Reframing a Bad Break

When the frames on my 22-year-old sunglasses shattered, it almost broke my heart, but my search for new glasses turned up an option with a social conscience and an environmental focus.

My old sunglasses meant a lot to me. I graduated four times while I had them, and they accompanied me to Europe twice. I even blogged about them last year. Most importantly, their longevity helped me limit my consumerism. All told, they became a part of me; so when I dropped them accidentally in March and looked down to see them in pieces, I experienced a moment of shock. I just couldn't believe it. Then, after the surprise wore off, I was sad that I'd never wear them again.

Faced with the task of buying new sunglasses for the first time in two decades, I determined to make the purchase as environmentally friendly as possible. Something made from recycled and recyclable materials was preferable. I did an Internet search, and Treehugger.com gave me a list of companies that made the kind of glasses I wanted.

The environmental focus of my search paid off with a pair of glasses made by Proof Eyewear from sustainably sourced wood and recycled aluminum. They are 100 percent recyclable, and the company will take them back for recycling if the time comes that I can't wear them anymore. On top of that, the company also donates a portion of its profits to charity. It all made for a very satisfying purchase; and I look forward to a long partnership and lots of great experiences with my new optical companions. To learn more about Proof Eyewear and check out their products, click here.

Although it hurt when my old sunglasses broke, choosing a sustainable replacement for them made me feel a little better.

An Idea Comes to Life

My big idea last week was suggesting to some people that they make a video starring plastic bottles.

As odd as that idea might seem, the Sustainability Club at the University of South Dakota (USD) used it to create a cool video raising awareness about proper recycling habits at the university. Check it out below:

Face Your Waste from Vermy Green on Vimeo.

The video addresses a problem the university has had with trash being thrown in recycling bins. Obviously, trash contaminates recycling programs. Another common problem at USD has been people throwing recyclables in the trash, creating unnecessary waste.

The Sustainability Club came up with the plan of putting eyes and arms on plastic bottles that held signs encouraging people to recycle. As a faculty consultant to the club, my suggestion was to introduce the bottle characters through a video. That's pretty much all the credit I can claim though. The club took the idea and ran with it, bringing to life the bottles as well as a renewed emphasis on recycling at the university.

Without a doubt, plastic bottles as stars in recycling initiatives is an idea whose time has come at USD.

Trim More Than the Tree

Less is more, but "more is more" is heard more, especially when it comes to the holidays.

Two days ago, I blogged about my present-free Christmas list. It's one of the ways I'm trying to minimize my environmental impact during the holidays. However, a lot more goes into this time of year than presents, and that means we have additional opportunities to decrease our consumption of resources.

In this green spirit of the season, The Nature Conservancy is giving people ways to "REthink the Holidays." These include buying local food, additional alternatives to giving presents, reducing waste, and several more. One is about starting green holiday traditions with a young child. I really like these ideas, and they cover just about everything involved in the holidays. Click here to see the full range of suggestions.

Of course, if you do end up with stuff, it's important to know how to deal with it. For that, the Natural Resources Defense Council has tips on how to reuse and recycle.

Cutting back may be the best gift we'll ever give to the planet.

The Thought Counts

In a society that places a stigma on "re-gifting," imagine the response to "no-gifting."

By giving presents, we are trying to say we care and that we are happy to share in an experience, yet companies seem to get the most love out of the deal. Gift registries funnel money into the hands of manufacturers and foster consumerism.

For a moment, however, let's revisit the sentiment behind those gifts. As it turns out, we can express it (and perhaps in a clearer way) without tradition gifts. SoKind Registry allows people to register for experience gifts, secondhand items, and donations to charity. Check out the video below:



This option channels the care intended by giving a present into a truly meaningful gift. For more information about it, click here.

Now, that's something to celebrate.

It Does a Planet Good

Chances are, if you've got milk, you've got a plastic or paper milk carton that you have to recycle when the milk is gone, but the spirit of the milkman's glass bottles lives on.

Burbach's Countryside Dairy, which is based in Nebraska, has a great program for selling milk to stores around its area. The dairy puts its milk in glass bottles, which the stores then sell. When the customer is done with the milk, the bottle can be taken back to the store, which returns it to the dairy to be used again. For more information about the dairy, click here.

