It's Easy Being Green

I just wanted to take a moment to give some mad props to some sweet bubble bath we picked up for Everly this week. Heading back from this month’s prenatal appointment at The Farm, we made our usual pilgrimage to the Whole Foods in Franklin, Tennessee. One special that caught our eye this week was the Alaffia Every Day Shea, Shea Butter Bubble Bath.

Everly ran out of the “cheap” econo-sized bottle of bubbles we bought at Walmart a few months back. Finding the Alaffia bubbles was perfect timing. She loves these bubbles more than any other brand we’ve purchased. The comforting Eucalyptus Mint fragrance calms our Darling Daughter right down when it’s time to hit the tub. The sudsing action is amazing and even better, Alaffia’s bubbles don’t contain sodium laurel sulfate. These bubbles smell great and lather my daughter in a rich, shea butter based cocoon of bathtime goodness. What more could a parent ask for?

After reading the bottle, I now know that Alaffia is Social and Fair Trade Certified by the IMO. Since shea butter is primarily produced in West African nations, this is important in ensuring the farmers and workers there are receiving a fair price for their product and labor. Even better, 10% of my purchase with Alaffia goes to support community empowerment projects in West Africa. Some of the funds help ship used children’s bicycles from the U.S. to impoverished villages so young girls can get themselves to school. Funds also go to support the purchase of school supplies and repairs. Money is also used to help fund pre and post natal care at a maternity clinic in Togo, an area gripped by high infant mortality rates and sub-standard healthcare.

Some of the proceeds from every Alaffia purchase helps transport used bikes to West Africa so girls can have an opportunity to get to school.

I’m so proud of this socially conscious purchase. I know it may sound silly but when you take the time to find products that really do improve the world, you’ll know your dollars are helping to make a difference. Can you say that about the bubbles your kids use at bath time? Sure these bubbles might cost a little more than petroleum based bubbles bought at your local big box store, but I think the end result is worth it.

If you’re looking for some sustainably produced, Fair Trade Certified, extra gentle and non-toxic bubbles for your baby that rock, check out Alafffia! You can also read up on them at their blog.

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This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Toms of Maine. All opinions are 100% mine.

Scrubbing your pearly whites while keeping a green lifestyle might seem like a challenge but with Tom’s Of Maine you can easily green up one of your daily regimens.  Normal toothpastes are often fraught with chemicals, half of which you could spend the better part of a day just trying to figure out how to pronounce.  With Tom’s, they explain every ingredient found in their products and most of them are sourced straight from nature and minimally processed.  They don’t use any artificial flavors, coloring, preservatives or fragrances.  The company even goes so far as breaking down the ingredient list in each product and explaining what it’s from and what it’s doing in your toothpaste or mouthwash.

Tom’s of Maine products are not tested on animals and every bit of their operation based in Maine strives to be as sustainable as possible.  Even all of their packaging is meant to be environmentally responsible and is scrutinized against the company’s recycling and Stewardship Model.  Employees spend 12 of their work days volunteering outside of the company and 10% of Tom’s profits are directed to human and environmental goodness.  These are old fashioned products made with high-tech science and research and a keen eye focused on environmental impacts.  Tom’s of Maine is producing a product that is as natural as possible without scrubbing your teeth with plain old baking soda.

I’m excited about Tom’s latest round of products called Wicked Fresh.  The new line of toothpaste and mouthwash uses powerful natural flavor oils and botanical extracts to provide even longer lasting fresh breath.  The secret is a flavorless botanical extract from licorice root combined with a punch of powerful natural mint flavor oils for what Tom’s calls a “refreshing taste that helps banish bad breath”.  Two flavors are offered: Cool Peppermint and Spearmint Ice.  The tube is completely recyclable.  The mouthwash is available in Cool Mountain Mint and Peppermint Wave flavors and is wrapped in compostable yet tamper-proof shrink wrap with a recyclable bottle and cap.  Make sure to check out their That’s Wicked Fresh contest page for a chance to win a $500 Target gift card.

Don’t forget you can follow Tom’s of Maine on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomsofMaine and Twitter @TomsofMaine

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If you have a backyard bird enthusiast roosting somewhere in your family tree you might be thinking about getting them a new feeder as a Christmas present.  Not all bird feeders are created equal though, especially those that look rich and come with a hefty price tag like the Copper Sip and Seed Bird Feeder.

