Green Options

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Editor’s note: Turns out we don’t just share content with Low Impact Living; we also share writers. Today’s post (by Cassie Walker) takes a look at the basics of putting your money where your values are: green and socially responsible investing. This post was originally published on Sunday, May 4, 2008.

One of the primary imperatives for being an environmentally conscious consumer is to vote with your dollars - support companies that have a positive impact on society and the environment by purchasing their products and services. In the minds of many, that concept is easy to apply to the day-to-day stuff we buy at the grocery store or retail outlets. But some folks forget that our longer term investments can speak just as loudly.

Enter Socially Responsible Investing (SRI). SRI takes into account the impact that companies have on society and the planet, and recognizes that we can factor these concerns into our investment choices. Now our decisions as investors, which used to be determined solely on corporate financial performance – perhaps based on short-term and short-sighted goals – can now be based on the whole of a company’s standing, including their impact on the environment.

Once only a small piece of the total investment market, SRI now represents $2.71 trillion, more than 10% of all investments. That figure is up from $639 billion in 1995, an increase of more than 300%. As SRI has matured, green investing specifically has taken much of the limelight - as demand for clean technology, alternative and renewable energy, green building and other environmentally driven businesses rise, so does the desire to invest in them.

With this growth, opportunities for us as individuals to get into green investing and SRI abound. There are the usual suspects like stocks and bonds, mutual funds and venture capital. For example, dozens of mutual funds exist for investors looking to put their money where their mouth is, and support companies who share their values. And many of these funds focus on green companies, with large numbers of them joining the ranks within the last year or two.

When I was a child, my family would search high and low for clothing that was unique and fashionable, which simply wasn’t available. Parents today have many opportunities to fashion their children in beautiful clothing. Zazou.eu is one such company, offering “Colorful, trendy, funny, retro, stylish and often sustainable.”

Do you know who the Zazou were? During World War II, the Zazou were a subculture in France comprised of young people that dressed garishly and danced wildly (hmmm…sounds like a subculture I was a part of in my youth). The Zazous were inspired by Jazz and Swing music. Of course, like any subculture, the Nazis and Fascists detested the Zazous and had a slogan, “Scalp the Zazous!”