Why being trendy
is the worst thing that could happen to the
environmental movement.
Inside a
renovated movie theater near downtown Los Angeles, lamps
assembled from thousands of discarded silkworm cocoons light
up tables of recycled teak.
The FordBrady
gallery—owned by former bicycle racers Willard Ford
(Harrison’s son) and John Brady—champions the
green aesthetic. But, as environmentalists, Ford and
Brady know that buying a recycled teak table is less
responsible than keeping the table you’ve got (or
picking up a used one). Building, marketing, and
shipping furniture, no matter what it’s made
of, are energy- and resource-hogging activities.
Deep down, we
know that really being green means buying less and making
do, but we also know it’s more fun to go shopping.
Green products like hybrid vehicles and the latest
refillable water bottles let us have it both
ways—spending money while racking up
“environmental cred.” Forget
Dumpster-diving—most of us would rather be spreegans
than freegans.
Green has gone
from a color to a movement to a style. The trouble is,
styles don’t last. And we can’t let
environmentalism become a fashion victim.
Some of us do a
lot for the planet just by being gay: We bring the world
fewer McMansions and fewer backyards than if we were
straight. (No gay person has bought a riding
mower—ever.) We also bring fewer babies. (I
have to admit, having children was the best—and also
the most environmentally destructive—thing
I’ve ever done.) Add a high disposable income
and exquisite sensitivity to trends, and gay consumers have
done their share to make green products cool.
The problem with
that is too many green products are designed to let us
feel good without doing good. This spring Lincoln unveiled
the MKT, a luxury sedan that nods in the direction of
sustainability with—no kidding—carpet
woven from banana fibers. Coke is turning surplus can tabs
into messenger bags ($175) and broken bottles into earrings
($45), for sale in the Eco-Fashion section of the
Coca-Cola online store. Apparently using biodegradable
soap to do the dishes is only one form of
green-washing.
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