things that shouldn't be

These make me so angry, I can't even express it without placing an R rating on method lust. And we all know R ratings are dirty (in the words of a certain brand we all know and love!) Seriously, these. make. me. so. angry. - It's a complete waste. I'm so disgusted at this point with the Big Brands uncanny ability to make anything look disgusting in order to sell their products for "healthy living." (To which it actually creates the opposite.)

Ultimatemoneyblog.com actually spells it out perfectly for me:

"The other day I was reading a magazine and came across an advertisement for new Kleenex disposable hand towels. After I got over the initial disgust, I decided to check them out and see what Kleenex has to say about them. On their website, they state that “your hands are only as clean as the towel used to clean them.” “A clean, fresh towel every time.” Come on! If you’re really that scared of germs, you need more than disposable hand towels.

Here are the problems I have with disposable hand towels:

+ They consume more resources
+ They create more waste
+ They teach people (and children) that disposable is better
+ They are pointless

It just sickens me to think that a huge corporation like Kleenex would produce and market a product like this. With all the natural resources being consumed, the last thing we need is another disposable product, especially one that is pretty much useless and replaces something that has worked well for so many years."

Mother Nature Network has this to say:

"A clean, fresh towel every time. It sounds nice but it's a bit of a nightmare in reality.

Kleenex is trying to market the idea that we should now be using one-use disposable (Kleenex brand) hand towels instead of the cotton reusable hand towels found in most homes.

I'm a pragmatic greenie, I've been known to use a paper towel every now and then, but this is just too much. Does everything in our lives need to be disposable?

If you're in the marketing department of companies like Kleenex the answer is very much "yes".

I agree with my buddy David over at Green for Good who called this one out for the eco-dud that it is. He wrote:

In the hand drying facts on their Web site, Kleenex tries to scare us into believing that “regular washing of cloth hand towels does not ensure cleanliness.”

Wow, we should really start wearing disposable clothes if that's true.

To make matters worse, the geniuses at Kimberly-Clark have chosen Earth Month to launch a major television ad push for Kleenex hand towels. Of course, they depict normal hand towels as disgustingly as possible by showing everyone, even the family dog, getting their dirty mitts all over them.

And how cute is this? Kleenex has penned an educational Drying Song to teach your kids how to be wasteful too. Because “no yucky old towel’s gonna ruin my day.”

Sorry Kleenex, but it’s our Earth Day that you’re ruining. Sigh.

Here's the lyrics for their Hand Washing Song:

My hands are gonna be clean
When I wash and I dry with mommy and sing
This song that's exactly two clean hands long
Warm water and soap and bubbles that shine
A Kleenex® Hand Towel that's mine all mine
And a song that's exactly two clean hands long
No yucky old towel's gonna ruin my day
I dry my hands the Kleenex® towel way
So if you're a fan of clean hands too
Roll up your sleeves and I'll sing with you.

I'm going to point this to my two young daughters for the shady marketing-to-kids that it is. I mean, come on - do we really want to train our children to desire a one-use throw-away hand towel?"

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It's time we stopped showing the next generation that disposal is ok. Cause it ain't, ok?

And yes, Colgate Wisp, I'm talking to you, too.



Get some gum already, girl. Geesh.

All of you, you make me sick. Get out of my face. The article above is right on the money. It's time Big Brand became responsible for their actions, and what they produce. I'm completely over the whole "we just make what people want." Cause trust me, as time has gone by I've learned something profound. What people (usually) want, is not what people (usually) need. Well, at least when it comes to convenience products. People will be lazy, until you make them be otherwise. (In Nathan's humble opinion.)

Thoughts? (I know you got some!)

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And don't even get me started on this...