As Earth Day approaches, I was pondering the word “green”.  Green is used as an adjective for almost anything these days - “green technology”, “green cleaning”, “green birth”, even “green death”.    Green also used (against my 8th grade English teacher’s rules) as a verb, as in, “green your life”.  I am guilty of that one with my book, “Green Your Work”.   People can also be labeled green or in shades from brown to green.  Yes, it can get a bit much but if you look past the over-use of the word, here is what it means in terms of our behavior.

Recent studies have identified green behavior on a hypothetical color chart of brown (no concern for the environment) to deep green (deep concern for the environment and the behavior to match).  The reality is that no person is perfectly green - people behave in shades of green.   The consumers at the green end of the spectrum make up a market that is one quarter to one third of the adult population in the U.S.. 

Do you recognize your behavior?  
 
Deep green – These consumers are the greenest on the planet.  They understand the need for green and their purchases match their values. 

Light green – They have started down the green path and are on their way to living a green life.    Some of their purchases and behaviors are already earth-friendly.  Their hue of green will deepen as they get more knowledge about all things earth-friendly.

Khaki green -- They are thinking green some of the time and just beginning to connect their shopping habits and daily living habits with being earth-friendly.  Saving energy and money drives their greenest purchases and behaviors.
 
Light brown– They are not yet living or buying green but are starting to be subconsciously influenced by the culture at large about making earth-friendly choices.
 
Brown –  They are skeptical of the environmental movement and its a values.  Based on their principles and personality will not make any earth-friendly choices even if they save money or are good for their family.

There is evidence that light greens are moving toward becoming darker green, light browns are moving toward becoming khaki and so on.   The brown end of the spectrum is shifting to be greener as people are inundated with information about green and green technologies become more accessible and affordable.

Life triggers also have an effect on where people are on this spectrum.  Someone who has recently had a baby and may have been light brown in the past suddenly will jump a couple of shades greener to light green as they try to protect their new baby from toxins in food and plastic bottles.   

The bottom line is that you don’t need to be perfectly green, no one is.  Take the test at this link to find out where you are now and how you can improve your score:

http://www.earthsmartconsumer.com/quiz/earthsmartLevelone.html