How Green is "Green?"
Today I attended a marketing seminar during which time the presenter advised the audience that, due to concerns for the preservation of our environment, more American customers now prefer doing business with companies that have a “green policy”. He displayed a variety of promotional items that are preferred by his clients, among them:
Baseball caps made entirely of plastic water bottles recycled into canvas “cloth,”
Luxuriously soft sweatshirts made of knitted bamboo fiber,
Attractive polo style sport shirts made from organic cotton, and
Durable shopping bag totes created from recycled paper.
As each item was passed around the room for inspection by the audience, I took note of the washing instruction tags inside each garment and bag; I specifically wanted to read where the items were produced and manufactured.
It should come as no surprised that all of the promotional items were manufactured in India, Honduras, China and Bangladesh.
None were produced in the USA, not even close!
Therefore, I was left to ponder…
How much fuel was used to transport these “green” items from their points of origin to their final destinations here in California?
How “environmentally friendly” are the factories where these products are manufactured?
Dare I ask about the wages or living conditions of those who labored to produce these items, no doubt in some sort of overheated, literal “sweatshop?”
When Americans select products labeled “environmentally friendly” and “recycled” should we take a closer look and ask ourselves “how green is green?”
Copyright © 2011 by Red Tailed Hawk Publishing. This is an excerpt from GG Speaks!