Do Tree Hugging Hippies Spend Money?

OUCH! i'm sure he didn't mean to insult or anything, but you are right.

Tree Hugging Hippie is an insult? I thought it was a compliment. I'm going to have to rethink my policy of smiling and waving when people shout it out to me.

Calm down it wasn't meant as an insult. And yes I am looking at these people with large neon dollar signs blinking in my eyes, I thought this was a forum where you talk about making money????? How do you know I wouldn't add value to people in this niche? I make an effort everyday to conserve the environment for future generations and am very passionate about this issue. I could add a lot of value.

Thanks for your long-winded reply but you could of saved yourself some time and just wrote the last paragraph :rolleyes:

lol, pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

Of course they have money to spend. But approach potential clients with respect, not with dollar signs in your eyes.

The only people who don't spend money are people who don't have money - or open-to-buy on their credit cards...

Your job is to figure out what they want, get it, and offer it to them in a way that they'll trade their money for your product. If they end up thinking they got the long end of the stick, you have the basis for a long term business.

Like Charlie Cowell, the travelling anvil salesman from The Music Man says, "You gotta know the territory."

One of the most popular eco-friendly sites is actually called treehugger.com so it seems not everyone is so easily offended by this term. And as for the definition of the word hippy - "someone who rejects the established culture". I know there would be plenty of people out there who would be proud to be called a hippy. It's even somewhat trendy these days to call yourself a 'modern-day hippy'.

But all arguments aside - there has been some great responses. Thanks for everyone's input.

Why would you say you're offended after explaining how the term doesn't apply to you? Is the mere notion that someone would ever use the term "tree hugging hippy" regardless of who it's aimed at, or in what spirit intended, offensive?

Unlike you, it arguably does apply to me. In the past, I worked for Greenpeace, and as far as I could tell, the term "tree hugger", was embraced by everyone. There was a certain humor in it; I took it as amusement at the idea of anyone being clueless enough to think hugging a tree could be a bad thing.

I remember a popular t-shirt among activists said "Environmental Extremist". If anyone calls me that now, I will gladly agree, in light of our slow, collective suicide.

The term "tree hugging hippy" is sort of bogus, but how bad could it be? As far as I can tell, hippies just wore funny clothes, were against the war, against racism, for preserving nature; no shame there in my eyes. The fashions were goofy, but fashion often is; who cares?

It seems to me people are far too hung up on semantics, and the notion that you should always strive to avoid offending anyone. Nonsense; marketing is supposed to be fun, and being authentic is better than walking on eggshells to avoid hurting someone's overly sensitive feelers.


The op made a slight error in phrasing; it sounds terrible to say "make money off" people.

Some people will jump down your throat for that, thinking it indicates a bad attitude. That is total BS. Everyone here is here to "make money off" people. Not in a bad way (I hope); but that is why we market. Providing value first is great advice.

Just because the op used that bad phrase, doesn't mean he's got a bad attitude, or looks at people as dollar signs.

Well Pepper, some folks are very "sensitive to connotations" and don't like seeing people talk about making money without hiding their intentions behind pretty phrases about "adding value to the marketplace", "helping people", "enhancing lives", etc.

So just make sure you always announce your saintly intentions before talking about your desire to profit from people, (never off them-totally different meaning :rolleyes. As long as you change your wording for the "sensitive" among us, and make sure to polish your halo before revealing your profit motive, you should be golden.

As for the label, and being "proud to wear it", I don't really take labels like that too seriously, but they don't bother me much either, and as I said, groups I've been involved with have used it in a light, humorous way to refer to each other. But not the "hippy" part; just "tree huggers".

Having said that, it is all too common for all of us to get lazy about really trying to understand where others are coming from, and I'd say one of the primary uses of labels, if not the dominant one, is to serve that laziness.

A lot of people can't be bothered about our natural environment, are frightened by the civil disobedience of groups like Greenpeace, and have no patience for eco-nuts (another nice label :p). For those folks, "tree huggers" is a way to put others down without any attempt to understand what they're about.

The fact that champions of industry use "tree hugger" as an insult is why you got such a strong reaction. Add the word "hippy" and it becomes unbearable. :rolleyes:

Ironically, having such insults flung at me has left me far less prone to taking offense than the thin skinned Warriors that found it upsetting. (I also try not to take anything personally; because doing so usually leads to defensive, childish behavior).

Did I say I was "proud"? That is a bit of an exaggeration. I don't mind being called a "tree hugger", and won't correct anyone calling me one, (though it's been years since anyone did) but if someone really gets stuck on the label and won't look past it, they aren't worth my time.

And I wouldn't say I ever "wear" any label. As a rule, I don't like them; they don't capture my essence; they aren't who I am.

Humans are wonderfully complex, multidimensional animals; so be careful not to imply you think you know the people you apply a label to. Because none of us like to be reduced to a label, I think you need to be sure to convey some humor when using one.

I would stay away from the word "hippy" because nobody has embraced that term since the early 70s. You might get away with calling yourself one in jest (like Warrior Tony Shepherd "the hippy marketer"), but I doubt anyone will identify with it (except Tony Shepherd), so I'd forget about marketing to a group nobody wants to claim membership in.

In fact, using the term kind of announces that you aren't too familiar with the people who are the likely target of it. It's been half a century since anyone wanted to be in that much maligned club. The "real hippies" are all seniors or dead now.

Hope that was helpful, and that nobody choked on their food as a result of my horribly offensive nature.

Great advice. Thanks.

Actually I buy it from REI because they have no time limit on exchanges. 7 year old backpack fraying and breaking from wear? No problem, they will give you a new one.

The best business model is one which taps into a strong and existing stream of demand where there is no resistance to purchase and no need for persuasion. You cant create and monetize demand, you can only find it. Its a Eugene Schwartz thing. Breakthrough Advertising - worth a read.

No that's tree smokers, not huggers