Greenery: The most important colour for businesses in 2017

Colour forecasters at the Pantone Colour Institute have declared "greenery" as 2017's colour of the year. Pantone's team typically spends the year studying trends in fashion, consumer products, social media and technology for influences that best describe the current mood of society and picks a colour to reflect those elements.

"We're (even) looking at street art, animation, architecture, movies and headphones," said Laurie Pressman, vice president at Pantone Colour Institute. "We capture a snapshot of what's being expressed through colour."

Pantone is specific about what counts as "greenery." The company describes it as "a fresh and zesty yellow-green shade that evokes the first days of spring when nature's greens revive, restore and renew."

"It's the green that signals vitality, energy and warmth from the sun," adds Pressman. The yellow-green colour was largely picked because it represents rebirth and regeneration. She added that the hue is symbolic of "where we are in our lives and what we desire."

"We are so submerged in our routines and tethered to devices, but we have a great desire to disconnect and replenish," she said. More recently, green has stood out on fashion runways, in makeup and cars. For example, the "greenery" shade appeared on Mercedes and Skoda car models this year.

The green colour also represents a growing movement around protecting nature. "We're more conscious about the environment and protecting the planet," said Pressman.

With "greenery" as the chosen colour of the year, brands will want to get in on the trend with their packaging and products, from handbags to jewellery and house wares. It happened when Pantone declared Tangerine Tango its 2012 colour of the year. "People said it would never work but we were dead on," she said. "Tangerine is now a mainstream colour."