249 13 The Countercultural Roots of Green Consumerism Philip A. Wight What does it mean to be an environmentalist in contemporary America? According to one popular theory, modern greens can awake and slip comfortably into $245 “eco-501” Levi’s jeans and $200 organic cotton Patagonia pullovers. After consuming a guilt-free breakfast of organic tropical fruit (regardless of season) and Fair Trade coffee, they might commute to work in a Lexus hybrid. Environmentalists have so emphasized the importance of lifestyle choices and shopping that “consumer agency” is now the most pervasive form of eco-activism. By purchasing volumes of eco-friendly products, Americans have invested great faith in green consumerism. Advocates of green consumer agency contend that individuals are both the cause of and the solution to environmental ills. When enough consumers purchase “eco-friendly” products, they contend, the market will offer more sustainable alternatives. By this logic, consumers hold all the power, as each time they swipe their credit card they are “voting” for a more sustainable way of life. Since proponents believe consumer choices lead to ecologically sounder modes of production, green consumption constitutes a dominant element of demand-side environmentalism. Pollution stems primarily from consumers’ lifestyles in a free market, the argument goes, rather than the underlying structures of the nation’s political economy. The strange reality of contemporary American environmentalism—namely the ideals of green consumption that encourage individuals to purchase their way to sustainability—begs for historical context: When and how did personal consumer decisions come to be seen as the answer to a problem of collective global sustainability?