Eco Products NOT Worth the Hype or Money

An "anti-haul" talking about some sustainable products I don't buy and don't think are worth it, or which have issues with greenwashing.

Thanks for watching #MyGreenCloset!

💚 ABOUT MY GREEN CLOSET
Hi! My name is Verena but most people call me Erin (my middle name). I studied Fashion Design & Technology and it was through this I became aware of and passionate about sustainable and ethical issues in the fashion industry. On this channel I share my journey to live more consciously and create videos to help you build a wardrobe that reflects both your style and values. 🌎

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This is not a sponsored video.
#greenwashing #antihaul

[nicoleisheretolearn]

There's definitely an interesting phenomenon going on when our natural first step is to buy something. It's like "OK! I want to be more sustainable, live slower and maybe be more minimalist...what can I buy for that!??" It says something about how capitalist society has us conditioned. I don't have the disposable income to go crazy with new eco-fads anyway, but I can't deny that the knee-jerk reaction is to buy something to somehow help me go in this new direction. I think when we often get introduced to the problem and we want to do something NOW and buying something "eco-friendly" is our way to feel like we're doing that and forget that slow living happens...well, slowly over time. And it's bizarre to think that the first thing you can do is less action? (Less buying, less using, etc.) I like that you've explained the problems or uselessness or other caveats for each of the items you've listed :)

[acmulhern]

Here's the products I got for environmental reasons that I now have doubts about:
Electric car (I got it second hand but after doing research about car batteries I probably won't replace it once it gets old)
Reusable coffee cup (I prefer to enjoy my drinks in the café with a real cup, drinking while walking really isn't necessary)
Bee wrap (just use a Tupperware)
Wooden hair brush (I already owned hairbrushes from before going zero waste and didn't need to replace them. I've owned my plastic hairbrush for over 20 years and it's as good as new, but I fell for the trendy wooden one who is less durable and still has a bit of plastic holding the wooden bristles)
Reusable straw (when do we ever need a straw to drink?)
Mason jars (I have so many mismatched jam or pickle jars and still purchased the trendy mason jars and discarded the jars I had from purchasing food. Why?)

Sorry for sounding so negative, but I think it's important to reevaluate what we buy, even if it seems like a sustainable alternative. The most sustainable item is the one we chose not to buy at all.

[quietandsun]

I have 3 cotton bags, the oldest one is 12 years old. Still looks great. I use them all in rotation. Cotton bags nowadays can get ridiculously expensive just under an eco friendly name.

[lavenderbearasmr]

That is why it is so hard to be eco-friendly, all these things we think are good end up being bad.

[hedgyverona]

I have one of these baguette bags mentioned but I also buy a fresh baguette every 1-2 days, depending on how quick I consume it. I‘ve had the bag for 1 year now and I use it everyday and I‘ll keep using it till it falls apart, I really love it because in the past I‘d have a plastic bag every morning for my baguette

[MsBlulucky]

When it comes to detox products I highly recommend kidneys and a liver. I got mine for free and they work so well, even after 23 years of continuous use!

[justatinyhalfling]

So relevant!!! More and more people are choosing low-impact and ethically sourced products over fast-fashion and single-use items, which is great. BUT what good does that do, if they just bring their over-consumption and love of mindless shopping with them? Low-impact living is more than buying "green alternatives". Without a change of habit and reflecting each lifestyle choice we make, it's not going to be as ethical as we might think.

[wafflewarble]

Thank you so much for acknowledging that some people do need to buy disposable things. 💖

This is so important for folks with disabilities. We don't hate the planet we just sometimes need specific things. I do what I can and I donate to good orgs and vote with the environment in mind but sometimes I need a paper cup or plate.

[DeviliciousNails]

I have a couple of cotton totes which I just gathered from everywhere. One is really old and was a gift, another was just one I found at a uni society fayre, a couple others I just got for free. They wear out after using them a lot, so I just keep patching them up. I like to get creative with it, so they turn into little art projects of their own and I honestly really enjoy that. Do I look like a crazy hippy carrying them? Sure, but I know that these bags will probably last me at least half a lifetime AND they're just a continuously growing and changing art project, which keeps me occupied on quiet evenings. Who even needs to buy new cotton bags when you can do such an awesome thing with old ones?

[krentu]

Great video! I would like to add, that if reusable bags are made out of old clothes, sheets, curtains (and if you make them yourself), then the impact of making reusable bags is almost zero. This is also a good beginner sewing project and can help reusing some old textiles. I find that it is good to have many reusable bags laying around in my house and car so I always have one to grab.
I am also very interested in future videos that explains the real impact of the items we use everyday. For example, isn't it more ecofriendly to use plastic that is filled with air to pad parcels than to use "puffy" paper-product? The plastic that holds the air is so thin and weitghs so little compared to the cellulose product. I am so eager to learn more about the real cost of some items that for eye look so eco friendly but what the calculations say?

