Women who are having abortions and placing their children for adoption aren’t who we think they are. They’re mothers.

In a recent Slate article, The Mother Majority, Lauren Sandler recounted her pregnancy scare and how she spent several agonizing days contemplating abortion. Sandler is married and has one child, but did not want to parent further. She considered her family of three “complete.” After her fears turned out to be groundless, she began to wonder how many other women were in the same situation. It turns out a lot. 

Her article explores the high numbers of women with children who have sought abortions. On the other side of the equation, the number of women who already have children who placed subsequent children for adoption is high as well. So what’s happening?

Mothers Declining to Parent More Children
As a mother, Sandler thought she was alone in contemplating abortion, but when she started to ask around, she discovered the opposite was true. She found that The Guttmacher Institute reported in 2008, 61 percent of women who terminated a pregnancy in the U.S. already had at least one child. The National Abortion Federation told Sandler that every year since 2008, 72 percent of women seeking to terminate a pregnancy were already mothers.

Sandler’s story mirrors similar adoption statistics. Betsy Zdonek, a caseworker at Adoption Associates with 30 years of experience in the adoption field confirmed that “the average birthmother we work with is 23 and has two children.” Although there are no official studies that focus on the demographic of mothers giving their children up for adoption, Zdonek said that more than half of their birthmothers already had children. A call to the National Council for Adoption echoed Zdonek’s experience. Megan Lindsey confirmed that there were no national studies or numbers compiled specifically about mothers (citing privacy issues), but said that nationwide, agencies were seeing a majority of birthmothers in their twenties and older with previous children. These conversations were purely anecdotal, but both women (on a local and national level) acknowledged this trend.

Why Don’t Women Want More Children?
One of Sandler’s reasons, and the main reason many mothers cite is the desire to protect the child(ren) they already have. Whether that means financially or emotionally, there are numerous obstacles for families, and mothers in particular. The economy is not the sole culprit, but it has had an undeniable impact on families in our country and others.

In early 2011, The Daily Mail reported that almost two-thirds of parents in the UK say they are too poor to have a second child, and statistics show that the average size of a British family is shrinking. Fox News and Gallup also report that American families are growing smaller and that cost is a major factor. Fox claims that as of 2010, it costs $226,920 to raise one child to the age of eighteen.

Many will say that our materialistic society is to blame because too many parents feel the need to buy their children gadgets and over-priced designer clothing, but mothers like Nicole Knepper (in an interview on Fox News) contend that many families are teetering on the brink of disaster just trying to make ends meet and pay for everyday costs of housing, food, transportation and education. Knepper’s family struggles to make ends meet on a single salary (she has been looking for work for a year) with a special needs child who requires monthly medication paid for out of the Knepper’s pocket. For her family, and many others, the addition of one more child could certainly be catastrophic.

Financial Uncertainty + Outsourcing Jobs + Poor Government Policies = An Unsupportive Nation
On the surface, our society pays lip service to championing mothers and supporting families, but underneath the pink Hallmark hearts and sentiment, America is extremely ineffective in supporting both mothers or families. Numerous studies, the current business environment and our nation’s own policies discourage having children.

Although a small percentage of progressive, high-profile companies make it onto various “Best Places to Work” and mother’s magazines’ employers lists, the reality is that the vast majority of companies in this country (many of them struggling small businesses), are offering fewer and fewer full-time jobs with benefits and are instead offering part-time or contract jobs to avoid the high cost of health care, employment taxes and retirement benefits.

Compensation is falling while the cost of living continues to rise. Even for those who have employer-supplied health care, out of pocket costs are increasing. For contractors who have no benefits, maternity leave and the cost of giving birth is prohibitive, especially since many would certainly be replaced if they went on maternity leave, as there is no legal obligation for the employer to hold their job. During this recession more men than women lost their jobs. As a result, many women are the sole financial support for many families and cannot take either an unpaid maternity leave, risk losing their jobs, or simply add another person to an already struggling family situation.

Despite our slow economic recovery, U.S. companies are recording financial gains, as they wring every bit of productivity out of American workers, resulting in longer days and more hours for no more, and sometimes less, pay. Many are forced to work even longer hours than many day cares are open or attempt to adjust their work schedules accordingly which could jeopardize their job security. While Americans work many more hours than their European counterparts, we also receive far less time off and have no mandatory sick leave or vacation time.

The Economist’s 2011 Women’s Economic Opportunity report spotlighted that out of 113 countries studied, only the United States and Australia do not offer paid maternity benefits (although Australia began offering these benefits in January of this year). The report also stated that globally, women make 75% less than men. Many countries (including the U.S.) pass adequate equality laws, but simply do not enforce them. In the US, women’s compensation is gaining some ground, but working mothers make less, and the more children you have, the more it hurts your career. Currently women make up half the U.S. workforce, yet there are still many more roadblocks than benefits to working and having children.

Who Knows Best How Tough it is to be a Parent?
Even outside these external factors, mothers declining to parent more children is not hard to understand. Who knows better how hard it is to be a parent than someone who has already done it? Zdonek agrees, saying that birthmothers with children are the ones who make adoption plans, while the percentage of teen mothers who do so are much smaller.

Even though many parents will say that parenting is rewarding and brings them happiness, study after study refutes this, claiming that having children doesn’t make parents happy and they are much more stressed than people without children. The New York Times’ Lisa Belkin examines a study claiming that having children causes more misery than joy, and New York magazine’s Jennifer Senior goes further, citing several studies that show how children are detrimental to marriage, and the more of them there are, the worse it is in All Joy and No Fun: Why Parents Hate Parenting.

“As a rule, most studies show that mothers are less happy than fathers, that single parents are less happy still, that babies and toddlers are the hardest, and that each successive child produces diminishing returns.”

Although many would say single parenthood is more accepted than in the past, studies show that it is still frowned upon. Socially and financially, it is the hardest parenting role out there. The 2011 U.S. Census data shows that 31.6 percent of single parent households headed by women fell below the poverty line as opposed to 6.2 percent of married couples and 15.8 percent of single fathers. A 2011 Economist report estimated that in 2008 child care costs equaled 30 percent of a dual income family’s net income (obviously it would be more than that for a single income home). The report concluded that governments should focus on offering affordable child care and other services to single parents to encourage them to work (rather than collect unemployment or welfare benefits).

And, as our planet’s population passes the 7 billion mark, society is beginning to frown on bigger families for environmental reasons.

Damned If They Do, Damned If They Don’t, and Just Damned No Matter What
Many believe that if you make your bed and have sex in it, you should bear the child that might come with it. But who does bear the consequences? According to Epigee Women’s Health, even perfect birth control users can “expect more than one unplanned pregnancy in her lifetime.” USA Today reports that at least 4 in 10 pregnancies in every state are unplanned, including pregnancies within long-term relationships and marriages. (This report does not address what percentage of unplanned pregnancies are attributed to women who already have children.)

What If It’s Not a Necessity, But a Choice?
Faced with financial constraints, the rising cost of living, an uncertain work environment, family unfriendly government and business policies and parental stress, mothers are making difficult decisions out of necessity, but also out of choice. Sandler discussed the distinction between a mother choosing an abortion or adoption out of desperation, and choosing not to parent out of preference. Gloria Feldt, former Planned Parenthood Federation of America president told Sandler, “The less in control of a woman’s life she is, the more the public supports her right to make that choice. The more [people perceive] she is in control of her life, saying this is the life I choose, the less people support it.”

Sandler’s story drew heavy criticism over her assertion that she would choose abortion (if it had come to that) rather than parent another child. In 2009, USA Today profiled another mother, Renee, who was solely supporting three teenage children when she found herself pregnant again. She chose to have her child and place her for adoption. Her story also drew widespread criticism with people wondering why a mother would not want to parent additional children.

