Coffee Concerns

Glass jar?

I made a choice some time ago that I would stick with Cafe Puro for my coffee needs.  I based my decision on two things:  It comes in a glass jar, and Nestle doesn't make it.  I drink instant coffee because brewing coffee takes up time and space that I don't choose to give to that activity.  I started drinking instant coffee when I was living in Lamu, Kenya, while doing the field research for my dissertation.  Ma Rukia, my cook,* would boil a kettle of water on the tiny charcoal "stove" that she used and give me a thermos of water to last the rest of the day for my coffee (or tea) needs.  With a microwave, now I don't need the thermos, but I do like the convenience of having my coffee fairly quickly without a lot of fuss.  Once I became aware of Nestle's exploitive practices and then of the evils of plastic, I made my choice.

Cafe Puro is, however, made from coffee grown in the Philippines and manufactured and shipped from Germany to my local HEB.  I had been drinking HEB's generic brand coffee because the taste was acceptable, and the cost was cheaper than name brands, but HEB coffee comes in plastic jars.  I still use my old plastic containers from HEB's instant coffee to store my Cafe Puro.  The container with the red lid is with caffeine, the one with the green lid is without caffeine.  The plastic containers, of course, are safer in the kitchen in case you drop one.  (I'll think about microplastics later.)  Wanting to make a change to buying coffee in glass containers is what made me realize that only Nestle seemed to place their instant coffee in glass.  Not wanting to knowingly fund that corporation, I was relieved to find Cafe Puro available at my HEB.  I decided (rationalized, yes) that even though it was grown in the Philippines, I could justify it as honoring the sacrifices that my father made to fight for their liberation from Japan during World War II (issues of colonialism in the past notwithstanding).  As for manufacture in Germany, I decided (again, rationalized) that, since the ships that bring this little bit of coffee to the US are going to sail anyway, I wasn't adding significantly to the consumption of fossil fuels by buying it.  And, anyway, it wasn't Nestle, and I was reusing the old plastic, and recycling the glass, and, well, doing my best.

Now I'm sitting in my hotel room in New York, sipping the Cafe Puro that I brought with me in specially saved mini-jars, carefully protected from breakage while packed in my luggage, and thinking about the ethics of my coffee.  That led to googling brands of coffee made in the Western Hemisphere.  Welp, we still don't grow coffee in Texas, but there is a fair bit of the world's coffee grown further south.  I'm looking at Cafe Bustelo right now, grown in Colombia and Mexico, and . . . sold in glass jars.  Sadly HEB doesn't seem to stock this version of Cafe Bustelo (they have ground and K-Cups and individual packages of instant), but Target lists it in several versions.  I can't tell from the pictures that all versions are in glass; that will take a trip to the store itself (when I get home).

In Ethical Culture we talk about trying to do what is right, but "right" sometimes needs some work to define it.  So does the "do."  My reasons for switching to Cafe Puro were an attempt to find a better way to get my daily caffeine, but now I think it's time to go a step further.  When I get back home, I will go to Target and see the Cafe Bustelo jars for myself.  If the local Target doesn't stock what I want (sustainably grown coffee with reduced shipping costs packed in glass jars), I can always order it for delivery--which leads to the next set of questions about what is "right" and what to "do" in regard to Amazon.

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*It was considered "bad form" for an mzungu to live on the island without hiring local residents to work in some capacity.  Ma Rukia cooked and cleaned and helped with laundry, but she also became a trusted advisor who helped me understand more about the local culture and its norms.  I couldn't have managed without her help.

25 Ethical Actions You Can Perform in the Privacy of Your Own Home

Ethical Culture is committed to Ethical Action.  Some folks call it Social Action.  Others stick with Social Justice.  There are differences between these labels, but all of them are pointed toward a central aspect of Felix Adler's "new religion":  That we seek to be better, more moral humans; that we can do so by acting more morally; that we will learn to do better with practice.  That, at least, is my interpretation of what I read in some of the addresses that Adler gave to the New York Society for Ethical Culture and other groups in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

In leading various Ethical Action committees (for the Ethical Society of Austin and the American Ethical Union), I have observed that many speak of--and practice--Ethical Action as a group activity conducted in the community.  I tend to think that it is how we live our lives--in our ordinary daily activities--that we also put our Ethics into practice, which makes those daily activities Ethical Actions.  

Ethical Society of Austin joins protestors at the Texas Capitol

(Adam Gravois makes an important point)

Here are some examples of Ethical Actions that we can practice in our daily lives.  Almost all of these actions are directed toward the environment--reduced use of resources and recycling of used resources.  Even so, some of these actions can also lead toward some social/community connection as well as involve our Ethical decision making in shopping, both of which will have an effect beyond our homes.  Indeed, all of these actions connect us to the planet and those who live on it, reminding us of the importance of even the smallest action.

