How Green Is a Nudist Vacation?

[Danee]

From: http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/24/is-nudism-a-green-vacation/

A naked surfer on San Onofre State Beach in California.



With summer upon us, how many green vacationers' fancies will turn to thoughts of nudism?

Going without clothes on beaches and other vacation spots is commonly called naturism — a description that implies helping the planet, as some practitioners claim to be doing.

Spending more time with nothing on stems waste and pollution in all sorts of ways, according to an article by Kathy Blanchard on The Naturist Society's Web site.

"Living more hours naked each day results in a dramatic drop in my laundry, which in turn reduces my water and energy use (along with my related bills)," Ms. Blanchard wrote. "It also reduces the amount of soap I release, in my case, into the Puget Sound."

She also advocates naturist holidays — staying close to home wherever possible, to cut down on fuel usage — but sometimes traveling to places where it is possible to leave the car behind and backpack or paddle naked into the wild.

"For those few days, we use virtually no fuel, our diet is minimal with low ecological impact, and we return healthier," she wrote, adding that the "trips are coolly green clothes-free vacations."

Where to go? France is already a top destination for "textilists" (a term some naturists use to describe clothes-wearers) but also seems to be one of the most appealing spots for vacationing in the buff. According to the tourist authority in the Aquitaine region on the French Atlantic coast, " 'green' naturism is growing fast in popularity."

Of the 1.5 million people who practice naturism in France, nearly a third come to Aquitaine, while "foreign naturists" account for more than half of vacationers in the centers and campsites across the region. (Presumably their fossil fuel use in transportation could cancel any climate benefits of going clothes-free.)

In the Swiss Alps, nude hiking in winter seems to be a growing phenomenon — although some locals are trying to outlaw the practice, as my colleague John Tagliabue wrote this year.

The prospect of winter raises another issue: for people going without clothes, global warming may have a fringe benefit. Michael Hewitt says in an article in the article in The Independent that a few nudists seem happy that the demise of winter may be in the offing. However, others may side with groups like EcoNudes, which believes that living in the buff has "a positive effect on global warming, climate change and society."

[joeyn]

Interesting story, Danee!

Since most of us still wear clothes to go to work, I doubt there is much less laundry. But perhaps we use less on vacation. As a teacher, off for the summer, however, I do have less laundry. I frequently wear nothing at home and only put on clothes when going outside, sometimes, I only wear clothes for a couple hours a day in summer.  That means I can wear the same shorts and tshirts (if they don't get sweaty) two days in a row.

What does everyone else think?
Joey

[Nude_not_rude]

Definitely on my days off work, I don't dress unless going out or having visitors. I can go days without putting on a stitch of clothing, so yes definitely less laundry and associated by-products. Sure going to a nude holiday uses fuels etc like for any other holiday but once you are there......

I've never heard of Aquitaine, but if a third of the French naturist community think it's the place to be, then I gotta check it out. Anyone been there??

[Hamish]

Definitely on my days off work, I don't dress unless going out or having visitors. I can go days without putting on a stitch of clothing, so yes definitely less laundry and associated by-products. Sure going to a nude holiday uses fuels etc like for any other holiday but once you are there......

I've never heard of Aquitaine, but if a third of the French naturist community think it's the place to be, then I gotta check it out. Anyone been there??

Aquitaine is a region of France. It is in the south west part of the country and there are many naturist beaches and camping resorts there:

https://www.google.ie/maps/search/naturist,+France/@44.4834435,-2.2561993,8z/data=!3m1!4b1


I think that the 'green' aspect of some naturist resorts is something that should be used to promote their business. People in general appear to be trying to live more environmentally friendly or at least there is more awareness of the need to live more respectfully to the environment I think. By highlighting the naturist lifestyle as being less harmful to the environment, some people are more likely to consider trying it out for themselves.

[robbington]

I reuse my pants for work. If I didn't spill food on them or go out drinking after work, I'll hang them back up as soon as I get home. I do wash shirts because of the deodorant, though. Doing this has greatly cut my laundry loads down.

[kb2001]

I'm not really buying it. I still wear clothes when I run or go outside. My running shorts still have to be washed pretty much every time I use them. We have towels and sheets on most of the furniture and my mom washes them a lot. When I sleep naked all my sweat and other stuff goes on the sheets so I wash them more. I usually take more showers too. When I'm nude for the whole day I like to be especially clean so 3 showers is pretty normal.

[robbington]

I'm not really buying it. I still wear clothes when I run or go outside. My running shorts still have to be washed pretty much every time I use them. We have towels and sheets on most of the furniture and my mom washes them a lot. When I sleep naked all my sweat and other stuff goes on the sheets so I wash them more. I usually take more showers too. When I'm nude for the whole day I like to be especially clean so 3 showers is pretty normal.

3 showers A DAY? That's a bit excessive in my opinion, but it's your life.

[kb2001]

In the summer it's pretty standard for me. I've been running with a friend at 6:00 and we both have to take a shower after that. That's when I mostly scrub and get clean. We're starting football now so we have 2 workouts a day. Before I go to bed I rinse off too. That's summer anyway. Winter is a lot less.