August 24, 2008

Some Green Chic Thoughts

Pedestrians,

Sometimes the newspapers, the scientific studies, evening news, and magazine articles about global warming, miles of garbage piled high, and swirling trash in our ocean…can all get a little depressing and overwhelming. I know that I am selfish and don’t want to give up my nice disposable lifestyle. I should be doing so much more. Well I found someone who shaded me a little “greener” and made me laugh out loud.

While in Chicago meeting green suppliers we were thrilled to meet Christie Matheson, writer of green chic: Saving the Earth in Style.

Her book is the perfect antidote for the newly greens who don’t like taking themselves too seriously. The book has been featured in Glamour Magazine, Boston Globe, and Boston Herald. According to Us Weekly, green chic was being read by Leonardo DiCaprio. I wonder if he gave up his disposable shavers? According to Christie, two billion disposable razors wind up in landfills every year. She suggests the reusable handle types where you change only the blade.

Her section on antiperspirants and deodorants is hilarious. In the end Christie chose not to give up her antiperspirant, but she gives the honest facts and tests all options. One of the options made her smell very manly (according to her husband) and no matter how much slower she walked and tried not to sweat…after three hours with a natural deodorant she was not pleased with the smell. I did learn that if your odor and perspiration levels aren’t too bad, you can go semi-green with aluminum and paraben-free Adidas 24 hour Control. I like semi-green…a new word to use in my blog.

Remember in the old days the party with the most trash in the morning wins. Not anymore. Christie pointed out that 25 percent of the food produced for humans in the United States gets thrown out---that’s almost 50 million tons of food annually. That number made me cringe when I thought of the hungry people lined up at food banks and soup kitchens. This percent does not include all the booze bottles and cans…think about it. She suggests NOT making so much food. Buffet-style set ups are the biggest food wasters since you have to make enough of every single dish for every single person. Personally I pick my way through a buffet and then come back for seconds seeking that one favorite choice. I do recommend plenty of chocolate desserts…they always get eaten.

Christie’s book is printed on recycled paper, with a portion of its proceeds going to a green cause.

Enough semi-green thoughts for you, my green hearted friends. Until next time…

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2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am so grsteful to have literally tumbled onto your site. I have been doing my small part my re-usung all glass containers for my work. I am an artist who works with glass beads. I also wnat to do some tactile and form peices soon. I have dabbled into making rustic furniture. I love the feel of life's natural beauty.

Deloss56 WWW.Esty.com

Anonymous said...

My dream is that we as a people will come together with one mind that is to save our big blue ball. Wind Power,Fuel cells in every home. Obama/Nation garden coperative, With 10% or better of all crops go to the less fortunate. Maybe we will do barter for our car repairs; such as pounds of cheese from the dairyperson.
I do remember in the not so distant past of a Mule named Daisy pully a green grocers vegetable cart into the neighborhoods.
The Milk men delivered our milk fresh daily. The milkman would ask my mother how much buttercream she wanted that day.He would leve the dairy products in a milk box covered with ice.
We as citizens can bring farm food basck into our lives again