All Posts Tagged With: "Green"

It’s no secret that consumers are falling head over heels for anything green these days. But, at least for now, their lust for eco-friendly products is conditioned by the rising price tags that they carry. For the most part, people are happy to embrace things that are better for the environment as long as the resulting exchange has little or no effect on their wallets. Sure, there are a million little eco-niches out there that are bustling with expensive products that do everything from power your Macbook Pro with the sun to grow flowers from soap containers in your yard.

At the end of the day, however, consumption is still about convenience. If it’s convenient and affordable to be eco-friendly, then you can bet wisely that that’s just what consumers are going to do. If, on the other hand, eco-friendly maintains its aura of luxury, there’s only so far that the trend can go.

In looking at sustainable design, its implications on the world beyond innovative architecture, aesthetically trendy products, and positive environmental influence carry with them the possibility to reduce and even eradicate poverty. Though poverty is present in every major city, every growing suburb, and even tiny towns, it primarily exists in some of the most remote areas of the world. In these places, systems, governments, and organizations may be unable to successfully act as a catalyst to a better life for the impoverished due to an infinite number of problems that arise when poverty is an inherent result of societal and political structures. 
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In an effort to further its mission against plastic bags and to promote the reuse of existing bags, Whole Foods has brought back its Wooden Nickel program, which donates five cents for every bag that you reuse to a local charity of your choice. Five cents may be a small number, but in large doses it can have an effect of duality on both the surrounding community and the environment itself. By reducing the consumption of paper bags (the company banned plastic bags earlier this year), Whole Foods hopes to serve as an example for other retailers by inspiring simple, yet powerful, change.
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