Halloween on the Green Side

October 25, 2011 by 1 Comment

HFCS-free brain lolipop and single origin, fair trade chocolate

Halloween can be as green as any other day. By making some simple changes in your holiday traditions you can reduce waste, plastic and damage to the environment.

One thing you can do is start a costume swap. Talk to your friends and your children’s friends. This weekend would be a great time to do a last minute costume exchange, especially for all those procrastinators like me. While you’re doing a costume swap, maybe do a decoration swap as well. You might be sick of some of your older decorations, but someone else may love them.

Instead of the high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) candy, how about candy made from real, cane sugar. Along those same lines look for candy and chocolate with organic ingredients. If you’re investing in good chocolate you can also seek out single origin and fair trade. All those things make for a more eco-friendly and socially conscious way to treat.

Make decorations from things that might otherwise wind up in the landfull. This kind of decor is called upcycled or recycled. These decorations reduce waste and plastic use. Plus, reusing something takes less energy than recycling an item due to the energy use involved in recycling. Although recycling still takes less energy than making something from a virgin, mined source.

If you use candles, swap out the petroleum-based candles for soy or beeswax candles. Beeswax candles burn cleaner and slower  than the petroleum-based candles. The soy and beeswax candles also produce less indoor air pollution.

If you do even a few of these suggestions you’ll be on your way to having a more sustainable Halloween. I’m sure you can think of other ways to green your Halloween. Feel free to post those ideas here or on my Facebook page.

Have a Happy Halloween.

Filed Under: Environment, Holiday, Organic, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse, Sustainability, Upcycled Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

Back-to-School in a Green Way

August 12, 2011 by 2 Comments

Image courtesy of Naked Binder

Parents and kids are starting to wander around stores with lists and glazed eyes, yes, back-to-school is in the air. As a parents, there are days I look forward to BTS, but being a student myself, I also dread it.

The down side of BTS is the cost and the long list of less than eco-friendly supply requirements. Each year I struggle to find green products to replace the vinyl laden, plastic filled things. I have some suggestions to green that list. I also have a few websites that may help you if you can’t find green substitutes for the traditional requirements in your town.

1. Recycled paper instead of virgin-sourced paper. Try to get as close to 100 percent recycled, post-consumer paper as you can in notebooks, folders, loose leaf paper and printer paper.

2. Seek out recycled content plastic products in scissors, rulers, pencil boxes, and binders.

3. Mine your old junk drawers for items that can be reused, like last year’s scissors and ruler.

4. Try to find crayons made with beeswax or soy instead of petroleum.

5. Look for pens, markers and highlighters made from recycled plastic.

6. There are pencils made from old denim, recycled newspaper and FSC-certified wood products.

7. Pack a waste-free lunch.

8. Avoid nasty vinyl products like binders and cheap, nearly disposable, backpacks.

9. Invest in quality and, even better, recycled content backpacks.

10. Spread the green, waste-free message at your child’s school.

Image courtesy of Reuseit

Naked Binder carries eco-friendly binders, tabs and folders.

The Ultimate Green Store carries eco-friendly school supplies and waste-free lunch items.

Reuseit carries all sorts of sustainable products ranging from reusable water bottles, waste-free lunch products to eco office supplies and reusable shopping bags.

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Green Dads are Great Dads

June 2, 2011 by Leave a Comment

Image courtesy of Reuseit

With Father’s Day approaching it is time to find a gift for that favorite man in your life, your dad. Why not look for a present that says how much you love your dad, and how great he is. A dad that cares about going green is a truly great dad. Why? It means he cares about his children’s and grandchildren’s future, and what kind of environment he is leaving for them.

There are some very cool and manly green gifts out there; everything from techy items to sleek reuseables. There are some surprising green gifts such as eco-friendly sporting goods. Here is a short list, but I’m sure with some digging on your own, you can find more.

