apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

i want to say i would pay more. but i'm a bit cash-strapped so i can't buy anything at the moment. i just hope that when i'm able, i WOULD pay more for the greenies.

i do my part inasmuch as i am a vegan and 99% of the food i eat is organic. and i don't buy silk and wool and leather anymore. that helps lighten my carbon footprint a bit.

I predict that I would. I certainly do it where food, paper products, etc. are concerned.

As far as furniture and the like go, however, I buy eco-friendly products that are cheaper than their counterparts. As an artistically inclined individual, it makes no sense for me to skip over cheap, used clothes/furniture/etc. that can easily be rendered into something so much cooler and more personal than anything I could buy brand new.

Buying used is about as eco-friendly as you can get, and it saves a TON of money. It's the best of both worlds.

I think we've all been brainwashed into automatically assuming that green = expensive. This is all thanks to some enterprising capitalists who figured they can make a windfall by preying on the best intentions of consumers. Just slap a "green" label on it and "ka-ching!!" The fact is, with emphasis, green does not necessarily mean more expensive!!! It is only more expensive because people decided that they could get away with charging more. You are not going to tell me, with a straight face, that a towel made of bamboo, which grows like a weed throughout much of the world, must cost five times a towel made out of cotton. Similarly, why is furniture made of "reclaimed wood" (i.e., discarded, free) so much more expensive than furniture made of newly-felled wood? For all of this talk about "green" products, it is all futile if they are priced beyond the reach of 99.9% of the population.

I am not willing to spend more more money on "green" products. Despite the popularity of "green" products, greenwashing, the practice of marketing a product as "green" when it is not or worse, is nevertheless prevalent throughout the marketplace. Therefore, it is important that a consumer carefully examine the credibility and effectiveness of a green product before purchase.

The green "sanctioning" organizations have little power to regulate their members, since the sanctioning organizations need membership revenue from the manufacturers they "regulate" for their existence. As a result there is an inheirent conflict of interest in attempting to regulate an industry from whom you need money for your own survival.

I'm always amazed at how people will go to great lengths to buy "green", especially on the home improvement shows, yet ignore basic things like high R-value insulation, high performance glass, and energy efficient HVAC and appliances.

This all feels beside the point. I'm willing to spend a little more to buy soaps and detergents that are less damaging to the environment, and organic or grass fed milk. But my farm share is cheaper than buying from the grocery AND it's organic AND it's local. And reupholstering furniture that I already own is cheaper than buying similar-quality furniture new. And cobbling shoes that I love and taking care of them is cheaper than buying new shoes. And there's no cost involved in vermicomposting. Being "green" should not be about buying new things.

Which is actually basically what nausved said. Sorry about that.

hello hejiranyc...

perhaps you don't understand how industry works... the cost for things is based on (among other things) quantities, shipping and consumer demand. Using your example: A towel made of cotton first of all already has industry in place to harvest, process and produce them: all of which are in place because the demand for cotton towels is predictable and high high high and they can be produced and shipped in large numbers. Bamboo, on the other hand, as a relatively new use material that grows weedily, is not as hugely in demand and therefore the industry is not yet in place to process it efficiently. When people start 'voting' for these items with their dollers, the demand will rise and bring prices down.

Something else is happening when it comes to your 'reclaimed wood' items. Because each piece of wood is different, the process of making it into something else takes much more time than it would to work with pre-cut, pre processed standard wood cuts. Time=$. We're talking labour costs. Reclaimed wood products are, more often than not, made in N. America... and labour in N.A. is mcuh more than overseas labour. Never mind if you're getting a pice made by a skilled individual: their skills time = even bigger bucks.

In both cases, the cost of the raw materials is almost moot.

While opting to buy either of these items means opting to spend more, as a consumer you help to increase demand for the product and, in the long run, lower the price of the product (increase competition etc.). Change has to start somewhere and consumers have the power to 'vote' for trends with their dollars.

When it comes to things like cleaning products (or other things you can do yourself) i agree that green does not have to mean it costs more. Vinegar and newspaper vs. Windex and Paper Towel....

Repeated psychological studies show that people say they'd do a lot of things they wouldn't actually do: they know the "right" answer to give, which often isn't a reflection of their actual behavior.

I think we've all been brainwashed into automatically assuming that green = expensive.... I just saw 2 backpacks, one normal, plastic $35 tag. Second, "biodegradable fabric and recycled water bottles": $55. Sorry, but 20 bucks for the same fu*king back pack... no. And all that while the people MAKING the products probably f*ck up the world 100000 times more than I do with a clean conscience... no, F*CK THAT!

v in dc says it best....

"Being "green" should not be about buying new things."

I agree with the general consensus here: keeping a simplicity mindset saves me so much money that it's easy to afford at least basic organic products.

This also applies to other forms of ethical spending: I can get a union-made polo for less money than the Gap charges, even though sweatshops are supposed to be cheaper!

Even so, I think it's clear that our short-sighted economy favors goods that are irresponsibly made. The more we support ethical businesses, the more "economies of scale" will make it cheaper for everyone to do the right thing.