This operation model deserves replication. Selling milk locally decreases the carbon footprint of transporting it, and reusing the bottles is better than even recycling.

If this kind of program were available in more places, I think we'd all have reason to smile with our milk mustaches.

A Truly Smart Phone

My cell phone is eight years old. In other words, it's from a time before smartphones were all the rage.

I don't like to buy a lot of stuff, and despite all the cool gadgets on smartphones, I have thought the smartest thing to do was stick with my old phone. After all, I really didn't need what a smartphone could give me. In addition, smartphones seem to be another piece of technology that requires, either through software or hardware updates, constant replacement.

Admittedly, smartphones do provide some benefits and can actually eliminate the need for other devices, so if they could be made to last with easy fixing and updating, they might become truly smart options.

FairPhone is a new idea that is taking steps in the right direction. Watch the video below:

Fairphone: Buy a phone, start a movement from Fairphone on Vimeo.

I like that FairPhone is working to put consumers back in control of their stuff. The company is also addressing concerns about resource use, pollution, fair trade, and the entire life of a product. Importantly, the phones are made to be opened up and fixed. For instance, an owner can easily replace the battery when it dies. For more information, visit the company's Web site.

It would be great if the company applied its approach to other devices (like computers) as well.

Hopefully, FairPhone is successful. Maybe it'll be the option I turn to when it's finally time to replace my current phone.

Traditions of the Tree

My family still has its Christmas tree--from each of the last six years.

In 2007, we started a new tradition of retiring our trees to the wooded area of my parents' property. This allows the trees to become part of the habitat, provide shelter for animals, and break down into the ground. (Currently, the trees from past years are serving as a trellis for blackberry vines.) Keeping the trees also lets them remain part of our lives.

Of course, not everyone has the space to provide permanent homes for their Christmas trees. However, disposing of them in a proper way is still important. (I cringe to see them tossed on the side of the road.) Fortunately, many local governments have options for recycling the trees.

In Washington state's Grays Harbor County, members of the Boy Scouts will collect and recycle the trees for free (donations are welcomed). For more information on this program, click here. Residents of Washington's King County can get information about their tree recycling program here. If you do not live in either of those counties, check the Web site of your county or city government to see if they have a program.

Recycling or reusing your tree is definitely one of the most important Christmas traditions.

Wrapped up in a Coat

My Christmas wish list is usually more like a general need list.

Actually, this is kind of a family trait. We usually put on out lists things that we would ordinarily buy for ourselves but just happen to need around the holidays. Sometimes, if no pressing need arises, we will just ask for money.

That's why I liked this article from TreeHugger about Patagonia. Patagonia is a company that specializes in making outdoor clothing, and it does so while placing an emphasis on protecting the environment. It's an extraordinary company, and through its Common Threads Initiative, it is challenging people to buy only what they need and to try to repair what they have before replacing it.

As it turns out, what I need this year is a new coat. My last one finally gave out after nearly twelve years of constant wear (it even made two trips to Europe with me). When the need came up, I was glad to be already aware of Patagonia. I knew I wanted my next coat to be from an environmentally conscientious company, and I also knew it would be my Christmas present this year.

For more information about Patagonia, visit its Web site. Be sure to read about its environmental practices.

What a Waste

Electronic waste (e-waste) is a growing global problem because of the increasing prevalence of electronic devices and the speed at which new electronics are produced and consumed.

However, we tend not to see the effects of e-waste because, like much of our trash, it is shipped away from us. Terra Blight, a new documentary hopes to shed light on the human and environmental impacts of electronics. Check out the trailer below:



This makes me very happy I decided to improve my computer rather than get a new one. It also makes me thankful for Web sites that help people fix their devices.

You can watch Terra Blight on YouTube or iTunes.

Raising the Bar

The trouble with bottled soap is that it comes in bottles, many of which have pumps that can't be recycled.

I can't remember when bottled soap took over my life, but within the last year, I have started making the move back to bar soap. Most of the plastic bottles can be recycled, but making and recycling them still requires resources and energy. Then, there are those pumps and bottle caps that can't be recycled. For these reasons, I began looking for ways to keep bottled soaps out of my life.

