Reusable Bags NewsReuse & Recycle Eco Community

So how’s that 2010 new years resolution going? Well, if you’re like many or even most of us, you may have already given up.  It can be extremely difficult to change one habit.  In fact, we may go year after year making the same promise to ourselves to break a bad habit.  Then we break the promise of breaking that habit (sound familiar smokers, habitual soda drinkers, or fast-food eaters?).  It’s a vicious cycle! How do we break it?

I propose we adopt a strategy of changing a variety of simple and easy things in our lives, right now, instead of having just one goal for change.  What if changing in just one way is not enough? As we make decisions to change, even in small ways, we gain momentum and confidence in our ability to make positive changes regarding some of the more difficult things like working out regularly and finally losing that extra weight.  So let’s start building that confidence!

I see two simple yet significant ways I can change our planet and myself.  First, I’ll use eco friendly reusable or recycled shopping bags instead of plastic and paper bags when I shop.  Secondly, I’ll remember to use stainless steel water bottles. You may be surprised by what a positive influence these two easy habits can have on the world.

These habits are simple, easy and affordable.  Furthermore, contrary to popular belief, plastic containers and bags are not addictive (we promise, no withdrawals or cravings)!  Many aren’t mindful of how our usage of these products affect our planet’s health.  Once upon a time not long ago, we weren’t mindful of the harmful effects of cigarettes.  We accepted cigarette smoke as the status quo.  Some of us still smoke or live in communities where smoking is allowed in public indoor spaces.  Using reusable grocery bags and reusable water bottles can be new healthy habits and so easy compared to something like quitting caffeine, high fructose corn syrup or eliminating fast food from our diets.  Keep a stash of eco friendly recycled bags in your car, backpack, or shoulder bag.  Make a small investment in a stainless steel reusable water bottle and bring it with you everywhere you go.  You will not only reduce the harmful affects of disposable bag and disposable bottle waste in our environment, you will also inspire others to make these simple changes in their lives as well.

The best part is how you will feel about yourself when you realize you’re now part of the solution, rather than the problem.  Check out the stats and facts:

Disposable bag usage:

• Plastic bag waste pollutes our lands, forests, ponds, rivers, lakes, and oceans.
• Just since the year began (as of March 1st, 2010), it is estimated that over 82 Billion plastic bags have been consumed in the USA.
• According to the EPA this contributes to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of marine mammals (who ingest and subsequently choke or die of starvation as a result).
• In California alone, an estimated 19 billion plastic bags end up in landfills each year.
• Although there is debate about which one (plastic vs. paper) is worse for the environment, there is no debate that the widespread adoption of reusable eco bags is by far the best solution for this significant environmental problem.

Plastic bottle usage:

• According to the Container Recycling Institute (CRI), more than 21 billion beverage cans and bottles have been landfilled, littered and incinerated so far this year (yes just since 2010 began).
• CRI also reports that Americans purchase an estimated 34.6 billion single serve plastic bottles every year and hundreds of millions end up in the same places that disposable bags end up.

We all dream of a day when we finally break loose of our bad habits:  quitting smoking, eliminating fast food in our diet, or just getting off the couch and working out!  You know you can do it!  Determine what you can easily change now, and act on it.  So make a simple change in your life today: Adopt a reusable shopping bag and stainless steel water bottle habit and start building momentum for greater changes that are beginning in your life right now!

Hornet Mountain Natural Products (http://www.hornetmountain.com ) is an online store that specializes in chemical-free therapeutic skin care, natural makeup and beautiful eco-clothing in organic cotton and hemp. Founded by  Astrid Kihl, a stay-at-home mom and self described “natural health freak”, Hornet Mountain began as a response to her search to find a remedy for her toddler’s chronic eczema. “I  became really intense about my research. I learned so much about natural products during that time”. she says: “Just because a product is ‘naturally marketed’, does not mean the product is natural at all. I discovered that the personal care industry is fraught with deceptive tricks to make the consumer feel comfortable about using toxic chemicals on their skin. I could go on and on about this, but the bottom line is to educate yourself. The Environmental Working Group website ( http://www.ewg.org) is a great place to start .”

“We carry Keys skin care products because they use pharmaceutical-grade essential oils in therapeutic proportions. This means that the healing ingredients are of the highest quality and offer the best performance. Every batch of essential oil purchased by the manufacturer is tested to their ultra high standard for the active ingredient , as well as  for microbiology, to insure that there is no contamination present (hardly anyone in the industry does this!). The list of ingredients (organic  or wild crafted) on every product is under 10. The formulas are based on ancient healing remedies from various sources, like the Lakota Sioux and  Ayurvedic medicine, among others.”

