So Fresh and So Green

Did You Miss Me?

lotuscribe — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 21:15:00 +0000

I know I haven’t called or sent organic flowers, my greenie boombinis, but I’ve been working hard for you! Seriously, I’m working on a new home and a new look for So Fresh + So Green (got to keep it fresh!), so bear with me!

In the meantime in between time, I’ll spread a little love around and share some super duper links with you to keep you in the green.

+ Green and Clean Mom makes an important request: Say NO to Bottled Water

+ Some awesome advice from Dr Amy Wells on handling eczema: Healing Childhood Eczema Naturally

+ Woody Harrelson saves the kittehs: Woody Harrelson Helps Stop Texas Tech Kitten Torture

+ Remember being able to walk to the store? Or school? Or anywhere?: How Children Lost the Right to Roam

+ I love a good freestyle, even when it comes to shoes: Sandals to Tie For

Happy reading! Have a great weekend!

Let’s Not Get it Twisted!

lotuscribe — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:43:35 +0000

“Green” is a relatively new term to the environmental scene. Although green marketing first showed up in the 1980s, with the millennium came a full-fledged green movement. People are becoming much more aware of our impact on the Earth, and can no longer believe the blowhards that claim global warming is a scare tactic (um, terror alert codes yellow through red, anyone?). Recycling, CFLs and organics are becoming the norm, even during this economic poopstorm that is whipping everyone’s butts. Of course, in this great land of capitalism, marketing and advertising hacks see a world of opportunity and profits. How do we clean up the image of a company that is less than eco-friendly? How can we keep those customers who’ve become more aware of what they’re putting in their bodies? How can we shut these damn treehuggers up? Well, the solution, my friend, lies in a thin coat of green paint.

It’s called greenwashing, and it’s all the rage amongst those companies who make eco-shaped bottles of water, and claim that paperless billing or reusing your towels and sheets helps the environment when all it helps is their bottom line. It’s those products that say “All Natural,” “Organic,” and have many shades of green on the label, the same crap they sold before in a prettier, more hippie-friendly package.

Do not be fooled by these fools. Learn how to read the labels!

This applies to any and everything you can think of, from salad dressing to bubble bath, from building materials to children’s toys. There are so many ways these people shake you down for your funds, so you need to make sure you’re spending money on what it is you THINK you’re spending your money on. Sounds convoluted, but it ain’t hard.

This blogger is human, and I am not the greenest greenie in Greentown, but I will not succumb to greenwashing, nor will I let you, faithful reader! Keep your eye on this column for some lessons on label reading (and a little ranting and raving) so you can get the most authentic green products for your greenbacks!

Even Vampires Recycle!

lotuscribe — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:49:01 +0000

Now you know the Earth is in trouble when nightwalkers go green. Vampire Bill, Sookie’s gentlemanly bloodsucking beau on HBO‘s True Blood made a point of telling his new charge, “We recycle in this house!”

What’s next, is Blade going to install solar panels?

(from http://twitter.com/TaraMaeThornton)

I’m a Bag Lady…

lotuscribe — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 21:07:38 +0000

…as long as they’re reusable bags!

Plastic bags are made in hell (not really), and my pantry was overflowing with them. I knew I was committing an eco-crime by not bringing my own bags to the store, but you know, I like to live on the edge. After reading about how plastic bags are made from petroleum, aren’t biodegradable, are a threat to marine life, are a cause of pollution, yada yada yada, I had to reconsider my eco-criminal activity.

I’m a creature of convenience (read: lazy), and I don’t want to drag a bunch of cumbersome bags with me all the time. Then IKEA started charging for their plastic bags (which caused me to curse at the check-out line), and eventually got rid of them all together. Whole Foods got rid of their plastic bags (no surprise, the hippies), and you even get a refund for each bag you reuse (10 cents per bag at my neighborhood store). San Francisco banned them across the board (more hippies). I took that as my cue to find something that I would remember to bring with me, wouldn’t take up too much space in a purse or diaper bag, but could hold a lot of groceries or whatever junk I decide to tote around on any given day. I found a few contenders that fold up into their own little pouch:

BAGGU, come on down! You’re the antidote to my plastic bag nightmare!

They come in a bunch of colors (I’m vain), and I can order them with my shoes (did I mention I was a creature of convenience?). I’ve gotten curious looks and comments from baggers who were impressed with how much these joints can hold. They’re designed to hold the content of 2-3 regular grocery bags, up to about 25 pounds. I can usually get a week’s worth of groceries into 3 bags. I use them at the farmer’s market, the beach, Target, jewelry heists (joke). If they get gnarly, I just throw them in with the laundry and poof, good as new. I’m only human, so I do sometimes forget to fold down my bags and end up leaving them at home. My pantry isn’t totally exorcised of the plastic bag demons, but it’s much less hellacious in there.

DISCLAIMER: No hippies were harmed in the making of this blog post.