Whole Foods to the Rescue

I've always been a fan of Whole Foods, but as of late, the organic grocerery chain has captured my respect. While trying to peddle my cards, I learned that Whole Foods tries to buy locally whenever possible. This led me to want to research the full scope of WF's do-gooding. They are not only a great source of healthful information, support the local ecomony, but also often donate to local charities. One example of this is their 5% days. They work with a local school or charity, pick a day at their store, and donte 5% of their net sales that day to the selected charity. For example, this Thursday at the WF's in Redondo Beach, CA, 5% goes to the Surfrider Foundation. To keep abreast of the 5% days at your local WF's, visit their website, choose your location and sign up for the Fl@vor's email list.

The Perfect Cookie

They just opened a Whole Foods near our house. To say I am thrilled would be a gross understatement. I try to buy most of my groceries at Trader Joes to take it easy on the pocket book, but there are those hard-to-find essentials you can find only at Whole Foods. On one of my treasured trips to WF I came to face to face with a cookie made by Liz Lovely. I'll never pass up the opportunity to try a new cookie that is vegan.

I bought the cookie half expecting it to taste much like a cardboard box with chocolate chips and to have a leathery texture. You can imagine my surprise when I bit into the Liz Lovely cookie and found myself reminiscing of my last escapade with cookie dough ice cream. The cookie was almost like cookie dough; moist, and certainly not low on the taste spectrum. Now, after this first bite I went straight to the wrapper to understand exactly the loveliness I was consuming.

Liz Lovely's tag line is "Baking a Difference," and they've certainly baked a difference in my world and the whole wide world. I've have found a little piece of heaven with a cookie that is vegan, sustainable, socially responsible, Fair Trade, Non-GMO, and organic. Come on people, what's to stop you? Check out Liz's cookies on www.lizlovely.com You can shop online or check to see if your local natural grocers carry them.

Liz Lovely

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It's Not a Bad Search

I always feel like there is more I can do to help those less fortunate than myself. Between work, personal and social obligations, there is little left of my own time to donate to local charities. One thing I do everyday for hours is use the Internet. It would be too good to be true if I were able to double-bill my time to work and charity. Well, apparently Ken and JJ Ramberg had hoped for the same thing when they started GoodSearch.


GoodSearch is a search engine which donates half of its profits to charities and schools. You, the user, designate the charities, and neither you nor the charities spend a cent of your own. They've also recently added GoodShop with the same idea. Various percentages of purchases made on Goodshop go to user designated schools and charities.

So, be sure to go some good searching and good shopping. You have nothing to loose and someone else has everything to gain.

GoodSearch
GoodShop


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Gift Wrap with a Life Span Beyond Christmas Morning

My favorite part of Christmas is the giving part. It is fun to buy or make that perfect gift for the special people in your life. Often I spend just as much time and care in wrapping my gifts as I do purchasing them. Christmas morning comes and goes and the living room displays the carnage of wrapping paper that will see nothing more than than a landfill for all it's days to come.


I've recently discovered a great new product. Handmade and chic gift bags. Cut and sewn from organza and other fine fabrics, Enchante Bags are made in various shapes and sizes to fit something as simple as a wine bottle, to that fold-out gift box you got for mom's new blouse. Your gift bag will be sure to wow the socks off your gift recipient, but the best part is that they can reuse the bag next time they give a gift. Not only have you saved them the cutting and taping that goes hand in hand with gift wrapping, but you've given the environment one less holiday wrap to handle.

www.enchantebags.com



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The Path Less Green

I know I've passed along these eco-footprint quizes before, but here's another. This eco-game created by American public Media asks a lot of good questions about your lifestyle. With each step of the game, you can see how many earth's it would take to support you, and the rest of the world, if we all lived with the same habits. I'm a pretty green-savvy gal, and I was very disappointed in my own score. I have some more work to do!


So, go to the Consumer Consequences game. You get to select a character and dress him/her up as ridiculously as you please. (mine was a little old lady sporting a bonnet and black dress buttoned up to the chin) You then choose your hood. Next step is answering the questions about the stuff you trash, the food you buy and the energy you use. When it is all done, you are given an idea of how wasteful, or not, you are. Then, after you've received your score you have the option to learn how to improve your score and compare yourself to other players.

