It’s been nearly 40 years since Wisconsin Sen. Gaylord Nelson, and a ragtag band of environmental activists organized and celebrated the first Earth Day in 1970.
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In those early days, it was simple.
Business was the enemy. It was us vs. them; the polluters versus the planet.
Either you recycled or didn’t. Either you rode your bike to work or you were an earth- killer.
Communes, geodesic domes and tipis were in. Underarm deodorants and long hot showers were out.
The planet was dying. Only those truly committed to living lightly could save it. Environmentalism was the new religion for a generation that had railed against Vietnam, meditated to the Maharishi and worshipped the Beatles.
Despite the retro flailing of Rush Limbaugh, it’s still simple.
The Parade Is Changing
Most environmentalists have grown up. They’ve got mortgages, 401k’s, grey hair and grandchildren. Pragmatism has overtaken idealism.
Now the Green Generation sits in the board rooms of America. They’ve become the business owners and the policymakers they once reviled.
They’ve come to realize that green sells green. As a result, the marketplace now is awash in green products and green promotions.
What started as an environmental protest nearly 40 years ago has grown into a blitzkrieg of businesses using the annual occasion as a marketing opportunity and engagement tool to define and accentuate their green credentials.
The Hearst Corp., for example, has partnered with eBay to launch “30 Days of Green,” a consumer-oriented initiative with advertorials appearing in Hearst's 14 publications, which run the gamut from Good Housekeeping to Cosmopolitan. The storyline casts eBay as a “pioneer in sustainable commerce” because buying pre-owned merchandise helps eliminate the environmental impacts associated with the manufacture of new products while also reducing the stream of unwanted goods into the country's landfills.
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Along with imploring consumers to join its Green Team, the promotion offers tips for eco-friendly shopping at eBay's websites that market great deals on “pre-owned” iPhones, HDTV’s and digital cameras. In other words, consumerism without guilt.
Wal-Mart is highlighting 10 environmentally friendly products under $10 all month. Sears is offering $99 Earth Day home energy audits until April 30. Sony's PlayStation Store is tying Earth Day purchases to environmental donations. The company will donate $1 for each of the first 10,000 movies and TV shows purchased through the PlayStation Network on Earth Day, with the funds going to Conservation International. The PlayStation Store also will include a “Save Our Earth” section of movies, such as “The Day After Tomorrow,” which portrays the earth in danger.
A recent poll conducted by Opinion Research Corp. shows that 82 percent of the respondents still are buying green despite the economic downturn. Half of the respondents said they are buying just as many green products now as before the economic downturn, while 19 percent say they are buying more green products.
The survey shows that 64 percent of the coveted 18-to 34-year-old demographic, more than any other age group, believes that global warming is caused by human activities.
Forty years ago, these numbers would have been a call-to-arms for environmentalists. Today they are seen as a vast marketing opportunity.
In the midst of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, the green market is one of the only true bright spots. Buying green is equated with patriotism. We may not be able to stop Al Qaeda, but can open our wallets to arrest global warming.
Even the President is getting into the green act.
Mr. Obama was heading to Newton, Iowa, the home of Trinity Energy. Trinity manufactures wind energy equipment out of a closed Maytag plant, employing dozens of the company’s former workers. It’s a perfect location for the President to promote the idea of homegrown green jobs for an economy that is facing record layoffs.
This Earth Day, it looks like green has finally become the new green.
John Cohn is a senior partner in the Globe West Financial Group, based in West Los Angeles. He may be contacted at www.globewestfinancial.com
