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

Compost: Crack for the Garden

Compost is crack for the garden.

 When you add it to your soil, it makes the earthworms shimmy, the bugs boogie, and plants positively pop.

(From what I've read, crack has a similar effect on the people who use it; let me say for the record that I've never tried it!)

Just as good, compost strengthens your soil and reduces your need to use synthetic fertilizers or toxic pesticides. If you're NOT using compost, why are you bothering to garden at all? Really!

WHAT EXACTLY IS COMPOST?

Composting is Nature's way of turning waste into organic gold.

• Through good old-fashioned biological processes, composting converts kitchen scraps, yard waste, and other organic matter into rich and crumbly, soil-like material that attracts healthy worms, fights disease and improves the fertility of the soil.

WHY IS COMPOSTING SO GREAT?

• Composting saves money by reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and toxic chemicals.
  
• Composting could save communities money, too. Yard trimmings and food waste together constitute 23 percent of the U.S. municipal solid waste stream. That's a lot of garbage to send to landfills when it could become useful and environmentally beneficial compost instead!

  I compost fruit and veggie kitchen scraps in my backyard. My town picks up our fallen leaves every autumn, lets them biodegrade at a municipal site, and delivers them back to us in the spring to use as mulch on our gardens and around our bushes and trees. You can also buy ready-made compost at most hardware stores and garden centers, or online at places like Amazon (we sell some in our store here). NOTE: If you buy compost, make sure it has been made from certified organic plant sources.

 YOU CAN MAKE YOUR OWN COMPOST

You can make compost from kitchen waste, debris from your lawn and garden, or both. You can either build your own compost pile, or buy a compost tumbler or bin. You can even get composting bags to keep on your back porch, deck or patio.

#EarthDay Insights: 13 Ways to Make Your Food More Eco

Maybe you already eat organic produce. You've cut down on meat. You grow your own lettuce. That's  great! But Earth Day is nothing if not a time to consider...what else can we do, especially when it comes to the food we buy and eat?

 Danielle Nierenberg of The Food Tank suggests 13 important ways we can reduce the environmental impact of growing, processing, marketing, and disposing of our food. Take a look at the list. I hope you'll add your own recommendations!

1) Eat more colors
The colors of fruits and vegetables are signs of nutritional content. The American Cancer Society reports that richly colored veggies like tomatoes can help prevent cancer and heart disease. Eggs that have brightly orange-colored yolks are also high in cancer-fighting carotenoids, and are more likely to be produced by healthier chickens.
 
 2) Buy food with less packaging
Discarded packaging makes up around one-third of all waste in industrialized countries,  impacting the climate, and our air and water quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s analysis of different packaging for tomatoes found that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) clamshell packaging increases tomatoes’ associated carbon emissions by 10 percent. What's better? Choose foods you can buy in bulk, and bring your own bags - even to the produce aisle.
 
3) Choose seasonal produce
Many farmers markets, including the New York City Greenmarkets, offer guides about which products are in season. Locally sourced, seasonal products can also be found at major grocery stores. Or sign up for a weekly CSA, which provides a mix of fresh, seasonal produce throughout the year. Other programs, such as Siren Fish Co.’s SeaSA in San Francisco, offer seasonal meats and seafood.

How You Can Avoid Eating Arsenic When You Cook Rice

Alarming levels of arsenic, a toxin that can cause bladder, lung and skin cancer, are showing up in rice. Why? It has to do with the way we grow food. Soil naturally contains some arsenic. But many of the pesticides and herbicides used on conventional farms add much more arsenic to the ground.

Consumer Reports, which did the research on arsenic contamination in rice, reports that "According to the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, the U.S. is the world’s leading user of arsenic...since 1910 about 1.6 million tons have been used for agricultural and industrial purposes, about half of it only since the mid-1960s. Residues from the decades of use of lead-arsenate insecticides linger in agricultural soil today, even though their use was banned in the 1980s. Other arsenical ingredients in animal feed to prevent disease and promote growth are still permitted. Moreover, fertilizer made from poultry waste can contaminate crops with inorganic arsenic."

