This slideshow was created by Vishal Mody, a public school teacher from Chicago, warning us about the dangers of plastic bags. From the ocean to the savannah, plastic bags are wrecking havoc on our planet. Just last week, LA banned plastic bags(starting in 2010), following San Francisco's lead. We've featured a lot of great reusable bags on Really Natural; this is an important, simple step you can take to reducing your impact on the environment. Remember, reusable bags aren't just for the grocery store or farmers' market, but they should be used at every store.
Organic casual fashion with a message, now that's what I'm talking about! Ban T-Shirts' motto is "deconstructing society shirt by shirt". The organic line embody this motto with an eco-friendly twist:
Because we are against the exploitation of workers all our stock is printed on sweat shop free t-shirts - however we also want to respect the environment and therefore print many designs on t-shirts made of independently certified organically produced cotton. We are now printing most of our new designs (and some of our earlier ones) on American Apparel and Royal Apparel organic cotton t-shirts. We also offer three designs on organic tees made by another U.S. based company, "Organic Apparel". These t-shirts are hand-dyed in a cold wash dye bath, so that impact on the environment is reduced to a minimum.
Mothership Earth is sinking - only a heroic effort by the human race will save it. The Morse code distress signal, SOS, has become associated with phrases such as "Save Our Souls" and "Save Our Ship". On this shirt planet Earth assumes the position of the "O", delivering an urgent and striking message to those around you.
Printed on an Organic Apparel shirt, this tee is soft, comfortable, and of course, organic. Organic Apparel, a Colorado-based company, grows and spins their own organic cotton, as well as manufactures their shirts in the US. If you live in the US, buying US made goods definitely lessens the carbon footprint associated with shipping goods from overseas.
I thought I got my wine in a low carbon manner by walking to my neighbor's cabin, but the French have outdone my efforts. A three-masted, 19th century barque transported 60,000 bottles of French wine from Bordeaux to Dublin. The delivery by ship took longer than a flight, but it saved 18,375lb of carbon or about 4.9oz of carbon per bottle. Each bottle was labeled, "Carried by sailing ship, a better deal for the planet." Further voyages are planned to Bristol, Manchester, and Canada.
Who doesn't want a eco-friendly, firmer face? Now that I am approaching my late thirties, I see the need for facial firmness, but I have to stick to my natural values. Last week, we reviewed Aveda's Green Science Lifting Serum. The Green Science Firming Face Creme is another great product in the Green Science line. Made from lady's thistle, organic argan oil, cactus, glucosamine, anti-oxidants and peptides, this creme improves visible skin firmness, moisturizes, smooths fine lines, and strengthens skin's barrier function to keep toxins away.
I've got a sweet tooth, and there is nothing better than organic vanilla ice cream topped with raspberries from the garden and AH!Laska Organic Chocolate Syrup. This organic chocolate syrup is gluten-free, fat-free, dairy-free, and GUILT-free! It can also be mixed with hot or cold soymilk/milk to make a tasty drink. AH!Laska Organic Chocolate Syrup with organic ice cream is the perfect treat on a hot summer day.
In the 1950s, Israel experienced a fuel shortage, and residents responded by installing solar hot water heaters on their rooftops. By 1983, 60% of homes had solar hot water heaters, and current law requires their installation. Jerusualem's skyline is beautifully cluttered with 90% of homes' rooftops adorned with solar hot water heaters. Perhaps Hawaii's new solar hot water heater law will one day bring the Aloha State up to par with Israel.
Terracycle, one of my absolutely favorite green companies, and Kraft, one of my least favorite food companies, have teamed up to create the largest upcycling program ever! Taking Kraft's packaging, which is challenging to recycle, Terracycle is making bags. Terracycle's brigade programs divert waste from landfills, and individuals and organizations can participate:
The Drink Pouch Brigade collects used drink pouches and donates to participating school or community group two cents for every pouch collected. The used pouches are then sewn into tote bags, handbags and other durable items...
