diversions

Furniture Alternatives: FSC-Certified

“Certifying organizations supported by the Forest Stewardship Council have established forestry management guidelines for growing and harvesting trees responsibly around the globe. Since the creation of the FSC in 1993, more than 280,000 square miles of forests in more than seventy-two countries have received FSC certification – a land size that would encompass every state in New England as well as all of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia. An easy way to ensure the eco-integrity of your furniture is to check for the FSC label when purchasing.

HENRYBUILT FURNITURE
Henrybuilt.com
Dedicated to providing well-built, intelligently engineered, modern furniture and custom kitchens that respect the planet, Henrybuilt works with FSC-certified woods to create tables, seating, and storage units that are built to last for generations.”

-The Lazy Environmentalist, Monday, February 11, 2008

alissa’s comments:
oooh, i like their wall chairs… if you are into furniture design, check out this site, i’m digging their bench and seating options. wood is probably the most sustainable material you can use, as long as it is farmed responsibly, because it is renewable. another good option for those of us in the rocky mountains is using and purchasing products made from blue stain pine, which is the fancy shmancy name for beetle-kill pine. the bark beetle is devastating the lodgepole pine population, and the increasing number of standing dead trees are just begging to fuel a massive forest fire. the wood from these pines has the structural integrity of other pines, because the beetle stays in its bark, but their waste penetrates the wood, providing food for a fungus that ultimately kills the tree and produces the blue stain attributed to its moniker.

Pet Accessories Alternatives: Green Products

“Being a pet no longer means lounging on a hand-me-down rug, scratching on a cardboard computer box, and nibbling on nutrition-challenged “treats.” Twenty-first-century pets are making waves on eco-fashion runways and leading healthy, green lives.

Great Green Pet
Greatgreenpet.com
A shopping blog form quality, eco-aware pet products. The bloggers have a keen eye and showcase everything from gourmet organic pet treats to healthy, nontoxic pet shampoos.”

-The Lazy Environmentalist, Saturday and Sunday, February 9 and 10, 2008

alissa’s comments:
i was a bit skeptical after the last ‘pet accessories’ post on pup cups, but this website actually seems legit, offering information on a wide variety of eco-sensitive pet products. i’m totally getting the kitty bibs for twiglet and bubbies… their gonna hate them! but i’m sick of picking up bird, mouse, worm and fried chicken carcasses.

i would be doing my good friend abby a disservice though if i didn’t plug the natural pet food company she works for. Only Natural Pet Store is a web-based natural pet food store offering healthful ‘whole’ nourishment for your little furry friends. Plus they are dedicated to environmental stewardship; this is taken from their website… 

“Only Natural Pet Store also cares deeply about our environment, and we go to great lengths to be an environmentally friendly and sustainable company. We use 100% wind powered energy. Our packaging aims to reduce waste and conserve valuable resources by reusing boxes and packing materials, and by using only biodegradable, non-toxic packing peanuts made from cornstarch. We participate in a Zero Waste program through a local non-profit called Ecocycle, which aims to recycle, reuse and compost with the ultimate goal of eliminating waste and promoting sustainability.”

Check em out: onlynaturalpet.com

WOOD ALTERNATIVES: BAMBOO

Turning bamboo into kitchen cabinetry takes quite a bit of engineering. The process involves harvesting bamboo stalks, cross-layering them atop one another, and the n pressing them together into boards that resemble plywood but are stronger and more durable and possess a unique striated surface pattern. Utilizing nontoxic adhesives throughout the production process results in cabinets hat are healthy for humans and for the planet.

TERAGREN
Teragren.com
Teragren offers premium-quality bamboo flooring. Its bamboo boards are also great for cabinets, furniture, and paneling.

alissa’s comments:
i love bamboo… its renewable, its beautiful, plus through a process called cane carbonizing, bamboo can be darkened naturally without the need for noxious stains, then you could coat it with shellac and voila, you have a non-gassing floor you can feel good about. again, with many eco-products, there are several arguments against bamboo.  bamboo needs to travel around the world to get to you, but there are currently domestic bamboo farms in the pacific northwest and I hear there are more to come in the south, in Louisiana and other warm, humid climates, so hopefully we will be able to easily purchase domestic bamboo in the near future. as far as the extensive processing that bamboo requires, the same goes for all laminate and board products… hopefully the process can be refined enough to minimize the amount of energy it requires…  additionally, forests in some areas are being clear-cut to plant bamboo, while other areas are being over-run by the highly invasive grass, creating monocultures…  regardless, it is still a sweet alternative to the formaldehyde-gassing wood floors that are traditionally installed, if farmed and produced responsibly.

