ABSTRACT
Widespread public exposure to environmental issues has pushed environmentalism into mainstream western culture to the extent that striving to be ‘green’ has become a modern-day aspiration. Today people are exposed to green issues from all angles: companies build their brands around environmental claims, governments promote environmental messages, green issues are regularly debated in the media, and people make decisions that express environmental preferences on a regular basis. In this sense it can be said that environmentalism is now part of everyday life. Environmentalism has developed alongside consumerism to become part of contemporary popular culture. The environmental movement will need to address the values, attitudes and behaviours that underpin western consumer culture if a transition to a more sustainable society is to be achieved.
