Environment, Organics, Fair Trade & Recycling at Big Green Purse

Think Twice Before You Buy Hershey's Kisses for Your Valentine

This Valentine's Day, before you cover your sweetheart with Hershey’s kisses, or toss a few of those treats into your kids’ lunch box, consider the alternative: organic, fair trade, bite-size bars made from cocoa produced by companies that care about people and the planet.

Why not Hershey’s? The company has been under fire for years from international organizations that monitor child welfare. Most of the world’s cocoa is produced in West Africa, where cocoa farmers typically live in poverty and where forced labor, especially among children, and human trafficking, are tragically common. Reports from concerned humanitarian groups describe how children often work long hours on cocoa farms performing hazardous work like using machetes, carrying heavy loads, and coming into close contact with toxic pesticides.

Several non-profit groups organized a “Raise the Bar” campaign to ask Hershey to take meaningful steps to combat child, forced and trafficked labor in its supply chain, and an online petition drive generated over 100,000 letters to the company asking it to improve its cocoa sourcing practices.

Happily, the company announced recently that it will commit to sourcing independently certified cocoa for its Bliss line by the end of 2012. However, Hershey’s produces many products that contain chocolate, including Almond Joy, Kit Kat, Whoppers Malted Milk Balls, and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. What about responsibly sourcing ALL the cocoa it uses in all these products? Eighth grader Jasper Perry-Anderson has created a follow-up campaign on Change.org to ensure that the Hershey Company expands its commitment to certified cocoa to all its products in the future.

Which gets us back to alternatives to Hershey’s Kisses for Valentine’s Day. Look for chocolates that are certified both fair trade and organic. Fair trade helps protect kids, and organic helps protect the environment. Here are some yummy options you should be able to find in your grocery store, at food co-ops, and at chains like Whole Foods that have made a commitment to carry more sustainably produced products.

Dagoba – Ironically, Hershey owns this company, which was already organic and fair trade when it was acquired. Dagoba sources cacao, the primary ingredient used to make chocolate, from Latin America, South America and Madagascar. Their entire line of drinking chocolate, syrup, and cacao powder has been certifed Fair Trade by Transfair. You can buy a box of "bites" or choose full-fledged bars.

Endangered Species ORGANIC DARK CHOCOLATE CHIMP MINTS They're certified organic, vegan, gluten-free, kosher Non-GMO and the cacao is sourced from Rainforest Alliance Certified™  ethically traded cacao farms ensuring fair trade, responsible labor practices and sustainable farming. Plus they taste good!

Wei of Chocolate -  This organic and fair trade chocolate, also certified by the Rainforest Alliance, is infused with "energetic" flower essences that they claim lead to greater tranquility, peace and joy. They're beautifully wrapped; a box-ful would certainly enhance my peace and joy, at least as long as they lasted!

Lake Champlain Chocolates makes some delicious organic chocolates - but they're NOT Fair Trade: Organic Chocolate Truffles from Lake Champlain Chocolates -  or organic chocolate squares in flavors that include cinnamon, sea salt and almonds, milk, and dark.

Then there's Ghirardelli. It promotes some of its bars as "100% all natural," but offers no explanation of what that means. There's no mention of Fair Trade or organic on its website, either. What gives?

If you prefer chocolates from these companies, please go to their websites and encourage them to adopt certified fair labor and organic practices.

 RELATED POSTS:

Fill Your Heart With Organic Chocolate

Environmental In-Box: Seeds of Change Chocolate

 

Later this year, look for Hershey’s Bliss® products made with 100 percent cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms. Rainforest Alliance Certified farms have met comprehensive sustainability standards that protect the environment and ensure the safety and well-being of workers, their families and communities. Hershey’s Bliss® chocolates are available to U.S. consumers at more than 35,000 retail outlets. Meanwhile, you can read more about Hershey’s sustainability plans here.

What Did I Miss?

If you make an organic, Fair Trade chocolate we didn't mention here, please leave a comment with all the pertinent information. If you love an organic, Fair Trade chocolate we failed to notice, please let us know! Thanks.

Do You Have a BHAGG for 2012?

You can't buy it. You can't make it. And you probably shouldn't eat it - unless it's organic.

You can, however, achieve it - because it's a goal... a Big Hairy Audacious Green Goal, exactly the kind of goal we need if we're serious about protecting the planet, our health, and the health and safety of our families.

