What's the first commandment of that eco-savvy citizen's pledge Reduce, Reuse and Recycle? It's Reduce, right? It always amazes me then, that there are plenty of successful businesses that sell eco-friendly stuff... stuff that you almost always don't need. Where's the Reduce in that?
We live in a consumer-driven society and that fact is inherently at odds with being sustainable. How can producing, packaging, shipping and selling something, and then casting aside the old (presumably non-green) something be good for the planet? In what bizarre frame of logic can we consume our way to being green? Perhaps the collective consciousness doesn't even question our consumer lifestyle, and figures if you are going to consume, we might as well make it green. Or maybe we realize that consumerism is bad, but instead of living with less, we can assuage our guilt by at least buying something that is green.
If you're wondering what started me on this rant, it was a 2/3 page article in the Style section of our daily Vancouver Sun newspaper which featured a local online company that was doing a booming business by selling eco-friendly products. "We focus on unique, contemporary products that look good... they just happen to be good for the planet, too," the owner is quoted as saying. Of course, like the "circular recycled steel container that has everything needed to grow four different types of chocolate-coloured flowers, including organic seeds, wooden stakes and growing instructions" for $17. Would a paper envelope of wildflower seeds from your local garden shop for 79 cents not be less resource intensive, and still give you nice flowers to look at?
What we need -- along with the reusable sandwich wrap and natural soy crayons -- is an attitude adjustment when it comes to what we really need. Is living with less such a high price to pay for a sustainable planet?
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