Article - Buy Green
San Francisco Chronicle
Helping consumers rein in the holiday excess
'Worldchanging' editor offers sustainable food for
thought before the shopping and spending
Susan Fornoff, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, December 16, 2006
The new book "Worldchanging" has 596 pages and weighs enough that if you were hit over the head with it, it could seriously hurt.
Hitting readers over the head, however, isn't really the style of editor Alex Steffen and the staff of four "solution-based" journalists at Seattle's WorldChanging.com. That's is a fortunate thing during the holiday season, when save-the-earth types could find so many reasons to batter consumers.
Like, why on earth do you need 3 million lights on the house? What do you mean you're having lobster flown in from Maine? Do you have any idea about the conditions in the sweatshops that made the shoes you're
giving Johnny? And look at that pile of trash your gift wrapping has generated! Thwack!
"A lot of times I think in the holiday season, because we all want our celebrations to be great, there's a way in which we all express our love for the people around us by trying to do more, give them more," Steffen said. "A lot of times I think we buy things whose backstories aren't really that terrific and bring them into our homes. And what we're saying is not that you have to suffer to be virtuous. We don't have to suffer -- we just have to be smart."
Steffen visited The Chronicle during a December barnstorming tour to promote the book, subtitled "A User's Guide for the 21st Century," which has a foreword by Al Gore. (One of the tour's underwriters, Zero Footprint, is offsetting with wind power and tree plantings whatever toll the group's travel by jet and car takes on the Earth.)
Though attractively packaged, designed and organized, "Worldchanging" isn't a read-this-weekend volume, and there's no chapter on Christmas/Hanukkah. So during an interview, Steffen pulled out a few of the book's concepts to guide consumers who find themselves taking the SUV approach to the holidays, even though they'd rather be more like a Prius.
The No. 1 shopping guideline: Consider the backstory.
"During the holidays we often forget to think about the fact that the new gadget we got was made somewhere using resources that were metals that were mined somewhere, energy that was pumped out of the ground somewhere," Steffen said. "We sort of forget about all the things that went into making it, and we don't think about everything that's going to happen to it after we let it go."
Considering the backstory means looking at labels and ads, and not swallowing the manufacturer's hype. "Green" is one of the advertising buzz words of the decade, a cool way to market -- and Steffen has coined his own buzz word for the misuse of "green."
"A lot of people right now are 'greenwashing' things," he said. "Things that aren't really actually green, they're describing as eco- or environmental. We have a part in the book here right up front where we talk about how to understand if something's greenwashing and how to choose more responsibly. Beware vague phrases and claims -- like 'natural.' Another dead giveaway is when somebody says, 'Oh, this has no environmental impact.' Big overblown claims like, 'This will save the Earth.'
"A lot of times people will make claims, on their Web site, for instance, but there's no actual way to look and see if it's true. Companies that are doing good things like to brag about them. So if they're willing to tell you precisely, hey, this is 100 percent recycled paper or fiber or wood or whatever, and you can go see the certification, that's a good sign."
Take the book, for example. It has an environmental-benefits statement on the back describing what resources publisher Abrams saved by using New Leaf paper for the book slipcase and pages, with the note that the publisher purchased wind-power credits to offset the electricity that produced the book.
"By buying this book you're getting the greenest book on the planet," Steffen said. "We couldn't make it any greener with what we can do now."
For another example, consider the sweater from Patagonia that was given to him. He loves the sweater, thinks it looks great, fits well and feels comfy -- and both the label on the sweater and the ad on the Web site boast that the sweater is made of "100 percent organic wool."
It's the sort of information that Steffen thinks will become increasingly trumpeted.
"I think more and more clothing shops and big retailers will tell you when something has sustainable elements, organic cotton, organic wool. Bamboo is really hip right now. It's a miracle thing, what can't it do, it's a dessert topping," he said.
"Many of the companies that are doing the right thing are now announcing it because it's a selling point. If they're not announcing it, it's probably not that great a thing. Even things that are totally sold on luxury and style are now announcing when they're green, like the Lexus hybrid."
