Is being "less bad" good enough for "greenie" points?
Picked up my morning cup of joe at Starbuck's. Love Starbuck's, they, in general, are a great company, trying to do good things by selling coffee.
That said, we all can, and should, do better. For example, on my cup it says "Made with 10% post-consumer recycled fiber", on the sleeve it says, "this sleeve is made with 60% post-consumer fiber". So, a couple of questions:
1. What is post-consumer fiber?
2. Is 10% and/or 60% post-consumer recycled fiber "good"? Why isn't it 100%?
3. 10% is highlighted on the cup - like that is some big accomplishment - but then you look at the sleeve and it says 60%, with that context the 10% suddenly looks shabby - so why even put the 10% on the cup?
I get that companies are trying to do well by doing good or by being "less bad". That said, I don't think less bad should be good enough for greenie points. The green advertising we have today has no context wrapped around it, so, for most consumers the blurbs are not useful nor do they provide relevant information that can be remarked about. In addition, for the most part, the initiatives/products miss the mark on the reality of what "green" really is. The reality is there is only one "piece" of nature that produces trash, and that is, ummm, you guessed it, humans. The rest of nature is "naturally green" - meaning there is no trash and there is no waste. Sip on that one for a second.
We need to realize that we have created a "human green" standard that is "less bad". Only when we say, "Hey, look over here, there is no trash or waste with this product, in fact, it (and the way it was made) actually nurtures the enviroment," is the product truly "green", "eco" or "natural". The rest of the 1,000's of "green" products are just less bad and less bad/the "human green" is not the standard we should be shooting for. It is just more of the same at a slower clip.
The good news is there is a company that certifies "cradle to cradle" products i.e. "real green" products that have no waste/trash - there aren't that many right now, but if we start buying them/supporting the manufacturers of these remarkably mindful "real green" products, something tells me there will be more manufacturers lining up for those greenie points: You can check out the cradle to cradle certified products at this link, "piece". http://www.c2ccertified.com/
*"piece" 2.0 & the "piece" sign acknowledge that we are a "piece" of an interconnected universe & should act that way by consciously choosing to serve people, the planet & prosperity in each moment. You can join the "piece" movement for every generation on our web site: www.createlove.org