Fresh Look - Organic Kids’ Shirts with Cool Designs
May 29, 2007
Posted by CindyW in : Fresh Look , add a comment
Kelley and Victoria first met in an environmental consulting company. A few years later Little Green Star was conceived and launched by the two friends. The line of organic kids clothe integrates their passion for protecting natural resources, their creativity, and their desire to build a nurturing environment for kids. All their organic shirts have cute pictures and awesome messages on them – “powered by organic milk”, “Turn down the heat! Keep the ice caps under my feet!” (says an adorable penguin). My 4 year old got a “Peas out, buy organic” shirt. The shirt is so soft that she asks to sleep in it all the time. We love it. Apparently so do their customers
In general I am a disappointing consumer – I do not appreciate stuff much and therefore do not enjoy shopping as a hobby. But I am an easy target for products with a great story. And Little Green Star’s story resonates with me in many ways. Since having my own children, environmentalism took on a personal urgency. Being an armchair environmentalist (as I was even a couple of years ago) was no longer an option. Understanding and minimizing our impact on the environment has gradually become a part of our everyday living. The fact that Kelley and Victoria are bringing that kind of awareness into toddlers’ and their parents’ lives really clicked with me.
They are still small and with small come personal touch and excellent customer service. I spoke with both Kelley and Victoria a few times. They are kind and thoughtful. Their enthusiasm and love for their products come through even over the phone. It is a pleasure for me to support a local green business. In fact we used their shirts for one of our past promotions and is using it again for our current promotion*. I hope Little Green Star will continue to do well and design more cool shirts.
*For our current promotion, simply write 5 reviews on www.organicpicks.com, you will win a chance to receive a 6-person Italian feast at the comfort of your home, by Jess Dang, an excellent bay area personal chef. The second prize is a Little Green Star organic kid’s T-shirt and the third prize is a hand-crafted Organicpicks tote bag.
CindyW
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Green Journal #5: The “Wife Test” on CFLs
May 28, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , 1 comment so far
Before I left for my Vancouver vacation, I came across a rather discouraging and, for me, somewhat disparaging article in the Washington Post on women and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The bottom line: though women care about environmental issues and conservation, they are resistant to CFLs because of aesthetics and performance concerns. The article also cited an observation that CFLs sales lag in grocery and drug stores where women typically shop but experience faster uptake in home improvement stores where men tend to shop. Thus, the article referred this trend as failing the “wife test”.
Well, THIS wife begs to differ. In my household, it is the wife who actually made it a personal action to do some research and switch to CFLs. Actually, I have been “dabbling” with CFLs for a while, buying different brands and types and testing them out, precisely because I wanted to understand the truths and misconceptions about CFLs. So what did I learn in my research?
First, some general facts: CFLs use about 75% less energy than its incandescent counterpart and lasts up to 10 times longer (anywhere from 3-10 years bulb life). The difference in energy use is due to the light creation methods. Standard incandescent bulbs produce light by heating up a wire filament. Much of the energy is lost through heat. CFLs use gas that reacts with electricity and the phosphorus inside the bulb to produce light and waste less energy to heat. If every US household replaced just one bulb with CFL, we would save enough energy to light more than three million homes a year and reduce green house gas emission equivalent to that of 800,000 cars (per www.energystar.gov) CFL market share in the US has risen to approximately 6%, up from 1% in 2001, which is encouraging; however, this adoption rate is quite dismal compared to 80% in Japan. In addition, Australia recently announced an incandescent phase out by 2009.