Angela*, a single mother who asked that her name not be used, has one daughter from a previous relationship that she is parenting alone. It was a struggle, but Angela was able to provide for herself and her daughter without any public assistance. When her birth control failed and she found herself pregnant again, she determined that she did not want to have another child. “I had parented my daughter and I knew what I was in for. I did not want to do that again.” Additionally, she did not want to be bound to a man she no longer had a relationship with.

Angela had an abortion and knows it was the right choice for her and her daughter.

“This is one issue that I feel very passionate about, that women have the choice and the accessibility to have an abortion.”

Angela acknowledges that some of her friends don’t understand her decision, but she has no regrets. She has built a thriving business, has a close bond with her daughter and is providing for her family without government assistance – a success story that would not have happened had she brought another child into the world.

Image: Kevin Murphy, Keoni Cabral, Karin Dalziel, James Cridland

The post More Pregnant Mothers Are Choosing Not to Parent Additional Children appeared first on EcoSalon.

Ten women who are role models for perseverance, courage, creativity and leadership.

We live in a time where there are many women who are achieving amazing goals and impacting the lives of women and girls around the world. Here are 10 who have impacted and inspired more than they can count.

Judy Blume
She scandalized parents with Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret and other forthright novels about teenage sexuality. For teenagers in the 1970s, Blume’s books were a validation of all that young women felt and questioned. Girls could instantly identify with Margaret and Deenie, characters that alleviated feelings of personal alienation in a time when sex was not as openly discussed and dissected.

Madonna
Who wasn’t captivated by her Borderline video? When Madonna came out gyrating in ruffled ankle socks on the MTV scene, she was flamboyant and expressive and larger than life. She was the original Lady Gaga who pushed sexual, fashion as well as personal boundaries, and offered (to a young generation of women) freedom of expression that many ran with – neon, mini skirts, lace and all.

Oprah Winfrey
Oprah was the first woman to show us that you didn’t have to be white, thin or generically beautiful to be successful in front of the camera. Oprah’s personality, perseverance and business-savvy garnered her a multimedia empire and proved to girls and women everywhere that heart and smarts are what’s important.

Hillary Clinton
After Hillary Clinton spent eight years serving as First Lady, she went on to serve in the U.S. Senate, ran for president, and then became the U.S. Secretary of State. In no matter what capacity she was serving, the former first lady used her political platform and global presence to champion women’s rights. In 1995, she stood up at the World Conference on Women in Beijing and denounced the mistreatment of women around the world, from female infanticide, to forced abortion, to rape used as a military tactic. She famously proclaimed, “If there is one message that echoes forth from this conference, let it be that human rights are women’s rights and women’s rights are human rights, once and for all.”

JK Rowling
JK Rowling created the most well-known trio in young adult literary history and enchanted children around the globe, all the while living a real life rags-to-incredible-riches story. With the Harry Potter series, Rowling made reading a fantastic journey that no one wanted to miss so even kids that had no interest in reading were spellbound. Watching children gobble up these giant 600+ page tomes is truly amazing. From the midnight bookstore parties to unprecedented numbers of first print runs, it was a publishing phenomenon that we will probably never see again in our lifetime.

Mia Hamm
When Mia Hamm and the other players on the U.S. Women’s World Cup team came onto the scene, they made girl’s soccer popular and cool. Their World Cup triumph made the world notice female athletes. Mia Hamm posters graced millions of girl’s bedroom walls, and girls saw that sports equal teamwork, friendship and solidarity.

Sheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg is an engaging speaker and her passion for women in business is infectious. She is known for telling women to “lean in” to their careers and keep climbing the ladder, no matter what, because it is possible for women to lead and have a family. As COO of Facebook, the most popular and well-known company on the planet, we have to wonder how much higher her star can rise. Perhaps she’ll show us that the sky really isn’t the limit.

Kirsten Gillibrand
U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand replaced Hillary Clinton as the junior democratic senator for New York in 2009 – a good fit since Gillibrand also has a passion for women’s rights and leadership, and tirelessly campaigns for more women to get involved in politics. A mother of two small children, she makes balancing a family and helping to run the country look easy. She represents women in a forum where there aren’t many women’s voices or perspective, reminding those in government what challenges half the workers in the U.S. and the majority of consumer decision makers face. Gillibrand, and the small number of other women in government, show girls that women can have an impact on how our country is run.

Annie Leonard
EcoSalon just interviewed Annie Leonard a month ago, and anyone who spends twenty years trotting the globe to find out where our trash goes earns the label of saint. In her Story of Stuff videos, Leonard boils complex topics down into simple examples using straightforward language that everyone can understand. Leonard also wants people to understand how empty materialism is and how much it harms the planet and walks the talk wherever she goes.

Melissa McCarthy
Finally the best friend character – the underdog – gets the glory. For once, it’s not the glamour girl, but the girl next door who is being recognized for her talent, her humor and her hard work. McCarthy, who stars on the sitcom Mike and Molly, spent years as the Gilmore Girls sidekick and broke out recently because of her show and women-centered comedy hit, Bridesmaids. Humor and personality should always win.

image credits: NJ State Library, David Shankbone, Alan Light, Marc Nozell, Beacon Radio, Global Sports Forum, JD Lasica, Freedom to Marry, The Story of Stuff, Audi USA, Kara Allyson

The post 10 Women Who Inspire Us to Succeed appeared first on EcoSalon.

One of the favorite items inside Marc Alt’s (mostly black) closet is a custom made leather jacket, designed for motorcycle riding and a lifetime of wear.

Marc Alt is editor and founder of Open Source Cities, an idea marketplace for the future of cities. During a career dedicated to connecting design, technology and ecology, he’s worked with companies like BMW, MINI USA and Ogilvy Earth and is actively involved in a number of urban mobility and smart cities initiatives. He often travels presenting workshops on living systems, resiliency, ecological design and ancestral knowledge. It was during one of these trips that he acquired the perfect leather jacket.

“I think that the year was 2005. I was at a design conference in Boston, and I used that as an excuse to take a drive out to the coastal town of Fall River to visit the factory and headquarters of Vanson Leathers, one of the few custom leather shops at the time that was still working with horse hide. Since then, there has been a small resurgence of interest in horse hide, and other makers have introduced or re-introduced it as an option in their lines. But at the time, it was very hard to come by, and only one tannery that I know of, the venerable Horween in Chicago, was still processing it.”

“I have a special affinity to horses, having grown up around them as a kid, and now living among them in California. I’m studying ancestral knowledge and primitive technology in my current work and life, and leather has an important role in the history of human civilization. Leather is the oldest continuously used material known to man. Its use pre-dates recorded history. Since at least 2,000 B.C, leather was used in China as currency and for weapons and armor. It is referred to in The Bible, Genesis 3:21. The same qualities that made it valued by ancient cultures make it valuable in modern times. Many traditional cultures believed that by wearing the skin, horns or feathers of an animal they took on some of its characteristics and gained some of its strength. For them, wearing leather communicated that strength as well as purpose and identity.”

Leather has always been one of those divisive topics among environmentalists, but if sourced properly it is a material that will last for generations. And the value of true craft should never be underestimated.

“How we acquire and process leather in modern times is far less considered, sacred or ethical, and represents often a very shameful legacy. However, very often, garment leather is in fact a byproduct of another industry and using it is part of a natural cycle that would otherwise be wasted. I strive to source leather from known or vintage sources, but at the time I wasn’t as aware in my purchasing as I am today.”

“Vanson is not the oldest leather company in the U.S., they have been around since the 1970s, but they have a heritage and specialty of making custom leathers, by hand, to the highest standard, for the sport bike racing industry. At their cavernous building, they still perform drum-dyeing, tanning, finishing, waxing, cutting and stitching by hand. Drum dyeing is a process in which leather is tumbled for hours with a mixture of oils, dyes and hot water in 12 x 12 foot oak drums.”

