A LESSON IN CRITICAL THINKING
Reporting from Vancouver, British Columbia
July 20, 2008
Last week I met with a broker of ecological products. I’m
always interested in seeing what’s new in the marketplace,
so I agreed to meet with her. Usually I come away from such
meetings disappointed, and this was no exception. But it was
such a good lesson in critical thinking, I decided to share
it with you.
The broker introduced me to two products: the E-cloth (a
microfiber cleaning cloth), and Soapnuts (an
honest-to-goodness real fruit, from the earth, not a
laboratory). I like the idea of soapnuts, a natural
detergent used in India for centuries. They work as laundry
soap as well as dishwasher soap and in a bucket of water for
general cleaning. And the packaging is great—recycled
cardboard printed with soy inks. But the E-cloth is another
story altogether. Here’s why.
The E-cloth is marketed as “green” because (according to its
advertising) it cleans all hard surfaces—stainless steel,
worktops, glass, chrome, granite, wood—simply with water,
thus eliminating chemical cleaners. I received a
complimentary E-cloth and tried it. It works on the
superficial cleaning I’ve tried thus far, and will probably
clean the tough stuff, too; but I’m not sold on its
“green-ness.” Why? It’s made of plastic through and through.
Not recycled plastic, either. Virgin plastic.
I hate plastic. It’s bad for the environment cradle to
grave, and cradle to cradle. People living near plastic
manufacturing plants cope with polluted air and water, and
it takes years for plastic to biodegrade, if at all. It’s
not worth it.
Given the fact I actually like how this product works, I
might be open to recommending it if it were made from
recycled plastic, but it’s not. And touting the product as
green because you don’t need to use chemical cleaners is a
cop-out. There are many plant-based cleaners in the
marketplace today that work extremely well. Some cleaners
may also disinfect and rid surfaces of bacteria, which plain
water does not. If you don’t want to spend money on
commercial green cleaners, it’s easy making your own from
simple ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen
cupboard. Saying the E-cloth is green is a real stretch of
the imagination.
Still, people believe it. I saw them buying up E-cloths by
the bag-full at EP!C, Vancouver’s sustainable living expo in
April. That’s why this is such a good lesson in critical
thinking. Don’t take someone’s word for it when they say a
product is green. Ask questions, like what is it made of?
Does it biodegrade? If so, how long does it take? More than
a year is too long.
Do your own research. It doesn’t take a lot of digging to
learn that plastic, in all its forms, is not sustainable.
And what is the definition of green? It’s one word:
Sustainable--actions and products that meet current needs
without sacrificing the ability of future generations to
meet theirs. |
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 PROJECT:
Calculate Your Ecological Footprint |
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How much space does your lifestyle require? Find out.
Calculate your own ecological footprint by taking the quiz
at
www.myfootprint.org.
Then, you can compare your Ecological Footprint to what the
planet can sustain.
Adjusting your entries or playing with the “Reduce Your
Footprint” calculator will show how lifestyle changes affect
the Footprint size. Enter simple goals for your life on the
Action Calculator (such as a pledge to eat less meat) and
find out how many acres of land you could save just by
implementing that goal. Post your goals in a place where you
can see and review them every day. |
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