Then, what are the “drawbacks” that seem to fail the Wife Test referenced above? To begin with, there’s the aesthetics. Old CFLs used to generate a sickly, gray cast over the room, or what my in-laws (who are early adopters of CFLs) fondly called “winter, fluorescent tan”. With both soft and bright light options (like incandescents) now available, this image is and should be just a distant memory. Also, with the variety of styles currently available, the somewhat strange, bare spiral bulb design is no longer an issue. The covered globes or reflector globes look similar to the traditional or flood bulb and are perfect solutions for open fixtures, recessed or flood lights. The new generation of CFLs also seems to have eliminated of the strange, buzzing sound emitted by older ones. Then there is what I call the “initial sticker shock”. If you were to compare the two price tags in absolute terms, the average CFLs is expensive than its counterpart. However, if you consider that CFLs last anywhere from 3 to 10 times longer, they are actually more economical, even before you factor in the $30 energy saving estimate per bulb. In addition, PG&E is offering aggressive rebates to encourage CFL adoption. In fact, you can find PG&E subsidized CFLs in most stores selling at 2pak for $0.99 or on sale at 4pak for $.99; at that price, they are cheaper than standard incandescents even in absolute price! Logically speaking, aesthetics and initial price should no longer be issues. So what gives? After talking to some of my wife friends, my personal theory is that these improvements largely remain hidden from the every day shopper. It seems that many people pick up light bulbs while shopping for groceries and other household items. Unlike home improvement or hardware stores, these stores only carry a limited selection, the most common (and most attractively priced) being the bare spiral table top bulbs. The higher end covered bulbs are usually hidden in the isle and many are not PG&E subsidized. Unless these store shoppers have done prior research or cost benefit calculations, all they see are the strange looking bulbs (albeit cheap) or really expensive bulbs.
For me, there are two valid trade-offs in switching to CFLs, the first one being the warm up period. Unlike incandescent bulbs, CFLs may take anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes to reach full brightness. The covered CFLs seem to take longer to warm up but definitely look more attractive in spots and recessed lighting. Plus, CFLs seem to work best in fixtures that are in frequent and long periods of use. Also, only specially marked bulbs will work in fixtures with dimmers and they are hard to find. The other and larger issue of CFL is proper disposal, which has environmental ramifications. These bulbs do contain a small amount of mercury, which when in use or in tact, poses no health concerns but may be released in the air broken upon improper disposal. The best disposal method is to take the spent bulbs to your local waste management site. The government is working with large retailers to facilitate take back and recycling programs but the only retailer (I know of) that is currently accepting CFLs is IKEA. Given the long life of these bulbs, I am hopeful that improved recycling programs will soon catch up with the adoption rate.
Thus, after some trial and error, I finally switched from the incandescent to compact fluorescent bulbs. I visited both the large home improvement store and my local hardware store and picked up bare, spiral bulbs for my table lamps (not visible under the lamp shade), covered globes for open fixtures, covered reflectors and spots for my recessed lighting. However, I have not switched my dining room lighting as it is on a dimmer and I am still research dimmer CFLs. Also, I left my bathroom lights alone as these are all fully enclosed fixtures with infrequent use and CFLs work best in open fixtures in non-humid areas. I purchased several different brands of bulbs in hopes of finding out which brand works best in the long term. Also, in the kitchen and living room (where we are most frequently), I placed bare bulbs in less visible recessed cans in effort to minimize the initial dimness of the covered bulbs. So far, I am fairly happy with the result even though I am still switching around the different brands of the spot light bulbs.
So, my tally for this week’s action is:
Number of times forgotten: None
Time consumed to implement this action: In total, I probably spent four hours: about one hour researching CFLs online, two hours deciding and shopping around and one hour to switch out all the bulbs. I am still trying to figure out what to do with my old light bulbs that still have life in it.
Amount of resources spared: I swapped out 20 65-watt and 6 100-watt bulbs for CFLs equivalents of 16-watt and 29 watts. In terms of electricity per hour, I saved a total of 1400 watts or approximately 75% of my previous consumption.
Extra Upfront Cost: In terms of absolute upfront cost, I probably spent an extra $50, all on the covered CFLS as they were about 50% more than the incandescents. From the long term perspective though, I will actually be saving money as all these bulbs last at least 3 times as long, not to mention the electricity savings.
I must say of all green journal actions thus far, switching to CFLs was the most time consuming. However, this is a one-time action that will pay off in time.
