In recent years, the reality of the climate crisis has come to light and as a response many companies have begun to create more sustainable products. However, although these products and innovations seem beneficial at face value, upon deeper examination, many of these ‘eco-friendly’ products are not ‘friendly’ to the Earth at all.
A key example of this phenomenon is the invention and use of electrically powered vehicles. While electric vehicles are a step in the right direction as they produce less emissions than gas fueled vehicles, it would be shortsighted to say they are entirely and absolutely environmentally beneficial. The production and manufacturing process for electric car batteries utilize rare earth metals which must be extracted. Their extraction procedure produces many carbon emissions. Empirically, it is shown that emissions of manufacturing a battery for an electric car are equal to driving a gasoline car for about 1-2 years. Resultantly, when comparing the manufacturing process between electric car batteries and petrol/diesel-based engines, the pollution is on par or slightly higher for electric car batteries. Therefore, although electric vehicles may be sustainable in some ways, they are in other ways, still highly damaging to the environment.
Metal straws are another example of a product that received much attention for its model of ‘eco-friendliness.’ These straws were invented to combat the use of plastic that often ends up in the oceans. However, the manufacturing of metal straws also releases copious amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. The emissions are so high that a metal straw must be used over 150 times to offset its carbon footprint. The complications which can arise from this are: firstly, it is a common mistake to forget a metal straw when out of the house – therefore minimizing the number of uses as well as requiring a non reusable straw. Secondly, reusable straws are often sold in packs, requiring the consumer to use each straw 150 times in order to offset the carbon emission, creating an increasingly difficult path to fully compensate for the productions’ negative impacts. Therefore, it can become very difficult to cancel out the carbon emissions released during metal straw production, bringing their very use into question. To add insult to injury, data shows that only 0.025% of all plastic that ends up in the ocean is from plastic straws, meaning that the root of ocean pollution finds its source elsewhere.
Lastly, recycling is a commonly understood notion of sustainable environmental practice. However, it also has its caveats. Although recycling is a better option than simply disposing of material in the garbage bin, much of what goes into the recycling happens to ultimately not be recyclable. For example, toothpaste containers and other multilayer plastics (MLPs) cannot be recycled because the energy and cost of separating their layers and fully recycling them is not feasible. Another non-recyclable product that is often recycled is black plastic products. This includes things like coffee container lids, take out containers, and plastic utensils. These products cannot be recycled because their black colour cannot be altered once recycled, rendering the goods to generate a very small market and therefore not be worth recycling at all. All this results in only nine percent of recycling actually being recycled with the other 91 percent ending up in landfills. Furthermore, the nine percent that is recycled becomes downcycled, meaning it loses quality each time it is recycled until it reaches a point where it is no longer able to be utilized at all and also ends up in landfills. Therefore, the ‘eco-friendly’ associations with recycling are not as accurate as most people believe.
In conclusion, the marketing and use of the term eco-friendly has created a false reality for many, leading people into thinking they are greatly helping the planet when using certain products or methods. The reality of the situation, rather, is that some of these products, although possibly having the right idea, fail to be truly environmentally friendly and instead may also exacerbate harmful practices. Moving forward, it is important to conduct comprehensive research on legitimately eco-friendly practices before purchasing mainstream ‘eco-friendly’ products or implementing ‘eco-friendly’ practices. Overall however, the best method to reduce individual carbon footprint and truly aid the planet is to reduce the consumption of unnecessary products including those that seem ‘eco-friendly’ and instead reuse pre-existing products.
Edited by Misbah Lalani
Hi I’m Jenna Hicks. I am a third year student studying International Development with a minor in Political Science at McGill University. I have a strong interest in human rights issues as well as feminst related topics and I look forward to being able to share these interests with the Catalyst audience.