Red, White and Green for 4th of July, 2010

The 4th of July is the pinnacle of the summer barbecue season.  Last year, over 66 million Americans participated in a barbecue, with a large number of these events taking place on the Fourth.  And, according to the Women’s Day Magazine, the 4th of July is the day with most beer consumed in the US. 

 While the 4th of July is a time to celebrate and spend time with friends and family, it is also an opportunity to spread the green love.   As a sustainability consultant, I encourage clients to expand eco awareness in all areas of their life- holidays are a great place to start!

 There are a number of ways to add eco awareness to your celebration.  Here are a few green tips from Sierra Magazine to help reduce the impacts of your grill this weekend:
 

• Cleaner-burning propane or electric grills are preferable over charcoal fired grills, which contribute more to poor air quality. For those seeking a more sustainable lifestyle, consider a solar oven or a stove avoids emissions altogether.
• For those who do use charcoal, consider lump brands.  These are made from real hardwood firewood chunks which have been charred and do not contain chemical binders or igniting agents. 
• Switch from lighter fluid, which releases smog-forming VOCs, to a chimney starter.

 
Incorporating sustainable choices into your daily living not only impacts you but the community and environment in which you live.   For those drinking beer this 4th of July, drink responsibly.  Oh, and drink organic beer!

 Here are 5 good reasons:

• It’s good for the environment.
• It represents the latest wave of craft brewery movement.
• If you are a beer drinker, then drinking organic beer is aligned with a sustainable lifestyle.
• Your purchase of organic beer supports the growth of sustainable business.
• It tastes great.

 
Organic brewers, wineries and distilleries set themselves apart by using only non-synthetic substances in production, and working from crops raised without pesticides or petroleum-based fertilizers.  Not sure which organic beers to try? Click here for some suggestions. 

 Take this 4th of July holiday as an opportunity to add sustainable choices to your celebration and to explore the independence of a sustainable lifestyle.

Basics of Personal Green Procurement

The business world is always looking for new and innovative ways to improve its supply chain management processes.  Leading companies are reaping the benefits from applying sustainability concepts to the acquisition of their goods and services.  As an individual seeking a more sustainable lifestyle, what can we learn from these corporate purchasing efforts?

To begin, a primary aspect of pursuing a personal sustainability plan is the recognition that every action is part of a larger whole.  The purchases you make not only affect you and your family, but they also affect an entire supply chain that brought that item to market.

As we have discussed in other posts, consumers are playing a major role in defining the alternative product options and reshaping the direction of many industries.
As sustainability consultants, we see some common best practices in responsible personal purchasing:

• Research before you buy.
• Become familiar with eco-labels.
• Buy local and organic.
• Use recycled content products everywhere you can.
• Buy Fair Trade.
• Consider the source when you make a purchase.
• Consider buying “Pre-Owned” goods or remanufactured products whenever possible.
• Eliminate disposable items
• Consider the packaging of the item
• Consider the eventual disposal of the item
• Buy Cradle-To-Cradle whenever possible.

As John Ehrenfeld, Executive Director of the International Society for Industrial Ecology and former Director of the MIT Program on Technology, Business, and Environment says: “Reducing unsustainability (greening) is not the same as creating sustainability.”  The highest order in purchasing is to only buy truly sustainable products and services.

The successful implementation of responsible personal purchasing requires understanding, effort, and commitment.  Our professional consulting focuses on the personal sustainability drivers that help you see the value and align the practices with your current lifestyle.

Five Good Reasons to Buy Organic Cotton

Why take the time to seek out and pay a bit more for organic cotton when regular, run-of-the-mill cotton products are so easily available?

It all comes down to one thing … environment.

The cotton industry is among the world’s biggest users of pesticide. Cotton takes up only 3% of the world’s farmland, yet uses 25% of the world’s pesticides. That’s why choosing organic cotton products can make an exponentially bigger difference in terms of positive impact.

Organic cotton means less pesticide contamination for:

The Ecosystem. A whopping 90% of the pesticides sprayed on mass-produced cotton leaches into the soil, groundwater, and is released into the air.

People and Animals. All these pesticides in the earth are absorbed in turn by living creatures — in the air we breathe, in the water we drink, and in the plants we eat.

Our Food. Not only does pesticide contaminate our fruits, veggies and herbs — but food animals consume pesticide-tainted food and water. So their milk, meat, and eggs are tainted too.

Another problem is fertilizers: in the U.S., nearly a 1/3 pound of synthetic fertilizers is used to produce one pound of raw cotton. And nearly a pound of raw cotton goes into making a single tee-shirt.

Through leaching and runoff, synthetic fertilizers foul our freshwater habitats, wells, and rivers. And even before the BP oil gusher, the Gulf near New Orleans suffered an annual “dead spot” largely the result of fertilizer run-off from the farms along the Mississippi.

Organic farming instead uses natural fertilizers that nearly eliminate pollution, runoff, and leaching. We’re talking hug impact!

Switching to organic cotton also prevents:

Chemical Allergies and Illnesses. Non-organic cotton still has chemical residue from pesticides, and our skin absorbs these toxins. This can cause irritation, rashes, hives, breathing difficulties, eye problems and aggravation of other existing conditions. For people with sensitive skin, organic cotton is a godsend.

Research has shown that pesticides block our hormonal and endocrine systems, wreaking havoc with our health. And 47% of pesticides have been identified as potential cancer-causing agents.

Social Injustice. Cotton workers are traditionally among the most economically challenged populations, and suffer the most exposure to these harmful pesticides. In some countries, pregnant women, nursing mothers and even children work for cotton producers and suffer health and developmental problems as a result. Poor health is one of the factors that keeps impoverished people trapped in the cycle of poverty.

Here are some truly great organic-cotton products Elegant Roots has found:

Organic Cotton Baby Ensemble by Dimples
Handmade Extra Soft Organic Cotton Blanket by Marcel Miller

All of Elegant Roots’ items come with complementary eco-friendly gift packaging … which includes a lovely (reusable) 100% undyed, organic cotton ribbon!