Courtesy of Thinksound

1. Thinksport Thermal Bottle- sleek and cool or hot.

2. AT&T’s Zero Charger- only uses electricity when it’s charging, no vampire power consumption.

3. Bedol Water Powered Clock- a funky little clock that runs on water.

4. Thinksound ts02 Wood Headphones- an elegant headphone with a rich sound.

5. Mountainsmith Recycled Backpacks and Bags- from small biking packs to serious hiking packs.

6. Recycled Content Golf Balls- make that next golf outing a little greener.

7. Respect Footballs, Basketballs and Soccer Balls- eco and fair trade.

8. Reuseit Workhorse Recycled Bag in Charcoal Gray- compact and in cool colors like gray, black and silver.

9. Battery BOS from Roller Gen- charge a battery while riding a bike and then charge a phone or iPod.

10. EcoBike Electric Bike- people powered with battery backup for extra long trips.

Filed Under: Environment, Holiday, Recycling, Reduce and Reuse Tagged With: , , , , , ,

The Good, Bad and Ugly Paper Products Part 2

July 2, 2010 by Leave a Comment

I wanted to expand a bit more on what makes most paper products like napkins, toilet paper, paper towels and facial tissue not just bad, but downright ugly.  One of the bad things is the amount of energy and water used to make virgin paper products.  Here’s a quote I came across from the University of Colorado’s Environmental Center which states:

  • One ton of recycled paper saves 3,700 pounds of lumber and 24,000 gallons of water.
  • One ton of recycled paper uses: 64% less energy, 50% less water, 74% less air pollution, saves 17 trees and creates 5 times more jobs than one ton of paper products from virgin wood pulp.
  • Recycling 1 ton of paper saves 17 trees (35’ tall), 2 barrels of oil (enough fuel to run the average car for 1260 miles or from Dallas to Los Angeles), 4100 kilowatts of energy (enough power for the average home for 6 months), 3.2 cubic yards of landfill space (one family size pick-up truck) and 60 pounds of air pollution. (Trash to Cash, 1996)
  • It takes one 15-year old tree to produce half a box of paper. Use both sides of all paper. (Midpoint International)
  • Recycled paper saves 60% energy vs. virgin paper (Center for Ecological Technology

Wow!  That sort of puts things into perspective.  You are literally flushing trees and energy down your toilet along with water.  Not to mention the pollution going up in the air.  It is one thing to raise trees to cut down to build homes and make durable goods, but the make disposable goods out of trees really is downright ugly.  Plus there are good economic reasons to buy recycled, more jobs that are truly sustainable.

The other ugly part of most virgin paper is the bleaching process that is used. The chlorine bleaching process creates waste-water that contains hazardous organic compounds, one particularly nasty one is dioxin.  Dioxin has been associated with cancer, liver damage, endocrine disrupting, birth defects and a long list of bad things in studies.  You can read more about dioxin at this link Dioxin facts from the CDC.  There are other ways to bleach paper that don’t pose the health risks associated with chlorine bleaching; oxygen, hydrogen peroxide and ozone.  I hope this helped to explain more about the negative effects of non-recycled paper products.  I actually look for recycled paper in everything; greeting cards, stationary, calendars, copier paper, school notebooks, and folders.  The next time you are in need of any sort of paper product see if you can find it recycled.

University of Colorado Recycling Facts

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The Good, Bad and Ugly Paper Products

June 23, 2010 by 3 Comments

Some of you have heard this message from me before; if you’ve converted good for you, if not….well, isn’t it time you got on board?  What am I writing about?  Recycled toilet paper.  I know some of you are hold-outs due to the perception that recycled toilet paper isn’t soft or cushy enough.  I promise you, there are some very nice and cushy toilet papers out there now.  I’ve tried a number of brands, and the softest one I’ve come across so far is Trader Joe’s 100% recycled toilet paper.  It is 80% post-consumer waste and is bleached without toxic chlorine.  Marcal Small Steps is probably the next softest, but it only has 30% post-consumer waste in the 100% recycled paper, and is bleached without chlorine.  Green Forest  and Seventh Generation are tied for 3rd place in softness, both have greatly improved over the last few years.  Green Forest has 90% post-consumer waste, the highest of any toilet papers on the market, and Seventh Generation has 80% post-consumer.  Both these papers use an eco-friendly, non-chlorine bleaching process.  There are other toilet papers on the market, but I’ve not seen them where I live.  Greenpeace has an online, downloadable guide that rates the different paper products on the market.  It rates toilet paper, facial tissue, paper towels, and paper napkins.  Of course, most of those items could be replaced with cloth options, but if you have to use one of these in their paper form, then at least pick the most eco-friendly one you can.

