Greenwashing? No, Thanks

Hey farmer, farmer
put away that DDT now
give me spots on my apples
but leave me the birds and the bees, please!

When Joni Mitchell wrote "Big Yellow Taxi" in 1970, there was a lot of talk about ecology, environment, pollution and the need for a return to nature. Those were the years of protests, of hippies at Woodstock and that rock music we still listen today. That was an historical period that our parents lived as protagonists and that some of us, born immediately after, love.
The writer grew up with a hippie as a family member. He used to have long hair, flared pants, he was hitchhiking around the world, collected vinyls and gave, certainly on a musical level, an important imprinting.

These were the legendary 70s, but what about today? What happened to those who fought for a greener world, for peace, for the return to a more balanced, more idealistic society? Today, of course, they have children and grandchildren. Some of them remain hippies in the soul and continue not to use the car, to eat km 0 and to wear long hair (but not flared pants!). They have remained consistent despite living in a society that in 50 years has been “tainted” with mass consumption, globalization and a growing market.
Today, after years in which our planet has been - perhaps - exploited to the bone, we feel we need to go back to sustainability, ecology.

Did we realize that we waste tons of food every year? Did we realize that plastic pollutes our seas and our beautiful beaches more than we could imagine? Did we wake up one morning and understand that intensive farming is not sustainable and cause 75% of the ammonia released into the air (Italian figure)?

Lately it seems that every company has become green and sustainable. 

How many are seriously committed and how many have adopted the greenwashing model? But what is Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is nothing more than a communication strategy used by many companies, organizations and, especially, political parties aimed at building a deceptively positive image in terms of environmental impact, in order to divert the attention of public opinion from the negative effects on the environment due to its activities or products, which among other things has been established since the seventies.

But let's forget for a moment who "pretends" to be sustainable and talk, instead, about those who really are or try to be sustainable.
Tablo has always been attentive to the environment in choosing its brands; in fact, one of our flagship products has always been the Paperstone line by Valgobbia, a collection of knives made with a sustainable handle produced with 100% recycled and FSC® certified paper and cardboard, impregnated with a natural resin called PetroFree ™ and from natural pigments. A dishwasher safe material that "looks like wood" but it isn't!
The latest fresh acquisition is Best In Table - BIT, an Italian company completely dedicated to sustainability located in "that branch of Lake Como, that turns at midday" which reminds us Manzoni masterpiece.

The values of BIT are certainly shared and range from innovation, through Made In Italy and to eco-sustainability, an opportunity to develop creativity and not to limit its development. Bio Bamboo, for example, comes from bamboo fiber which, together with cellulose and water-based inks without solvents, creates a biodegradable and compostable product that, at the same time, can be customized and used in high-end restaurants and hotels such as, for example, Ritz Carlton or Otto e ½ Bombana Hong Kong which recently chose BIT for a line of napkins with the multi-starred restaurant logo.
The latest novelty, which we presented at To The Table Forum, is Bio Plus White, a line that dissolves in water in 2 days.

In short, it seemed yesterday that, during Expo2015, Pavilion Zero showed us the mountain of wasted food (143 billion euros each year for food waste in the countries of the European Union - given after the Expo) with the intention of admonishing us and making us reflect on pollution and waste. Even if we are far from being 100% green, many companies are seriously investing in this direction and all the greenwashing that surrounds us certainly does not help to increase awareness in each of us and to encourage other companies to follow those virtuous examples.

We leave you, therefore, to reflect on waste, on polluted seas, on the plastic that, perhaps without thinking, we continue to use and on the origin of what we eat, always trying to prefer non-intensive farms and sustainable and ecological products.

Don't miss the next appointment about fine dining (or pretend to be) in Cyclades!