Baby Steps to a More Eco-Friendly, Sustainable, Green, Fair Trade Life

Recently, a woman who I'd met at a conference e-mailed me. "I love Emerald Market," she said. "I just love the concept. But you know what? I talk about wanting to live a more eco-friendly life, and I just don't. I don't know why, but I don't."

You know what? Neither do I.

I'm really horrible about it. I mean to take my canvas bag into the grocery store to get away from the "paper or plastic" dilemma, and I don't. I mean to buy dishcloths so that I can give up paper towels once and for all, and again, I don't. In fact, sometimes the only thing I think I'm doing to help the earth right now is potty training my 2-1/2 year old daughter so I can say goodbye to non-biodegradable Pull-Ups once and for all.

See? I'm terrible.

Here's the thing, though: I don't think the fact that old habits die hard should stop us from trying to break them, even in the smallest ways. Certainly, because of the attention I give to this site, I am much more careful about the things I buy: I choose t-shirts made of sustainable bamboo when I shop for my family now, instead of running to the Gap. I'm more likely to linger over organic produce and look for organic foods when I grocery shop than I did before. And because I'm thinking about the environment more, I find myself more often turning off the lights in rooms when I leave, minimizing the soap I use in the dishwasher, that sort of thing.

You know, baby steps.

Anyway, my point is that I get that transitioning to a more sustainable, authentic life isn't easy. For this reason, I'm thrilled to present this new chapter of Emerald Market, called "Emerald Life" -- small tips which I hope will help inspire you to start thinking about how you can reduce your footprint on the planet. I'll let you know what's going on in the news related to eco-living, and I might even do a book review or two, but mostly, I'll just give you a couple of tiny tricks that can be easily incorporated into your everyday life -- and I'll let you know how my own progress is going.

All this notwithstanding, this is my vow to you: I promise never to be preachy, or holier-than-thou about this whole enviro-thing -- there are enough books and sites out there that'll do that, if that's what you're looking for, and besides, who would I be to talk? Oh, and also, while you'll start seeing these Emerald Life posts peppered throughout the site, I solemnly swear to continue showcasing for you the best green, eco-friendly and sustainable items the internet as to offer. Think of it this way: come for the shopping, stay for the inspiration. Finally, I hope you'll return the favour -- please share your thoughts, ideas, tips and feedback in the comments section of the Emerald Life posts, or drop me an e-mail at digablekaren AT mac DOT com. I'd love to hear from you.

See you soon.

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Comments

[Daisy]

Tiny little habits? I'm with you. Big changes are hard to make, but little ones are accessible. Think globally; act locally. I'll be back!

[Jenny]

Excellent idea. We all need baby steps, otherwise, we'll throw our hands up in the air in hopelessness.

My suggested first step: If you haven't yet done so, go see "An Inconvenient Truth." It's enteraining, sobering, and inspiring all at once. IMHO, it's the most important movie of the decade. Better yet, it *will* inspire you. And it even suggests some steps you can take to help. (Some small, some not so small.) Go see it -- for yourself, and for your family.

[Alotta Errata]

I think you'll find that blogging about your changes, like blogging about products, will help to motivate you. I know my blog does, it helps keep me accountable. I've been blogging about my baby steps for probably a month now (I just did a "state of the you address" cataloging the changes I've made)

The easiest change for me was to switch all my household cleaners to biodegradable ones, and I pay more attention to recycling everything I can now too.

good luck to you in your journey towards a more green lifestyle!