Seasonal Products

Conventionally, seasonal products referred to merchandise specific to a holiday season—items and associated colors and fragrances sold during well-established times of year: heart decor in February, pastel baskets in spring, beach imagery in July, foliage motifs in autumn, and cinnamon scents in December. Within the rubric of green consumerism, however, seasonal products adopts a more ecologically minded—and thus literal—meaning. Rather than referring to the time of consumption, the seasonal aspect of a product has come to describe the time of its production. Usually, seasonality within green parlance refers to foods and agricultural products—products directly reliant on, and thus related to, the various seasons of the year.

Globalization of the agrifood industry has allowed for rapid and regular international transport of fresh produce. This mobility was first ...