The downward spiral that the environment is currently heading in did not happen overnight. However, once the American public became more aware of it and decided something needed to be done, a plethora of environmentally friendly products hit the market.
The technology to make eco-conscious products was available years before these products came out, but none were made. That is, until there was a market for it.
Tree huggers can currently buy Mother Earth-appreciated items such as cleaning products, furniture, footwear and pest controls. Hippies can even eco-friendly up birthdays and Christmas by buying wrapping paper that can be planted to grow sunflowers after it is used.
But the question that still remains is: are the companies selling these products looking to go green or make it? For many companies, decisions are not made based on how the environment will be impacted; rather, profit margins are the deciding factor.
It may be possible to decipher the eco-conscious from the capital-concerned companies by looking at how far they go with the going green initiative.
Lucky Brand Clothing has recently started selling T-shirts made of organic cotton to show their concern for the environment. Nonetheless, very few eco-friendly shirts are available, despite the fact that the few that are on the market are the same price or cheaper than many of the company's non-organic T-shirts.
If the cost of the clothing does not change, why doesn't the company make all of its T-shirts from organic cotton? I highly doubt that consumers that are indifferent to the environmental dilemma would be disappointed if they bought something that was less harmful to the planet than they thought.
Poland Spring water is another company that decided to jump on the bandwagon once the environment craze began. The company began making bottles with less plastic and smaller labels.
Although these new bottles may be making a small difference, the company has not changed all of their products to be less harmful to the environment. And the more important fact - that all plastic bottles generally harm the environment - still remains.
Still, there are companies out there that are undeniably trying to make green products to help the environment. (Why else would someone recycle elephant droppings to make paper?). But these honestly eco-caring companies are few and far between.
Some people may argue that these eco-products will have very little impact unless they completely replace the items people regularly use, asking "Does a hybrid SUV make a difference when there exponentially more regular gas-guzzlers out there?"
These naysayers believe that people buy these products to feel good and convince themselves that they helped the planet.
I am not going to lie; I think it is all the small things that count. I own T-shirts made out of organic cotton as well as some eco-friendly shoes. I think that as minuscule as my contribution may be, it has made some difference because I am at least trying to help the environment and consider the effects of my purchases.
But then again, maybe I just bought into the lies that companies are putting out there to make me buy shoes made out of recycled car tires.
