EASIER BEING GREEN.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Not so long ago, "green living" had about the same cachet in mainstream culture as recycling household waste, going vegetarian and turning down the thermostat did decades ago - slightly kooky but harmless, possessed of a kernel of truth, but destined to go the way of all fads.

Now, growing awareness of dwindling natural resources and the generally accepted escalation of global warming is elevating green living from another interesting concept to big business - worth hundreds of billions of dollars, according to one source.

It's difficult to put a precise figure on "green" practices and products because different people define them differently, according to those in the industry.

But one local indicator of the appeal, and growth, of these products and services is the popularity of a new version of the traditional "home show," where local manufacturers and merchants gather to display - and, they hope, sell - their wares to the public.

Karen Ramus, producer of the Good Earth Home, Garden & Living Show, which made its debut last year and ends its second run today at the Lane Events Center, said public enthusiasm for green ideas and products - and the number of purveyors ready to meet the demand - far exceeded her expectations.

Besides the new environmentally oriented show, Ramus works with her mother, Helen Berg, who has been putting on a spring home-and-garden show and a fall home-improvement show at the fairgrounds for nearly 30 years.

"Our first 'green' show last year resulted in somewhere between $4 million and $6 million in direct local sales to vendors," according to an economic impact study of events held at the Lane Events Center, Ramus said, "and that was only a two-day show."

That compares with about $8 million to $11 million for the well-established four-day home shows, she said.

Last year's green event attracted more than 50,000 people from all over Oregon, and Ramus expects even more to attend this year.

"We have well over 200 exhibitors, and we couldn't take them all - we have a waiting list of people who wanted to have booths, and that's unheard of for a new show," she said.

Deciding who's green enough to be included in the Good Earth show proved to be one of her hardest tasks, Ramus said.

"We had to vet everybody - we asked them to describe what it is that makes them sustainable," she said. "We wanted them to be locally owned, or at least as close to it as possible to minimize transportation and support local economies. We looked at how truly organic and sustainable their products are, and we asked them to show that their products were fair trade items.

`We also wanted to know about their business practices - waste stream, employment practices, role in the community - to be sure they are putting their money where their mouth is."

Even so, deciding what qualifies as green "is sometimes a delicate dance," Ramus said.

For example, many people would not consider a vinyl-clad window to be eco-friendly because it contains a petroleum product. "But it's energy-efficient because of the glass it uses, and it doesn't require maintenance such as paint, so it is more green than products that don't meet those standards," Ramus said. "It's kind of like playing god sometimes, and that's not exactly pleasant."

Planner Josh Bruce and designer Alec Dakers of Rainbow Valley Design and Construction agree that it's tough to define what's green, whether in building practices or consumer products.

That makes it not only difficult to evaluate manufacturers for their level of "greenness," but also to determine just how large the demand for sustainable products really is, they say.

Rainbow Valley, one of the exhibitors at the Good Earth show, recently completed the three-unit Fairmount Rowhouses on Walnut Street in East Eugene, one of the first residential developments in Oregon to win certification from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program.

"Five years ago, few people knew what green really meant, but just about everybody who comes in has some general knowledge of the concept now," Dakers said. "But we like to tout that remodeling can be just as sustainable as building something new, because it reduces waste, reuses materials and recycles what can't be used."

Deciding what's green, Bruce says wryly, "is not black-and-white, it's shades of gray. You can have products that achieve different goals as far as sustainability; there are often trade-offs. What is sustainable in one situation may not be in another."

A few people have tried to quantify the importance of green in the U.S. economy. One, called LOHAS - Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability - tracks companies that pledge to practice "responsible capitalism" by following economically and environmentally sustainable business practices. LOHAS estimates the value of the green economy in the United States at $229 billion, according to the group's web site, www.lohas.com.

Based on market surveys as well as research by California sociologist Paul Ray, the group contends that 30 percent of adults in the country - more than 50 million people - make purchasing decisions "focused on health, the environment, social justice, personal development and sustainable living."

For some local businesses, the reward for working green comes both from making a living creating sustainable products; for others, it's protecting the health of the community.

Jonathan Plummer, a Eugene cabinet and furniture maker and owner of Bunchberry Woodworking, said he uses 95 percent recycled lumber for the face frames and doors of his cabinets and furniture. He crafts base cabinets from wheat board, a particle board made of wheat straw from Oregon farms and finished with a formaldehyde-free binder.

"Everything you see in my shop is locally harvested, and I use high quality methods and very simple, classic designs so that what I make will last 50 years and never be out of style," Plummer said.

Plummer participated in the first Good Earth Show last year and eagerly signed up for the second.

"After I did the show, people started coming to me for bids because they want eco-friendly cabinetry," he said. "I've pretty much been busy the whole year since."

Steve Cole, with Forrest Paint, says the 34-year-old Eugene company committed itself years ago to reducing the amount of dangerous volatile organic compounds in its paints - to 0.02 per gallon compared with 3.2 for many manufacturers - for the good of its 130 employees, its customers and the environment.

"We're just trying to be good citizens," Cole said. "We don't just sell paint - we live here. It's just good stewardship."

GOOD EARTH HOME & GARDEN SHOW Featuring Earth-friendly products, services and nonprofit educational organizations, the second annual show continues today at the Lane Events Center. Where: Lane Events Center, 796 W. 13th Ave., Eugene When: Today, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Free with canned food donation to benefit FOOD for Lane County Information: www.eugenehomeshow.com