Grass is GREEN. Green beans are GREEN. And I can buy contact lenses and make my eyes GREEN. And now there is a huge movement called GREEN! Building materials, clothing, beauty supplies… oh my! I am thrilled to be a part of it, though I must admit, sometimes I find myself blue.

I can’t seem to find things that are the “100% GREEN” that I hoped for. In every process to create anything there is a flaw. This flaw can occur at the beginning, in the middle of production or at the end with distribution. Flaws are part of our recent civilization, especially with all things manufactured. I look around me at this moment my slippers, my coffee cup, my Buddha statue - each item has some sort of flaw in it’s journey to exist.

It seems GREEN marketing is way ahead of science and is caught in a process of defining terms. Regulation is not universal, what works in one field doesn’t work in another.

What is a human being to do if they want to be GREEN? Keep wishing, hoping and dreaming and please, please, please do not feel guilty!

Being GREEN is gathering information on how things are done and searching for choices within the system. A GREEN movement is to weigh the steps and determine the route of lowest impact. Each GREEN business and every GREEN person introduces their own unique changes to make things GREENER. Being GREEN is a choice.

As a creator of an item it is best to be informed. Not all information is free flowing; facts must be checked and this takes time. Also, it may require effort to sift through murky information to find the GREEN. If you conduct detailed research you could most likely annoy some people. You may be like a fly on wet skin! Becoming GREEN can be an adventure.

As a shopper one can ask questions. Asking questions motivates change. Asking questions will spawn new GREEN invention in all aspects of production. Knowing where and how things are made empowers one to make a personal and knowledgeable choice. Being GREEN is finding answers. Questioning will lead to TRANSPARENCY.

A forward-looking solution is to promote the movement of TRANSPARENCY. Providers of items can present their findings publicly. Not all details will be perfectly GREEN, yet we will respect the choices being made. This will have great influence. Those manufacturing industries with gas guzzling, chemical spewing, water dumping, labor abusing ways, will begin to change when the market shows that these ways are not only unacceptable, they are a bit absurd. By supporting the items made from those rising to the challenge of making improvements for a better world, GREEN will grow. Being GREEN is a process.

Businesses can openly discuss their raw materials and the processes used to turn them into goods, the full geographic journey, and all aspects of packaging and distribution. The goal is to seek out a combination of attributes in these areas that will contribute to the steps needed to make our environment a healthier place. If being GREEN becomes a debate about what is good and what is bad we will lose. Leaving a footprint is unavoidable, yet making our footprint lighter is attainable.

The GREEN movement is just getting started!