Green Sexy

Packaging Gifts the Green Way

 Whether you meticulously peel off the tape or voraciously tear into your presents, piles of wrapping paper often times adorn people's living rooms during this holiday season.  If you've been making a habit of buying up rolls upon rolls of cute wrapping paper every year, just think of all the resources that go into making that wrapping paper---from trees to dyes, to electricity, fuel used in shipping, etc.---you could be doing the Earth harm while trying to bring happiness. 

So what can you do?  For one, reuse wrapping paper or gift bags that you had from the previous holiday season.  Heck, it seems like my family has been using the same wrapping paper and gift bags for years now, and no one seems to mind, since it's what's inside that is truly memorable.  The Guardian suggests that you use nice festively-colored shopping bags that you've gotten from stores as wrapping paper, or even cutting up old gift bags and using those to wrap with.  Another idea they put forth is using interesting magazine pictures or maps as wrapping paper.  The way some teens plaster their walls with pictures of their idols, this could be a fun way for a kid to wrap up a gift.  You could try wrapping your presents in sections of the paper that speak to the personality of the person who is receiving the gift---the sports section for the jock, the comics for the joker, the editorial section for the opinionated one, etc.  They also suggest using left over fabric, gift scarves, or clothing items from a thrift store to wrap your presents in.  A final innovative idea is to wrap your presents in aluminum foil, which will add a real shine and glimmer to your display and can be washed and reused to wrap holiday treats or leftovers in!

If using recycled materials as a means of packaging your gifts doesn't tickle your fancy, then there are some eco-friendly products that you can purchase to help decorate your gifts.  National Geographic's The Green Guide suggests Paporganics' hemp-blend wrap that is made from 90 percent post-consumer fiber with 10 percent hemp.  Paper Mojo makes gift wraps made from jute, lokta or banana fiber---that could impress as much as the gift itself!  For gift bags, you could go with Global Exchange's Native Leaf Gift Bags made in the Philippines using certified less-toxic dyes. Not only is Global Exchange a fair-trade organization, but they will also wrap any of its products in a 100 percent recycled box, tied with a raffia ribbon and accompany it with a recycled rice-paper greeting card for $3.95.  Recycled-fabric gift bags can be purchased from Patagonia.  To fill your gift bags, you could purchase white tissue paper made from 90 percent recycled paper and colored tissue made from 75 percent recycled fibers through Nashville Wraps.  

Well, hope you have a great holiday, and if you're anything like me, you'll have a nice, neatly-folded pile of used wrapping paper next to you, ready to be stored and reused next year! 

Set a Place for Mother Earth This Thanksgiving

My local newspaper, Rochester, New York's Democrat and Chronicle offers 10 environmentally-friendly tips for greening up your Thanksgiving:

1. Forgo disposable dishware. If you don't have enough plates, glasses and flatware to go around, borrow from guests or neighbors.

2. If you must do disposable, buy biodegradable and then compost it (otherwise, it just takes up space in the landfill, along with Styrofoam cups, paper plates and plastic forks).

3. Switch to cloth napkins. They feel better on the skin, absorb food mess better and don't take up much space in the washing machine and dryer. If this is a first-time investment, buy one set for special occasions, one set for everyday use. It won't be long until you wonder how you tolerated flimsy paper napkins for so long.

4. Use reusable food containers instead of wrapping leftovers in foil or plastic wrap or putting them in plastic bags. Want to send food home with your guests? Ask them to bring their own containers.

5. Yes, it's fun to have lots of food to serve and share. But don't overdo it to the point where you are throwing food out afterward. Plan, shop and cook carefully to avoid waste. Freeze whatever food you won't eat as soon as possible.

6. A 2006 study from the University of Washington found that driving several miles to the farmers market wiped out any savings in carbon emissions that might have been gained by purchasing locally grown food. Consolidate your trips to the farmers market and supermarket. Plan ahead to avoid last-minute runs to the store, and walk, bike, bus or carpool to shop whenever possible.

7. Decorate with what's on hand. Instead of flowers flown in from overseas, how about a lovely table centerpiece of locally grown gourds and squashes from the farmers market?

8. Buy local. Late fall is a great time of year to buy local: Potatoes, apples, winter squashes, greens, pears, onions and cabbages are abundant this time of year.