CindyC
Previous Green Journal Entries:
Green On the Road
Eating Local
BYOC: Bring Your Own Cup
BYOB: Bring Your Own Bag
To read the referenced article from Washington Post
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Home Improvement at Good Prices and for Good Cause
May 24, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Deals & Giveaways , add a comment
I’m on a reuse and recycle kick (also see High Fashion Twist to Old Swap Meet Concept) so I was very excited to discover Habitat ReStore, a chain of stores that sell both new and used building materials and operated by Habitat for Humanity. For those of you unfamiliar with Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), it is a non-profit organization that builds or rehabilitates houses (through volunteers and donations) for families in need. These homes are sold to homeowners at no profit with affordable financing and HFHI requires the homeowners to put in sweat equity alongside the volunteers to make their home a reality. Habitat’s success and survival depends largely on community donations in form of volunteers, cash and materials. Most of the materials found in the Habitat Restores are donated by building stores, construction companies or from demolitions. A mix of new and salvaged materials can be found at a fraction of regular retail prices. At the Grass Valley, CA location, almost any type of construction materials can be found, from nails to windows and doors to flooring materials. The new lumber was about 50% of home improvement store prices and salvaged fixtures like lights are less than many of the consignment stores. Salvage stores are obviously not new in concept. However, the Habitat Restores not only offer great deals and help the environment through reuse but support a worthy cause to boot.
To find out more about Habitat Restores or their locations, please visit Habitat Restores
CindyC at OrganicPicks
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Beautiful day at the Monterey Bay Aquarium
May 23, 2007
Posted by CindyW in : For Kids , add a comment
On a whim, both my husband and I decided to take last Friday off and visit the Monterey Bay aquarium with our toddlers. Usually on weekends, you end up watching people and strollers rather than watching the marine lives. We visit the aquarium about three times a year, so the exhibits are not entirely new to us. Nonetheless, we enjoy every visit and the kids seem to understand a little more every time. We visited the must-see Outer Bay exhibit and continued to be mesmerized by these giant but graceful fish – blue fin tuna, yellow fin tuna, funny looking sun fish, barracudas, hammer-head sharks…As always we visited the adorable otters and cute penguins. But this time around, we also got to spend some time at the “Real-Cost” café where we learned which fish were on the brink of extinction and which fish were good choices. The exhibit was so interactive and interesting even my 2 & ½ year old could sit at the bar stool for 10 minutes. My 4 year old went through the “fish menu” and listened to the café “chef” and “hostess” explain why her picks were good or inappropriate. While I am not sure how much she understood, she was still learning in her own way. There were quite a few kids taking turns on the bar stools to learn how to make smart seafood choices. One boy told his mom, “We have to tell pop not to order Chilean Seabass any more.” Mom smiled.
It’s taxing to your memory if you want to remember what the “chef” and the “hostess” said. Fortunately you can get a wallet-sized “Seafood Guide”. The aquarium has guides for different regions of the US and updates them annually. Example of the best choices are farmed Tilapia, Alaskan wild-caught Salmon, and white Seabass. Examples of fish to avoid are Chilean Seabass, all farmed Salmon, and blue fin Tuna. The guide now sits on our refrigerator next to friends’ pictures and to do lists. I feel kind of dorky pulling out the seafood guide at a restaurant before ordering fish, but I am also glad to know that by doing so, my children will be able to order the fish I am ordering today in 20 years.
You can download the handy seafood guide from the Monterey Aquarium Seafood WATCH website
CindyW
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Fresh Look - Straus Milk, Yogurt, Ice Cream
May 22, 2007
Posted by CindyW in : Fresh Look , 1 comment so far
The glass bottle caught my eyes first. Straus is about the only milk on the market that comes in glass bottles, at least in the bay area. Bought their milk first, then went onto their yogurt and butter, and now am a convert to Straus ice cream. With the modern day complex and perplexing food supply chain, it is nearly impossible for individual consumers to trace where their food comes from. This is also true for organic food as it has slowly become a business with higher margin for many large companies. I have learned a while ago that not all organic milks are the same, some come from local small dairy farms where fewer than 100 cows graze the pasture and some are sourced from large industrialized dairy farms where organic standard is barely observed.
