Green Drinks, London: The facts
What is Green Drinks, London? It is a group of eco-minded individuals who socialise throughout various parts of London to discuss organic ideas and network with one another. This article provides you with all the important facts about Green Drinks, from its gathering to its networks and logos.
The Greens
Foundation
The initiative started in 1989 when a group of eco-conscious fashion designers had an impromptu night of partying and drinking in a north London Slug and Lettuce. Since then, the idea has spread as far as Paraguay and Cambodia.
Membership
There are 576 active cities, many with their own sub-groups like London, and each group meets up at least once a month to share ideas and network in a green-friendly atmosphere.
Gatherings
London hosts 20 monthly eco-minded gatherings all over the city, from Balham to Brixton, Hackney to Hounslow and Streatham to Sutton.The premise is simple: meet up with fellow greenies in your area (often in a place serving veggie or organic food) and enjoy a drink and a good chat.
There are no rules or formal structure and everyone is welcome. Each locality chooses a night and a regular haunt. Brixton, for example, is the third Wednesday of the month in the Trinity Arms.The Green Drinks company is an informal monthly opportunity for Green Drinkers to meet, chat, and network. It's a self-organising network and there are no entrance fees.
Statistics
It is believed that there are now nearly 100 Green Drinks networks worldwide - visit Greendrinks.org for the full global list.
Green co
Green Drinks is biological in that there is no central organisation - each city organiser can do whatever they like and maintain their own list of members. Member-get-member is the basic principle - a simple concept spread by word of mouth.
Originality of each city
Each Green Drinks city has its own logo and traits, the ones that work best for its location - some are a little formal, some rather random, some have speakers to break the ice (like in Scandinavia and some US cities), most are just free-form. The free-form nature of most of the mingling personalities is the key, and this can be enhanced by good hosting and introduction-making on the night of the gathering.
The thing about Green Drinks is that the goals are so vague and the benefits hard to quantify - but they are undoubtedly there.