“with liberty and justice for all”

2 million plastic beverage bottles – the number used every 5 minutes in the U.S

I just got back from whole foods – that wholesome organic high-end grocery store. I can’t afford much there, but as I wandered through I realized something. Everywhere were environmentally friendly items…plastic wear that you re-use, fancy water bottles, fancy fabric bags of many kinds, many products made without this or that. I was stunned by the greenness of it all, and at the same time felt a little strange. Because although it is green it is still very consumer oriented. Lots of green “stuff” I don’t need.

I brought home a free magazine and there was an add for this website. This was worth the trip. Look at “An American Self Portrait.” Click on that photo and then spend some time looking at each one. It was astounding. http://chrisjordan.com/

What if every single person just stopped using things like plastic bags, plastic cups, paper cups? It is amazing what an impact that would make.

I hate the gas prices raising because it is causing hardship for so many people. Yet finally people are changing their habits. Money speaks. Why does it have to be money that drives us to change? Why can’t we change just because it makes the world better for everyone, and for future generations?

As I was looking at the American Self Portrait it made me think of the pledge of allegiance. With liberty (that’s freedom – freedom to spend our hard earned money however we like) and Justice (that means giving up our rights for the freedom of others – so others can have food, resources, a place to lay their heads.)

For ALL – not just those who can afford it.

60,000 plastic bags, the number used every 5 seconds in the U.S.

Consumers Beware…

I have been thinking alot about consumerism lately. We’ve been talking at church about “consumer Christians” – how we try to create services, programs to please the consumers out there looking for a church to meet their needs. That’s the way of America – if you have a need, get it met. Life is all about getting my “needs” met. In fact, the way of America is to create felt needs so you can make money meeting them. Our whole culture is built around consumers.

Think about it. We live as if we were meant to have things whenever we decide we “need” them. If everyone is getting something, the idea gets started and you are “nobody” if you don’t have one. This starts at a very young age. On-demand feeding of infants is the beginning (now I am not saying that is wrong, it just starts the ball rolling is all.) Then it becomes needing certain toys, then certain “brands” of clothing, then more toys, then certain cars, then certain kitchen appliances. There is so much “stuff” that we need. (See my past post on “stuff”.)

I recently read an article by Kurt Armstrong found in Radix Magazine. “Consumerism is a tree of death upon whose fruit we gorge ourselves, and no amount of pruning its branches or raking the fallen leaves can curb the real effects of our addiction…Corporations have the large share of the blame, foisting upon the vulnerable public the supposed need for an endless line of unnecessary goods…we consumers are as much to blame…the corporations thrive and fold according to the laws of supply and demand…”

So I looked in my closet the other day. I am tired of my winter clothes. I feel like I wear the same thing every day. Why is that? I don’t! I don’t usually even wear the same thing more than once a week, or even once every other week. Who is telling me that I need more clothes?!

Then I looked around my bedroom. We have the same furniture that I got when I was 16 years old. (I am 50, so that was a LONG time ago). It is perfectly functional. But sometimes I am kind of embarrassed at how junky our furniture is. Why? Who cares? Very few people I know go in my bedroom anyway.

I was looking at a friends blackberry the other day. Very cool. I think it would be great to have one. Then I started thinking about wanting an Ipod. I don’t have one yet. It would be very fun to have one. I love new “toys.”

There is a part of me that doesn’t even want to write this because I really enjoy being a consumer. And I am not saying we should never buy things. But I wish there was a way to get encouragement for not consuming so much. That instead of saying “did you get a new sweater?” we could say “you look so good in that worn out sweater that I think you should wear it more often cause I really like it!”

I wish someone would tell me that they love our old beater furniture, or our car that is starting to look retro- (1993 station wagon). Or that they think its great that we still listen to CD’s the old-fashioned way, on a CD player. Or that a I am cool even if I don’t have a blackberry.

Kurt ends his article: “…imagine that you are satisfied. Imagine that you already have everything you need. Imagine that your car is not a fashion statement… Imagine that you might express more to your lover by sitting face to face in silence than you ever could with a diamond bracelet…imagine dressing differently than the people on television; imagine not even buying a television…imagine how good your life actually is, not how much better a billboard makes you feel that it’s supposed to be.”

Guess what? I am satisfied. I have more than I need. What about you? Anyone want to join me in consuming less and living/loving more? If we work together maybe we can fight the consumer mindset somehow. Though I must admit I am not sure how. It feels a bit like swimming upstream in a strong current.

Stuff and more stuff

I was at Macy’s briefly this week looking for a lamp. They don’t have lamps. But they do have clothes. It’s their big end of winter sale (it sure doesn’t feel like the end of winter…it’s below zero outside!) They have racks, and racks, and racks of clothing. A huge floor of all women’s clothing and rack after rack.

