Why label something “green” or “sustainable” when all you have to do is tack an “eco” to the front of your noun or adjective of choice? We’ve got eco-tourism, eco-modernism, eco-consumerism, eco-activism. And thanks to Mark Peters over at Grist, we’ve learned some juicy new ones – eco-porn, ecosynergy, eco-mafia, and ecosexual (among others).

According to Peters’ post and the Oxford English Dictionary, “eco” detached from “ecology” as early as 1969. But only recently has the use of “eco” as a prefix become prolific enough to be truly annoying.

The problem (as we’ve faced with some of our LOHAS clients) in naming a company or product “Eco-Something” is that this fad word is quickly becoming used and abused. Five years from now, the “Eco-Something” will simply be a tired marker of a passing trend (that has now either dwindled off or become ubiquitous).

Despite the dismay “Eco-Something” companies may be facing, we can still have a good chuckle at some of these great eco-excerpts:

Ecosynergy: There’s not a fouler corporate buzzword than "synergy." I once had a
co-worker who used the word with such frequent, punishing regularity
that I suspect he was raised on PowerPoint presentations and
cappuccinos rather than Dr. Seuss and mother’s milk. Everything he, I,
or my uncle did created synergy. Meetings had synergy. Lunch had
synergy. Paper clips had synergy. Taken literally, ecosynergy is likely
a fine thing, but if I see this or another variation of synergy (What’s
next? Franken-synergy? Choco-synergy?) one more time I fear my
self-inflicted lobotomy will have little synergy.

Ecosexual: If the word "metrosexual" makes you want to remove your own eyeballs
with a spork, you’d better hide the silverware. Ecosexuals, apparently,
are hip young urbanites who care about recycling as much as hair
products. Instead of man-hands and eating peas one at a time, their
deal-breakers are non-recyclers and anti-eco-deodorant. Did the world
really need another smarmy buzzword?

(See the rest here) Photo from Grist/iStockphoto