Author: Catherine Dawes

 

People often like taking care of plants for various reasons. Take me and my army of plants for example. They make my room more vibrant and I assume the responsibility of taking care of them. Others may have plants instead of pets. Then there are other that may say they do not have a “green thumb” or are just not cut out for having plants, but that is not true. Anyone can have a healthy plant if they do a little bit of research first and are willing to water them.

Choosing an indoor plant

When choosing an indoor plant, there are a few basic things to take into consideration:

• How much water does this plant need?
• How much sunlight does this plant need?
• What is the average temperature this plant thrives in?
• Is the plant poisonous to pets?

These are the main four components I always reference when choosing a plant. To go into more detail about each label, here is a picture to show the differences in the types of sunlight a plant needs and what I do for watering. If you feel confident about this part, feel free to skip to the next section.

Determining the amount of water

This part can be confusing as it is sometimes hard to know the exact amount of water a plant needs. It can also be difficult to always give a plant the same amount of water. I personally use ice cubes as a way to measure the amount of water I am giving to a plant. If a plant shows sign of underwatering, add another ice cube next time it is watered. If a plant shows signs of overwatering, decrease the number of ice cubes. It is important to say that a plant will not die immediately from overwatering it or underwatering as long as the amount of water is adjusted.

Signs of overwatering or underwatering

Overwatering

• Leaves will turn a yellow or whitish color and some leaves may fall off the plant. The leaves will not shrivel up before falling off.

Underwatering

• Leaves will turn a yellow or whitish color and some leaves may also fall off the plant. These leaves DO shrivel up before falling off. By shriveling up, I mean the leaves will get extremely brittle and/or they may turn brown or lose their color.

 

 

Last minute takeaways on sunlight and water

• Make sure you have the right conditions for a plant to live it. It may take trial and error.
• If a plant is not receiving enough sunlight, the leaves may also fall off the plant, so move it to a brighter place.
• If a plant is receiving too much sunlight, the leaves may turn white at the tips, so move it to a shadier place.

 

 

 

 

Types of Plants to Choose

This is the best part about having plant- getting the choose one!

Home Depot and Lowes often have a good selection of plants. They are fairly healthy and most are fairly easy to grow. I have found most ivy, bamboo, and basic ferns are easy beginner plants. For a list of other plants for beginners, check out these two websites:

• https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/advice/g1285/hard-to-kill-plants/
• https://bloomscape.com/green-living/9-easiest-houseplants-anyone-can-grow/

Plants to Avoid

• If you have any pets, make sure to check if the plant is pet friendly and are not poisonous to pets if ingested. From my experience, some animals (especially cats) enjoy biting leaves.
• For beginners, I recommend avoiding orchids and venus fly traps as they are often hard to keep alive.

 

Sources

-https://wallygro.com/blogs/feature/essential-watering-guide

-https://bloomscape.com/green-living/9-easiest-houseplants-anyone-can-grow/

-https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/home/gardening/advice/g1285/hard-to-kill-plants/

-https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fn1qOBOiPNc

By Catherine Dawes

During quarantine, people tried new things,  made DIY crafts, learned a skill, or tried to be more active. For me, I wanted to practice being more sustainable. At the time I made this goal, I knew I was going to be living in the greenbelt sustainability cabins when I returned to Furman, and I wanted to change a few lifestyle habits in preparation. I decided to purchase and use items that were more sustainable for the environment, so I purchased products from companies that had a reputation for being environmentally friendly. However, I soon realized these products were not sustainable as they were from companies that greenwash. Corporate greenwashing is the process of promoting sustainable products or practices while hiding non-sustainable practices from the public. Corporations use greenwashing to appear as an environmentally friendly business to the public to attract larger audiences; not only is this deceitful and causes consumers to be skeptical, but sometimes the products they promote cause more harm to the environment than products that do not claim to be sustainable.

A prime example of corporate greenwashing stems from Burt’s Bees which was acquired by the Clorox Company. Burt’s Bees sells products that are made from natural ingredients, but that does not always suggest the products are sustainable as accessing these natural ingredients can cause harm to the environment. Their mantra is to be environmentally friendly; however, they hide the fact that they are owned by the Clorox company- an organization known for not being sustainable as they use harsh chemicals. The only spot on their website that alludes to being owned by the Clorox company is at the bottom of their webpage in small print where the information is less likely to be seen. Through this partnership, Burt’s Bees and Clorox are ultimately one greenwashing corporation with Burt’s Bees’ sustainable front ultimately representing the unsustainable Clorox corporation.

While this currently is corporate greenwashing, Clorox announced a plan to become more sustainable as a company. In 2019, the company announced their intentions to reduce greenhouse emissions by 20% in the coming future. This is part of their IGNITE strategy announced in 2018. Other sustainable goals in the IGNITE strategy include reducing plastic and other waste production, focusing on climate change, and overall being environmentally friendly. Although the project started off on the right track in 2019, it is relatively new and only time will tell if Clorox will abide by the goals outlined in IGNITE.

Overall, the best way to distinguish between which companies greenwash is to do research into company practices. Even if the research consists of “which companies practice greenwashing”, it is a good start to help educate the public about this issue. For a quick search to see how sustainable a personal care product is, use the website listed below:

https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

 

Citations

Gunther, Marc. “The Real Story Behind Some of the 10 ‘Greenest’ Brands.” Greenbiz, 10 June 2016, https://www.greenbiz.com/article/real-story-behind-some-10-greenest-brands.

Tsui, Jenna. “The Negative Effects of Corporate Greenwashing.” Sea Going Green, 26 Feb. 2020,  https://www.seagoinggreen.org/blog/the-negative-effects-of-corporate-greenwashing.

Burt’s Bees. Clorox Company, 2020, Durham NC. https://www.burtsbees.com/values/.

Legg, Teresa. “4 Ways greenwashing will damage your brand.” The Carbon Report, 22 Oct. 2019, https://www.thecarbonreport.co.za/4-ways-greenwashing-will-damage-your-brand/.

Taylor, Amy. “Greenwashing: Don’t be Fooled.” 100 Days of Real Food, 24 Mar. 2020, https://www.100daysofrealfood.com/greenwashing-dont-be-fooled/.

“Sustainability in Our Facilities.” The Clorox Company, 2020, https://www.thecloroxcompany.com/corporate-responsibility/environmental-sustainability/operations/ghg-emissions/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2020.