If you read my About page, you’ll see I do not claim to be the Green Samaritan, but one of many out in the world. Simply put, I am a mainstream mom of two young boys who realizes that what I do today will impact their tomorrow. And I’d like to pass on and share what I uncover in various articles, blogs, tweets and newsletters.
To further describe myself, if I had a pair of Birkenstocks, they would be in patent leather. Due to a merger, I peacefully left after many years and thousands of miles in corporate sales. And among my closet full of suits and non-organic outfits, I do happen to have one organic cotton top. I happily send my children off to school – one public and one private based on their learning needs. I drive around town in a modest SUV. It’s not a Hummer, nor a Hybrid either. I still manage to buy non-organic produce from the grocery store and like to take a long, hot bath every so often. I am a Sustaining member of the Junior League (I chaired our local Environmental Issues Committee 10 + years ago to put some recycling initiatives in place and yes, know all of the JL jokes). I’ve mentioned that I’m on the Board of Trustees for our Natural Science Center. I don’t think I will ever live totally off the grid and will never pedal a bike in order to make my toast! So my point being, I’m far from being a perfect green, all natural person. I’d like to think I am a lot like a lot of us. And as stated in my first post, I’m sincerely trying to be evermore aware of my eco-sins while searching for redemption in my everyday habits as I move forward.
But enough about me… From an article in Environmental Leader, Porter Novelli identified a small but powerful group of consumers, they call Greenfluencers, that are driving trends and shaping purchasing decision in the mass market.
“Based on different types of behaviors and product/service usage patterns listed below, Novelli developed a “Green Gauge” to categorize respondents into four levels of “greenness.”
· Buying environmentally friendly products
· Using less energy at home
· Buying products that use less packaging
· Buying energy efficient appliances/insulation
· Recycling at home
· Punishing companies with bad environmental records by not buying their products
Just 16 percent of the population are “Non-Green” and do none of these activities; almost half qualify as “Light Green,” doing between one and four of the activities; more than a quarter (27%) quality as “Medium Green,” doing five or six of them; and just 7 percent do all seven activities and qualify as “Dark Green.” Only 4% are considered to be Greenfluencers. Originally reported in July of 2008, it would be interesting to know of any increase in trends since last year.
Where do you fall? Are you a “Greenfluencer”? Take the test and find out. I’m moving up the scale towards Medium Green, despite my confessions above. I always use my reusable totes at the grocery store and carry several fold ups in my purse for smaller purchases. I recycle and refuse to buy bottled water. We have installed a rain barrel and use CFL light bulbs. I go into the corner coffee shop with my own mug. When the time comes, I plan to replace old appliances with energy-efficient ones and I choose to purchase more eco-friendly brands for everyday items as the need arises.
Check off what you do and give yourself a pat on the back. Decide which activity above you can start incorporating and go do it this week.
For our latest activity, we have planted our first garden. It was fun to decide with our boys what we will plant and they took great care in putting each one in the soil. Of course, this will be a great way for us to spend time together this summer, and we’ll all end up enjoying much healthier produce.
If you have attained Greenfluencer status, an A++ to you and continue your good work to help others become more environmentally aware through your knowledge, recommendations and influence.
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