All it took was a former Vice President standing in front of a projection screen, armed with a simple slideshow and describing one little ‘inconvenient truth,’ to spark a rebirth in the nation’s environmental conscious.

Armed with hard facts and a compelling story, Al Gore’s award-winning documentary made the effects of global warming a dinner table topic of conversation not only across America, but across the globe. No longer were environmentally conscious people stereotyped and generalized as ‘hippies’ and ‘tree huggers’. Environmentalism was suddenly injected into mainstream culture.

The discussion quickly evolved to a form that was sure to grab attention of consumer-minded Americans; not just how to save the environment, but how to save money.

Businesses small and large quickly jumped on the “green marketing” bandwagon. From light bulbs and power generation to household cleaners and automobiles, Al Gore’s phenomenon seems to be not so much a trend as it is our new way of living.

Green marketing is the process of selling products and/or services based on their environmental benefits, as described by About.com.

In an age where consumers are slowly coming to distrust and even despise “dirty” companies like Exxon Mobil, entire consulting firms have popped up based solely around crafting a “green” image for a company. But if the past is any indication, consumers cannot rely on the word of a company alone.

Susan Ward, a small business writer for About.com, outlines the keys to successful green marketing. Her very first point outlined is to be honest with the consumer. She explains that, “Being genuine means that that you are actually doing what you claim to be doing in your green marketing campaign.”

There is no doubt that green marketing has quickly become a profitable business.

“Green has gone mainstream,” explains Adam Adamson, author of the book BrandSimple in an interview with USA Today. “Research shows many folks will pay more for eco-friendly goods or services.”

For most, if not all, companies, greening their business plan is a matter of dollars and cents. The business practice has become so popular, it has its own term: greenwashing.