Most plants absorb some arsenic when they are grown. But because rice is grown in water, it  absorbs significantly more arsenic, which ends up in the rice grains we eat. 

What can you do?

Think Ahead to Meatless Monday with this Delicious Casserole

Farmers markets, roadside stands and bins in the grocery store are full of the ripe ingredients that combine to make recipes from La Tartine Gourmande, a new cookbook from Beatrice Peltre that emphasizes fresh, organic and seasonal cooking. The book itself features everything I like in a collection of recipes: simple directions, straightforward lists of ingredients, and beautiful photographs, thanks to the pictures taken by the author herself. 

The recipes include breakfast, lunches, dinners and desserts "to inspire." They're as beautiful to look at as they are delicious to taste. And many of them, like the vegetable "tian" described below, offer a perfect alternative to meat on Meatless Monday or any day.

Serve your tian with a fresh green salad tossed with a drizzle of olive oil, a splash of red wine vinegar, a sprinkling of sea salt and a twist of cracked pepper. If your diet is gluten free, take another 5 minutes to make some whole-grain couscous. Otherwise, use a slice of whole grain bread to sop up the juices left in the bottom of your dish. 

 

Summer Vegetable Tian

The following recipe serves 4. If that's all you need, you can still double up and freeze what you don't eat, or cover and serve again later in the week. 

By the way, a "tian" is a dish from the south of France. It features layers of summer vegetables baked slowly in a low-temperature oven so that the flavors and scents of all the vegetables combine without losing their individual taste. I first tried it at a neighbor's dinner party. As delicious as it was the day it was cooked, my neighbor said it was even more flavorful the next day when the left-overs were re-heated.

 Ingredients (serves 4)

1 tablespoon chopped lemon thyme or regular thyme

1/4 cup chopped basil

5 garlic cloves minced

2 Italian eggplants (280 g; 10 oz), sliced into thin rounds

Sea salt

olive oil

2 zucchini (400 g; 14 oz), thinly sliced (use a mandoline if you have one)

3 to 4 ripe tomatoes (550 g; 19 1/2 oz), thinly sliced

2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced (280 g; 10 oz) (use a mandoline if you have one)

Pepper

Here's What You Do:

Eating Organic Produce Will Reduce Your Exposure to Toxic Chemicals

Eating fruits and vegetables that are grown without pesticides reduces the amount of toxic chemicals you eat. And if you choose organically farmed beef, you'll minimize your exposure to antibiotic-resistant bacteria. 

 These conclusions seem obvious, but Stanford University put them to the test. In a recent analysis of 230 field studies and 17 human studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe, Stanford compared pesticide residues, antibiotic resistance and vitamin and nutrient levels in organic and conventionally produced foods.

In the study, organic foods were deemed to be just as nutritious as those grown with pesticides. Moreover, “The study confirms ... that consumers who eat organic fruits and vegetables can significantly reduce pesticide concentrations in their bodies,” Sonya Lunder, senior analyst at Environmental Working Group, said. “This is a particularly important finding for expectant mothers and kids, because the risks of dietary exposures to synthetic pesticides, especially organophosphate and pyrethroid insecticides, are greatest during pregnancy and childhood, when the brain and nervous system are most vulnerable. These are two groups that should really avoid eating foods with high levels of pesticide residues.”

Based on its review of the research, the Stanford research team also concluded that conventionally raised meat (cows raised in crammed feed lots that are routinely given antibiotics to fight outbreaks of disease) harbors more antibiotic resistant bacteria. In fact, the study found that people who eat non-organic chicken or pork are 33 percent more likely to ingest three or more strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria than those who eat organic meat.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Top Ten Organic Food Price Busters

Here's How You Can Afford to Buy Organic Food

 

Woman Inspired to Build a Hoop House to Grow More Food

One of the ways we can eat healthier food that doesn't harm the environment is by growing our own fruits and vegetables. My dear friend Carol is a real inspiration in that department.

