Better Labels, Better World

The idea of consumer education, awareness and responsibility is one that is gaining some traction in activism circles. The idea is that if consumers are aware of the total sum of their actions they will change their actions and behave in a more responsible, sustainable and “green” way.

There are many organizations that strive in through education to change the way consumers behave; PETA (www.peta.org), Greenpeace (www.greenpeace.org), World Wildlife Fund (www.wwf.org), and Natural Resources Defense Council (www.nrdc.org). All four have different ways of trying to change consumers behavior, but my personal favorite are the various Fair Trade Initiatives (www.fairtrade.net) around the world that specifically try to influence consumer behavior through positive labeling schemes.

Maggie and I were talking about this they other day as we stood in Costco and debating which coffee to buy. They carry several brands. Two were organic, and one was fair trade organic. We bought one organic and one fair trade organic, just to try them both out.

Once home, we brewed up a cup, and my mind started doing the jitterbug. “Maggie” I said, “I’ve just had an astonishing idea!” She stood there slack jawed as my ideas raced like a Ferrari across the blacktop of her consciousness. When I was done she took my rest of my coffee and threw it down the sink and walked away. I’m not sure what she meant by that. Oh well.

Consumer responsibility should be part of the labeling act for every product, to allow consumers to be able to make better choices. Imagine if you had truth in labeling? “This product made by child slaves in Bangladesh.” or “50,000 gallons of drinking water was polluted in the manufacture of this product.” How would the jewelry industry react if they had to put the warning “20 tons of cyanide-laced tailings were left in a watershed in a third world country to bring you this product.” on that engagement ring you were thinking about.

Drastic? Yes. But the labels on the coffee in Costco allowed us to make a choice. We knew that the brands that weren’t organically certified, or fair-trade certified were products that were produced with pesticides and predatory price structures by large multi national companies ill concerned with the growers or the environment. Nutritional labeling and organic certification have gone a long way to making sure companies produce food that is healthy for both the grower and the consumer.

Perhaps it’s time to move away from the obscure to the exact in an effort to let the consumer, who is after all responsible for 100% of the pollution in the world, be able to make the best choices.

Pamela Anderson Dubious Celebrity Clear Cut Song

The Pamela Anderson Dubious Celebrity Clearcut Song

There’s a hillside out of Castlegar
And as far as you can see
All the trees are missing
It’s such a tragedy.

Some loggers came and took them,
but they’re not the ones to blame
they’re just trying to feed their kiddies
and isn’t it a shame?

The company they work for
points to the invisible hand
“We’ve done nothing here illegal
and our profits sure are grand!”

Well some folks up at the Chamber
came up with a brainstorm
“We’ll make lemonade with lemons
and make the tourists come!”

So they named it.
Named the clearcut.
Called it the Pamela Anderson Dubious Celebrity Clearcut!!!
And strangely enough in a fit of self-referential irony Pamela herself came to cut the ribbon
And that photo opportunity meant that another 37.3 acres of trees had to be
Cut down and turned into paper so we could read…..
About the Pamela Anderson Dubious Celebrity Clearcut.

I wonder if she gets it
Does she really know
That her dubious celebrity is the cause
Of so many trees to go

Into the pulping grinders
And the celebrity bray
That cranks out check stand fodder
At the neighborhood Safeway

So if you want to save our forests
The best thing you can do
Is stop buying all those magazines like
Intouch and Wow and You!