What to do when things go cheesy

For the feature, I thought I had such a great idea. My topic was new, interesting, and I was truly intrigued by it. Bamboo and its many uses fascinated me.

But alas, as most "good ideas" of mine, it's turning into a flop.

I guess it's always hard when you picture exactly what you want -- down to the storyboard and images and people you want to talk to -- and slowly but surely transforms into something totally different.

It started when I tried to contact Allyson Lewis, fashion designer and creator of Ta/nin clothing line. The e-mail kept getting bounced back and her phone number was now a call centre. I tried contacting the Gill Deacon show, where I saw Lewis, to try to get her updated contact info, but to no avail.

Then I contacted Linda Lundstrom who has a Spring/Summer 2007 line made from bamboo. I called and left messages, but no reply. I called and got through to a receptionist, who transferred me to Ms. Lundstrom's executive assistant, who asked me to e-mail the questions I wanted to ask, and she would "find the most suitable person" to answer them. Upon no reply, I followed up with e-mails and phone calls only to develop quite the relationship with her voicemail.

Next came Grassroots, a store which offers environmentally friendly products. After talking to two store managers, I was then transferred to its product buyer, who informed me that at this time, Grassroots does not have any bamboo products in stock, and that she didn't know when they were going to get any.

OK, so I trucked over to Eaton Centre with my Merantz and talked to sales reps at Roots, Lululemon and La Senza, all of which carry something made with bamboo or organic materials. With the exception of Lululemon, the girls I talked to basically reread what was on the label. But they were all sure to inform me of the said company's "goal to promote environmentally friendly products."

If these new lines of environmental clothing don't do well in sales this year, I wonder if these said companies will still be promoting environmentally friendly products.

And it was so hard to get them to let me take some pictures. Roots recorded down my student ID and said I could "only take a few," watching me with eagle eyes as I did. I still took more than I think they wanted me to, but definitely not as much as I wanted. La Senza didn't allow me one.

What was next for me? Canadian Flooring (for bamboo flooring), WWF, Greenpeace, Environment Canada, any environmentalist, and THC, the Toronto Hemp Company.

Out of all that, no responses, except for a pretty good price for bamboo flooring. Actually, the owner of THC promised he would get back to me so I'm still waiting for his reply.

What is a student journalist to do?