Ever since Adam and Eve got kicked out of the garden for misbehaving, or so the story goes, humans have been scratching out their existence at the expense of the earth. Exploitation didn’t take its toll until recently. If you ran out of something, you either moved on or paid someone to bring you more. Whoever thought there would ever be a shortage of timber? The rain forest was considered no different than the forest that covered what’s now known as New York City. Cut it down, bring in the cement trucks, progress will solve everything. And it still might. Or it might not.
The question of whether progress could or can solve our environmental problems became a giant concern when acid rain, the hole in the ozone, and global warming started to gain traction. The green movement started to move. It picked up momentum with Earth Day, angry protests, The Green Party, Ralph Nader, and now almost every Hollywood star and news outlet rushing to center stage to elbow their way into the green spotlight.
In 2004 we saw a shift in how products were being sold and proposed a concept we called “GREEN HOT”: The Return to Nature by Force.
We saw tangible evidence that products would soon have to be positioned as being better for the planet, or at least capable of making a significantly smaller impact on the grid. We saw early evidence that the masses were starting to give a damn. And what we know is that when the masses start caring, they start voting for or against a product with their dollars. And at that point, companies take notice and either change or die.
We called it GREEN HOT while it was still only warm, but now everybody knows it’s about as hot as you can get. Just a few years ago, Al Gore or no Al Gore, a documentary on global warming would have struggled to draw even a small crowd; this year it got an academy award.
There’s no real controversy about whether green is hot; the real question here is why—and what will the next evolution be?
We believe there is a new wave emerging as the green movement shifts from being afraid of what we’re losing to wanting to belong.
Since we dubbed this cultural phenomenon GREEN HOT three years ago, media outlets, in ever-increasing doses, have bombarded us with messages concerning the toll we humans are taking on the planet. Many corporate entities even have sustainability plans that speak to the “good” nature-friendly operations of the company. It has become very “in” to take the position of having a smaller impact on the planet, eating healthier food, and being better people overall with our purchases. As more and more companies take a green position, our fears are abating and something new is taking its place.
GREEN HOT is spawning GREEN ECHO—Imitating a Natural Design.
As a movement, green is emerging out of the fear phase and a certain segment is looking to form a relationship with nature rather than desperately trying to save it. GREEN ECHO takes us to the need to belong.
A new wave of consumers is beginning to change their habits to adapt to Nature. To complement it, to mimic its design in order to feel more at one with it, rather than in conflict, or being its protector.
It’s not that we as a culture are not agitated, we are—but we’re also tired of the constant reminder that we have screwed up the planet. And a growing number of people are turning away and turning off the doomsday scenarios on why we’re all poised precariously on the eve of destruction.
This new offshoot of the green movement wants progress, not apology. Instead of a fear of losing what nature gives them, or guilt because of what “we’ve” done to it, this group seeks to adapt and adopt. They’re less angry and more loving. And they take comfort in embracing nature by buying products that make them feel at peace with the planet.
These new consumers want to belong in nature, and have a coexistence with it that complements and. most important, doesn’t point fingers or make them feel guilty for walking upright.
So instead of fighting nature, or running away from the problem, or yelling at it, consumers are connecting to it. Marketers are just waking up to this Green Echo move, and it’s a move we believe will pay off in ways just waiting to happen.
That’s it, from the edge of the world.
Bob