You notice a BHAGG is not a "resolution," as in the well-meaning but easy-to-break promise you might make to yourself in the new year. Nope, a BHAGG is a specific challenge you strive to achieve, knowing full well it may not be easy to reach - but when you get there, it will make a real difference.

For example, an eco-resolution might be, "save energy in 2012." A BHAGG would be "reduce the amount of energy I use to heat my home by 20%, as measured by a 20% reduction in my heating and cooling bills."

A resolution might be, "eat more locally grown food." A BHAGG would be, "80% of the food I eat will be grown within 100 (or 200 at most) miles of where I live."

A resolution might be, "drive less." A BHAGG would be, "walk or bicycle distances of less than a mile."

Precise, measureable, and meaningful: those are the keys to a BHAGG that will have an impact.

The original term Big Hairy Audacious Goal, or BHAG, was coined by James Collins and Jerry Porras in their 1994 best-seller, Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. They discovered that successful companies set goals that were not only visionary, but very specific, such as "achieve a 10% revenue growth rate in the next three months."

"A true BHAG is clear and compelling, serves as a unifying focal point of effort, and acts as a clear catalyst for team spirit," they wrote. "It has a clear finish line, so the organization can know when it has achieved the goal..." I added an extra "G" to the original BHAG idea, to include Green in the equation.

At Big Green Purse,  we've encouraged folks to set a goal of shifting $1,000 of their annual household spending to greener goods and services, as part of our One in a Million campaign to mobilize consumer clout to improve manufacturing. You can read about some of the people who achieved -- and exceeded - that goal here.

So... what's your BHAGG for 2012? If you want to join those who are shifting $1,000 or more, you can sign up here. If you have other goals, please share them with us so we can be inspired by your example.

Personally, I have two BHAGGs for 2012: to shift an additional $1,000 of my consumer spending to greener goods and services; and to reduce my home heating and cooling use by 20%. Stay tuned for future posts as I figure out how to do that!

Happy New Year!

 

Your Big Green Muscle is Getting J&J to Make Its Baby Shampoo Safer

Moms, consumer groups, nurses, and other health professionals have succeeded in getting Johnson & Johnson to begin to remove toxic chemicals from its baby shampoo.

Two years ago, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics reported that J&J's baby shampoo contained quarternium-15, which releases formaldhyde, as well as the chemical product 1,4-dioxane. Both formaldehye and dioxane are known carcinogens - which is why so many citizens rose up to pressure the company to produce a healthier, safer shampoo. This was a product for babies, after all!

In a coordinated effort, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, the American Nurses Association, Physicians for Social Responsibility, the National Association of Pediatric Nurse Practitioners, and 40 other groups, sent a letter to J&J outlining their concerns. Groups like our own Green Moms Carnival also raised awareness through blogs that reached hundreds of thousands of people.

Earlier this month, Johnson & Johnson announced that they are no longer introducing baby products that contain formaldehyde. They also announced that they have reformulated "approximately 70%" of their products with new formulas that keep trace levels of 1,4-dioxane below detectable levels.

“Clearly there is no need for Johnson & Johnson to expose babies to a known carcinogen when the company is already making safer alternatives. All babies deserve safer products,” said Lisa Archer, director of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics at the Breast Cancer Fund.

Archer commented, “We’re glad to see that the Johnson & Johnson is taking this seriously. This commitment is a big step in the right direction. We look forward to the day when we can tell consumers the company’s entire product line is free of carcinogens and other chemicals of concern.”

RELATED POSTS

Should Soap Bubble Make Your Baby Sick? Tell J&J No!

Putting on Lipstick Shouldn't be so Risky...

SHOP FOR SAFER BABY PRODUCTS AND COSMETICS IN OUR AMAZON STORE

My test-drive of the all-electric Nissan Leaf - On a scale of One to Ten, I give it a ...

Solid Nine. And that's saying a lot, considering that most cars would probably average only a 3 or a 4.

What's so great about the Leaf?

   I had a chance to find out earlier this week when I stopped by the Nissan Leaf road show as it passed through my county. The Leaf is Nissan's snazzy eco-friendly, all-electric car which means...it runs ONLY on electricity. It is NOT a gasoline-electric hybrid like the Ford Fusion or Chevy Volt, both of which I have also tested. The Leaf does not run on flex fuel or biodiesel or hydrogen or natural gas or anything other than electricity. It is truly gas-free.

