Washington DC Goes Green!
October 26, 2006
Record Breaking 24,000 Consumers Attend World’s Largest Party With A Purpose
WASHINGTON, D.C.— Green Festival, a joint project of Global Exchange and CO-OP America, brought together Washington DC and surrounding area residents for two energetic days to explore the latest options in contemporary green living and socially responsible shopping, as well as providing a platform for some of the foremost speakers and industry leaders in the green space. The world’s largest green living consumer show took place on October 14th and 15th at the Washington Convention Center and was attended by an event record breaking number of 24,612 people looking to be a part of today’s rising green and eco-living movement.
This year’s DC Green Festival also demonstrated another record breaking achievement with a 91% recovery rate of all show waste being diverted to recycling and composting facilities while only 9% going to area landfills. The movement-building event created a physical space where environmental and social justice partnered in generating economic stability and vitality. Consumers, in all shades of green, were given an unlimited opportunity to shop their conscience and “vote with their dollars” as they either introduced or further embraced a change to healthier, greener ways of living and a thriving green economy.
With something for the whole family, the event showcased over 400 diverse local and national green businesses displaying and selling eco friendly, fair trade and sustainable products. Over 100 environmental, socially conscious, and visionary speakers appeared for standing-room-only panel discussions, lectures and main stage speaking events.
Green Festival Highlights Included:
- Largest Light Bulb Exchange in the Country– 1000 conventional light bulbs collected in exchange for new, energy efficient light bulbs
- Bike Valets – hundreds of bicyclists peddled to the festival and received valet parking AND discount admission
- Organic Valley Kids Zone – families explored the Rolling Rainforest and enjoyed puppet-making and live animal demonstrations
- High profile speakers – Phillipe Cousteau, Amy Goodman, Greg Palast and Josh Dorfman drew standing-room only crowds
- The launch of SustainLane.com’s new green consumer review website, with attendees entering reviews on-site and getting the chance to win an eco-friendly car
- Patagonia Film Festival featured showcase of acclaimed documentary Black Gold
- 800 members of the community coming together to volunteer throughout Green Festival weekend
“This year’s record breaking attendance certainly demonstrated how green is becoming more and more mainstream,” explains Co-op America Executive Director Alisa Gravitz. “It was wonderful and inspiring to see such an enthusiastic response and desire for more knowledge about green living.”
With upcoming Green Festivals in San Francisco and Chicago, total attendance is expected to exceed 75,000. Due to the extraordinary success of last year’s festival in San Francisco, a third show day has been added to the event at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center that will run from November 10–12, 2006. Scheduled for April 2007, the first Green Festival Chicago will be held on Earth Day weekend April 21-22, 2007.
For more information about Green Festivals or Global Exchange please visit www.greenfestivals.org and www.globalexchange.org.
Contact: Todd Larsen, toddlarsen@greenamerica.org, 202.872.5310
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MEDIA INQUIRIES Please contact Todd Larsen by email |