ARCHITECTURE ALTERNATIVES: CRADLE TO CRADLE

“A leader of the green architecture movement and one of the most influential architects practicing today, William McDonough is the founding principal, of William McDonough + Partners, Architecture and Community Design. He is also the co-founding principal of McDough Braungart design Chemistry (MBDC), a sustainable product design and certification firm that emphasizes Cradle to Cradle product lifecycle principles.

William McDonough
Mcdonough.com
McDonough is the co-author of Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, which has become something of a bible for the green design and business community.

alissa’s comments:
from what i have heard and from the few chapters i have read, Cradle to Cradle is an excellent book… it stresses the importance of manufacturing materials that can be easily be recycled without losing material quality, while minimizing the energy and waste associated with production. it’s easy to read and printed on water-proof paper that has the same recycling number as a yogurt container… unfortunately, you can’t recycle yogurt cups in denver, but i think this is a book that you recycle by passing it on to a friend anyway…

VEHICULAR INSPIRATION: ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE

“For roadside assistance with an environmental twist, consider Better World Club, a company that matches AAA in service without compromising the environment. It’s a good, easy choice for you and the planet.

BETTER WORLD CLUB
Betterworldclub.com
Better World Club is not part of the highway lobby, supports higher fuel economy standards, donates a percentage of its proceeds to environmental causes, offers discounts to hybrid car drivers, taxes those who drive fuel-inefficient cares, and even offers a bicycle roadside assistance plan.”

-The Lazy Environmentalist, Wednesday, February 6, 2008.

alissa’s comments:
although the Better World Club seems to be run and supported by sarcastic annoying liberals who resort to making fun of AAA by cleverly substituting the A’s in the acronym with ‘archaic’, ‘arrogant’ and ‘anti-environmental’ , the reviews i’ve read validate their claims that their service is comparable to AAAs… so if you are in need of some roadside service, keep them in mind.

A World Consumed by Guilt – Contemplating Organic Products

My future sister-in law sarah sent me this article, but i don’t know where it came from; i want to say the New York Times, but don’t quote me on it. Anyway, its a good, quick read… oh, and a bunch of weird symbols copied in, i tried to delete them, but i may have missed a few!

December 13, 2007

A World Consumed by Guilt

By ERIC WILSON (no relation!)

LET us set aside the cliches about green fashion, ye cynical Kermits, and presume that everyone is now on board with saving the world by doing our holiday shopping at Barneys, where even the window displays promote eco-friendly clothing.

Let us also presume that organic cotton jeans are good for the earth, and soy-based underwear will someday save the polar bears. Let us carry all our purchases of environmentally sensitive clothing made from bamboo, corn, coconuts, hemp and/or pineapples in our reusable designer grocery bags.

If only buying into green fashion was so easy.

No matter how sincere fashion designers may be in their efforts to embrace the green movement this season, consumers may find themselves perplexed by how to gauge the environmental impact of the many products that claim to be eco-friendly.

After factoring in the fabrics used in clothes and how they were produced, the real benefits of soy versus organic cotton versus recycled polyester may be slight, or confusing, or quite possibly misleading.

When you only look at the raw materials to ask if something is really green, you are like the blind person holding the tail of the elephant, said Chris Van Dyke, chief executive of Nau, a three-year-old outdoor clothing line founded on the principle of sustainable practices throughout its production cycle, including the ecological costs of shipping and caring for garments. There’s a whole lot of other factors you need to assess.

Some clothes, like Loom states $295 organic cotton jeans sold unwashed and not color-fast, to save energy require unusual care. A pair of 2(x)ist soy underwear, $24 at Macy’s, include a warning that imperfections are to be expected. These characteristics should not be considered flaws in the fabric, the packaging says, €–but rather as an intrinsic quality contributing to the uniqueness of the garment.
Some designs marketed as environment-friendly might include only a fraction of organic cotton, or a tag made of recycled paper. And some so-called green fashion may be downright silly, like the Goyard canvas shopping tote shown in the Barneys Have a Green Holiday catalog: the bag is $1,065, plus $310 for painted monogramming of a triangular recycle symbol in gold. The canvas, the catalog says, is 100% recyclable.

Sorry, does canvas go with paper, plastic or glass?

Almost every industry has felt the explosion of green marketing. Green is the new new and improved.

But the trend has advanced so quickly that it becomes difficult to evaluate the claims of products that say they are biodegradable, carbon neutral or made from sustainable materials. In recognition of rapidly expanding consumer interest, the Federal Trade Commission said on Monday that it will quickly re-evaluate its guides for green designations in marketing, last updated in 1998, to determine whether they need to be expanded.

More than half of the 2,007 respondents in a shopper survey in September by BBMG, a branding agency, said they were looking for certification seals on green claims to feel confident about their purchases.