Now, I am not a mall person. I hardly ever go shopping. But I was tempted to look through these racks – 40% off of the lowest price which was already 30-70% off. This is about as cheap as clothes get. So I started looking through the racks. I finished one, went to another. After about 20 minutes I had looked at maybe 1% of their sale racks.

What happens to all this stuff? This is one store out of hundreds that all have racks and racks of stuff. Where does it all go? Who buys all this stuff? Where do they put it? Isn’t their closet full already? Mine is. What about all the purses, and the belts, and the shoes, and the racks of coats…Where does it all end up?

Sometimes I think America is going to get so full up of stuff that we have no place to sit. Why do we keep on making and buying more stuff all the time?

Today I heard that it takes close to 500 years for a disposable diaper to decompose. What if we get so full of diapers that we have no place to sit. Gross.

I have a friend who has a really bad cold. Her nose is completely stuffed. She is really uncomfortable. My husband just said this last line is unrelated. But I don’t think so. Being stuffed is really uncomfortable. So why do we have so much stuff!

Black Friday

In the last 20 years I am almost certain I have not darkened the door of any store or mall on Thanksgiving weekend. I worked in retail the 14 years before that, and I knew about the crowds, the intensity, and the peak inventory…stuff everywhere. It’s been something I avoided at all costs.

But yesterday I was asked by my daughter, home for Thanksgiving from college, to do some shopping with her. How could I refuse? She really needed some things, the deals were great. So off we went to the department store. On Black Friday!

We parked 3 parking lots away, at Cub Foods, and hiked to Kohl’s our destination. Our goal was to be done before lunch (it was 9:30) being realistic about the crowds. I must say I was stunned. The place literally swarmed with people. I did have a few gifts to buy for Christmas so I had my list along. The prices were so marked down (they can’t be making any money on this stuff, can they?) that I was sucked in with the rest of them into thoughts of “It’s only 5 dollars! maybe I should get one!”

The shopping went fine. I managed not to impulse buy things I don’t need. We only stood in line for about 15 minutes, though the line went to the back of the store. People were friendly. Nothing really awful about the experience, at least compared to the visions I have had for 20 years. But I was struck once again with the American way of consumption. I have never seen so many people in a store, lined up with their carts heaping. It made me fill a little bit ill. And standing there with the rest of them I had these weird thoughts about food lines that happened in the depression. When people stood in line for hours just to get a little food for their family. That was a very different time in American life.

I don’t know why they call it Black Friday, but I think that’s a good term. It felt dark. I was really happy to get to the farm outside of town where we cut down our Christmas tree every year on the Friday after Thanksgiving. The air was clear, the sun shining, the trees beautiful…no one much around. And we laughed and searched for the perfect tree in a very imperfect forest. And I cleared my head of all the “stuff”.

But my shopping is done. No more stores for me! And for that I am very thankful!

Planned obsolescence – there’s something wrong with this picture!

Last night our 17 year old clothes washer groaned, squeaked, produced and awful smell, and basically died. Step one was to see if it could be repaired. $80 to find out, $150 total if it was something small, chances are it’s something big…probably not the wisest use of money for a 17 year old washer. So tonight, off to the appliance stores to learn about washers and compare prices.

The good news – we get a better washer. The bad news – this is going to cost alot.

The good news -they make these amazing high efficiency washers. They use less water, spin faster so reduce drying time by 30-40%. Less energy all around. We’ll save about $100 per year over our last washer. Bad news – $650-900. Good news – in 6.5-9 years we break even. So overall, it hurts, but we are helping the environment. That’s a huge thing for us. This makes us feel better about our dead washer.

“Where do you take the old washer?” They couldn’t really answer that one. Probably to a landfill. “How long will the new washer last?” The answer varied depending on the washer: 5-12 years life span. Then the salesman used the term -” it is “planned obsolecence”…keeps the company going….plastic parts…it’s all on purpose.”

What is wrong with this picture? They sell energy efficiency, but at the heart of the company is planned obsolescence. Make it die so people buy a new one, we can manufacture and sell more, which uses way more energy than making something that will last, and creates more stuff that will sit in a landfill. Somehow this lacks integrity in a major way.

Planned obsolescence. What does that mean? Self-destruction built into something. Perhaps that’s what our whole country is about right now…planned obsolescence. What will turn the tide? WAKE UP!!!!

I wish there was a way to encourage people to find great ways to make money, feed the economy, and still really be about goodness…the right thing. I find it hard to see anything right about planned obsolescence. Am I missing something?

I’ll try to feel okay about an energy efficient washer anyway…and hope it lives more than 12 years. We got 17 out of our last one. Of course the one before that was 25 years old before it died. Disposable washers…now there’s a concept.