Our assignment for If Products Could Speak this week was to interview someone with “green” consumption habits. In class we’ve discussed at length the ways in which the term “green” lacks any real meaning, but right now it’s the easiest term we have to work with.

My friend, Sam, gets most of the things she needs out of the trash. She came over the other day to talk with me about her thoughts on green consumption.

As I threw together a batch of biscuits, Sam unpacked the enormous bag of groceries she had brought with her– all food she’d pulled from the dumpster behind a grocery store. She methodically brought out a package of eggs (thrown out a month in advance of their expiration date because one egg out of the dozen had cracked), pomegranate juice (a couple days past expiration), coffee (damaged package), and other items; I asked her how she would describe her role as a consumer.

Sam does not think of herself as “green” she tries to consume as few resources as possible. She is motivated instead by a frustration with what she sees as a general disrespect for the energy and labor that goes into creating food, clothing, and other stuff. She gets most of her clothes secondhand from thrift stores, free boxes, clothing swaps, and friends. Her furniture is mostly free from craigslist.

I asked Sam what kinds of conflicts she faces in trying to remove herself from the role of consumer; she had several to list. For instance, she shares a van with several friends who use it to complete their dumpster runs, pick up items from craigslist, and generally facilitate their access to free or used items. The van is diesel, and they are slowly pooling their money to convert it to biodiesel. She acknowledged the irony that they actually need to own a car and buy gas in order to facilitate their goal of minimal consumption. She also noted that there are some things that are very hard to find or impractical (read: gross) to get secondhand– notably socks, underwear, and most drugstore items like toothbrushes.

Sam talked about the way dumpster diving has affected her diet– she eats more processed and packaged foods, eggs, and dairy, less meat and fewer fresh vegetables. When she does decide to buy food, it is often a last minute decision to grab something from taco bell because she hasn’t had time to dumpster or cook, and taco bell meets her budget requirements. She says in cases like this she doesn’t thing too much about the environmental impacts of her actions, partially because she feels her options are limited in that moment, and partially because she feels like she is generally conscientious so her participation in consumption is minimal anyway.