Green Shelley

Those who know me know that I'm a bit of a greenie. Even though doing drag is not very environmentally friendly - I'm the first to admit - I do try to do the right thing all the other times. (Hence being an environmentalist and a vegetarian.)

I face an interesting conundrum every time I think about who I am as a person. It's a bit of a fight between ying and yang, the environmentally conscious mind against the environmentally unfriendly job.

Its hard to find a "natural" sequin or pantyhose for a start, and many fabrics made (that a drag queen would use for costumes that is) are more often than not made with polyester right the way through them.

Think of the all the polyester is a single wig too! Yes, I could get human hair wigs, but any queen who has ever explored that option quickly learns better - we don't get paid anywhere near enough to buy some of those wigs!

And as for makeup, well it's been difficult to find any earth-friendly products. Most have a chemical list as long as your arm, and those that are promising to be the most natural, don't do much in making a boy into as good-a-looking girl as possible.

So for the moment I'll have to stick to paper, can, plastic and glass recycling.

One thing to really make a difference is cutting back on plastic bags when shopping, and looking for packaging that's recyclable. My boyfriend and I even changed yoghurt brands just so we could recycle the container! (The City of Sydney Council doesn't recycle "Ski" plastic containers or Icecream containers... Mental note: Write an email to Lord Mayor, Clover Moore about that one.)

Anyways, anyone who has any info on environmentally friendly drag items is welcome to contact me via my webpage, as I would love to hear from you.

Until then, please remember to think about the cigarette butts you may through on the ground, the drink bottle you may leave in the park, or the packaging you buy when shopping. Every little thought really does go a long way to slowing down the damage we do to the earth.