“We got into natural cosmetics because the cosmetics industry is even more toxic than skin care. While in an ideal society, women would feel no need to wear makeup, that is clearly not our current reality, plus it is an ancient tradition. What we are trying to do at Hornet Mountain is minimize harm. Women are becoming more educated, but still products are being deceptively marketed as ‘natural’, and there is more to it than that. MIneral makeup is a step in the right direction, however most brands use titanium as their main ingredient, which raises serious concern. Titanium in itself is not harmful, it is the dioxaine that is used to process it (titanium “dioxide”) that is a known carcinogen. Because titanium always makes a jagged particle, like fiberglass, whether on a macro or nano scale, dioxaine is leaching into your body. And that is not good”.  Hornet Mountain carries a titanium-free mineral makeup line that uses  wild crafted and organic arrowroot powder as its base.

“Because of my past career in apparel manufacturing for the outdoor recreation industry, I have seen an incredible amount of  chemical treatments and processes that are used to make performance fabrics (nylons and polyesters). It is really not sustainable at all, and is toxic to us and therefore, to the planet. Unfortunately, conventional cotton is no different, having the distinction of being the most highly sprayed crop in the world. Working with eco-clothing is such a soul-nourishing change for me.”

Hornet Mountain sells several eco-clothing lines, such as Indigenous Designs, Itsus Eco, Nomads and  Garden Kids. “I avoid wearing synthetic fabrics unless it is necessary, I also make that sure that my kids wear wear organic cotton pj’s to bed. I can’t imagine why anyone would let their kids sleep in sweaty synthetics, and/or fabric that has been treated with toxic flame retardant chemicals. If you are worried you kids’ pj’s will catch on fire, just make sure that they are snug fitting. That is just as effective, and, unlike the flame retardants, it won’t do them any harm. ”

Hornet Mountain can be found at : http://www.hornetmountain.com and on Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Hornet-Mountain-Natural-Products/196100952774?ref=ts

In today’s society, more and more people are searching for ways to become more self-sufficient.  What are they searching for?  Some are looking for ways to live more independently, while others are just looking for ways to lower their energy costs.  Some just want to live a simpler life, saving money and learning how to be more stable in these unstable times.  Agua-Luna.com is here to help with all of this.

Agua-Luna’s owners have lived off the grid for more than ten years. They not only believe in the premise of being self-sufficient, they live it.  They have the experience and knowledge to help you become less dependent on the large utility companies.   They can also help you learn to live more independent and how to get back to basics.

Agua-Luna has taken the time and funds to rebuild homes from recycled materials.

Agua-Luna.com offers consultation services and workshops worldwide.  They are dedicated to helping people live as they do.  Their consultation services will help you look at all the aspects of building a home off-grid, while helping you obtain the best end product to fit all your needs.  If you would like to host them for a workshop, please contact them via their website for more details.

Agua-Luna has taken the time and funds to rebuild homes from recycled materials.  Some of these homes use renewable energies making them energy efficient.  Some are made to be completely off grid.  The sale of these homes allows the company to repeat the process and help make more of these homes.

Not ready to build a home?  Looking for other ways to go green?  Check out the how-to books and the plans in the product section.   Agua-Luna has books for those interested in building green machines.  They also have books for those looking for hints, tips and tricks on going green and living off the grid.  All of the books and plans sold on Agua-Luna have been written, compile and/or tested by themselves.

Agua-Luna enjoys helping others realize their dreams of lowering energy consumption.  They also enjoy helping around the world in a variety of cultures to gain energy they may not have had otherwise.  They do this through The Green Fund.  This fund helps Agua-Luna with projects such as the Amazon Project or the Haiti Project. For every dollar you use to purchase their books, t-shirts or other re-usable items on their website, they will place a dollar into this fund.

On their website, Agua-luna.com, you will find a photogallery detailing this work.  There you will find pictures of their Amazon project, Recycle Material projects, homes they have made and their current home.  Lucy and Dan Martin are incredible people. They are not afraid to share all their knowledge with you, as they truly enjoy giving back to society.

It is my pleasure to welcome Christine Daum, President of Oasis Montana Inc, and her entire team to our Eco Friendly Community.  It’s wonderful to learn about a company with the experience and know-how to literally guide you and your business or home to go “Off the grid” with their custom-designed renewable energy power systems.  I’ll let them speak for themselves:

Celebrating our 11th year in business, Oasis Montana Inc. is a Montana owned and operated business that specializes in renewable energy power systems, offering equipment for remote homes, grid-tied, RV, marine, UPS, emergency back-up, telecommunications, and solar water pumping systems. We also offer a line of efficient energy star AC/DC appliances, and non-electric propane or natural gas refrigerators, freezers, cooktops and stoves. While most of our business is in the U.S. we do have happy customers with power systems (and related equipment) all over the world.