‖It is no longer O.K. to slap a green label on something and think that is acceptable to consumers, said Raphael Bemporad, a partner in the agency. If you just put an eco-friendly phrase on something, you are risking a backlash from more savvy consumers.

For consumers trying to balance their interests between consumption and the environment, the pros and cons of green fashion are complex.

Fabrics made from bamboo or hemp, for example, are promoted as having been raised without pesticides and also for growing much faster than cotton. But the downside is that bamboo or hemp fibers are naturally tough and are typically softened before being woven into fabric by using chemical treatments, which cause more pollution.

Naturally softer fabrics made from soy have a mild impact compared to cotton, according to environmental groups, but they are less durable, so clothes wear out faster and have to be replaced more often” which has an environmental cost of its own.

Organic cotton, which has become trendy in recent years among eco-conscious consumers because it is grown without pesticides, still represents only a tiny fraction of the global cotton crop, about .02 percent, according to statistics provided by several agencies. But organic cotton is not always used in its pure state. The Department of Agricultures standards do not regulate textile production once cotton has been harvested, so as a fabric it may be chemically treated, or printed with toxic dyes, and still be labeled as organic.

Designers seem motivated to create products that live up to their personal convictions about socially responsible clothing.

Most brands endeavor to tell an honest story, said Savania Davies-Keiller, a designer for the fashion label DDCLAB, which sells clothes made from corn fiber. But the brand is reliant on the mill and on the manufacturer of the raw goods. You, as the end consumer, are reliant on the honesty of your brand.

And there are still other factors for the concerned consumer to consider.

Clothes that are assembled in factories far from the mills that produced the fabrics and the stores that sell the finished products leave carbon footprints in their journey around the world. Mr. Van Dykes company uses recycled polyester in its performance outerwear. The fabric is made from used soda bottles and polyester uniforms gathered in the United States and shipped to Japan for processing. The clothes are then made in China and distributed in the United States.

All of this is a trade-off, Mr. Van Dyke said. We’re still moving products around the world, but on balance we view that as a more environmentally responsible solution than using more oil-based fabrics.

There is a grass-roots movement for clothes avoid the fabric complications in that they are made only from old clothes. Collections like Urban Renewal at Urban Outfitters and Project Alabama recycle scraps of used clothing to make new designs.

Alternatives also exist for consumers who remain skeptical about jewelry marketed as conflict free or fair trade, terms meant to indicate that workers in underdeveloped countries were not exploited. Such designs include gold recycled from scrap. Melissa Joy Manning designs earrings and necklaces with flying fox claws and wild dog teeth that are naturally shed, and Monique Paan’s collection includes bracelets made with fossilized ivory from ancient walruses and woolly mammoths. But are they really green? Perhaps not in the way you expect.

Ms. Paan purchases the ivory from subsistence hunters slightly north of the Bering Strait in Shishmaref, Alaska, where rising temperatures have caused the sea ice to erode and threatened the village. She said that 10 percent of her profits will be donated to the Alaskan Native Arts Foundation and that she has contributed about $20,000, but her main objective was to raise awareness of the human impact of climate change.

You hear so much about green and the environment, she said. But you don’t often hear about the people and some of the issues they are facing right now.

You don’t often hear the whole story at all.

In its green holiday catalog, Barneys promotes a $7,600 dress by the rising London designer Duro Olowu as being made from a patchwork of ‖recycled fabric.” Not to split hairs, but Mr. Olowu said in an interview that the fabrics had not come from previously used clothing. They were made of a mix of his own prints and some original, unused samples of leftover couture textiles he found.

It’s not recycling, he said. It’s reclaiming and sustaining what already exists.â

Some argue that the greenest clothes are the ones least likely to adversely affect the earth and its climate are the ones you already own. No new resources will be depleted to make them, and if they need infrequent washing and can be drip-dried, all the better. A review of my own closet” after clearing away the detritus of 100 plastic dry-cleaning bags ” suggests I may be one of the least green people on the planet, perhaps personally responsible for the dust cloud looming over China as a result of over-grazing of Mongolian goats. About the only thing that could be considered green is a 17-year-old high school sweatshirt that still fits. But I routinely machine wash it in hot water and dry it on high heat so it remains as soft and cuddly as possible.

So what can an unreformed consumer do in the face of green fashion that doesn’t always fit?

Perfect doesn’t exist and were probably never going to get there, said Leslie Hoffman, the executive director of Earth Pledge, a nonprofit group that promotes sustainable development and technologies. We all make compromises every day. Making them with your eyes open instead of arbitrarily is the best piece of advice I could give.

Paula Schwartz contributed reporting.