I love the concept of upcycling, but I am not a fan of carrying a bag that is a walking advertisement for a product that is not natural or organic, but I support anything Terracycle does. My daughter says the bag still smells like juice.
Looking for the perfect eco-trip, but you need to stay connected? Try Perfect Earth Tours' Yukon teepee suites. Made from organic canvas, these Alaskan teepees have wifi to complement your all organic meals and solar off-the-grid electricity. This sounds like the perfect green vacation for this blogger!
Via: Dvice
What is Green Science? Green Science is a line of Aveda facial products clinically proven to lift, making lines and wrinkles less visible in four weeks. I've been using several of these products, and I really like the Green Science Lifting Serum. This serum promotes surface skin cell regeneration, moisturizes, and firms skin. It is made from bio-fermented glucosamine, organic argan oil, anti-oxidants and peptides.
bring the Argan tree (Argania spinosa) and its derivatives to the international market. Only the women are involved with the preparation of the oil which is derived from the seed of fruit sustainably harvested by the women gathering the fallen fruit from the ground. The seeds are separated from the pulp, cracked open by hand, and through the mechanical extraction of cold-pressing, produce an oil that meets the criteria of "extra-virgin". Every part of the Argan fruit is used; what is not produced for sale is used as animal feed, and the shells are used as a heat source.
Aveda has provided grants to the Targanine Cooperative to purchase equipment that helps the women support their families and communities, as well as increase sustainable production.
Given our earlier post this week on not so natural iPod speakers, we thought we'd find some iPod speakers that were a bit more in line with our taste. The Vers 2x hits the mark with a casing crafted out of wood (either cherry, bamboo or walnut), and the wood comes only from plantation forests. The Vers 2x is also RoHS compliant, which means the electronics are free from hazardous components like lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyl (PBB) and polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) flame retardants.
The Vers 2x uses energy efficient components, such as a low-draw amplifier which not only helps your power bill, but will also help reduce your carbon footprint. The whole system is rated at 36 watts, and also comes in 100% recycled packaging.
Want to get into the recycled laptop bag game? We thought you did. These laptop bags from Be Good Designs are made from recycled car seats and armchairs. This helps to cut down on using toxic materials because Be Good Designs is using materials already in the environment. The scraps that are leftover from making the bags they use to create necklaces in an effort to have less waste leftover. The bags start at around $250.
It's time we start to integrate our power needs with our lounging life, and you can now safely do this with a solar charging beach chair. That's right - this chaise lounge has a panel over the head made of solar panel fabric that acts as a sunshade and moves to protect you from the sun, while at the same time it collects solar energy. It even has a built in charger, slide-out laptop table, and other nifty gizmos like a gaming holster device.
What's not to like in a green little eco-sphere of stereo madness? Well for one this product isn't all that natural, but it does indeed bring home the green eco-sphere point when listening to music. Perhaps you might get this instead of some other iPod stereo dock just for that reason, or maybe just because it looks really cool.
How does it work? You just put the music on your iPod, dock it onto the Orb and then you can use the 10 key remote to adjust volume, bass, and treble levels. The mStation Stereo Orb has a built in subwoofer to pump out a nice sound. This is a perfect set up for listening to music in the kitchen, or even in the backyard while gardening.
Really natural comic book characters are hard to find, but then again there's always been The Swamp Thing. Yep - he's an eco-friendly fictional character created by Len Wein and Berni Wrightson for DC Comics and featured in a long-running horror-fantasy comic book series of the same name. The character is a humanoid mass of vegetable matter who fights to protect his swamp home, the environment in general, and humanity from various supernatural or terrorist threats.
Why are we featuring a eco-friendly comic book character? For one - we love The Swamp Thing, and next week it's Comic Con. We think the timing is perfect for a big Swamp Thing come back. We hear he's one of Del Toro's favorite characters , and maybe he'll make a Swamp Thing movie next instead of Hellboy III.