This is a great way to show kids the impact they have, individually, on the earth!

Thanks for caring for Mama Earth!

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Almost Home Grown

Who has the time, space and green thumb for home grown organic produce? I sure don't! I am, however, lucky enough to live near grocers who have many organic products.


I also use LocalHarvest.com to find local farmer's markets, farms, restaurants and co-op's carrying organic goods. I can even shop from farmers directly on the site. I love this option to buy online for those shoppers who find organic products hard to find of for more specialty items. It's a great online community for those looking to be a little more organic and sustainable.

I know I needn't remind you, but organic is as good to you as it is the earth!


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Tis the Season to be Crafty

The shopping frenzy that kicks off the holiday season comes swiftly. And with Black Friday comes craft fairs at churches, school yards and fair grounds. I love craft fairs. The goods are creative, well made, one of a kind and more affordable than items of equal quality at the mall.

If you live in Los Angeles County there are a couple you must check out. The best part is they are before Thanksgiving so you may get almost all your holiday shopping done and be able to avoid the horrific mall crowds entirely! Not to mention, I'll be there!

The Craft Republic Fair is on November 10th. www.crfair.com at the Pomona Fairplex.

Also on November 17th and 18th is the Saint Charles Borromeo School Holiday Boutique in North Hollywood. Part of the proceeds from this boutique go to support the school.
Saint Charles Borromeo School
10850 Moorpark Ave.
North Hollywood, CA 91602
(818) 508-5359


Don't forget, craft fairs usually have raffles. So, not only are you getting great stuff, but you might win something too! And most importantly, you are supporting your local small business people.


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The Green Behind the Mask

Most halloween parties and trick-or-treat get-togethers are this weekend. If you haven't already pieced together your perfect costume, then you are in a panic to look like anyone else but yourself at these festivals of candy.

The ultimate earth-friendly halloween costume is of course one that is rented or gently used. In Los Angeles, Fantasy Costume has a huge selection of costumes for pumpkin-carvers of all ages. Use Google, or your local yellow pages to find a costume rental near you. If you prefer to buy and alter a costume, try Ebay. But makes sure it's used to help preserve Mama Earth.
If you are handy enough, you can sew an earth friendly costume for you or your kiddos. There are lots of options in organic cotton and bamboo fabric these days. Martha Stewart and other craft websites have lots of costume ideas.

For those who couldn't be bothered with a costume at all, try this simple option.



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Sugar High

Who doesn't love a little sugar!?! I'm talkin' candy! With Halloween hastily approaching, we must accept that our children, will gorge themselves on sweets of all makes and models. At the very least, being of sound mind and adulthood, we should provide the lil' ghosts and ghouls with candy composed of ingredients they can actually read! No! I do not speak of corn syrup.

This year when you buy your treats for Halloween check out naturalcandystore.com or shopnatural.com. You'll be helping the children by not feeding them random chemicals and preservatives, and you'll be supporting companies doing their part to keep the world a greener place.

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Beachy Green

The South Bay of California is a place like none other. Beautiful weather, ocean breezes and small beach communities dot the coast off the Santa Monica Bay. Any given day at the beach you'll find the ocean providing fish to local fisherman and waves to surfers and swimmers. But the ocean can provide these things only if we care for it. One group who feared beach-life was in danger was the Heal the Bay organization.

Finding itself a dump site for trash and sewage, the Santa Monica Bay needed a hero. In 1985, Heal the Bay held rallies, involved the media and joined in lawsuits already pending against the City of L.A. for environmental abuse. These actions began the greatly needed process of healing for the coast off Los Angeles. Today the bay is not perfect, but much better than is was and is on the right track for further improvement.

It's easy to get involved. Heal the Bay has numerous volunteer opportunities, Adopt-a-beach groups, and of course monetary donations are always helpful. You can also participate in online petitions helping environmental causes, and other causes too of course!

So take a couple minutes for our oceans because it makes a world of difference for future generations.

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So Fresh and So Clean, Clean.

We are bombarded with cleaning options for our home, pets and ourself. A good majority of the products out there are not earth friendly. It's bad enough when we slather bottles of chemical-enriched lotions and soaps all over our skin (which by the way is our largest organ and absorbs into our body lotions and soaps that are put on it), but these same products get rinsed down our drains into our water sources during our daily shower or swim at the beach. So not only are you harming yourself, but you are also harming the earth around you.

