9 Things You Think Are Environmentally Friendly — But Aren’t

People kept gifting me the cute reusable bags they sell like at the front of TJ Maxx and Marshall’s and I’ve always just used those. A few weeks ago one of mine that I’ve been using for about 12 years started falling apart and I was looking at it and realized they’re made of plastic 5 and I’m just so confused now on all my decisions because like… what next? Anyway I won’t be buying anymore of those but also will keep using the others till they disintegrate like my blue one did.

Are you even remotely qualified to provide this advice?

I think their number 4 item is right on the money, at elast in the fact that organic cotton isn't necessarily sustainable. I think the comparison to convential is a little off, but the plant usage statistic is right. It takes more land area to grow the same yield of organic cotton compared to conventional. You even say later in the video: "organic isn't necessarily sustainable". Cotton is still cotton. It's still a resource and land intensive, pest and disease prone crop. Linen, hemp, and wool can be far more sustainable depending on the circumstances than any cotton can ever be.

I can see your pain on some of these trying to explain why they're kinda right but also kinda wrong. I struggle with this almost daily and I felt my brain tense up just from thinking about it hahha... T_T

My oldest tote bag is 9 years old. My second is about 6 years old and my third is two years old. I use two and sometimes all three at least three times a week. So way more than 140 times mentioned in the article

I have been using the same 3 cloth bags for 5 years! I actually found one of them on the floor of a parking lot and it has been great. 1 of them is starting to wear and I know I'll have to replace it soon. I actually think the rise in bags that do not have a square base are terrible. They are so thin and really you cannot comfortably fit a lot in it. The best way to get people to convert and stick to them is to have bags that they feel they can haul everything in! Great tips and lists!

I have a question about reusable bags. I have started to make my own out of acrylic yarn. How damaging is acrylic yarn, and do you think it's worth it?

All of my reusable bags are either bags I've been gifted or the ones those organizations give you at events lol. Making them out of secondhand fabric is a more sustainable option for those that need it!

Have you got any written info on cooking from ingredients up rather than recipe down?

Awesome! Thank you for sharing. :-)

Imperfect produce doesn't go to waste, it goes into soups, smoothies, pies, etc. This is the most annoying prevalent theory I've run into that's just incorrect. What is the carbon footprint of that box?

Who cares?

Pets contribute the same damage to the environment as a country the size of France.

I want to build my own home when I get enough money and have it eco friendly but due to my health conditions I can't be fully eco friendly

Meta moment; I’d simply reuse my canvas bag lol

I absolutely love reusable grocery bags. I use them for everything. Grocery shopping, clothes shopping, if I have to take something to work, if I’m going to the gym, if I’m going to the beach/pool, etc. I use my reusable bags everyday. I’ve had some of my bags for 4+ years. I’ve definitely used 85% of bags more than 100 times!

I LOVE up cycling! I need some ideas for single use plastic bags.

I had my tote bag for 2 years the strap broke I just carried that bad boy and I just see it right on up 😂😂😂

Woah. Just this video proved to me I know nothing about sustainbility or about anything you’re talking about. Damn.

do you think that this super-patronising tone & attitude works well with your audience? a lot of it is just plain wrong and annoying as hell. You discussions show that you dont know everything and a lot of the subjects that you are lecturing us on are way more complicated than you seem to think - From somebody who has been doing this for around 35 yrs - when "organic" wasn't even a thing - nor sustainability - nor environmentalism, nor eco-friendly. And I would not dream of telling other folks how they are doing it all wrong - when so much of this subject is convoluted & open to interpretation of the data.

Electric cars is the worst thing people think is good for environment but isnt.

Thank you for this video! Very informative and I learned some new things. Looking forward to watching some of your other videos.

I love your channel!!!! What lip color are you wearing??

The bag thing is crazy to me like, if you don’t reuse the bag obviously it’s not environmentally friendly…

I never use soaps, detergent powder, cosmetics and chemical product to keep the environment of my village free from sewage. I know that only me doing this wont help, but "I should be the change, I want to see in the world".

If you can’t find a proper way of recycling plastic bags, you can actually weave them into a string that’s pretty strong. You cut them into like 1 1/2 inch strips, tie two together , twist one away from you and bring it over the second one towards you and repeat til you have a rope. It should be decently easy to find online if I explained it bad

This is an old video, so maybe you already did better research on "organic" and "non-gmo" plants.
Organic cotton is more susceptible to disease and bug destruction. In order to produce what modified cotton fields do, more needs to be planted. That's why it's not exactly "environmentally friendly".
Furthermore, all seeds are GMO. All of them. Farmers have been genetically modifying plants since the dawn of civilization. Even so called "heritage" seeds. All GMO means is that the seed has been manipulated to produce a heartier, healthier plant. At first for plant life. As populations grew, they were manipulated to feed more. This all organic nonGMO push is incredibly entitled. Poorer populations need better seeds and plants in order to feed themselves.
Most importantly, the GMO all organic fad is a great marketing scheme. Just like the Heart Healthy diet. Just like counting calories. All of it is designed to take money from people with no real agriculture, botany or nutritional science knowledge.
1. NonGMO is a lie.
2. Organic farming produces less food/cloth, takes more land and water.
3. Consumers aren't the culprit of environmental issues. Industry is. Which makes recycling plants a major conundrum.

Not all organic farming is better than the non-organic farming it all depends on what organic item is used for fertilizers and pesticides and such. Because sometimes not all the time obviously in fact I'm pretty sure most of the time organic is better but sometimes the organic products is actually worse for the environment than the non-organic product it all depends on what do you use. Because frankly nature has some pretty nasty stuff out there.

