Buying Green is an Oxymoron by Dede Tabak, October 15 2009, 1 Comment
It's Blog Action Day today and the topic is CLIMATE CHANGE.
How cool is that (no pun intended)? About 10,000 bloggers around the world are talking about the mess we've made of our planet and trying to encourage individuals and world leaders to do something about it. Awesome.
Climate Change. That's what the EcoPlum Blog is about - every day - so you've already heard a lot about what I have to say about this topic. Like how it's not easy being green, how consumerism is so ingrained in us as individuals, how we are so wasteful without thinking about the consequences, how we can make small changes that collectively make a big difference, and how we are ALL responsible for conserving our limited resources. One of the ways to do that it to just STOP SHOPPING. That may seem strange coming from the founder of a green SHOPPING site. So I'm thinking of changing our slogan from "Where it Pays to Buy Green" to "If you have already exhausted all other options to re-use what you already have and you absolutely have to buy something, then buy it here and buy it green." Too long? :)
I just read a blog by Chris Baskind on More Minimal that just stated this so perfectly that I wanted to share it with the world, or at least my subscribers...oh just read it...
Stop Shopping the Planet to Death
Well said, Chris. I just want to add the following. Next time you are out shopping or preparing for a party or even doing a corporate event, ask yourself these questions:
1) Do I REALLY need this?
2) Is there something I can reuse that will perform the same function?
3) If I do buy it, how long will it last, is it reusable, recyclable?
4) What else can I do with this money???
It's been quite an adjustment for me - I like things all shiny and new and neatly packaged. I still am tempted to buy things like nice neat memo pads at Staples when I have plenty of free memo pads I've accumulated from hotels and giveaways. But I resist. Those hotel memo pads don't look as neat on my desk as the color coordinated pack from Post It, but it's a small sacrifice to make to save our future.
Comments
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Gia Machlin on January 29 2016 at 11:00AM
Original comments from old site:
Gia
Submitted on 2010/03/10 at 4:05 pm
Thanks, Te. I agree. Why do you think I’m so unfashionable? :-)
Té
tebaybute.net
Submitted on 2010/03/10 at 3:56 pm
Here, here. Buy less, Use less. This goes for “Eco-Fashion” as well. The whole idea of fashion is that it is changing How can something be sustainable if you only wear it once a year or only after labor day and you buy more ever year just because it is new.
Chris Baskind
moreminimal.com
Submitted on 2009/10/16 at 7:05 pm
Great additions. Thanks so much for the mention — and for all your efforts to make the world a better place. :-)