Green Credit Cards
Thursday, December 20th, 2007Picture a tree-hugging hippie and you don’t probably won’t picture someone who uses credit cards on a regular basis. Despite your assumptions, though, materialism and eco-awareness can go hand-in-hand. Today’s environmentally-aware individual tends to be a big spender; after all, those hybrid cars and solar-power-enhanced backpacks don’t come cheap. And even the average consumer tends to have a heightened awareness of the importance of making environmentally-kind choices a consideration in their purchasing. Because of this, a new service has cropped up to assist consumers with greener buying habits: green credit cards.
The thing that you have to realize is that your credit card companies have a lot of power. They invest their money in all sorts of different businesses throughout the world. This means that even if all of your purchases are green, you may be inadvertently contributing to practices that are bad for the environment just by using certain credit cards. When you pay attention to the acts behind your credit card companies, you become aware of how to make choices that will improve the world around you. Simply by ceasing the practice of using credit cards that contribute to negative environmental activities, you reduce your own eco-footprint on the world.
In addition to just not using the credit cards that are bad for the environment, you can choose to use credit cards that are particularly good for the environment. You might even be able to get one of these credit cards through the same companies that are providing your existing credit cards. For example, all of the major credit card companies offer what are called Affinity Cards. You can also go direct and get a cash back rewards card and donate the cash back you receive directly to a green fund that you like, such as http://www.heifer.org. These cards automatically donate a percentage of your balance to a particular charity. (The charity depends on which card you get, so you can go as green as you want with your selection.) These cards work best for people who are responsible with their credit cards, as many have a high interest rate and/or an annual fee.
Instead of just going with the most well-known credit cards, you can opt to get your credit cards from a smaller lending institution that has green practices at its core. There are many small banks cropping up which specifically advertise green lending practices. They donate their money to environmental causes while also implementing green practices in their offices. You benefit from the credit card, the small bank benefits from your business and the world benefits from your concern.