“I wanted a simple, basic black leather jacket that would last me for life, and be an heirloom that could be passed down. I also wanted something custom fit for riding. Most of the off-the shelf leather jackets have sleeves that are too short and ride up your arm while riding a sport bike or café racer style bike. I wanted something a little longer in the arms and body. After I spent some time wandering through countless racks of garments in their warehouse, someone emerged from their sewing shop, measured me up and took my order. The jacket arrived a few months later and has been with me ever since.”

In this new weekly column, we’ll take you inside the closets of some of our favorite people, asking them to choose one piece that defines them in some way and also, to tell the story behind it. To us, style is not about being a follower of trends, coveting this or that season must-have, it’s about carefully selecting pieces that deserve to be in your closet because they represent you. Personal style is something that lasts through years and fads — just like that favorite piece in your closet.

The post Closet Stories: Marc Alt’s Custom Leather Jacket appeared first on EcoSalon.

Annie Leonard talks about the path to a healthy community, taking back our democracy and the three things that make people happy.

Annie Leonard has spent twenty years investigating where our stuff comes from, how we use it and where it goes. She is the creator of The Story of Stuff project, a series of films that discuss democracy, water bottles, cap and trade, electronics and cosmetics. She has traveled to 40 countries and visited hundreds of factories and dumps. Leonard has observed the effects of over and under-consumption all over the world, and is dedicated to building a clean, green, healthy, safe community for everyone.

We caught up with her recently to talk about how the Staten Island dump, Pacific Northwestern clear cuts and planned obsolescence helped fuel the passion that is now her career.

How did you start down this road of activism? What influenced you and when?

I grew up in the Pacific Northwest and I went camping a lot as a kid. I loved the feeling of being in forests. There was something about it that felt so grounded and so good. So, when I saw these vicious, huge clear cuts, I remember feeling that something is wrong, so I planned to be a forest activist when I grew up. I went to college in New York City, which is a funny place to go to be a forest activist, but it turned out to be really smart.

I would walk to school every day, and there would be these huge, literally shoulder-high, piles of garbage. And I started wondering, what was in all those bags? So I started looking in garbage and I was amazed to see that it was almost all paper. My beloved forests are being chopped down to be made into paper, and the paper is going into the garbage, but where does it go afterward? So I took a field trip to the dump on Staten Island where New York City’s garbage goes. I really recommend everyone go visit the dump. It’s a fascinating thing to see the back end of where all our stuff comes out.

I’ll never forget this moment. I stood there as a sophomore in college looking out at this pile of waste. As far as I could see there were shoes and appliances and books and food and everything you could imagine, and I thought, “My God, we have a real problem. We have built our economy on the unsustainable flow of materials from resources to waste.”

So I decided to figure it out. I studied garbage and waste management in school. I went to Washington DC, worked for environmental groups and spent the next twenty years traveling around the world visiting factories where our stuff is made, visiting dumps, and interviewing people about toxins and chemicals and pollution and garbage and consumption and figuring out how to put the pieces together to understand what was going on. And that’s what I summarized in The Story of Stuff film and book.

When did you create The Story of Stuff and what was your goal?

For about ten years, I had been practicing different ways of talking about where our stuff comes from and where it goes, and I was finding that the more that I learned about it and the more my expertise grew, the less I could communicate with people in a way that they found accessible and relevant.

I tried to figure out if there was a way we could talk about environmental issues that’s fun and easy and welcoming and not all science, charts and graphs, and not all about guilt and fear and shame. Guilt and fear and shame are not powerful places to hang out, yet so many environmentalists bombard the public with those things.

So I developed this talk and turned it into The Story of Stuff film. I must have given that talk a hundred times, and every time, someone would say, can you make a movie of this? So, after three years of resisting, I did the talk one last time and a friend of mine filmed it. We took the film to Free Range Studios, who are these absolute geniuses at capturing different issues in these do-gooder films online.

We put it online free in December 2007. Our goal – our dream – was that 50,000 people would watch it. We thought if we could get 50,000 people to watch this film, then we could really get people talking about this stuff. To our utter amazement, we got 50,000 people in one day. We are now at over 12 million views of the original film and we’ve made additional films and now we’ve had 20 million views total. All of our films are these short, fun films that look at really serious issues about what’s wrong with our materials economy.

I have been so excited about the response, because these are difficult issues to talk about, everything from planned obsolescence (where product designers make stuff designed to break) to corporate influence in democracy. We’ve found a fun way to talk about it and people are watching and having these amazing conversations all over the world. The films have been watched in over 200 countries, shown in schools and churches and synagogues and festivals and conferences – it’s so cool to see all the ways people are using them to spark much-needed conversation.

Where do your ideas for topics come from?

I have been looking at how we make, use and throw away stuff for a long time, so I have lots of things I’d love to talk to people about, but first we pick issues we feel are big chunks of the problem, things we need to be talking about. We also pick things that tend to be technical or there’s just not a lot of discussion about it – things like manufactured demand or planned obsolescence or corporate hijacking of our democracy. We also focus on what our viewers want to hear. We get hundreds and hundreds of emails every week and I really like to get a sense of what people really want to understand more about.

I would talk about how it is absolutely possible to build a safe, healthy, fair society – I am absolutely convinced of it. The technology exists, the research exists, we absolutely could do it, but people would raise their hands and say, yes, but we can’t because we are butting up against the coal industry and the oil industry and corporations have too much control of Congress and we can’t get good laws passed because corporations get mad. So we made a film about corporate power and some steps we can take to reign in corporate power in our democracy so we can take our democracy back.

Our next film is called The Story of Broke. Wherever I go and talk about how we can make a safe, healthy, fair and fun society, people write back and say, “There’s no money for that. It’s a nice idea, safe products and clean energy – but there’s no money for that.” But the truth is – there IS money for it. There’s a lot of money for it. It’s actually our money, because it’s our government and we’re giving that money right now to nuclear reactors, loan guarantees, and enormous subsidies for incredibly profitable oil and gas companies. So we should get involved with what’s happening to it. And right now it’s being used to prop up the dinosaur economy and what we should use it for instead is to build a healthy, fair future.

We have more ideas and requests that we can possibly do. We want to watch the response to each film and pay attention to what’s happening in society, and we really want to respond to our viewers. We’re trying to provide the information that they need to engage in the conversation. One of the things we definitely want to look at in one of the next couple of films is solutions. We want to really focus on how many solutions are out there – there are so many, it’s just incredible how possible it is to make clean, green, safe, healthy stuff.

What direct impact has The Story of Stuff had?

It’s interesting with online work is that you don’t really know what direct impact it has really had. Part of what we do know is anecdotal. We hear lots and lots of stories from people who say, “I never thought about where our stuff comes from and where it goes until I saw your films. And because of that film, I am rethinking the role of stuff in my life. I am looking for ways to buy stuff used, to share things, to find happiness through other ways than going shopping.” Thousands and thousands of incredibly heartwarming stories like that make us really happy.

We can track how many people watch it online and people have watched it in every single country except one in the middle of Africa. We can track what resources they download and those materials have been downloaded tens of thousands of times. So we absolutely know that we are contributing to thinking and talking about these issues. The only way we’ll really know if it’s working is if we can build up enough power in this country to demand a clean, green and healthy economy. Then we’ll know that we’ve won.

If you could tell everyone in the world (or just the U.S.) to make one change in their lives to make the biggest impact, what would it be?

I think if I could just pick one, what I would say is to develop the infrastructure and culture for sharing. There are lots of solutions to the problems we face that are very complex and technical, but there are also some that are very simple, and bringing back sharing is one.

