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• The Fall of Greed. The Rise of…
• A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings In…
• Nationalize General Motors; A…
• What We Can Learn From Iceland
• A Rudd Awakening Downunder
• g-Think Survey Results: Economy
• Roundtable on Sustainability:…
• The New Green Deal
• The End of Frivolous Luxury?

Driven by competition, and fueled by imagination, the communications industry is both admired and disdained by consumers across the world. Whether it is seen as sexy or exploitive, creative or manipulative, the power of communications cannot be denied. And yet there has been a shift in the past few years, a shift of people working in the industry who are considering using their power for the greater good.

A new documentary, Good For Sale, seeks to uncover these special communicators. The film, currently in production, introduces viewers to the movement of people who are using creative communication tools to better the world. In combination with outside interviews, the film will seek to uncover the motives driving members of this movement, while exploring the challenges of “selling good” for a profit.

Perhaps now, more than ever, this documentary is relevant to the Awakening Consumer, as the global economic storm upon us has forced many green communication entities to make sacrifices, or even shut down completely. Plenty magazine, for example, the bi-monthly publication dedicated to “giving a voice to the green revolution”, closed down after 4 years of service last month. Other publications working to “sell good” are also suffering; National Geographic shut down the quarterly print version of The Green Guide this month, a publication dedicated to “making living in an environmentally aware way personal, practical, and positive”. Even major players in the communication industry have made the decision to cut off their green initiatives. Condé Nast chose to fold Domino, a publication with a strong focus on eco-friendly living, soon after the housing market started to fall last year. 

It comes as no surprise to those in the media business that when times are tough, advertising budgets are usually among the first to be cut. If publications aren’t finding advertising revenue, certainly ad agencies are suffering as well. According to BNET, over 24,502 jobs nationwide have been lost recently in advertising. Undoubtedly, some of these agencies, like Green Team, are working in the environmental space.

The loss of green jobs in the media industry begs the question: can those trying to “sell a better world” sustain themselves during crunch time? And what are the consequences of media outlets scaling back on green initiatives to the Awakening Consumer, and to the environmental movement as a whole? These questions are at the heart of Good For Sale; and are being explored through testimonials of those in the industry using their craft for something other than the bottom line.
 
As one of the first in the realm of advertising to use “our powers for good,” Green Team is not only a financial supporter of Good For Sale, but a character in the piece as well. The story of Green Team, along with other communicators in the movement, is meant to illustrate the shift of those “selling good” in the communication sphere, and explore how the economy affects this movement.

As Good For Sale is still a work in progress, the creators invite the public give feedback and suggestions by emailing .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).