Green is the new red, white, and blue. Green is big business. Green is everywhere. Even Kermit would have a hard time making his case today: It’s a little too easy being “green.”
When I see Leonardo DiCaprio on the cover of Vanity Fair’s “Green Issue,” or when I read about Ashley Judd’s new “green” clothing line, I get a sudden craving for individual packets of Teddy Grahams — the more corn syrup and packaging the better. And I say this as a devoted co-op shopper, CSA member, and reduce-reuse-recycler.
I fear the backlash that will inevitably come with the overkill. I wonder if my parents’ way wasn’t better: Green wasn’t hip. Green wasn’t even “green.” But, for these children of farm country, waste was immoral. Overconsumption just wasn’t done. Homemade was good because homemade was usually better. This predecessor of “green” couldn’t have fallen out of fashion because it was far from fashionable in the first place. It just was.
At the time, I was mortified by the clothesline and the compost heap in the backyard. I was bewildered by the massive vegetable garden and the summer canning sprees. And, believe me, there was no cachet in “handmade” at my high school.
But, here I am, with my own compost bin (curbside, yeah!), a house full of fluorescent bulbs, and a fridge full of pickled things (I fear botulism too much to can). I’m even contemplating a clothesline. Especially, however, I have learned that handmade is definitely better. My hope is that someday we’ll all get to the point where none of that is fashionable. It just is.
So I could have left the word “green” out of our gift guide this year. Let’s just say that these are products we love. And one of the many reasons we love them is that they all tread just a little more lightly on the Earth.
What’s greener than homemade?
Handmade is good — handmade by you is even
better. I love these books for inspiration.
Itty-Bitty Nursery
By Susan B. Anderson (Artisan, September 2007)
Knitted delights from a Madison author, crafter, and mother.
Crafters’ Companion
By Anna Torborg, ed. (Snowbooks, April 2007)
Profiles and patterns from some of the most popular craft bloggers.
