Getting to the heart of “green”

“Going green” began as a grassroots effort to keep life as natural and as simple as possible. It was all about eating what you grew yourself (or what your neighbors grew), avoiding chemicals, reducing and reusing, and staying grounded when so much of the world was getting swept up in an age of marketing mania. It made perfect sense. I know firsthand; I was there from the get-go. And those of us who consider ourselves pioneers of the green movement put our shoulders to the plow years ago, hoping to lend momentum to this lifestyle we believed worthy of not only preserving amidst our own families, but also on a grand scale. We knew there were others out there who wanted to get back to basics, and we were certainly right. BBMG, a national green marketing firm, recently released its second Conscious Consumer Report on people’s purchasing behavior and social values. The study found that 67 percent of Americans agree that “even in tough economic times, it is important to purchase products with social and environmental benefits.” With the scales tipped toward sustainability, it would seem that everything is coming up roses. But like so many good things on a grand scale, the green movement is getting mixed in with consumerism. Everybody must make a living, and it’s only human to put a price tag on the latest trends. Now that “green” is nearly synonymous with “hip,” there’s a whole market of green alternatives to just about anything you can imagine, and they often cost a lot more than the old standbys. So of course the questions are starting to fly. Concerned citizens are asking, “What does green really mean?” and “Is buying green always better for the earth?” No one wants to be “greenwashed” or misled by companies who falsely claim their products to be environmentally friendly. Out With the Old, In With the Green All things considered, the new “shop green” fad is pretty much counterintuitive to the original vision of natural living. In fact, the more we buy, the more we’re impacting the earth in a negative way — especially when we’re buying nonessential items, or when we toss out a fully functional item to replace it with a newer, “greener” version. The best way to shop green is to shop as little as possible, period. Reducing, reusing and recycling are still the simplest surefire solutions to our planet’s environmental crisis. Every brand new product we buy comes with a hidden rap sheet of natural resource extraction, fuel usage, chemical conjuring and pollution effects. When we do need to buy something, though, there are a couple of genuine ways to shrink our carbon footprints: buy used and buy local. Making it a priority to shop for secondhand and locally produced items gets right to the heart of green because we’re not supporting the manufacture and long-distance transportation of so much unnecessary stuff. If you’d like to dig deeper into the impact of our consumer-driven choices, devote 20 minutes to watching “The Story of Stuff,” an eye-opening video about the life cycle of material goods. It’s free for the viewing at www.storyofstuff.com. Claims with Clout Sometimes, there is no choice but to buy new. But since there are no uniform market standards defining green-ness, products can come in all types, from “natural” to “nontoxic.” Buyers, in turn, don’t get any guarantees from the barrage of buzzwords we see on labels. When you want a measurable idea of a product’s environmental friendliness, seek out certification. The most reliable product certifications are those verified by a third party. The Consumer Reports Greener Choices site (www.greenerchoices.org/eco-labels/eco-home.cfm) offers a free tool to help you determine the reliability of certification programs. A Few Reputable Certification Labels Wood and Paper Products: The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), www.fscus.org Appliances: Energy Star, www.energystar.gov Computers: EPEAT, www.epeat.net Children’s Products: Healthy Child Healthy World, www.healthychild.org General Products: Green Seal, www.greenseal.org; Ecologo, www.ecologo.org/en; MBDC Cradle to Cradle, www.mbdc.com/c2c; Co-op America, www.coopamerica.org; Fairtrade Labeling Organization International, www.fairtrade.net.