We Green DC

How to Buy Green

Photo courtesy of
‘U Street Organic Cleaners’
courtesy of ‘Mr. T in DC’

All I wanted was a soft, fluffy bath rug that would keep my shower-fresh tootsies off the cold tile and that wasn’t made in a way that beat up the planet. It seemed a simple enough request.

And so when on my trip to the store I found one with a sign saying “biodegradeable / environmentally friendly,” I snapped it up. True, it had no plastic backing, so it would biodegrade. But it was made of non-organic cotton (each year, 25% of the world’s pesticides go to grow cotton) and viscose, which I hadn’t heard of and hoped was some new environmental fiber. It isn’t; Wikipedia, which I’m using as a source here, says viscose is rayon and its manufacture causes so much pollution they’re closing its factories. So this wasn’t an environmentally friendly choice after all.

Sigh. What’s a greenie to do?

Even when you have the best intentions, it’s often difficult to know what to buy that’s truly eco-friendly. Luckily for us, three fine ladies gave a talk on this topic last Wednesday, at a meeting of the DC EcoWomen’s Green Economy Eco-mmunity. What are their pearls of wisdom?

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