Honest to Green

When the green movement started gaining in popularity for my generation several years ago, I started seeing recycling bins, reusable water bottles, and bicycles around every corner. Every store I walked into had an item in new packaging labeled “NEW, ECO-FRIENDLY DESIGN!” It was hard not to resist purchasing these eye-catching products in order to help our Mother Earth and, lets admit it, for the cool factor. I was positive that by this point, everyone in the “green” business was making lots of green too. Because of this view, I was admittedly surprised when Daniel and I sat down with Michael Gatz, owner of The Green Building Shop in Baton Rouge, LA, and asked him how his business handled the “green boom.” His reply, “Business is pretty steady.” I found it odd that during a time when being eco-friendly is so popular and many people are theorizing that green businesses hold the jobs of the future, that his business wasn’t being completely overwhelmed. An obvious answer, and one that Gatz believes is a strong component of the problem, is the housing crisis and the decline in building. But there are people out there who are still building, or even just remodeling, and we wanted to know why those people aren’t waiting in line to get into Gatz’s shop and others like it. We also wanted to know why they should be and what changes could be made in order to get them there.

First and foremost, we needed to learn about the products that The Green Building Shop had to offer. So far, they have products such as countertops made from recycled glass and paper, bamboo flooring, and even chemical free wool carpeting. According to Gatz, these products are “greener” because they are made from fast-growing renewable resources or from recycled materials. For example, one of their products, PaperStone countertops, is made from post-consumer recycled paper and petroleum free resin. Furthermore, Gatz says that bamboo flooring is eco-friendly because, essentially, it’s a grass. It only takes bamboo about four years to grow to maturity compared to the twenty plus years it takes for an oak tree to grow to harvest height. These products sounded great but I had to ask, how much more expensive are they compared to more traditional goods?

Unfortunately, and this is one of the reasons people probably aren’t banging down the door, the answer can be quite a bit more. For example, speaking of the cheap prices for bamboo flooring found at Lowe’s and Home Depot, Gatz says, “It’s hard to compete with that. The price of our bamboo flooring is about one and half times theirs.” That price comparison might sound like a game changer but there is an important catch that you must consider if you think of yourself as a true green fiend. You see, people like Michael Gatz, those who honestly care about the “greenness” of their products do a lot of research into what items they offer.  They make sure their products have all of the appropriate certifications and endorsements verifying that the item was produced in an environmentally friendly way. Gatz continued by explaining why his bamboo is more expensive, “Now, what they [consumers] don’t realize unless they do the research is that our bamboo is certified by the FSC, which is the Forest Stewardship Council. It’s the way that its harvested, manufactured, and everything else to keep it green.” The Forest Stewardship Council is an internationally recognized non-profit that gives certification to those it thinks are acting responsibly on about ten different principles involving the usage of the forest. Unlike EcoTimber (the brand of bamboo found in The Green Building Shop), many of the bamboo flooring that megastores carry are “greenwashed,” or made to seem more eco-friendly than they really are. The manufacturers call their bamboo flooring “green” just because it’s bamboo, not because they are responsibly caring for the forests from which they come or using environmentally friendly harvesting methods. They also don’t take into account how far away they are shipping from (It takes a lot of fuel to get from China to here!). They are cheaper products because they are made in a cheaper way, by not taking full responsibility for the forest from which they come. If more people became aware of the age-new trick of “greenwashing,” I think they would be more inclined to shop at stores where all of their products are certified truly green.

Another reason people might not be flocking to The Green Building Shop is because they don’t really understand what “green” is. Gatz says that many people who come to his store are already educated and already know that they want something environmentally friendly. He also said, though, that there are many people who think they are using green products when they really aren’t. “Someone once came in and told me that granite was green because it comes from the earth and well, that’s not true. Are they putting more granite back in when they take it out?” he joked. These kinds of presumptions clearly come from a lack of knowledge towards what really qualifies as a renewable resource. Granite does come from the ground but it is definitely not a renewable resource! So why not leave what is left there and try something that we do seem to have endless amounts of… used paper! Unfortunately, some people don’t trust having a countertop made of paper because they don’t understand it. Wouldn’t it change if it got wet? Well, no, these products have been made to withstand regular kitchen wear and tear and are just as durable as other types of counters. Furthermore, its way cooler to tell someone that your counter is made from recycled bottles of your favorite beer or from recycled paper than boring old granite! In the end, it seems like education is the key to the success of this industry and to the success of the environment.

Finally, if there is one last thing I learned from talking with Gatz, it’s that there are little, if not zero, monetary incentives for people to purchase green products. “Some people come in and want their homes LEED certified but in the end, it doesn’t really do anything for them. Its just a certificate on the wall.” Frankly, I believe that the government can make a serious difference by offering incentives or tax breaks to people who purchase green building materials. I know, I know, she said more government intervention, that’s terrible! But hear me out, people can get all kinds of incentives for installing solar panels, so why not by installing bamboo floors or from buying a recycled glass countertop? Of course, there are obviously long term monetary benefits from having an eco-friendly house, like lower energy costs and a smaller ecological footprint, but in today’s economy, people want and need more immediate results. I’m not an economist or tax expert by any means, but it seems like by offering a homeowner a little break on their property tax if they have installed bamboo flooring (FSC certified by the way!) could really encourage shopping at local eco-friendly businesses like The Green Building Shop and maybe even help save a forest full of mighty oaks.

In the end, a lot of education and a little monetary encouragement can go a long way. Truly eco-friendly building materials are a great solution to aiding our declining environment while still allowing us to live in a comfortable manner. It’s time to leave behind the “greenwashing” and build our homes using real environmentally friendly materials.

Thanks again to Michael Gatz, owner of The Green Building Shop, for talking with us!