Kids - The Littlest Eco-Warriers

Seen and heard, kids are becoming the green movement's stealth weapon, pressuring their parents on everything from lightbulbs to composting. Inside the push to create the littlest eco-warriors.

A recent article in Wall Street Journal shed light on how kids are influencing more "green" purchases and the lifestyles of their parents and family members. In households across the country, kids are going after their parents for environmental offenses, from using plastic cups to serving non-grass-fed beef at the dinner table. Many of these kids are getting more explicit messages about becoming eco-warriors at school and from popular books and movies.

"Kids are putting pressure on their parents, and this is a very good thing," says Laurie David, a producer of the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth." Ms. David is the co-author of a new children's book, "The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming," which urges kids, among other things, to petition mom and dad for recycled-fiber toilet paper. "I know how powerful my kids are," she says. "When they want something, forget it -- all the resistance in the world isn't going to help you."

The Natural Resources Defense Council, the New York nonprofit, has been trying to secure permission from various media companies to use a cartoon character to spread the word. "It is the really, really young kids who are going to change their parents' behavior," says Phil Gutis, the group's spokesman, adding that the message to children ought to be straightforward: "I think it'd be as simple as, 'Kids, tell your parents.' "

We hope that as these young eco-warriers mature, they will in turn foster a greater respect for the environment and help drive the political and business worlds to adopt more eco-friendly policies to help reduce green house gases and other pollutants.

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WHY YOU SHOULD GO ORGANIC

Not so long ago, eco-clothing was synonymous with hippies and hemp, but those who still believe that yarn are in for a stylish shock - because eco-clothing has never been more fashionable. Well-known designers are getting in on the eco act and some even managed to secure themselves a spot at the prestigious London Fashion Week this month.

Unconvinced about going green on the fashion front?

The Soil Association in the UK gives these reasons for cottoning on to organic clothing:

• Non-organic cotton farming uses one quarter of the world's pesticides - causing damage to the environment, sinking farmers into debt, causing illness and even death, they claim.

• Organic cotton farmers in developing countries report higher incomes plus using viable alternatives to chemicals protects their health.

• GM cotton is grown commercially in many countries so choosing organic cotton is the best way to avoid buying GM cotton.

• You'll avoid hazardous chemicals - over 8,000 chemicals can be used to turn cotton into a T-shirt or duvet cover.

• Stylish organic clothing and household textiles are now widely available so there's no longer a compromise between style and organic integrity.