The Story of Stuff (and a bit of a vent)

Oh, where to begin?!  Do you ever seem to get inundated with other people's stupidity until you suddenly find yourself so angry at their ignorance you think you'll explode?  I am amazed to find that there are people in this world (far too many, unfortunately) who do not believe that anything they do has any impact on the world (people, environment, etc.) around them.  Huh?  How selfish can you be?  This is not about whether you believe in global warming or not.  How can you be so small-minded to think that what you do only affects you?  I think I'd better stop reading the stupid comments people post on other people's blogs (I may soon be the recipient of such comments!) and letters to the editor in certain magazines or in response to certain newspaper articles.

Anyway... the point of this post...  The Story of Stuff.  If you have not watched this video, or have not watched it recently, please do.  Or visit http://storyofstuff.com/.  I have to thank Emily, my new favorite blogger at Live Renewed for bringing this to my attention.  I love her philsophy on life and her journey toward a greener life for her family.  Now really, you should watch the video and then go read her March posts, because I pretty much agree with everything she says.  But in short, here's what really hit me, not as a tree-hugging hippie, but as a child of God.

I have too much stuff.  Way too much stuff.  My family has way too much stuff.  We know that and are working on dealing with it.  We have been trying to reduce our consumption of stuff.  We recognize that our choices as consumers don't just impact our lives, but the lives of people all around us.  This is why we choose to buy products and especially food that are as locally produced as possible, and at least from within the US.  When we buy locally, we support our local economy -- the same people, by the way, who happen to be supporting our own business venture, since we will always be a local company, feeding the local community.  We conserve resources by not using fuel, etc. to ship things across the country or even halfway around the world.  This is why we reuse and recycle as much as possible and throw away as little as possible.

We are living on a finite planet!!!  And whether you choose to believe in global warming or not, you cannot deny that we harvest our forests faster than we can regrow them, that farmland to produce food exists in much, much, much decreased quantities than just a few generations ago, that we are using up our planet.  And maybe you don't care, because you'll be dead before the planet is used up.  Well, goody for you!  What about your grandchildren???  We cannot afford to think only of ourselves!  It is a small world!  Such selfishness cannot be tolerated.

But here's where my faith comes in.  I believe that God created this earth and everything in it.  In Genesis, God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden and told him to take care of it.  In Scripture, God repeatedly gives individuals dominion over things... this means they have responsibility for those things, not that they can do what they want and destroy those things at any cost.  God placed us on the earth to take care of it and preserve it.

But what I find even more appalling as a believer is how our culture defines our value as people.  This video says it pretty succintly.  It hurts a little, made me cringe.  Victor Lebow, retail analyst in the 1950s, is quoted in the video as saying the following: "Our enormously productive economy... demands that we make consumption our way of life, that we convert the buying and use of goods into rituals, that we seek our spiritual satisfaction, our ego satisfaction, in consumption..." WHAT?!?!?! Rituals? Spiritual satisfaction? Ego satisfaction? Talk about idols and other gods! You wondered what is wrong with our society? There's your answer.

Our culture assigns value to people based on their ability to participate in the consumer good system through consumption.  Is this how God assigns value to His children?  Absolutely not!  We have been created in His image, knit together in our mother's womb, He values us more highly than all His creation.  We have incredible value because God says so!  And this is not true just of Americans.  God places high value on all people, even those living in Third World countries, working in deplorable conditions to mass-produce our goods, people being forced to move out of their villages as the countryside around them is destroyed.  Maybe even especially.  God clearly tells us how he feels about the poor, the widowed, the orphaned and what is to be our response as those more fortunate.  Your spending and consumption reflect the value you place on human life, the lives around you and the lives of people on the other side of the world.  Have you thought about what your consumption says about how you value other people?  If I am called to love God and love others, I need to think about how my consumption reflects my fulfillment of my calling.

We have more stuff than ever, but at what cost?  Maybe it's hard to measure some of it from where you stand, because you don't have a stinky factory in your neighborhood or have to look at people coming and going from the factories.  But one thing I've heard repeatedly is how we have more than ever, but we are less happy as a society than we have ever been.  So we get more and more stuff, because we are seeking "spiritual satisfaction, ego satisfaction," and we are left more and more hungry.  Seek ye first the Kingdom of God...  He alone is the Bread of Life, the Living Water.  Stop idolizing your stuff!  (that was directed at me, by the way)

So what should we do?  Join me and my family in examining your relationship to your stuff.  Think about what you have, what role your stuff plays in your life, and maybe even more importantly, reflect on your participation in our consumptive society.  Really think about the purchases you make -- where they come from, how they are manufactured or grown, the impact those products have on the world around you, both the planet and the people who live on it.

