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Carbon-friendlier alternatives for your life
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From power-free speakers to biodegradable guitar picks, here's nine products the editors recommend for the eco-conscious consumer
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Note: This article was originally printed with the title, "Buying Green".
This article was originally published with the title Buying Green.
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3 Comments
Add CommentBeing Green does not mean buying and consuming even more pointless products. Conserve, sustain, contain yourselves. Live simply on the Earth. Reduce: population, consumption, impact. That's Green.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSleep or hibernate button function already exists on most all PCs.
Power free speaker a total waste of plastic and money.
Ultraviolet sterilizer? For what? People are already getting sick from being too sterile. Unless it will actually sterilize people it's worthless as a green product.
Reclaimed tote bags? Better to recycle the plastic, and get a nice canvas tote which will last longer and be stronger than the plastic one anyway. Plus it takes more energy to collect clean, and sew-up the bags than they save. Cute? maybe, if you want to be a walking advertisement for unsustainable food products full of chemical additives.
Recycled basketballs? Whatever... no real savings in energy, and lots of better places for the rubber to go.
Wheat plastic guitar picks, and drum sticks? Not much carbon savings there, I mean, you don't exactly see the landfills overflowing with guitar picks... Besides the wheat takes substantial hydrocarbon to grow. There are better alternatives to bio plastics, like cutting way down on packaging and throw away products in the first place.
Java logs? Put them in the compost where they belong.
Green hair products? I applaud the attempts to save rainforest, but weren't the avocado orchards and coconut plantations once rain forest too?
And finally, since when did sheep become biosphere friendly? The grazing of sheep and goats has destroyed more wild lands than probably any other farming practice, and continues to turn sub Saharan Africa into a desert incapable of supporting life. Sorry guys, these products are all duds. Try again.
The earbud gramophone is pretty cool, but for $500 I can't imagine it being too popular. Why do so many "green" products have such large price tags?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt is really a nice progress to address the topic of our ecological foot-print. To do it correctly one would, however, have to make a complete calculation before advertising a new product. If it takes more resources to make a power-free speaker or a hibernate button than you will ever save by using it then it is a waste of time and money to produce and sell it - our environment will not be ahead if we use it. It would therefore be helpful if this aspect is addressed and clearly communicated when you advertise these products.
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