What is 'green business' and what does it mean? Don't tar your company with the green brush before stopping to survey the zeitgeist! It's what your customers think that matters.

"Green business", "green marketing" and "green" in general have become abused, jaded terms. What was once a rallying cry for the ethically minded has become a key 'put-off' for the majority of consumers.

That's not to say 'green' terms are not popular… A quick search on google reveals that 'green' is the most common term people use to describe 'ethical', 'environmental', 'ecological' and 'sustainable' things, and herein lies the start of the problem.

But far more pertinent than the multiple meanings which 'green' is used to define, is the image or 'feeling' it conjures up in a consumers mind. To people that are concerned with 'environmental conservation', 'renewable energy' or 'ethical issues' the term 'green' verifies whatever is being described is 'for them', but to the majority of consumers any mention of 'greenness' is a warning sign to be avoided, at all costs.