A second eco-friendly holiday guideline is to buy better instead of more. The sweater made of 100 percent organic wool probably costs more than two or three sweaters from a big-box store, so just buy one quality sweater.
"Maybe instead of buying 15 presents for the kids," he said, "you buy five that they're really going to want. We all know how kids are -- the day after Christmas, half those presents are lying broken on the floor, right? Maybe buy a couple of things that are nicer, more durable, that the kids are really going to enjoy.
"I think we all get kind of talked into this idea that if the holidays aren't excessive that somehow we failed. Yet almost everybody I know has a story about a Christmas or Hanukkah that went wrong, where there was kind of a disaster, and that ended up being the most fun -- some of the presents didn't arrive on time or the turkey got burned to a crisp, and people had to have a real experience together."
Experience, Steffen said, makes a great holiday gift.
"Experiences are greener than objects," he said, "and so think about a way to give somebody a class doing something they like, or a meal at a great restaurant -- especially one that promotes local food and good eating. These things can have just as much meaning, and they don't bear as big a cost to the planet."
When shopping for the person who has everything and who might appreciate a charitable donation in his name, there's the "Worldchanging" view on philanthropy: It's recommended, with an eye toward checking with the Council on Foundations (http://www.cof.org/) and/or the Center for Effective Philanthropy (http://www.effectivephilanthropy.com/) for an assessment of an intended charity. Three that are specifically recommended by "Worldchanging": Heifer Project, Opportunity International and Trickle Up.
Finally, include the planet in holiday hopes and wishes. It's a good time of year, Steffen said, to think about the impact we can make on the future.
"The holidays are for a lot of people a time of renewal, whether you're talking about coming back together with family, or making a New Year's resolution -- it fundamentally is about pausing and starting again fresh," he said. "So if we have any hope for the holiday season, it's that people actually start to look at how they live on the planet in a different way, and not in a way of feeling guilt or shame but in a way of imagining how they might live a brighter and a greener life."
Change your style
For more information and ideas about living green, visit http://www.worldchanging.com/, or look for the book "Worldchanging" (596 pages, Abrams, $37.50).
Helping consumers rein in the holiday excess
'Worldchanging' editor offers sustainable food for
thought before the shopping and spending
Susan Fornoff, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, December 16, 2006
The new book "Worldchanging" has 596 pages and weighs enough that if you were hit over the head with it, it could seriously hurt.
Hitting readers over the head, however, isn't really the style of editor Alex Steffen and the staff of four "solution-based" journalists at Seattle's WorldChanging.com. That's is a fortunate thing during the holiday season, when save-the-earth types could find so many reasons to batter consumers.
Like, why on earth do you need 3 million lights on the house? What do you mean you're having lobster flown in from Maine? Do you have any idea about the conditions in the sweatshops that made the shoes you're
giving Johnny? And look at that pile of trash your gift wrapping has generated! Thwack!
"A lot of times I think in the holiday season, because we all want our celebrations to be great, there's a way in which we all express our love for the people around us by trying to do more, give them more," Steffen said. "A lot of times I think we buy things whose backstories aren't really that terrific and bring them into our homes. And what we're saying is not that you have to suffer to be virtuous. We don't have to suffer -- we just have to be smart."
Steffen visited The Chronicle during a December barnstorming tour to promote the book, subtitled "A User's Guide for the 21st Century," which has a foreword by Al Gore. (One of the tour's underwriters, Zero Footprint, is offsetting with wind power and tree plantings whatever toll the group's travel by jet and car takes on the Earth.)
Though attractively packaged, designed and organized, "Worldchanging" isn't a read-this-weekend volume, and there's no chapter on Christmas/Hanukkah. So during an interview, Steffen pulled out a few of the book's concepts to guide consumers who find themselves taking the SUV approach to the holidays, even though they'd rather be more like a Prius.
The No. 1 shopping guideline: Consider the backstory.
"During the holidays we often forget to think about the fact that the new gadget we got was made somewhere using resources that were metals that were mined somewhere, energy that was pumped out of the ground somewhere," Steffen said. "We sort of forget about all the things that went into making it, and we don't think about everything that's going to happen to it after we let it go."