9. Buy a locally grown, organic and/or sustainably raised turkey. There are many area livestock farmers who now offer free-range, organic or sustainably raised birds. Supermarkets also offer organic turkey options, as do natural food stores. Be aware that in some cases, orders must be placed early, so if you can't eat organic this Thanksgiving, there's always next year.

10. From wine bottles to empty cans of broth, a holiday meal generates extra trash. Be sure all your recyclable waste goes to the recycling bin.

An additional tip, although probably too late for this Thanksgiving, is to look into purchasing a Heritage Turkey, which are turkeys that are genetically pure and whose ancestry can be traced back 100 years.  These turkeys take longer to raise than traditional, commercially-raised turkeys, but you won't be getting any antibiotics or hormones---just good 'ol 100% whole turkey goodness! 

However you celebrate this Thanksgiving, raise a glass in thanks to Mother Earth and all she has done for us!

No Gas Pushmower Support Group

Hello.  My name is Steven and I am obsessed with my no-gas push mower.  In fact, I have two no-gas push mowers!  Just when I thought that I might be alone in this world full of gas-guzzling lawnmowers, a glimmer of hope from across the pond appeared to me via the world wide web.  Dave Thompson, a cricket fanatic from the UK, contacted me regarding his no-gas mower obsession.  Dave likes to use his Ransomes Ajax push mower to cut cricket wickets on his local football pitch, and he loves to share his obsession with the world at his blog MPAFirstEleven.  So far he has five posts about his beloved push mower and all of the wonderful adventures they've had together.  Ah, what a kinship I feel with this gentleman who understands what a joy it is to clip grass with no gas! 

Do you also have such an obsession?  Help is here---there are more of us out there!  Tell me how you feel about your no gas push mower today!

Nature-Friendly Grilling

Despite the joys of grilling, you may still be wondering what effects your outdoor grilling may be having on the environment.  Just grilling occasionally on your own does not have a huge effect, but multiply your own grilling by the estimated 60 million barbecues on the Fourth of July, and you can see how all of these fired up grills can have an effect.  Using the Fourth of July example, Sierra Club has estimated that those 60 million barbecues "consume enough energy—in the form of charcoal, lighter fluid, gas, and electricity—to power 20,000 households for a year. That one day of fun, food, and celebration...burns the equivalent of 2,300 acres of forest and releases 225,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide."  Also, grilling with charcoal releases carbon monoxide, particulates and soot; and the use of lighter fluid "contribute more to ground-level ozone, which is produced when nitrogen oxides and volatile organic chemicals [VOCs] combine in hot weather conditions." 

So what can you do to green up your barbecue? Well, you may be a grilling purist, but you may want to consider trading out your charcoal grill for a cleaner-burning propane or electric grill.  You could also invest in a solar stove, which uses the sun's rays as a source of fuel, though it will take you much longer to cook your food, and it will not work on a cloudy day or at night.

If it sounds like sacrilege to you to give up your charcoal grill, then there are many ways to make your charcoal grill more environmentally-friendly:

• Keep your grill clean by using hot water and soap.  That way, you'll produce less smoke and carcinogens.
• Use chemical-free charcoal or wood chips, such as natural lump charcoal or natural briquettes.  Paul McRandle, deputy editor of National Geographic Green Guide recommends "to use use wood chip products that have been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, meaning the forests from which they are harvested are maintained in an environmentally sound way."
• Use an appropriate amount of charcoal---that is, if you're only going to cook one burger, don't light up a grill full of charcoal, stick with a much smaller amount. 
• Use a "charcoal chimney" or a "chimney starter" instead of lighter fluid.  This device is basically a canister that you fill with charcoal and then light a piece of newspaper beneath to warm up your charcoal faster than it would in your grill. 
• Buy a well-made grill that you'll have forever.  That way, you'll keep it out of a landfill that's probably littered with cheapo grills.  Some grills have good warranties, so make sure to look for that too when purchasing.
• Choose a grill without a chemical non-stick finish.  McRandle warns that these chemicals may be human carcinogens and that "They're not in the product when it arrives at your home, but they're used in the manufacturing process and wind up in waterways."
• Reduce your preheating time to five to ten minutes.  Ted Reader, author of Napoleon's Everyday Gourmet Grilling says that "When people preheat for 20 or 30 minutes, it wastes fuel.  And you're going to wear out your grill faster."
• Ash can be used as fertilizer, as long as you apply it properly and sparely. 