As we’re in tough economic times and as we’re bumping up against the planet’s limits, we are going to have to learn how to live well with less stuff. It’s crazy in this country for EVERY single house to have a wheelbarrow, a power drill and a lawn mower and a cupcake tin and all these things that you only use a few times a year. So if we share, it means we have to mine less metals, cut less trees, we can make our resources go further if one lawn mower or power drill can serve six families instead of just one.

Perhaps the most important part of sharing is that it’s better for our happiness. Because if you’re going to share something, you have to talk to people, you have to have friends, you have to have community. And the more we can develop friends and community and get out of our social isolation that this country is experiencing, the less we’re going to feel the need to go out and go shopping because we can find fun and meaning in our sense of community. It’s better for the planet, better for our economy, and way more fun.

Speaking of possessions, what is your most cherished possession?

You know what I really love? I love my clothesline. Because I’m often so busy, having a clothesline in my backyard makes me pause twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon, to just spend ten minutes standing in my garden. It makes me feel connected to the natural environment because the sun is drying my clothes. It just makes me slow down and take a breath and just have a moment to reflect on my day and have gratitude for all that I have. When I travel, I even take a little clothesline with me.

Who are your real-life heroes?

People often ask how I remain so hopeful and it’s because there are so many people helping to make the world better in so many ways. But for me, the real heroes are the everyday moms who are just trying to get dinner on the table and get their kids to do well in school, who are standing up and taking a stand against corporate polluters. People like Lois Gibbs. She was the mother at Love Canal (a town near Niagra Falls, New York).

For decades, a chemical company had poured their toxic waste into a canal and covered it up with dirt. Then they sold it to a school district for some nominal fee. Lois Gibbs and the other moms began noticing a very high rate of rare and very serious diseases, a lot of miscarriages, and kids getting really sick. She figured it out, about this toxic waste that was seeping into the school as well as into a bunch of the basements in this town.

She was a mom without a college degree in any of these issues, and no scientific training. She started putting together the data and faced enormous ostracism from the community. She risked threats of violence and she still demanded that the government come and clean up the mess, and move the people out of there whose houses were built on this toxic waste site.

It’s people like that, who, when life is hard enough, are able to still find the strength to stand up to the forces against us, and demand something better. They inspire me so much. I just feel like if they can do it, I can certainly do it.

What accomplishment are you most proud of?

Two things. I am very proud that The Story of Stuff has been so well-received. I am enormously happy that we figured out a way to talk about complex issues in a fun way.

I am also happy about how I have been able to integrate many of the lessons I’ve learned into my own life. So that my life, while far from perfect, has been made better by changes I’ve made because of the things I’ve learned from doing this research. For example, there are six households on my block that are very, very good friends and we share everything from childcare to cutting each other’s hair to a pickup truck.

When people ask me how do I know sharing and having community is better than having massive credit card debit and going to the mall, I know because I live it. I can speak with a real authenticity, that sharing, that taking meaning through community and making the world better is just way more fun than being on this hyper-consumption, consumer mania treadmill. I’m happy with my work and I’m happy with my community.

I watched Citizens United v. FEC. It is particularly relevant since we are facing an election in the next year. Do you think that people will stand up and demand change, or are they so discouraged that they won’t try, and no change will happen for a long time?

I think, both. I think people are already starting to speak up, like this amazing protest in front of the White House last month about the Tar Sands pipeline. I watched it feeling so hopeful, because they weren’t just Greenpeacers and Rainforest Action Network types, there were people who said they never attended a protest before, but they just couldn’t take it any longer. They realized that corporations all over Capitol Hill are making their voices heard, and if we are going to make our voices heard, it is time for really dire action. I saw one interview with a rancher who said he’d just had it with the government’s inability to act on climate change. I saw a grandmother from Texas. It was just so inspiring to see regular folks saying “I’ve just had enough. I’m ready to put my body on the line to have my concern for the climate be heard.”

I feel very hopeful about that kind of things that’s happening all over the world – people getting involved. I also think people are frustrated, especially after this last presidential election when people volunteered and donated money and knocked on doors and did all this work for change, and there hasn’t been enough change. And so I’m worried that people are going to choose to check out of the political process and I appeal to them – this is NOT the time to do that. The most important battle that we will ever face in our lifetime is wrestling back our democracy from the corporate interests. We have got to stay engaged, we have got to not hand over our democracy.

We have to really encourage people we know to get involved in making our voices heard. It is absolutely true that these super-rich, big companies are controlling the dialogue right now, but there are more of us, than of them. So every day that we do not voice our opinions, we’re actually voting for the status quo to continue. We’ve simply got to engage.

This country is way too incredible and wonderful and valuable to just hand off to people who don’t actually care about it. So we need to take our country back. And then, once we’ve done that, we can deal with the kinds of issues that I talked about in The Story of Stuff. We can make our products safe and our schools good and our environment clean. But we’ve got to get the power so our government is working for us, instead of the big companies.

What is your idea of true happiness?

It’s hard for me to separate my own ideas and thoughts from all the data that I’ve read. I’ve done a huge amount of looking into what actually makes people happy. I was very interested in the fact that we have more, better, cooler stuff than at any time throughout history, but our happiness levels are actually going down.

It turns out that there are three things that make people happy. The first one is the quality of our social relationships and having friends and family and community. The second thing is having leisure time and not working around the clock. We work so many hours in this country. We work about 300 hours more per year than our counterparts in Europe do. So we’re exhausted and socially isolated. The third big one is having meaning in life.

That resonated so much with me. For me, true happiness is if everyone on the whole planet has those things. A healthy, strong community, some leisure time, so we can invest in art, in community, in family, the environment, civic activities, and having a purpose in life.

Visit The Story of Stuff to view the videos and be notified about new topics.

Images: The Story of Stuff Project

The post The Story of Stuff: A Conversation with Annie Leonard appeared first on EcoSalon.

A new feminism is raging in America and the modern woman is embracing it.

Marketing Manager Anna Brones and I were busy doing what we do at EcoSalon when I pinged her:

“Are we becoming in your face feminists?”

Anna shot me back: “What are we supposed to do? Not be feminists?”

It got me thinking, why does feminism have a bad name?

After a while Anna sent another message: “As women, we have to rally together because we have no choice and it’s not because we hate men. I also think it’s bullshit that as soon as we start talking about women and rallying together we quickly get attacked.”

Her comments stayed with me on Tuesday when a female neighbor talked feverishly about a female DPW worker who needed to “stop wearing her cutesie heels and skirt and be a man,” so she could get things done.

Her comments stayed with me on Thursday when a friend said “I don’t want to wear lipstick to the supermarket to call attention to myself.”

I could go on. I bet you could too. Here are five more stories that should clearly show you, in 2011, women are still not out of the woods as equal members of society.

Fact. In the U.S., women still hold only 14.4 percent of executive officer seats and 15.7 percent of board seats in Fortune 500 companies. Why is that? You could blame it on life, women having babies and leaving the work force but you also could blame it on “Good Girl” syndrome. In her story Women Learn How to Fail at Work in Grade School, Andrea Newell, Senior Editor at EcoSalon says “After spending their formative years of learning the ‘nice’ girl code of behavior, women discover that the workplace demands different behavior and has a new set of rules.”

Sometimes you have to scratch your head and wonder what century we’re living in. Could it be possible that in 2011, women are still fighting for the right to choose? In her article Barely Legal, writer Libby Lowe talks about H.R.3, a bill known for finally defining rape as “forcible.” Lowe says the bill is now aimed at punishing women and private insurers who provide coverage for rape victim abortion. “And, as if your taxes aren’t complicated enough, if H.R.3 passes, the IRS will be looking to get in your pants. ‘Under standard audit procedure, a woman would have to provide evidence to corroborate facts about abortions, rapes, and cases of incest.'” Hello Big Brother.

