What does it take to be environmentally friendly?
“It’s more than just planting trees,” says Jeff Schorr, co-owner of St. Petersburg’s first eco-boutique.
Take eco-friendly clothing, for example. “Apparel is the #2 polluter of oceans,” Schorr tells me.
To make environmentally friendly clothing, you must start with eco-friendly materials like hemp, bamboo, and organic cotton. Each of these natural fabrics have their own benefits, but all of them minimize pesticide use.
Bamboo, for example, grows very quickly, is naturally pest-resistant (so no pesticides needed), and replants itself. Hemp, like bamboo, is a fast grower. Plus you can grow hemp very close together, minimizing land use. Organic cotton is grown without the use of pesticides, but unfortunately, only 1% of global cotton growth is organic.
Using natural fabrics is just step 1. You also want companies using eco-friendly clothing dyes and working with green factories. At the moment, there aren’t a lot of clothing companies doing all three. That’s why we have eco-boutiques like Jeff Schorr and Leslie Curran’s band-new Truffula at 2935 Central Avenue in St. Petersburg's Grand Central District — so consumers seeking environmentally friendly products in St. Petersburg can find them.
And why wouldn’t you want environmentally friendly products?
“We’re trying to get people to think about the things they’re buying, because it can make a difference,” says Schorr.
If you’ve ever read The Lorax, then “Truffula” might sound a tad familiar. It’s actually the name of a fictional tree in the Seuss tale. The story was published back in 1971, so we’ll forgive you if you don’t remember the plot.
It goes something like this: When the Once-ler first arrived in town and saw the beautiful forest of Truffula trees, he saw a business opportunity. So he chopped down one of the trees and made a Thneed from its tuft.
When the Once-ler cut down the first tree, a creature called the Lorax popped out of the tree stump. “He was very upset as he shouted and puffed,” wrote Seuss, “What’s that THING you’ve made out of my Truffula tuft?”
A Thneed looks a lot like a sweater made for an alien, but the Once-ler insists it’s “a fine something that all people need.” So people start buying these alien sweaters, and the Once-ler cuts down more trees to make more Thneeds.
Eventually, his little operation produces so much smog that the birds fly away. The factory pumps so much toxic waste into the water that the fish have to walk on their fins to a new pond.
Finally, the Once-ler cuts down the last tree, the factory shuts down, and all that’s left is a polluted town. And a message from the Lorax: “Unless.”
The moral of the story: Unless we all start considering the effects of our purchases on the environment, we could end up in a similar mess.
This article appears in Jan 24-31, 2019.