Seemed Like a Good Idea...

First, we'll tell the good story and give praise. Then, we shall discuss why it's still a bunch of horse-pucky.

"The story of the handle: 1. From plastic hangers. 2. To 100% recycled plastic. 3. To Xtreme3 Eco Handle.

"Schick Xtreme 3 Eco helps keep plastic waste out of the landfill by using 100% recycled plastic in the production of the razor handles. In addition, the package is made with 100% post-consumer recycled paper. It is still the same great shave for your skin, but now better for the environment. Aloe & Vitamin E; Flexible 3 Blades. Great for Your Skin; Better for the Environment; 100% Recycled Handle."

Great, right? Stop for a moment, and think about it. Plastic can only be recycled - actually downcycled - maybe once before nothing more can be done with it. Compare that to metals and glass which can endlessly be recycled into something equal. So, this "recycled" handle is now no longer able to be anything else after this, and so shall end up right where those plastic hangers would be anyway. Is that an improvement, or just a delaying tactic of the same result? Of course it's good if you buy these instead of their other lines with brand new plastic handles... oh... wait... so they are still making their other razor products with "virgin" plastic handles? Why, yes, yes they are. So all that plastic is still getting put out there in the world? Why, yes, yes it is. If they care so much, shouldn't they try to make ALL handles of all their products from plastic hangers? Hmm. Well, THAT would seem like progress. This? This is just a shallow effort to get some greenwashing money to try to make people think they are doing something green and great. 

There's no reason to continually use disposable razors. None. Even if you are using one with the little changeable heads, sure that's plastic, but it's a lot LESS. I have been using the same handle for the better part of a decade, and I use the heads way longer than a few weeks, because they are still good for a lot longer than the manufacturers say they are. Of course they are. Of course they just want you to buy more, more quickly. Not necessary. Someday, I will graduate back to a metal handle and real blades. Someday. 

What's even funnier is that when I was researching Schick and these greenwashed garbages, I came across another wonderful product they have: Xtreme3 with "SCENTED HANDLES." Yes, Hawaiian Tropic scented handles.

Um.... WHY???? Sigh. There is no hope.

Scents of Nature, Now in Chemical Form!

I can't make this stuff up, I swear it.

The good people at Reckitt Benckiser, makers of Air Wick, have a wonderful new product based on a partnership with the National Park Foundation, to preserve national parks and "bring home the vibrant scents inspired by Nature." I didn't realize Nature needed help from chemicals to make Home smell good. Right now, the honeysuckle outside is in bloom, and wafts in my open windows quite nicely. Or, some perfectly natural cinnamon always works nicely. Nature is not some chemical concoction out of a can, or worse, a plastic THING plugged into the wall that lasts for a whole 45 days!!! (Then you need a new plastic thingy while you throw the old one out because there is nothing else to be done with it...) I'm not even sure what the National Park Foundation does.

Now, I understand why the National Park Foundation would team up with Air Wick. It's awareness and support and of course money. I can't really say shame on them for that. Well, I could, but there's no point to it. Gotta get them money from somewhere.  Here's a good scent: Yellowstone Wildflower Valley. Doesn't that sound lovely? "Bring outdoor freshness into your home with Wildflower Valley, inspired by the green grass and summer meadows of Yellowstone National Park's unspoiled natural habitat." I really am curious as to exactly WHAT that actually really smells like. I'm thinking it smells nothing like Yellowstone. And what kind of malarkey is that anyway? What ad exec thought THAT up? "Unspoiled natural habitat"?? sure, if you ignore the plastic bottles left behind because, ya know, gotta have convenient water at hand to drink. This stuff is classified as a HAZARDOUS CHEMICAL. What about that brings to mind "outdoor freshness"? Glacier Bay Serene Waters... "Inspired by the oceanic grandeur of Glacier Bay National Park, Serene Waters captures the clean, fresh and soothing fragrances of this Alaskan wilderness." Uh huh. Because, last I checked, fresh air smells EXACTLY LIKE chemicals out or a can.

RB, who make Air Wick and other things, swears it is a company committed to a healthier planet. Balderdash, I say. Do they come around and collect the billions of plastic containers left from their spent products? No. Do they use chemically-derived fragrances? Yes. Are they selling us things we do NOT need in our homes? Yes. So, any claims they make FOR the environment are, in my eyes, pure Greenwashing.

But, Greenie, you say, we can't open our doors and windows and just let real actual AIR in. We have allergies. The smell of real grass will make us sneeze.

