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- By Sandy Neilly
- Green is the topic of choice these days. Green, as in the
colour of spring, when it finally arrives; green, as in greenback,
a slang term for the U.S. dollar, which has such a tremendous
effect on our own dollar, and green, as in the "greening"
of our society as we become more aware of the importance of the
three Rs, reduce, reuse and recycle.
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- A number of years ago, I recall taking a photo of a plaque
in vendor Jean Pollock's booth at the Port Perry High
School show. It said something to the effect of "Antiques
- the ultimate form of recycling." That photo ran in the
next issue of the Wayback Times. The ironic thing is that people
would read the sign, say something like, "I guess antiques
are just that when you think about it," and give a little
chuckle as if they had never considered it before.
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- We received a letter of concern and a call to action from
Henry Jones, owner of the enormous Roadshow's 400 Antiques
Mall, just south of Barrie. In his letter, Mr. Jones addresses
many issues concerning going green and points out the advantage
of shopping for antiques as an alternative to buying from the
Big Box stores. When he points out that “we need to help
our children thrive outside the box," he means that quite
literally. We are a package-obsessed society and we need to change.
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- The antiques and collectibles industry is, by its very nature,
green. Mr. Jones isn't the only antiques business owner who wants
us to all make greener choices.
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- Twindmills in Colborne will soon be using power generated
from windmills. The Flamboro Shows are offering an admission
discount if you show your own reusable bags. You'll often notice
at shows that the vendors use previously used plastic bags to
wrap your purchase - which isn't something that other retailers,
aside from grocery stores, are likely to do. (Of course, you
can bring your own reusable bags, but someone needs to invent
a fail-proof method to remind memory-challenged people to bring
them on each shopping trip.)
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- Flea markets are a great place to find almost anything used,
all the way from antiques to those essential everyday items.
True, some might require a bit of elbow grease to restore them
to their former glory, whatever they might be, but they come
without packaging and, when you buy them, they live to be useful
for another segment of time.
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- It's been a long process, but when you stop and consider
how aware we've become of the impact of our wasteful lifestyles,
the change in the past few decades is astounding. Can you imagine
what Canadians would have thought of paying to put their trash
out 40 or 50 years ago? Until quite recently we could, without
exception, put anything out for garbage pick-up. Appliances,
furniture, toxic chemicals; anything and everything went into
the trash, and magically it would disappear twice a week without
fail. It was easy and guiltless - everyone did the same thing,
without a thought as to where it all ended up. The only saving
grace when you go back 40 years or so, was that we had less of
everything to throw out, and the humble brown paper bags we used
would only tolerate so much trash . . . and very little moisture.
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- Composting was commonplace because most of us had a garden
of some kind. Pop and milk came in glass bottles that you were
anxious to return for the refund. And since we didn't have dollar
stores to over-stock our every day items, things were used until
they couldn't be used any longer and only then would they be
replaced. But that all changed, and somewhere along the way things
got out of hand.
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- We still have a long way to go, but some positive things
have happened. Recycling has made us aware of the limits of our
natural resources. Sure, it's a lot more work than throwing everything
into a big green bag, but hopefully the results of our actions
will prove to be worthwhile in the future.
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- Paying for our trash has made us aware of exactly how much
we produce and that realization is the beginning of accepting
responsibility and making changes.
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- So, as you read the Wayback Times, you might note that there
is no glossy paper and no plastic wrap involved - unless we're
leaving a bundle outside your shop on a wintry or rainy day.
(Please re-use that nice bag.)
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- We highly encourage you to share the paper with family and
friends before you put us in the recycling bin, or make a nice
house-cleaning hat or floor mat from it. (You might recall that
from the issue 78 editorial.)
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- And always remember that you're doing your job every time
you shop for antiques; it doesn't matter if it's furniture, glassware,
jewellery or vintage fabrics . . . you are making a difference!
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