Ideal Bite

Working at Ideal Bite has ruined me forever. I can no longer shop like a normal person. I fret over purchases – dresses made in China (the shipping CO2! the sweatshops!), fabrics that aren't sustainable (just cotton? Not organic, bamboo, hemp, modal, or tencel?), and shoes and bags made of leather (more water-wasting, methane-gas-spewing cows – argh!).

But I can't really blame my job for my neurosis…it all started when I watched Annie Leonard's The Story of Stuff. It's so simple – why do we (I) fall for last season's wedges, then this season's chunky heels? Or last season's skinny jeans, then this season's boyfriend jeans? Or $2 million worth of Hermes Birkin bags?

Despite my shopping anxiety (and its inevitable blow to the economy, sigh…), there is a silver lining: By not shopping for stuff I don't really need I can spend it on things like the best sustainable Mexican food I've ever tasted, donations to help abused farm animals, offsetting my four domestic flights this summer, or even taking more trips outside the foggy, cold SF summer in a fuel-efficient Zipcar. I may not look cute doing it, but at least there's no buyer's remorse.

-Senior Editor Theresa…off to feel OK spending her hard-earned cash…