Did They Miss the Point Or What? [Part 2]

Yesterday, when I was at Macy’s to buy an organic shirt, I asked if I could put my purchase in my cloth bag without using a plastic Macy’s bag.

“I’m sorry, I have to use a Macy’s bag, it’s our policy,” the clerk said.

“But I don’t use plastic bags,” I answered.

“I’ll use the smallest plastic bags we have,” she said, flapping the bag open.

“I really don’t use plastic.”

She huffed (literally, huffed) and said, “Well, you can throw it out when you get out the door.”

Ouch. And . . . are you kidding me?

“If I have to use a plastic bag, I won’t buy this shirt,” I said.

In this case, the (green) customer was right and I walked out with my organic tee and without a plastic Macy’s bag.

It’s Macy's policy to force a petroleum-based product on their customers? Now I remember why I haven’t shopped at Macy’s in years.

Question of the blog: Why do you think plastic bags are almost taboo in grocery stores but are still perfectly acceptable in department stores?

Have You Had Your Green Breakthrough?

I’ve been committed to the environment for the last 18 years. Back when the light first dawned on me, it wasn’t easy being green. I remember pleading with my boss in my first real job out of college to let me start a recycling program. The deal was that I, personally, had to remove all the paper and bottles and cans and bring them to the recycling center . . . on my own time. And I did it . . . happily. [Well, except the time I was accidentally locked in the recycling center, but let’s not go there.]

If you watch the news, the end is near. No one cares, and we’re all doomed. But I have a different perspective. Over the last 18 years, it’s gotten so much easier to go green. Recycling, for many companies, is a given. Cloth bags aren’t rare sightings. Compost bins are popping up on street corners. Eco-fashion is actually fashionable. It’s a new world, and I want to celebrate all we’ve accomplished.

Yeah, yeah, I know, we’ve still got a ways to go, but it’s so much healthier and more encouraging to acknowledge how far we’ve come. I was just talking on the phone with my Dad and he said something that shocked me: “I was at the grocery store—with my cloth bags, of course—and I saw a mother leaving with a cart full of plastic bags and I thought: when is she going to learn?”

Wow. My Dad said that? My Dad? I believe that’s called a breakthrough. In this case, it’s a green breakthrough. What more could I ask for on Earth Day?

Question of the blog: What was your green breakthrough?

Should You Hold a Green Grudge?

Airing Dirty Laundry Alert: I ran into my parents the other day at the grocery store and, as I talked with them at their car, I glanced in the back seat and saw . . . plastic bags. My heart sank for a second and then I got mad. Well, I got pissed.

You all know by now that I run EcoVixen (www.ecovixen.com) and that I’ve been passionate about using cloth bags for the past 18 years, since I was still a young kid living with my parents. To give them credit, they do typically use cloth bags—my Dad is a proud “Man of the Cloth Bag”—but I was still surprised to see so much plastic. And I was hurt.

In my pissed-off state, I wasn’t exactly nice to them. In the days since, I can’t stop thinking about the interaction. Should I have been upset? Or should I have just bit my tongue and looked the other way?

Here’s what I’ve come up with—if your passion is something personal (like photography) it can stay personal, but if your passion extends beyond you (e.g. those of us who care about the environment know everybody has to step up and do their part because it impacts all of us) then you should be able to say something to encourage others to see the light—in the case of the environment, I guess we want them to see the green light.

Here’s what I’ve also come up with—you should always be nice as you try to enlighten and encourage others, especially to those you love.

Question of the blog: Do you agree it’s fair for those of us with a green conscious to impose that conscious on those without it?

Is “Mint Green” Still “Green”?

I was just shopping at Target (www.target.com) and noticed a woman at the check-out buying a massive amount of green cleaning products. I was really impressed. In an earlier post, I mentioned how I’ve switched over almost exclusively to green cleaning products because the conventional products tend to be toxic.

Anyway, back to the woman buying all the green cleaning products—she left with a cart-full of plastic bags! She’s what I call “mint green”—a pale version of truly green living. Her actions made me wonder: Does she care about the environment in general or just her own personal environment?

This reminded me of a time in college where I had a shock at the grocery store. One of my favorite classes was called “Environmental Philosophy” and we spent each class debating about what was and was not good and bad for the environment. My professor was articulate and passionate in his arguments for green living. And then, one day, I saw him leaving the grocery store with a cart-full of plastic bags. I realized he talked the great green talk, but he didn’t walk the walk. I was crushed, but he did teach me a great lesson.

The woman at Target? Well, she just reminded me that the green movement still has a ways to go.

Question of the blog: Is being “mint green” enough of a green commitment?