Home Depot really wants you to think of their much ballyhoo’d “Eco Options” program as a quick, easy and painless way to be an environmentalist.
green
In The Store, "Green" Is A Matter Of Opinion
By 9.6.07
Do you try to be a green consumer? Says who? The problem with eco-friendly shopping today is that it’s become the “Wild West” of marketing, says the Los Angeles Times, with dozens of self-appointed labels, grass roots seals-of-approvals, and no unified, federally mandated guideline. According to Bruce Hamilton of the Sierra Club,
“People are consciously trying to fuzzy the boundary lines between clarity and lack of clarity so they can sell more products. Everybody is trying to promote their products as green even though they may not be.”
By 8.22.07
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If you’re interested in switching to “green light,” check out this comprehensive but digestible CFL buying and use guide. [Danny Lipford]
Ethical Shopping Is Pointless: An Interview With Consumer Activist George Monbiot
By 8.7.07
Sure, being a more conscientious shopper is gratifying; we’ve gotten in the habit of refusing bags at the store whenever we can manage to carry the goods some other way, and although it’s a small step, it feels good. But Monbiot, a British journalist and political activist who was interviewed this week on the website of newconsumer magazine, would laugh in our stupid faces at how ineffectual we’re being as consumers: “In the absence of political action it is a form of passivity.”
I am very sceptical of consumer power. I believe better consumption by itself is an entirely useless means of achieving political change. Those who have the most votes – the vote being the money you have to spend as consumers – are generally inclined to use them the least.
What Good Is A Carbon Offset Program If British Airways Doesn't Tell You About It?
By 7.23.07
British Airways has come under fire for not informing customers of its carbon-offsetting program, possibly for fear that people will fly less if they knew the real environmental impact, according to the Times of London.
A Closer Look At Home Depot's "Eco Options" Program
By 6.25.07
Is Home Depot’s much-advertised PR darling “Eco Options” program an example of green washing or a genuine good? The NYT attempts to find out by interviewing Ron Javis, Home Depot’s senior vice president overseeing the Eco Options program.
The Anatomy Of The "Dangerous Levels Of Mercury In CFLs" Myth
By 5.2.07
A woman in Maine broke a CFL and, rather than carefully cleaning the mess up herself, she called Home Depot. They told her not to vacuum, and directed her to call Poison Control. Poison Control directed her to the Maine DEP, who then sent an agent. The agent told her to call in a toxic waste team to give an estimate. Naturally, they told her it was going to be around $2,000. She heard that number, walled off the bedroom and alerted the local media.
VIDEO: "Mercury Is A Natural Element" – Free Lightbulb Day At Chelsea Home Depot
By 4.23.07
While we agree with Mr. skeptical glasses in the video that it’s a good PR move for Home Depot, and coincides with the launch of their “green label” line of “eco-friendly” products, you know, consumers need a push with this issue. It’s hard for the shoppers at large to understand that while they cost a little bit more than your basic bulb, they will use less energy and save you money in the long-run. They also look funny.
Free CFLs At Home Depot This Sunday
By 4.20.07
We’ve already mentioned this but people keep sending it in as a tip so apparently it bears repeating: Home Depot will be giving away 1 million (as in, not enough for all of you, Dear Consumerist Readers, for you are many and Home Depot is few) CFLs this Sunday in honor of Earth Day and as part of their new “green” labeling promotion.
Home Depot To Introduce "Green" Labeling
By 4.17.07
Home Depot today will introduce a label for nearly 3,000 products, like fluorescent light bulbs that conserve electricity and natural insect killers, that promote energy conservation, sustainable forestry and clean water.
GE: We're Totally About To Invent A Better Incandescent Light Bulb In, Like, Several Years
By 2.23.07
Ultimately the high efficiency lamp (HEI) technology is expected to be about four times as efficient as current incandescent bulbs and comparable to CFL bulbs.
Like, by when? The apocalypse? —MEGHANN MARCO
It’s The Little Steps That Count
By 5.22.06
We somehow came across this commencement speech given by Odessa Piper, former owner of L’Etoile Restaurant, which she delivered to the graduating class of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It probably isn’t Consumerist in nature — no customer service horror stories, no corporate megalomania, no craven disregard for the well-being of consumers. It’s just a charming and passionate story about how a young woman managed to stick to her principles and, after years of hard work, finally make her green and farmer friendly business into a profitable, highly regarded restaurant.
Eco-Furniture Sells Mass Produced Beds
By 1.11.06
We’re not sure which of these mass-produced bed are “exemplifying symmetry, balance, and harmony with the natural world,” but we’re assured that the “peace & tranquility” are much more abundant when you buy from GreenCulture Furniture. On GreenCulture’s EcoFurniture.com the ‘Sensay’ bed is made of “kiln-dried sustainably harvested solid merbau” with “rails … constructed of plywood with merbau veneer.” Every other retailer that sells the bed calls it the ‘Edo.’