The Copper Sip and Seed Bird Feeder looks great, especially right out of the box. After two years of review though, I can tell you the feeder has some major design flaws and doesn't weather well at all.

I received one of these feeders about two years ago and I watched it closely.  It took the birds awhile to discover it but once they did, they swarmed the two feeders and seemed to be getting their fill of seed.  I was worried that they wouldn’t have much room to maneuver or perch on the base of the feeders but it seems to work out for them.  The squirrels did unfortunately find the feeders and scaled the shepherds pole to show off their acrobatics and steal some seed.  They have not figured out how to raid the whole feeder and dump it on the ground yet so for now, they’re sort of foiled.

I have encountered what I think is one major design flaw with the feeders though.  The base where the seed pours out of the glass container does not have any drainage holes in it.  During rain or snow storms the base fills up with water and has nowhere to go.  That in turn soaks the seed which then clogs up the area where the seed pours out into the base.  I now have this little routine after the rain where I go out and tip over the feeders to dump out the water.  I then unscrew the base and break up the soggy seed and get it out of the feeder so it doesn’t mold or rot the rest of the feed.  A couple of times the rain has frozen over night and then I have to chip out the ice before the birds can get to their feast.  I’m hoping future versions of the feeder might include a drainage hold of some sort to let the water out. That would compete with the idea to use one to dispense water but their must be a solution.  Perhaps just a small covering on top of the feeder to direct rain away from the base.

Despite that problem, I think the Copper Sip & Seed Bird Feeder looks great out in front of our house.  The copper look adds a nice touch to the landscape.  I like being able to see the seed level and by the way it’s constructed from metal and glass, I’m hoping this bird feeder will last a lot longer than some of the cheap plastic ones I’ve used over the years.

UPDATE:

I’m now down to just one glass feeder tube because one of the tubes froze and shattered in the middle of  a bitterly cold night.  Also, I began using one of the tubes as a water dispenser as the manufacturer recommends but that also has some problems.  The process of filling the tube is a pain and you always lose half your water when you flip it back over after filling.  A filler hole in the top could easily fix this problem.  Also, after just two years outside the copper finish on the plastic is discoloring and rubbing off, making the feeder look dirty and beat up.  While it looks beautiful in the package and when you first put it up, the frustrations associated with filling and maintaining the look of this feeder gives me reason to recommend that you don’t buy it.

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This past week the cacophony of lawn equipment has officially heralded in warmer weather here in southwestern Indiana.  The first warm and sunny day we had last week apparently awoke every neighbor’s desire to mow their lawn, even though most hadn’t even grown an inch.  With lawn work and garden cleanup comes a lot of waste and the question of what to do with all of it.

I generally mulch mow my lawn meaning I finely chop the clippings and leave them on my lawn to decompose and provide green manure for the rest of the growing season.  If the lawn is too thick or too long, I’ll compost the clippings.  Most of the time it just simply doesn’t make sense to throw grass clippings away.  It’s a great waste of time and resources to bag all those clipping, haul them out to the curb for pickup and watch all that water and fertilizer you bought get hauled off to the landfill.

That said, there are times when you do need to bag yard waste and there are greener alternatives to the normal plastic lawn garbage bag you might buy.  This past week I’ve been trying out some EconoGreen Plastics bags made by Jig-A-Loo.  The company has just released a line of trash bags and plastic drop cloths made entirely from recycled plastic.  They also claim the bags are “oxodegradable”.  Supposedly an additive in the plastic helps accelerate the decomposition of the plastic into simple organic compounds when it’s exposed to oxygen.

In my tests using a handful of bags the company sent me to try out, I found them to look, feel and hold up like most normal bags.  They weren’t any more puncture resistant to twigs and sticks but also weren’t like the thin, cheap trash bags you might find at the discount store.  If you do have some trash that needs to be thrown away and can’t be composted, these bags seem like a good option to help reduce the environmental impact at least just a bit.

The EconoGreen line includes large trash bags, tall kitchen bags, lawn and leaf bags, contractor bags, garage and automotive bags, wet/dry vac liner bags and drop cloths.  Home Depot is said to be carrying the full line of EconoGreen plastic products.

