Elisa's Green Scene

Quick Link: PCRM's 21-day Vegan Kickstart

If you've ever considered becoming vegan because of the environmental impact of a meat-based diet, then you might get the little boost you need by signing up for the PCRM's 21-day vegan kickstart. I signed up, even though I'm already a vegan, because after all: Who wouldn't want daily healthy tips and recipes?

And just in case you'd like some links on vegan being the greenest way to eat:

New York Times: A vegetarian diet reduces the diner's carbon footprint

eHow.com: How to go green - vegetarian-style

EarthSave International: How environmentalists are overlooking vegetarianism as the most effective tool against climate change in our lifetimes

File this under: I had no idea, did you?

In my travels, often speaking to groups about blogging, I meet lots of fine folks...many of whom start blogs and send me the URLs. Inevitably I learn something new just by scanning the first page of their blog. All these different people. All their different inspirations.

This week was no different. After retuning from a very hectic trip to NYC, someone I met sent me her brand spanking new blog: NY Muse.

After perusing just the first page, I learned something entirely new: The Purpose of a Penny

I love tulips. I love that they're a flower that keeps growing after you cut them and put them in water. But they aren't particularly long-lived; they do start to droop.

Well, according to NY Muse, not if you throw a few pennies in the vase!

45 years old, and I am still learning something new every day!

Defining natural

Disclosure: This post happens to be about one of our sponsors for BlogHer '09, but I had no intention of writing about them until I happened to read a conversation on BlogHer today.

Here is the conversation, on a basic promotional page for one of our sponsors, Clorox Green Works.

A couple of positive comment, and then a comment challenging the sponsor and their pointing out the lack of consistent definition for terms like "natural", etc.

So, social media step #1: Someone from the brand came to respond to the comment. Good job! Social media, don't forget, empowers not only we, the consumers, but companies too. The power to respond quickly and directly to your customers.

But what caught my eye, and prompted this unsolicited and unpromised post is this:

"When we created Green Works® natural cleaners, there was no standard or official definition for the term “natural” so we defined it using three core principles: the products had to contain plant-based ingredients and biodegradable cleaning ingredients, and could not be tested on animals. We believe we set the bar for natural cleaning very high, and stand by the natural profile and efficacy of our products.*"

* * To learn more about natural and what it means to us, click here. 

As I tweeted: Right on. Especially that last part. I'm not sure I've seen a lot of companies think of the animals when they're defining a "natural" product. Happy to see all three core principles.

Now, here's the question: Do other "natural" cleaners share the same core principles?

I'd try to compare to Method, but their site hasn't loaded over the last 20 minutes as I've been trying to get to their info. Sigh.

Perhaps an update post will be in order. But pipe up if you know!

Yesterday: Fabrics. Today: Packaging

 You know how our economy is sucking wind? And you know how people kept saying during the campaign: What if we turned the same focus and energy on saving our planet that we did on the race into space in the 60s? And you know how all the focus on green and clean might actually do even more for our economy, all while saving the planet, than the space program did? 

Well, turns out that focus and energy and economic opportunity can come in packages large and small. Yesterday I wrote about Christie Brinkley's new line of eco-friendly fabrics that Joanne's Fabrics will sell.

Today, let's take a look at skin care company Terralina's new gift packaging, made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bags. To be specific: "Gathered from the streets of Dehli, India, the bags are cleaned, stripped, and pressed to produce vivid colors without additional dyes or inks. The collection of these bags has also resulted in jobs for underemployed local women."

Seems like ingenuity and eco-friendliness go together well, and these kinds of projects, big and small, may be the engine behind behind both economic and environmental recovery.

Disclosure: Terralina is co-owned by a colleague of mine at BlogHer, but I only found out about this because I read Treehugger...my colleague never mentioned it.

Hat tip: Treehugger

Waah about my Wii

Well, it was no fun for me to read on EcoSalon that the WiiFit is environmentally unfriendly :(

This unwanted info (picture me with fingers in my ears singing "la la la") comes courtesy of Greenpeace and their Clash of the Consoles site.

Of course, it's not just the Wii...XBox and Playstation don't fare too well either.

So, looks like the cabinet in our living room that holds a Wii, XBox AND a PS2 is a toxic wasteland. Good thing the cabinet is enclosed by glass doors. What? You say those glass doors won't protect us from squat? La la la.

They may be poisoning birds, but they recycle

I recently wrote about non-stick cookware, and how it's an environmental and health issue that I had to add to my list of things to fret about.

So, consider that one strike against all the Calphalon cookware we got for our wedding.