Straus Family began with 23 cows in 1941, 60 miles north of San Francisco. You can find specific statistics on their dairy cows: “270 cows in our milking herd. We also get milk from three other family farms near us. One has about 600 cows (with over 1,000 acres of pastureland), the other has about 40 milking cows on 150 acres and the third is just getting started with about 20 cows on 75 acres.” To say that they know their cows is not a stretch. For Straus cows, about 80% of their intake comes from grasses, as cows have evolved to do so. I love the fact that the color of their butter varies depending on the season. In the spring, cows graze on green pasture which has higher concentration of beta-carotene. In turn the butter has a deeper yellow. And in the winter, the cows spend most time inside and the butter “becomes a paler shade.” Isn’t this a beautiful reflection of eating with the season?
Straus milk is smooth and creamy. I don’t drink much milk, but my kids tell me that “it is so yummy.” Call me crazy, but I actually did a blind test with my kids. I gave 3 different organic milk brands (all 4%) side by side on several occasions. Consistently they pick Straus milk as the best and a store brand as the worst. Okay, people may argue that perhaps they are used to the taste. Maybe, but the fact they told me that the store brand “tasted blah” says to me there is a difference in milk taste.
I eat quite a lot of yogurt and really enjoy Straus plain whole milk yogurt. I can’t cook to save my life, but I love to tinker with yogurt flavors. Some days, I just add a tablespoonful of honey or jam to 1 cup of plain yogurt. Other days, I throw in chopped fresh fruit, bits of cookies, even nuts. A few of my kids’ favorites are:
-1 cup Straus plain whole milk yogurt
-1 tablespoon organic strawberry preserve
-1 handful of wild frozen blueberries or fresh blueberries
or
-1 cup Straus plain whole milk yogurt
-1 tablespoon honey (you can get various flavored honey in your local farmer’s market)
-1 handful of diced ripe peaches
or
- 1 cup Straus plain whole milk yogurt
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar (it adds to the texture)
- 1 handful of diced strawberries
You get the drift. Basically anything works. The combination is endless depending what you have in your fruit bowl. Melons don’t taste too well in yogurt. Neither do apples and oranges. In the winter, we even put in canned fruit. Occasionally I let the kids experiment with the yogurt flavor of the day and what they create can be remarkably interesting and tasty, except we can never repeat the flavors. For people who are concerned with caloric intake, using non-fat Straus yogurt can cut down some calories. For people who prefer consistent flavors than random flavors of the day, Strauss also has Maple and Vanilla flavors for both whole and non-fat yogurt.
Straus vanilla and Dutch chocolate ice-creams are so good that it can definitely compete with the premium ice-cream brands such as Ben & Jerry and Haagendarz just in terms of flavor. When you throw in the sustainable aspect, Straus is hands down the best choice. The mint-chocolate ice-cream needs some refinement. The chocolate chips tend to collect at the bottom of the pint and they are a little too brittle in texture. I am yet to try the coffee and raspberry variety.
Milk, yogurt, ice cream, or butter, I love buying Straus not only because they are all organic and almost local, mostly because they are just so yummy.
Oh yeah, the glass bottles. I seem to have trouble remembering to bring the bottles back to the store for a refund, until eventually they occupy too much of my kitchen counter. They get reused instead of recycled like plastic jugs and disposed like the paper cartons. Using the glass bottles in itself is a great practice.
See more Fresh Look entries
CindyW
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Green Journal #4: Green on the Road
May 21, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , add a comment
This week I went on vacation with my family in Vancouver, Canada. Although the weather was still a bit brisk for this Californian, I was curious to see Vancouver, known for its natural beauty as well as “Best City in Americas” by Conde Nast three years running.
