Can green be frugal?

By mudlark • November 3rd, 2008

What do you say? Can going green help your wallet? When I look at ‘eco-friendly’ products on the market I tend to be a little put off by the price. As a mother of 3, it just seems easier to buy store brand mac & cheese for $0.48/box than to put up the cash for organic or ‘all-natural’ mac & cheese at an astounding $1.59/box. ‘Green’ toys are more expensive, ‘green’ cleaning products are usually 20-30% more expensive than their conventional counterparts. So, is going green just a luxury for the upwardly mobile?

If we get to the heart of it, it can go either way. The focus is really on a few fundamentals, and the balance of those fundamentals is what sways the price either up or down. Let’s break it down a bit.

Consume less. The heartbeat of the green movement, or at least it should be, is to consume less, waste less, use less. Reduce your impact on the world around you. Check out the Stuff video that we love so much. Consuming less means using the library instead of buying books; finding ways to use every part of what you have – like cooking up the pumpkins you bought as halloween decorations; reusing and repurposing rather than chunking and replacing. It’s buying more ‘classic’ clothes that will remain stylish for multiple seasons instead of jumping on the latest trend. And consuming less certainly costs much less.
1. An integral part of consuming less is consuming less new merchandise. When it’s time to get a new hoozamawhatzit, check out second hand stores, Craigslist, and freecycle. The less you purchase new items, the more you salvage from landfills, and the less you feed the Stuff cycle.
2. Another part of consuming less is being intentional about energy and other resources you use. It’s about turning off lights when they’re not in use, consolidating errands into fewer trips, and maybe purchasing a power-saving electric strip for your appliances. This is where you hear about eco-friendly light bulbs and things like that. Small cost upfront, large savings to come.
Go natural. Aim for pesticide-free products that are closer to their original form, not laden with chemicals and synthetic substances. Unfortunately, this is where we see a lot of the rising cost for green merchandise and services. Natural, sustainable resources are exponentially more costly than man-made alternatives. Pesticide-free sugar cane is way more expensive than high fructose corn syrup, so that drives up the cost of all products that use natural sweeteners as opposed to HFCS. It’s difficult for farmers to gain the ‘organic’ seal for their products, and they have to pass that cost on to the consumer. Natural fertilizers are more expensive than pesticides and chemicals, and that’s where we see the lion’s share of the premium for ‘green’ products. Do you really need elephant poop paper? Sure, it’s green and it’s cool (and it’s a really clever way of repurposing) but balance your need to be trendy with your budget and see what comes out ahead.
Go local. Buying local includes everything from locally farmed produce to shopping in the mom and pop stores instead of big box stores. Often this entails a higher price too. Big box stores can reduce their prices based on the volume they sell. Mom and pop stores don’t have that luxury. At the same time, if you can find the time to shop around you may be rewarded lower prices locally on quality goods. Also, mom and pop stores tend to take care of their ‘regulars’ through loyalty programs. Take advantage of some of those and you may find yourself saving more than you think.
Go fair. The last bit of the ‘green’ movement (and often the most unsung) is the justice side of things. Fair trade, responsibly sourced items from women’s co-ops often carry the heaviest price of all the ‘green’ initiatives. Virtually everyone tries to save money on labor, and fair trade goods ensure that farmers, producers, and artisans receive a fair wage for their work, enjoy reasonable work conditions, and have opportunities for education, clean water, and other ‘luxuries’ of that sort. Fair trade is taking over coffee, high end chocolate, and making its way into home goods, apparel, and even the wine industry.

In summary, if you’re looking to green on a shoestring, the place to start isn’t with grass-fed beef and a bamboo wardrobe. Start by consuming less, shopping locally, and creatively repurposing and reusing. Instead of buying tupperware, keep those glass jars from spaghetti sauce and pimentos. Be intentional about purchasing things that will last for more than one season, and recognize that sometimes an up-front purchase (like light-bulbs or a high efficiency water heater) will save you enough money in the long run to make them worth while.

Comments(1) Being Green, Organics, Shopping

Comments

By Charles on January 30th, 2010 at 10:28 am

These are good tips. I find it kind of ironic as with so many other things in today’s society, that it is unfortunately, a lot easier for the wealthy to take advantage of the longer-term benefits than the poor or even the middle class. I’m in the LED light business, and the business case, as it were, for making the investment is irrefutable, as are the environmental benefits, but it is true that the upfront costs are currently just too much for a lot of people – I mean, $79 for one lightbulb, for example. Even if it does save you $800 over the course of its useful lifetime. It’s a real challenge figuring out how to help a broader portion of the population to go green. Nice post.