how do you talk about being green to others?

CarrieB.

I'm reading "The World without Us" and it had me worrying about usage of plastic this morning. So when I came into the office today I just casually mentioned to a coworker "hey, you should bring in a coffee cup instead of using styrofoam ones every day." He said "oh sure. i can do that." But then my other coworker who overhead me got all annoyed at me for "pushing my values on others." And it ended in an argument about what political party I belong too, which I found unnecessary and kind of rude.

I think just reminding someone to bring a cup isn't that big of a deal. I wasn't asking that the office remove all the styrofoam cups. But maybe I should? Thoughts?

smurfette2682

for me personally, i tend to not bring up being green to most people.  for example, while i would love it if there were no styrofoam cups, other people do have the right to use them, even if i choose not to.  so i bring my reusable cup and use it in front of everyone.  this usually sparks someone else to initiate a conversation about why i would choose to wash a cup everyday when i could just use a disposable.  i tell them all the reasons why i do what i do, and then they have the info. to make an informed decision and i don't come across as preachy.  

Jen&Joe06

Like pp I don't try to "push" anything onto others. This includes making random suggestions when they haven't asked me for my opinion on something or when it hasn't come up in the conversation.

There are more subtle ways to get the same point across like "man I wish the company would provide us with reuseable coffee mugs so we at least had a choice of what we would like to use"

K.a.T.e

There is a fine line between preaching and living your values.  I usually say things where I can make an impact. 

LolitaC

I try to approach it as a cost saving measure.  Stocking inexpensive coffee mugs to use is cheaper that buying paper or styrofoam cups.

SuperGreen

Ditto what Smurf and Jen said.  I generally don't bring up being green to others, and that includes commenting on other people's choices, especially if it's out of the blue and hasn't come up in conversation.  I just use my green items where people can see them and since they're unusual, I get asked about them frequently.  Something like, "oh this?  It's my reusable lunch box.  I'm trying to cut down on my landfill waste, so I don't use single serving items.  Between that, recycling, and composting, I've cut my trash generation in half!" Something like that.  More often than not the person replies with whatever green thing (usually something really trivial) they're trying to do, to which I reply with "That's a great idea!  I've found that X, Y, and Z also work really well."

tucci013

Not sure that I would tell someone what they "should" do, rather ask if they had ever considered bring in a mug from home in a casual way.

treesapplaud

A lot depends on your personality and tone. I find I bring those kinds fo things up with friends and sometimes acquaintances, but I try and say it in a way where they have an out. 

But, thats my personality. Be who you are, Green and all. 

xnickerx

I don't give advice, but I play the assumption role quite often. For instance, if I have a paper/plastic item I will hold it up and say something like, "um.... where's your recycling bin?" as I am looking around for one. Sometimes they do have one (hooray) but other times they feel that awkwardness and have to explain to me, an obvious greeny, that they don't recycle. Yeah, it's underhanded. But you know, I am evil like that.