Book Review
~ Gabrielle Bartholomew
Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff, by Fred Pearce.
Published 2008 by Beacon Press, 25 Beacon Street, Boston, MA 02108-2892. www.beacon.org
A book review and more...
I recently read a book titled Confessions of an Eco-Sinner: Tracking Down the Sources of My Stuff, by Fred Pearce. I hoped that this book might help me figure out how to be a more ecologically-responsible shopper, allowing me to walk a little more of my “green” talk. After all, I already buy very little (ah, the joys of poverty!), much of what I do buy is second hand, I keep things until they fall apart, or I recycle them or donate them to someone who can still get some use out of them. However, there are still things, like underwear, that I must purchase new, not to mention food.
In some respects, Mr. Pearce does not disappoint. He thoroughly researches a number of items, following them back to their raw materials whenever possible, in order to inform us of the impact that our purchases have on the environment. But some of his conclusions and recommendations are surprising.
Let's start with the first paragraph in chapter one, where he mentions the idea that, “the average household in Europe or North America has so many devices and such a variety of food and clothing that to produce the same lifestyle in Roman times would have required six thousand slaves...” What he does not say is that perhaps slavery would have never ended had we not discovered abundant fossil fuels. Would we have been enlightened enough to give up our slaves merely for a moral imperative if it meant taking a step backwards in development? What he does say is that, not only do we now make much bigger ecological footprint than we did pre-fossil-fuels, but we also still employ some of those slaves! We call them sweatshop workers, but they are slaves just the same.
Yes, Mr. Pearce reminds us that our footprints are as much social as ecological, and there is a human face attached to every item that we buy. So his surprises include the idea that, in some cases, it might be better to purchase a truly fair-trade item from far away rather than a similar product from nearby! This is counter-intuitive, but using his logic, it works. The case he mentions has to do with supporting small Kenyan farmers who are using their land to support both themselves and, through fair trade, us as well. (see chapter 9) I'm not sure whether I agree with him, because I would like to see both the Kenyan farmer and the American (or British, as Pearce is) family living more locally, even if it means not eating green beans in the winter, but his logic does have some merit.
So being socially and ecologically-responsible about what you purchase is more complex than it seems at first. Take cotton, for instance, that natural, comfortable, breathable fabric we all love. Pearce traced the fair-trade cotton for his socks to a company in India that was training the Indian farmers to grow organic. Impressive. But cotton is a very thirsty crop, and the farms were in a very dry area, perhaps not truly suited to growing cotton. However, their cotton is very popular with large companies specializing in organically-grown and fair-trade cotton products. In fact, it is so popular that they cannot meet the demand, especially with priority given to smaller regular customers. So the large garment companies end up going for the bottom line, perhaps buying cotton that is grown in Cameroon, shipped to India for spinning and then to Turkey for dying and knitting into socks! This is starting to sound like a pretty big carbon footprint for those cotton socks, and some of those factory workers are doing some pretty unpleasant jobs. (see chapter 11)
So what should we do? Give up because it's too complicated to figure out? I must admit that idea is tempting, and it's a lot of what I've done so far! But we can try harder. Read the book and others like it, do your research, and then let's share what we learn and try to find some answers. Each person must ultimately make his or her own decision, but together we can generate and evaluate more ideas.
In the long term, what we need is more systemic change, like not buying so much in the first place, not responding to the advertisers and economic-growth promoters who insist that we must shop. Do we really need to get rid of our clothes when they still have some good wear in them? And if we're simply sick of wearing the same things all the time (although many people in the world have no choice), why not purchase replacement clothes at the same thrift store to which we donate our old clothes? We could also start using our creativity to find other ways to recycle old goods for new uses. And we could also start telling our political leaders that we're interested in change. They won't change unless we force them to.
When I showed the animated film, The Story of Stuff, last November and December, two wonderful groups of people who attended were amazed at what they learned and wanted to get started taming the stuff monster immediately. So in one group we went around the room, each of us say one thing that we do or would like to do to start to end the tyranny of stuff. The result was this list:
*Shop locally.
*Walk or bike to the store.
*Buy second-hand.
*Grow your own food, and
*Preserve it for winter.
*Save up for expensive items.
*Give yourself some “think time” by walking away from the un-needed items or keeping them in hand until you get tired of carrying them!
*Don’t shop!
*Make things instead of buying them.
*Study the origin and history of products you use and make deliberate and thoughtful purchasing decisions. (Read the book, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner and others.*)
*Use the public library.
*Don’t watch TV.
*Don’t feel you have to fill up all the space in your house.
*Donate used goods to charities, or
*Have a local community swap and share day.
*Communicate with your neighbors and borrow, exchange, and share goods.
*List items to give away or items needed in the EUUF Thursday emails.
This is only a beginning. This fellowship is in the process of becoming a Green Sanctuary. Let's all chip in and try to make this the greenest place in town! Pam Gerke mentioned that when she had a “Sustainability Swap” last year, some people were reluctant to come because they had nothing to “swap.” I suggested that perhaps calling it a “Sustainability Share” would be a better title for this event. Bring what you no longer use, take what you need, and if you don't have something to share this time, you will another time. What goes around comes around. When I used to attend the Unity church in Everett they had what they called “Circulation Days.” It was exactly the same thing, but it was done to promote the spiritual principle that what you give is what you get. It can work!
Looking for more ideas? Attend one of the ongoing Voluntary Simplicity Circles that the Fellowship sponsors, or come to our Green Team meetings on the first Sunday of the month. I know, we all have busy lives, but if we do this right, we may be able to simplify those lives some; and are we really too busy to save the world for our children and grandchildren?
*The book, Confessions of an Eco-Sinner, is available at the Everett Public Library, and if it is not available at your local library, request it!