Bakersfield is certainly not known for being a particularly eco-friendly place. There are not many places for environmentally conscious people to shop like there is in other cities. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t some Bakersfield residents who care about being “green.”
Kathryn Burnett, 19, considers herself environmentally conscious. She does not eat meat, and she uses eco-friendly products like dish soap. She also drives a “green car” that does not put out emissions.? She mostly buys secondhand clothing and has a recycling bin at her house. She also eats mostly organic food and believes that it “tastes cleaner.”
“We have very limited resources,” she said. “I feel better. I feel like I’m making a conscious effort to maintain what we have.”
Unfortunately for Burnett and others like her, there are not many places to get what is needed to live “green.”
“I try to shop locally as much as possible, so I do most of my shopping at Green Frog Market. If there’s something that I need that they don’t carry, I’ll go to Lassens if I can afford it,” Burnett said. “Unfortunately, though, our local shops don’t have everything I need or want. So, about once a month, I end up taking a trip to a Whole Foods store in L.A. It’d be really nice if we had one here.”
Melanie Garza, 21, agrees that Bakersfield needs a Whole Foods store and likens it to Trader Joe’s “but bigger and better.” Garza is a vegetarian who also makes efforts to live as environmentally friendly as possible.
“I don’t consider myself ‘green,'” she said. “I just try to be aware of what I eat and use.”
For those in Bakersfield looking to be environmentally conscious beyond organic food and products, the new store Fresh & Green on Meany Avenue offers organic clothing, body care products and pet products, as well as many other products. Co-owners Sasha Windes and Jennifer Jordan opened the store in June to create awareness and to see if anyone came. They were surprised at how many people showed up.
“There are only so much resources for our planet. We need to start paying attention,” Windes said. “One of our mottos is this: ‘My kids need a place to live.'”
A problem with the few stores in town that do cater to organic needs is the price. Most organic food and products cost a lot more than their inorganic counterparts.
“The downside of completely green stores is that the average person can’t afford their products. I want to buy all organic and green clothes, but I can’t afford $70 for a shirt,” Burnett said. “It would be really great if there were more affordable options for the average greenie.”
Burnett believes what Bakersfield really needs is a place for “greenies” to meet up and discuss environmentally friendly places and products.
“I think it’d be really cool if there was a community resource center that had local happenings and shops that cater to this lifestyle,” she said. “Because there are so many organizations that promote green living, but so few people know about it.”