‘green’ definitions

Welcome to our blog!

If you are new here, le terra curators is a private interior design firm located in Brooklyn, NY. We are two Caribbean women looking to innovate the design world with our unique mindsets, backgrounds + gifts. Design is our passion but we are fueled by our compassion— for Mother Earth and all of the life that inhabits her.

shanelle julia rosita + amelia dawn, le terra curators

This is a safe space to evaluate what we’ve been taught as truths, challenge ideas that don’t make sense and engender innovation. We hope to inspire more discussions and actions taken towards cleaning up our indoor environment for us to collectively thrive in beauty and good health. The best way to make this happen is to start from the beginning: mastering the terminology.

We have all heard the many different terms such as ‘non-toxic’ or ‘natural’. But how well do we understand these terms and are we making decisions with the right information? How can we live well if we don’t even understand how to communicate within that space? Let’s clear these terms up once and for all— together!

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

The UN's definition of this umbrella term includes perspectives on human needs and well-being, including non-economic variables. As the population has increased , we have relied heavily on the Earth’s natural, [limited] resources such as minerals, petroleum, coal, gas etc. Within this time, the Earth’s biodiversity and creatures, from birds to insects to mammals, have declined in number.

Essentially, this should be a concern of all human beings who share this planet.   We are using and destroying the Earth’s resources faster than they can be regenerated and replenished. We have to stabilize the current disruptive relationship between earth's two most complex systems: human culture and the living world.

As responsible Global Citizens, we are answering the many calls to action to remedy the unfortunate and desperate situation that we now find ourselves in. For all of the abuse earth has suffered at the hands of an ever growing human population, earth has been answering back through the concept we have come to know as climate change.

Many of us have been attempting to do the right thing within our daily 24-hours but sometimes it gets downright confusing on what to watch out for.  There is an overload of information and no shortage of slick “language” circulating. Even when you think you are doing the right thing, you can still be getting it all wrong.

This is all thanks to a term we call ‘greenwashing’, which is when an organization spends more time and money on marketing itself as environmentally friendly than on actually minimizing its environmental impact. With all of the word play involved in selling products as it is, how do you decipher what fact is from what fiction is?  Here are a few terms and definitions that may help to clear the fog:

SUSTAINABLE	

• the latin verb ‘sustenare’ meaning ‘support’ or ‘backup’, able to be maintained at a certain rate or level

This term means to cause little or no damage to the environment, therefore able to continue for a long time.

ECO-FRIENDLY

• from the 1873 Greek term ‘oecology’, or a "branch of science dealing with the relationship of living things to their environments," coined by German zoologist Ernst Haeckel  

Ecologically-friendly means not damaging to the natural environment.

NATURAL

This one means what it implies: existing in nature, not made or caused by humans.

This means nothing most times. The word ‘natural’ is almost always used to sell products that have been through many stages of processing.

GREEN

• both Middle English and Old English word ‘grene’, which, like the German word ‘grün’, have the same root as the words ‘grass’ and ‘grow’

This is referring to efforts to be more environmentally conscious and responsible. The term ‘green’ refers to variables, such as education and health, clean air and water, and the protection of natural beauty.

NON-TOXIC

This just means not poisonous, as in not harmful or destructive.

There is a slippery slope under this umbrella. The government monitors many substances from formaldehyde to asbestos to radon,etc.   There are many determinations made as to what are deemed as safe levels to be declared non-toxic. This is problematic to the chemically sensitive human. Recent research has revealed that one in four Americans report chemical sensitivity, with nearly half this group medically diagnosed with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). Scary!

ETHICAL

This relates to moral principles.

This is a vague description which means different things to different people. Institutions that contribute to the issue on a larger scale have a role to play,  but so do individuals.

Greenwashing continues to be more and more tempting to these corporations. The energy, imagination and money poured into the art of playing into this confusion is on the rise. The greenwashing of the future may not be like the greenwashing of the past and present. By then, we’ll need a more varied vocabulary to describe all the tints and shades of…green?

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In conclusion, we have a lot of studying to do together if we want to get this right for both our families and Mother Earth. We will continue to post this type of content as we obtain updated information. The goal is to get to the truth and sometimes that means we will have to stand corrected, contradicting previous information. It’s part of the process. It’s okay to be wrong so long as our intentions are pure for our personal standards.

Keep trying, keep learning and keep asking those difficult questions. The planet needs your concerns and efforts.

Thank you for tuning in and please continue to stay tuned for future updates. Follow us on Pinterest for content related to our blog posts and overall business mission.

We are so inspired by you and your potential. Keep on going and we will do the same.

xoxo

amelia dawn x shanelle julia rosita ♡