You may also want to consider that your food choices can have an environmental impact as well.  First of all, you will want to consider grilling local foods to help out local farmers and to reduce the wastefulness of transporting foods long distances by truck.  Another good grilling practice would be to make kebabs because it will reduce the amount of meat you would typically use for steaks, and it will make you eat more vegetables---anyways, I think they're also a lot of fun to make!

Well, happy grilling and don't call me late for dinner!

Seventh Generation Green Cleaning Products

When camping at Wellesley Island State Park earlier this month, I wanted to make sure that I used an environmentally-friendly dish washing liquid because I knew from previous camping trips that there are always tons of dishes to wash!  It always bothered me that we used to throw the soapy water into the woods, and I wasn't sure what kind of environmental impact I was making. 

That's why I picked up Seventh Generation's Natural Dish Liquid!   This dish liquid worked just as well as traditional dish liquid and it's also non-toxic & biodegradable, hypo-allergenic, free of phosphates, safe for septic & greywater systems, not tested on animals, and it's even kosher-certified!  Also, unlike traditional dish liquids, Seventh Generation discloses all of the ingredients that make up their products.  Another wonderful thing about their cleaning products in general is that none of them are petroleum-based, whereas many common household cleaning products such as dish liquid, cleaners, plastics, and even products that we put on and in our bodies such as cosmetics and pharmaceuticals are derived from petroleum!  According to the EPA, there are a host of health-issues related to petroleum, some of which include the weakening of lung function, possibly leading to pneumonia or asthma.     Also, according to a 1999 study in the American Journal of Epidemiology, "exposure to petroleum based solvents increased the risk of connective tissue diseases, a class of conditions that includes arthritis."

Seventh Generation gets their name from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states: "In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations."  I couldn't agree more!   Seventh Generation is one Green-Sexy product!

 

 

Gas Free Push Mower: The Sequel!!!

During the spring I purchased a Scotts 20 Inch Green Classic Reel Mower because my gas-powered mower broke down and I wanted to reduce my gas usage.  I quickly discovered that this push mower did a fabulous job actually cutting the grass, not tearing the grass like traditional gas-powered mowers do.   It was also nice to utilize pure human power to move this neat contraption and also a pleasant surprise that it took no longer, nor was it any more difficult to mow my quite sizable lawn than it did with my gas-powered mower. 

Imagine my surprise and elation when my wife came home with a Great States Corporation 16 Inch Deluxe/Light Model push mower! Turns out one of her co-worker's husbands had purchased this mower ten years ago, but never even opened the box!  Even more amazingly, this beauty was made in the U.S.A.--- imagine that!  Well, we ripped that box right open and quickly assembled the mower.  We then introduced the Great States push mower to our Scotts push mower, and after some cordialities, my wife and I proceeded to mow the lawn together, side by side! 

I don't know if couples that mow together stay together, but I think this is the start of something wonderful!

Stratmore Paper: A Eco-Friendly Paper Company

My wife went to The Art Store to test out a new acrylic paint, and there were door prizes for the attendees at the end of the demonstration session.   It  was just so fitting that my wife won the Strathmore Windpower Sketch sketchbook!  Strathmore is the first and only U.S. paper manufacturer to use wind generated electricity to run their paper mills.  The paper in this sketchbook is also composed of 30% post-consumer fiber and is acid free. 

So, what are the environmental savings derived from Strathmore using wind power and recycled paper at their mills? 

• 13 Million lbs. toxic air emissions not generated (CO2, SO2, NOX)
• 8,581 barrels of crude oil or 1,960 tons of coal not used
• 14.5 million miles not driven
• 94,500 trees not  cut down
• 40 million gallons water/wastewater flow saved

Not bad, eh?  The Strathmore Windpower Series sketchbook is one Green-Sexy product!

Scotts Push Mower: No Gas To Cut Your Grass!

I did it---I paid over $4 for gas ($4.03, to be exact) AND I purchased a manual push mower from Home Depot, all on the same day.  Hopefully my move will help offset the pain of high gas prices a bit. 

This spring I only got one and a half cuts out of my gas-powered push mower before it stopped working.  The mower was leaking gasoline, it stunk up the shed and it wouldn't start.  My lawn was rapidly rising to the skies and I couldn't get any lawn mower repair shops to return my calls.  In desperation, I borrowed my neighbor's riding mower to mow down my lawn.  Not wanting to repeat this act again, I immediately looked into a greener option---my first instinct was to look at an electric mower.  While this seemed like an attractive choice at first, the prospects of trying to mow around a cord (for the lower-cost option) or paying $400+ for a rechargeable electric mower considerably soured my enthusiasm.

