FAQ: Is [Enter Any Product Here] “Eco-Friendly”?

No.

Well, okay. Sorry. Allow for me to briefly expound upon this.

One of the most common questions that I receive, both in my personal life as well as in my professional life, is whether or not a product is eco-friendly (or "earth friendly" or "sustainable" or what-have-you).

The answer, to borrow from the great philosopher Marcel the Shell, is "compared to what?"

A biodegradable, single-use piece of cutlery is, on its own, extremely eco-unfriendly. Huge tracts of land, large supply chains, energy intensive manufacturing, extensive shipping/handling, and often some form of plastic packaging (with its own similar supply chain) are all needed to get a single fork into your hand; and all just for a single use.

However, if we are comparing a “well produced”, biodegradable fork to a “poorly produced” plastic single-use fork, then we can potentially start to have an argument as to whether the biodegradable fork is “eco-friendly”, however only when compared to this specific alternative.

If we are then comparing a biodegradable fork to using no single-use fork whatsoever; it is unequivocal, the biodegradable fork is excessively eco-unfriendly.

You see, it’s all about the comparison.

What I am trying to say is that, when one asks whether a product is "eco-friendly" they are, in actuality, missing half of the thought.

The real question should be: Is [Enter Any Product Here] more or less "eco-friendly" than [Enter Any Alternative Product Here]? For, we already know that [Enter Any Product Here] is eco-unfriendly when compared to no product whatsoever.

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In conclusion, eat more finger foods and save the world.