Eco-Friendly at Lower Cost

Posted by Sonja Ebron

Conventional wisdom says environmental improvements cost money, that we can’t do anything about climate change without sending prices skyward. The most exciting thing I ever heard from Al Gore was that protecting the environment would provide economic benefits as well, but I was never clear on how that would work. Industry has begun to understand that our response to climate change will force them to think in new ways. There’s good news that may help manufacturers move faster.

For one, Wal-Mart is selling milk in square jugs that are lighter and easier to ship from the dairy. That means consumers get the milk faster and fresher, and the lower shipping costs are passed on in the form of lower prices, up to 20 cents per gallon. Some consumers have complained that the milk spills easily, but that’s because we need to pour it differently, “rock and pour” rather than “lift and tip”. That’s typical of the sort of behavioral adjustments we’ll have to make as consumers.

In addition, we’ll soon be learning to pour wine from a cardboard box instead of a glass bottle. Already on shelves in Italy, these boxes hold the finest rose and burgundy. Any wine that doesn’t need a long aging process (and that’s most of them: don’t believe the hype) is suitable for boxing. The United States is fast becoming the largest wine market in the world, and some California vintners are looking to box their wines soon. By some estimates, selling wine in cardboard boxes would effectively remove 400,000 cars from American roads.

So there’s a real paradigm shift occurring. One of the biggest challenges for Black people who want to do the right thing environmentally is the higher cost of eco-friendly living. We’re all familiar with the price premium for eco-friendly products, for everything from healthy organic food to hybrid cars. If industry can make these products at lower cost to consumers, there will be whole new markets for them. That’s good for us, good for them, and great for the environment.