Things you should never buy

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Things you should never buy

by Patricia Mayville-Cox (Subscribe to Patricia Mayville-Cox's posts)
Jun 7th 2008 @ 4:00PM

Filed under: Home

Here's an easy way to think about green shopping (if there really is such a thing). From recyclemania on greenopolis, a list of "The Things You Should Never Buy."

Here's a sample:

Styrofoam cups, they stay in landfills forever.
Paper towels , reusable rags are a better choice
Plastic utensils
Disposable batteries
Bleached coffee filters, try unbleached paper ones instead
Hair conditioner
Chemical pesticides and herbicides
Body care products with phthalates and parabens
Farm-raised salmon
Anything made from PVC
Rayon, turning wood in rayon is wasteful and dirty. Only one-third of the wood pulp will even end up in the fabric.

See recyclemania's post for more things you should buy, and more about all the reasons why.

What things would you say people should never, ever buy?

Comments [1]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

6-09-2008 @ 8:59AM

Phil L. said...

I like where the list is heading - but a lot of the details are pretty tough to deal with today.

Example: Personally, I'm sick of disposable batteries (and many battery-powered devices, for that matter). But the chemistries in rechargeable cells run at lower voltages (1.2v typical, compared to 1.5v for disposables). Which means you'll discover that the manuals for most of your battery-powered devices say you shouldn't use rechargeables. You can try it (I have), but most devices don't run for very long on rechargeables before failing.

Most rechargeable battery chemistries have been around for years. I find it appalling we haven't found a way for most consumer, cell-based battery powered devices to effectively use them.

*Anything* made from PVC? Just *try* to find a house that doesn't use PVC pipe for virtually all drain line plumbing. My house still has a fair number of copper drain lines - but I'm sure they're held together with leaded solder. It can be hard to find a good solution that keeps everyone happy.

And, as one with small kids, reusable rags are no fun when traveling...

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