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Thursday, October 6, 2011

Clothing: Once Again Consignment & Evil "Eco" Soap

Angel has been running Once Again Consignment on 1st avenue near Cypress (just down from Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co.) for 20 years. 20 years! And I just discovered it last week!



Her store is tucked away between dental whitening studios, anti-aging spas and salons in the lovely row-houses along that stretch of West 1st between Burrard and Cypress, and it isn't easy to spot (Angel - you need a sandwich board sign on the sidewalk or something!).


Her small store is packed full of choice brands (in fact, her store has the most 'designer' items that I've seen in any other consignment shop, rivalling even the Turnabout at South Granville (near 16th) that supposedly specializes in designer labels), and the prices are well within reason. I bought a Teenflo blouse for $25 and a Calvin Klein sweater for $30, both of which are in immaculate condition. I tried on a gorgeous little Diane von Furstenberg jacket, but it was a size too small for me.


Anyway, swing by Once Again on West 1st and have a gander. When I was just leaving with my purchases, a very wealthy lady came in with arm loads of clothing - I had just enough self-respect to not pirouette and hover like a vulture over these fresh kills (though part of me regrets that decision!).


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On a different note, still clothing related - the UBC bookstore is giving out free samples (yeay! Free samples!) of laundry detergent with any clothing purchase (including UBC sleepwear, which is really the only time I feel comfortable wearing clothes with bold writing across the chest!).

"BerryPlus" markets itself as an eco-option. I beg you to resist marketing temptation and look with me at all the packaging required to contain a supposedly environmentally-friendly alternative.....

Wasteful packaging. I'll have to reuse that little chain.
Those vials ARE NOT RECYCLABLE. Watch for them washing up on shorelines for the next 100 years...

Firstly, the package doesn't say it's made of previously recycled plastic, which tells me it's newly made atmospheric poison. True, it's polypropylene, #5, which means you can recycle it (maybe - it's never a guarantee). But the little plastic vials, which are really just 1.5mL Eppendorf tubes that labs use, are destined to end up cluttering the landfills - they're NOT recyclable!


Secondly, it's a plant-derived detergent. BIG DEAL! There are literally dozens of choices of plant-derived surfactants in the laundry detergent aisle to choose from (and even more at Whole Foods!), and each of these come in jugs. BerryPlus maintains that lugging around a jug is inconvenient - they ask "why not just take a few little disposable plastic vials with you to the laundry instead?!"

What a crock of bull!
Planet-healing?! With disposable lab waste vials?! LIES!
A "microdose" is often enough, no matter what soap you use. Using less is always smart.

It doesn't take a degree in science to realise that a jug of detergent means less plastic waste overall than individually packaged 'doses' of laundry soap. You also still have to lug down your dirty clothes and hamper, so what's a jug of soap on top of that? The logic here is weak - it's just a slimy marketing ploy at the expense of our earth.

Please don't buy into this nonsense - if BerryPlus starts making a jug of laundry detergent that's wholly recyclable, and the price is right, I'll give it a try. But say no to this 'trendy eco-ism' marketing - let's show that "college students" (made in the USA, can you tell?) are clever enough to think critically and realise that this isn't an environmentally-friendly alternative but a cheap gimmick!

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