When I first spotted the Psling on Keri Russell in Celebrity Baby Blog; I thought to myself, $350 for a piece of fabric and rings; people are crazee (whirling my fingers around my ears) . However, I had to admit it was beautiful. So beautiful that I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then I started obsessing about it and started reading about it all over the internet.
The Baby Wearer, a forum for baby wearing parents and advocates, could not stop raving about its comfort and beauty. So like a sucker; I convinced my significant other to drive to the city (our first time in the year that we moved to PA). so I can try out this incredible piece of fabric. We got to Soho, parked the car, and found our way to PSNY. There was the beautiful sling that I was meant to have. I bought it. (Like a sucker)
So now that I have this beautiful yet expensive piece of fabric tied with two rings, two things come to mind.. guilt… yes.. but bigger part is rebellion. Ever since I took on the challenge of greening up my life, everything had to Eco-friendly. I gave up my beloved Ajax for Mrs. Meyers. My antibacterial dish soap for an Earth friendly one (one that doesn’t clean as well). Tried out the Earth friendly gdiapers which in reality made more work for me. Turn off the powercord, unplug everything, recycle… it’s just exhausting.
Of course I still feel a sense of accomplishment when I do remember to bring my Envirosax and hey, I am a green blogger. I am contributing. I just have to remember that and not be so hard on myself. I know.. the Earth is going to end soon because we are creating a mad havoc on it.. but when an obviously Eco-conscious mother feels somewhat guilty for procreating; we have to ask ourselves… are we going too far?
When someone is trying to make a more sustainable choices, don’t criticize them for all the “other” 100 things they are not doing. Like one Tree Hugger staff who got a lot of flack for buying an SUV. He made a choice based on his needs. If he’s doing 10 other things that good for the Environment; then that’s enough. It’s better than nothing at all. Just because you write about the environment; doesn’t mean that you have turn into the next Thoreau on the Walden Pond.
So I am not really sure how my purchase of a Psling turned into a diatribe about “being green” to other’s taste. I guess I have come across couple of thoughts in the last couple of days about how some environmental writers are being shamed into not being Eco-friendly enough. I could see if someone was not making ONE sustainable choice but that is almost always not the case.
In this case, it was a moment of weakness (although it is handmade with non-toxic dyes and masterly crafted) . However, I should remember all the other Eco-conscious choices I am making on a daily basis and feel good about that. So to the Tree Hugger writer who decided to get an SUV for your family… Ride On Brother.. Ride on.
And as for my Psling that’s a work of art, I am just going to enjoy it without guilt.
You might also want to check out:
Green Family Values: Why is Sustainability SoExpensive?
Certified Green: To Be, or Not To Be, That is the Question
The Good Book of Green Living: “The Self-Sufficientish Bible”
[This post was written by Susie Kim.]
I have to agree – being green feels really good, but in a lot of ways it adds a lot more work and worries… but then again, someone has to be responsible for helping to save the world, right?? 🙂
I carry my Envirosax bags and I just got a stainless bottle that has a pretty tree on it to remind me of nature (a photo of my new bottle: http://www.brightandbold.com/stbo33oztr.html) and now I’ve stopped buying water and other disposable products as much as possible.
Just think, if everybody in the world made just one little change…… wow!
You are right and it’s good you realized that its not about everything but the small changes you are making. Look back in one year and you will be doing so many more and throughout learn so many things.
My husband and I are waiting for the arrival of our first child, and I cant wait to teach him about responsibility in this world. I found early on, that all of these cloth diapers weren’t for me, 20 bucks a piece and than you need about 20 of them to wash every other day. I decided to go with prefolds use a snappi and one of these water resistant panies. I kinda feel thats the real cloth diapering.
I am german and grew up in cloth diapers, so my mom is proud about my decision.
As far as water bottles. My husband and I just got stationed back here to Germany and all water bottles (all plastic bottles) have to be returned and are worth 25 euro cent which is a big amount if you add it up. Even though we had a dispenser in the US it is not worth it to get one here (way to costly and not usual) so I feel good about retunring my bottles and they are therefore recycled.
Be happy about your sling. I got an expensive stroller too, feel guilty at times, but if we use it for all kids to come and it is the best resolution for our traveling family than we are more than allowed to make these choices too.
I agree… take pride and pleasure in what you do for your family, community, and planet. Don’t stress the stuff you don’t do or belittle your efforts. 🙂 Nice article. Enjoy the psling.