Nissan had set up a big pavilion in the parking lot of the local mall to explain how the car works and then let people take it for a test drive. I was ready to be skeptical, since I drive a Prius (the original model, which I purchased in 2002), and love it. Instead, I fell in love with the Leaf. Here's why.

Shopping for Eco-Friendly Clothes, Part 3: Choose Hemp

Part 1 of this series suggested you read the label and look for specific certifications that indicate clothes were made to reduce their environmental impact. Part 2 noted you could make it easy to buy greener fashions by choosing Tencel and Lyocell, fibers woven from natural cellulose. In the last of our three-part series, we're focusing on one of my all-time favorite fabrics: hemp, made from a plant that's been a source of food and fiber for the past 10,000 years.

Because it's botanically related to marijuana, many people believe that hemp is completely illegal to grow in the U.S. This is not the case, though it is not grown as widely as it should be. Industrial hemp is legal to produce, trade and possess in Oregon, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Vermont, though the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has imposed some restrictions. To be absolutely clear, hemp does not have any of marijuana's psychoactive properties. You can grow it, process it, eat it, and wear it, but you sure can't smoke it, even if you set it on fire! Meanwhile, Americans spend $360 million every year on imported hemp, and that number is growing. Wouldn't it make more sense to develop the industrial hemp market here in the U.S.?

WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT HEMP?

To Beat Mosquitos - Don't Zap 'Em, Trap 'Em

Don't waste your money buying electric bug zappers or battery-powered insect traps. They don't actually prevent mosquitos from breeding, and they're pretty intrusive - who wants to sit on the porch on a nice summer night and hear "zzzz" every time a bug gets electrocuted?

This simple mosquito trap is a more environmentally friendly option. Just put a few cups of rain, ditch or pond water in the jar and add the powdered bait that comes with the trap. The mosquitoes will lay their eggs in the water; once they go in the jar, they don't come out.

For best results, position a trap every 10 feet or so around the perimeter of your porch or patio, using at least two traps. Don't put the traps near where you usually sit or picnic, as the jars do lure mosquitos in before they trap them!

What else can you do to reduce mosquitos in an eco-friendly way?

Have you taken the "Buy Local" challenge?

Want to show your support for environmentally friendly, locally grown food?

Yes, you can eat it!

You can also take the "Buy Local" challenge, a campaign to get shoppers to eat locally grown food every day from July 23-31.

Here are a few reasons why buying and eating locally grown food is so important.

Here's where you can find organic, locally grown food in your community.

Here are a week's worth of menus for meals made with locally grown ingredients. Or get an entire cookbook of delicious recipes inspired by locally raised fruits and vegetables.

And here's where you can take the challenge.

 

Make Your Own Delicious, Organic Tomato Sauce. Here's How.

  This post is for you if you: love the taste of vine-ripened locally grown tomatoes; worry about "store bought" tomatoes containing too much sugar, salt or other additives; want to avoid canned tomatoes or tomato sauce because the can linings might contain BPA; or just like the idea of making your own food.

This recipe is also for you if you don't want to bother with canning. I'm a fan of freezing tomatoes because it's just so easy to do.

What you'll need

 Tomatoes - I prefer to use mostly Roma, with a few beefsteak and heirloom tomatoes thrown in. I buy organic pretty much exclusively, though have also made sauce from tomatoes my neighbors give me when their gardens overflow (I don't have enough sun to grow my own.).

Cutting board and sharp knife - You'll need to quarter the tomatoes and remove the pulpy seeds before you throw them into the food processor. Avoid using a wooden board, since all the tomato juice will soak into the wood and make it hard to clean. A serrated knife works well to slice through tomato skin and all the way through the tomato.

Food processor -The food processor can chop the tomatoes into such small pieces that you won't need to remove the skins, which saves a lot of time and also ensures that you keep all the vitamins, nutrients and fiber that are in tomato skin.

Colander and bowl - You'll need a colander to drain the tomatoes after you wash them, and then again to capture the tomato juice when you're seeding the tomatoes.

Large stock pot - Use the pot to simmer the liquid out of the tomatoes before you freeze them.

Spoons, Ladles - A long, stainless steel slotted spoon is best for stirring the tomatoes when they're in the pot so they don't burn. Use the ladle, a large serving spoon, or a stainless steel, long-handled measuring cup to transfer the simmered tomatoes to the freezer jars.

