Easy being green

A recent piece of writing I had read in a Turkish newspaper reveals it all about a personal greenwash. The Stockholm correspondent of this newspaper had sent an article about the poshness of being green in the Swedish capital, in which she told how “in” it was to go down on the street, to the recycling bin, and finally to recycle your waste, and let everyone see you during the process.

While that seems to be the case in Western Europe, one would find it really difficult to hold onto a green lifestyle in Turkey, since there is a huge lack of awareness of the issue. However, as careless are the businesses and people in Turkey about sustainability, a newcomer to the UK might get just as tired of seeing so many words like green, eco, sustainable, etc. It’s big business here.

While it may now be considered a breakthrough move for a Turkish company to call itself green, it’s not differentiating enough to be green here in the UK—and generally in most of Western Europe. In fact, it is actually “easy being green”.

The thing is, what we had considered to be diverse a decade ago, is not as diverse today. Transportation is much faster, as is communication, which allows a crazy flow of information all around the world. What all this brings as a side effect is that there is now a much more vague definition to being unique. We cannot be sure anymore that what nourishes us is not an inspiration for someone else too.

In an environment where everyone is green, maybe it is best to be as transparent as possible about the way you do business–or you live your life in general—and let the ones around you make the judgement. (So goes the general approach of Pli Design, as Christopher Pett puts it.)

Do the Stockholmers really care about the environment and strive to do their part, or are they just showing off in a street catwalk?

Are the businesses here really green, or is it just the marketability of the word itself what makes them green?

Lastly, and more controversially, do the customers really want to know if the companies they prefer are really green, or are they are comfortable enough only to be seen carrying a logo of a company which is known to be green?

After all, it’s not that easy being transparent.