Wednesday, April 21, 2010 at 10:59AM Going green
We see it here, we see it there, lately we've see the term "Earth Friendly" everywhere. From cars to cardigans, and from produce to pesticides thousands of companies are climbing on the bandwagon and claiming to have changed their evil-earth injuring ways.
While there are many companies that are making great strides towards environmental protection, when we see the buzz-word "Green" attached to companies like Chevron, SC Johnson Wax, and Walmart we get a little suspicious; and we find ourselves wandering "What exactly does Green Mean?"
#1 among readers for earth-friendly product line Burts Bees/image: courtesy of Burt's Bees
Not wanting to give in to cynicism entirely, especially on this Earth Day when climate concerns and pollution problems are reaching emergency levels, we took our questions to you, our readers, and asked What companies and products do you think are truly environmentally friendly, and which are nothing more than marketing ploys?
Your answers were honest, informative and incredibly well thought out. And while we are unable to list every vote and comment we received via email, twitter, and our Facebook page , we appreciate all of your input and look forward to hearing more of your thoughts and opinions in the future.
And with that, we hand it over to you readers, here is what YOU had to say :
John 36, San Francisco: "When it comes to fashion I'd rather see companies make internal "green" changes rather than small firms charging a fortune for stuff made out of hemp or "eco cotton". If more clothes sold in the US were made in the US then that would reduce transportation and impact other economies that are bigger polluters. That's how we become eco. Anything short of that is just buzz-worthy bandwagon jumping."
Melissa, 38 Mendocino County: "I think that some major companies are jumping on the green bandwagon with some very dubious claims to being eco-friendly, but, then again, something is definitely better than nothing. I think that it's great that recycled materials, organic products, hybrid cars, etc are becoming "trendy"--it's so much better than gas guzzling SUVs, synthetic fossil-fuel dependent materials, and so on....but it would be even better if we could convince people to consume less overall, not just consume more eco-friendly products. People might be able to better afford truly creative, eco-friendly products if they didn't feel the need to consume in such volume, you know?"
Sarah, 34, Los Angeles County: "Weleda, Weleda, Weleda, LOVE that stuff."
image courtesy of Jason NaturalSusan, 40, San Francisco: "I am definitely swayed by the green ads and in particular the packaging. I do think everyone is getting in on the green band wagon so I don't necessarily believe every company that says they are green. I would like to believe that when they say "green" I am buying something that is friendlier for the earth. As far as actual products I love Burt's Bee's Natural Soaps from LUSH, and Jason Lotion and Shampoo."
Jason, 28, San Francisco: "The Prius is bullshit. Every day I see people driving them around the city (when I'm on my bike), they are on the phones, drinking giant paper cups of Starbucks and nearly moving down peds as they peel out from the traffic lights, if that's 'being environmental' then I'm a republican."
Jen, 25, San Francisco: " I totally think 'green' is a trend and a lot of companies are green washing- so I shop at places like Rainbow, and Whole Foods where they regulate what they carry, and I look for brands that were around before the eco-friendly trend, like Kiss My Face, and Burt's Bees."
Richie, 22, San Francisco: "I turn the water off when brushing my teeth, I take public transport, mostly because I don't own a car, and I wear vintage, mostly because I like it. That's about as far as my environmental actions go."
image courtesy of Dr. Hauschka
Christine, 27, Oakland: "Dr. Hauschka is the best natural-product line out there. Organic, earth friendly and they never test on animals, which for me is as important as being 'green'. I especially love the contour eye balm, that stuff is amazing!"
Naheed, 35, San Francisco: "Once I had kids, I definitely became more aware of plastics and had a desire to at least attempt to keep the bad stuff out of our home. My boys use BPA free bottles and cups (Born Free, Dr. Browns) but I think the labeling is confusing and inconsistent, and it's hard to know how green any of these are. For example, SIGG was hailed as a great alternative to BPA-containing Nalgene water bottles. They were cute, aluminum, Swiss, trendy (hence overpriced) and we moms were all patting ourselves on the back for being so with it. Well last year it comes out that some of these bottles had BPA-containing liners (including the first one I had bought for my oldest). Bastards. I also avoided plastic toys and tried to go wooden (HABA, PlanToys) but have come to realize that the best toys are usually the things that we don't need to buy, like pots and pans, wooden spoons, and cardboard boxes of all sizes."
V-Gan, organic cotton v-neck tee from Alternative Apparel/Image courtesy of Alternative Apparel
Julie, 26, Los Angeles County: I try to buy organic cotton and eco-friendly clothing when I can, it does get super expensive though. Right now I am really into Alternative Apparel. They have a sustainable line 'Alternative Earth" that is comfy, cute and eco-minded. I never buy American Apparel though, they are just too sleazy IMHO, who cares if they make their stuff in the USA if their USA operations are over run with sexual harassment cases and weird labor issues."
Nearly all of the product lines mentioned in this article can be found in the San Francisco Bay Area at on or more of the following retailers :
Reader Comments (3)
Great Story!
I like the nice cross section of opinion - debate is positive, head in the sand is not!!