Hypocrisy exists as a constant pressure everywhere, at all times. Where someone takes space, there is hypocrisy, because in many cases when one makes a normative or even moral statement, barring extreme cases, it is impossible for one to avoid violating that statement oneself at all times. When one looks out and makes judgment, one cannot perfectly turn one's gaze inside out, no matter the effort put into self-reflection.
Further, the movement from reality towards ideal always implies a friction, and what amounts to thermodynamic loss. Reality does not simply jump to ideal, it must move towards ideal, and always imperfectly. That gap - whether through imperfection or through the movement process towards ideal - could be construed as hypocrisy, or else it could be forgiven as human flaw or as learning and growth.
So the anti-plastic crusader may have some hidden piece of plastic in her clothing, or she may use some sort of disposable plastic in her daily food products, but she can still be forgiven for a lapse of awareness, or trusted to improve her lifestyle, or simply be pardoned for her vulnerability in the face of an intractable social, economic, political, and environmental problem, and still nevertheless manage to command respect and trust in organizing efforts towards combating the problem, at least as far as possible.
The perception of hypocrisy often arises in a social context, in relation to a specific end that requires social power and hence social respect and permission in order to marshal social resources towards that end.
Social power itself arises out of a trust and respect that confers authority on whoever is attempting to marshal it. If an individual can't be expected to do their share of the work being asked to move towards some end, that trust and respect begins to dissolve.
Any sort of social movement towards a given ideal requires a lot of work - work that comes in many forms, but which is work nevertheless. No one wants to do unnecessary work, or work that is inordinately burdensome. For someone claiming authority to help move towards a given end, much of that trust and respect derives from the expectation that they are doing the work too, or can deliver certain goods or progress with their own contribution.
The accusation of hypocrisy is a social failure. What the tarring of the label "hypocrite" achieves is a bid to a remove a given individual from a position of power, and the accompanying privilege to achieve some measure of social efficacy in a given pursuit.
It is the difference between a pin placing pressure upon skin without producing a wound, and a pin breaking the skin and drawing blood. If the hypocrisy is too blatant, unapologetic, or sustained, then it corrupts the individual's standing. The exercise of social power no longer has a base of respect or authority to leverage itself off of.
Hypocrisy can be hidden with lies, diversions, and redirections for some time, no doubt. But like most hollow things, that concealed void is sure to spell trouble when it is finally revealed, especially when it is being pressed upon by things mistaking it for a solid and a substance.
