http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-adventures-of-green-girl.html
The Adventures of Green Girl
By Lily Berthold-Bond
Deodorant. Shampoo. Conditioner. Hair spray. Makeup. Moisturizer. Perfume. Shaving cream. All staples in the average adolescent girl’s life.
Fitting into this category, of course, I have become well acquainted with each and every one of these products. Unlike your average teenage girl, however, I have not spent my afternoons at the mall spraying myself with tester perfumes and surveying the hair care aisle for the magical shampoo that can turn my straight lifeless hair into a thick, lush ‘do.
No, throughout high school I was never able to indulge in such an afternoon. You see, I grew up in a chemical-free zone; my mother, Care2’s executive editor Annie B. Bond, is chemically sensitive and a world expert on green living.
If I walked into the house after being in the presence of someone wearing strong perfume, I immediately had to change my clothes and throw the old ones outside to air off. I shopped at the health food store; all of my body care products were fragrance free, chemical free, and made from purely natural ingredients.
Sounds not so fun, right? But “normal” products simply could not be in the house, or they would make my mom sick. As I got older, I began to understand more about this way of life, realizing that perhaps it was not a curse but rather a blessing. However, I was (and still am) a normal teenager. I would live for vacations with friends when I could use Herbal Essences shampoo for a week and wear deodorant that was not purchased at Mother Earth. It’s not that I resented having to live without these things, but more so that I felt almost out of place among my friends, who relied so intrinsically upon commercial products.
Now, 19 and a freshman in college, I’m on my own. No more natural shampoo! Finally, the chance to live that commercially influenced life that I have so envied.
Ironically, I’ve found that I simply can’t do it, not when I know what I do about its dangers. My friends, new and old, don’t understand why I would choose to continue using natural products. They look at green living and see tree-huggers, eccentric people who live in the woods and don’t shower, crazy activists, fortunetellers—they see the stereotype.
How am I supposed to take that? I shower. I don’t tell your fortune. I don’t wear hemp. If you didn’t know me very well, you wouldn’t have any idea that I use green products. I’m not here to be an activist. I’m here to show that the natural lifestyle does not mean you have to fit its stereotype.
That’s why my friends don’t understand my choices, I think: because I am not the stereotype. The more I let them see that, the more they understand. Green living simply means letting go of commercial products and instead choosing ones that will not give you cancer or disrupt your endocrine system.
If you don’t smoke because you don’t want the diseases that go along with it, take a minute and decide if you want to keep using shampoo that can give you cancer anyway.
Green is not something to fear; it’s simply self-respect. So don’t shy away because you fear the unknown; respect your future, respect your life. It’s time to defy the stereotype.
Lily Berthold-Bond grew up in a chemical-free zone and has struggled her whole life to understand and accept this non-commercial lifestyle. Now a freshman at Tufts University, she has embraced her green life and hopes to share its possibilities with the rest of her generation.
MORE ADVENTURES OF GREEN GIRL
The Adventures of Green Girl
Splat! Green Girl whacks air fresheners
Green Girl zaps flying fridges
Green Girl’s secret power? Tea
Green Girl: Neti pot conquers congestion
Green Girl waxes the tea kettle electric
Green Girl Quashes Laptop Radiation
Green Girl Creams Facial Cleansers
Green Girl Looks Behind The Masc(ara)
Green Girl Fights Food Coloring
Green Girl Turns Her Nose to Perfume
Green Girl Pans Plastic water Bottles
The Adventures of Green Girl home page.
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75 comments
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hey green girl, it's really cool to read your blog. i grew up 'normal', using all that herbal essences crap and thinking it was nice, and drinking coca-cola for dinner thinking i was lucky. i'm 26 years old now and i went completely natural by myself 3 years ago. it's much cheaper than buying the cheap poisons that are so trendy, you realize when you make your own food or "edible" moisturizers you are really using the best ingredients available for your body. it's cool...i never thought i would be a hippy, but green living is just plain intelligent. i don't look any different, but i feel much better and i'm saving money and not hurting the earth.. i could never go back to artificial life.
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wow,
This is something I experienced, exactly. Taking I am a guy living in inner-city "East L.A", I always made special trips to buy all that stuff since I couldn't do with the stuff at my house.
And I still look forward for 'having' to use industrial shampoos, soaps, etc.. :)
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I'm surprised your friends all think you're so 'different'. I'm in my 40's and don't have children, but I was hopeful kids were starting to see the truth about what corporate America is doing to all of us. They are POISONING us! If they can make it cheaper, and yet make us want to buy it, they go to all lengths with artificial and often toxic chemicals to make it look, taste and feel desirable.
I had hoped our youth would wake up to what's happening because they are the ones who have to say 'ENOUGH' and choose not to buy in to the BS.
Almost everything out there needs to given a hard, analytical look to see how safe you are, from cell phone radiation to food and cosmetic choices to the drugs they push on TV. We must all be vigilant even though it can get oh so tiring.
If you don't believe me, just start doing research on things like formaldehyde they're putting in milk (without telling us) to prolong the shelf life, to fluoride in our water and all the chemicals they put in our foods.
I'm in the alternative health industry, and there are far too many sick, fat and unhealthy people taking drugs to help them 'feel better' because they're too lazy to read and learn and then make the hard choices they need to make.
America needs fit, healthy, strong minded people if we are going to survive as a country. Not fat lazy ignorant idiots.
It's up to the young people to get a clue and stop going along with the profit mongers who risk your life for their
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OK, I read this article expecting to hear about some great products I might not have heard of before...instead it's an expert from some teenager's diary. You're lucky you grew up that way...compare prices of your "Mother Earth" products and Herbal Essences and you'll see just how lucky you have been.
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It is hard to find great natural bath and body products they all seem to have something not good added to it - but my aunt gave me a gift from White Pear, their essential oil line is amaaaazing...my favorite is lavender vanilla, soap, scrub and the soufflé which are 100% natural- my skin has never felt so soft, and I smell dreamy...the best part is that they list all the ingredients on the website so you know exactly what you are getting--they are great! –check them out www.whitepearshop.com
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This is what the stuff of miracle are made of. Keep it Greening, and join our Green PC group, when you get our invitation, too.
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What's wrong with being an activist? What's wrong with living in the woods? Thanks to those so called crazy tree huggers and hippies that we even know about this stuff! Personally, these are the types of people I look up to.
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That's so great, and I think it's really important. People always think that "green living" involves, like you said, hemp, dreadlocks, incense, and crystal balls, when really it's such a healthier lifestyle.
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True, this blog "preaches to the choir," according to one other commenter. However, as my Green-Minded boyfriend would say, it's preaching to the choir that keeps the choir reminded of why they chose the Green lifestyle in the first place. The choir must never become complacent. Keep doing what you're doing, Lily! :-D
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