Can we still afford to save the planet during the credit crunch?

The credit crunch has forced nearly all of us to change our consumer habits one way or another over the last year. Soaring food and petrol prices have left our purses and wallets on the lighter side. Consequently we have given up many of life’s little luxuries – the coffees before work, the second car, eating out and the impulse buys – to name a few. Furthermore, as a result of our quest as consumers to get the best deals and seek cheaper alternatives, budget supermarkets such as Aldi and Lidl have attracted increased custom.

An article in The Times on 7 August 2008 states that even the organic food market has been credit-crunched. A sector which boomed from 2002 – 2007 due to the trendy, ‘Yummy Mummy - Jamie Oliver following’ movement has now stalled. The article states that this new organic food store on Kensington High Street is so quiet you can nearly hear the cheese breathe.

The results of a MORI poll carried out this month show we are less concerned about the environment than a year ago. The main reason is because our preoccupations have shifted onto the economy and rising prices. Rising commodity prices mean we are less inclined to spend our money going green.

However, paradoxically, this economic downturn has taught us a valuable lesson – we don’t have to pay to go green.

With fewer pounds in our pockets the country is unconsciously becoming greener.

In our bid to conserve money, we are growing our own produce, turning off our central heating, and taking fewer holidays abroad, thus reducing our carbon footprint. Our efforts to become increasingly economical are in fact just as environmentally-friendly. Even I myself have reconsidered the need for a plastic bag in Marks and Spencer since the introduction of their 5 pence charge per carrier.

Well, well, well the credit crunch isn’t such a bad thing after all.

By Danielle Thomas