by Laura Godfrey, Assistant Arts Editor, Excalibur
Thousands of people recently found out just how easy it is to be green at Toronto’s first Green Living Show. The event, which ran from April 27 to 29 in the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place, featured hundreds of booths with products and information on environmentally friendly ways to live and shop. It also proved its serious commitment to walking the green walk by using Bullfrog Power, an electricity retailer that only uses water- and wind- powered generators, providing carbon-free electricity.
Everything, right down to the compostable cups and straws, showed that although our planet may be under the weather there are choices we can make to improve the outlook. Row upon endless row of consumer products offered options to span a lifetime, from the Comfy Cotton washable diaper service to natural burial, which encourages all earth-lovers to truly rest in peace in a beautiful, natural environment.
The most trafficked area of the show, however, was around the wide array of organic or locally grown food samples. I can personally attest that the samples were appetizing enough to happily sustain a person for an entire weekend without paying anything for an actual meal. New product lines such as Sol Cuisine and President’s Choice Organics are starting to become available at major grocery stores faster than you can say “chemical-free,” so just ask your local grocer what they carry in the organic variety.
The fashion-conscious among the crowd were catered to as well. The show not only featured a number of retailers promoting eco-conscious fabrics and clothing concepts, but also put on two separate full-scale fashion shows each day - one of which was fully orchestrated by students at Ryerson University and frankly, gave the other retailers a run for their money. Both fashion shows had several things in common: organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and even recycled clothing. These types of fabrics are showing up more frequently from retailers like Roots, Holt Renfrew and H&M, as well as countless independent retailers.
In the midst of everything else was the main stage where well-known environmental activists offered their knowledge and inspiration. Many were even lucky enough to attend a seminar by the Academy Award-winning poster boy for global warming, Al Gore.
I, however, was not. Tickets were sold out in a matter of minutes, and while it was disappointing to miss out on the opportunity, I was quickly consoled by the impressive list of high-profile speakers I could still hear from. This included David Suzuki, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., best-selling author George Monbiot and activist/actress Daryl Hannah.
Kennedy addressed an eager audience on the subject of oil and coal industries that have been known to distort science in efforts to confuse the public about the reality of global warming. Like many, he stressed the idea that we must all take action now to preserve the planet for future generations.
“If we want to do what the polluting industry and their indentured servants in the political process are urging us to do (…) which is that we should start treating the planet as if it were a business in liquidation, convert our natural resources to cash as quickly as possible, and have a few years of pollution-based prosperity, we can generate instantaneous cash flow and the illusion of a prosperous economy,” said Kennedy.
“But our children are gonna pay for our joyride, and they’re gonna pay for it with polluted landscapes, poor health and huge cleanup costs that are gonna amplify over time, and that they will never be able to pay.”
The show concluded with a much-anticipated presentation by Daryl Hannah. You may have seen her in Attack of the 50 Foot Woman or more recently in a certain pair of Tarantino films, but - surprise! That blonde-haired, one-eyed assassin from the Kill Bill movies is also an active environmentalist. Her car runs on 100 per cent biofuel, her house runs on solar panels, and she has been producing weekly videos for www.dhlovelife.com that explore topics like green buildings, vegan junk food and bike culture. Her speech encouraged listeners to make strong, positive choices for an eco-friendly lifestyle.
“People are beginning to understand the true power and effectiveness that comes from voting with their dollars. People are hungry for information. People are starting to realize they can have a choice,” said Hannah.
“We don’t want eco-jeans made by slave labour. We don’t want organic chocolate harvested by kidnapped children. We don’t want to cut carbon emissions, only to create another toxic waste which can’t be disposed of or reused safely. This generation is demanding true integrity and accountability from companies that are willing to put their money where their mouth is. Simply selling the illusion of wellness and authenticity will not suffice.”
Demanding accountability from major companies and politicians was a common theme among the speakers and one that was taken to heart by those who attended. But if there’s one idea that should be taken away from the many forward-thinking minds at the Green Living Show, it’s that we as consumers and citizens have the power to create change.