Being that my blog has the word green in the title, I feel a little bit obligated to make an Earth Day post. This year first year of marriage has been a learning journey for me when it comes to leading an eco-friendly lifestyle. Growing up, my parents taught me not to litter, and we recycled newspapers and pop cans, but that’s about as far as things went. However, living green is something that is a huge priority for my husband, and when we moved in to our apartment this fall, this was an issue that definitely caused conflict at some points, as Cam wanted to make sure that every single thing we bought was recycled/reusable/organic/phosphate-free/eco-friendly. To him, this meant not using things like paper plates and napkins for a birthday party (that was quite the little spat haha) and not ever using plastic bags for anything in favor of reusable containers. At first, I thought that he was making WAYYY too big of a deal about this stuff, and it would definitely cause some friction when it came to simple shopping trips. But as the months have passed, I have begun to educate myself on WHY it’s so important to Cameron that we make these choices, the more I’ve realized that…he’s right. (I’m still not giving up my paper Happy Birthday plates and napkins though Cam haha) Making smarter choices in the products we buy is extremely important, and today there are more great choices then ever when it comes to buying things that are easier on the Earth. However, as more people begin to become more eco-conscious, marketers are cashing in by dubbing every new product they come out with “green.” Today marks the 40th year of celebrating Earth Day, and it seems as if every retailer is jumping on the bandwagon. While this corporate acceptance of Earth Day may be good in the sense that it shows a cultural shift in more and more people desiring to lead more “green” lives, many of these companies only have one kind of green in mind-money. Not to be a negative Nancy, but it’s clear that many of these companies are just making a big deal about Earth Day to in it to appear to consumers that they are a caring company. That’s why consumers have to be discerning in which products they choose, rather than just buying up every new “green” product that hits the market. That idea of consumer over-consumption that many newly “eco-friendly” companies are pushing goes against the very ethos of what Earth Day is about. An article in today’s NYTimes elaborated on this idea, and how Earth Day and the green movement has changed in the past 4 decades. It’s definitely an interesting read! Happy Earth Day everyone!