Our goal is to help people enjoy the benefits of clean, green power systems; the custom design of our systems is part of every power project, with technical support for the lifetime of your system. We customize each system for your project needs to help achieve your solar dream for home or business.

I’m happy to welcome Frank from www.PlasmaLED.com to our eco community.  Since 1999, PlasmaLED has been a premier source for LED lights and home lighting products.  PlasmaLED manufactures all of its high quality (always ready to ship) LED lights to exact specifications and offers the largest selection of colors on the web.  No matter if its neon tubes or household bulbs, PlasmaLED’s light products offer you long lasting light and reduced power consumption. LED’s present many advantages over incandescent light sources including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved robustness, smaller size, faster switching, and greater durability and reliability.

We are excited to welcome Patrick from One2products to our eco community.  One2products is on the cutting edge of simple ways to help everyday people and families save thousands of gallons of water per year, just by making slight adjustments to, for example, the toilets we use every day.  Take it away Patrick:

One2products, www.one2products.com is in the business of transferring green ideas to retail. In less than one year we have taken an unknown dual flush adaptor through branding, package design, manufacturing representation, warehouse placement, and in-store distribution, into the homes of thousands of Americans. Along the way our One2flush dual flush adaptor, www.one2flush.com , was named the Retailer’s Choice award winner at the 2009 National Hardware Show and a Top 10 Hardware item for 2009.

The One2flush is an easy-to-install replacement for the water wasting toilet flapper valve. Simply replace the flush valve and handle and begin saving water immediately.  A family of 4 will save about 10,000 gallons of water a year. That’s about 10% off their water bill each month. Just by changing the way they flush a toilet. Simply push the handle one way for “one,” the other way for the “other.” Pushing the handle to the left releases about half a tank of water – enough to rinse out liquid wastes and toilet paper.  Push the handle to the right and a full flush is released.  Because we use the half flush many more times than the full flush the savings add up.

The One2flush has been tested and certified by the IAPMO for more than 75,000 flushes. It is used in private households, public housing programs and student housing apartments across the United States.  It is the official toilet valve on Highway 2000 across Jamaica. And it is now distributed inPuerto Rico, Columbia and Chile. The early adaptors were the folks most desperate for water, now it’s spreading to households even around the water-rich Great Lakes. At One2products we call this “easy environmentalism.”  Once people become aware of the amount of water they were previously wasting, they take the initiative to change. From March 15-21 the EPA is trying to get folks to think about how much water is wasted in toilets.  www.Fixaleakweek.com is our response. Instead of just replacing the old flapper with a new flapper – why not save even more water at the same time?  Put a One2flush in its place.

One2products has many more items to introduce at this year’s National Hardware Show in May. From VOC-Free caulks and adhesives, to plastic additives that turn any plastic into compost in just a few years. This is a great time for green inventors and One2products is positioned to help get their ideas to store shelves.

Patrick Hanna

President

In these tough economic times, shopping may be a luxury for most.  But if the things you use the most in life are wearing thin from use, such as your favorite kitchen, bed and bath linens,  buying organic is a guilt free way to breathe some life back into your favorite areas of the home.  Home entertainment is on the rise and it will lift your spirits to invite friends and family members over for a fabulous home cooked meal and “game night”. 

The Pristine Home strives to bring you the finest organic bedding, bath, and kitchen linens.  The owner, Lee Hemming, wants to provide her customers with a little bit of luxury. Organics cost a little more, so they want to be sure that you get more. You’ll get the softest, longest lasting sheets and the silkiest, most absorbent towels from The Pristine Home. The offerings are more limited than some other stores because they just aren’t satisfied with average, big store volume products. 

So invite your friends and family members over for a great dinner and game night and let The Pristine Home nourish your lifestyle. Clean, original, of the earth, “Pristine”.  And try this great organic smoothy recipe for plenty of energy too:

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces ice cubes
• 1-2 ripe bananas
• 1/4-1/2 cup organic vanilla yogurt (substitute flavor to suit your taste)
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1/2 cup cubed fresh pineapple
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 cup frozen whole strawberries
• 2 cups orange juice

Directions

1. Fill your blender with ingredients and blend until smooth.  Change the fruit depending on availability.

I’d like to welcome Heather and her company Extinct Design to our eco community.  With a dream of taking forgotten designs from the past and weaving imagination into a new era. Here’s some more from Heather on her unique designs…

Recycled Vintage Clothing

What you wear can say a lot about your individual style, your creativity and now even your beliefs! Recycled clothing and vintage handmade eco fashion garments help reduce the need for mass produced “quick fix” clothing.

