Green consumerism is the demand for eco-friendly products and services by consumers. This may involve recycling or safeguarding the natural resources of our planets such as plants. The purpose of green consumerism is to increase the demand, promote, and create awareness among populations regarding environmentally friendly products that ensure sustainable living.
Green consumerism aims to change the attitude of consumers by encouraging them to purchase products that are manufactured without any harm to the ecosystem. The ideology is based on the behavior of the consumers finding and demanding products that are more sustainable and pro-environmental. Environmentbuddy aims to make the process of finding the right Eco-friendly products a whole lot easier soon.
You should also read the Negativity of Consumerism.
Importance of Green Consumerism
Green consumerism is built on the principle that the manufactures must make products that do not cause or promote environmental harm during their production or their usage by the customer.
Green consumerism aims to reduce waste in packaging. It creates attitudes among the social circles to purchase loose products such as fruits and vegetables, rather than the pre-packaged products available. It encourages the masses to recycle paper and plastic, both of which are the major culprits of environmental pollutions. However, recycling of all other products is also promoted in green consumerism.
The emissions of greenhouse gases have started to decrease since the adoption of the idea of going green by various businesses sectors including the transportation sector; all of this has led to the reduction of greenhouse gas effects which have been a cumbersome problem for the planet and widely contributed to climate change. Strict regulations and laws have been based to lower the emissions from factories, engines, and motors and there has been an on-going encouragement to move towards cleaner (and perhaps greener) options in regards to fuel.
Thanks to green consumerism, people are turning more towards local organic food rather than processed food widely available across supermarkets. This has led to the need for making more eco-friendly organic food production; this is arguably a more viable option as there are no intensive agricultural practices or use of synthetic chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and fertilizers. Organic farming has grown considerably due to these reasons as it doesn’t rely on any artificial or synthetic chemicals for the production of higher yield crops and is definitely more eco-friendly.
Since the attitude of adopting green consumerism has increased, more efficient organic practices are being employed. This ultimately leads to saving money, reducing bills, lowers carbon emissions (as previously mentioned) and helps various communities to meet the energy demand. The risk associated with inefficient energy production has also gone down through the approach of green consumerism.
Some examples of Green Consumerism being adopted Worldwide
Over the years, countries like Canada and the United States, there has been a greater demand by people drinking coffee to purchase coffee beans (in place of coffee pods) that are more environmentally friendly and meet the criteria for organic production. These types of beans also have the seal of approval by Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center for containing bird-friendly beans.
There has been an increased number of consumers for seafood such as herring, rock lobster, salmon, cockles, and Hoki for food that has the Marine Stewardship council’s logo meaning that they have been harvested under responsible environmental management of marine ecosystems.
The installation of solar panels and wind turbines by homeowners, organizations, and government to produce electricity, not just to reduce the utility bills but also to provide reliable energy to other large scale businesses as well as small-scale business which has greatly helped farmers practicing organic farming.
The requirement of more than 40 million coal-fired power plants have been abolished by green consumers worldwide, as they have started adopting the usage of fluorescent lamps.
Certification of more than 54 nations and 25 million hectares of forest gardens by the Forest Stewardship Council situated in Mexico. These forests meet the standards for sustainable forestry and are more than double the area that was covered in 1998.
2,750 marinas and beaches across 20 European states are environmentally friendly with sufficient sanitary and safety facilities as stated by various beachgoers going there.
How can you become a Green Consumer?
People need to acknowledge the fact that our natural ecosystems are depleting, they may not care about it now but may regret it in the future. Climate change is altering the course of weather every day, bringing various natural disasters with it. To avoid such calamities and regrets which we or our next generation may suffer in the future, we must start to protect and conserve the green cover and other natural resources by becoming green consumers.
You may start by just simply saving as much energy as you can. This simply involves not using appliances in your house excessively, turning off lights and power sources that are of no use to your house. One can develop a habit of sitting in a single room daily rather than having many sources of electricity constantly running for no use in various rooms of the same building.
Additionally, we have compiled over a 100 ways to have green and sustainable lifestyle.
A change of mindset must be adopted by the consumers if they are to become a green consumer. Further awareness needs to be raised and research must be done on a personal level by the consumer so that they may gain the required knowledge of why it is important to become a green consumer and what are the advantages and repercussions if they don’t become one. Knowing the current threats of environmental degradation and emissions of carbon leading to climate change is also important for adopting green consumerism and can be found through various sources including Environmentbuddy.
Consumers should adopt renewable energy resources and stop the use of non-renewable energy resources due to the impact they have on the environment and because of the constant depletion of Earth’s resources. One of the most popular renewable resources is solar energy which utilizes the energy from the sun to make electricity. There are various solar energy products available for consumers on the market such as solar backpacks, solar geysers, solar bulbs, solar panels and more which are consistently being improved as more and more research is being directed towards importance of solar energy and their products. Although the consumer might shy away from these products due to their price being more expensive than their traditional counterparts, they end up saving way more energy and have less of an impact on the environment in the long run.
Other examples of renewable energy include geothermal energy, wind energy, tidal energy, and biomass; all of which are starting to be utilized for energy production more and more by countries all around the world. All must work together and start adapting these resources more and more to protect the ecosystems and habitats and prevent the over-dependency on the already existing and depleting non-renewable energy resources like fossil fuels.
One can check the energy labels on utility products before buying them, this way you can determine which products to buy and which to omit based on the amount of energy consumed by these appliances. In the long run, though a green consumer should imply more towards green electricity as much as they can. Environmentbuddy aims to put more research into finding such eco-friendly energy-conserving products and inform you so you don’t have to!
You should opt for using products made through recycling and purchase more eco-friendly products. Instead of buying several water bottles you can opt for carrying and using only one refilling it again and again. Cloth wipes can be used instead of paper wipes which can be used multiple times after washing them. Attaining products that are made from organic farms or local and organic foods should be adopted to lower the effects of carbon emissions that occur during transportation.
Hybrid and Electric cars have been selling more and more as people have seen their potential when it comes to reducing carbon emissions. These cars use minimal fuel and relieve the environment of high carbon/ greenhouse gas emissions which are the primary culprits leading to climate change and global warming. If you are a green consumer or planning to be one and have a love for car or require long-distance traveling in your car this is surely a viable option for you.
