Unnecessarily Spending Green on "Green" Products

            The article from Perspectives on Globalization that I have chosen is “Buying into the Green Movement” by Alex Williams, and yes, that was a piece of my mini-essay in class today. I chose this article because it really caught my attention and it had an argument that I had never thought of before. The article is about some of the unwise misconceptions that some people have on buying green products to save their surrounding environment. Alex Williams discusses how some people think that it is OK to live luxurious lifestyles and use up natural resources as long as the resources they use are “green”. The goal, or rhetorical purpose, of the article is to convert “eco-sensitive” consumers into a new mindset on their buying habits. He wants to have consumers stop wasting their money on green products because they are not the solution to damage to the environment.

            I think that he effectively convinces the audience to realize the fault in their actions because he has a greatly interesting writing style and uses good rhetorical tools. The first thing that popped out to me was his use of irony and sarcasm to get a point across. One specific ironic thing that he discusses is the way that consumers will buy organic raspberries in the winter because they are organic without realizing that those raspberries are being flown in on a Boeing 747 from Chile and using lots of jet fuel. The thought of buying products that are good for the environment is great but Williams shows that sometimes the logic behind it can be missing.

            Alex Williams also does a great job of describing the situations that can occur through the use of exemplum. He gives lots of possible situations that eco-sensitive consumers have either done or seen others do. By doing this, he is able to relate to the readers and the readers are more willing to listen when they admit in their minds that they are guilty of some of the actions mentioned. One example of exemplum is when he says public people try to help the environment by turning down the environment, driving smaller cars, and carrying a cloth “Save-a-Tree” tote to the supermarket (Williams 103). I think most people have turned their thermostats down, considered buying a smaller car, and seen other people using cloth grocery bags in their town before. That is why this rhetorical tool is effective in capturing the reader’s attention and convincing “eco-sensitive” consumers to change their buying habits.