A Challenge — the Girlcott
by Warren McLaren, Sydney on 07. 8.05
There have been over 3,600+ ‘comments’ posted to TH. Many very constructive and positive points have been raised. However what has struck us also, was the negative tone of a large number of ‘comments’. It can often seem like readers are actively seeking out the Achilles’ heel in a product or story. Seeing the small weakness, not the greater strength. Treehugger is about celebrating the journey towards a modern and green future. We focus on the light at the end of the tunnel, we leave others to write about the darkness. So, in this vein, we issue a challenge to our readership. Don’t whinge. Act. Positively. If you see something that needs fixing – go fix it! If you think a product we showcase is too expensive, don’t complain. Do something to change it. Go to their site, find the email link and tell the supplier you think their product is great and you’d love to buy it, but currently it’s out of your price range. Let them know you care, expand their horizons. Encourage them to do better. Support them with your enthusiasm. If you think they should use better materials, less packaging, offer the product locally, or ... whatever, tell ‘em. You are their potential customer. They’ll listen. And might just respond.
One man is credited with ending the British colonial rule of India. He said "If you want change ... you must be that change". Gandhi cut his teeth in activism in Africa, where they have a saying that goes something like: "If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito." So, we suggest rather than look for the negative in a product or service, seek out its light and do what you can to make it shine brighter. If a boycott is “a refusal to buy, sell, or otherwise trade with an individual or business who is generally believed by the participants in the boycott to be doing something morally wrong” or “a form of protest” then we propose the opposite — a girlcott :-) . A vote of 'congratulations', followed by an offer to buy, if the business can make the goods even better. Don’t berate, encourage. The budding green economy is just learning to walk. It’s like a child. It will respond to your support and recoil from your anger. Nurture it and it will grow up healthy.
This might be a little "meta", but I certainly find value in people's constructive critiques. I don't think people who critique are "bashing" necessarily -- actually the contrary. Most people who come here (with the exception of people with an anti-green agenda) not only want more and more positive solutions coming down the pipeline, but actually live many of those solutions already?
My girlfriend and I were discussing trying to live "green" last night and how it's in many ways a thankless, endless task -- ie, no matter how much you do to live lightly, more in tune with nature, with more wellness, etc -- there's always the sense that you could do more.
Living that way and having first questioned societal norms, people who have chosen to dedicate themselves to sustainability (or similar paths) are used to questioning everything, down to minute details. That is both good and bad. The bad side is the aforementioned lack of peace, the sense that you can never feel satisfied with what you've accomplished (akin to certain Christian mindsets about sin). This is what you seem to be exasperated with.
But simply cheering something on may produce good feelings, it also sort of doesn't have a point. Take the recent ecovillage thread - we can learn valuable things about what people's needs and wants really are, and that should then help us to design things better. If you ask people to hold back on their critiques, then you're basically asking them to hold back on what they might truly feel, and people are always going to have mixed feelings about a lot of things.
I love this website. Like Worldchanging, it provides an endless source of positive responses to difficult problems, and is helping people to get used to the idea that living green might not entail all the difficulties and trade-offs that it has in the past. One thousand cheers for you all and them for that.
But assumptions should still be challenged, don't you think? If people go off to directly communicate with companies mentioned, then how are others here going to learn from their insights as well?
thank you joseph. i would hope treehuggers could avoid the urge to stifle dissent because, in the end, truth is more positive than agreement. if someone has experience or knowledge regarding a featured product or idea beyond the original post, it helps us to be smarter 'consumers' if they share it. i don't want to buy something based on a glowing review on the site and then discover that it's not all it was cracked up to be. that makes for real backlash against eco products.
The challenge to 'Girlcott' is about adding more walk to all our talk, so we'll get to that greener future sooner. To encourage readers to also 'act' on their convictions. To directly engage with the supplier of the good or service, with which they have concerns. (For example, one reader concerned about the battery in a product, contacted the manufacturer, who indicated they provided a recycling service. The reader shared those findings on Treehugger. Everyone benefited. Certainly more so, than if he had simply dashed off a narky comment, "Yeh, but what about the battery?"). Sharing of knowledge is valuable of itself, but it's acting on this that really changes the world. At Treehugger we only provide the seeds of change, our readers are the ones who must plant them.
You know how it is...some people would complain if ya hung em with a NEW rope!
FORWARD-THE ONLY VALID DIRECTION.
Last year I came back from Isreal, where the food is kosher. I had problems adjusting to the food here in Canada again. I found myself buying organics. Mostly the staples, milk, bread, eggs, ect. It helped improve my digestion, althoughi'm spending three times more. I discovered TH weblog about a month ago, which led me to Sprol. Both have had a profound effect on me. I now, find myself trying to conserve water at home. I recycle a heck of a lot more than I used to and my roommate and I are thinking of ways to compost, so we can use it in the garden (which is free of pesticides and insecticides. We have the best tomatoes which we share with friends. I have even started buying laundry detergent, all purpose cleaner, tissue paper, ect. which are eco-friendly. So this weblog does have an impact despite the negative blurbs. Thanks Guys
Cheers Warren - I applaude the post and agree that each of us need to start doing more than that which lies in the path of our everyday life.
The internet has empowered all of us to learn so much so quickly and in that regard, I agree with Joseph and Hijiki that constructive critisicm is important. I can't begin to count the number of times I've read a comment thread on TH and had an "OH, I never thought of THAT repurcussion" moment. Unfortunatly, I've also read a number of comments that strike me as being straight up snarkly or enviro-militant.
I'm the embodiment of attempting to change and the TH community is helping me to do so. I can't afford much organics, but when I'm flush with cash I buy nothing else - I pick up after my dog with biodegradable plastic bags, I watch my energy consumption at home, I'm presently waiting to see if my line of credit is approved so I can finally get the (bio)diesel Golf I dream of.
Yet despite all of the good I strive to do, I know that I'm still a long, long way from making an impact. Perhaps to slightly twist Ghandi's aforementioned quote, I'm but a mosquito looking for a tent in the forest - and the forest is a mighty large place.
Warren - the Girlcott is just the sort of thing required to transform our community from a disconnected group of mosquitos into a menacing swarm of locusts. It's another step towards the tipping point we all seek and I for one am heartily on board.
To get the ball rolling, may I suggest that TH start a new category entitled "Girlcott" where products and companies can be featured that are deemed worthy of the "Girlcott" by the TH community?
Furthermore, if there's any writers out there, why not pitch a piece on "The Start of The Girlcott Movement"? I would hazard to say the concept is more than quirky enough to warrant some coverage.
Let's get a few suggestions going for some kick-ass products recently featured on TH that we'd all like to see made more accessible.
For myself, I'm a HUGE fan of the Biomega bike company, but all of there products are too cost prohibitive. I'd love to see them make more of an "entry-level" model that shares the same focus on design as their high-end ones...