Industry Insider
I read about Banana Republic today and their green initiative. Taking it slow, just 50 pieces in the collection made of organic cottons/recycled this/unobtainable that. And in their stores, those light bulbs that everyone thinks will save the world.
Years ago we brought up recycled materials to our guru/master/diva/genius of a boss. We could use recycled rubber for our ____ we suggested, we could use organic cotton! This was during our weekly design meeting where we would go over every petroleum based ____ that we manufacture with such love and dedication you'd think we were saving baby Polar Bears.
This was years ago, when all this environmental stuff first came around (yes, I have been in _____ that long and lived through this before, and twice even because it happened in the 70's when it was my parent's problem to do nothing about). Yes, yes, it is all different now, problems are bigger, time is imminent. And still I do nothing. My carbon footprint is the size of the plastic bag swarm in the middle of the ocean. At least my company could do something.
What happened to the idea that was passed around during that oh so long ago design meeting? It was met with derision. The guru stopped chuckling and the room went dark. Just because _____ had a program where they reused rubber and sewed together scraps of leather to make one of their ______ didn't mean we would follow suit. Do you know how much money you'd have to spend to make a profit off of that?! What does it mean to anyone? It means nothing to anyone! Nothing! Stop with it already!
And in a way, he was right. That competitor's recycled product and that idea did not sell a million ______ like the rest of the pollution centric ______ industry do. But it made good copy for a minute. It was Green Washing in its infancy. So maybe if I wear an organic skirt made by a company that at least cares a little, while I eat my organic salad, it will be a personal start. So maybe those light bulbs make sense after all. And like that skirt, they are something easy, something that actually works, that means something to every one. I guess I could pop it into the employee suggestion box. After all, we will need new lights, we are building a massive new headquarters, a very un-green Taj Mahal for _____.
Loathsome.
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