I bought a new toothbrush a while ago and I got one of those eco-friendly brushes (the brand is Preserve; they sell it at Whole Foods). The brush has a 100% recycled handle, made from mostly yogurt cups, the packaging is completely recyclable as well, and it doubles as a traveling case for the brush. When you're done with it, you can mail it back.
The problem (there's always a problem), is that it's not a great toothbrush. In fact, it looks like those crummy brushes you get at the dentist's for free. Also, I wonder how many people actually send their brush back to get a new one- I know it's about time to get a new one, but I'm resisting the idea solely because I don't want to go through the hassle of mailing it in.
I do indeed like and want to like buying more environmentally-positive products (not just "less bad" ones, if you catch my drift), but they always seem to be both overpriced and (frequently) made of poorer quality than "regular" products, which is such a disincentive! Nobody is going to be successful in making this anything more than a niche product if they don't overcome these two boundaries and make these products more accessible. I'll probably get another one of these brushes, but I strongly resent my lack of options. And in the grand scheme of environmentalism, most people might not continue to purchase overpriced, poor-quality products just because it makes them "feel good." It isn't worth it.
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My question to you then, Miss Alex, would be why are you so resistant to sending the brush back? Why is it a hassle to send the brush back? Don't you think that if you made a habit of sending it back every few months that it will just become second nature?
ReplyDeleteI think your experience, Alex, points to the importance of convenience in our environmental behaviors. You are definitely right about the quality issues. And I think that we also need to find ways to make these changes as easy, or no less inconvenient, than the more traditional options. I remember that I used to buy those same toothbrushes, and I took never seemed to get around to mailing them back. I'm not trying to "cop out" here--just trying to highlight the reality of human behavior...
ReplyDeleteI also got one of those brushes and ended up just tossing it. I guess it was the hassle factor along with a thought that it might equate to trying to recycle old shoes by mailing them to Nike or whoever--I read that it cancels out any good that may come from the recycling by sending them along through the mail or UPS.
ReplyDeleteThe Zero Waste lady put up a recent post about recycling and whether anything good actually comes of it: http://zerowastehome.blogspot.com/2010/03/zero-waste-homes-last-resort-recycling.html
Also makes me think of Cradle to Cradle and the idea that most things aren't meant to be recycled and when they are, they create new problems with toxic materials, etc.
Good connection to Cradle to Cradle, Brynn!
ReplyDeleteFollowing Brynn's commentary, it also seems wasteful to me to mail it back. At some point, there is fossil fuel use in the transporting of the mail. So again, while it is a novel idea, the energy it takes to transport and then recycle the tooth brush may outwiegh whatever one is attempting to save.
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