Roz pointed me to this advice column on dishwashing from Salon. In typical hand-wringing, teeth-gnashing style, an eco-aware woman writes a (long, long) letter asking whether it's OK to buy non-green detergent that gets her dishes cleaner. Cavalier columnist Cary Tennis writes a (long, long) response saying: use whatever the hell you want. Then go out and focus on a big problem like climate change.
It's advice our esteemed columnist Umbra Fisk gives every chance she gets. Ol' Msr. Tennis didn't lob readers our way in his list of links, but it's still good to see him serve the same advice. (As one who puzzles over plastics, I know it's tough advice to take.)
Comments
View as Flat
PBrazelton Posted 3:18 am
15 Feb 2007
I think that this is such an issue for Americans because we believe that a.) we can buy ourselves out of any problem and b.) with enough research we will find that perfect consumer item with which we will problem solve. So everyone twists themselves into knots trying to figure out what's the best-most-awesome-to-the-max solution, creating a religion of perfection in the process. Or they backlash against this way of thinking, giving in to despair and act like children in a tantrum.
As for detergent, it matters if you care about water quality. 100 million households make a tremendous difference on our lakes and rivers when they choose lower-impact products. It's the same difference that carpooling makes, or replacing an incandescent with CF, or buying in bulk: a tiny, infinitesimal impact made huge through sheer numbers.
Any impact amplified through a billion people (or six, for that matter) is staggering. Please, do sweat the small stuff.
Permalink
CrosbyMacDonald Posted 3:50 am
15 Feb 2007
I'm not saying that buying a non-green dishwashing liquid is terrible, but if you are concerned about these things, then do it!
From Seventh Generation:
"If every household in the U.S. replaced just one 25 oz. bottle of petroleum based dishwashing liquid with our vegetable based product, we could save 118,700 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 6,800 U.S. homes for a year"
Now, this really is just a drop in the bucket of the ~7.3 billion that are used each year, but each action/trend magnifies over time.
Imagine if farmers in the Mississippi basin started using organic fertilizers - maybe the Gulf of Mexico wouldn't turn into a giant dead zone each year.
Why is climate change the only thing that needs to be done?
I agree that people shouldn't stress out over the small stuff, but just do what you can, when you can...
Permalink
Shawn Posted 3:53 am
15 Feb 2007
Now at this point either the old detergent company notices a niche and caters to it by changing their product (adds a duck to the label) or the green detergent keeps growing as they gain exposure and momentum. Either way, at some point a tangible % of consumers start to gain access to a viable green product. Resulting eco benefits ensue. Also the detergent industry now has a live example that consumers want green detergent. Capitalism says that they will cater to that market.
In short, by giving your money to the green detergent you not only feel better but your consumer voice helps shape the market in a positive direction. Both through the dollars going to the green company and the lack of dollars going to the old companies.
It's not stressful or hard to shop with a conscience. When you see 4 detergents on the shelf, pick the one you agree with. If you can't handle that level of shopping stress then you might have larger issues.
Sorry for the spam and hastily assembled reply, but I hope it makes sense.
Permalink
larrycham Posted 4:24 am
15 Feb 2007
Similarly, with phosphorus-free dishwasher detergent. Our local store now carries one brand with no phosphorus. Now, since we live on a bayou, some of us here are very concerned about the quality of our water. Our little bayou is often under a health alert just because of all the runoff from adjacent properties.
Over time, I have come to deal with a lot of little issues like detergent, lawn care products (minimize turf grass), etc. I believe that a large number of people sweating the little stuff adds up to big stuff. Of course, we shouldn't take our eye off the larger issues. Ultimately, they all connect. As Loren Eisley said, "One could not pluck a flower without troubling a star."
A pervasive change in consciousness is our best hope for developing a sustainable future. -- Thomas Berry
Permalink
bhurley Posted 5:04 am
15 Feb 2007
On the other hand, I'm a firm believer that if you have enough money to buy a Prius, you'll do a lot more for the environment if you buy something like a Yaris or a Honda Fit instead and take the extra $10K you would have spent on the Prius and donate it to an environmental organization (or the environmentally progressive political party of your choice).
Permalink
mihan Posted 5:21 am
15 Feb 2007
It's also advice the Union of Concerned Scientists gives. Why worry what kind of detergent you use when 8 tons of carbon (in the form of two cars) is sitting in your driveway?