I'll make it easy for you! Check out the products made by Ecos. They are in recyclable containers, not tested on animals, made with organic essential oils, and earth friendly. They have all the bases covered with products for the kitchen, laundry, personal care and even Rover can benefit from their eco-pet products.

My husband loves using the dish soap to wash down his beloved car, Benny, our Boston Terrier enjoys an after walk refresher with the pet wipes and I dig the hand lotion! What can I say, it's a family affair.

Check out Ecos.

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Mama's Preserves

I've been making a concerted effort to only purchase products that are on the green side. Sustainable, recycled, and recyclable. I'm lucky to live in one of the states that boasts a Trader Joes in every city. And, it was in Trader Joes that I discovered the Preserve toothbrush. It hadn't even occurred to me that a recycled toothbrush existed.

I purchased the brusher of teeth and have to say, I've been pretty happy with it. It is made by Recycline, a company also producing eco-aware tableware for single use, toothpicks and razors. The best part, is when you are done with your toothbrush, tongue cleaner or razor, you can return it to Recycline to have it recycled. And, as if you weren't sold already, they have a postage-paid label you can print off their website, so you don't pay a dime to recycle your goods!

No natural grocer in your area? Preserve products are also sold on their website!

Now go brush to greener teeth....


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The Green Street Journal

Investing in the stock market has never been second nature for me, but I do try to keep my investments green. Buying stocks is another way to support businesses doing their part in the fight for sustainability. I'm not suggesting you blindly invest in any company waving a green flag. Do your research and make smart investments.

One way to keep up with eco-business is GreenBiz.com. Articles from around the world are updated daily on this website. The stories are about businesses taking sustainability initiatives, statistics and research relating to earth-friendly products or approaches, and anything else you would expect to find in your daily newspaper, but with an eco-twist.

So, turn on your computer, curl up with your morning coffee (fair trade of course!) and catch up on your environmental news.


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I Would If I Could

I am in recycler's heaven. I have a bin on wheels in my driveway, and anytime I want, I can take my bag of recyclables to the big blue bin and I know they will be properly sorted and recycled. But many people still suffer the pangs of a neighborhood with no recycling.

When I first moved to Los Angeles I didn't have the option to recycle in my apartment building. But I went online and found a directory of local recycling centers on Earth 911. I was then able to bag my plastics, glass and paper and take them to a local center for recycling. Some centers will pay you back a deposit on the glass and aluminum but this is dependent upon the state in which you live.

While this is good for individual eco-advocates, I encourage you to talk to your home owners associations and begin a recycling program for your neighborhood or apartment complex. You can do the right thing for Mama Earth and help others in your community to do the same.


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The Beetle and the Beast

My favorite past time is traveling, be it the United States or abroad. I always feel a little guilty flying due to airlines' contribution to pollution. I could talk about air pollution, but I'm referring to the airlines' lack of cooperation on the eco-front. I often keep my empty can or plastic bottle when the flight attendants collect trash knowing my recyclable goods will end up in the garbage. I know, I'm loco for the green movement.

I live in California and travel to Hawaii frequently. I get on the computer to compare and book my flight and rental car. I was so happy to discover the Bio-Beetle amongst my car-rental choices. Available for rent in California and Hawaii, the Bio-Beetle is an economical and ecological choice with competitive rental rates and all their cars running on biodeisel.

Daily rates start at about $49 a day. For those who wouldn't be caught dead driving a Beetle, fear not. Quite a few of your choices are various types of Volkswagons, and you do have the option of Jeeps in some locations.

So, traveling west for some warmer weather? Be sure to include the Bio-Beetle as one of your car rental choices!



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I Give Therefore I Am Green

One man's junk is another man's treasure, or at least the story goes. If you are anything like me, you find you have more belongings than you do space. A couple times a year I begin a look around my house, especially my garage, and the "everything must go" mentality takes over. My rule is, if it hasn't been used or worn in a year it is not necessary.

I suppose these are belongings that could be considered garbage and used to pack the local land-fill. I know quite a few people who take the opportunity to donate to Goodwill for a small tax deduction. Another option for listing your goods as "up for grabs" is to Freecycle.

