I will make this quick. As the green trend advances I become more and more discouraged. I see overpriced green products popping up EVERYWHERE, I see companies marketing themselves "green" for profit. My Google reader is full of posts promoting Eco friendly couture. Don't get me wrong, I am not oppose to paying more for great Eco friendly products that I NEED, but please remember it should be about less and not more. I see unconsciousness creeping in to what should be a very conscience movement. And last but not least: Do not buy your children a $150 Eco friendly dollhouse and boast about how you are teaching them to be green.
{♥}
9 comments:
you are hilarious. and this is a good reason to rant. people are unbelievable, yo.
holla.
m-out.
I appreciate you. thanks for the smile yo.
g-out.
I agree with ya :) However, I did buy Mia a dollhouse from Plan Toys :0
I really thought that the price was reasonable. I didn't buy the eco one with the solar panels but another that was around the same price. Believe me, I searched and searched and this was my personal fave. I also thought that the business was doing their part.... Perhaps, I didn't read enough? Would love to know your thoughts :) Check my blog out. I posted about it :)
I personally think you're being too arrogant here. The fact that someone is creating these toys is a great sign. Spreading awareness. There are plenty of people who are ignorant as to what it even means to be ''green'' or ''ecofriendly'' but the more these products and these terms stretch into the mass media/market the more common they become. More people learn about them. I think the products on their page are great!
It is important to remember less is more. Children deserve to grow and learn through creative and imaginative play and they can do so with homemade and recycled things. Manufacturing a toy that includes solar panels and a wind turbines DOES teach children about renewable energy. It won't teach them everything they need to know about ''living green'' but it introduces something that previously has not been very frequent in toys. I'm quite happy to see it!
As we grow in this society we are constantly exposed to marketing and branding, and these signals that are received every day develop into ''reality'' and our perception of the world. Placing a solar panel and a wind turbine on a dollhouse sends a message to a child, they grow comfortable and accept it. Encourage it, let it grow into an awareness, a collective consciousness. Great changes don't come from changing a few lightbulbs... they come from a major paradigm shift. Toys like that dollhouse are great stepping stone.
I appreciate your comment and I am happy to give you a forum to voice your opinion, however I do not appreciate you implying my arrogance. My "moment to rant" was not an in depth post on ecofriendly toy manufacturers, it was simply me venting a particular frustration I was having at that very moment. Spreading awareness is the focus of this blog, and yes I realize that many people need to learn more about the environment.
I 'm also thrilled that there exists a growing marketplace for Eco friendly toys, and personally I support the handmade community wholeheartedly. Also, I never meant to imply that children don't need toys, if that's what you gathered from "less is more" I apologize. The problem with these eco friendly toys often lies in their manufacturing, and I'm not sure how educated you are on sweatshop practices. The particular dollhouse I cited is manufactured in Thailand where sweatshops are prevalent. In my opinion having children play with a dollhouse with solar panels does not trump the human rights of the manufacturers workers.
Wouldn't children learn the same lesson from modifying an existing dollhouse?
P.S.
I think I have done more on this blog than just suggest that people change a few light bulbs.
I didn't find arrogance in your comment. I can definitely relate to your original post. I just came across "organic" cooking oil that is sprayed out of an aerosol can ;) There are so many folks jumping on the band wagon.....
I was just concerned about Plan Toys. I was excited over the company in general. It is located in Thailand, which can be a bit scary but from what I have found so farm the company seems to be a good one. I was hoping that I could gather info. from you. I do learn a great deal from your blog! I love to follow it :) I say keep up the amazing work.
Rikkianne,
I am not familiar with Plan Toys, but I will certainly look into them for you. Most of the time unless someone has previously documented a company's involvement in offensive practices it can be hard to know for certain. Want to take a trip to Thailand?
Thank you for your encouragement, it will take a lot more than a challenging comment to discourage me. Green {Goody} is going nowhere!
Post a Comment