When we first decided to buy and renovate this house, one of my top priorities was going to be making the renovation as green as possible. I had visions of solar roof tiles, rain barrels, greywater recovery systems, recycled glass kitchen and bathroom tiles…
And then I really looked around at how difficult it could be to find these things, and how out-of-reach many of them were pricewise for the average person. Thankfully, I found sites like The Victory Garden and NoImpact Man and the 90% Project for continued tips on how to make a difference, even if I couldn’t do the really big things just yet.
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On that note, my friend Becky and I were talking about clothing and sweatshops and other consequences of our material world. Becky pointed me to a PBS Documentary called China Blue about conditions in the factories that make our clothes. Almost in the same breath, we lamented how difficult it was to try and live in a world where one is expected to dress and makeup like a magazine page, and where the tempations of “fast fashion” like H&M and Forever21 are veryvery real.
Then, this morning I read the blog of a long-time online acquaintance to find she started up a new site called the GreenGirlGuide where she and her partners talk about these very problems of fashion and beauty products and showcase people trying to make a difference and give people a more socially-conscious alternative.
Green Girl Guide™ showcases companies that regularly make conscious choices in a realistic way. Just as we can’t eat organic all the time and love mineral makeup but won’t part with our waterproof (and probably mildly toxic) mascara, the Green Girls are about calling out companies that make socially and environmentally conscious choices and share the belief that small, individual actions can add up to big change.
Well now, what perfect timing! I hope lots of people regularly tune into the GreenGirl blog, as I know I will. Sometimes it’s easy to get overwhelmed when trying to change your habits, but I think these girls are going to make it a teeny bit easier.
