Going Green

Going Green

Here, in my part of rural France, I’m very blessed to be surrounded by greenery. Being immersed in the

Here, in my part of rural France, I’m very blessed to be surrounded by greenery. Being immersed in the

For those living in urban settings, divorced from nature and with the fast pace of modern life, green has been a growing colour trend to offset stress. Interiors have had a flourish of all shades of green as we seek to find balance and harmony in our busy lives.

Indeed, our need and concern for nature has seen green turn into a verb in recent years. Many of us are going green and using green to express our desire and support for sustainability. It is something multinational companies have noticed too. In particular, energy suppliers and fast-food chains are changing their branding colours to incorporate green and other natural hues, to suggest they are environmentally aware and sensitive.

The associations and effects of the colour green however, are not just psychological. The mechanics of the eye are such, that seeing green uses fewer muscles than seeing red and with green being the opposite of red on the colour wheel. Surgeons wear greens to ensure that the eyes remain restful yet sharp whilst conducting hours of delicate work, involving lots of fatiguing red.

The darker side of green

Even with green being natural and abundant, going back 250 years, green was extremely difficult to create. Natural, widely available dyes and pigments tended to be earthy and muted, with pure colours being difficult and expensive to produce. This meant only the wealthy could access rich colour. What resulted is a colour hierarchy with green usually the preserve of merchants, bankers and gentry whilst purple and red were noble and ecclesiastical.

This all changed in 1775 with the eminent Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele. Almost by accident, he invented what became known as Scheele’s Green. The colour was vibrant and luscious. It was also cheap to make and went straight into the production of wallpapers and children’s toys. The key ingredient in the pigment however, was copper arsenite; a highly poisonous substance that led to many deaths, and likely contributed to the death of Napoleon Bonaparte whose bedroom wallpaper contained it. The ill health of artists such as Cézanne, and the failing sight of Monet, may also be connected to the use of toxic pigments, some of which were only banned in the 1960s and ’70s.

The negative associations of illness and green go back even further. The Greeks used both the terms pale and green to mean sickly. They also thought that jealousy was the consequence of too much bile, which resulted in the skin turning slightly green. Following the Greek’s logic, it’s not hard to see why we say we are green with envy!

With all that said, green is still the colour of life itself. It universally symbolises nature, growth, renewal and rebirth and we use it to revive and renew us. We can perceive more green tones than any other colour so there are plenty of options to find a shade that speaks positively to you.

Enjoy the benefits of going green by choosing from intense, yellow-toned citrus greens or by contrast a muddy khaki. Not for you? Try sumptuous jewel tones of emerald, malachite, jade and turquoise, or perhaps something more delicate like duck egg or soft sages. Not forgetting forest, fern or bottle green. Whatever your poison, just watch out for the arsenic.

Michelle