Freezer jars - You can buy glass canning and freezer jars, or use glass jars you've saved from other foods and sauces. I prefer glass over plastic because chemicals from the plastic might seep into the food if it's hot when you put it in the jar. If you do use plastic, make sure your sauce is totally cool before you put it in the container. Leave 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch of space between the food and the jar lid so the food has room to expand when it freezes.

Get Started ...

Putting on Lipstick Shouldn't be so Risky. It Won't Be - if You Support the Safe Cosmetics Act

If you're anything like me, when you buy lipstick or eye make-up, it's because you want to look better, not feel worse. But many cosmetics contain questionnable ingredients that have been linked to cancer, reproductive problems, and asthma and respiratory disease. I've switched to more eco-friendly, non-toxic personal care products, but shouldn't EVERY cosmetic be eco-friendly and non-toxic?

With your participation and some determined work on Capitol Hill, it will be. Several members of Congress recently introduced the Safe Cosmetics Act, legislation that would phase out toxic ingredients in our make-up and other personal care products that have been linked to cancer, birth defects and developmental harm. The act would also create a health-based safety standard to protect not only us adults, but kids, the elderly, and people who work in salons and the cosmetics industries.

Plus, the legislation would require companies to fully disclose all the ingredients their products contain so we consumers can read the labels and decide what we want to be exposed to. Finally, the new law would boost funding for the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Cosmetics and Colors so it can effectively oversee the cosmetics industry and better protect consumers.

Top 10 Eco-Ways to Keep Cool While the Planet Heats Up

Do you love summer but hate the heat? Me, too, especially when it’s combined with the high humidity we have where I live in the Washington, D.C. suburbs. Here’s how I keep cool when 100+degree heat waves roll through town:

1)    Use an air conditioner AND fans. A fan doesn’t affect the temperature of a room. It just creates a “wind chill” effect by moving air around. An air conditioner will actually lower the temperature of a room and remove humidity, too.  We cool the house to around 78 or 80 degrees (down from the high nineties or low hundreds!), then circulate the cooled air with small room fans. We only use fans in the rooms we’re actually occupying to save energy.

  2)    Set our thermostat as high as comfortably possible. For us, that means somewhere between 78 and 80 degrees F. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, the smaller the difference between the indoor and outdoor temperatures, the lower your overall cooling bill will be. The U.S. Department of Energy suggests keeping your house warmer than normal when you are away, and around 78°F (26°C) only when you are at home and need cooling. A programmable thermostat can make it easy to set back your temperature.
•    Find out how to operate your thermostat for maximum energy savings.

3)    Cover sunny windows. Our sunniest windows are shaded by porch overhangs that prevent the hot sun from streaming into our house and heating things up. We have double-paned blinds we can pull if the sun gets too intense. In previous years, we planted several deciduous trees in front of the house. Now their shade also helps us keep our home cool in the summer.

4)    Keep windows and doors closed. Once we’ve cooled the air, we try not to leave outside doors open too long when we’re going in and out. We use a back door to enter and exit because it lets in less heat than the front door.

5)    Use oven only in early morning. If I need to bake anything, I try to do it before 9 a.m. Otherwise, I cook on my stove top, in the microwave and toaster oven, or on an outdoor grill.

6)    Cook several meals at one time, then reheat as needed. This not only saves energy, but reduces the amount of time I spend cooking overall.

7)    Make “sun” tea. I drink a lot of iced tea in the summer. Rather than boil water in a kettle on the stove, I either use an electric kettle to boil water in less than a minute, or just put a pitcher of water outside with a few tea bags in it. After a few hours, the heat from the sun will raise the water temperature enough to steep the tea.

8)    Eat cold food. Summer is the perfect time for salads, smoothies, sandwiches, raw vegetables,  cold soups, and of course, ice cream. If you eat as much ice cream as we do, you might want to make your own. You can get popsicle molds that are either stainless steel or BPA-free plastic.

9)    Take shorter showers in cool water.  Any of these timers will help you keep your shower under five minutes.

10)    Take off some clothes. You know how, in winter, you put on a sweater to stay warm? In summer, we all walk around our house barefoot and in loose, sleeveless dresses or tank tops and shorts. It's surprising how much cooler we stay when we're lightly dressed.

Want more energy-saving tips? Find them right here.