Burn it. Or shred it, and then recycle the scraps
You have a tote bag (that ISN'T a plastic bag, okay?!), you recycle your bottles and cans, you keep your agenda in a planner made from reused things, and you commit all of those other eco-friendly acts that are slowly becoming annoying and pretentious. I am all about saving our environment, don't get me wrong, but planting a tree is gradually turning into a status symbol, isn't it? I find that lately is seems as though people are doing environmentally conscious things for the look of it-- as if by doing these things they become hipper, more modern, etc. A bag that SCREAMS "I am NOT a plastic bag!" is just too much for me.
Yes, it's an advertisement and an encouragement to be eco-friendly, but it's also a shout-out to everyone on the street that goes something like this: "I'm incredibly interesting and well-informed, in case you couldn't tell from my change purse made of Orangina labels." If being green continues in this trendy direction, it will crash, burn and fail and all trends do eventually. This is my fear! Being Green should be part of our lifestyle. Summer is quickly approaching, and as the weather turns warmer, I suggest we all return to our earthy roots. Do not even THINK about the impression others may get when you do something good for the environment-- this is a personal relationship between you and Mother Nature and no one else is allowed. You have the tote bag, you have the recycling bin, you have the reusable notebook. It's time for PLANTS!
Fill your house with them. An apartment filled with flora is better than a garden any day, I promise. They should be sitting on every shelf, hanging from every hook in your ceiling. They should be on each
window ledge and completely overflowing in your bathroom and kitchen-- the latter is where wonderful herbs and cooking plants can come in. Have a new flower arrangement every night at dinner, I insist. You'll thrive, your apartment will thrive, and the earth, in return, will THRIVE.
Purchase Alys Fowler's magnificent Garden Anywhere to get plenty of ideas on how to transform what little space you have into a magical field of veggie-yielding brilliance. Check out Anthropologie's terrific selection of garden things for lovely ways to house your plants in- doors, and even a few plant-your-own-tree kits. Whatever you do, though, don't carry these things home in an I AM NOT A PLASTIC BAG! tote. Burn that tote bag, all right? Trust me.
So here's to living rooms filled with foliage and table tops never without a center piece of buds, yes? Stop worrying about how your eco-friendly actions make you look to the rest of the world and concentrate on how they effect YOUR world, and the bigger world in general: planet earth. It's all about you and the earth, really, really, really. Make your home thrive with blooms and blossoms, and give back to the environment at the same time. You'll feel so intensely wonderful as a result of it all.
Eco-Best!
Jordan
PS: We were talking the other day about making a shirt that says "I'M AN ECO-FRIENDLY BITCH." I think it's hilarious and turns the whole pretentious side of the green movement on its head. Would you buy it? I would buy it. I would buy it.
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I would wear that shirt. Not lying. And I agree with the plants in a living space deal. I want my room to look like a jungle, plants are beautiful! You can never go wrong with a plant.
ReplyDeleteIf being "hip" means being environmentally friendly, then why not? I realize it is the goal of hipsters to argue against anything that actually becomes "hip," but arguing against methods of saving the environment? That is a bit extreme.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who used to bag groceries, I LOVE when people bring in the cloth bags. But, pretty much only because they hold more groceries.
ReplyDeleteBut, I also feel like people are being eco-friendly because its "in".
I would definitely wear that shirt.
Dear Derek,
ReplyDeleteI am simply troubled by the motivation I feel is behind most Green purchases. I'm not arguing against methods of saving the environment at all! This post was all about doing environmentally friendly things for the earth and for yourself, without a care about what the people who see your bag might think about you.
You make a great point, though-- the moment something becomes "hip" is the moment many feel the need to tear it down. I want the Green Movement to continue in full swing, obviously, and I want consumers to continue contributing to its growth, and true, I suppose in the end it doesn't matter if those who help the environment are doing it because it's "cool," but I'm trying to promote a no-frills, simple but informed approach to going green here.
It's sort of my thing.
Best,
Jordan
Derek- I don't think that is what Jordan was trying to say. I think he's just disturbed by the fact that something like being environmentally friendly has to be done because it is "hip" not necessarily for the actual benefits it carries. Being environmentally friendly should have been done by all the people doing it now because its good for the environment. Point blank. BUT I completely agree with what you're saying. If being "hip" is what has to be done to get people to do it, then why not? Its being done either way. I just don't want to see the whole "Green Movement" crash and burn like other hip things eventually do. It shouldn't go out of style, ever. Jordan didn't mean to argue against the movement, just the ideas some people have fueling it.
ReplyDeleteI'd buy the Tshirt if it said "I'm ECo-Friendly BITCH!"
ReplyDeleteI think a goal the non faddy,Purely ECO green movement people should have is to make sure this ISN"T a fad. Instead, it should be a serious and prominent change in the United states lifestyle. It should promote the three Rs: ReUse, Recycle, and ConseRve. ok ok ok, maybe that last one is stretch.
By the way, i've considered beginning a potted garden, and i think I really will do it this summer. These are exciting times we live in!
It's Earth Day and I'm wearing a green sweater and stopped by the grocery store this morning and bagged my groceries in a newly bought cloth bag with a giant orange on each side. I guess I'm hipper than I ever knew! Actually, environment aside, I like the cloth bags because they hold so much more and it makes lugging it up to your apratment ever so much easier.
ReplyDeletewhile I am by no means rabidly "green" I do make an effort to buy local foods whenever possible. living in the suburbs, my grocer is generally more than a walk away.
ReplyDeleteTo balance out being an Earth choking, car driving carbon Sasquatch, I don't carry around my own bags or take the store's. I simply ask that my purchases be put back in the cart, I load those into a container in my vehicle and walk them in the house at home.
for a potted garden in limited space, check this out http://www.curbly.com/DIY-Maven/posts/1620-how-to-make-an-upside-down-tomato-planter.
p.s. It's Earth Day?