[kadyliang]

I used to work in CR for a large company and we hired environmental industry experts to do life cycle analysis on our products and all of the points you bring up are excellent and the message needs to be spread more.  Most products that are touted as "eco-friendly" are not really eco-friendly in an absolute sense once you take into consideration things like energy costs of production, actual end-of-life, transportation costs, durability, etc, etc... The best take away I got from that time was that nothing beats using/reusing a product until it can't be used any more and purchasing already used items to continue using/reusing.  However, one good reason to continue to buy items like biodegradable plastics and products with recycled content is that while these products may score low right now on an absolute scale w/r sustainability, we need these products in the pipeline if we ever hope to develop the ancillary services that will make these products actually sustainable.  For example, the more that people buy biodegradable plastics and are willing to set aside a stream of their waste towards compost, the more reasonable it will be for a municipality to consider building an industrial composting facility.  Similarly for recycled content.  I believe that even today (I did my CR work over a decade ago), the majority of the product used in recycled products come from pre-consumer waste (basically, waste that is cleaner).  But once the machines are in place that can recycle pre-consumer waste, it becomes much more cost-efficient and therefore likely for those manufacturers to consider incorporating post-consumer waste.  So even if I can't get all the good feels for spending my $$ on these green-washed products, I still do it, because I think that it is important to keep pushing in this direction.  Though I 100% agree with you about the sea sponge - I can't believe this is a thing!

[naturegirl]

It’s like the cutlery set people buy. Just bring your own silverware that you have and wrap a napkin around it!

[Elsabita]

My engagement ring is lab grown and it is BEAUTIFUL! To be completely honest, I believe my diamond is more shiny and sparkly than mined diamonds. It is also more affordable and my fiance and I were able to afford a gorgeous solitaire diamond that, if it was mined, we would not have been able to afford. Affordability is a small perk when you think of the complications of the mining industry. I love to look down at my diamond and feel my fiance's love and also know in my heart that no one died for it to be on my finger❤️❤️

[londontoseoul]

Totally hear you on these points! It's great that designers and brands are coming up with alternatives to unsustainable products, but what we really need is not more stuff to buy, but a whole overhaul in our way of thinking about how we consume products.

[mylink]

You have been and remains the most honest and thoughtful youtuber that I’ve watched. We tend to choose convenience so even if we care about the environment, we want to make easy choices, like buying ‘green’ products instead of regular ones. But without thinking hard about what we are doing, maybe we will do more harm than we think. Sometimes the problem is that once you think using a certain thing is better, you allow yourself to use more of it, which is the opposite of green living.

[theoretically]

Love that you brought up the whole issue with reusable cotton bags! I'm quite surprised about how few people know about this.
Also great that you talk about sea sponges. They are sometimes used as an alternative to tampons. They were researched in the 80s and it was concluded that they were not clean or sanitary enough for internal use. Its also a risk of TSS with them. Sadly they are gaining popularity, which is extra sad when they are endangered.
(The warning is based on scientific research, and while I am not a doctor - I am a nurse. Please ladies, do your research!)

[swopekat]

I have bought some reusable bags just because they were pretty, but I've started learning that the key is to use what you already own. I have a ton of those cheap nylon drawstring backpacks because they always gave them away at college events, so I've started using those at the grocery store as well.

[aishaturco]

Yes, yes, yes THANKYOU!! Thanks for this kind but straight video around eco products. Mass consumerism and green washing turns a lot these days towards "green" mass consumerism which does not help whatsoever our main problem which starts with stop consuming so much. First, exhaust your current products and make the most use out of them you can. Then, and only if you have nothing else to cover your needs with, buy what you need and no more. I like very much your content and I finde it helpful, so in the future I really would like to see more videos around how to identify better and overcome green washing techniques. You already have some videos about that, so keep going please :) Nice work!!!

[Sarahlenea]

About coton produced bags, it reminds us of the impact of our clothes and how important it is to prefer second-hand clothes (or tote bags) and buy less. However, I had a look at those studies about coton produced bags and they make some assumptions that don't quite reflect reality: they chose big cotton bags that were nearly 200g or event 250g for the Danish study to replace light and thin plastic bags (cotton produce bags are 10 to 20g, and most ppl already have a tote bag anyway), assumed that more than 76% of plastic bags were reused at least once (UK study), assumed that you needed 2 organic cotton bags when you needed just 1 smaller plastic bag to put the same amount of products (Danish), that many plastic bags were recycled or composted, didn't take into account the damage that plastic bags are causing to marine animals, etc. Even with those criteria, the UK study concludes you have to reuse your cotton bag 130 times (when we use on average about 180 plastic bags per year per person in Europe, and more than 300 in the US). But I agree it's completely wasteful to buy new tote bags when you already have one.

[lemon]

In terms of electronics I deffinetly have some suggestions. One is to buy a desktop computer that is upgradeable so that if a component fails or becomes outdated you can replace it. I work at a computer store here in Canada and it’s really upsetting how often I see people come in and buy a brand new computer, on a very tight budget that isn’t going to get them something that’s going to last or is very good, and replacing their computer every few years. If you buy the right (and good!) components you can have a computer that will last you years and years, and you might just need to replace your power supply or something.