nadsat » politics

Green shopping at Walmart

Zachary — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 01:33:57 +0000

I talk about Publix a lot but what can I say? I like shopping there. However, not everyone has a Publix in their neighborhood so a lot of this discussion has been irrelevant for them. Walmart on the other hand is pretty much everywhere.

Walmart has been making some environmental news of its own. They have vowed to be “good steward of the environment” by being more energy efficient and cutting down on waste among other things. Walmart has also made news with its product offerings from organic food and clothing to compact fluorescent light bulbs.

All that good press is one thing, but what does it actually translate to? What about your average Super Walmart in North Augusta, SC?

I went into the North Augusta Walmart looking for a few specific things that are available at Publix and what I considered good indicators for green shoppers. I included food and regular household items. Here’s the list:

organic milk
organic produce
veggie burgers
natural peanut butter
“green” cleaners
recycled paper products
compact fluorescent light bulbs

The results were disappointing. The only areas I were impressed in were natural peanut butter and compact fluorescents. Walmart stocked my favorite brand of natural peanut butter and had it at a lower price than Publix. They also carried CFL’s at a reasonable price. They had organic milk but it was more expensive than Publix and they had a little organic produce but it was all pre-bagged and looked pretty pathetic. That was it. Walmart struck out on everything else. I was especially let down by the lack of recycled paper products.

Here’s the breakdown:

organic milk – yes
organic produce – yes
veggie burgers – no
natural peanut butter – yes
“Green” cleaners – no
recycled paper products – no
compact fluorescent light bulbs – yes

Now how much of this is dependent on location? The Walmart in a place like Asheville, NC would probably have a better stock of green products. This doesn’t even take into account other factors like shopping into pleasure either. It could be a nice, quiet day outside or a nasty thunderstorm; either way every Walmart I have been into felt like chaos. Once I get inside one I immediately want to leave. In contrast I could spend all day in a traditional grocery store. For the time being I’m a Publix man.

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Compact Fluorescents

Zachary — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 18:37:00 +0000

Compact Fluorescents are a hot topic these days. Australia has mandated their use and there has been some talk of similar laws in the US (I’m looking at you, California). What’s the big deal with them? They last longer and use less energy than conventional incandescent bulbs. The negative? They cost significantly more. While your typical incandescent bulb is typically less than a dollar for a common wattage, a compact fluorescent can cost as much as $2 or $3.

So while they’re a pretty big investment, they offer power savings and therefore save money on your electric bill. The question is how long will it take for this pay off in power savings to account for the extra expense of the bulbs? Well it might not be as long as you think, compact fluorescents also last quite a bit longer than incandescent bulbs. Another benefit is they put off less heat than incandescents. Less heat is always better when it comes to cooling a house in Georgia.

The amount of time it would take for the compact fluorescent investment to pay off can vary a lot home to home. Low Impact Living estimates about 1.5yrs on average for a small home. In the world of green living and green lifestyles where an extra cost with little to no economic reward is usually assumed this is quite good. The typical compact fluorescent bulb promises to save anywhere from 40 to 80 kw/hours per year.

It all depends on how big of an initial investment you are willing to make and how long you are willing to wait to see some net savings. Compact fluorescents are an incredibly easy “green” solution though. If you can change a light bulb you can do the upgrade. I have heard some complaints of CF’s not fitting in certain lamps or fixtures but I have yet to come across this. CF’s are getting smaller with each new generation and I have even seen some shaped like the classic light bulb.

Another tip for those that rent like myself. If you want to use CF’s but are worried about not feeling the impact due to a short lease, consider your new bulbs an investment. Take them with you when you move and reinstall the old incandescents. Yes CF’s cost more but because of this they should not be considered disposable like incandescents.

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Seventh Generation products

Zachary — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 00:14:27 +0000

Seventh Generation is one of the larger producers of environmentally friendly household products. Their products have been featured on the Discovery Home network and are available at several large retailers, including Target. They produce everything from recycled paper products to natural cleaners to diapers with an emphasis on non-toxic, health effects, and environmental impact.

These products come at a premium though. I was able to compare prices on Seventh Generation’s offerings versus a major national brand while shopping at Publix this evening. Normally if I’m buying cleaners I’ll stick to the store brand so why not compare like that? This isn’t a comparison of national brands versus store brands, so I think it’s best to keep the playing field level and only compare Seventh Generation to a comparable national brand.

Seventh Generation was still more expensive across the board, sometimes by a significant margin. The largest margin was 60% and that was on automatic dishwasher detergent. On most products there was about a 20% premium for the Seventh Generation product. Here’s the breakdown:

So are Seventh Generation products better? It depends on your definition of better. They’re more than likely better for your health and the environment but they don’t always perform as well. I find this particularly true of the dish soap. I still have to keep some normal soap around for really greasy or caked up dishes.One thing is for sure though, their products are not cost effective which is unfortunate because they are about the only widely available off the shelf green cleaners.

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“Green” Living?

Zachary — Sun, 24 Jun 2007 22:39:35 +0000

While shopping in Publix I couldn’t help but notice the prevalence of their “GreenWise” line of products. What is GreenWise? Here it is directly from the Publix website:

With the rising awareness of health issues, such as obesity in America, we understand that many people are looking for healthier food choices. That’s why Publix GreenWise Market is dedicated to bringing you a variety of wholesome, natural and organic foods and earth-friendly items. Publix GreenWise Market provides an array of high-quality produce, dairy, frozen food, vitamins, grocery items and sports nutrition products in a variety of package sizes.

GreenWise doesn’t stop with just products; they also produce a free monthly magazine and have plans to open standalone GreenWise Markets. The first is due to open in Palm Beach Gardens, Fl in September. The real question is, can the average person afford this stuff and live a greener life?

There are other ways to live green as well. Georgia Power offers blocks of renewable energy to its customers. “Green” cleaners are available or homemade ones can substituted for most commercial cleaners. One can replace typical incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents. It’s interesting to note that compact fluorescents are marketed based on the amount of money they’ll theoretically save on an electric bill and not their environmental impact.

American’s are not typically willing to spend any extra money even if it means a positive environment benefit. Radio personality Clark Howard has performed surveys on simple things like plastic grocery bags or compact fluorescents and people have almost unanimously refused to pay extra! This seems to point to the fact that most Americans only care about the environment if it doesn’t cost them anything. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that most Americans don’t give a damn about the environment, only their wallet (and of course I could go into how this implies that the environment is an economic issue more than anything but that’s another post).

So from this perspective, let’s not call it “green living” but a more efficient way of living. Efficiency means good economics as well so no paying three times extra for organic this and that just for the hell of it. This is an ambitious project but one that I’d like to pursue. Over the next several weeks I’ll be giving updates and thoughts on this project along with the usual postings. I’d appreciate any help that the readers can provide. One thing that I could really use would be a good list of products where organic really matters and products where it simply doesn’t make a difference health wise. I’m excited though and hopefully something useful will come out of this.

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