Hey, Hey. I am the eco-friendly bitch.. Happy Earth day! And planting trees is a good thing whether people do it for status or not. lol
ReplyDeleteThey may not do it for the right reasons, but it helps the planet just as much.
ReplyDeleteWho cares why people do the right thing, what is important is that they are making an impact, small or large, hey?
ReplyDeleteAnd on this most important day of days, lets remember that consuming (aka buying shit) has little to do with being green.
Also-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bpnKeYmR1NM
love love love!
Dear Everyone:
ReplyDeleteAndrew brought up a fantastic point-- the only trouble I have with people doing Green Things for trendy reasons is that eventually, like all trends, it will crash if it travels in the trendy direction it is traveling now. Being green should be part of our every day life, and not something we hope to find hanging on a rack at Urban Outfitters. It's fantastic that it IS hanging on a rack at Urban Outfitters, but that's not the only place we should be looking for it.
Best,
Jordan
Did anyone catch the Real Housewives episode last night? Okay, well not to omit the fact that Alex and Simon are annoying as is, but Simon, being the big spender and trendy fashionista that he is (except, according to Mario, when he plays tennis),purchased a $7,000 corsetesque top made from a potato bag on it. Across the abdomen area, it said FEED on it in big, bold, black letters. Granted, the $7,000 went to a 3rd world country instead of protective moments for our big Momma Earth, I can definitely agree with Jordan that this has become a scene, a fad, a "cool" thing to do. Okay, so when I go to Trader Joe's I bring an eco-friendly bag with me to carry home. Why? Well, 1. The bags won't tare, 2. It IS the right thing to do, and 3. You get glared at if you don't. HOWEVER, my bags are plain and green with the Trader Joe's logo on them. I don't use a tote-bag that screams, GO GREEN YOU PLASTIC BAGGED FOOLS around the city with me, I would never. I think by now it should be second (mother) nature that we all recognize the problems happening now and that will eventually happen to our children and grandchildren if we don't start patching up our earth.
ReplyDeleteI know there isn't a lot of space for gardening in the city...I also know that plastic bags are practically thrown at you when you go to purchase a bagel and some OJ, but I also know that there are ways to do this and to continue doing this that aren't for fashion purposes. This is a serious matter, being "hip" isn't. SO the next time you walk out of your apartment sporting a Green tote and T, wear it because you mean it, because your green thumbs-a-throbbin' and you want the world to know, otherwise I suggest you change because that color probably didn't look good on you anyway...
Love Always,
MudderEarf.
If you want to throw up check out Discovery's new "Green" channel, even more nauseating than it's lineup are the ads they play during the commercial breaks.
ReplyDelete"Going green" is nothing more than a new brand for giant corporations to repackage the same old crap and sell it to stupid yuppies.
If you want to make a real difference then detach yourself from capitalist society and go live in a cave.
Okayyy here's my 2cents: I most DEFINITLEY agree w/ you about people trying to be eco-friendly (ie. tote bags) because it's the "hip" thing to do. And it definitley does annoy me sometimes. However, I really don't think it matters. As long as people are doing something to save the Earth, then who cares who they're doing it for?!? I think it's a genius marketing idea- and one that actually is for a good cause (THE EARTH)!!!
ReplyDeleteSo keep carrying those "go green" tote bags, sorostitues!!! You look stupid, and you have no idea what you're actually doing, but you're helping save our planet. YOU GO GIRL.
-Hannah
I think you have a point. Though, I work at an organic, vegan grocery store in Georgia, I am not vegan, or vegetarian but i know that its not just people trying to be "cool" there's also people out there who are health conscious and have a genuine desire to get people to join the cause. I don't think there needs to be a worry about this trend coming to an end. I've been noticing so many new customers who want to be part of this and are becoming aware of the damage our planet is in.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don't think it could be a trend. Our world is going to keep on reminding us that we are doing a bad job. We have so much further to go. I'm reminded of the signs everywhere that remind us to throw trash in a can instead of on the street. This makes me insane because at least when it's on the street, you see it and know what the impact is. We are so used to putting our trash in a bag and sending it out of site to be burried under ground. I worry that early on in this green movement, it's really hard for people in lower income brackets to spend time, energy and money on "being green." My mind is too scattered for this. haha.
ReplyDeleteagreed con hannah in that there's nothing wrong with the 'green fashion statement'... it's outcome is way more productive than a plastic fashion statement, and probably cuter as well. Some kids look ridiculous in green garb/accessories because burlap simply doesn't fit into his or her aesthetic. The problem THOSE people have is not "desire to be hip" but moreso an identity crisis, which makes that portion of the argument irrelevant
ReplyDeleteThe movement will probably not die, seeing that it has always been kind of cool to be arts and craftsy with clothing and headbands and lunchboxes and whatever, and the people that really care about the environment will always outwardly show that apprecation.
I give 10 bucks a month to Environment NY (which all should look into... but make sure you don't let them spam your house). I've been giving it for a year and half thereabouts, even at a point where I was making something like $200 a month with a part part part part time job. The only person that knows that I'm even doing this is myself... maybe Chase bank if they're feeling awfully snoopy. I am hardly an activist but the lady who pulled me aside on 8th avenue had a compelling cause. That's what much of the green movement is, sympathy toward our earth and the people trying to help it
my six cents!!!!
Totally with you- I hate that having a cause has turned into a trend, that will eventually be abandoned. Hopefully, some will stick to what they've learned and we'll see a rise in organic ingredients (vegetables, cotton, etc) and fall in market-green (har har)
ReplyDelete