green is universal

Calling the Green Watch Dog

Posted at 12:05 PM on January 01, 2008 comments (1)

By Mary Beth Gonzalez, iVillage.com

Call me ungrateful but I'm a bit disappointed at some of the "Green" Christmas gifts I received this year. My feelings aren't aimed at the gift givers - in fact - I'm deeply touched that so many people who bought me a gift this year recognized that I would prefer an eco-friendly product. I am upset however how easily well-intentioned "very light Greeners" can unknowingly buy something much less Green then they had expected.

- Harry and David's online catalog seductively describes the Triple Treat Collection as "Super-premium fruit - selected by America's fruit authorities. You won't find fruit this wholesome and extraordinary at the supermarket." The box included fresh oranges, fresh pears and fresh apples but then printed in small letters on the packing box: "coated with a food grade vegetable, petroleum, beeswax, and/or shellac based wax or resin to maintain freshness." I kid you not. I could see my pupils in the shellac on the apples. I called Harry and David to inquire as to what exactly was in the shellac and neither Terry, the customer service rep, nor her manager knew but said that it was "simply there to make the fruit shiny and pretty and can easily be washed off". She then kindly offered to research it and get back to me within a few days (by which time the fruit will likely have spoiled). Now Harry and David make no claims that their fruit is organic, and I realize they must be using approved shellacs, but I'm confident that my brother-in-law had no idea that his gift of fresh fruit would be covered in shiny chemicals.

- EcoExpress.com promotes their eco-website with this tagline "Uncommon Gifts for the Common Good". Admittedly, some of their gift basket items are organic and some support rain forest conservation. But many of their products are simply fancy Gourmet goodies such as sun-dried tomatoes, Italian breadsticks, stuffed olives and dried portabella mushrooms. An avid label reader, I searched for what made these products eco-friendly or perhaps organic but to no avail. Yet I'm sure that my well-meaning brother thought that he was sending us a Green gift from this self-labeled "eco-minded" website.

- Barielle's 10 piece natural nail care system: Knowing that I blog about natural beauty products, a close friend sent me this "natural" nail care system. Surprise! Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep score is a high 7 (on a 1-10 scale) with 92% of other nail care systems having lower environmental toxicity concerns. Nothing very eco or natural about that and then I realized that their "natural" means as opposed to "artificial" nails. How confusing...

As pleased as I am that companies are now making an eco-friendly lifestyle more accessible to mainstream consumers, I'm concerned about how easily people with the best Green motivations can purchase gifts not knowing the full picture. Caveat emptor (which we all learned from The Brady Bunch is Latin for "let the buyer beware") is more necessary than ever in a market where products labeled "natural" may not be and "wholesome" might mean covered with chemicals. And don't even get me started on how many genuinely Green presents arrived packed in Styrofoam peanuts...

What were your Green gifts experiences this season? Did they thrill or disappoint? Please share your own stories as we walk this perilous Green path together.

Mary Beth Gonzalez
iVillage.com
Please join my Going Green group and read my Green Blog