Carbon Footprints

Matt and I have always been conscious of our environmental (and other) impact. After reading quite a bit about chemicals and how bad they are for the world (and our family's health), we decided that we would explore the idea of having less chemicals in our life. We thought about this in terms of food first, and now we're looking at cleaning products and toiletries.

While we were in NYC, we decided to buy very little processed food. We ate almost all fresh fruit and vegetables. Some exceptions were made for bread, pasta, yogurt, milk, cheese, cereal. But for the most part we tried. We also tried to get as much whole grain, and least refined as possible. We have definitely carried that into Singapore. And here, we're vegetarian at home, so we basically eat a lot of fruits and vegetables.

I usually ask the market guys where my fruits and veggies come from, and if it's Asia, it's usually good enough for me. Sometimes I have to stretch to Australia, but I try to get nothing from Europe, the US, Africa or S. America (not that much is coming from Africa or S. America to Singapore...). It's hard to eat local here, since nearly nothing is grown in Singapore. I did find one place in Bedok that had a bunch of local organic produce, but I haven't found that in our new place...yet.

I have done a bit of research, and it seems as though we don't REALLY know that cleaning products are bad for us, but we do know for sure that they're bad for the world. They contaminate water supplies, and the processes in making them is also bad for the world in terms of the carbon footprint and damage that the chemicals cause. It seems that most movements in the US for cleaning products are just for clarity - for example requiring that companies publish the ingredients (which is not currently required). There are some sites that say that certain chemicals cause bad things (for fetuses and babies in particular), but there is not a lot of evidence. Seems, though, that given the choice, we should at least TRY to use less chemicals in our lives. Can't really hurt.

I looked around in Singapore, and the ONLY socially responsible choice is not socially responsible. I.e. - it has no chemicals, it publishes its ingredients, etc., but it's flown ALL THE WAY FROM THE USA!! Maybe there is some Australian product that I am missing (anyone know of any?).

So...is the carbon footprint worse if I buy the product shipped from the US or if I buy something that's filled with chemicals, but it's made in Malaysia?

(I bought the one from the US, but I'm not confident in my decision)