Vancouver City is a large city surrounded by water on the north, south and west side and mountain views to the east. Although the skylines are dotted with modern high-rises, the city’s appreciation of the great outdoors is evident in the sea of greenery visible from all viewpoints. Stanley Park is an impressive city park spanning more than 1000 acres and sits on the edge of Vancouver. Visitors are encouraged to stroll, run or bike through the park on well-planned walking and biking paths. In fact, the main path actually starts in downtown at Canada Place and runs along the seawall for 22 kilometers to Kitsilano Beach, making it the world’s longest uninterrupted waterfront walkway. We rented a couple bikes and a kiddie trailer and pretty much biked around the city, took in some sights, stopped at local eateries and enjoyed the scenery without ever getting on an actual city road! The tourists aren’t the only people who seem to utilize bike lanes. In addition to the scenic path, there are wide bike lanes within the city to encourage the urbanites to use their bikes to and from work. If San Francisco had been set up this way, there sure wouldn’t be any Critical Mass demonstrations. The public transportation is also very convenient and expansion of the metro system is well underway in preparation for the 2010 Olympics. Since there is no “highway” to get around or through the city, public transportation is a much better bet than driving. We were quite envious and wished we had a convenient transportation alternative around the Bay Area, especially on the Peninsula.
Besides the nice city/nature planning, the natural surroundings also allow countless options for fresh, local cuisine. While visiting the Vancouver Aquarium (smaller in scale than Monterey but more manageable for younger kids), we learned of Ocean Wise Program where participating local restaurants serve only seafood that are abundant and not over-fished or endangered. With so many thriving species, restaurant patrons can still enjoy a variety of wonderful cuisine while maintaining sea life balance. During our week, we pretty much ate local seafood and produce without any additional effort and thoroughly enjoyed all of our meals. One afternoon, we visited Granville Island and the famed Granville Public Market to purchase some locally produced gifts and excellent organic noshings (cheese, bread and early summer fruits) for a lovely picnic along the water.
I really enjoyed our time in Vancouver and would love to go back some time to see other parts of British Columbia. Although we were away from home, I realized it wasn’t difficult to enjoy ourselves while still holding true to my green journal resolutions. We did a lot of walking and biking to see the sites; we ate and purchased local and organic foods and our water bottles came in handy during our rides and walks. Now that we are back, I am refreshed and ready to tackle my next green action, switching to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
CindyC
Previous Entries:
Farmers’ Market : Eating Local
BYOC : Bring Your Own Cup
BYOB : Bring Your Own Bag
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Fashionable Twist to Old Swap Meet Concept
May 17, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Opinions & Thoughts , add a comment
The other day some friends told me about a social event/service that brings hipness to the idea of reuse and recycle. For the past couple of years, clothingswap.org has been organizing and promoting fashionable swap parties across the county with the motto of Recycle, Refresh and Rejuvenate. The basic concept is simple: de-clutter your closet and bring clean and gently used clothing and shoes to trade. Find pieces you like, swap and take them home. The twist is that these swap meets are more like chic parties and held at venues like nightclubs, bars, ballrooms and cafes. Many of the swaps offer food, drinks, pampering specialists and other vendors spotlighting their services and samples. There are theme swaps for women, teens and even MEN only events! The DIVA events seem very popular where women get together, have some fun, food, drinks, pampering and go home with a “new wardrobe”. All the unclaimed clothes at the swap go to both La Casa de las Madres (offering shelter and support for battered women) and Dress for success. In fact, the next event, the Swanky Swap is on Saturday, May 19th in San Francisco. For more details on the event and registration, visit Clothing Swap
Too bad I won’t be in town for their next event, but if someone goes, drop me a line and let me know how it is. Sure sounds like fun and a good way to pick up some new pieces for essentially no cost!
