apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I would have to agree that buying things is not a way out of an environmental crisis. However, the change in the way we live has to start somewhere. The small steps of buying recycled and recyclable goods ( Recycled binders or paper www.naked binder.com, www.newleafpaper.com...), reusable goods ( kitchen cloths, reusable water bottles www.mysigg.com...) and more environmentally friendly products (bamboo, local organic produce...). do make a difference.

They also train us to think about these things. Once we start thinking differently about consumption, real change can be made.

Tough question. When looking for the answer where should we start? We could start with the individual consumer or we could start with government and industry.

On the industrial level, it seems like going green is a good way to create jobs. We need jobs, but do we need million dollar windmills? It's possible the windmills may make a positive environmental difference some day but in the short term, someone has gotten a contract and tax incentives to build it. Of course, I don't really know what I'm talking about while playing devil's advocate.

On a personal level, I think that buying something "green" is a nice alternative to have. For instance, I just purchased some lightweight composite pavers for my balcony. This product is, aesthetically and functionally, exactly what I want.

It just so happens, it is made out of 90 percent recycled materials. So, I "needed" to consume and the perfect choice was a "green" product. This is the type of product innovation that I hope our country will become known for in the future. At the end of the day we are still capitalists.

I think that green consumerism is a great thing. While being eco-friendly may not be feasible all the time due to financial restraints, we can all chip in and do our part in other small, inexpensive ways. For example, things such as not letting the water run when we're preparing to jump in the shower or brush our teeth, recycling and trying to use household cleaners that are just as efficient minus all of those chemicals...

And a quick note about bamboo used for clothing, towels, etc... caustic chemicals are used to turn the bamboo into fabrics. Those are very bad for the environment. Better choices for fabrics are organic cotton, wool, silk & hemp. Look for natural dyes & unbleached fabrics.

I think this is something to look out for, at least based on the ridiculous number of reusable fabric shopping bags that I ended up with after purchasing several for myself then receiving them as gifts from family, friends and companies. I'm single and there will never be a shopping trip that I will use all of the dozen or so bags I've acquired. It's nice to have a few extras, but the trunk of my car looked like it was a breeding ground until I started re-gifting them.
When you have a choice green is better than not green, but nothing is better than green.

"When you have a choice green is better than not green, but nothing is better than green."

@Rolen the Great - perfectly put!

It took me a while to jump aboard the whole "Green" wagon... mostly because a lot of the efforts seemed contrived and consumer-driven. For instance, it still bugs me that some reusable bags are given such a trendy treatment. Aren't we supposed to use them forever, not just until we find a cuter one?

Totally agree on the questionableness of items such as a bamboo t-shirt... just because it's green doesn't mean you need it. Things like buying a water bottle and using a Brita (as opposed to reusing plastic water bottles) is a great idea... very practical. It seems, though, that things are going from less-trendy ideas to more practical. That's the kind of thing I can get behind.