In The Top 15 Feminist All Stars, we get a Hollywood breakdown of strong actresses who have played kick ass women in supporting and lead roles.

Miss Representation is a documentary that explores the misrepresentation of women in culture and media and how that influences the under representation of women in other realms, like politics and business. In an interview with the film’s writer and producer, Jennifer Siebel Newsom says “It’s sort of a chicken and the egg, both the media and our culture don’t value women enough,” she says. That leads to an image that, as Siebel Newsom puts it, is “disparaging and hyper-sexualized and ultimately relays to the culture that that’s what women are.” Miss Representation aired just this past week on the Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN).

So, today, at this very moment, if you were to go out in Tucson, Arizona, you couldn’t wear a pair of pants. Nope. Not kidding. A real law in the city. Who knows what happens to women who defy it, but in 7 Ridiculous Laws Against Women, we get a pretty traumatizing look at backwards places still holding true to women being the lesser sex.

And for these injustices we have to laugh and cry at the same time.

The post The Friday 5: The New Feminists Edition appeared first on EcoSalon.

Walmart is rolling out a global program to benefit women but it won’t help their own female U.S. retail employees.

Recently Walmart made our unofficial list of workplaces that are unfriendly to women. For years, the company has been fighting the largest class action gender discrimination lawsuit in history. In June 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that there was no evidence of a centralized corporate conspiracy by Walmart to discriminate against women, so they decertified the class action and cast the individual claims back into the lower courts. These cases are still pending. Now Walmart has turned around and announced an ambitious, global initiative to benefit women.

On September 14, Walmart unveiled their Global Women’s Economic Empowerment Initiative. Emphasis on global, and add “external women.” Nowhere in Walmart’s entire we-love-women press release or dog-and-pony webcast did the phrase “female Walmart U.S. retail workers” ever come up. Of course, any corporate lawyer would caution against this while the individual discrimination cases are pending, but it was the pink elephant in the room during the entire presentation.

President and CEO Mike Duke listed four goals the company has set toward making “…Walmart the best place for women to work at all levels.” The company plans to develop and advance women leaders, build a pipeline of women talent, promote inclusion, and invest in women externally. Duke made clear that the rest of the discussion would focus solely on the fourth goal, although the first three were crying out for discussion and elaboration.

As far as things go for women outside the organization, Walmart is committing to an enormous program. In their press release, Walmart details plans through 2016.

1. Over the next five years, the company will source $20 billion from women-owned businesses in the U.S. and double sourcing from women suppliers internationally.
2. New programs will help 60,000 women working in factories that supply products to Walmart and other retailers develop the skills they need to become more active decision-makers in their jobs and for their families.
3. Successful retail training programs will be scaled to help 200,000 women receive job training and education internationally. In the U.S., Walmart will help 200,000 women from low-income households gain job skills and access higher education.
4. The company will work with major professional service firms and merchandise suppliers with over $1 billion in sales to increase women and minority representation on Walmart accounts.
5. The company will support women’s economic empowerment programs with more than $100 million in grants. Funding will come from the Walmart Foundation and donations directly from Walmart’s international businesses.

Frankly, it sounds great. Women and women-owned businesses could use a benefactor like Walmart. But how can a company claim to support women and families around the world while ignoring the concerns of their own female employees and fighting them in court? More than 1.5 million women joined the original class action claim. Every company has dissatisfied employees, but this should be a red flag the size of Texas. Yet Walmart acts as though none of it ever happened as they proclaim their admiration and respect for women and deny any correlation between their legal problems and the announcement of this program. Not only do they not publicly acknowledge any issues within their own organization, they are mandating that the companies they work with promote women to work on Walmart accounts. That’s pretty bold.

Despite the many questionable business practices that have come to light in recent years, Walmart is a very smart company. The Walmart C-suite knows that women are good for more than just cheap(er) labor – women also make the vast majority of household buying decisions. Duke acknowledges that globally, women control $20 trillion in annual spending. Repairing its image and convincing women that it cares about women and families to cement customer loyalty in one fell swoop is a very shrewd move.

This might be a shamefully soulless PR stunt, yet it’s one that could benefit hundreds of thousands of women worldwide. Should we embrace it? If it was another company who had a proven track record for supporting and promoting women within their own organization, all the way down to the line workers, there would be no doubt. But considering Walmart’s disregard for women in its lower ranks, this fervent support for women rings hollow. Maybe someday they might even come back to those first three goals. As Dr. Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow for U.S. Foreign Policy, Council on Foreign Relations told Walmart, “The world will be watching.”

image: Melissa Wall

The post Walmart Suddenly Loves (Some) Women appeared first on EcoSalon.

Have we all been mean girls at one time or another?

When Rachel Simmons penned  Odd Girl Out in 2002, she opened the door to the treacherous world of tween and teen girl relationships. What was behind it shocked many and gave rise to new research and changed society’s perception of girls, their personalities and the way they really interact.

What I am taking away from the revised 2011 version is new insight not only into girls’ relationships today, but insight into myself, other women I know, our relationships and the way we interact with each other personally and with others professionally.

Simmons spent three years talking to girls in several schools in different parts of the country, as well as adult women who looked back on their experiences. Listening to these girls tell their stories was like being transported back in time. It also illuminated the roots of such female behaviors as ganging up, rumor spreading, exclusion, silent treatment, and nice-in-private and mean-in-public friends. Some were bullied mercilessly, while others were the aggressors, yet all were “nice” girls who say they were never out to hurt anyone. They were just angry. Really, really angry. I think most women can recognize these behaviors to varying degrees in themselves or others at some point in their lives, not just during teenage years.

Sowing the Seeds of the Good Girl

From a young age, girls are conditioned to be “good.” Girls who talked to Simmons described “ideal” girls as being pretty, popular, smiling, happy, helpless, dependent, perfect, and having superficial conflicts (solved easily), while “anti-girls” are athletic, brainy, opinionated, pushy, professional, strong, independent, and hard to get along with. Society’s version of the good girl stresses perfection where there is no room for expressing anger and learning about conflict. This forces girls into a stifling silence that can manifest itself in these destructive behaviors. “Our culture has made truth telling and anger, indeed, everything that is ‘not nice,’ feel wrong to girls.”

Relationships Are Critical

For girls, relationships are crucial, but therein lies the minefield. Much of girls’ identities are wrapped up in their social lives. Friends play a huge role and isolation is punishing. Girls act out against each other by threatening to withhold or terminate friendships (relational aggression). Many times, along with torpedoing the friendship comes a crowd effect where others turn against the target as well, isolating her from her peers. Girls learn to wield this relationship power and fear its consequences at an early age.

“In fact, it is the deep knowledge girls have of relationship, and the passion they lavish on their closest friends, that characterizes much of their aggression. The most painful attacks are usually fashioned from deep inside a close friendship and are fueled by secrets and once-shared weaknesses.”

Simmons believes that betrayal in a close friendship at a young age is extremely damaging. It shatters children’s beliefs that friends are nice and that love given will be returned. Some of the stories Simmons tells are tough to read. A vicious campaign against a girl that seemed too confident (“thinks she’s all that”), girls who left others behind in the empty pursuit of popularity, and the constant shift of power within circles of “friendship” had devastating and long-lasting effects on those involved.

Other women Simmons talked to described developing a mistrust of other women and drastic personality changes due to early aggression. Other girls remaining in toxic friendships, were unable to break away, and over time internalized the idea that not only their feelings were expendable but that they are disposable. These same women were also seen to quash their own feelings, needs and wants in order to please the domineering friend. This sets the stage for other unhealthy relationships later in life, including ones with domestic violence.