CindyC
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Fresh Look - Castor & Pollux Organix Pet Food
May 15, 2007
Posted by CindyW in : Fresh Look , add a comment
In the wake of seemingly non-stop pet food recalls, each one sounding worse than the ones earlier, I would like to recommend the Castor & Pollux Organix dry dog food my dog Jazz has been enjoying. Jazz is my “first born” and is now five and a half years old. She is a medium sized Australian Shepherd with endless amount of energy. She runs with us, chases frisbees, hikes, climbs trees and rocks (seriously), and constantly pokes her nose into whatever the kids are doing. To keep up with her energy level, we have always given her “natural” dog food without a whole lot of useless fillers. A few months ago, I came across Castor & Pollux Organix dog treats and tried them with Jazz. Jazz is a picky eater in general and turns her nose up to many treats. But she loves the new treats and will fetch frisbee to death as long as she gets the treats. I know, I know, she is spoiled rotten. But don’t we all want to spoil our pets?
Then I decided to switch her to Castor & Pollux Organix dry dog food. Normally I switch Jazz’s food slowly, gradually mixing a little more new food in the old food for every meal. But this time I ran out of the old food she had been eating. So I switched her to C & P cold. Fully expecting some digestive problems the first few days, I was pleasantly surprised with none.
Castor & Pollux Organix dry dog food is made with organic ingredients, meaning at least 70% of the content is organic. Chicken, peas, barley, brown rice, oats, which are the top ingredients, are all certified organic. See more on definitions of different organic labels.
What surprises me is that it is actually cheaper to buy it from some of the local stores than online stores. In the stores around the bay area, I have seen prices 10-20% lower than a couple of online stores for Castor & Pollux Organix Canine Formula (15 lbs). Here are a few stores you can find the product:
-Whole Foods
-Elephant Pharmacy
-Petco
-Andronicos
-Draegers
-Mollie Stones
-Pet Food Express
-Earthbeam Natural Foods
Dry food makes up 80% of Jazz’s diet. Compared to conventional dry food, C & P Organix dry food costs $0.20 more a day. Doesn’t every pet deserve that?
See a list of other organic dog food
Here are some other Fresh Look entries
CindyW
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Green Jounal#3: Fun, Fresh, Farmers Market
May 14, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , 2 comments
This weekend was the first farmers’ market of the season in my town, which for me heralds the impending approach of summer. We started shopping at the farmers’ market several years back when we started our family and our meals weren’t delivered in paper boxes anymore. In the beginning, we really went to the farmers’ market for the fun and community atmosphere and to get a bit of fresh produce to supplement my normal grocery trips.
As I began to have conversation with the growers, I became more aware of the community and environmental impact of supporting local farmers. According to sustainabletable.org, the produce you get from the supermarket on average travels 1500 miles from the farm to the store, and about 40% of the produce is grown overseas. Just think about all the fuel it takes to transport a head of lettuce, the emissions generated from the transport, not to mention the loss of nutrients and flavor during this voyage. I recently saw a Safeway commercial where it proudly advertises carrying fresh, in season fruit from Chile. Why is that a selling point? Even as summer is approaching and fresh local crops are hitting the grocery stores, I still see plenty of summer produce shipped from overseas. With different health and labor standards worldwide, how fresh and safe are the berries that I put on my table?
The point of my tirade is that I have become not only a believer of organic foods but I am resolved to do better in buying organic AND local. There have been many discussions on advantages of eating organic and local including benefits to the environment, supporting local economy, lack of pesticides and chemicals, fresher food and saving money, so I don’t want to belabor those points here. In the spirit of my green journal, I want to figure out how to integrate organic and local in my daily life to prevent me from slipping back to my old ways.
