Go Home Go Green

There has been a disturbing trend recently known as "Go Green". Apparently many people have all of a sudden decided that the environment is very important and should be protected. Now anyone reading this right now is probably questioning why I feel this is a disturbing trend. Don't get me wrong it is not all bad. Encouraging people to ride a bike or recycle is fine with me. What I have a problem with is the lines of "Green" products that have surfaced. Now if you are a small company that makes a few products that are"Green" this particular rant is not directed at you. The people I am targeting are the large corporations that have decided to make "Green" versions of the products they already make. You know the ones I mean.

One example is Toys R Us. They have decided to make a new line of Toys that they consider to be "Green". These new "Green" products are environmentally friendly versions of the products they have always sold. Instead of a regular old teddy bear you can now get a "green" teddy bear that is 100% cotton. Instead of regular blocks, you can now buy your favorite toddler "green" blocks that are forest friendly. And if that isn't good enough you can get a pail and bucket set that is made from recycled milk cartons. On the surface these sound like improvements. Cotton is good, the forest is good, milk cartons are good, I guess everything is good.

Here is the problem. Toys R Us did not stop making non-cotton bears, they have not stopped selling forest killing blocks and they have not stopped selling regular old non recycled plastic toys. They have not stopped abusing the environment they have simply decided to cash in on a trend. They have not demanded any environmental improvements from their suppliers. They are not going "Green". The only green that matters is the almighty dollar. They don't care about the trees or the plastic or the kids, they care about the money. If they were in anyway trying to be conscientious they would be making changes to there existing lines and products instead of just creating a new line.

Now, Toys R Us is not that only company doing this. Tons of companies are cashing in. That is what companies do, they try to make money. Fine, but don't expect me to get up and do a happy dance. I will not applaud because less then 1% of your products aren't bad for the environment. That is not good enough.