The Cost of Turning Green

Sharen — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 14:58:24 +0000

As we have continued on our quest to be a greener family, I have found that it is a little more expensive to be green. I wrote a blog last week about the eco friendly evolve plastic sandwich bags by Ziploc . We purchased those at Walmart for about 1.97 for a 50-count box. Store brand sandwich bags, with 150 count, about $1.29., however we all know that regular plastic bags are the villain in many environmental stories, so we paid a little more and bought bags that hopefully, will be the hero in the environmental saga. I find that we are looking more closely in the store these days, trying to buy those things, which are better for the earth, and in turn, better for us. We buy organic fat free milk, organic fruits and vegetables when available, eco-friendly toilet tissue, non-toxic cleaning products, items with less packaging, products made from recycled materials, the list goes on. Our budget has had to expand a bit, because all of these items are more expensive than the not so eco-friendly, not at all organic counter products. Going green is becoming a household phrase in our home and many others. So when we go to the store what do we look for? Well we read product labels all the time now. We are no longer looking just to see what the fat content is, are there triglycerides present, any cholesterol lurking in the corners, but is it organic, sustainable, natural, biodegradable, hormone free, or chemical free? Is it environmentally friendly. What the heck does that even mean, “Environmentally friendly”. Some might argue it means shelling out more money at the grocery store. However there are many different views on this phrase.

More Green for Green

Laurence Tasaday explains in his book, Shopping for a Better Environment, how he decides whether a product is environmentally friendly. He states, First we consider the product’s life cycle – its manufacture, use, and disposal – to determine its total impact on the environment. Then we weigh its benefit to humans against its environmental costs. Third, we ask whether any less harmful alternatives are available. And finally we ask the most important question, Is it worth it? That is, does the value of the product outweigh its environmental costs?
Joel Makower, author of The E-Factor, states, “At its essence, being ‘green,’ for all the many things it entails boils down to two basic goals: reducing waste and maximizing resource efficiency”.

So that’s where we are, spending a little more money, but looking for ways to reduce waste in our everyday lives and maximize resource efficiency. We have decided as a family, the higher cost of being green is worth it, for our health and our earth.

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The Cost of Turning Green