My action this week was to buy organic and local as much as possible. Since all the seasonal, local farmers markets are now opened, it made my action much simpler to implement. I looked around for local farmers markets and discovered that I can go to 2 farmers markets within 3 miles from my house, a main trip and a supplemental trip for the weekend if needed. These markets are about the same distance as my usual grocery stores. Not only did I pick up my produce and herbs, but I also got my baked goods and cheeses at these markets. The only issue I had was getting the meat and fish since these items are not available at the farmers’ markets I go to (even though they are in the Ferry Plaza market in San Francisco). So for meat, I made a trip to local grocery store and bought organic and sustainably raised meats like we have been doing, along with other items that you just can’t get from farmers markets, like cereal. My conclusion from this week’s action is that buying organic and local really isn’t that hard, I just had to do some initial research to find the right markets opened at the right times. I can’t cut out the local grocery store trip (and not advocating to do so) but since I usually make 2 store trips a week, there’s really no additional work for me.
So for my action impact tally this week:
Number of times forgotten: None
Time consumed to implement this action About 10 minutes to research the local farmers market to find locations and times
Amount of resources sparedThis is a tough one. My best calculation is 210 gallons of fossil fuel saved. I couldn’t really figure out how to calculate the real distance traveled for the grocery store produce or how to calculate it based on my consumption. So for now, I am just use a single 1500 miles traveled mentioned above with the average transport truck’s 7 MPG. Of course, we didn’t consume the thousands of pound of food transported on the same truck, but I figure this will offset any overseas produce not in the average and if we all ate locally, there would be fewer transport trucks. By the way, if anyone finds a better way of calculating the impact, I’d love to hear about it.
Extra Upfront Cost None. I didn’t have to drive any further or make additional trips to other stores. In fact, I saved about $12 at the farmers market where organic strawberries were $8 for 3 pints compared to $15 at the store plus cheaper vegetables and breads I found.
Also, there is the added benefit of taking my child to the farmers’ market to reconnect with neighbors and showing her food that is not already packaged in cellophane and bags.
Before signing off, I just want to mention that I am still working on all of my previous actions and will try to summarize the cumulative impact on a monthly basis. So if anyone feels inspired to join me, just submit your results to me and I will add them in.
Previous Entries:
Bring your own cup or bottle
Bring you own reusable bags
CindyC
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
Green Journal - Bring Your Own Cup
May 7, 2007
Posted by CindyC in : Green Journal , add a comment
I admit I am a caffeine addict, specifically coffee and tea. The smell and smooth taste of fresh brewed coffee or my favorite earl grey tea is what gets me through the morning chaos. I have a couple of great stainless steel cups that keeps my coffee warm, my hands from burning and my car free of spills. I know it’s a simple thing to do but in the morning rush, I often forget. Since the caffeine kick is what gets me through the early mornings, I just can’t bear to leave my spot in line because I forgot my own cup. I used to tell myself, ” It’s just one little cup with a small tiny cup holder and I am just one person in the sea of billions…” But then I realized this is the same rationalization that generates 200 million tons of waste EVERY DAY in the US alone.
My original action this week was to bring my own cup every day to my local café but in the spirit of my green journal, I am taking 2 complementary steps. First is to actually make my own tea at least two mornings a week. Okay, so I chose tea because it’s just quicker to brew than coffee but this is a big step for someone who holds great value in even two extra minutes of sleep in the morning. Also, in the last couple of years, the organic tea selections have grown exponentially so I am never in want of a good tea. Second is to bring a bottle of water with me so I won’t contribute to the one trillion plastic water bottles that end up in land fills every year. I really like the Sigg water bottles that are stainless steel and comes in great designs.
So what’s my tally this week?
Number of times forgotten – Once (no excuse other than plain forgetfulness)
Time consumed to act on this change – None. Although it takes me an extra 30 seconds to get my cup in the morning and extra 2 minutes to brew my tea, I also saved 10 minutes by not having to wait at the cafe.
Amount of resources spared – 5 paper cups and cup holders; 0.05 gallons of gas I saved from not going to the café; 2 one liter plastic bottles from not buying bottled water
Extra upfront cost - $0 since I already had everything I needed and in fact saved myself $3 from skipping 2 café trips.
Now I can take my $3 savings and replenish my tea supply for next week and of course, bringing them home with my own grocery bags (last week’s action)..
Copyright 2007 Organicpicks
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