Freecycle.org directs you to a local email group. You can post any items as long as they are free. I'm sure there are some other requirements so be sure to read the policies. (for example, nudie pics are probably frowned upon) People can contact you about your items and with any luck you'll have one less item of which to keep track.

If you prefer a tax break, you may want to try Classified Circles. Much like Ebay, you post your unwanted goods on the online auction. There is no charge for the auction. Even better, the proceeds from the sale go directly to the charity of your choice.

So, toss your unwanted items online and let's make our landfills more like a big compost heap.


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Stick to Green

I made a professional and personal commitment to help Mother Earth, and I haven't shut my trap since! I'm sure friends and family have just about had it with my eco-preaching. However, I feel if I don't pass along the knowledge I gain, I might as well do nothing.

You can imagine how thrilled I was when I discovered I could save my breath and instead just post stickers on any available surface! One with the Earth has developed a universal symbol for environmental awareness . This symbol appears on the stickers they've design to help you spread the green message. Put a "turn off" memo on your light switches, or a "please recycle" request near the trash can.

Whether at home or the office these little notes are a friendly reminder to do the right thing for the environment. I like the added bonus of my being able to talk about things other than eco-awareness, and I don't get annoyed glances!

Get your free stickers.
Check out my recycled note cards.

Green for the Senses

There are a lot of options to tickle my television-watching-fancy. I think the channels on my direct-tv guide go to 800's. And of those hundreds of options I watch only 2 networks religiously; HBO and the Sundance Channel. Thanks to Tivo I can have a life and watch the shows I want. Ah, HBO, what's not too love. I've grown particularly fond of Entourage and enjoy watching familiar places blaze across the screen.

But Sundance I love for completely different reasons. I tune into Sundance for The Green. The brain-child of Robert Redford feeds the eco-conscious by creating a television and web community for them. There are a lot of large corporations who are involving elements of earth-aware activities into their business, but The Green is highlighting businesses that are sustainable through and through. And, more often than not, these are small businesses and individuals.

If you haven't tuned in yet, I highly recommend it. If you've vowed to never watch television again then may I suggest The Green website? I know I've posted my company on the Eco-mmunity map. If you are a Mac junkie like I, use Firefox when browsing this site to avoid any problems.

Tote-ally Fabulous

If you haven't jumped on the bandwagon yet you'd better get going. Word on the street is if you aren't bringing your own canvas bags to the grocery store you're not ecologically cool! Some stores, like my local Trader Joes, give you a little form to fill out each time you bring your own bags and you are entered into a sweepstakes for free groceries. Think of all the things you won't have to do by bringing your own bags; you won't have to figure out how to store the 100 plus plastic bags under your kitchen sink, you won't have to figure out how to fold 80 brown paper bags the way they were before they were used, (much like re-folding a map for those of you who have tried that.) you won't have to sort through the bags searching for those without holes in the bottom.

There are so many indie designers coming out with very cute totes and what better excuse to buy them than for your groceries...and of course for Mother Earth.

I can usually get all my groceries into 1 large and 2 medium totes. I hit the grocery store about 2 times per week. I stuff all the empty totes into one another and it easy to carry into the store. The cashiers always seemed pleased that they won't have to use their talents in double-bagging with my heavy canvas straps in tow. Once home the bags are very easy to lug up my steep flight of stairs when slung over the shoulder instead of grasped tightly in each hand. And after loading up my fridge the bags get returned to my car for the next grocery store trip. I've found I don't remember them unless they are stored in my car.


A couple companies that are specializing in grocery store totes:
http://www.usa.envirosax.com/index.php
http://www.bluelotusblankets.com/products/bags/

For something a little more vogue:
http://www.etoileboutique.net/

I admit, I do use and reuse plastic and brown bags. The plastic bags get loaded up with kitty litter. However I'm trying to come up with a more earth-firendly option for litter toting. If you have any ideas for me let me know. And my brown bags get cut into 8.5" x 11" sheets and fed into my printer. You've probably noticed them in the packaging of my notecards.

On an end note, don't forget to wash your totes. We don't want to be mistaken for anything but sqeaky-clean eco-defenders.