Californication

Why is California so far advanced from the rest of the country???

I've been office chair shopping. It's a real challenge trying to find a comfortable chair, let alone a non-toxic chair. Yeah, I could probably spend thousands of dollars on a chair and get perfection. Or not. Spending lots of money doesn't guarantee safety from chemicals. It just guarantees poverty.

Last week I found this incredibly comfortable chair, but I worried about the "faux leather" upholstery and the cushy seating. I was pretty sure it was made from 100% petrochemicals, stuffed with poisonous foam, and seasoned with a generous supply of toxic plastic, but the floor model didn't stink. My unrealistic positive attitude and relentless hopefulness is a recipe for brain dead-ness.

So I go back to the store to buy it today hoping to use my soon-to-expire coupon which will make it even cheaper, but the floor model is gone. They have a new one still in the box just delivered. OK. This will work. This WILL work. THIS WILL WORK. I chant because I'm confident the universe will hear me and grant me perfection and serenity. And I know if I don't chant I'll come to my senses. But I don't want sensibility! I want a new chair!

I start to load the box into my van and I see the warning sticker on top of the box:

Granted, these chemicals are only in California, right? These chemicals must be perfectly harmless in the remainder states of the un-United States. Thankfully, this warning brought me back to my senses just in the nick of time. I couldn't argue with the black and white. I carted the box back into the store and returned the chair.

Maybe if consumers refuse to buy or return merchandise made with toxic materials, it'll stop being made? But without safe alternatives, for now we don't have much choice.

I am thankful for the powers-that-be in California who are looking out for the rest of society.