--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Imagine walking into a grocery there is a…" description: "\"Imagine walking into a grocery there is a jar sitting there with a lid on it saying it's not carbon. That is ridiculous. It's an empty jar.\" — William ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/william-mcdonough-10055_carbon_imagine-walking-into-a-grocery-there-is_799399.png" --- # Imagine walking into a grocery there is a jar sitting… ![“Imagine walking into a grocery there is a jar sitting there with a lid on it saying it's not carbon. That is ridiculous. It's an empty jar.” quote by William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/william-mcdonough-10055_carbon_imagine-walking-into-a-grocery-there-is_799399.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/william-mcdonough-10055_carbon_imagine-walking-into-a-grocery-there-is_799399.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/026/william-mcdonough-10055_carbon_imagine-walking-into-a-grocery-there-is_799399.png) > “Imagine walking into a grocery there is a jar sitting there with a lid on it saying it's not carbon. That is ridiculous. It's an empty jar.” [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Uses a metaphor of a mislabeled jar to critique greenwashing and superficial sustainability claims. **In simple terms:** Empty claims of sustainability are absurd. Key Takeaway Demand genuine environmental practices. Themes sustainability greenwashing authenticity design Mood critical inquisitive Type environmental educational When to use this quote - consumer advocacy - corporate policy - design reviews Key Concepts environmental ethics marketing product labeling Questions to Reflect On - How can consumers verify true sustainability? - What responsibilities do designers have? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Carbon Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-ridiculous-4301185/) [Empty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/empty/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Groceries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/groceries/) [Grocery Jar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grocery-jar-6124190/) [Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine/) [Jars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jars/) [Ridiculous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous/) [Ridiculous Jar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ridiculous-jar-6124191/) [Saying Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saying-carbon-6124192/) [Sitting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sitting/) [Walking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/walking/) ## Related quotes > [All these corporate reports say they want zero carbon. Well that is ridiculous, because you are not telling us what you are, you are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/all-these-corporate-reports-say-they-want-zero-carbon-well-that-is/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [It's too early for there to be any coffee. I stare dully at the empty pot in the common room, while Sam picks up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-black/it-s-too-early-for-there-to-be-any-coffee-i-stare-dully-at-the-empty/) [Holly Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-black/) > [because wherever I sat—on the deck of a ship or at a street café in Paris or Bangkok—I would be sitting under the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-plath/because-wherever-i-sat-on-the-deck-of-a-ship-or-at-a-street-caf-in/) [Sylvia Plath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-plath/) > [“Touch her, and I'll freeze your testicles off and put them in a jar. Understand?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-kagawa/touch-her-and-i-ll-freeze-your-testicles-off-and-put-them-in-a-jar/) [Julie Kagawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-kagawa/) > [If your calling is media, if your calling is media, fine, if your calling is sports, whatever it is, but you've gotta be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-drudge/if-your-calling-is-media-if-your-calling-is-media-fine-if-your/) [Matt Drudge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-drudge/) > [There is no night life in Spain. They stay up late but they get up late. That is not night life. That is delaying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-is-no-night-life-in-spain-they-stay-up-late-but-they-get-up/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [It's like a jar of salad dressing sitting on a shelf... most of the seasoning settles to the bottom of the bottle. But when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/it-s-like-a-jar-of-salad-dressing-sitting-on-a-shelf-most-of-the/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [Everyone knows I drink a lot of Diet Coke, so...I drink chocolate milk after races as my recovery drink, and you won't ever find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristin-armstrong/everyone-knows-i-drink-a-lot-of-diet-coke-so-i-drink-chocolate-milk/) [Kristin Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristin-armstrong/) > [Albert and I would spend hours and hours looking at them. Cleo had this big magnifying glass on his desk, and we'd find centipedes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/albert-and-i-would-spend-hours-and-hours-looking-at-them-cleo-had/) [Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/) > [we cannot break a law of eternal justice, however ignorantly, but throughout the entire universe will there be a jar of discord that will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-saunders-cushman/we-cannot-break-a-law-of-eternal-justice-however-ignorantly-but/) [Charlotte Saunders Cushman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-saunders-cushman/) > [What you call disorder is nothing else than one of the laws of the order you comprehend not and which you have erroneously named…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marquis-de-sade/what-you-call-disorder-is-nothing-else-than-one-of-the-laws-of-the/) [Marquis de Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marquis-de-sade/) > [The Sins of Scripture is an interesting title; most people don't put sins and scripture together in the same title. It jars people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-shelby-spong/the-sins-of-scripture-is-an-interesting-title-most-people-don-t-put/) [John Shelby Spong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-shelby-spong/) > [How much more of the mosque, of prayer and fasting? Better go drunk and begging round the taverns. Khayyam, drink wine, for soon this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-khayy-m/how-much-more-of-the-mosque-of-prayer-and-fasting-better-go-drunk-and/) [Omar Khayyam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-khayy-m/) > [If a sudden jar can cause me to speak an impatient, unloving word, then I know nothing of Calvary love. For a cup brimful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-carmichael/if-a-sudden-jar-can-cause-me-to-speak-an-impatient-unloving-word-then/) [Amy Carmichael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-carmichael/) > [The Dutch look like a huge jar of marmalade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-davies/the-dutch-look-like-a-huge-jar-of-marmalade/) [Barry Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-davies/) ## More by William McDonough > [Honor commerce as the engine of change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/honor-commerce-as-the-engine-of-change/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [I am very focused on large-scale deployments of renewable power and how we're going to get this done. Imagine our military bases covered with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-am-very-focused-on-large-scale-deployments-of-renewable-power-and/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [You don't filter smokestacks or water. Instead, you put the filter in your head and design the problem out of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/you-don-t-filter-smokestacks-or-water-instead-you-put-the-filter-in/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [If design is the first signal of human intention.