Latino and Latina singles in the Mile High City have not only grown more concerned about promoting climate change in recent years, the group says, but they've also placed a larger emphasis on their significant others being eco-friendly, as well.
This has prompted GreenLatinos to capitalize on what it's dubbed a "green dating" trend in the Latino community — characterized by matching romantic partners based on their shared environmentalism.
"Latinos are really adamant about this issue because they're the ones disproportionately experiencing the effects of the climate crisis," GreenLatino spokesperson Edder Díaz Martínez says. "And it's younger folks that really have a stake in this, because it's their future, their livelihoods."
Similarly, the survey found that 71 percent of Latino singles consider environmentalism somewhat or extremely important.
"When this is a top value personally, then you'll find that value shared in your community and the people around you, your inner circle, so certainly your future partner as well," says Irene Burga, director of the Climate and Clean Air program for GreenLatinos. "So it's an important strategy for making an impact in terms of those connections, but also for the environment."
When it comes to putting climate change in the forefront, GreenLatinos points to a 2021 Pew Research survey showing that 81 percent of Hispanics in the U.S. considered climate change a priority — much higher than the 67 percent of non-Hispanics who see it the same way.
Climate change is especially important to Millennials and Gen Z, according to GreenLatinos.
Founded in 2012, GreenLatinos is based in Washington D.C. but also has a mailing address in Boulder. The group looks to its "green dating" campaign as a way to target Latinos it would "not traditionally" encounter, meaning both younger Latinos and also "people on the ground who care about sustainability," Díaz Martínez says.
Most of Chispa's users are either Millennials or part of Gen Z, notes Burga.
Millennials were born between 1981 to 1996, according to the Pew Research Center, while Gen Z is anyone born after 1997. Díaz Martínez says that Chispa's young audience is the reason GreenLatinos wanted to partner with the app, to push its idea of green dating.
Millennials were born between 1981 to 1996, according to the Pew Research Center, while Gen Z is anyone born after 1997. Díaz Martínez says that Chispa's young audience is the reason GreenLatinos wanted to partner with the app, to push its idea of green dating.
"We know that Chispa reaches those users, so [we want] to show them that there is this community that exists so we can create a cultural collective that acts together and supports each other," he says. "It helps to be able to show them that there are people who look like them, who have backgrounds like them, who think like them, so we can connect them and really create that community."
Adds Burga: "Decision-makers really take climate change seriously because they're hearing about it from the youth. Youth movements are really fueling the action and conversation around the climate."
The group has created five stickers to offer users, with designs including a polar bear, a water droplet and a green leaf, among others. Chispa users can add the stickers to their dating profile for other singles to see when swiping through.