Extinct Design has been set up to celebrate this individual style, recycling of ideas and clothing whilst promoting quality on trend eco-fashion. The couture range has been hand-crafted and are all hand finished pieces incorporating vintage, pre-owned material in an imaginative and truly personalised way.

There is a range of exquisite dresses from the 50s, 60s, and 70s that will add colour and quality to your wardrobe.

Every girl deserves the perfect dress and Extinct strives to bring you just that! Quality handmade pieces that are meant to last more than one season. Heather Jones, Designer and Owner of Extinct says “I love making things, producing one-off pieces designed and tailored just for you. Making items to order rather than producing any unnecessary wastage. All neatly packaged up
using recycled materials.”

I would love to hear from anyone who is interested in creating their own home-made garments or re-styling their clothing, re-using the materials. A feature soon to be added to the site will include tutorials on updating items you may already have – free of charge.

You can always browse the store to update your look with stylish items such as our vintage coloured tights, handbags or shoes! Also unearthed treasures harking back to a bygone time where men were princes and ladies were glamour pusses can be found to adorn your home. www.extinctdesign.co.uk ~ breathing life back into forgotten clothing,
vintage dresses whilst restyling material into modern wonders….

Visit Heather’s visionary website today and check out all of her cool designs and read more about her vision.

I’d like to introduce Yvonne and her company Environmental Products Distribution Company (EDPCO) to our eco community. She distributes reusable tightly woven cotton coffee filters around the world to cut down on one-use paper filters! Here’s some more about the Eco Filter

Environmental Products Distribution Company was founded in 1993. EPDCO is the manufacture and distributor of the trademarked product, Eco Filter. Yvonne Amarillas directs the manufacturing and distribution through out the US from our headquarters in Hermosa Beach, California, USA.  In 1997  EPDCO introduced the Eco Filter to the European market and expanded its distribution.

Our primary goal is to preserve our precious trees, reduce waste factor and strive for all of us to breathe cleaner air. EPDCO is determined to make a difference by educating people about sustainable lifestyles. EPDCO is dedicated to the preservation of our environment for the future generation.

Eco Filter is made of 100% natural tightly woven cotton that  filters out all, but the most aromatic, smoothest tasting coffee possible.  Aroma is what Eco Filters deliver best. Easy to use, clean and its durability are considered it’s unique advantages over all other coffee filters.

We take great pride in manufacturing our product in the USA, and stand 100% behind our product ,satisfaction guaranteed.

Check out her website for more information on her cotton coffee filters.

I’d like to welcome Gordon and Wendy with BioGreen Systems to our eco community. Here’s there vision on the importance of raising awareness and green education…

The mission of BioGreen Systems Inc is to help educate and bring awareness
to the fact that there are safe, non-toxic, “green” alternatives available
to replace the toxic and potentially hazardous products the average person
now uses on a daily basis.

At BioGreen Systems, Inc. we take great pride in being able to provide a
complete line of high quality “Green Products” for Personal Care, Home
Cleaning and Laundry Care. These are the types of products that we all use
on a daily basis. What is most important to you in your search for “Green
Products” to use in your home or office? Is it the quality, the value, the
benefits to you and the environment, the availability, the company’s “green
integrity” or all of the above? Whatever your answer, BioGreen can meet your
needs.

BioGreen’s products are the very best that science and technology has to
offer, they are not tested on animals and are truly non-toxic, earth
sensitive, “green” products. They are not only safe, but also, cost
effective and multi-purpose. (Example: BioGreen’s EcoPure, mixed 20 to 1
with water, costs less than 50 cents per quart!) Most importantly, the use
of BioGreen’s products will help protect not only you and your family, but
also the surrounding environment. Our products are easily available, just a
“click” away when ordered online and shipped directly to you. Since
BioGreen’s products are so highly concentrated, (many are mixed with water
before using, saving you money) they require less packaging, which means
less fuel to ship, thereby having less of an impact on the environment. By
careful packing BioGreen is able to ship the products in the least amount of
packaging possible. With our use of packing peanuts made from cornstarch,
which are completely water soluble and are harmless to the environment, this
demonstrates just one more way that BioGreen gives evidence of our “green
integrity”.

Learn more about their green sustainable products on their website. We all need to be more concious of the toxic and unnecessary waste we produce on a daily basis. Wendy and Gordon are leaders in the green revolution!