The term is something that many people would look at as being something of an oxymoron. For a very long time the political discourse in the country has said that the choice is between eco-friendly living and consumption. In other words, the consumer culture upon which the largest economies of the world are built would not be possible if we all lived eco-friendly lifestyles. However, recent evidence seems to suggest that such a thing is untrue and is a false choice that really does not have to be a real way of doing things in the first place.
Consider, for example, the fact that there are a number of companies out there now that are selling products that are 100% natural and in many cases are also 100% recycled. Green Works is known for doing this on a regular basis, as is President’s Choice. If you were to purchase those products, would you be a different consumer than you were before? If you restrict your purchases to things you would buy anyway, the answer is no. However, you are using eco-friendly materials and eco-friendly techniques in your consumption and that means that you have just combined eco-friendly lifestyles with the consumer culture that you love.
While serious conservation does involve sacrifice, at the moment our lives are so wasteful that there are a number of things we can do to be more eco-friendly that really involve no real sacrifice on our part. Let’s start by doing those things and worry about the others as a whole when the time comes.
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