In honor of Earth Day (April 22), as well as big-business’s mad-grab attempts to incorporate “sustainable” practices into their brands, I give you a few of my favorite recent highlights from corporations who are “g(r)owing green.” And hilarity ensues:
Mattel introduces eco-friendly Barbie accessories
Mattel is introducing a collection of eco-friendly accessories for girls with the launch of Barbie BCause. The line of handbags, coin purses, tote bags, pillows and diaries are touted as being made from excess fabric and trimmings from other Barbie doll products that would otherwise be discarded.
Moral: Consumerism is green.
Coca-Cola launches “Drink 2 Wear” t-shirts, a new line of sustainable apparel
Starting two weeks ago, Wal-Mart shoppers now have the opportunity to make a sustainable fashion statement when Coke launched its “Drink 2 Wear” apparel, made from recycled Coke bottles. The t-shirt designs, which feature such imprinted slogans as “Make your Plastic Fantastic” and “Rehash your Trash,” are intended to promote recycling of used beverage bottles into renewable, reusable products.
Moral: I’d like to buy the world a coke (t-shirt).
New York Times Mag to publish first-ever green issue (just not on recycled paper)
The New York Times magazine is set to release its first-ever “green issue”—a “low-carbon catalog” of ideas for environmentally-conscious living boasting a slew of new advertisers. But, it is not being printed on recycled paper.
“That would be nice,” says Gerald Marzorati, the magazine’s editor. “[But] [o]ur printing is a very particular method, and these machines use a very old, not terribly good paper stock. It just wasn’t feasible.” But Marzorati hopes the issue’s message—“micro-level” things individuals can do to create a better environment—will outweigh its carbon footprint.
Moral: Do as I say, not as I do.
These are all pretty classic…very, um, inspiring…
Comment by thomas — April 23, 2008 @ 8:58 am
That’s a pretty interesting assortment… the whole green consumerism is kind of funny, in the way illustrated by the Barbie eco-friendly accessories. My bet is that they will charge extra for the stuff, even though it’s made from scraps, just because people will pay more to feel like they’re “making a difference.”
On the other hand, the idea for a “Green Issue” is rather unoriginal. Vanity Fair does the very same thing every year… their Green Issue is actually on news stands right now.
Comment by kristin — April 23, 2008 @ 12:52 pm
Thomas–What do they, um, inspire?
Kristin–Yeah, I was also surprised that New York Mag was only now doing their “green” issue, as it seems it’s been done so often. What I found particularly hilarious, was their statement about why it couldn’t be on recycled paper.
Comment by Amber — April 23, 2008 @ 2:43 pm
It is pretty funny/ridiculous.
“Yes, we’re green. Yay green! . . . well, maybe not.”
Comment by kristin — April 23, 2008 @ 8:01 pm
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m definitely inspired to go out and buy a hybrid SUV filled with Coke t-shirts and sustainable toy accessories - because that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Sustainable toy accessories?
I actually do have a theory that some of what drives the green mania is an attempt to establish some sort of transcendent horizon of meaning in what is still ultimately immanent terms. We might not be given any reason to save the earth beyond our own enlightened self-interest (ie. if we don’t we and our descendents all die) but given the global nature of the challenge, the fact that we’re dealing with an unresponsive nature rather than other messy human beings, and the potential of human technology to solve with the problems seems to provide some sense of larger horizon of meaning that we crave without the messiness of transcendence. But wait, enlightened self interest…where have I heard that before? And so we end up with catalogs from Ford detailing their new lines of hybrid SUVs and a new line of Coke t-shirts at Wal-Mart…or, more disturbingly, rapidly increasing food prices as we use what was a staple crop of the world’s poor to drive our (environmentally friendly mind you) bio-fueled vehicles.
So, what these examples seems to illustrate to me is the necessity of recognizing that we as a society need to get beyond a myopic focus on “going green” and perhaps confront some of the deeper issues of which our abuse and misuse of the earth is a symptom. I guess what I’m trying to say is that what could be more natural than a line of eco-friendly Barbie accessories when our foundational motivation of enlightened self interest remains unquestioned?
Comment by thomas — April 24, 2008 @ 8:31 am