kirshner

In many parts of the world, America is seen as environmentally unconcerned. Hugely disproportionate per capita energy consumption and refusal to sign the Kyoto treaty are commonly cited. European manufacturers undergo environmental audits, and their products frequently have green features, but manufacturers have found it to be a waste of time to advertise these features in the US; for a long time now, green hasn’t sold.

But that is changing. Hybrid cars are driving off lots as fast as Toyota, Honda, Ford, and Lexus can build them. Where cars go, so goes America, and cars are going at least semi-green. Suddenly, staid old corporations are spending large sums of money to advertise their greenness. Environmentalism is going mainstream.

This has been helped along by growing concerns with suburban sprawl, not just in the news, but also in daily experience as the drive out of town past malls and developments gets ever longer. Paradoxically, the current administration’s rollback of Clinton-era environmental protections has also contributed to a new green consciousness, by keeping the issues in the news for the past 6 years.

As a result, there is an openness to environmental issues that we have not seen since the 70’s. Advertisers who have heretofore refrained from touting their products’ green qualities, take note: Greenness is becoming an important perceived benefit to the US consumer. If you have an environmental message, now is the time to tell it. If your product is manufactured sustainably, it’s OK to say so. Go on green.