Does this mean that all girls are irredeemably spiteful and vicious? No. Simmons says these behaviors are a result of girls not learning to deal with anger and face-to-face confrontations, and most girls experience them in one form or another. Are all girls involved in such malicious instances of bullying? No. But bullying comes in varying degrees. Some emerge relatively unscathed, while others carry deep scars into adulthood.

Code Phrase: “I’m Sorry”

“I’m sorry” has many meanings in Girlspeak. During a silent girl vs. girl struggle, it signals surrender. Whomever says it first, loses. On the flip side, “I’m sorry” heads off confrontation altogether and short-circuits discussion. When a girl does try to express her feelings to a friend, a dismissive “I’m sorry,” ends the conversation. Any attempt to continue looks like an emotional overreaction, which is another taboo. In addition to being “good,” girls are not to be emotional (remember that “ideal” girls are always happy). Emotion is used against them. “I’m sorry” is also a knee-jerk reaction, the phrase that springs easily to the lips in many situations to seem courteous and appear good, but ends up making women and girls seem submissive, unsure, and smaller than they are.

How Talking About It Can Help Them and Help Heal Us

Although Simmons’ lengthy research focused primarily on situations involving girls between ten and seventeen, she concedes that these behaviors don’t go away when girls grow up. Simmons said, “The cultural constraints on anger and aggression don’t disappear when a girl grows older, she doesn’t enter womanhood suddenly being able to speak her mind, so these behaviors continue.” Simmons believes that the best way to change is for women to encourage girls to talk, to learn how to deal with conflict in a healthy way and to develop an outlet for their frustration and anger. Both women and girls can benefit.

After writing Odd Girl Out, Simmons traded journalism for a teaching certificate and co-founded the Girls Leadership Institute (GLI), a nonprofit organization focused on teaching girls (K-12), educators and parents about healthy relationships, assertiveness and self-expression. During these workshops, girls learn leadership skills and how to recognize and deal with aggressive behavior.

Simmons is proud to see the progress the girls make during the workshops. When I asked her how the girls applied their newfound skills and awareness once they returned to their original environment, she reported that when the girls looked at their old environment through their new, empowered lens, their friends either accepted and embraced their assertiveness, or the girls realized their old relationships were unhealthy and had the strength to move on.

Perhaps the more girls who learn these skills, and the more girls who witness their use will create a ripple effect in changing attitudes. While Simmons is teaching girls to flex their assertiveness muscles early, she admits that society is very uncomfortable with these displays of power. Personally and professionally, women and girls can only be so empowered. Society has to change its perception of how women and girls should act for there to be any real change.

Where Do We Go From Here?

Almost all girls have been on both sides of the fence – the bully and the bullied. The talker and the talked about. The one left behind in a friendship, and the one who moved onto a new set of friends, perhaps leaving out a former confidant. Childhood is tough to navigate, especially within the societal constraints of the “good” girl. After reading Odd Girl Out, I looked back at my own childhood experiences and could see many parallels. However, I could also identify toxic friendships in college and into adulthood, as well as personal and professional situations handled badly.

The first step to acknowledging a problem: talk about it. Considered just a part of childhood by many, after a rash of suicides attributed to bullying, it is now being recognized as the poisonous behavior it is. In Odd Girl Out, Simmons devotes time to defining normal friendship-growing-pain behavior as opposed to actual bullying. Bullying is also being called out in other settings and people are being encouraged to open up about their experiences. Bullying in the workplace has become an issue in recent years, with much of it perpetuated by women. Ecosalon editor Sara Ost talks about her own brush with bullying as an adult and her advice for dealing with it, and walking away. A new YA book, Dear Bully: 70 Authors Tell Their Stories features tales from the bullied, and those who were bullies.

Has girl bullying improved over the last decade since Odd Girl Out’s original publication date and the formation of GLI? Simmons calls it a good news/bad news situation. The good news is that since it has come to light, more research is being done, there are more interventions and more states are holding schools accountable with anti-bullying legislation.

The bad news is that cyberbullying is a particularly virulent strain of bullying and is only getting worse. Additionally, Simmons laments, reality TV has glorified bad female behavior, turning aggression into a form of entertainment and highlighting confrontation in exactly the wrong way. This works against all efforts to promote healthy emotional interaction, and, sadly, many girls are watching and emulating.

It’s time for women to feel more comfortable expressing themselves in a healthy way – and for society to encourage us. We need a world with less repression and more genuine friendships, young and old.

image: Monica Arellano-Ongpin, Ava Weintraub

The post We’re All Mean Girls, Sometimes appeared first on EcoSalon.

Women are expressing themselves online with flair and without reservation. Duh.

More and more women are making themselves heard. The web has opened the door for more women to use their voices, and we’re not just talking about blogHers. They are journalists, bloggers, comedians, sisters, mothers, wives, and friends. They are writing about their bodies, their relationships, their marriages, their children, our culture – without reservations.

What the women we admire here share in common is a strong personality, a unique voice, a way of seeing the world and a gift for storytelling that is accessible and, most importantly, humorous. Because it’s a fact: Women are actually pretty hilarious. Bravo to the following XX-ers for their bravery when tackling difficult topics, and their refusal to be nice girls in the face of criticism.

Molly Ivins

Molly Ivins was an outspoken liberal who wrote about politics in a brazen, bald-faced manner. Based in Texas, she took aim at the politics and politicians in her state, and, in the last years of her life, targeted President George W. Bush. She worked a stint at The New York Times, where she would come to work in blue jeans accompanied by her dog whose name was an expletive, and continually challenged her editors in word use and language. She returned to Texas to write for the Dallas Times Herald when they promised to let her write whatever she wanted.

She famously wrote about one congressman: “If his I.Q. slips any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day.” (h/t NYT) She continued to speak her mind in print until her death in 2007.

“During a recent panel on the numerous failures of American journalism, I proposed that almost all stories about government should begin: “Look out! They’re about to smack you around again!”

Heather Armstrong

An early blogger (we’re talking 20o1), Armstrong is best known for writing snarky comments and funny anecdotes about her coworkers and boss on her blog, Dooce, and then getting fired for it. Now, “dooced” is a term in the Urban Dictionary defined as “to lose your job due to the contents of your weblog.” Armstrong’s blog is now one of the most-read mommy blogs on the internet, although it started out as a personal blog about her work as a graphic designer in Los Angeles and her dating life. Her book, It Sucked and Then I Cried, How I had a Baby, a Breakdown and Much Needed Margarita details her battle with post-partum depression. She is warm, uncensored, and talks frankly about her blogging life, her entitled dogs, her growing daughters and everything in between.

“…Leta scrunched up her face and moaned, ‘Something isn’t right.’ It smelled like someone had died. Someone who hadn’t showered in the 20 years leading up to his death. Someone who ate only sauerkraut and licorice. And wore Crocs.

When we reached the family room we saw a giant puddle of vomit in the middle of our Persian rug, so huge that it was leaking off onto the hardwood floor and creating other puddles. MULTIPLYING DOG VOMIT. That shit is scientific. … There was no way around it. We were scooping up dog vomit with our hands and trying not to puke. Enter: our little helper.

… For those of you who have never lived with a two-year-old, they don’t help anything. Give them a broom and you will have to replace broken light fixtures. Marlo wanted to jump head first into that vomit. ‘Help you!’ she said.

… That’s when Jon picked her up and moved her backwards, setting her down with enough oomph to reinforce the severity of multiplying dog vomit. …Except, she didn’t understand. She just wanted to help. And so she collapsed into hysterical tears. And these were not the tears of a toddler who did not get her way. They were tears of a toddler whose feelings had been crushed. Decimated. A mother knows the difference.