We hope to find some more really natural comic book characters as well this week at Comic Con. Do you know of more? Sound off in the comments and let us know
Americans spend a lot of time, energy, fertilizer, and water on their lawns, but for what benefit? Now, the Contemporary Museum in Baltimore seeks to bring the garden from the backyard to the front with their "Edible Estate" project. Clarence Ridgley transformed his neat front yard into a garden full of tomatoes, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce, beets and herbs. This front yard garden is visible and available to all passersby. He explains:
People will come to my yard and pick up an onion sprout and start eating it on the spot. I've met more people in the past two months than I have the past 22 years of living here.
Perhaps edible front yards is the solution to bringing a sense of community back into our neighborhoods that has been lost to suburban sprawl.
Via: Time
The Green Eaters: A Dream Comes True is simple, rhyming book for children about organic farming by the founder of Chapter One Organics, Jennifer Murphy. This sweet book begins with unhappy farm animals on a conventional farm who soon move to an organic one. Once they move onto the healthier farm, the animals are better cared for, allowed to graze instead of eat bagged grain, and allowed to roam free.
Becoming The Green Eaters is their dream come true,
Never again will they be made to feel blue!
The Green Eaters live the organic, fresh and natural way,
They feel good, they look good, and YES they want to stay!
We can all use the help of our peers in making buying decisions or learning how to better use what we already own, but it's important to connect with the right people. Huddler's Green Home is the place for passionate, eco-friendly consumers to come together, learn from one another, and share their knowledge with the world. Do you:
* Know how to maximize the fuel efficiency of your Prius?
* Maintain a killer compost and have some secrets to share?
* Have a PV array installed and understand the ins/outs?
* Want to share what you know and talk to other people with similar passions?
Huddler's unique approach to online sharing integrates discussion forums, wikis, product reviews, and detailed user profiling. So come huddle together with other green consumers!
Drapestyle, a national window decor company, is now featuring natural bamboo fabric! These luxurious bamboo drape fabrics are also comprised of linen and cotton, and the 10 styles are beautiful, chic, and modern. My favorite style is Psari in the color Angelus, and even the back side of the fabrics are beautiful! Lisa Sinatra, DrapeStyle's Creative Director, explains:
Interior designers and customers have been asking for an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional drapes in an effort to create a 'green' home - something new and different, and we are delighted to be offering these luxuriously elegant bamboo drapes for the first time.
If you are planning to remodel, green decorating is definitely the way to go for the earth, your health, and indoor air quality.
German automaker Mercedes has targeted the year 2015 to end its dependence on oil. The Sun explains:
There are 50million jobs worldwide associated with the car and more than 80 per cent of goods are transported by road.
Mercedes are convinced that these two crucial areas of industry can be saved by making vehicles independent of crude oil - to improve costs, become more eco-friendly and because the oil supply will eventually run out.
The company plans to replace gasoline vehicles with biofuels, electric cars, and fuel cells. This October, the Mercedes A and B class cars will feature Start/Stop technology, which allows the engine to stop when idle and restart once you lift your foot from the brake.
Via: Eco Geek & The Sun
I have my reusable shopping bags, but my green grocery store experience always falls short at the produce counter. I try to reuse those plastic produce bags, but they get funky and I hate using them. I have bought produce without using bags, but I worry about germs from the grocery cart or the checkout counter coming in contact with food. I have finally found a solution: Bag Green Reusable Produce Bags.
Bag Green produce bags are made of 100% eco-friendly cotton. They are shipped in recycled newspaper packaging, and a portion of each sale is donated to a non-profit organization devoted to preserving the environment. I used my Bag Green produce bag at the farmer's market the other day, and it felt good to refuse a brown or plastic bag. The only thing that would make Bag Green better is if they bags were made from organically grown cotton. Bag Green produce bags close the loop on eco-friendly grocery shopping!
The Danger of Plastic Bags
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