It’s Not Easy Being Green in Flint, But it’s Getting Better
There are not a lot of “green” businesses in Flint. Absolutely none listed in Co-op America’s National Green Pages or in any other database of green businesses that I’ve found. Earlier this year there was a green business event for Flint and Genesee county area businesses…maybe five companies were there: CBC Recycling, Office Max (I think), a mobile document shredding company and I don’t remember who else, if anyone.
For years it has been very hard to be green in Vehicle Rust City. Some outer suburbs have curbside recycling but I have to haul mine directly to the recycling center. If I wanted to buy green, any specialty items like cleaning supplies, organic cosmetics, clothing or anything else that I want had to be ordered through catalogs or online (I am sooo thankful for the Internet). Organic food also had to be special ordered or searched for (sometimes to no avail) at the Farmer’s Market.
In 2004 my husband and I opened an all natural carpet and upholstery cleaning company. This was before going green was all the rage. And long before the green movement started sweeping through Michigan. I had to search far and wide to find cleaning supplies. I ordered through companies online that sold Seventh Generation and Bi-O-Kleen. I found several other products but they were only available in Canada and the UK at the time, countries that were already passing laws about chemicals and implementing the use of natural and non-toxic cleaning products.
Today I can go into Home Depot, Kroger, Wal-Mart or Meijer and find a pretty good selection of green cleaners as well as many other eco-friendly products.
It’s amazing what a difference a few years can make. Some people may hate Wal-Mart and other big box corporate stores but they are making it easier for anyone and everyone to shop green…and at affordable prices.
This year I have noticed a huge change in a very short time in what eco-friendly items are now available at local stores. It seems everyone rushed to get stuff in for Earth Day this year. Granted some stores had things before then but the selection really grew in April and thankfully has kept growing around here.
My local Home Depot started offering the no VOC paint line, FreshAire, right around Earth Day. Finally! I have been complaining for awhile that they needed to get some low/no VOC paint in.
My house is in a constant state of redo and remodeling, but paint and other chemical fumes kill me. And I’m sorry but picking a paint color out online just doesn’t work real well. So my bedroom and living room have been awaiting new paint for awhile. Now I can pick out a color from Home Depot that has no VOCs…well maybe I’ll pick it out…soon. I sometimes hate to paint, all the covering stuff and furniture moving, I’ve been putting it off for too long… and those white walls are driving me nuts.
Anyway…
Kroger has had a nice little selection of organic and natural foods and cleaning products for awhile but now they also offer their own private label organic foods. Meijer has their own line of organic food as well. Meijer also offers bamboo household products and some organic cotton bedding. Meijer also has very reasonable prices for their organic produce.
I’ve heard Wal-Mart now offers their own organic products and organic cotton clothing but I don’t shop there very often since they are not in my little close to home errand running area.
So the good news is…it is getting easier to be “green” in Flint, as long as I don’t want anything too fancy like organic, eco-friendly shoes, purses, underwear or baby gear. Yeah, Flint still has a long way to go to be really green but for me the progress so far is amazing. I thought it would never happen.
Yet, until everything around here goes green, I’ll keep buying what I need online if I can’t find it in the stores and opt (like I always have) for ultra cool vintage, antique and other used goodies that I find at antique stores, thrift shops, yard sales and consignment stores. I am a sucker for a good deal and I love to treasure hunt.
