Shades of Green Travel

Many travelers want to be environmentally-conscious when they travel, but don’t want to go to extremes to be greener. With all of the options out there, how do you determine the extent to which you want to “go green”?

We like to think of being an eco-conscious traveler in “shades of green.” Green, greener, greenest. Or to be more descriptive: Pea Green, Kelly Green, and Forest Green. What does this mean?

Green / Pea Green Travelers care about the environment. They want to make a difference; but they don’t want to go to great lengths to be greener. If the green choice is easy and cheap they will take it. If not, they won’t go searching for a greener travel option.


photo credit: SMercury98

On the other end of the spectrum:
Greenest / Forest Green travelers will do almost anything to travel green. They don’t take planes. They’ll only eat in organic restaurants. They camp or couchsurf. And they wear recycled, organic hemp sneakers. You might refer to them as hippies or treehuggers. Ok, I’m clearly stereotyping here; but the point is, the greenest travelers do whatever it takes to leave no trace of their travels and minimize or eliminate their carbon footprint, regardless of cost.

Greener / Kelly Green travelers fall somewhere in the middle. They make a conscious effort on every trip to be green and are always aware of their impact (whereas the Pea Green traveler only thinks about their impact some of the time). However, due to budget or time constraints, Kelly Green travelers may be less likely than their Forest Green comrades to choose the greenest method of travel.

The best part of “shades of green” traveling is that by thinking about and categorizing green travel like this, you better understand your green travel style and the choices you make. You can choose to make green travel choices in various parts of traveling. For instance, you can be a green traveler when it comes to hotel and accommodations; but you may be the greenest traveler in the food choices you make.

In the upcoming weeks we will explore these different choices and easy ways that you move down the spectrum from Pea Green to Kelly Green to Forest Green travel.

13 Responses to “ Shades of Green Travel ”

  1. I think we’re somewhere in the middle. We don’t have the funds to travel without worrying for cost, but we do a lot of backpacking instead of staying in hotels, etc. We explore close to home a lot more than we take big trips. I can’t wait to hear more about how to move down the spectrum.

  2. I think most people tend to be somewhere in the middle for at least part of their travels. Backpacking is a great way to be green and to experience nature!

  3. [...] Shades of Green Travel | Go Green Travel Green Many travelers want to be environmentally-conscious when they travel, but don’t want to go to extremes to be greener. With all of the options out there, how do you determine the extent to which you want to “go green”? We like to think of being an ec (tags: green) [...]

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  5. [...] even greener? This week we will explore various ways to step up your green travel efforts using our shades of green travel spectrum. If you’re not familiar with the spectrum, it ranges from “pea green” travelers [...]

  6. [...] even greener? This week we will explore various ways to step up your green travel efforts using our shades of green travel spectrum. If you’re not familiar with the spectrum, it ranges from “pea green” travelers [...]

  7. [...] even greener? This week we will explore various ways to step up your green travel efforts using our shades of green travel spectrum. If you’re not familiar with the spectrum, it ranges from “pea green” travelers [...]

  8. [...] Green blog, there is currently a week of ‘Shades of Green Travel".  What are the shades of green?   It’s a simplistic grading scale of just how green a travel you are.  It [...]

  9. [...] even greener? This week we will explore various ways to step up your green travel efforts using our shades of green travel spectrum. If you’re not familiar with the spectrum, it ranges from “pea green” travelers who are least [...]

  10. [...] even greener? This week we will explore various ways to step up your green travel efforts using our shades of green travel spectrum. If you’re not familiar with the spectrum, it ranges from “pea green” travelers [...]

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  12. [...] admit, though I’m green, I’m not the greenest of travelers. And sometimes when people start talking to me about toxins, and thates and thyles, I cringe and [...]

  13. [...] All of these images except one are from Flickr, many from amateur photographers. No matter what shade of green traveler you are, I hope these photos motivate you to keep traveling green. As I searched for these photos, [...]

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