CLOTHING ALTERNATIVES: ORGANIC

“Opting for nontoxic, organically grown apparel is the healthiest choice, for both you and the planet. Chemicals from clothing can not only seep in the human body but also contaminate groundwater, soil, air and food supplies. And organic cotton is at its finest when in the skillful hands of designers Karen stewart and Howard Brown.

STEWART+BROWN
Stewartbrown.com
Every Stewart+Brown design uses organic cotton, factory surplus materials,or Mongolian cashmere-straight from a co-op in northwester Mongolia which helps to ensure the nomadic herders’ survival and maintain their traditional way of life.”

- The Lazy Environmentalist, Tuesday, February 5, 2008.

alissa’s thoughts:
like many things ‘green’, the topic of eco-clothing and fabric is a complex one. while the fabric may be organic, the dyes used to make the vividly colored clothing at the site are used to ‘minimize environmental impact’… meaning they are not likely plant-based organics… also, people may argue the energy embodied in importing mongolian cashmere… in my opinion, when it comes to producing eco-sensitive products, every little bit helps… its still likely better than synthetic clothing produced in chinese factories… if the demand for organic and natural clothing increases it will likely create a demand for natural dyes as well… and someone will create some and make millions and we won’t have to feel so conflicted about buying organic clothing… but reusing what you already have or going to the thrift store is still the most eco-option… we should all learn to sew and repurpose some thrift store finds! if this organic clothing debate interests you check out the article in my next blog!

REAL ESTATE ALTERNATIVES: GREEN GOLF

it seems like every time i try to post here lately the blog manager has been down… once again i have some catching up to do!

“An initiative of Audubon International, Golf and the Environment teams up with golf courses around the wold to help management teams design and maintain courses in ways that support healthier ecosystems. As many developers plan golf courses in new private residential communities, this organization is integral to eco-friendly real estate.

GOLF AND THE ENVIRONMENT
Golfandenvironment.org
Visit the website to find hundreds of golf courses that have been certified by Audobon International, attesting to their environmentally friendly practices.”

-The Lazy Environmentalist, Monday, February 4, 2008.

alissa’s comments: i’m obviously not a golfer, but if i were, i’d try to support one of these courses…. i can’t find clear information on what makes a course signature, gold, silver or bronze criteria, but if a course is working with the audobon society and is on this list, its a good bet that they are implementing sustainable practices and by golfing at their clubs you are rewarding and supporting their practices…

EDUCATION ALTERNATIVES: ECO-EMPLOYMENT

“Eco-driven employment no longer requires that you chain yourself to a nuclear reactor or gulp saltwater while on a Greenpeace ship. Today you can go to engineering school and learn how to design streamlined, super-efficient ships that require less fuel, or you can study how to build green buildings and join the ranks of the more than six thousand U.S. Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) – accredited professionals who are developing the eco-intelligent buildings of the future.

GREEN DRINKS
Greendrinks.org
Every month in cities around the world, professionals working in (or looking to enter) environmental fields gather through Green Drinks for drinks and casual networking. It’s a great way to connect with those who can help lead your career in a green direction.”

- The Lazy Environmentalist, Saturday and Sunday, February 2 and 3, 2008

alissa’s comments:

Green Drinks in Denver meets the third Thursday of every month at Double Daughters on Market Street. It starts around 6 and there are drink specials, but more than anything it is a great way to network and talk about sustainability. If anyone ever wants to go, let me know… I have class until 6:45 but can be there by 7! I am supposed to attend every month, regardless, so if you show up its likely i’ll be there

MEDIA ALTERNATIVES: ECO-WEB

“If logging on to a website is too far to travel to get your share of eco-living insight, then sign p for IdealBite’s daily eco-living email tips and let cofounder Jen Boulden and Heather Stephenson deliver their fun and irreverent eco-tips directly to your inbox. Ideal Bite offers lots of small ways to align your lifestyle with greener values.

IDEALBITE
Idealbite.com
Boulden’s description of their low-key eco-approach: ‘It’s ideal like in an ideal world and a small bite of an apple. You don’t have to eat the whole thing to be healthy. You can start with small bites.’”

-The Lazy Environmentalist, Friday, February 1, 2008

alissa’s comments:
if you are not one to subscribe to e-mails, you can still go check out the tips at their website… i just checked it out and its actually a pretty neat site… its eco-chic, they tout themselves as being a ‘sassier shade of green’, but give common-sense easy little tips, and the benefits behind them. todays is to use revolving doors when possible because they allow less heat to escape from a building. also, i like their philosophy; i don’t think making the earth healthier should require becoming a crunchy hippy on a commune; if everyone does their part making moderate changes to their lifestyles, it can make a big difference.