Carol, who lives in Arlington, VA, has transformed her backyard into a beautiful oasis brimming with gorgeous flowers and a wonderful variety of edible plants, all of which she grows using no toxic chemicals.

Normally, in our part of the world (mid-Atlantic), the growing season ends right about now - late October/early November. Carol decided to build a  "hoop house" to protect some vegetables from frost and extend her growing season by a couple of months. (She finished it just in time for Food Day!)

When I asked her about it, here's what she said:

(Diane) You're an avid gardener! Your flower beds are gorgeous, and you already grow an abundance of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables. Given how much time you put in during spring and summer, I'd think you'd want a rest come fall! (Carol) I LOVE to garden.  It was Becky's idea (Carol's daughter) to keep me happy in the late fall and early spring - plus the heat, mosquitoes, and gnats are   better when it's cooler outside! 

So why did you decide to build a hoop house, which some people also call a cold frame?  It's supposed to extend the growing season by about two months - one at each end. 

How did you figure out what materials you would need and how big to make it?  I searched hoop houses on the Internet, watched several videos, and decided to start with a small hoop.  This was my favorite on how to build a hoop house and raised bed. 

 Did you actually construct it all yourself?  Yes, it was a challenge - having grown up at a time when girls took home ec and boys took shop.  But I did OK.  Home Depot cut one of the three pieces of 8 foot lumber in half at no charge, so I could have two  pieces 8 feet long and two 4 feet long for the raised bed.  Home Depot also sold 10 foot pvc pipes, which they cut into 8 foot sections for free.  I bought the plastic in a roll there, too, as well as the screws.  I bought the screws (wood screws and screws with wing nuts) too short, but I was able  to walk to the hardware store and get what I needed - including a special drill bit so I didn't have to screw them in by hand.  

Building the raised bed was by far the hardest part of the job.  I had to drill 28 holes, then  re-drill them because the holes were too small.  Then I had to go to the hardware store twice for the right screws.

 Wow! That's so impressive! What will you be planting in it? I am hoping to have a month or two more of cold weather crops:  lettuce, arugula, kale, Swiss chard.   I want to pick up some spinach seedlings at the farmers market this weekend to put in there, too. 

Plus, I moved some warm weather plants - basil, dill, cilantro - to protect them. Otherwise, they'll die in a week or so from the cold weather.

 

  

Great! I can't wait for my next dinner invitation!

 

 

 

  

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.

How to Shop for Eco-Friendly Clothes - Part 2: Try TENCEL or Lyocell

If we were to separate clothing into categories, somewhere in between natural fibers like cotton or hemp and man-made petroleum fibers like polyester, we'd find Lyocell, "a natural cellulose" product. Lyocell  is made by processing wood pulp into fiber so it can be woven into fabric and sewn into socks, underwear, pants, and blouses, among many other fashion options.

Lyocell, which is also sold under the trade name TENCEL® or Lenzing Lyocell, offers several advantages over conventional cotton and even rayon, another fiber made from cellulose. The trees Lyocell is made from are grown without pesticides, often in sustainably managed forests on land that's not suitable for other crops. Though harsh chemicals are needed to soften the wood pulp so it can be converted into fiber, the chemicals are captured in a "closed loop" processing system so they can be reused rather than discharged into local water supplies. (NOTE: The Organic Clothing blog cautions people who are highly chemically sensitive to be alert to possible allergic reactions to TENCEL.)

Lyocell also offers advantages over cotton when it comes to water. According to this excellent analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council, unless the cotton is only grown using rain water, Lyocell can end up using far less water to produce than either conventional or organic cotton. Sustainable textiles expert Coral Rose notes, "I strongly believe Lenzing’s products are a key component to any sustainable fiber strategy, when considering all the environmental impacts associated with fiber growing and production." 

New Innovations in TENCEL® are giving way to several variations of the fabric. TENCEL® MICRO is a very smooth silky fiber, while TENCEL® with Multitouch can be used to make heavier fabrics like denim.
 
Shopping for TENCEL®

TENCEL® products are widely available, some at very reasonable prices. Forever 21, for example, offers a severl TENCEL-based garments like this blazer.

