AP Photo/Steven Senne
DCL
This is the first post in a series about eco-friendly etiquette. Got a gnawing question about green social graces? Drop us a line at etiquette (at) treehugger (dot) com.
Being environmentally conscious no longer carries the tree-hugging hippy stigma it once did—on the contrary, those who go green are increasingly (and justly) lauded and admired in mainstream culture. But that doesn't mean you won't still come head to head with those who don't share your progressive eco-views. It also doesn't mean that every green deed is well-understood or accepted socially yet. And, despite the progress environmentalism has made over the years, there's a brand new misguided image of the environmentalist to combat—the eco-elitist.
All of this means that there are definitely going to be more than a few awkward obstacles for modern pro-green folk out there—and grey areas aplenty regarding social conduct. When do you advocate environmentalism, for instance? (With friends or peers in civil discussions, for one.) When do you keep your mouth shut? (At Thanksgiving dinner with your elderly, global warming denying grandfather, maybe.) When do you flaunt your green cred, and when do you do your eco-friendly deeds anonymously?
To help you navigate the perils of going green in the modern age, we've decided to put together a sort of green advice column. Now, we don't claim to have all the answers—living green in the modern day can land you in some weird, unwieldy spots. But, we've been in a lot of them. Enough of them to wish we'd had some pointers ourselves. And that's precisely why we'll be offering this guide to eco-etiquette every week.
Today's Topic: Toting Your Reusable Bag
The Problem:
When you bring your own bag to the grocery store, pharmacy, or retailer, you help cut plastic and/or paper bag waste. Yet it's a perfect example of a green move that's made publicly—and one that could, unfortunately, make you the target of ridicule from less environmentally inclined folks.
Otherwise proud carriers of reusable totes may, for example, have had the following encounter:
"Paper or plastic?" the checkout person asks when you finally reach the front of the line at the pharmacy/supermarket/wherever.
"Neither," you say, trying to rid your voice of any hint of smugness, and present your tote. "You can just put those in here."
"Oh," he says, scoffing, with a subtext that might as well say: "Saving the world, are we? Well looky here." (It could be worse, too—reports of flat-out laughs in the face and rude comments are rare but not unheard of).
The Solution:
Now, it may be tempting to utter a perfectly worded retort with the intent of irrefutably laying bare the checkout person's environmental ignorance and reinforcing your own moral superiority. Not that you could think of what exactly that would actually be.
But instead of saying anything at all, or even glowering, it's best to completely ignore the slight. This is a situation where it's best to take the high road—just not too high. Raising your nose and uttering a 'hmph' or a 'you-just-don't-get-it' sigh and head-shake will only reinforce the misguided, widely held view that people who go green are snobby "environmental elitists." No, this situation demands utter inaction-maybe simply a shrug will do, or a smile, as you nonchalantly wait for the checkout attendant to finish his task. Follow up with a polite "thanks," and you should get out of the encounter unscathed.
The more we act as though doing green in everyday situations is the standard, hardly even noteworthy, the sooner we may see attitudes pivot towards accepting it as such. After all, a green deed like carrying a reusable bag is hardly a confrontational act-just perhaps a slightly unusual one. But with a little persistence-and the proper etiquette-it won't be for long.
