I can’t believe someone is objecting to “a rack of fleece jackets made in Guatemala” being sold in an Aquarium Gift Shop. I live part-time in Guatemala and work very, very hard to market the beautiful hand-made goods produced in this beautiful country which is one of the few ways they have to educate their children and feed their families.

Why shouldn’t products from around the world be sold in museums, aquariums and zoos that present animals, plants and minerals from around the world? If you want only “organic” products, then you will have to take a hard look at everything that supposedly goes into making and marketing an “organic” product. I’m all for organic, but the lax and unsupported claims by many – including American-made organic products, makes me question the validity of many of those products.

World trade is important. Everyone deserves a chance to sell their products and no one should object to products from other countries “being made by exploited workers and being sold next to books on going green.” We live in a world economy, like it or not. We are one world. The only exploited workers I know personally are the coffee pickers for the so-called “organic, fair trade” coffee growers. If you ever knew what really goes on in the “fair trade” movement and the lack of oversight, it would curl your hair. You’d need a budget and staff as large as the FDA to oversee this kind of thing in any kind of practical and real way. Until then, get rid of plastic as much as you can, but let people in third world countries make a living from their beautifully made hand-crafted items.

Sorry to be weighing in a bit late on the conversation.

Is there an inherent paradox in being a conservation organization when you don’t live up to your highest ideals in every aspect of your business practices? Of course, there is. At the Monterey Bay Aquarium, we wrestle with that paradox every day and do our best to improve our practices step by step. We’re never going to get to perfect. But we’ll keep getting better.

To the comments about the merchandise we sell. Yes, we carry products that Erica and others criticize. We also carry items made out of organic, sustainable & renewable materials. We use recycled plastic in other products (the “fleece from Guatemala” being one example), and offer rainforest-friendly plush penguins and sea otters made of kapok and organic dyes.

We try to offer items that are designed to last and to be kept – not discarded. In fact, we’re criticized by visitors for not having enough affordable (read: cheap plastic) souvenirs on sale.

Our buyers work with suppliers to minimize packaging – both what you see on the shelf and what they wrap it in to ship it to us. In that sense, we’re changing the industries that supply us, so we can have an impact beyond our walls.

It’s fair to question whether we should sell anything at all. But we know that kids learn and remember marine conservation messages through things like plush toys.

There’s a tradeoff, and we try to balance the educational value of what we carry – and the revenue that sales contribute to our conservation & education programs – against the environmental footprint of the products. It’s not a perfect calculation, and I can’t disagree with anyone who argues for a simpler life with less stuff.

As for our food service: Bon Appetit Management Co. is our partner and deserves a LOT more credit than it’s been given here. It’s an industry leader with its low-carbon diet. It buys local (and organic) for us and for hundreds of other clients nationwide. It was the first to adopt Seafood Watch guidelines company-wide, and took that commitment to its own parent company, Compass Group North America — the largest food service company in the U.S. and Canada.

Its “plastic” containers are all made from compostable vegetable-based materials – and we do sort and compost them from our trash containers, along with other organic kitchen waste. Ditto for the small amount of “plastic” cutlery they have available. It’s made from potato starch and is collected for composting.

I couldn’t disagree more with the folks who say the food is junk. It’s outstanding by any standards, and the kids’ meals are healthier than most – and always offer fruit as an alternative to French fries. Bon Appetit is cutting back on water and other beverages sold in plastic bottles. It’s eliminated all imported bottled water.

Ken Peterson, Communications Director
Monterey Bay Aquarium

Love it! She’s a gal after my own heart. I’ve had the same thoughts when visiting the Washington National Zoo. There are exhibits all over talking about the dangers of plastic to marine life – even cases showing plastic that has washed up in the ocean – yet they sell the same crap.

Maybe I’ll get inspired and even quote directly from her letter when I write mine. It’s the same issue and it’s happening all over the country.

I am pleased to hear about the plush penguin. My best friend is such an animal – he was born in San Diego he tells me. He and I meet and discuss topics of interest to all stuffed animals on http://www.bestplushlife.com. Hope to see all the new plush penguins there.

My friend, called Peng, travels a lot but I don’t. I have to sit on my exercise ball all day – see my blog of explanation. I am jealous of Penguins – they have so much more freedom than us poorer plush.

Paula (a stuffed duck) and Frog (a stuffed frog)

The new California Academy of Sciences, reopening in Golden Gate Park in September in what is advertised as a really green building, will have an aquarium. Maybe this will be a good alternative to the Monterey one. Maybe if we all contact the Cal Academy BEFORE they open (at casstore@eventnetwork.com, or (415) 321-8201), we can prevent them from selling plastic tchotchkes in the first place.

Beth and I stopped getting new plush toys a while ago, in part because we had more than enough already, and partly because we decided to lavish our affection on the kittens instead. We have however adopted a few stuffed animals we find on the street or in resale stores.

Reading these letters reminds me of my letter to Sainsburys (a supermarket chain in the UK) suggesting other packaging for their bakery items than a plastic bag. I don’t understand why the people who respond to these letters don’t properly read and understand the comment being made before responding.

Maybe when we write letters to companies like this we should only mention one aspect and nothing else in case the company ends up getting distracted.

