Where the Green Is: Examining the Paradox of Environmentally Conscious Consumption

There is much debate about the value of "green consumerism." Critics claim that environmentally conscientious shopping has negligible effects, does not address wider issues relating to the creation of needs and capitalism, and has been co-opted by advertisers as a marketing technique. Proponents argue that it provides a forum where consumers can actualize their beliefs about the need for environmental awareness and protection through their purchasing choices. The focus of this paper is to outline these positions while examining the merits and shortcomings of green consumerism. Although this phenomenon does not necessarily question the "assumption of consumption," it does provide a space for environmental activism for individuals who may not wish to participate in deeper ecological activities. Green consumerism would be aided by government intervention in the form of a regulatory body that would guarantee that "green" products have met strict environmental standards. Introduction This is not the article I thought I would be writing. I had planned to spend these pages exploring the environmental possibilities contained within the individual consumption of goods. I thought I would begin this paper with a couple of pages about ecological theory, then move into a tight analysis about the opportunity for consumers to make their collective voices heard through "green" product purchases. 'Green consumerism' is defined as " the purchasing and non-purchasing decisions made by consumers, based at least partly on environmental or social criteria " (Peattie, 1992, p. 118). I thought I would spend the majority of the paper listing those companies with questionable environmental records, and illustrate how consumer dollars are being used to pollute rivers, create toxic waste and destroy natural spaces. I pictured making statements like 'did you realize that Company A directly contributes to the destruction of virgin rain forests?' or that 'Company B throws out more waste that New York City?' Finally, to offer my readers hope, I would name companies that not only possessed unblemished environmental histories, but that also offered environmentallyfriendly products at reasonable prices. I would provide a condensed version of the paper to all my colleagues and friends, who could coast into their summers confident that their meagre budgets were being used to encourage corporate environmental responsibility. Writing this paper has gone a little differently than I imagined. From the onset, it was difficult to clearly identify environmental protectors and polluters in the business world. One company, for example, would have an excellent environmental record, but be guilty of human rights offences because of dismal labour standards. Another corporation would have a deplorable environmental history, but would have recently improved their waste management processes due to pressure from consumers and environmental groups. Still others would (unbelievably) show up on both the "most-green" and the "most-toxic" list, such as the popular President's Choice products sold at Canadian grocery stores. It was also extremely difficult to find solid information about corporate environmental practice, except for highly publicized "environmentally-friendly" activities that companies would profile on their websites (such as supporting community 'clean-up' efforts while failing to disclose internal waste records). Due to these factors, and others, I began to think that it would be irresponsible and impossible, to clearly state which companies to support and which to boycott. I started to think that perhaps a paper could be found within these conflicting notions about the need for, and value of, green consumption. Some environmentalists claim that producers will eventually shift to better resource and waste management because of customer demand and resource scarcity (Hawken, Lovins & Lovins, 1999; Cox, 2004). Others maintain that this will never occur until environmental laws and penalties are implemented and enforced by national governments (Gale, 2002; Hyde, 2005). …