And I'd love to hear how it goes for you.  Have you already journeyed the path of getting rid of stuff?  Are you in the middle of it?  Are you thinking about beginning the journey?

Again... Why?

In my travels through Cyberspace, I stumbled upon a wonderful blog called Live Renewed: My Journey Toward Living "Frugally Green."  For those of you who wonder why I feel the way I do, I found an entry on her blog that explains it so perfectly, and I want to share that with you.  Her entry is entitled Encouragement for the Journey: Simple Acts.  I know that I am living my life more each day as God calls me to live it as I follow His Son.  I believe strongly in stewardship being about much more than just what we do with our paycheck.  My small steps make a difference, even if Heaven is the only one who notices.  God uses even the small things for His purposes.

Now, I need a copy of Serve God, Save the Planet.  :)

Real (not fake) Organics & Naturals

This just goes to show you... never believe everything you read on the front of your products.  For those of you seeking to choose organic or natural products for you and your family, you will want to read this.  I just stumbled upon an article posted by Organic Gal on Nesting.com about body care products that use the label "organic" or "natural" without really being so.  (She didn't actually write it, either; she got it from another site.)  Apparently, you can put anything on the front of your package, so be sure to read your ingredient lists!  If you want to see the article, it's at nesting.com.  The article is a little hard to read, because it's in one continuous paragraph instead of a list, so here's a list of the brands that are true to their organic or natural label.  *Disclaimer: I have not personally checked any of these yet, but as some of the fakers are in my home, I will be making some personal adjustments.*

The following paragraph is taking directly from the Organic Gal posting:
Body care is not a regulated industry.  The USDA Organic regulations/laws only extend to food items or body care items that are food grade.  Because of lax regulations a body care company can use the word "Natural" any way they want, regardless of if they threw in chemicals and synthetics to the final product. A company can only use the word Organic (as in the product name, etc) on the front of their packaging if the product contains at least 70% organic ingredients.  For a company to display a label that reads "Made with Organic ingredients" the product must carry 70% or more organics with no restrictions on the other ingredients.  For a company to display the USDA organic label, it must have 95% or higher organic ingredients with the other 5% being from an approved list.  To carry the new Natural Products Association Label the natural product must only contain pre-approved naturally derived ingredients.  The Eco-Cert label has fallen under scrutiny lately, for allowing synthetics in products (which is against its own rules) with many interest groups now not trusting the integrity of the EcoCert logo.

Real Organic: no synthetics, never ever
Badger Balm
Bottled Earth Company
Dr. Bronners
Earth Mama
Angel Baby
Eco-Beauty Organics
Eminence
Essensa
Gratefulbody Organics
iLike
Intelligent Nutrients Le FP
Green body Care
Miessence Organics (food grade, carries USDA label)
Nature's Baby Organics
Nourish (food grade, carries USDA label)
Oracle Organics
Organic Essence
Pangea Organics
Perfect Organics
Sun Dog
Trillium

Real Natural: Though they might not use all organic ingredients, their finished product has NO added synthetics.
Alaffia (*Fair Trade)
Aubrey Organics, (they are not on the organic list because not all products are fully organic, though they never use chemicals or synthetics in finished product)
Bon Vital's natural line
Devita
Dr. Bronners
Earth Mama
Angel Baby
Mexitan
Mychelle
Rare 2 B
Suki
Weleda
Zum

Organic Gal posts a lengthy list of fakers, as well as a list of companies who are "hit or miss."  The "hit or miss" companies have some great products that would be considered true to their labels, but they also have some products that use synthetics.  If you want me to post the list of fakers here, I will, but I figured the list of real companies made this post long enough.  :)

Another great website to check this stuff out at is that of the Organic Consumers Association.  I highly recommend checking out your products.  This site also includes a spreadsheet that gives the Skin Deep hazard rankings to each brand's products.  You definitely want to look at this!

