stock here: seen on Facebook
Here’s the full, classic version of the “Green Thing” story—often titled “We Didn’t Have the ‘Green Thing’ Back in Our Day”. It’s shared widely and underscores how older generations lived sustainably long before “going green” was a trend:
Full Text: “The Green Thing”
We didn’t have the “green thing” back then…
Yesterday at the supermarket checkout, a young cashier suggested to a much older lady that she should bring her own shopping bags because plastic bags aren’t good for the environment. The woman apologized and said, “We didn’t have this ‘green thing’ back in my earlier days.” The young clerk replied, “That’s our problem today. Your generation did not care enough to save our environment for future generations.”
She sighed and said he was right—“Our generation didn’t have the ‘green thing’ in its day.” Then she continued:
Reusable bottles: Back then, we returned milk, soda, and beer bottles to the store. They were sent back to the plant to be washed, sterilized, and refilled—truly recycled. But we didn’t have the “green thing” back then.
Paper bags reused: Grocery stores packaged groceries in brown paper bags that we reused for many things. Most memorable was using them to cover school books—to protect public property and personalize it with our own art. Too bad we didn’t do the “green thing” back then.
Walking vs. driving: We walked up stairs because escalators weren’t in every store or office. We walked to the grocery store instead of getting into a 300‑horsepower car for two blocks. But she was right—we didn’t have the “green thing.”
Reusable diapers & solar drying: We washed baby diapers since disposable diapers didn’t exist. We dried clothes on a line, not with energy-guzzling dryers—wind and solar did the job. Kids wore hand-me-down clothes from siblings, not always brand-new. But again, no “green thing” back then.
One TV/radio per home: There was one TV or radio in the house—not one in every room. Screens were small—handkerchief-sized, not football-pitch sized. We blended and stirred by hand—no electric mixers. We packed fragile items in old newspapers, not Styrofoam. We mowed lawns with push mowers powered by human energy and got exercise by working—not by using treadmills at health clubs. Still no “green thing.”
Fountains, refillable pens, and blades: We drank from fountains or taps instead of plastic bottles. We refilled pens with ink and replaced razor blades instead of tossing the entire razor. Still, no “green thing.”
Public transport & minimal gadgets: We took buses or streetcars. Kids rode bikes or walked to school, not turning moms into 24-hour taxi services with SUVs costing as much as a house. There was one electrical outlet per room—not banks of sockets to power dozens of gadgets. And we didn’t need space-age tech to locate the nearest leisure park. But why lament our so-called wastefulness when we never had the “green thing”?