Carrotmob Makes It Rain from carrotmob on Vimeo.

Here's another group that uses their greenbacks to encourage green business practices - the Carrotmob is a new breed of activist organization, one that uses incentives such as improved customer relations, PR opportunities and everyone's favorite, cash, to facilitate change. This is a much more effective approach than the old "beating them over the head with a stick" tactic that has been the norm for reform until very recently.

Basically, as you can see from the video, Carrotmob encourages business to compete with one another in their adoption of green practices. The winner of the contest is then rewarded with an influx of eco-conscious customers (the mob) who are happy to fork over their money (the carrot) because they feel good about buying from an establishment whose practices match their values. Jen Pleasants, who calls Carrotmob's actions the opposite of a boycott (girlcott?) includes it in her book, Bag Green Guilt, as an example of a movement that reduces overwhelm and environmental anxiety by showing people how they can leverage their buying power to promote sustainable practices.

Now, Carrotmob has come to Atlanta and Georgians will have the opportunity to participate in the fun. If you're a business owner, you'll have a chance to compete and if you're a consumer (and aren't we all?) you'll have a chance to buy from the most socially responsible establishments. You can contact Dominic at CarrotmobATL@gmail.com or join the Carrotmob Atlanta's facebook group and put yourself in the loop to be a part of the next planning meeting.

Restaurants, start your engines.