Issue Number 1007 | The Cult of Green Consumption | Advocate.com The Cult of Green Consumption  |  | Advocate.com

Advocate.com health Channel
||  Cover story  ||
 
The Cult of Green Consumption
Why being trendy is the worst thing that could happen to the environmental movement.
From The Advocate  May 6, 2008
The Cult of Green Consumption

Inside a renovated movie theater near downtown Los Angeles, lamps assembled from thousands of discarded silkworm cocoons light up tables of recycled teak.

The FordBrady gallery—owned by former bicycle racers Willard Ford (Harrison’s son) and John Brady—champions the green aesthetic. But, as environmentalists, Ford and Brady know that buying a recycled teak table is less responsible than keeping the table you’ve got (or picking up a used one). Building, marketing, and shipping furniture, no matter what it’s made of, are energy- and resource-hogging activities.

Deep down, we know that really being green means buying less and making do, but we also know it’s more fun to go shopping. Green products like hybrid vehicles and the latest refillable water bottles let us have it both ways—spending money while racking up “environmental cred.” Forget Dumpster-diving—most of us would rather be spreegans than freegans.

Green has gone from a color to a movement to a style. The trouble is, styles don’t last. And we can’t let environmentalism become a fashion victim.

Some of us do a lot for the planet just by being gay: We bring the world fewer McMansions and fewer backyards than if we were straight. (No gay person has bought a riding mower—ever.) We also bring fewer babies. (I have to admit, having children was the best—and also the most environmentally destructive—thing I’ve ever done.) Add a high disposable income and exquisite sensitivity to trends, and gay consumers have done their share to make green products cool.

The problem with that is too many green products are designed to let us feel good without doing good. This spring Lincoln unveiled the MKT, a luxury sedan that nods in the direction of sustainability with—no kidding—carpet woven from banana fibers. Coke is turning surplus can tabs into messenger bags ($175) and broken bottles into earrings ($45), for sale in the Eco-Fashion section of the Coca-Cola online store. Apparently using biodegradable soap to do the dishes is only one form of green-washing.

Page: 1 | 2 | 3

Reader Comments

These comments are reproduced as written by visitors to this Web site. They have not been edited for content, grammar, or spelling. The viewpoints appearing here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or views of advocate.com, The Advocate, or its affiliates.

Be the first to comment on this story.

Back to top

Submit a comment for this story:

*Type your comment here (Required, 1000 characters max.):

*Name (Required): 

*Hometown (Required): 

*E-mail address: (Required, but will not be displayed)

Is this comment for publication? 
Yes   No

Daytime phone number: (Required for print publication only and will not be displayed)

Please enter the words you see in the box, in order and separated by a space. Doing so helps prevent automated programs from abusing this service.

  

If you would like to submit a comment for posting, please fill out the form above. 

All comments submitted via this form are subject to posting or publication. (To send a private letter to an Advocate editor or writer, please use the e-mail button at the top of the page, or use snail mail.) If you would like your comment considered for publication in The Advocate magazine, please include your full name, your city of residence, and a phone number where you can be reached during business hours so that we can confirm your identity. Your e-mail address and telephone number are strictly confidential and will not be shared or used for any purpose other than to contact you about your comment.

Comments that do not concern specific articles in The Advocate or on Advocate.com will not be posted or published. See the Contact page for sending comments for reasons other than responding to Advocate editorial and news stories.

Please note that comments sent by fax or snail mail are unlikely to be posted, although they will be considered for publication along with all letters received via e-mail or via this Web page. Comments that chiefly concern Advocate.com content will be considered for posting only on the Web site. The Advocate reserves the right to edit submitted comments for grammar, spelling, obscenities, or libel; we will, however, do our best to preserve the original comment's style and intent. Comments considered for publication in The Advocate magazine may also be edited for length.