How do you THINK we got such allergies in the first place??? We exposed ourselves to too many chemicals. We polluted the air out there until we can't stand to breathe it anymore. But we don't think like that. We think we have to spray crap all over the place and coat every surface and air particle in our sealed and air-conditioned homes with toxic chemicals so that we can smell something pretty. Something that resembles in no way shape or form what it is supposed to be "inspired by."

All we can do as consumers is NOT buy this stuff anymore. Just stop.

Please?

Come on.

Nature's Source. That's a new offering by our family company, S.C. Johnson. Yes, they are at it again. Oh, no, not being green, GETTING the green... from you. Now, I know, I know, they really are a conscientious company. They do a lot of good. They really do. I don't mean to bag on them as much as I do... oh, snort, of course I do.

It's really not so much the product line this time, as the idea of this product line. Here we have wonderful natural earth-friendly cleaners for everything in SC Johnson's line. Shout for laundry stains, Windex for glass, Scrubbing Bubbles for the bathroom and toilet bowl and all-purpose (you know, because you NEED 3 different cleaners for all those areas. Ka-CHING!). All re-formulated and re-packaged as Nature's Source. So, you have your familiar names, but now you can feel good about them! They're all good now!

Well, as usual, I have a few concerns. One: are they still making all the old formulas? You know, those ones with all the non-natural stuff and toxins? And if so, how can the company be true to the "green" commitment? Sure, THESE products may be fine, but are you going to stop polluting the planet with the old stuff? No? I didn't think so. Anti-green point #1.

Two: this is where the "come on" comes in... It isn't easy to research the "real" price this line from here on my couch, because stores cannot sell it online because they can't ship it to you. Because it's still considered some un-shippable hazardous product. (Anti-green point #2?) The prices I did manage to find were all right around $5 per bottle. FIVE BUCKS?? For window cleaner? What does it do, bring its own maid??? OK, seriously, the reason I mock is because for under a dollar, we can purchase a bottle of white vinegar and add a little bit to it to plain old water and use that as perfectly wonderful and effective glass cleaner. That one bottle will last a while. You can even buy it in a glass bottle and reuse the spray bottle you already have.Now THAT'S green. Some people kvetch about the smell of the vinegar and that's why they won't use it. I guess these are the same people that love the smell of bleach and use disposable diapers on their babies. Look: the smell of the vinegar dissipates in moments. I should know; I use apple cider vinegar as a rinse for my hair. Amazingly enough, I do NOT smell like a salad all day. I'm not here for those people; they'll never ever listen to me. All we can hope to do is eventually out-number them, or shame them into submission. :)

All that's happening here is that a company is jumping on the green bandwagon and greenwashing their way to profit. Sure, they might even be great products. But with other companies out there who are green all the way through, like Method and Better Life (http://www.cleanhappens.com/), or the stuff we already have around the house (white vinegar, lemons, Borax, baking soda), we do not need to fork out $5 and more for their super-special crap which really isn't that super-special. Just expensive. Don't fall for it. The planet ain't gettin' better with these products, but S.C. Johnson A Family Company IS gettin' richer.

Green Products by Non-Green Companies, To Buy or Not to Buy?

Every company out there is making a "green" option product. Dish detergent? We have our old stand-by's but oh here's an Earth-friendly option! Laundry detergent? Cleaners? All of them are jumping on the band wagon. Do they care about the Earth? Snort. Of course not. Do they care about profit? Why, yes of course. That's why they are in business, after all. Do they think they can scam some money from the green movement with a little bit of greenwashing? Hell yeah! Are their products really any greener? Well, let's see.

Palmolive, under Colgate, has a new Pure + Clear dishwashing liquid. "No Unnecessary Chemicals", they say. Hmm. What do we deem necessary chemicals? I looked at the list of ingredients, and it still seems to have plenty of chemicals. That aside... does this one product make up for all the other products Colgate manufactures that all still have the "unnecessary" chemicals? And if they aren't necessary in one product, why are there necessary in all the others? I don't get it. And I don't fall for it. You'd think with a pleasant name like Palmolive, two nice trees, they'd be a little better at this.

These companies seem to think that they can just take the color out and make something clear and VOILA suddenly we're led to believe it's oh-so-much better for the planet. And we'll fall for it. And sometimes we do. I say, let's not. Just because a company makes ONE "green" product, that does not excuse all the other products they continue to make.

Best to look for companies that actually dedicate their entire model to being Earth-friendly. There are plenty and more are coming out every day. As we continue to buy those products instead, the prices will come down, and these other super-companies will get the idea that we ain't fallin' fer their line 'o greenwashing no mo'! It's easy to do your part. Just talk with your dollars and your buying habits.