The state of the human effects of pollution and wastefulness upon our world permeates our guilt-filled North American lives.

Generally, we have begun to consider that how we live may have an adverse impact upon the environments we rely on to exist. This is not to say that there is universal agreement on the nature and effects of climate change. But even though many still deny that climate change is human-related, or that it will be as devastating as predicted, what is undeniable is that many are beginning to change the ways they live in order to become more eco-friendly.

At the University of Winnipeg, this is particularly noticeable, where students enjoy a recycling and compost collection system, a bottled water ban, as well as a broad spectrum of products which appeal to any undergrads’ ethical side.

In fact, the number of “green” products available to consumers today is, frankly, baffling. Hell, at an airport this summer, I even noticed a coffee shop marketing organic, rainforest-friendly coffee, a slight irony given the environmental impact wrought by a two-hour plane ride – but they deserve credit for trying.

In these ways and many others, we can see and hear that people are “thinking green,” to the extent that it seems a green shift – if I may be so bold – is afoot, at least in terms of the environmental dimension of our consumption habits.

Or is it? It may be a common refrain, but how substantially are people actually affecting the size of their environmental footprint by adding more green-labelled items to their credit card bills?

Upon closer inspection, it seems that the swill merchants and hucksters that usually capitalize on human fear are just as present in the eco-friendly context as they are in other aspects of our lives. Hence, we have the proliferation of “green” products, which are not in fact all that eco-friendly, a form of profit-driven deception which has come to be known as “greenwashing.” Basically, this term applies to any product which markets itself as eco-friendly but doesn’t live up to such claims.

And it happens a lot. A recent study by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing revealed that close to 98 per cent of the 2,219 products they studied were guilty of greenwashing. They were clear to point out that this does not mean all green products are guilty, and the fact that some companies lie to customers about the ethical nature of their products does not discount the need for things to be produced in a less destructive way.

“ To truly rethink our relationship with the environment, more is required than changing a few lightbulbs and filling up a compostable cup every morning.

It would be easy enough to blame the companies in question, and hope that more altruistic forms of capitalism will come by to ease our worried minds. Unfortunately, the issue of greenwashing speaks just as much to the misguided nature of consumers as it does to the perils of the profit motive.

When dealing with the issue of climate change, an issue which quite literally calls into question the fundamental ways in which much of humanity lives, produces and interacts, massive upheavals in our social and economic realms are required.

Green consumer products, when they actually are so, are a great first step, but that is all they are. At best, they provide consumers with the appearance that they are doing something positive for the environment.

And while this is certainly not something to dismiss outright, all the green products in the world pale in comparison to the environmental damage perpetuated by our world’s industrial complex and the ineffectual political leaders who fail time and again to institute the changes necessary to avoid worldwide disaster.

The goal of the environmentally-minded consumer should be to consume less, period. While ethical purchasing is certainly admirable, it reinforces the mindset of production and accumulation which brought the threat of climate change on in the first place.

To truly rethink our relationship with the environment, more is required than changing a few lightbulbs and filling up a compostable cup every morning.

Andrew Tod wants you to take this as food for thought, not preaching. He does, however, realize that there is a fine line between the two.