(the women power to changing the world into a safer, greener and healthier place to live in)

What is the role of a 21st century Filipina in the injuring and failing environment, in the midst of global warming, economic failure(s), wars and other extreme privation ? How can a Filipina, as a woman, help save the world through right spending.  A Filipina, as a woman, can make a difference in building a better environment/world through her purse- her spending.

I am a Filipina, and I have been in the US for more than eight months now. I consider my every experience in this country as vital in pursuing my American dream. In the pursue of that dream, I think about my own country, the Philippines and our weakening environment and what I can do to be an advocate to helping save our mother earth.

A few months ago, my husband gifted me a book that I thought had some great content to it. Its cover, I thought was eye catching. It portrays a woman carrying a green purse. Diane MacEachern in her book ‘BIG GREEN PURSE’ revolutionized the role of a woman in the 21st century through their spending power. As I started reading it, I realized that ‘a rebirth’ in my personal life is about to happen- a vital transition from the woman, spender and shopper that I was before reading the book to the woman that I will become after reading it. In her book, she talks about women using their spending power to create a cleaner and greener world. The writer argues that the best way to fight the industries that pollute the planet, thereby changing the marketplace, is to mobilize the most powerful consumer force in the world-women. She believes that if women harness the power of their purse and intentionally shift their spending money into commodities
that have the greatest environmental benefit, they can create a cleaner, safer and greener environment. This book;

•targets
twenty commodities-cars, cosmetics, coffee, food, paper products,
appliances, cleansers, and more-where women’s dollars can make a
dramatic difference;

•provides
easy-to-follow guidelines and lists so women can choose the greenest option regardless of what they’re buying, along with recommended companies they should support;

•encourages
women to spend wisely by explaining what’s worth the premium price some green products cost, what’s not, and when they shouldn’t spend money at all; and

•differentiates between products that are actually “green” and those that are simply marketed as “ecofriendly.”

Whether readers want to start with small changes or are ready to devote the
majority of their budget to green products, MacEachern offers concrete and immediate ways that women all over the world can take action and make a difference.

Empowering and enlightening, Big Green Purse will become the “green shopping bible” for women everywhere who are asking, “What can I do?”

In Diane MacEachern’s website (http://www.dianesbiggreenpurse.com) she wrote;

Why my green purse?

Because I believe…

· the fastest, most effective way to stop polluters is by pressuring them in the marketplace

· women
can be the world’s most powerful economic and environmental force if we intentionally shift our spending to the best green products and services

· women
have the power right now to solve many of our most serious environmental problems by using our green purses to make a difference

· women must act – intentionally, collectively, and with the full force of our purse power behind us – if we hope to leave our children and grandchildren a better world.

As a woman and a Filipina living in the US, I personally find this book very interesting and helpful in my daily spending. I strongly believe that this book is going to be my shopping bible for whatever needs I will have. I remember my husband writing me a note with the book that says ‘after you read this book you can buy whatever you want for as long as we have the $$’. I smiled as I read his note without simply knowing why he said it. As I read through the pages of the book, it informs of the Seven Big Green Purse Shopping Principles that made me understand my husband’s statement. These principles are the following:

1. Buy less
2. Read the      label
3. Support      sustainable standards
4. Look for      third party verification
5. Choose      fewer ingredients
6. Pick less      packaging
7. Buy local

I thank my husband for the gift of opportunity to be that new woman in his life- a woman who buys less, knows how to reject what is unnecessary, reads the label of a product before buying it, supports sustainable standards, looks for third party verification, chooses fewer ingredients, picks less packaging and above all, a woman who supports buying local products to support local economy.

As I continue to read this book, I want to learn more information and details about why cleaning is much better than sterilizing, why fragrances, phthalates, parabens and triclosan in cosmetics and personal care products should be avoided and why buying sustainable seafood with MSC is important and why buying smaller fish like trout is better than buying the larger predator fish like tuna and seabass. I would also want to know the types of plastics that can be easily recycled. Not all plastics can be recycled and Diane suggests that in buying products made from plastic it is important to buy those that can easily be recycled. Since I love gardening and planting, I want to discover why Diane said in the book that eco-lawn planting is much more important and fart better than traditional lawn planting. It certainly amuses me how she can be so specific about the necessity to plant trees at a certain side of a yard. She said that if you plant three trees on the west side of your home you can trim your air-conditioning bill by up to 30% due to the shade they create. All these new facts seriously challenges and amuses me. I have never yet learned any information in my whole life as factual and healthy as the information stated in the book.

In summary, I want my rebirth to a better and newer me to begin through understanding what the book says about the power of my green purse in changing the world into a better and healthier place to live in and eventually applying my green girl/woman power to advocate that beautiful change. Although the book is geared through women power, my husband and I believe that both men and women will find the book interesting and therefore have the equal opportunity to become an advocate to a greener, healthier and safer world. To all the Filipina women who want to spend for the right reason, this book is for you.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 30th, 2008 at 11:01 am and is filed under The Filipina. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.