I went to a waste-free artisan market today. Not only do I believe in supporting your local artisans but my interest was peaked by the whole "help the earth" vibe of it all. I was plain curious as to what this market would consist of. As I walked around looking at the various items I started questioning them. Sure some of the things were all natural soap and stuff of that nature, which is great, but then there were other things that got me thinking...is this actually a good thing for our earth?
I'll start with the first thing that comes to mind - the bamboo toothbrush. Ya initially it's like cool no plastic! But then think about it more...how often do you really throw out your toothbrush? Maybe every few months right? So let's say you throw out around 3 toothbrushes per year...not that much in the grand scheme of plastic thrower-outerage. Now let's look at the bamboo brush itself...where do you think that bamboo came from? I highly doubt it came from the artisans backyard. So the tree had to be cut down from somewhere. So they'll have to log who knows how many bamboo plants to make all of these toothbrushes to feed the demand. In turn your cutting down these plants and taking away the food source for animals as well as their homes. Not to mention the carbon emission used to transport these bamboo brushes to various places. So is this really a better alternative? <_>
And then I started thinking about the newest craze of the cotton pad for women. Again initially it seems like such a great idea. And then i started thinking. So we have to wash these things right? I have to wonder how many people use biodegradable soap to do so. If so then that's cool but if not that's more chemicals going into our water sources. And that brings me to my next point - the water use. We already have a water shortage in some places (california is one I believe) and so running the tap while you wash this thing probably isn't the best idea either. So again I wonder...is this really a better alternative?
These things are simply my opinion. I am in no way knocking any of the artisans or anyone else for that matter. I just feel as though it is important to really think about these things before just jumping on the band wagon. Feel free to express your thoughts :)
Peace, love, and dinosaurs
Amanda