I felt as shitty as the mountain of diarrhea we discovered a half hour later in the living room, worse than the other puddle of vomit we found on the carpet in the study. … I apologized to Marlo and let her use a few paper towels to wipe up the more shallow parts of the mess. Although, sometimes you have to draw a line and that line is ‘toddler is not allowed anywhere near canine diarrhea.’ Except I dug down deep to find the patience to say gently, ‘Sorry, Marlo. Only mom and dad get to clean up the poop.’”

Tina Fey

We recently discussed Fey’s hilarious book, Bossypants. As an established comedian, you expect her to be funny, but she is also down-to-earth and she delivers her stories in such an appealingly dry way you’re surprised to find yourself laughing. Fey sneaks up on you.

As a college student, Tina exacted revenge on a girl who had previously stolen her boyfriend. Afterward, she writes, “Obviously, as an adult I realize this girl-on-girl sabotage is the third worst kind of female behavior, right behind saying ‘like’ all the time and leaving your baby in a dumpster. I’m proud to say I would never sabotage a fellow female like that now. Not even if Christina Applegate and I were both up for the same part as Vince Vaughn’s mother in a big-budget comedy called Beer Guys.”

Denene Millner

Millner is a columnist for Parenting magazine and has authored several books. She began her blog, My Brown Baby, in September 2008, as “a space I created for African American moms looking to lend their critical but all-too-often ignored voices to the national parenting debate.” On My Brown Baby, Millner weighs in on inappropriate fashions for girls, the critical role of fathers, teaching children about race, the beauty of black girls and politics. Her voice is rich, clear and unequivocal. The way she describes her daughters’ beauty is lyrical and full of emotion, while her comments about politics are laser-sharp.

“…this Michele Bachmann character has the temperament of a nagging Chihuahua: She just refuses to go quietly into the dark night.
So since she insists on standing in front of microphones and saying the first thing to come to her small, small mind as she marathons on the road to the White House, responsible Americans have the duty to step up and shine a light on the crazy. After all, this is the country that elected Jesse Ventura, Arnold Schwarzenegger – hell, Ronald Reagan and the political wreck that was George W. Bush. We don’t exactly have the best track record with putting and keeping zany candidates in their place. I’d really like to make Bachmann an exception to the ‘We’re America and We Love To Elect the Crazy’ rule in the next presidential election.”

Julie Klausner

In her book, I Don’t Care About Your Band: What I Learned from Indie Rockers, Trust Funders, Pornographers, Felons, Faux-Sensitive Hipsters, and Other Guys I’ve Dated, Klausner is so truthful and unsparing, that she made Vanity Fair’s Mike Sacks blush. Klausner also wrote a weekly business advice column for Salon called Lady Business. A journalist and comedian giving business advice. It works.

When a male employee wrote in about being distracted by his coworker’s low-cut blouses, Klausner wrote,

“What I know is definitely uncool is for you, a young, straight man in the workplace – not a minority unless it is Opposite Day – to take umbrage with a female colleague’s apparel choices. Because, frankly, what Perla in accounting wears to work so she can cover her bits and feed her family is really none of your business – even if your erection disagrees. If she’s violating a dress code rule that she’d been briefed on at the time of her hire, somebody in H.R. will talk to her, and she’ll probably be embarrassed and start wearing a scarf. Wow, what a victory: treat yourself to an extra Michelob Ultra if and when that goes down. As for your not being able to ‘focus’ on your work? It’s, no offense, so down on the list of problems I’m worried about that the oil-coated ducks in the Gulf are taking their last gasps of breath just to call you a chode.”

Mindy Kaling

Some call Kaling, a writer and actress on The Office, the Tina Fey for the younger generation. In Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? her voice does have a young, fresh quality to it. When she talks about never having had a one-night stand and how she reacts to her friends’ stories, you can’t help but be charmed by her practicality and reasoning. Her best friend rules bring back memories of high school, her heartache over middle-aged valets is endearing, and her distaste for people using the word “retarded” reinforces the good feeling you get from her stories.

“Teenage girls, please don’t worry about being super popular in high school, or being the best actress in high school, or the best athlete. Not only do people not care about any of that the second you graduate, but when you get older, if you reference your successes in high school too much, it actually makes you look kind of pitiful, like some babbling old Tennessee Williams character with nothing going on in their current life. What I’ve noticed is that no one who was a big star in high school is also a big star later in life, except athletes. For us overlooked kids, it’s so wonderfully fair.”

images: EssG, trialx, carol browne, david shankbone, thebrownbookshelf, newyork.ucbtheatre, nohodamon

The post Women Are Funny, and Other Field Notes from the Internet appeared first on EcoSalon.

Consumers have become more cautious and conscious about their purchases – and these traits are here to stay.

Our global economy has taken a beating and consumers everywhere are changing their buying habits to adjust to our new reality of insecure jobs, reduced real estate values, mistrust in business and government, and an uncertain economic future. Consumers are saving more, spending less, buying items when needed, and patronizing companies that care about more than just business.

Businesses wanting to survive this prolonged economic slump are paying attention to these new buying patterns and are adjusting accordingly. Will these new habits continue once the economy starts to recover? Studies predict that the longer these frugal economic conditions persist, the more ingrained the habits could become. Recovery has been much slower than many anticipated, but while things may not get worse, they might not get better anytime soon, either.

There are more important things than money

When the economy began its rapid downshift, one of the consequences was a spotlight on a society that had been chronically overspending on material goods and living precariously on credit. Eyes Wide Open, Wallet Half Shut, a 2010 study by Ogilvy and Mathers, found that three quarters of post-recession consumers surveyed were disenfranchised with the pursuit of money, responding that they no longer cared to climb the corporate ladder, would rather spend more time with family, and would choose job security over an insecure job with opportunities for raises.

Authors John Gerzema and Michael D’Antonio told brands to bid goodbye to the inflated wealth and hyper-consumerism of years past and say hello to “a lifestyle more focused on community, connection, quality, and creativity,” in The Power of the Post-Recession Consumer. Consumers are moving from “mindless consumption” to “mindful consumption,” specifically purchasing goods and services from vendors who echo their values and live up to their standards.

“More recently, the BAV [Young & Rubicam’s BrandAsset Valuator] surveys show sharp increases in the number of consumers who want positive relationships with marketplace vendors and who focus more on corporate behavior. Between 2005 and 2009, a growing number of people rejected status-driven values such as snobbishness and exclusivity, and embraced attributes related to bringing people closer together or making the world a better place. Among the once-prized brand attributes that declined in this period were: “exclusive” (down 60 percent), “arrogant” (down 41 percent), “sensuous” (down 30 percent), and “daring” (down 20 percent). On the opposite side of the scale, the brand attributes Americans found more important as they began to sense the impending recession and then suffered through the crisis were: “kindness and empathy” (up 391 percent), “friendly” (up 148 percent), “high quality” (up 124 percent), and “socially responsible” (up 63 percent).”

Frugality is cool

When faced with an increasing climate of job insecurity and falling equity, many consumers were forced to examine their own economic situation and revise their spending habits. People began economizing everywhere and both price and quality became key drivers for many purchases.

A Booz & Co. study, Forever Frugal? found that since the recession consumers are becoming extremely conscious about what they buy. They are spending less on household items, embracing less expensive private brands and buying fewer, high-quality items. The Ogilvy and Mathers study shows that 92 percent surveyed are using coupons, 91 percent are shopping at less expensive and/or discount stores and 90 percent are buying more store brands.

Buy now, use now

Finally, a good reason to curb the creeping Christmas shopping season that has managed to weasel its way into October (Editor’s note: a few clueless companies might take note. This morning – August 31 – we received a Christmas pitch). Brands could count on consumers to buy early and buy a lot on credit, but along with buying less, consumers are waiting until they need something to buy. Savvy companies are readjusting their seasonal selling to accommodate this recent trend. CEO of Newell Rubbermaid, Mark Ketchum, told the  Wall Street Journal that his company changed its back-to-school selling season from its normal early July to mid-August range to late July through September to capitalize on the consumer’s desire to buy supplies later.