One piece of good news is that Kimberly-Clark, maker of Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle has stopped cutting down old-growth forests for toilet paper and other paper products.  Yeah!!!  I wrote a satirical paper about toilet paper and old-growth forests.  I’m happy that the paper is obsolete, but it’s still a fun read.  If you haven’t read it, you can find it on my blog at The Poor Consumer and Their Toilet Paper.  If your reason for not buying recycled TP is cost, then consider this: if you replace your paper napkins and paper towels with cloth napkins and paper towel replacements like Skoy or Mü, you will save enough money to offset the slightly higher cost of recycled TP.  Remember, even though an old growth forest is not being cut down for toilet paper, doesn’t mean it’s not hard on the environment.  Does it make sense to cut down a tree for your hind end?  Turning trees into toilet paper uses massive amounts of energy and water.  Changing to recycled toilet paper is a choice you can feel good about, and it will reduce your Carbon Footprint.

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Eco Outdoor Furniture

June 18, 2010 by Leave a Comment

Summer is the time for many of us to really enjoy the outdoors.  I realize some parts of the country, and around the world, folks have nice weather most or all the year.  Where I live, the Upper Midwest, we have a short season to sit in the sun and relax in the outdoors, about 3 to 5 months, depending on if the weather cooperates.  We just got done with about two weeks of solid rain, so that took a big chunk out of our summer enjoyment.  I’m not saying there aren’t activities to enjoy in the winter, but those activities don’t typically involve sitting, unless it’s ice fishing.

Whether you have a few months or a whole year to enjoy on a deck or patio, what do you sit on?  Finding eco outdoor furniture is getting easier, but it is still challenging.  One of the most eco-friendly ways to furnish your outdoors is with second-hand furniture.  Garage, yard, or thrift sales are a great place to find pieces like that.  Sometimes the furniture needs some TLC and a fresh coat of paint, but sometimes it’s in perfect condition.  FreeCycle is another source for used items.  Look for a local Free Cycle in your area.  Don’t forget about Goodwill, Salvation Army and other second-hand stores.  If you’ve exhausted all your second-hand options and still haven’t found the right thing, there is new furniture available that is eco-friendly.

Polywood is a nice choice because it uses recycled plastic in its production, which keeps the plastic out of landfulls (yes, I wrote landfulls on purpose).  There are many colors and furniture styles to choose from.  Polywood lasts a long time and doesn’t need maintenance.  There are many, many sites to find polywood, just type it into a search engine.  Natural wood is a good choice, but you need to make sure the wood comes from a FSC certified or Rainforest Alliance certified site.  Teak, cedar, and eucalyptus are good for outdoor use and will last a long time.  The other plus with wood is that while it’s growing it is giving oxygen to the environment and providing habitat.  Aluminum and steel can also be eco choices as well.  They are both recyclable and often times contain recycled content.  If aluminum and steel are well made and cared for they can last for many years, steel and last a lifetime.  Recycled and upcycled materials are wonderful choices for outdoor furniture.  Remember, a coat of exterior paint can make many items suitable for outdoor use.

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More Green Gifts for Dad

June 13, 2010 by 1 Comment

Are you still looking for an eco-friendly gift for dad?  I’ve got a few more ideas.

1) A chess set made from recycled auto parts.  Nothing says manly like gear-head stuff and nothing says smart like a chess set.  This is the best of both worlds.  Auto parts chess set.

2) Recycle rubber basketball.  Wilson not only has a recycled content tennis bag, but they also have a recycled rubber basketball called the Wilson Rebound.