Then I had an epiphany (I had always wanted to have one of those)!  I decided to search for a manual push mower---they still make those, right?  Well, I found one for sale at Home Depot and I was there in a flash to snatch it up!  My Scotts 20 Inch Green Classic Reel Mower is simply wonderful!  It cuts moderate-length grass beautifully and it actually "cuts" the grass, instead of tearing the grass like traditional mowers do.  This is great because there's not all of this wet "green blood" all over the lawn and on my shoes. Also, weighing in at only 30 pounds, this mower is easy to push and does not take any longer to cut my rather large lawn than it did with a traditional gas-powered push mower.  In addition, my mower also makes a merry little whirring noise as it cuts the blades of grass, which is a vast improvement over the ear-drum shattering roar of my old gas-powered mower.  Perhaps best of all, there's no crank to pull, no gas to fill and no oil to check!  That means that there's no annual tune up to pay for!  Barring any major accident, the most maintenance I'll have to get for my push mower is a blade sharpening every 3-4 years.  This mower cannot, however, cut bendable weeds such as the stalks of dandelions, nor will it cut extra long grass.  If you try to mow these, you'll discover that they simply get bent over and then spring back up.  Unless you're willing to go back and forth numerous times to try to cut these down, you'd be better off using a weed whacker or some garden shears. 

All in all, I would recommend Scotts 20 inch Green Classic Reel Mower to anyone who wants to do away with their traditional mower---it's good exercise and it's great for the environment!  Now that's one green sexy product!      

Environmentally-Friendly Dishwasher Tabs from Ecover

My wife and I are trying to reduce our household cleaning product pollution, so now it smells like vinegar all the time in our bathroom!  Anyway, I know that dishwasher detergent is very caustic for the environment, so once our regular dishwasher tabs ran out, I promptly purchased Ecological Dishwasher Tablets from Ecover.  Ecover is an environmentally-conscious company founded in Belgium in 1980 that produces ecological cleaners.  Their products are marketed in over 20 countries and range from dishwashing products, to laundry products, to all-purpose cleaners, and even a heavy-duty hand cleaning product.  The great thing is, you know that when you use their products you are not adding harmful chemicals to the environment.

So, how did Ecover's dishwasher tabs perform?  Excellently, as a matter of fact.  I was quite impressed with how clean my dishes got (I do use the "Water Miser" setting on my dishwasher)---even dishes that I did not pre-rinse.  One more cool feature of the product is the fact that even the plastic wrapper that each individual tab comes in has a #5 recycling number on it!  Ah, if only all companies could be so committed. 

So, please consider giving all of Ecover's green-sexy products a try---you won't be disappointed!

Green Product, Not-So-Green Packaging!

I had purchased rechargable NiMH batteries and an accompanying charger from Energizer because I was

sick of throwing out traditional batteries, as I was instructed to do by my local hazardous waste facility, which maddeningly enough does not take alkaline batteries!  I was quite pleased by my purchase, as this would mean I could reduce my waste and reuse batteries many times over! 

But there was a problem, but not with the product itself (which actually works very well)---no, it's the packaging.  There is no recycling number imprinted on the plastic packaging!  How ironic, I thought, that I purchase a product for its Earth-friendlier properties, and I get saddled with non-recyclable packaging! 

I promptly emailed Engergizer, and basically lambasted them for not having recyclable packaging.  They emailed back that their packaging is "actually rated #3".  I inquired how a recycling facility would be able to tell what kind of plastic their packaging is if it has no number?  They responded that it is not required that they put the number on their packaging.  I retorted that by not putting the recycling number on their packaging, that they were perpetuating wastefulness amongst their consumers, who upon seeing that there is no number on their packaging, would promptly discard the packaging.  Also, I reiterated my confusion as to how a recycling facility would discern whether or not this unnumbered packaging was recyclable or not?  I implored them to consider imprinting the recycling number in their packaging and to be responsible stewards of the environment.

Well, anyway, I don't expect them to bow to my request, but if it is not required to put the recycling number on packaging, then WHY is it not required?  Also, even though it isn't currently required, shouldn't companies in this day and age do it anyways?  I think it's called...um, how do you say...oh, yes---"corporate responsibility"?