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/if-design-is-the-first-signal-of-human-intention/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [ You need that same creative force that exists in a building like Disney \[Walt Disney Concert Hall\] to actually tackle that most prosaic of… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/you-need-that-same-creative-force-that-exists-in-a-building-like/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [And to use something as elegant as a tree? Imagine this design assignment: Design something that makes oxygen, sequesters carbon, fixes nitrogen, distills water,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/and-to-use-something-as-elegant-as-a-tree-imagine-this-design/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [I'd so much rather have exciting architecture that causes one to stop, breathe, and reflect on the potential of the human mind, the craft,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-d-so-much-rather-have-exciting-architecture-that-causes-one-to-stop/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [To eliminate the concept of waste means to design things-products, packaging, and systems-from the very beginning on the understanding that waste does not exist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/to-eliminate-the-concept-of-waste-means-to-design-things-products/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [We are not a green standard, we are a quality standard. We're different, we're multi dimensional.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/we-are-not-a-green-standard-we-are-a-quality-standard-we-re-different/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [Don't get me wrong: I love nuclear energy! It's just that I prefer fusion to fission. And it just so happens that there's an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/don-t-get-me-wrong-i-love-nuclear-energy-it-s-just-that-i-prefer/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [If anybody here has trouble with the concept of design humility, reflect on this: It took us 5,000 years to put wheels on our luggage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/if-anybody-here-has-trouble-with-the-concept-of-design-humility/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [The problem I have with carbon as a bad thing issue, is that people go out and say they want to be zero carbon.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/the-problem-i-have-with-carbon-as-a-bad-thing-issue-is-that-people-go/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [If you don't have an end game of something delightful, you're just moving chess pieces around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/if-you-don-t-have-an-end-game-of-something-delightful-you-re-just/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [“Ultimately a regulation is a signal of design failure...it is what we call a license to harm: a permit issued by a government to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/ultimately-a-regulation-is-a-signal-of-design-failure-it-is-what-we/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) > [I just think it is so delightful to see people, let their elbows free. I think the exuberance of it all is really exciting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcdonough/i-just-think-it-is-so-delightful-to-see-people-let-their-elbows-free/) [William McDonough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) [Explore all 68 William McDonough quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcdonough/) ## More Carbon quotes > [Windmills and solar cells are carbon-free sources of electricity. But they are costly. If you've been investing in those, give it up. That game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-fisher/windmills-and-solar-cells-are-carbon-free-sources-of-electricity-but/) [Kenneth Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-fisher/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The brightest and most valuable diamond started life as just a lump of carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dilger/the-brightest-and-most-valuable-diamond-started-life-as-just-a-lump/) [Peter Dilger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dilger/) > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I love being a carbon molecule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-trussell/i-love-being-a-carbon-molecule/) [Duncan Trussell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-trussell/) > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) [Marc Morano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-morano/) > [Each year we pump at least six billion tons of heat-trapping carbon into the innermost layer of our atmosphere, whose outer extent is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-gelbspan/each-year-we-pump-at-least-six-billion-tons-of-heat-trapping-carbon/) [Ross Gelbspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-gelbspan/) > [If every country committed to spending 0.05 per cent of GDP on researching non-carbon-emitting energy technologies, that would cost $25 billion a year, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bjorn-lomborg/if-every-country-committed-to-spending-0-05-per-cent-of-gdp-on/) [Bjorn Lomborg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bjorn-lomborg/) > [We're full of electricity, and the walls and floor of a building contain carbon - the same makeup as a video tape - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-james/we-re-full-of-electricity-and-the-walls-and-floor-of-a-building/) [Peter James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-james/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [“Steven Apfelbaum, a restoration ecologist in Wisconsin, says that every 1 percent increase in soil carbon holds an additional sixty thousand gallons of water…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-d-schwartz/steven-apfelbaum-a-restoration-ecologist-in-wisconsin-says-that-every/) [Judith D. Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-d-schwartz/) > [I want to break up the Wall Street banks. Hillary Clinton doesn't. I want to raise the minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/i-want-to-break-up-the-wall-street-banks-hillary-clinton-doesn-t-i/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I also think that if you want to put a price on carbon, why not just do it with a simple tax? Why not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/i-also-think-that-if-you-want-to-put-a-price-on-carbon-why-not-just/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [If you want to make a substantial reduction in your carbon footprint, doing it on your own is virtually impossible, especially if you're driving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/if-you-want-to-make-a-substantial-reduction-in-your-carbon-footprint/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [Jesus was not born on December 25th. There's carbon evidence of it. That freaks people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-skiba/jesus-was-not-born-on-december-25th-there-s-carbon-evidence-of-it/) [Matt Skiba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-skiba/) [Browse all 812 Carbon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Imagine walking into a grocery there is a jar sitting there with a lid on it saying it's not carbon. That is ridiculous. 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