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The choice between paying more for organic or less for something conventionally grown often feels less like a choice than a pitched battle between thrift and conscience.
Muffin cups and aluminum foil, however, don’t typically inspire the same degree of psychic hand-wringing, if only because they don’t evoke images of pesticide-drenched fields and factory farm runoff. And therein lies the insidious brilliance of If You Care, a kitchen and household products company whose very name encapsulates the presumption of guilt that is used to sell guilt-free products. You can find its earth-friendly, dun-colored goods on the shelves at Whole Foods, where they manage to outpreach even the neighboring jugs of Seventh Generation laundry detergent and Twist loofah dishwands made from cellulose and recycled plastic.
But if it’s an obnoxious name, it’s also impressive: While plenty of food and household products gently manipulate the conflicted consumer with tags like “fair trade,” “shade-grown,” and “petroleum-free,” few go for the jugular. Names like Seventh Generation, Gaiam, and Kashi conjure the vague, feel-good vibe of an ashram or a womyn’s music festival. If You Care leaves no doubt about its motives. It blurs the line between passive aggression and naked aggression.
And that’s kind of a shame. Like so many ecofriendly companies, If You Care is doing some very commendable things. It’s keeping chlorine out of our waterways, eschewing petroleum-based ingredients, and fashioning sandwich bags from the unbleached pulp of Scandinavian spruce trees, a renewable resource. Hooray. But that name has a way of negating that do-gooding simply by implying that we don’t measure up. And even if we do care enough to buy If You Care products, the name only reminds us that we’re failing in so many other ways to prevent Planet Earth from going straight to hell.
Perhaps a more honest name would be It’s the Least You Can Do, or We Know You’re Not Entirely Awful. Because while we may fail every day, in countless ways, to do squat for the environment, we can at least feel good about ourselves for buying a nontoxic, chlorine-free muffin cup.
Photo courtesy of If You Care
I don't care. I really like their products, and they are actually much less expensive than traditional brands. There cupcake liners are the best...nothing sticks to them!
Seems if you really cared you wouldn't use coffee or the filters - shipped from long distances, not US produced. :-D It's always seemed hypocritical that some judge meat we raise as a bad thing but ship their coffee (which pays more and clears more rain forest) from other countries...yet give up beef, not coffee? Choices shouldn't have guilt. JMO
I was just thinking about this the other day. Every time I see that roll of parchment paper in my cupboard, I feel guilt tripped all over again. The name actually makes me NOT want to buy their products, but unfortunately, they're the only paper baking products offered at our local market (yup, a Whole Foods).
Thanks for sharing your little rant. It made me giggle.
I always misread it as "...Like YOU Care," said in a tone that conveys "you'll wish you called more when I'm dead."
What snippy little name. If YOU Cared.
errr... up until a few months ago, Certified Fair Trade meant something VERY specific and real. Do some research, Chow.
I buy these from my coop and never even noticed the brand name. Now that I am aware of it, I can see the guilt trip involved, but I think it is funny.
I don't.
Hear Hear redchief!
I've avoided buying this brand exactly because of its name, and what always stuck me as its very passive aggressive tone. Not to mention, I generally find they are more expensive than their next comparable competitor.
It's not hard to do as my main paper purchase, unfiltered coffee filters, is available much more cheaply at Trader Joe's.
Of course, if you "really cared," you'd be using a permanent coffee filter, or a French press system, covered glass dishes for storage instead of plastic wrap or foil, greasing muffin cups instead of using cupcake papers, etc. For the record, I am a paper consumer, I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy in buying these so-called "green" goods. If you truly want to lessen consumption, you can do...+READ
Of course, if you "really cared," you'd be using a permanent coffee filter, or a French press system, covered glass dishes for storage instead of plastic wrap or foil, greasing muffin cups instead of using cupcake papers, etc. For the record, I am a paper consumer, I'm just pointing out the hypocrisy in buying these so-called "green" goods. If you truly want to lessen consumption, you can do without most of these altogether.-COLLAPSE