So if I were to use the single use walmart plastic bags to put all my recyclable bottles in and throw it in the recycling bin is that bad?

Nova Scotia banned plastic bags a few years back. It is great. I have reusable bags that I have used since the 1990s. It makes me happy to see the planet organic or amaranth logo from years back. So much of what the kids are calling sustainable we used call being frugal. When you are poor, you find ways to save money, use things to their end and buy less.

Cars yeah... I think first of all we need a black bar warning on all car ads like on tobacco: cars kill. EV's as well. They are a massive disruption on 1) urban space, 2) people's health. We took training to the gym (toxic masculinity), where it used to be part of daily activities like moving between places. We can even leave all the debate on CO2 emmissions and dust particles, and lithium mines and other crap out of the debate. Destroying landscape/cityscapes, and destroying our bodies should be the primary focus of the car debate. Then you can go to discussions like 1 eTron has material for 50 e-cargo-bikes that are similarly usefull: they transport 1,1 person on average, they have matching door-to-door speed, they have a comparable range, they can haul a christmas tree or full week shopping needs, yet I see 1 cargo bike on every 50 e-SUV's if I look around....

Ive been using my bags for literally 15+ years.

I get my reusable bags at the thrift store. The large canvas bags or even old beach bags (for large items). I mean, I had one that was so big I got five boxes (the family size) of cereal in it without stretching. It would have taken five plastic bags or two regular reusable bags to do that! I do have the conventional grocery store reusable bags. My oldest one was 20yrs old. I finally retired it a few weeks ago as the bottom was pretty worn out. But since it was still mostly good I put donations in it and gave it to the thrift store. Maybe someone else will upcycle it, who knows.

All I can think is organic cotton doesn’t require as much chemicals and pesticides, but MAY use more water. But let’s break that down.
Chemicals and pesticides require industry intensive production, heating/cooling, electricity, and mining for certain minerals, chemical creations requiring inputs. Now they have to be packaged. Packaging is usually plastic intensive. Now they need to be transported. That uses a large carbon foot print for the machinery that transports, and the fuel to transport it.
Now compare that to the water system. Obviously it is going to be watered using a watering system. That water may be natural with rain fall or used from a hose/reservoir. Most crop water does not need to be potable, so it is not going through the intensive filtration process for it to be safe to drink.
EVEN IF it used more water, it’s using more non potable water. Water that was not intended for human consumption. Does it use more crop water? Sure. Even with that give, the lack of using the pesticides and chemicals to grow it puts less strain and demand on the chain of agriculture and reduces the farming footprint of that crop significantly. Soil degradation can happen when over farming a plot of land and neglecting to do crop rotation.
Except most organic farms are smart enough to understand the importance of crop rotation and organic soil amendments (rotating chickens, cattle, etc). So even if they were not doing crop rotation, GMO and conventional cotton are GUARENTEED to not be rotated in their plots, which causes environmental degradation from the pesticides and chemicals used not only to grow the crop, but to artificially amend the soil for the next season, but also erodes the soil quality over time. So even if the organic cotton farm was being a silly billy and not doing their crop rotation and organic amendments, it would still be better than the regular GM or Conventional cotton, which uses TWICE the amount of pesticides, in EACH growing season.
Thank you for reading my Ted Talk! 😅 My mother was a big hippie farmer growing up, and often took me and my little brother to our local CSA farm and we learned a lot about the environment and farming.

I use a cart for shopping, never bags. Done so for 23 years, still same cart. How is my footprint? Really wanna know.

About the grocery bags:
7 years ago, when I went to uni, I needed a backpack. My brother had a spare one he wasn't using, so I got that one. I'm still using it every day (I've washed it a few times of course). I used it every day to carry my laptop and books and stuff. I also usually do groceries with my backpack, it's large enough. When it isn't large enough, I bring a tote bag I already had anyways.

Love this video! I have a big bag made with old clothes and lil ones to put fruits and vegetables in, and it's my personal tip!

BUT what I do when sometimes we have plastic bags or plastic packages, it's crochet (if they are too little to do the crochet line you can use as a type of cushion padding foam).

Every morning I turn on the shower then turn on the bathroom sink and brush my teeth and shave with the water running. After that I hop in the shower for 30 minutes. Then I get dressed put on deodorant and comb my hair with the shower still running. After all that I finally turn off the shower. I wonder how much water I use every morning

Natural Presentations are way better than acted ones. Perfection and brand personality will come with time. Don't chase away new visitors with bad acting.

Thank you for this video. We have an eco store if you would like to check out our products.

had my car 14 years also. will keep using it.

I totally have recycling anxiety because #1 in Oregon the garbage handlers go though your garbage and leave warning notes , they also overcharge you if your lid on the garbage isnt completely closed . Talk about invasion and overcharging ! Try no thanks . I am super careful not to buy anything i have to throw away . And i dont have garbage service

Hybrids cost more to register on the west coast , talk about getting dinged for being environmental. Major Rip Off

Love buying local , i especially love buying produce that is marked down because of overripeness or blemishes . Safeway takes the blemishes off and refuses to sell or give away its less desirable produce even for livestock feed or compost . I dont like that !

Oregon made it impossible to save bottles to get money for recycling, however the garbage people can pick all the bottles up and bring it to their Own recycling plant and collect the money for ite own profit. What a rip !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, this