You can also find a huge selection of TENCEL® clothing at Tianello.

To try out a TENCEL® sheet set, check out Downlite  or even your local Bed Bath and Beyond Store.

 

Use Your Purse!

The U.S. has an extremely high average fiber consumption per capita, approximately 41.8 kg per year compared to the international average of 10.5 kg per year. Clearly, how we choose to spend our money on clothing directly affects the environment. The next time you are faced with a choice between TENCEL® and cotton, choose the most eco-friendly option: TENCEL®.

For More Information...

Don't miss Part 1 of our series, "How to Shop for Eco-Friendly Clothing"

You can learn more about Tencel if you read this interview with Coral Rose, who has been a featured speaker at events such as The ECO-SHOW, All Things Organic (ATO), and Texworld-New York, to name a few. In this article Coral points out how rare it is to find a company that answers the questions “what is the source of our raw materials? [and] Where were the materials harvested, processed, produced?” Her opinion on the environmental impact of fiber growing and production is that Lenzing Modal and Tencel come out on top.

Modal
 Modal, which is also manufactured by Lenzing, is made from beech trees. Modal is highly absorbent and, like Tencel, resists fading.  100% Modal  is most often made into towels or bedding, though it blends very well with cotton and is another great choice for clothing.

How to Shop for Eco-Friendly Clothes - Part 1: Read the Label

If we want our apparel to be "eco," most of us start by buying vintage or second-hand, swapping with friends or family, or dragging out the sewing machine to pull together a pattern or alter an old style into something more trendy. We recycle our clothes in a lot of creative ways, too. But even with all that, we may still need to buy new at some point.

When that time comes, what should you look for? We've previously tackled the problems with buying apparel made from bamboo, even if it claims to be "eco friendly." Organic cotton is among the most reliable options to choose; it's gotten pretty easy to find socks, t-shirts, maybe even some lingerie made from this "green" fiber. But beyond that, the choices are pretty slim, especially if we still do most of our clothes shopping at the mall.

So if bamboo is out and organic cotton is hard to find, what does that leave? We'll attempt to answer that question and more with this primer on how to shop for eco-friendly clothes.

Here's Part #1 - Read the label.

When shopping for "greener" clothes, ignore words like "environmentally friendly," "nature safe," and "eco." Instead, look for third-party certifications  for claims that mean the shirt or shoes or pajamas were predominantly made from sustainable fibers by adults, not kids, in a Fair Trade process that minimizes its environmental impact. The following companies certify companies that meet these criteria.

GOTS - The Global Organic Textile Standard

The raw materials that GOTS certifies must first be approved organic by a trusted company such as The Institute for Marketecology.GOTS will then review every step in the manufacturing process, from the harvesting of raw materials right through to proper product labeling. GOTS pays special attention to the dyeing process, as this can be extremely harmful to the health of workers as well as the environment. GOTS will not certify any manufacturer that uses any heavy metals, formaldehyde, GMO enzymes or carcinogenics.

GOTS is also very strict about environmental discharge during production and chemical residues in the finished product. GOTS will grade a product as an "Organic Textile" if it has at least a 95% organic origin. They will grade a product as "Textile containing organic fibers" if it has at least 70% organic origin. Several companies partner with GOTS and share their standards, including ICEA, based in Italy, ECOCERT, based in France , the Organic Trade Association in the U.S., Soil Association, based in the UK , and the Japan Organic Cotton Association.

Global Enfant sells baby and children s products that are both COTS and SA8000 (see below) certified.
 Recycle a Tee also uses GOTS certified materials.

 

Oeko-Tex® Standard 100

Oeko-Tex is also recognized globally as a reliable and independent 3rd party eco-certification. The company will test and if applicable, certify textile raw materials, as well as intermediate and end products at all stages of production.  Oeko-Tex will allocate a product into one of four classes based on how much contact it has with skin. Products intended for babies, for example, must meet more stringent requirements than those woven into a woman's blouse.  

Eden Home and Green Earth Bamboo  both offer Oeko-Tex-certified clothing for the whole family.

