You Can Be a Do-Gooder In Style!

My beautiful new earrings from Rutabaga Redesign!

I’m all for recycling. I was raised in Oregon, where it’s just what you do. I grew up with a recycling center in the pantry and parents who re-used yogurt containers and plastic bags.

It’s not glamorous, but it is necessary.

When I lived in Ecuador, we didn’t recycle anything. I had to get used to the piles of garbage they burned in the hills. It was usually out of sight, out of mind. But, when I thought about it I felt a little guilty.

So when I moved back to the states, I bought a hybrid.

But not a Prius.

Style is important to me and I already spent enough years driving a car that looks like a jelly bean.

And that’s about as environmental as I get. Really, it’s enough for me.

I like the taste of meat, so I’m not about to become a vegetarian.

I don’t buy used clothes. Goodwill is a place I donate to, and thrift stores are definitely not my thing. I remember when I was little and we had to get things from the Free Box at the community center of the student housing development where we lived. Even gifts.

Now I can afford to buy things new, so I do.

I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with shopping at thrift stores. But it’s not for me. To each her own and all that.

So when I heard about these earrings made from old records I thought, Oh more of that do-gooder, hipstery crap. No thanks.

But then I saw them.

They were big, like I like my earrings. And light weight so I won’t get slits in my ears like my mother has from years of heavy earrings.

The grooves from the record make the most beautiful patterns in the light. And they have a gold screen print of a peacock feather. Enough said.

I was in love.

To me it’s not about re-using and recycling. I like them because they’re pretty.

The first time I wore them I got plenty of compliments and lots of people asking where I got them. They all said they were cool. No one even mentioned recycling.

It’s OK to like something because it’s beautiful.

And the good for the planet part is an extra bonus. Right along side supporting women who are creating their own small businesses. Oh, look, three birds with one stone.

Really, I think the women at Rutabaga Redesign are on to something. Because if you want me to plunk down my hard earned money, then it has to be something that makes me smile every time I look at it.

I’m not going to start composting or change my lifestyle dramatically. But I do what I can in ways that work for me.

So if you make something good for the world, why not make it pretty as well?

It shouldn’t have to be one or the other.

We can do good and look good at the same time.

Are you a recycler? Do you buy things because they are good for the environment? Or because you like the way they look? Why is it so hard to find things that are both?