As Kermit the Frog has said on many occasions, “It’s not that easy being green.” It’s easier to talk green and look green than it is to be green.
The world is totally out of kilter right now. We are (or are not – depending on who you ask) in a recession. The economy is in the toilet, companies are laying off workers, and the stock market is taking a nose dive. In the past that usually meant lower prices but smack in the midst of this mess we also have astronomical energy prices which are effecting everything else. And don’t get me started on the housing market.
Enter the “green movement” which should be so welcome at a time like this. It should mean that instead of buying something new every whipstitch we re-use, re-furbish, or re-tool. We should be demanding the most economical vehicles technology can produce. Keeping up with the Joneses should mean a contest to see who can buy the LEAST new stuff. But that kind of thinking is “bad” for the economy – unpatriotic even. Just as less fat products usually cost more than the regular ones, you need more green to buy green. Is this or is this not the rip off of the century?
My mother was an absolute poster girl for getting the most out of everything she bought. She took out trash about once a month – and it was a very small can! I used to look at a photo album that had a snapshot of her in a wool bathing suit (yes, wool) when she was a young single secretary. All the time I was growing up she used it on the end of a dust mop to buff our hardwood floors. I finally threw it away shortly after she died. I probably should have kept it. And surely I’m not the only one whose mother washed and re-used “tin foil”.
Okay, enough ranting about not buying anything new. This is, after all, a shopping blog. The green movement is not just about paper vs plastic. There are some great side benefits, like all those fun shopping totes that only cost around $1 each at almost every supermarket. Some of them are pretty darn cute. And with any luck at all, this could spell the end of the most vile substance on earth – the Styrofoam peanut.
My favorite environmentally friendly product is the Cedarwood & Sage multi-purpose cleaner sold at Trader Joe’s. It smells good, it works and it’s cheap. Perfect!
This is a blog, you know. You can comment anytime – don’t hold back. Today is Earth Day. What are you going to do for our Mother?
April 23, 2008 at 12:19 am |
We’ve started using canvas tote bags for our grocery shopping, which gives us a small discount at most (maybe all?) supermarkets we go to. Sometimes I’ll sk them to pack some of our groceries in paper or plastic bags because we happen to need paper or plastic bags for some purpose at home. When those become unusable we recycle them.
My wife got me into the habit of washing and re-using Baggies. There comes a pint when they have to be thrown away, but now I always feel a pang when I do it.
My company is VERY into promoting Green practices. It awards points to employees for Green behavior (bringing your lunch in a reusable tote, taking mass transit or carpooling to work, etc.) and they can be redeemed down the road for prizes. We have compostable dishes and flatware in the break room and recycling bins for paper, plastic, and aluminum.