3) A recycled fabric golf bag by Wilson called the Wilson Staff Eco-Carry.

4) How about some organic beer.  This is a list of some organic beers from the North American Organic Brewers Festival.  Here in Wisconsin we have a fantastic local brewery called New Glarus Brewing that carries an organic brew Organic Revolution.

5) What about a recycled beer bottle to put his organic beer into.  The Green Glass Company makes glasses made from beer, soda, and wine bottles.

6) Guys love gadgets, Solio is a solar-powered gadget to charge their other gadgets.

7) Speaking of gadgets, here is a whole site full of EnviroGadgets.

8 ) The most eco-friendly sporting equipment is second-hand equipment.  Check with your local sporting store or Play It Again Sports to see what great deals you can find on gently used equipment.

9) Sporting and casual clothing in eco-fibers is another idea for whatever your dad is into.  Patagonia Men’s Shop carries organic cotton and E-Fiber clothing which is made from recycled material, hemp, and chlorine-free wool.  Much of it is recyclable through Patagonia’s Common Threads Program.

10) For the foodie dad, how about a great, gourmet meal made with local and organic ingredients.  In Eau Claire, we have a wonderful farmers market and, of course, Just Local Foods.  Even our other traditional grocery stores carry some local and organic food; Festival Foods and Hahn’s Market are two examples.  I’m sure you can find local and organic most anywhere in the country, or wherever you are.

Make this Father’s Day a great, and green one.

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Keeping the Holiday Green

May 28, 2010 by 1 Comment

There are some simple things you can do to keep waste out of your Memorial Holiday weekend.  I know, it’s so easy to grab the cheap package of paper plates, plastic cups, plastic silverware, and paper napkins.  Resist the urge this year.  There are inexpensive and reusable products that are picnic and camping friendly.  Pick up some melamine plates and bowls.  I know, I rarely recommend plastic, but from the research I’ve done it seems melamine is benign when it’s used for plates and such.  It is not the same as the melamine found in poisonings in China and pet food.  You can find really cute patterns all over the place.  These dishes will last for years.  Glasses, I admit, are trickier.  I used to love my polycarbonate glasses on the patio.  If you really will be in your own backyard, then you can use your regular glassware.  But if you’re going elsewhere, that is harder.  I’ve seen some very cute stainless steel colored drinkware, like the aluminum stuff from the 60′s.  You could also pull out the good ol’ reusable water bottle.  You can also find melamine drinkware too.  For eating utensils there are some wicked cool new sporks.  These new sporks are a vast improvement to the old version. I have also used bamboo travel sets that have chopsticks, spoon, fork and knife  (the knife is not terribly functional).  You probably don’t want to drag out the good, holiday linen napkins to go camping.  It’s time to invest in some inexpensive cloth napkins or make your own.  Old sheets, tablecloths, or fabric remnants can be made into napkins, and you’ll have them forever.

If you feel you absolutely have to have some disposable, opt for eco-versions.  Look for recycled content or non-petroleum plastics.  You can even find compostable plastics. Locally, in Eau Claire,  I know Hahn’s Market carries some of these plates and cups.  I’m sure some other stores do as well.  Let your fingers do the walking to find out.  Below is a list of links for resources.  Have a great Memorial Day weekend.  Let’s remember to honor those that have given their lives for our freedom.

Life Without Plastic

Light My Fire Spork

Retro colored stainless drinking glasses

DIY Cloth Napkins

Reuseit’s Cotton Napkins

Sugarcane plates

Green Paper Products

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Free Shipping on $50 Order from Reuseit

May 23, 2010 by 1 Comment

Today is the last day for free shipping for any order of $50 or over from Reuseit.  This is for anyone, not just new customers.  This is also the last day for free shipping for new customers that spend $25 or more.

For new customers enter NEWCUST25 at checkout by midnight tonight.

For any order over $50 enter MAYFREE50 at checkout by midnight tonight.

Just head to Reuseit.  There is so much more than reusable bags and bottles.

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