Spending to Save the Earth

Here's an interesting idea: The website Big Green Purse, an outgrowth of a book by the same name, is asking women to pledging to spend $1,000 this year on products that help, or at least cause less or no harm to, the earth.

It makes me think: how many of my choices aren't eco-friendly? I like to think of myself as an earth lover. Back in the day when I had time to do this kind of thing I made phone calls for NYPIRG drumming up support for Earth Day. I save more stuff than I have room for because I know it can be reused (probably as a children's craft) someday.

But do I pay attention to the cosmetics, the cleansers, the clothes I buy? Not really. I buy what works, what the cleaning lady tells me to, what fits and feels nice. I buy what's convenient. Coffee? Furniture? Toys? There's a whole new world of eco-friendly I haven't even thought about.

So, I'm taking the challenge. I know I tend to get obsessive about things, so I can't make myself nuts overthinking everything I buy -- I'm already reading so many labels for dairy ingredients that thinking too much about eco-friendly processes, ingredients and so on could cause a total shutdown of the buying process, leaving us with nothing to eat except a few nuts and grains, haha! -- but I can try to be mindful of a few dollars each week and what I buy with them. $1000 a year, that's just under $20 a week.

That's more than I'm doing now -- or, at least, I'll find out if it is.