Celebrate Green Blog

by Lynn

When I saw that February is International Friendship Month, it got me thinking about how friends respond to friends going green.

I first started on the journey to living a more eco-aware life because Corey, my daughter, was pregnant and had begun voraciously digesting studies about how chemicals in everything from baby clothes to bedding, food and toys, could affect the health of her child.

At the time (eleven years ago), few people were talking about this. I’d never heard of organic cotton baby clothes—or organic baby food. Wood toys instead of plastic? You’ve got to be kidding!

Turned out Corey was on the bleeding edge of the revolution. I admit it took me longer to work through my skepticism and get on board.

That’s why I understand very well, the doubt, disbelief and even disdain friends and family may exhibit when confronted with your eco-friendly behaviors.

Everyone has a different approach, but personally, I rarely email the latest warnings, or message friends the URL of their local CSAs. If I make a gift from recycled items, I don’t proclaim its origins to the recipient—unless asked.

I prefer modeling behavior to preaching. (Mainly because I find that while emoting from my soapbox may feel noble, it tends to irritate people, rather than move them to action.)

My friends know where I stand and my feeling is, (though I’ve never asked them), that they view my eco-friendly leanings with either respect or indifference depending on where they are in their own lives.

Curious about how other people’s friends and co-workers view their green behaviors, I asked some of our Facebook followers and here are a few responses I found interesting.

Michelle Rogerson My coworkers look at me a little strange when I do things like bring my lunch to work in re-used jars instead of plastic containers or bring my silverware and a cloth napkin from home instead of using plastic. They think it’s strange that …I take home my lunch scraps for composting.

My friends get a kick out of how I never let food go to waste by freezing EVERYTHING. I get funny looks when I wash and reuse Ziplock bags that were given to me (I use containers or cello bags myself). Mostly, people think I am crazy running the heat and AC so sparingly. I usually have to turn that up when I have guests over to keep them comfortable.

Overall, I think my friends appreciate the example I set. When I tell them my clothes last longer because I line dry them or that my energy bill is lower because I keep items on power strips and run the HVAC less, they love my ideas and get interested in doing things greener.

Eileen Wetli I don’t mind being “the crazy” friend - at least it gets ‘em thinking. I have had several conversations that started with someone heard something about “green” life and wanted to know what I thought about it. Starting small is what a paradigm shift is all about.

And Lacey Lybecker came up with a an idea I love for friends who want to help each other take those small steps. “What I would find to be helpful would be some green accountability buddies. I have groups of friends who hold me accountable for my business and life goals, but what about someone to keep me on point for reducing my carbon footprint? Goal for the Year: Find a Green Accountability Buddy!”

How do your friends look on your eco-efforts? Do they consider you an eco-freak? Eco-geek? Eco-hero?

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®.