"natural" means shit

companies have been dying to show their consumers that they're "green" lately. apparently, green is the new black. every company from starbucks to walmart wants to brag about how "sustainable," "green," and "all natural" it is. hey, with the economy in this state, they gotta peddle something besides lies.

here's an unhappy little dose of reality, folks: the term natural don't mean shit. don't believe me? let's think of the reciprocal for a second. what is the inverse of natural? i guess artificial. what exactly is artificial on this earth? i guess plastic and partially-hydrogenated oils and diamond rings made out of old pets. but economy is weird; companies know that in this neo-treehugger world, everyone wants to do their part and be green through buying power. so they tout how natural they are.

the sad part about this great capitalistic country of ours is that companies reign supreme; they'll spend thousands on ad campaigns after they've donated a fraction of that to charity. it's sort of like that exercise to test true philanthropy -- would you donate a huge sum of money to something anonymously? if not, you're a douchebag. but i'm not really surprised that corporations and trusts and companies are douchebags: part of capitalism is sleaziness.

in the 20s and 30s, when consumerism in the way we know it now was on the rise, "planned obsolescence" was the premiere marketing strategy. what does it mean? it means that to hide the true cost (or lack thereof) of a product's value, companies purposefully design products that are meant to be in a landfill. so you buy a new product, planning the obsolescence of what you buy from the start. pragmatic example: think of all the shit college kids buy and then throw out after the semester is done, only to re-purchase the same exact plastic junk three months later -- when another semester begins. plastic mops, buckets, dishes -- nearly everything in the current market is designed under the pretext of planned obsolescence.

what does that mean for the environment? bad results, people. the world is dying precisely because of predatory capitalism. my biology textbook says that 1/4th to half of ALL biodiversity will die in the next fifty years. you know what this means? this means benevolent plants in the rainforest won't be discovered, it means polar bears and panda bears and all sorts of insects will share the same fate as the dodo bird, and it means more sickness for your children and their children. why? because all the stuff we have has literally dug us an early grave.

you can't be in the red forever, especially when it comes to biology. so be an economist when you move: analyze your needs and wants. and if this means saving a mop so you don't re-buy one in another three months, so be it.

ps. "organic" means government regulation. "natural" means shit. buy organic, and buy local. or, better yet, start a compost heap and grow your own garden. just know what's in that soil before you do.