While we respect those greenies that quietly make enviro-choices without being boring, inflicting their views on others and insisting upon compulsion, we particularly enjoy ridiculing those hypocritical folk that grandstand their environmental and social commitment in a cynical way hoping to gain acceptance and favour.
Unfortunately the accommodation industry has hard-core pockets of these blow-hards.
Qualmark's "de-coupling" exercise that has rightfully extracted their Responsible Tourism criteria from their quality benchmarking assessment will assist to weed out enviro-posers that were creating copious amounts of green-wash while cluttering the environment with enviro-green neon signage.
A simple acid test to identify an eco-poser is to look for an insidious eco-vanity message that they commonly use at the end of every email they send. You know the ones, they look like this:
Who are these self-appointed guardians of the environment that insist on digitally cluttering up in-boxes by adding this inane message ?
Another growing scourge out there that needs to be challenged is the use of eco-vanity messages appearing on some blogs.
For the sake of balance we have developed the Motella vanity message that we invite others to use:
I guess we should be grateful that those that use naff enviro messages can be easily profiled. At the risk of generalising and being accused of pigeonholing, those that attach these insidious green messages are: smug, self-satisfied, self righteous, holier-than-thou, condescending, socialist prats.
Do these enviro message users really think that a renewable resource such as pine trees need saving? Do they think that others are gullible and will suddenly have a change of heart and not press that print button? Do they think that the people that they associate with are so stupid that they need their guidance? Do they really think that they will be considered by others to be ground breaking eco-heroes?
Frankly I don't need a message insinuating that I am some kind of inconsiderate abuser.
I never print out any email or blog post - but that's not the point. If I wanted to, then I would without any cause for guilt.
