What the heck is Emeraldology?
The great thing about making up a word is you also get to make up the definition! In this case:
Emeraldology is the study of everyday actions that contribute to a livable future on Earth.
Emeraldology is half review website and half online store, with our focus solely on actually eco-friendly products. In other words, we review eco-friendly products, give you our brutally honest opinion, and sell the ones we believe in in The Emeraldology Shop.
We also make videos from The Beer Garden, share Hopeful Headlines and send out a weekly newsletter. We’re taking an upbeat approach to talking about and acting on climate change.
Secretly (or maybe not so secretly) we believe one action will lead to many more. Our goal is to help people move from worrying about climate change to taking the first step or two toward acting on it. Eventually, we hope they embed sustainability into their everyday actions, thereby combating climate change on a daily basis.
Why everyday actions?
Let’s be clear: Individual action is not the answer to solving the climate crisis. But it is a way to better understand it and figure out who is genuinely fighting for a livable future and who is putting short-term financial gain over, well, everything else.
Individual action is also a way to punish bad climate actors and shift Western culture to a normal that doesn’t revolve around oil, plastic and beef.
The way we see it, Earth-conscious consumerism does all of the following at once:
- Keeps your money out of the hands of polluters and bad climate actors.
- Puts your money in the hands of small, local business and good climate actors.
- Signals demand for truly eco-friendly products. Industry listens to one thing above all: money. The more we choose the Earth-friendly option, the more industry will evolve to meet the our demands.
- Encourages Earth-friendly lifestyle actions. For example, you’re much more likely to compost if you buy a handy little kitchen compost bin! You’re also less likely to scorch your lawn with chemicals if you refuse to buy those chemicals.
- Reduces your personal environmental impact. There is a tremendous amount of shipping emissions, plastic pollution and general waste that can be avoided by choosing the Earth-friendly option. Every bit counts.
- Makes your money work twice for you! Conscious consumerism is about investing in the products and companies you believe in. There are a great number of green startups that will truly appreciate your business and give back just as much as they receive. Would you rather have your money be put to work or laid to rest in some CEO’s bank account?
Individual consumers are not to blame for climate change and its effects. That blame lands squarely on the shoulders of corporations profiting off the destruction of our planet and fighting tooth and nail to deny it. A certain company that rhymes with “Shmexxon Shmobil” comes to mind.
But, like it or not, it’s up to us to demand action, which we can do everyday with our purchases and actions. At Emeraldology, we just want to make it easier to get started.
Help us out!
Although I sincerely enjoy scrambling around to find products to review and lifestyle actions to promote, I love input from the community! Contact me here or on social media if you’d like to publish content on Emeraldology or ask me to look into a certain product.
Follow @emeraldology for shopping discounts and lighthearted content about eco-friendly actions.
