Archive for the ‘ethical consumption’ Category
Fill an SUV or feed a human?
Posted on: April 30, 2008
Source: Washington Post
HUMAN Vs. VEHICLE
The grain required to fill a 25-gallon sport-utility vehicle tank with ethanol could feed one person for a year, the World Bank said.
Just think about this. I mean really think. I just can’t even begin to describe how mind boggling it is. How many times a week does a person with the average commute in such a vehicle fill up every week??? And yet human beings die every day from hunger and malnutrition.
Lean, green organic machines
Posted on: September 20, 2007
What a month! I’m back in the states now (after 4 years and 3.5 months). I’ve been catching up with family and friends this week before I have to run off to NY and start a new job on Monday. The SUVs are still everywhere but I notice that suddenly all around me is lean, green and organic.
Biking and fitness are all the rage. My brother is managing a bike store and sales are phenomenal. The escalators in a shopping center were off the other day. “To save energy,” my mom explained to me. Serious, you mean people walk now?
I’ve been reading about green consumerism and critics say it is superficial, but I am not so sure. Seems like life has changed and well I certainly plan to encourage more change. Hillary Clinton was right when she said that green is a new industry that can provide many jobs. I am a proponent for moving forward, not backward. Trying to go back to some romanticized way of life in the past is not the answer, that’s for sure.
One major first step is preserving rainforests: CLIMATE CHANGE: ‘Incentives Offered to Destroy Forests’. And perhaps teenagers and internet networking can make a difference?
Body Shop founder dies
Posted on: September 11, 2007
I was disappointed with the Body Shop queen for selling her ethical business to L’Oreal who continues to test cosmetics on animals and was recently fined for racial discrimination. But Anita Roddick was a champion for environmental and human rights issues and her sudden death is a shock. I hope her work will live on. She is an example, not only for women but also for men, about the power of compassion in business.
I personally experienced the trickle down effect of the Body Shop philosophy in Mexico in 2005. In Mazunte, on the west coast of Mexico, the locals are using plants and herbs from the area to create cosmetics and beauty products. Trained by the Body Shop, who also partially provided start-up capital, the Natural Cosmetics Factory is a fair trade and eco-business success story. This endeavor replaces local incomes once derived from the turtle industry. The turtle slaughterhouse, now closed by environmental policy, was the only employer.
I still worry about the L’Oreal ownership, but I hope that respect for Anita’s philosophy and practices continues on in her memory.
latin american princesa {LAP} 