Recent Comment to Herbal's Post

Dear Herbals,

Please forgive me for taking such a long time to get back you. I have a lot to say about your topic and the ‘common grounds’ we share. I can go on and on since this post would not cover it all. But that’s not a bad thing at all since we can discuss more in the future. It is indeed comforting to know that there are others like me who are passionate enough to write a blog on the issue.

I don’t think I would have been pro green two years back. Back then the term ‘green’ movement just sounded like a stereotypical movement ushered by tree hugging kids who longed for a sense of belonging in society. But as I observed more, I realized that the green movement is emerging as one of the driving force of our economy that is leading to products catering to this growing market. From my perspective of the Health and Wellness Revolution you are covering what type of products and choices consumers are making. But excuse me I am over generalizing your topic. I am sure you topic has far more depth and complexity which the audience will realize as time passes by with more posts. What is so great about your topic is that you point out the benefits of going green. There is the whole issue of how non green choices lead us to lead a more toxic lifestyle other than harming our environment which I am guessing you might be aware of. Obviously I will expand on this issue in my blog.

What fascinates me even more is the phenomena you described as ‘green washing’. I was aware of this issue but never concerned till I read your blog. Greedy investors will always capitalize on the latest consumer trend. But in this case, there is the risk of being fooled by companies that bear ‘organic’ or ‘eco friendly labels’ on our products. Right now the ‘green’ and ‘organic’ market is relatively new. Despite the high price of groceries and products we are confident what we are paying for won’t harm our environment and our bodies. This reassurance is threatened by ‘green washing’ which you bring to the forefront. It is something we should all look out for as consumers and not be fooled. Another advantage of organic farming has always been supporting local and national farmers. With ‘green washing’ the livelihood of local farmers are threatened. A classic example is how ‘Silk’ soy milk was bought over by a large multinational firm Dean Foods who cancelled all their soy contracts with local farmers shifting to soy from China instead. Take a look at http://www.alternet.org/environment/141134/why_silk_soy_milk's_parent_company_is_throwing_american_farmers_and_consumers_under_the_bus/ . Your example of how the Tom’s of Maine was bought over by Colgate is similar to this situation. To be honest I am worried right now about the future of eco-friendly products falling in the hands of the very tyrants who have polluted our body and the environment for years.