Point/Counterpoint: Ralph Lauren Spa Organic Bath & Bedding
by Collin Dunn, Corvallis, OR, USA 
on 11. 7.07
Ralph Lauren recently launched a line of organic cotton bedding and towels they're calling LaurenSpa, marking the first time we've seen the ubiquitous designer incorporate green into its products. Though certainly meaningful, it brings up a lot of the issues inherent in any big mainstream company going green, so we sat down both sides of the argument to duke it out. It's Point/Counterpoint time!
Point: It's great to see a label like Ralph Lauren finally embracing the green movement by making extensive use of organic cotton.
Counterpoint: Okay, but if they really cared about "going green," they would have begun using environmentally-preferable materials a long time ago. Even Nike has been blending organic cotton into their garments for over a decade.
Point: Eh, maybe; it takes a long time for a company the size of Ralph Lauren to create an entire collection of 100% organic cotton; we have to give them a break because they took time to get it right.
Counterpoint: That's one way to look at it; another way to say it would be that they waited for green to get trendy and then hopped on the bandwagon. It's a token effort at best.
Point: Nah. Anytime an outfit as large as Ralph Lauren gets in to the green game, you know they're serious because of the sheer volume they produce, and the amount of work it took from top to bottom.
Counterpoint: You're right, they're serious, about co-opting the green movement to make a buck. It's slick marketing and lets them marginalize real green issues and gloss over the rest of their enormous, negative impact on our environment.
Point: It could be the start of something great; if we support them now, it'll show that green is really here to stay, and they'll incorporate organic cotton and other green practices throughout the company.
Counterpoint: BS. It gives Ralph Lauren something to point so they can say "Look! We're green! Now leave us alone, hippies."
Point: The collection uses tons of SKAL-certified organic cotton; that's thousands of pounds of organic cotton produced, that replaces conventional cotton and all of its nastiness, in the mainstream marketplace. More organic cotton is better than less.
Counterpoint: Yes, more organic is better than less, but it's not the only fish in the big green sea. While it's nice that they're supporting organic agriculture, and claim to have an eye on every part of production from farm to factory, I won't be totally sold until I see a more meaningful commitment.
So, who wins? ::Ralph Lauren Spa via ::Apartment Therapy: Chicago
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so....we shouldn't buy organic because the company producing is just trying to make a buck even though it's better for the environment and the purchaser? Retarded logic.
Yes the old IT"S NOT GOOD ENOUGH debate.
Even if Ralph Lauren DIDN'T go organic, I still think they make the greenest towels in America, period. Why? They are the only towels I have seen that are made in the USA. Every other major brand is imported from Egypt, India, Turkey or China.
Yes the old IT"S NOT GOOD ENOUGH debate.
From a person whose bread and butter is putting down this or that green thing, this is an ironic comment.
What ever happened to putting faith into the statement:
"its better late than never" At least they're doing SOMETHING about it.
I've been buying Ralf Laruen home for years because they are the only company whose tag says "made in the USA" but do we know if its made in the United States and not the Mariana Islands????
You can't trust labels anymore of where something claims to come from. Made in USA could mean that the cotton is grown in India, dyed and mercerized in China, flown to the US where migrant workers from Mexico operate heavy machinery in the USA without workers compensation to sew up the products into their final state where they are packaged in PVC flown in from china.
Just a point to throw out there .
Yes, it does take ages for a company the size of Ralph Lauren to make such a change, were talking having to find new suppliers, which can create a lot of issues between old suppliers and the business... This is a lengthy process that has to be approached properly in order to be successful.
Eco materials are still rare and expensive - i assure you, it isn't your local organic baby clothing shop that is creating the demand for more readily available eco materials... it is the large corporations like Ralph Lauren.
And they are a business, hence, THEY WANT TO MAKE MONEY... THE SAME AS ANYONE SELLING A PRODUCT!!!!!!!!!
if you have bothered to look at the DOZENS of philanthropic initiatives Ralph Lauren have been involved in you would see that they are contributing to community and environment.
get off your high horse and for once just be realistic! it takes more then 1 person/business to create change... and whether Ralph Lauren are doing this to make a "quick buck" of not - it is a positive step in the right direction, which is what counts!
You must also realise how much influence a brand like Ralph Lauren has on the global market and be grateful that such a notorious brand has "jumped on the band wagon".
And may i ask.... has this site been around for 10, 20, 30 years???? was it around when being "green" wasn't in vogue... or did you create it, because there is a growing market and demand for "Green" products, and companies to be "Green" etc?
I actually used to like this site... but when you put down or give your "points of view" on organisations/people who are making a difference and pretty much say that what they are doing isn't good enough.... that's pathetic and your ignorance disgusts me!!!!!!!
i don't see treehugger.com solving world hunger either!
but i understand that you clearly know nothing about business, nor do you care for positive change, because if you did, you would have never written what you did - it reflects poorly on you and treehugger.com!
because your not so good on the business side... i will tell you in plain english:
YOU HAVE JUST LOST A CUSTOMER - NOT A GOOD THING!!!!!... and judging from the comments above, i'm not the first!