One strike for: A cool recycling program they run called: www.calphalonrenew.com 

Of course the program isn't comprehensive and has various limitations and parameters, but I like the idea nonetheless.

Now, will we get off our lazy butts and do it? I'd love to see some stats, Calphalon!

Hat tip: Danny Seo

Tips for a greener Thanksgiving

Numerous sites are out there advising you on how to be greener this Thanksgiving. The advice is sorely needed, since Thanksgiving is among those holidays that most seems to be about over-consumption, not actually giving thanks.

Hey i love the holidays, but pushing away from the table feeling so full you feel sick isn't all it has to be about, right?

So, let's do a quick run-down of some helpful sites:

Of course I need to start with the helpful advice on how to be a vegetarian at Thanksgiving (yes, it can be done!)

My own Veggie Goes Vegan site is helpful, since I posted about Personally Pardoning a Turkey This Thanksgiving, and then provided an excellent Thanksgiving-time recipe to boot.

Trehugger offers 8 Tips on Being a Vegetarian at Thanksgiving. This isn't just about the practical eating-side of it, but how to deal with family who might not be entirely supportive. Ht tip: Earth First

But for those of you who aren't quite ready to go green this Thanskgiving simply with the act of going veg, there are a couple of sites out there helping you go green in other ways:

Earth First: Ten Tips for a Green Thanksgiving

A variety of helpful tips that everyone can do without killing themselves...and that's actually one of their tips: Keep it simple. Too often we all want to impress our friends and family so much at the holidays that we overdo it, spend too much...and stress ourselves out. The holidays really are about love and friendship, right?

ecofabulous: Entertain greenly this holiday season

The ecofabulous tip list is more a resource post of stores, brands and sites to look for so oyu can go organiz and natural when entertaining. Less philosophical, more practical.

All helpful!

Happy Thanksgiving :)

Danny Seo calls Palmolive on a little bit of Greenwashing...and I don't mean dishes

Hey, I'm all for traditional companies finding ways to go green, but Danny Seo points out a bit of packaging sleight-of-hand with the new Palmolive "Eco", which is really no different than the Palmolive non-eco (except for the fact that it doesn't point out its eco-ness.)

What I haven't been able to find is whether the Eco costs more than the same size non-eco?

I checked out Amazon Grocery and Safeway.com, and neither carries both Eco and non-Eco in the same size. How annoying is that?

Anyway, I don't mind a little update to a product's marketing approach or copy. I only mind if they try to get us to pay more for what what always there.

What do you think?

Simple green tips from Tea & Cookies

Found this post by Tea, a foodblogger from San Francisco, outlining the simple ways she tries to make her home and her life greener.

I like the post because it's not by a green blogger, so it's by someone who isn't, ostensibly, thinking about this all the time, and because these really are very simple ideas.

I'll confess it also caught my eye because she features the Pyrex bowls with lids picture here, and I registered for and received these same bowls for my wedding, and do indeed find them to be really useful and a pleasure to use. When I wash them I never feel, as I tend to do with more typical plastic Tupperware-style containers, that I haven't really gotten them quite clean enough.

Tea reminds me of something I've been meaning to do that I just need to do: Take my own insulated mug along when I treat myself to a soy latte at Starbucks. I only have about a million of them, since they are a very popular schwag item at conferences and such.

There are some things that Tea mentions that I've got going on: reusable shopping bags, reusable coffee filter and so on.

And one thing that I have trouble imagining myself ever doing: composting. I'm squeamish, I admit it. What about you? Any composters out there? Am I being a whiny baby?

Anyway: Nice, clear, simple tips. For regular people who care abut the environment. And unless I'm mistaken, shouldn't that be everyone?

A Brush With Fame...or at least with eco-friendly and economical attributes

I have been feeling guilty about my make-up brushes for six months now. Six months ago I went on the pre-wedding make-up buying spree and spent more on makeup in a day than I probably have in my lifetime. While I was careful to shop with brands that were cruelty-free, I realized after I roused from my consumerism-induced stupor, that I had no idea if my brushes were.

Now, thanks to ecofabulous, I have found the perfect soution: EcoTOOLS.

The brushes feature the following earth-friendly components:

*Bamboo handle has a low impact on the earth’s resources as it is a highly sustainable plant.
*Synthetic taklon bristles are 100% cruelty free.
*Sleek ferrule is made from recycled aluminum.
*Cosmetic case is made from natural cotton and hemp.

According to ecofabulous they are also cheap, and available at places like Walgreens, not just Whole Foods.

Next stop: My local Walgreens, and then a review.

Can they really be as good and good-for-us as they seem to be?

I'll let you know.