 

 SA8000
If a company states that it is SA8000-certified, it means it has passed a globally recognized social accountability standard for fair and humane working conditions. Specifically, products must meet the following criteria to be considered for SA8000 certification: No Child Labor, No Forced Labor, Proper Health and Safety, Workers' Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining, No Discrimination, Reasonable Working Hours, and Fair Wages.

 

Fair Trade Certified™ You may already be purchasing Fair Trade coffee or chocolate. This certifying group now also certifying apparel and linens. If you are buying apparel that has been Fair Trade Certified, you can feel good about your purchase knowing that you are helping fight poverty and develop sustainability for some of the world’s most indigent cotton farmers and factory workers.

In the US, HAE NOW and Tompkins Point Apparel are among a handful of companies that have been Fair Trade Certified.

Read more about sustainable and eco-friendly clothing here. And check back soon for Parts 2 and 3 of our eco-friendly clothing series.

 

Washington, D.C. Woman Shifts $1,029 of Her Household Budget to Go Green

It's one thing to say you want to be "eco friendly." It's quite another to put your money where your mouth is and spend real dollars on greener products and services, especially in these days of tight budgets and an uncertain economy.

Yet that's exactly what Bonnie C., a 26-year old resident of Washington, D.C., has done. Bonnie is single, lives in an apartment, and works for the U.S. Government. Here's her story:

"I read a blog post of yours last year encouraging readers to redirect $1000 in spending to green purchases.  This really struck me, and I decided to try it.  I hit $1000 in December when I installed my own programmable thermostat.  Here's how I did it:

BONNIE'S BIG GREEN SHIFTS

Used furniture (sofa, dining table, patio table, TV, TV cabinet): $340, but the TV and cabinet were free!

 Used Bike: $250

Garden Plot, tools, soil: $200

Organic Food: $75

Glass food containers: $40

Organic Body Products: $5 (but I've only run out of toothpaste, so I expect this number to grow)

No VOC Paint: $40

CFL Lightbulbs: $20

Green Cleaning Products: $25

Programmable Thermostat: $34

Total: $1029

Even though I live in an apartment, I installed the thermostat and painted - I'll change them back when I move out.

I think it's also interesting to note that most of these purchases saved me money.  I'm 26, and I don't have a large budget to reallocate, but by buying used items, I must have saved hundreds.  The lightbulbs and thermostat will save me money, AND I don't have to get out of bed in a cold house!  I also bought a fuel-efficient Honda Fit that gets about 34 mpg on average for my typical commute, but 37-38 on long road trips.

This year I'm planning to shift more spending towards food and beauty products.  I'm also trying to get a roommate, which will not only cut down on expenses, but house 2 people using about the same energy as 1.

Most of these were really easy changes, but I'm still getting over sticker shock of organic food and beauty products.

Changing out the thermostat was surprisingly easy.  Yes, there were tons of poorly labeled wires, but we followed the directions carefully and it only took about 30 minutes.

Next I'm looking for a roommate!  I'm also going to try to get into composting.  And I'll keep migrating to better food and beauty products."

Bonnie's also going to keep working on her boyfriend, who was helpful if skeptical. "He was reluctant at first," she says, "but had a positive view after we finished those projects (installing the thermostat and setting up the garden plot)."  I'm still trying to get him into better toiletries and food, but he was a quick sell on green cleaning products!"

Thanks for blogging and motivating me!"
Bonnie

As Bonnie knows, every dollar you shift makes a difference. The way you spend your money is your first line of defense against products that contain toxic ingredients or waste energy. Just as importantly, buying "green" encourages companies to reduce pollution and use water and other natural resources with greater care. Plus, choosing more environmental options often saves you money immediately. For all these reasons, the Big Green Purse One in a Million campaign inspires people to set a goal of shifting at least $1,000 of money they'd spend anyway on the most environmentally-friendly products available.

Thousands of people have already committed to shifting their spending. Why don't you? You can sign up here.

For more inspiring stories like Bonnie's, start here.