In our pursuit of a more sustainable world there are very distinct differences between huge corporations, large companies, small businesses, and micro businesses. The very size of a business can impose not-so-green sensibilities that conflict with earth-friendly efforts.

Smaller businesses are able to address environmental issues that bigger companies and mega corporations simply cannot. Big box stores and agribusinesses not only have operating requirements that cannot be altered, they have a drive of increasing quotes.

The issues are transportation, distribution, shelf life, and surplus inventory. The depth of these issues change with the size of a business.

Much of the product placed on a container ship is not a necessity. So much is made in high volume with the aim to market it to you. Not all containers on a ship make it to their destination; many fall off the ship in stormy seas and break open to spill the contents. We cannot ignore the stories of new products rolling in on waves to rest on pristine beaches. Or, all the plastic remains of garbage gathering in the Pacific Ocean (the size of Texas x 2) ; a patch filled with “stuff” we used for a moment.

Second, distribution centers are large facilities with miles of shelving. The amount of energy used to cool or heat these buildings is immense. On the shelves products sit. Many products, like food and personal care items, need chemical preservatives while they sit waiting to get to you. Once shipped to a retail center the products sit again. Next time you hold a product in your hand try to guess how long it took to journey to you. Imagine the route and you will start to realize that the journey can take not only weeks but perhaps months.

Once stuff has been bought – mass produced products marketed to you – there are always product remaining. What about the all the time and energy spent to make a T-shirt that doesn’t sell? So often it ends up as a rag or shipped again to yet another country. There is something very wrong here when it comes to resources and energy use.

If you are part of the green movement SIZE DOES MATTER. The truly green consumer admires small, family run, single owner, micro businesses! Hand-made, locally made, organically grown, direct to consumer, is lower impact and earth-friendly. Supporting smaller establishments, precious products made with purpose and a human touch, is a leading force in defining our sustainable earth-friendly future.