Provident Mom

“Green” is the marketing word of 2008. Every company peddling auto insurance, cleaning products, trucks, baby food, copy machine paper, toothpaste, and t-shirts insists that you can be “green” if you buy certain slightly-more-expensive-than-average products. And why wouldn’t you? Because it’s cool to be “green.”

Never mind that these green products have very little to do with conserving energy or cutting down on emissions. If you have the outward appearance of being green, then you’re considered righteous by team green.

The ironies of this scam are endless, and I as a consumer feel patronized by the whole thing. There are genuine ways to be environmentally conscious, but buying specially packaged “green” lotion and soap gift sets is not one of them. Do they take us for fools?

Recently NPR did a story about the evils of suburban living. They focused on a couple who worked in Atlanta and lived 70 minutes outside the city. The husband and wife both worked, and they drove separate cars into Atlanta every weekday after they dropped their son off at daycare. The wife picked up fast food on the way home every night because in their busy schedule there was no time for cooking. And they lived in a 3,000 square foot house. NPR decried their consumption caused by suburbia.

I have a different take on this story. I propose that this family could be happier and more responsible (financially, emotionally, and even environmentally) if they became a one-income family. If the wife stayed home with their son, they wouldn’t have to pay for daycare or a horrific commute or fast food every night. They might want to live in a smaller house, which would be more appropriate for a one-income, three-person family. Green matters aside, the greatest benefit to this family and society as a whole would be a better adjusted happier family, a family that has time to eat and play and work together.

This obsessive focus on “greenness” distracts our attention away from things that really matter. When it comes down to it, provident living is environmentally sound. If you’re living within your means, preparing for the future, and raising responsible children, you’re doing things right. You don’t have to hang out with the cool kids to have peace of mind.