So, here’s the trouble with promoting your eco-friendliness: It just sets you up for scrutiny.

Leonardo DiCaprio narrates a biodocumentary, and reporters ask him how he got overseas to the Cannes Film Festival (answer: he flew commercial). Some East Coast movie producer’s wife goes on the hot seat because she’s got a hot tub.

(Even people who aren’t playing the greener-than-thou card get caught sometimes: MSN.com ran a photo of Nicole Richie and Joel Madden leaving a grocery store with “green diapers” for their new baby — and instead of saying, “a nice first step,” the caption criticized them because the diapers were in a plastic bag.)

Yesterday I got a press kit from a company that’s introducing low-VOC paints in Home Depot stores — so Earth-friendly! — and it not only came in a paint can (nonrecyclable) but, for a smell test, also included a jar filled with regular paint. Which, for the record, you’re not supposed to throw away unless it’s completely dried — otherwise it’s classified as Household Hazardous Waste and should be taken to a collection point. Thanks for making me complicit in defiling the same Earth you’re promoting how hard you’re working to protect, PR folks!

Which brings me to: Moss Wellness Spa, which bills itself as Arizona’s first eco-luxury spa. It’s opened at the Scottsdale Waterfront. They’re promoting their greenness — they’ve applied for LEED certification in their building, which earns the “good job!” part of my post.

However. … They also have that “please consider the environment before printing our price list” message, which I consider unnecessarily naggy, not “mindful.”  And to get there, you have to take a private elevator.

Now, I know that elevators aren’t the top user of electricity, and aren’t spewing exhaust or methane gases into the air. But still, there’s something a little incongruous about forcing someone to take an electrically powered device to get into your eco-friendly environment. Especially when it’s on THE SECOND FLOOR.

Plus, they call their wraps “envelopments.” That really makes me not want to go there.

ammit

WHAT SAM WORE: 3/19/08
The sweater: Cotton/Lycra tuxedo shirt by Theory (Last Chance)
The pants: Dark wash 1969 jeans (gap.com)
The belt buckle: Limited-edition (#4155/5000) Montana centennial edition silver buckle (and yes, my name is engraved on the back of it)
The shoes: Nordic-looking “Tumble” leather moccasins by J. Shoes (The now-defunct Goclothing.com web site, 2007)

sammit

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