We shall require a substantially new way of thinking if mankind is to survive.
–Albert Einstein
I’m pretty sure these are the only dishwasher-safe shoes I’ve ever owned. I didn’t even know about this particular virtue when I received a pair of Okabashi clogs as a gift from a PR firm, but being able to throw shoes in with the dirty dishes does seem like a pretty attractive concept, in a two-birds-with-one-stone sort of way. In truth I didn’t quite understand why a person who writes about wine was being sent a pair of shoes, but as it turns out there is a common link between the Okabashis and my favorite beverage, and that link is the color green.
There’s little doubt that the quest for greater environmental responsibility is having an increasing effect on the wine industry, and I guess maybe on a certain segment of the shoe business as well. On the day I took my new shoes out for their first walkabout, I happened to read an article in the business section of the New York Times about the greening of Champagne bottles (“A Greener Champagne Bottle,” Liz Alderman, September 1, 2010). In it, Thierry Gasco, master vintner for Pommery, was quoted as saying: “We’re remaking the future of Champagne…so our carbon footprint will be reduced to keep Champagne here for future generations.” The main focus in today’s Champagne campaign, he explained, is to reduce the amount of glass in its notoriously hefty bottles by 65 grams (2.3 ounces). All Champagne houses are expected to be using the newly svelte bottles by next April. According to the Times article, reducing the amount of glass lowers the carbon emissions necessary to make each bottle by 7 percent, which allows about 2,400 more bottles to be placed inside delivery trucks (thereby reducing the number of trucks on the road).
Apparently there are still some climate-change skeptics in the wine industry, but by and large vintners across the globe are particularly attuned to the urgent need for lowering carbon emissions. “We are the canaries in the coal mine,” says Paul Dolan (Parducci Wine Cellars and Paul Dolan Wine). “I think we’ve been more observant of climate change because of the sensitivity of vines to terroir.” Trimming excess weight from bottles is only part of the story of course, but there’s no doubt it’s a good step to take. (Note to wineries who still have the idea that consumers think an ultra-heavy bottle equals high quality wine: we don’t. What we actually think is: “Ouch! I just got a whiplash picking up that stupid overweight bottle!”) Wineries are embarking on a host of other efforts to reduce their carbon footprint, from retrofitting the winemaking facility to embarking on greener viticultural practices, and if Okabashi is any indication, shoemakers are following suit.
My new shoes are made from recyclable materials and are themselves 100% recyclable; they’re manufactured in the USA, which means a reduction in carbon emissions to transport them, and of course they’re washable. And by the way, at $14 they’re very affordable. I think I’ll slip them on right now and raise a glass of Champagne to toast new ways of thinking.
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