The concept of eco-fashion can be confusing. In such a fast-paced transient world how can you possibly remain eco-conscious? To be on-trend yet aware of your carbon footprint, the pit-falls of consumerism are seemingly overwhelming. And I’m not talking about high-end couture fashion. These days designers are creating astonishing masterpieces out of everything from recycled bottles to car tyres. No, I mean everyday wear. I mean that little dress from People Tree you can’t bear to be without, I mean those Love Eco earrings that would go perfectly with your Green People top, I mean that cute Ascension lingerie that would put a spring in your step.
It is all a [...]
Eco-Fashion – a contradiction in terms?
Top Ten Ways to Cook Eco-Healthy
Get you and your family involved with the cooking and give your lives an eco-overhaul. Watch those lbs drop off whilst reducing your carbon footprint – and having fun (what more could you want?!)
1. Get your Five a Day – If we’ve heard it once, we’ve heard it a thousand times, but getting your five a day is good for you (and the environment!). Filling up on un-processed fruit and veg helps your digestion, clears your skin, rids your body of toxins and keeps your blood-sugar level consistent – stopping you from snacking! The benefits of this are obvious. Un-processed food uses fewer chemicals, machinery, oil, energy [...]
Top Ten Eco-Lifestyle Changes
1. Get in the Garden – get outside and have some fun gardening! There are plenty of fantastic green products around and growing your own fruit and veg helps reduce your carbon footprint and persuades you to keep healthy!
2. Compost Compost Compost! – Make sure you keep a compost bin and make the most of your left over food scraps. Just place all peelings and left over biodegradable vegetables in your compost bin and then watch your home-grown vegetables thrive.
3. Walk – walk your kids to school, walk to work, walk to town. Reduce your carbon footprint and tone up by [...]
Ford Cuts Energy Costs by $1.2M by turning off PC’s!
Electronics are notorious for energy “leaks”. Ford Motor Company is discoveing just how much energy they’ve been wasting when they implemented their new PC Power Management program. The company anticipates it will save $1.2 million when the system is fully implemented. It also expects to reduce its carbon footprint by 16,000-25,000 metric tons annually.
Under this new program, power settings on Windows laptops and desktop computers are controlled centrally. This reduces energy waste and allows for optimizing software updates. Shutting down computers that aren’t in use – nighttimes and weekends – also helps reduce weated energy.
Computers will, however, be “awake”, connected to Ford’s intranet so as to be able to receive system updates and software upgrades [...]
Food Inc.
Food Inc. has me shocked, disgusted, and totally pissed off that the large corporations that have control of the food industry can get away with these evil tactics with no retribution! In the past, I have written on this blog, and on my personal blog, www.mygritsconfessions.com about processed foods, and healthier eating, but I had no idea how uncontrolled the industry was until now. When I happened to watch Oprah last week, she was discussing the documentary Food Inc with Author Michael Pollan. I knew there were chemicals, toxins, high sodium and more in fast foods and processed foods, but they took it much further and more in-depth than that. I had to see the [...]
Green in the Bathroom: Dual Flush Toilets
Everyone talks about conserving water, and the new “in” thing is WaterSense faucets and toilets. But those WaterSense toilets still use up to 1.28 gallons per flush – EVERY flush. So, thanks to the suggestion of a friend, it made sense to me to look into dual flush toilets.
New WaterSense guidelines (from the EPA Web Site) are as follows: “The effective flush volume has been established as 1.28 gallons, which is a 20 percent reduction from the 1.6 gallons per flush standard that became mandatory pursuant to the 1992 EPAct.” The EPA claims that replacing an older toilet with a new, efficient WaterSense model can save a homeowner 11 gallons [...]
Cisco cuts net 40% greenhouse gas emissions
In several previous posts I’ve poked at corporations that boasted cuts in their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when they’ve been only around 2 to 5 percent. This time, however, one company has cuts that are substantial.
Cisco Systems has succeeded in cutting their net emissions by 40 percent, compared against 2007. These figures include what’s termed Scope 1 direct emissions from Cisco-owned or controlled sources), Scope 2 (emissions from Cisco’s energy purchases) and Scope 3 (emissions from Cisco’s business air travel ( both corporate wide and worldwide).
According to Darrel Stickler of Cisco’s Sustainable Business Practices, few companies include Scope 3 of any type in an absolute reduction goal.
This success comes as part of Cisco’s overall sustainability practices, as reported in their fifth annual corporate social [...]
Copenhagen Summit Summary
Between the 7th and 18th December we will be posting news, videos, pictures summaries from COP15, the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
The conference is taking place at Bella Center in Copenhagen.
This post will be updated on a daily basis and please ‘Vote it Up‘ at it
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Copenhagen Summit – Day 1 Summary
COP15 – Pictures
Subscribe to this COP15 News Feed
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New Leaf Chocolates greens their packaging
Chocolate lovers will be pleased to know that New Leaf Chocolates - maker of premium, artisan and organic chocolates - has shifted to more sustainable packaging.
New Leaf Chocolates has long been involved in environmentally-friendly practices. They are members of 1% for the Planet and emphasize fair trade chocolates.
Their new plant-based GreenPod packaging protects these delectable chocolates from their top 3 threats – heat, odor and humidity. These products are recyclable and biodegradable. They use use a 100% plant-based protective shell and even the tape is kraft paper rather than the standard clear acrylic/.
GreenPod is actually several designs and each package contains instructions for how to take care of those materials when you are done. For large orders or those [...]