With the exception of a few who maintain their natural lifestyles, the age of dreadlock-wearing, stereotypically grungy environmentalists is dead.
Modern environmentalism is living a clean, organic lifestyle: sacrificing wasteful activities in lieu of personal sustenance.
“I consider myself green-friendly. I eat organic food. I recycle. I’m careful about what I do,” said Anika Fontaine, the coordinator of the Maryland Public Interest Research Group’s homeless campaign. “The big environmentalism thing has died down. It’s a trendy thing to do, but only if convenient.”
The environmental movement has changed as well. Many self-proclaimed environmentalists are not on a crusade against industry, but instead work alongside the environmental evils of the past, according to Graham Hill, the founder of Treehugger.com, a website promoting green products and services.
“There’s a lot of doom and gloom in environmentalism, a lot of ‘inspire by fear,’ a lot of ‘no.’ We try to provide hope and inspiration,” Hill said by e-mail.
The environmentalist’s change of image from “crunchy” to stylish was the theme of environmental lifestyle expert Danny Seo’s lecture last night at the Hoff Theater, an event sponsored by the Student Entertainment Events in collaboration with the Stamp Student Union.
Seo found success championing his environmental causes after arranging for celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Alicia Silverstone to wear recycled organic clothing.
After Hilton wore a T-shirt bearing the slogan “Club sandwiches, not seals,” referring to the frequent clubbing of baby seals in Canada, media outlets around the world ran a picture displaying the shirt.
“Celebrities do one little thing and get national attention,” said Seo, who was born on Earth Day, April 22. He is the author of many activists for beginners books and was an editor of the magazine Organic Style.
As a champion of environmental lifestyles, Seo stressed personal fashion as an environmental decision.
He showed the pictures of his recently redesigned home, which features chairs made of recycled horseshoes, low-pollutant chalkboard paint for visitors to draw upon, and a lot of hemp fabric furniture.
“I can’t scream and yell at people if I’m trying to influence the fashion industry,” Seo said. “You have to work with people.”
Other examples Seo mentioned of green lifestyle becoming trendy include the rising popularity of organic food stores, such as Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s, and the popularity of hybrid vehicles such as the Toyota Prius.
Bruce James, the director of the university’s Environmental Science and Policy Program, said although most student environmentalists are not activists, most want a greener lifestyle.
“We have an image of ourselves, I wear these clothes, drive this car, because I don’t want to be seen as a wasteful person,” James said. “How you eat, how you live, how you use water, we all can make a difference.”