Permalink
PBrazelton Posted 5:56 am
15 Feb 2007
There's an amusing argument used against animal rights philosophers that goes something like this: "There's a human baby and an iguana in a burning building. Which do you rescue." A devious trap, designed to show what a lout you are for caring about iguanas - after all, if you care so much about reptiles, how can you really care about humans?
Which do you choose, then, when considering the impact of your actions on the environment? Do you choose to drive to work, or pollute the waters? Fund pesticide use or deforest Canada? Do you pick The Most Important Issue out there and care about that, to the detriment of all others? Or do you give a damned about ALL of your actions, big and small, because as Americans we have the time and money to actually care?
We tend to frame this argument as some great debate, but what it comes down do is that what we do matters. This applies not only to our impacts on the natural world, but also on how we treat one another from day to day. Pretending otherwise makes us poor citizens, and we all suffer for it.
Permalink
bhurley Posted 6:20 am
15 Feb 2007
Permalink
Green Granny Posted 7:43 am
15 Feb 2007
"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi
Permalink
Biodiversivist Posted 11:27 am
15 Feb 2007
I've been watching that kind of behavior for thirty years without it having a positive effect. Things are happening now, but I don't think it is because of people like me who ride a bike, preserve forests, and drive a Prius. It's because of people like Al Gore, who flies more than he is driven, and has probably not ridden a bike since he was a child. I have played an insignificant role. I am sure I can count on one hand the people who have emulated my environmental efforts, if any. However, I ride on, not because it makes a measurable difference, but because it means something to me, and it gives me legitamacy when I talk about things environmental.
In the end, it all comes down to biodiversity. Poison Darts--Protecting the biodiversity of our world
Permalink
willa Posted 2:36 pm
15 Feb 2007
Actually, I think this may play into the bigger question, and here's how: I find that I spend a lot of time being a sort of ridiculous product connoisseur, which is partly my OCD getting away from me, partly my inner non-enviro loving to shop, but also partly a way of learning what environmentally friendly things I can try to turn others on to without seeming like a dirty hippie and ending up turning non-dirty hippies off. I could give a crap if I'm actually a dirty hippie--if I don't have to see anyone, I don't shower until I smell or my head itches, cause, you know, saving water--but given the bad rap we have, I'd rather go out in public looking fresh and clean and non-hippie-ish so that when I recommend a laundry detergent, people won't think "Good, well, now we know what to avoid like the plague!" So, yeah, see, there is some merit in being an obsessive product snob.
Oh, and Sun & Earth laundry detergent comes in a 5-gallon bucket as well as the regular bottles, which is the awesomest thing ever, since it lets me buy laundry detergent once every year or two, which is good, because while I like to shop, once I've decided what I want, I don't like to have to remeber to shop for it again. What, you say lazy like it's a bad thing! I also buy toilet paper, tissues, and paper towels by the case, although a single case of paper towels lasts me, I don't know, two years?
Permalink
willa Posted 2:41 pm
15 Feb 2007
I use their dish soap, laundry detergent, all-purpose spray cleaner, and enzyme stain remover. I love them all, they're all biodegradable (and I believe all free of phosphates and whatnot), and they all smell really, really good.
And no, they don't pay me. I discovered them when I was a broke college student, trying to do laundry with no detergent left, and I did the usual thing, which was to use one of the abandoned bottles with only one washload left in it--people used to leave them in the laundry room rather than take up precious dorm-room space with a nearly-empty--and when I smelled the load I'd washed with their detergent, I was sold for life.
Permalink
mihan Posted 4:37 am
16 Feb 2007
If you're trying to cut your household energy use, do you get a more energy-efficient food processor first, or do you insulate your roof?
Permalink
PBrazelton Posted 5:34 am
16 Feb 2007
Never said that you said that they said that small things are unimportant. But your last sentence seems unambiguous:
Why worry what kind of detergent you use when 8 tons of carbon (in the form of two cars) is sitting in your driveway?
We're very precisely talking about average people who want to change their day to day behavior. People who do want to worry about the small stuff, and in many cases those people worry about the big stuff, too. But if you're going to buy soap anyway, do you buy phosphate free? If you're going to eat anyway, do you buy organic? If you're going to drive anyway, do you drive a more fuel efficient car? If you're going to change your lightbulb anyway, do you buy a CF? This is the point I'm addressing, not a theoretical quandary that pits a kitchen appliance against an energy efficient home.
As for prioritizing - which I believe is sort of the point you're making - well, clearly you should weigh your choices. Iguana or child, yes? Life has all sorts of either/or decisions, but it rarely keeps us from buying a different detergent whilst saving for a fuel-efficient car.
Permalink