Considering the backstory means looking at labels and ads, and not swallowing the manufacturer's hype. "Green" is one of the advertising buzz words of the decade, a cool way to market -- and Steffen has coined his own buzz word for the misuse of "green."
"A lot of people right now are 'greenwashing' things," he said. "Things that aren't really actually green, they're describing as eco- or environmental. We have a part in the book here right up front where we talk about how to understand if something's greenwashing and how to choose more responsibly. Beware vague phrases and claims -- like 'natural.' Another dead giveaway is when somebody says, 'Oh, this has no environmental impact.' Big overblown claims like, 'This will save the Earth.'
"A lot of times people will make claims, on their Web site, for instance, but there's no actual way to look and see if it's true. Companies that are doing good things like to brag about them. So if they're willing to tell you precisely, hey, this is 100 percent recycled paper or fiber or wood or whatever, and you can go see the certification, that's a good sign."
Take the book, for example. It has an environmental-benefits statement on the back describing what resources publisher Abrams saved by using New Leaf paper for the book slipcase and pages, with the note that the publisher purchased wind-power credits to offset the electricity that produced the book.
"By buying this book you're getting the greenest book on the planet," Steffen said. "We couldn't make it any greener with what we can do now."
For another example, consider the sweater from Patagonia that was given to him. He loves the sweater, thinks it looks great, fits well and feels comfy -- and both the label on the sweater and the ad on the Web site boast that the sweater is made of "100 percent organic wool."
It's the sort of information that Steffen thinks will become increasingly trumpeted.
"I think more and more clothing shops and big retailers will tell you when something has sustainable elements, organic cotton, organic wool. Bamboo is really hip right now. It's a miracle thing, what can't it do, it's a dessert topping," he said.
"Many of the companies that are doing the right thing are now announcing it because it's a selling point. If they're not announcing it, it's probably not that great a thing. Even things that are totally sold on luxury and style are now announcing when they're green, like the Lexus hybrid."
A second eco-friendly holiday guideline is to buy better instead of more. The sweater made of 100 percent organic wool probably costs more than two or three sweaters from a big-box store, so just buy one quality sweater.
"Maybe instead of buying 15 presents for the kids," he said, "you buy five that they're really going to want. We all know how kids are -- the day after Christmas, half those presents are lying broken on the floor, right? Maybe buy a couple of things that are nicer, more durable, that the kids are really going to enjoy.
"I think we all get kind of talked into this idea that if the holidays aren't excessive that somehow we failed. Yet almost everybody I know has a story about a Christmas or Hanukkah that went wrong, where there was kind of a disaster, and that ended up being the most fun -- some of the presents didn't arrive on time or the turkey got burned to a crisp, and people had to have a real experience together."
Experience, Steffen said, makes a great holiday gift.
"Experiences are greener than objects," he said, "and so think about a way to give somebody a class doing something they like, or a meal at a great restaurant -- especially one that promotes local food and good eating. These things can have just as much meaning, and they don't bear as big a cost to the planet."
When shopping for the person who has everything and who might appreciate a charitable donation in his name, there's the "Worldchanging" view on philanthropy: It's recommended, with an eye toward checking with the Council on Foundations (http://www.cof.org/) and/or the Center for Effective Philanthropy (http://www.effectivephilanthropy.com/) for an assessment of an intended charity. Three that are specifically recommended by "Worldchanging": Heifer Project, Opportunity International and Trickle Up.
Finally, include the planet in holiday hopes and wishes. It's a good time of year, Steffen said, to think about the impact we can make on the future.
"The holidays are for a lot of people a time of renewal, whether you're talking about coming back together with family, or making a New Year's resolution -- it fundamentally is about pausing and starting again fresh," he said. "So if we have any hope for the holiday season, it's that people actually start to look at how they live on the planet in a different way, and not in a way of feeling guilt or shame but in a way of imagining how they might live a brighter and a greener life."
Change your style
For more information and ideas about living green, visit http://www.worldchanging.com/, or look for the book "Worldchanging" (596 pages, Abrams, $37.50).
posted by Raj Kanani | 4:45 AM
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