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I’ve heard of the “House of Bamboo” but now I’m amazed to hear about a bamboo bicycle.  I recently ran across the folks over at Organic Bikes whose slogan is “Rethink your ride”.  Well, rethink they have as they are creating bicycle frames out of bamboo, an easily renewable resource!  According to their website they’re also making biodegradable water bottles and organic bike clothing and accessories.

Organic Bike's "Dylan" model. It's their first bamboo bike!

Organic bikes claims the bamboo is so strong that it makes a great frame and is actually more comfortable to ride than a standard alloy metal one.  They do say that the frame isn’t entirely made from bamboo and that there is some alloy metal involved in the construction of your bike but that it is 100% recycled alloy.

This, I think, is a pretty cool concept.   While I didn’t think riding your bicycle could get much more green, Organic Bikes has gone and proven me wrong.  If you’d like a chance to enter their contest to win a bamboo bike, click this link.

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If you haven’t already clued into Organic Valley Co-op, you should check out their website.  Right now, the organic food company is offering up $10 in coupons and a chance to win a $2,500 food pantry donation and a year of free products.  I simply couldn’t pass that opportunity up and though you might be interested as well.  Head to the contest entry page and get it on the Organic Valley action.

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If you haven’t already read my brief review on a new book profiling modern architecture and alternative energy, click here.

A new book profiling 10 modern homes and how they're built with alternative energy useage in mind

Lori Ryker, author of Off The Grid: Modern Homes + Alternative Energy, grew up in Texas and has lived several places around the world. She now lives in Livingston, Montana and teaches at Montana State University’s School of Architecture and is a partner of Ryker/Nave Design. I recently had the opportunity to ask Ryker some questions about her new book and her thoughts on the future of sustainable living.

Q: What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about living off the grid?
A: That someone else should take the first step, that alternative energy is something of the future.

Q: You discuss how you think living off the grid brings people closer to where we live, making us more involved in how we live. Why do you think it’s important for more people to be connected to where and how they live?
A: Understanding where we live in the world and the reality of what it takes to live in that place (without the support of mechanical/big energy that creates a pseudo-environment) helps us take responsibility for the place in which we live, and the planet in general. Understanding the conditions of where we live help us make healthier and more responsible choices for environmental conditions such as clean water, air and landscapes; local food sources including plants and animals. Peter Berg coined a phrase in the 1970’s called bioregionalism, which addresses how we live in a place with particular identifiable physical and environmental features that then influence the use and consumption of local foods, materials and native plants, among other things. In the same way, living responsibly with alternative energy requires the knowledge and understanding of regions, bioregions and particular places so that we most efficiently employ the natural resource, such as sun or wind. Such a quality of life also makes us more grounded and invested in ourselves and the world.

Q: Have you found that a lot of people don’t think modern architecture and green features like off the grid living can be combined together?
A: No. I find that most people believe this relationship is normal. However, even three to five years ago this was not the case. There has been a strong and successful popular media push in the past few years to dispel the perception that living off the grid means living in the back-woods somewhere.

Q: You say the book is all about great living in great architecture. These homes certainly aren’t like the earth ships of the 60’s and 70’s are they?
A: No, but every once in a while I drive by an earth ship style place and think to myself, they are still quite sophisticated in their energy use and ability to connect people to the place in which they live, even if they do not appeal to everyone. I would argue that earth ships are also a “style” of architecture. An architect or designer could use the same materials and strategies of an earth ship today and arrive at a vastly different form of expression.

Q: You talk a lot about resource extraction and what you call “dirty energy”. What do you think it will take for people to understand how big of an environmental impact their home has?
A: A completely different way of evaluating home construction and energy use. Such as how bank loans are made, or how homes are taxed, how a builder accounts for the construction of the home and the materials used. In the meantime, we need alternative energy to become more affordable, better methods of measurement of an individual’s energy use and means to control particular components of energy use. Such as being able to separate out use of heating and cooling from media, not simply unplugging. We need more accountability. Simple things such as timers on lights and showers that are already in use in other parts of the world. These strategies remind us that the Earth is not limitless.

Keep checking back for the second half of my Q&A with Lori Ryker coming up later this week.  That’s when I’ll also post the details behind how to enter the contest to win a copy of Lori’s book.  You can get an early entry now by subscribing to my RSS Feed and then posting a comment on this article.

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