My New Flame: A Vintage Zippo Lighter
By Jenn (TinyChoices.com) | October 22, 2009
Ya’ll are the first to share in my excitement: I just won a vintage Zippo lighter on eBay!
It’s kind of a funny thing for me to be excited about, seeing as how I don’t smoke…
But I do have things in my home which occasionally need to be lit: candles, incense, the stovetop when the pilot light goes out. On those situations I’d rely on free packs of branded matches which I’d take from restaurants, or on a cheapo disposable plastic lighter which would appear like magic in my life, since I didn’t ever buy them. Two things happened which made me realize that this was an area which warranted tiny choosing:
- A dear friend sent me the link to Chris Jordan’s website, which features a series of photographs (click the”Midway” link) taken in the gigantic plastic gyre, also known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. He photographed dead seabirds, splayed out on the sand and in various states of decomposition. All of the dead birds had bellies full of plastic objects, and the most common of the identifiable bits were disposable plastic lighters. Oh, my god. The very object I used to light candles could potentially end up inside the gullet of a bird, in a spinning liquid garbage patch twice the size of Texas/the U.S., depending on which statistic you read.
- My plastic lighters then died, which left me with the matchbooks. As I tore out the matches (made of paper sticks), I realized I was using a disposable product; this made me think about reusable lighters, and I suddenly realized they were a useful item for all households and not just those of smokers.
And thus it was that I found myself on eBay, bidding on a vintage lighter with a beautiful engraving of leaves. I fell in love with it and placed my bid in the last five seconds (shoot, now you know my secret technique), and can’t wait to receive it in the mail! But now I’m wondering: what is lighter fluid made from, and is there an even more eco way to start a flame?
To be continued, apparently…
Topics: Home, Waste | 10 Comments »
Hmm, i would’ve thought that matchbooks make less waste than the bottle used to package the lighter fluid? Especially seeing as how this isn’t like some countries where you can bring your own bottle for a refill (I used to buy vegetable oil this way in West Africa). But the lighter sure is pretty (and I’m intrigued by the crazy reflection). Congrats on your win!
You know, I’m not sure if matchbooks or lighter fluid wins out. On one hand you have deforestation, paper production, ink manufacture & printing, and shipping of all involved materials. On the other hand you have a metal container full of some kind of refined petroleum product.
But my Zippo does win in the pretty category! So at least there’s that.
Congratulations for getting a cool lighter. Here are some other choices on capturing fire:
1. Steal it from Zeus like Prometheus did.
2. Bang flint and iron together for a spark.
3. Rub 2 sticks together like the Boy Scouts.
4. Use a magnifying glass to concentrate a beam of light.
5. Wait for a lightening strike.
I think you might want to stick with your refillable lighter.
I think I’ll invoke Zeus the next time I need to light some incense. Will let you know how that works out…
Another consideration for using your lighter instead of matches is child labor in India and Pakistan. Children as young as 4 years old are sent to make matches and fireworks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zt6YLUnWCsc
[...] written all about it, but when I went back to our archives there wasn’t much at all – Jenn described the gyre in this recent post, but after having sent an email to all of my loved ones back in April 2007 full of gruesome links, [...]
The World Famous Zippo® Guarantee Any Zippo metal product, when returned to our factory will be put in first class condition free of charge, for we have yet to charge a cent for the repair of a Zippo metal product, regardless of age or condition. The finish, however, is not guaranteed. This guarantee gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which vary from state to state. “It works or we fix it for free”?
The World Famous Zippo® Guarantee Any Zippo metal product, when returned to our factory will be put in first class condition free of charge, for we have yet to charge a cent for the repair of a Zippo metal product, regardless of age or condition. The
[...] her post, “My New Flame: A Vintage Zippo Lighter,” Jenn extols the virtues of the vintage refillable metal lighter she bought on eBay. Arguing [...]
[...] in October I crowed about my new lighter, a vintage Zippo which I won on eBay. I was psyched to finally remove disposable plastic lighters [...]