Consumers are also making their way through all the inventory they already own in their pantries, makeup cases, and bathroom cabinets, and restocking with smaller packages and less variety. Warehouse stores like Costco and BJ’s (based in MA), have noticed that shoppers bought less but shopped more frequently. Ahead of the curve, in 2008, BJ’s had already begun shrinking its package sizes to appeal to smaller households and people who wanted to stock up weekly, rather than monthly. These clairvoyant changes resulted in increased sales and memberships. As this economic climate persists, these changes might become the future standard.

Green is still good

Despite the sometimes higher price of green products, environmental consumerism is still going fairly strong. A 2011 UK study commissioned by Amex found that consumers place value on ethically sourced goods, and a Mintel study also reports that more than 35 percent of consumers surveyed said they would pay more for environmentally-friendly products. Green customers aren’t the majority, but it is a strong segment nevertheless.

As many consumers try to lead more conscious lifestyles, studies project that demand for ethical products will continue. Consumers want to buy from companies who implement internal environmental policies, work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and commit to environmental targets.

Consumers want companies who care about the community…

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has gained visibility and momentum in the last several years with no indication of slowing down any time soon, but more than ever before, companies need to be strategic about their CSR efforts so they are complimentary to both the community and business growth. CSR isn’t simply about a company donating money to a worthy cause. CSR, implemented effectively, attracts both customers and employees, helps retain talent, and benefits both the company and the community. More than ever before, consumers are doing more research into companies and products before buying, requiring brands to be more transparent, ethical and accountable to customers in order to gain their business.

Each company defines CSR for itself. Intel focuses on energy conservation, emerging as one of the largest purchasers of renewable energy credits in the past few years, committing to 2.5 billion in 2011.  The semiconductor manufacturer has also invested significant efforts toward creating clean energy solutions in several locations and employee education around their efforts. This helps the company save money on energy costs, reduces its impact, and engages its employees in energy saving initiatives.

ExxonMobil focuses on women’s education around the world. ExxonMobil Foundation’s Lorie Jackson explains that it’s good business because it broadens ExxonMobil’s pool of talent in the countries where it does business. This, in turn, helps ExxonMobil, and it helps communities worldwide. PepsiCo was looking to improve the nutritional value of its snacks. One solution, replacing palm oil with high-oleic sunflower oil (HOSO), will improve the economy of a Mexican region and the financial picture of 850 families, lessen its environmental impact and stabilize operating costs.

…and about customers, too 

Although customers are more discriminating about their purchases and want to pay less, they still expect to be treated well by the companies they choose to patronize. Many organizations have cut back on easy return policies, shipping policies and customer service, but that has proven to be a mistake. After reeling from the large-scale meltdown of the financial industry, the last thing customers want to hear from a company is that they want their business, but don’t have the staff, time or inclination to treat customers well.

Companies who put customers first, versus those who sacrificed customer satisfaction for short-term relief, actually performed best according to Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s Third Annual Customer Service Champs list. Companies like Hertz, who had to cut back on services at some locations, angering travelers who already faced more aggravation in airports and more fees when flying, scrambled to find the right balance between making personnel cuts, and making sure those cuts weren’t so visible to customers that lack of service drove them away. Other companies like USAA found that cross-training call center reps, so that they had expertise in more than one area, helped them to keep their customer service level high, even when they had to cut back.

Although gaining new customers is important, companies have found that retaining already loyal customers is crucial. Zappos used to quietly upgrade both new and return customers with overnight shipping, but decided to shift those costs toward benefits for repeat customers. Dell has struggled with customer service woes for the last decade, and is still working to regain trust.

The Great Depression spawned a generation of savers. This recession is also affecting the buying habits of the next generation. Mindful consumerism may very well be here to stay.

image: Stevendepolo, the cleveland kid, martino!

The post No Easy Sell: 6 Traits of the Post-Recession Consumer appeared first on EcoSalon.

In case you needed further proof, here are six reasons why you should connect with nature.

In the past, the idea of women and nature bonding has often been relegated to new age mysticism and pagan forest rituals, but there are several psychological and healthful reasons why it’s good for women to embrace the outdoors. Here are six reasons to unplug, go for a walk, smell the flowers, hear the birds, and even dig in the dirt a little.

Breathe the Fresh Air and Stay Out of the Mall
Of course you can exercise in a gym and walk indoors, but exercising outside (ecotherapy) decreases levels of depression more than exercising indoors. Studies by the University of Essex show that 71 percent of participants said they were less depressed after walking outside in a green area, while 22 percent felt more stressed after walking through a mall, while only 45 percent felt less depressed afterward. 90 percent reported higher self-esteem after the green walk, while 44 percent felt their self-esteem was lower after window shopping. Maybe it was seeing all those size 4’s on plastic models.

Leave the Mirror at Home
A study in Ecopsychology claims that the more time women spend outside, the more positive their body images become. The study participants were involved in numerous outdoor activities, including camping and gardening, and the more time they spent doing them, the higher their self-esteem rose. Researcher Kari Hennigan suggested that when they were outside, women were less likely to be bombarded with media images of models and campaigns for weight loss. A University of St. Thomas study focused on the opposite effect, suggesting that women who spend an inordinate amount of time focusing on their appearance display little green behavior or planet-friendly habits. The less time women spend in nature, the less they pay attention to or care about it.

Feel the Salt Air, Look at that View
Colorado State researcher, Gretchen Nurse believes that women appreciate nature’s sensory gifts more than men, and seek out pungent flowers, vivid sunsets, wind rustled boughs, and crashing waves for their visceral effect. Psychology Today author Katherine Schrieber explains that, “Women are also extra likely to believe nature has inherent value – and that it shouldn’t be saved for, say, its useful natural resources.”

Go On, Stick Your Hands in the Dirt
Now that you’ve left the mall and are walking outside, try gardening. A Netherlands study asked two groups to participate in a stressful activity. Afterward, one group went inside and read a book for 30 minutes. The other group gardened for the same amount of time. Andrea Faber Taylor, Ph.D., a horticulture instructor and researcher in the Landscape and Human Health Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign believes that our ever-connected world is stressing us out, and gardening is the perfect way to unplug. The relative quiet and the mindless tasks of gardening help relaxation.

Listen to the Birds
In addition to the stimuli of being constantly connected, our society is getting louder as the number of people, cars and other power equipment increase. A study in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America suggests that bird song can offset unpleasant human noise. Of course it doesn’t mask traffic noise or your neighbor’s lawn mower completely, but results showed that people were happier when birds supplemented honking horns and diesel engines. Another study claims that bird songs, which are loudest in the mornings, help humans develop a consistent sleep cycle, having a positive effect on sleep.

Healing Powers
Our society is increasingly reliant on manufactured pharmaceuticals to cure all of our ills, despite their sometimes severe side effects. There are more chemicals in our food, in our clothing and in our homes. Many scoff at the idea of natural remedies, but studies show that some plants show promise and could have restorative properties. Graviola (leaves from the guanabana tree) has been proven to destroy certain cancer cells in the body, but premature hype and numerous scams caused the scientific community to denounce its effects and further research has been slowed due to the taint attached to it. There have been no large scale tests on humans, so there is no way to know if it could be a serious alternative to manufactured drugs and chemotherapy, but it would be nice if a natural cure could be found.

So…what are you waiting for? Go get some fresh air.

image credits: Trey Ratcliff, Dr. Pat, Andrew R. Whalley, Amarit Opassetthakul, Hamed Saber, John&Fish, saratf

The post 6 Ways to Embrace Mother Nature appeared first on EcoSalon.