If you don’t get it by now, the biggest news for 2010 is that green is a new lifestyle that is not going to go away.  It is a runaway bandwagon and every movie star, every large manufacturing company, every box store  and  every car company  are jumping.  So it is time to stop leaving it to others and embrace it yourself.

Trend One:
Prices are shifting from premium green to affordable green
A 2009 survey found that 54% of consumers would purchase more sustainable, green products if the price wasn’t higher than nongreen products. Green products, from shopping bags to green electricity are becoming less expensive this year so there are no more excuses.

Trend two:  
Smart meters put a stop to rising energy rate.   
With exploding gas and electricity bills, and an increasing dependence on electronic products, consumers need to get control over their use of energy? The smart meter, a digital electricity and gas meter, allows them to see exactly what their energy costs, second by second. And they are cheap!

Trend three:
False advertising is producing more informed consumers
Thanks to the Internet and the power of online search, it has never been easier to assess the dangers of false advertising, whether it is organic meat, a tube of lipstick or a bottle of ketchup.

Trend four:
From geeky green to hip green
Green is no longer related to Birkenstocks, organic food and treehuggers.…..green is cool, chic and fashionable. We now have luxury eco-fashion products and environmentally correct furniture and fabulous building materials

Trend five:
From greenwash to green certification
(See buying a green home)

Trend six:
From a green fad to global awareness
Do you remember the 1980’s when people chained themselves to trees as a protest. Organizations such as WWF and Greenpeace have been in the forefront on environmental issues. Campaigning about environmental issues has expanded to include politicians, movie stars, film productions and a huge media frenzy. The world is greening, and everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

Trend seven:
From weird gadgets to thoughtful technology
In 2009, environmentally conscious gadgets started to develop a market. Now we have green gadgets increasing in practicality like solar computer bags and folding bicycles to get you to  work. Large corporations are developing green products, including Apple’s 17-inch MacBook Pro made of recyclable aluminum with 34% less packaging. Motorola Inc. has made a phone entirely from recycled plastic bottles.

Trend eight:
From plastic bags to alternative bags
The great looking bags that are available everywhere from the supermarket to the farmers market should remind us all about the environmental damage caused by plastic bags.