Needless to say I was not happy with my response from Sainsburys and continue to confuse the cashiers when I buy my pastry items from the bakery without any wrapping on them as the only choice is a plastic bag. There aren’t even any napkins.

Keep up the good work and I am certain continual badgering will make a change.

We are regular visitors to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. I love the conservation work the organization does on the daily bases. So it’s very disappointing that they show how damaging plastic bags are (we’ve been quite a few such shows) while selling plastic toys with virtually no redeeming values. I think it is time for all to us to write to Andrew and above.

What a great letter! It’s too bad Andrew didn’t seem to get it. You would hope that the aquarium employees would be more tuned in than that, but he seemed to only hear what he thought he was going to hear, not what she actually said. Regardless, thanks so much for posting this valuable exchange.

AWESOME! We went to Sea World in Orlando last winter, and I was shocked that the postcards (non-recycled, sadly) we purchased could have come with a big ol’ turtle-choking plastic bag.

I plan to swipe the outline of this letter to use in my own letter to Sea World (yeah, it’s been brewing a long time but better late than never)!

Here’s my go:

Andrew Fischer
General Manager of Merchandising
Monterey Bay Aquarium
831-648-4945 P
831-648-4989 F
afischer@mbayaq.org

I have read your exchanges with Erica Edelson, as these appear on the blog Fake Plastic Fish https://myplasticfreelife.com/2008/06/we-can-either-have-plastic-toy-sharks/
with interest.

I am a mother of two, and a health practitioner who founded the End of The World of Plastics Campaign 2008.

You heard Erica regarding goods manufactured overseas, but did not respond to her concerns regarding offering plastic, and plastic packaged items.

As a mother, I know that my children inevitable beg for souvenirs, and I choose to offer them consumable or other responsible choices.
Sometimes, however, others buy my children souvenirs – often plastic figurines, key chains or “tchatchka”.
These items are discarded fairly quickly and we both know that, tragically, they end up in landfill or in our oceans, poisoning and choking wildlife for the next 575 years.

As a health practitioner, I help many men and women who struggle with endocrine disruption, another deadly impact of plastics consumption, as the chemicals pre and post consumer enter our water table and foods.

I beg you to revitalize your mission and develop a new vision for your gift shop – one that develops local, environmentally responsible goods. An artist friend of mine crafts clay figures and pendant reproductions for the Royal Ontario Museum. Developing similar, local relationships and rejecting conventional plastic “souvenirs” could enhance your relationship to the community and to our world.

Sincerely,

—
Tracey TieF
Certified Natural Health Practitioner
anarreshealth@gmail.com
http://www.anarreshealth.ca

DIY Natural Cleaning Party!
Thursday, June 12, 5:30 to 7:30 pm
True Human Rights Action Centre, 624 Yonge Street, 2nd fl. above Green is Black

Cost: Suggested donation of $10, plus $5 per product you come home with. RSVP.

TRUE Human Rights Centre is hosting a Do-It-Yourself green cleaning party in partnership with Anarres Natural Health and Women’s Voices for the Earth. You’ll go home with your very own set of easy-to-make cleaning products (plus recipes) that have been tested for effectiveness and are good for your health and the environment!

Bring empty spritzer and squeeze bottles for yourself and to share.

Mr. Fischer’s response to Erica Etelson’s excellent letter reminds me of the meeting you attended at the law firm where Michael works, which was on the subject of the negative effects of the disposal of plastic water bottles on the environment, and where plastic bottles of water were served to the attendees.

That sentence was not easy to write.

If you would rather mail a letter than send an email, here is the address:

Andrew Fischer
General Manager of Merchandising
Monterey Bay Aquarium
866 Cannery Row
Monterey, CA 93040

I will post it on the actual blog entry as soon as Blogger decides to cooperate. It’s giving me fits today.

I have also visited the aquarium and and left with disbelief at the marketing and the Food!!! It was terrible, low quality, over packaged junk. I was so bummed that in an area with a long growing season and TONS of local organics, that they wouldn’t offer a more local-fare. That being said, I certainly didn’t write and letter and I think that I will now. I wonder if offering a photograph or something of the like would be good enough for people set on purchasing crap from the gift shop? It doesn’t make sense to sell any of that stuff and even the recycled items come with a cost that doesn’t seem worth it in the name conservation…thinking while typing, obviously.

Thanks for posting the letter – what a great model – hopefully we can all adopt the language and become proactive in our own neighborhoods (which, for me, includes all the Smithsonian museums)….

She’s very articulate. I don’t think Andrew really gets it – he’s not thinking green. Erica makes an excellent point about foregoing the entitlement to cheap products whose manufacture may damage the environment or be bad for the workers.

Andrew just seems to be focused on “not made in the USA.”

I’d like to write a letter, too – being a big fan of the M-bay Aquarium… but I’m not sure exactly how to go about it.

Thoughts?

What about making those plush toys, etc from recycled plastic? The more that we push the market for recycled plastic, the more profitable recycling plastic becomes, the more people do it. Currently the only thing that is profitable to recycle is aluminum. We have to start pushing the other markets I think.

The only thing I disagree about is the books. I wouldn’t be opposed to more expensive books so that they can be made using recycled paper, but I wouldn’t support fewer books if that’s not possible. Because while I think the impact of a keychain is fairly limited, the impact of a book can go beyond its carbon emissions.