Earth Day 2005 - Reality Check

This Earth Day 2005 there is much to reflect upon and be optimistic about. We’ve come a long way in our understanding of the impact of our human actions on our environment. While often we as environmentally minded individuals are frustrated by what we see as the slowness of governments and corporations to respond substantively to human-caused environmental degradation, while we bemoan the rising sales of SUVs and wish our friends and loved ones would be more environmentally conscious in their actions and purchases and while we internally scold ourselves for not acting enough upon our own convictions, there is still a great deal to be hopeful about.

The other day I was on the phone with a customer who was searching for environmentally conscious footwear. She was having a difficult time finding shoes that fit well and that were also made in ways that were aligned with her social and environmental values. I suggested that she might try Nike’s new line of Considered footwear, made entirely with sustainable materials. Her instantaneous, almost visceral response was that she would never buy anything from Nike. And this is a major fault line where we as environmentally concerned individuals divide.

My position and the position of Vivavi is this: we believe that the vast majority of people in this country and around the world like to shop and, in fact, derive great pleasure from shopping. We believe that this is not going to change any time soon, and we, therefore, choose to address environmental change at this level of reality.

We could discuss the impact of allowing corporations to advertise inside schools and the effect this has on perpetuating a mass culture of consumption. We could question why this President directs this nation to consume more, not less, at the same time that we fight costly wars around the world. We could question our own moral hypocrisy about why we rail against corporations for sending manufacturing jobs overseas to countries like China while at the same time our eyes light up at all the lower-priced goods (the ones with the Made in China sticker on the bottom) that we continually make part of our lives. We could ask these questions, should ask these questions and do ask these questions.

Yet, we also believe that positive environmental change is incremental. We believe in engaging individuals at the level of who they are, not at the level of who we demand that they be. So to put it simply, on this Earth Day 2005, we believe that if people like stuff (and we at Vivavi very much like stuff) then we will offer them beautiful stuff, only the stuff we offer will also support a cleaner environment. It’s that simple. This is not a “green” revolution. This is a “green” evolution. It takes time, persistence and leadership. Real change, lasting change does not take place overnight. If this is true for ourselves and our own personal development, why should it be different for our culture or civilization?

I salute Nike for introducing its Considered footwear line. I salute any organization that makes strides toward creating a cleaner environment. Do I believe Nike could be doing more to clean up its operational practices? Of course. The company could be doing a ton more. But so could each of us. The point, however, is to start and companies large and small have started which is indeed what makes this a time of hope.

The environment is not a black and white issue. There are not good guys and bad guys. Granted, there are some seriously mindless guys. But we are all in this together and if we are to arrive at lasting solutions then we must move past our myopic self-righteous claims to be the “good guys” and get on with the task of pragmatically addressing the real world in which we live, saluting all organizations when they take corrective environmental action and holding them accountable when they do not. After all, it’s only the future of the real world that’s at stake.

-- Josh