Green With Envy

Green Peace or Eco War?

The latest fad in.... well, everything is to "go green." While nobody ever comes out and defines exactly what going green means, Cheeseheads feel they've been doing whatever it is that needs to be done by naming their team Green Bay Packers. Others who either manufacture or market goods have seized on the green machine to tout their products over those that are not green, which I suppose are orange like carrots or red like tomatoes, unless of course, the tomatoes are presented fried and green.

Although we have not yet heard an updated version of a holiday classic that croons, "I'm dreaming of a Green Christmas...." merchants are hoping to rake in as much green as possible by selling items dubbed green or eco-friendly. As you will recall, last year's holiday sales, despite a strong black Friday, left many manufacturers in the red and merchants feeling a bit green around the gills. In an effort to resist feeling blue this year they have decided to go green. They hope the switch does not leave them with a scarlet face.

The green marketing campaign was not started on a whim. A recent poll by a major marketing agency reported that nine out of ten Americans considered themselves "conscious consumers," which supposedly translates into potential customers who sit at home and watch reruns of Green Acres or listen on their old time radio to tales of the Green Hornet. Merchants who have hopped on the green trolley hope that their robust sales make their fellow merchants green with envy.

Some of the green marketing comes from the store with an orange logo - Home Depot, which currently offers a line called Eco Options that offers stuff to make your house more environmentally friendly. Target, Wal-Mart, and Barney's of New York are just a few of the chains that have decided to take up the cause of spending green cash on eco-friendly stuff to make a white Christmas. Outdoor LCD lights that use 80% less energy and car manufacturers selling hybrids that use less gasoline are but a few examples of going green.

Nature has its own level of color consciousness. A blackberry (the fruit, not the phone) is red when its green. As for my contribution to the movement I'll drive over to Bowling Green and spend the afternoon aiming for the putting green. A little blogging music maestro... no, not "Red Roses for a Blue Lady," how about a few bars of "Greensleeves."

Dr. Forgot