Five in the kitchen:

• (2) Rinse and recycle metal cans (after air drying).  Be sure to drain all liquid from beverage cans before placing them in your recycling bin.
• This seems like an obvious thing to do, but I've seen wet cans tossed into the bins often enough to understand that not everyone is thinking about the future growth of mildew in the bin and in the recycled cans.  The time delay between the tossing of the can and the actual recycling process can be lengthy enough for all sorts of toxic items to grow, coat the bin(s), and escape into the air.
• (3) Load your dishwasher carefully, being mindful of the physics of water flow to assure clean dishes.  Run the dishwasher only for a full load (top and bottom!).  Consider turning off the heat drying cycle and allowing your dishes to air dry.
• My late husband and I had many discussions about the physics of water (it goes down and around, not up or through solid masses) and how that related to the dishwasher.  Now I cringe when I see dishes piled in such a way that water flow is blocked.  Not only is this dangerous (surfaces not cleaned and sanitized), but it is a waste of water and electricity when the machine can't do its job properly.
• I allow my dishes to air dry when the washing cycle is finished.  This saves a bit of electricity (which makes me feel somewhat less guilty about relying on a machine to wash my dishes).

Five in the bathroom:

• Turn off the water in your sink when you brush your teeth.
• Consider purchasing toilet paper made from recycled paper.
• Soft, fluffy toilet paper is made from fresh-cut trees which have longer and more flexible fibers.  Recycled paper can get the job done without the luxury of wiping with a soft, fluffy item which is sourced from a vital, slow-growing resource.  
• Check the label on your toilet paper (or contact the manufacturer) to see whether it includes recycled paper and how much.  
• I use Who Gives a Crap brand toilet paper.  This company uses post consumer waste to make its recycled toilet paper.  It also makes toilet paper from bamboo, a fast growing grass (no trees needed).  
• (2) Recycle the wrapper and toilet roll core.
• If the wrapper is plastic, it needs to go along with your other plastic bags for recycling.  If paper, just put it with the rest in your bin.
• Yes, the cardboard core is recyclable.  (It's also good for crafting and, with a slit up the side, bundling messy computer wires.)
• Consider saving your leftover soap pieces to make a "new" soap ball.
• OK, I haven't made a soap ball yet, but I'm saving the soap slivers.  I will, no doubt, make a big deal out of shredding the slivers and making the ball--when the time comes.

Five in the living room:

• Turn off unnecessary lights.  
• Do you really need to run the TV in the background?
• (3) Magazines can have longer lives after you've finished with them:
• Check with a local senior facility to see if they can use the magazines for their residents.
• If there are lots of pictures, check with a local school to see if teachers can use the magazines for projects (or for reading).
• If all else fails, recycle the paper.

Five in the closet/laundry:

• Wear your clothes longer.  
• Purchase durable fabrics in "classic" styles that can be worn year after year.  This will help cut the cycle of "fast fashion" and, ultimately, reduce the amount of clothes thrown into a landfill.
• Unless you are outside in the Texas summer and/or doing heavy manual labor, chances are you can wear that blouse/shirt more than once.  This will reduce the frequency of laundering your clothes and the expenditure of energy resources to do it.
• Hang dry your clothes rather than using the dryer.  This will extend the life of the fabric (less loss of fiber) and wearability (less shrinkage).
• Yes, things will be rumpled.  Straighten the cloth as much as possible while still wet.  Iron only if you really must.  Strut the rumpled look when among friends.  😏
• Wash your clothes in cold water.
• Wash only a full load of clothes.
• Yeah, yeah, the manufacturer has settings for smaller loads, using less water.  It still uses electricity for a full cycle.  

78 degrees in the summer;
68 degrees in the winter.

Five for the whole house:

• Set your thermostat on 78 for the summer, 68 for the winter--and don't touch it.
• Switch to LED lightbulbs.
• Turn off the light and the ceiling fan when you leave a room.
• Use natural light as much as possible.
• Change your A/C filters regularly.

Most of these things reflect a degree of "common sense" and promote frugality.  Who Gives a Crap Toilet paper is not frugal in terms of the cash that I pay to buy it, but, since I'm not flushing trees down the loo, I am happy to spend the money.  I'm not so good at using natural light when it is available, but assorted nurses have entered my home and started messing with the blinds often enough that I am catching on.  All of this "small stuff" takes some practice and attention to detail until it becomes a habit.  The tradeoff in cost/effort vs benefit may well be in our improved sense of commitment to the earth and our fellow earthlings (of all species) as we succeed in reducing unnecessary demands on the planet's resources and increase our progress toward being the kind of person that we wish to be.