There are a lot of articles out in cyberspace that talk about how important it is to be eco-friendly by way of being energy-efficient, recycling and upcycling. Yet, what can tend to be challenging for a lot of us is that we’re not always sure where we can go to purchase products that support this kind of vision. And even when we do, a lot of the “specialty shops” are not always the best at conserving trees in the sense of keeping dollar bills (that are made of paper, of course) in our pockets.
This is, perhaps, one of the nicest things about one of Amazon’s latest announcements.
Last month, it was reported that Amazon was opening up a new shopping website. What makes it a bit exceptional in its mission is that it’s one that will be all “green”. Yes, that’s right. Amazon now has a “new baby” called (and appropriately so) Vine.com and it will sell “all things green” including beauty supplies and clothes, cleaning supplies and baby products.
Although “green” is defined differently for different people, Vine has already prepared itself for the, “So how do you determine that it’s truly green?” question. For products to be listed on its site, they must be one (or more) of the following things: they must be created for the purpose of removing toxins from the atmosphere; they must powered by renewable energy; they must be reusable; they must be water-efficient; they must be made of sustainable materials; they must be energy-efficient or they must be certified as organic or natural (just a heads up, Seventh Generation is one of the sponsors for the site and so they will be following up on “natural” proclamations).
This means that you will see things like items made from bamboo because that is a sustainable material. You will see items like low flow showerheads because they are water-efficient. You will see reusable diaper clothes because they are, well, reusable.
Aside from providing another smart place for the people who have environmental careers or individuals who are very knowledgeable about the eco-friendly platform to shop, this move made by Amazon also opens up the door for others to consider making more “green purchases”. This is because of the best things about Amazon is that it doesn’t just provide us with a variety of choices, but also some discounted prices as well. Hopefully, this will prevent some people from feeling discouraged about the price or even intimidated about the products (because Amazon’s layout also provides descriptions and comparisons to other items too).
That’s not to say that everyone is thrilled with Amazon’s new edition. As a matter of fact, there are many smaller retailers throughout the country who believe that Amazon plays a direct role in causing their companies to suffer, if not totally putting them out of business.
Amazon is forging on nonetheless. And with Vine.com having guarantees like orders being shipped within 1-2 days, reliable customer service and easy returns, well, let’s just saying that “going green” just got a lot more user-friendly over the internet.