Fluff Friday Giveaway

Visit The Cloth Diaper Whisperer to enter her giveaway for a Knickernappies One-Size Diaper with two Loopy-Do inserts and a Knickernappies Hanging Door Pail Liner at http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/2010/02/fluff-friday-67.html.  Enter through Thursday, February 25th at 7 p.m.

Moby Wrap Giveaway

Another great website for all you moms out there -- http://givemeneither.com/.  Any of you expecting or with wee ones or know someone that falls into those categories?  Check out the Moby Wrap giveaway at http://givemeneither.com/moby-baby-wrap-giveaway/.  Enter and share with your friends!

The Disappearing Male

Do you have children?  Or grandchildren?  Do you want to?  You NEED to make 40 minutes in your schedule to watch this video, The Disappearing Male.  It is frightening.

When I started my journey toward green, some of my decisions and choices were based on my feeling that all these man-made chemicals couldn't be great for our God-created human bodies more than facts (and some were definitely based on fact), but this documentary provides some frightening and specific effects of all these chemicals.  I fear for our children's generation, but perhaps even moreso, for their children.  What will their world be like???  We can make a change, but we have to do it now, not tomorrow, not next week, not next month...  You don't need to go "cold turkey" or do it all, but choose today to make one small, green change for your family.  One small step at a time to change the world.

Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's Giveaway

So, I just discovered The $30 Weekly Grocery Challenge!  You really need to check this blog out.  What a great resource!!!  Anyway, she has tons of great giveaways, including this one for a copy of the book Cooking with All Things Trader Joe's.  Check it out today and regularly (I've added a button on my blog page), because her giveaways usually are only 48 hours.  Good luck!

Kids Eat Free 2/13-15 @ IKEA

Save some green, right?  This weekend, February 13-15, kids can get a free lunch at participating IKEA stores.  No purchase necessary.  Free lunch is for kids 12 and under, and you get to choose 3 kid-sized items to make a meal (including five meatballs, mac and cheese, PB&J sandwich, kids yogurt, two cookies, chocolate milk and more)!  Call your local IKEA store to make sure they are participating.


From the IKEA website: "Our Restaurants welcome you with a relaxing atmosphere and menu offers that satisfy most every taste at a price that satisfies every budget. Of course we’re famous for our Swedish meatballs and Lingonberry drink, but there’s so much more, you’re guaranteed not to go home hungry! And to show we’re concerned for your well being and satisfaction, we want you to know that IKEA is committed to sourcing food for our menu items from companies that are committed to the highest food safety standards as well as being environmentally and socially responsible. We take every measure to insure our suppliers comply with all international and national food legislation. We make strict demands concerning animal welfare and the non use of antibiotics or hormones to stimulate growth. We support ecological farming and prefer organically grown products. It’s our commitment, to make it Tasty, Uncomplicated and Good for You!"

A Review of Six Green Laundry Detergents

Someone just shared this link with me, and I wanted to pass it on to you.  I think our laundry detergent is a big place we need to "go green," a good first thing to replace with something greener when you run out of whatever you've been using.  It goes into our water, it goes into our clothes, which come in constant, close contact with our family's skin, etc.  Anyway, the site is http://www.grist.org/ (A Beacon in the Smog), and the article is at http://www.grist.org/article/its-a-wash.  Check it out.

Organic Rising

Happy New Year!  I hope you had a wonderful holiday season with your family and friends.  I also hope that you will make just one small change to your lifestyle in 2010 to take better care of your family and our planet.  Whether you switch to cloth napkins or purchase "green" cleaners when whatever you are using now runs out, or maybe you're expecting a new baby and you're going to use gDiapers or cloth or even just chlorine-free disposables...  each single small step makes a difference.  What will your small step be?

Need some ideas related to the food you eat?  Check out Organic Rising, a site I just discovered and a wealth of information about organic foods.  This site, sponsored by the Organic Valley Family of Farms offers information about just what "organic" means, recipes, and more.

Another thing I'm excited about, regarding food, is my newest cookbook I received for Christmas --Simply in Season.  For those of us trying to do better about eating locally and in season, this book is wonderful!  The recipes are broken down into sections based on the four seasons and the foods that are available at those different times.  I can't wait to start trying some out this week.  Lots of soups this time of year -- yummy!

Remember, reader, I'd love to hear your responses and additions to my thoughts, so please comment.