To work on eliminating the bottles, I turned to the W.S. Badger Company. I have been using Badger sunscreen and lip balm for two years, and I really like them, so when the company reintroduced its line of soaps, I thought about buying some. However, I waited until my hand soap bottle neared its end and then asked Badger if its body soaps could be used as hand soaps. The representative said the soap made a good hand soap as long as it was placed on a dish that drained (when the soap sits in water it loses its firmness).

I bought the unscented Badger soap and began using it two months ago. It cleans hands well and is gentler on them than the bottled soap I had been using. Also, although it is officially unscented, it does have a bit of that bar soap smell. When I caught a little of that scent, it reminded me how much I liked the smell of bar soap, and by doing so, it brought back some memories.

So far, the experiment with bar soap has been a success. In the future, I may choose to replace my body wash with Badger soap as well.

You can check out the Badger Web site by clicking here. Many of the company's products are certified organic, and Badger does not test its products on animals.

It's Mine

As promised way back in June, I am going to share the experience I had upgrading my computer.

First, to give you a little background information, I purchased my Macbook laptop four years ago from Apple. However, it was not new when I got it. Instead, Apple had refurbished it (Apple sells refurbished computers at discounted prices on its online store). Along with saving me some money, buying a refurbished computer meant that I was essentially reusing something that already existed.

The computer has served me well from the beginning, but within six months, I began to make some changes. First, I added more memory, which I purchased from a great company called Other World Computing. Memory improves a computer's performance, and OWC sells memory that meets or exceeds Apple's standards for considerably less than Apple sells its memory. I also bought an external hard drive from OWC, giving me a reliable place to back up my information.

For the next few years, I didn't make many changes to the computer. Then, this spring, I had to buy a replacement for my power adapter. I got a used one in good condition from OWC for considerably less than the ones Apple was selling.

The next decision I made about the computer was a pivotal one. At almost four years old, the computer's software was a bit out-of-date, and I was getting low on hard drive space, so I realized I would soon have to either get something new or update what I had. I decided on the latter option.

Upgrading the computer involved getting a new hard drive (actually a solid state drive) from OWC and a new operating system plus additional software. I also decided to invest in protecting the hardware with a keyboard cover, screen protector (both from OWC), and a shell case for the exterior. (Since I was making a commitment to keep my computer around for a while, I figured I should protect it as best I could.)

All the updates were successful (it was actually pretty easy), and my computer is running faster than it ever did. Also, with the help of a kit I got from OWC when I ordered the solid state drive, I was able to turn my old hard drive into another backup device.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I found out I needed to replace the computer's battery. Again, I turned to OWC for a less expensive, more powerful version of what Apple was selling.

Importantly, I feel like my computer is truly my own now. I was able to participate in the creation process that made it what it is today (it's probably as much an OWC computer as it is an Apple). Above all, I was able to get what amounted to a new computer without discarding my old one. This helps conserve resources, making me even happier and more proud about my upgrade.

To check out what is available at OWC (they also have equipment for PCs), click here. The company is accredited by the Better Business Bureau, receiving an A+ ranking. Also, it offsets all its carbon emissions and makes its solid state drives in the United States, further cutting down on the carbon footprint when it ships to customers in the US.

Finnish Design and the Environment

Finns take design seriously (check out their bridges and the glass from Iittala), and they have a knack for creating things that are both functional and cool to look at.

A Finnish company called Think Today takes design even further by focusing on the use of scrap and recycled materials. My mom saw some of its products in a gift shop at the railway station in Helsinki.

The company makes things such as handbags, place mats, mouse pads, coat racks, coasters, and clocks out of scrap materials like wallpaper, laminate, and ceramic tiles. Using the materials helps make sure less is wasted. The cool design (often with a nature theme) of the products makes them a great example of upcycling.

You can check out the English version of Think Today's Web site by clicking here.

The Art of Nature in Finland

Nature has a strong influence on Finnish life, including the country's art.

Jean Sibelius, Finland's famous composer, took much inspiration from nature, and a lot of the art from the country is based on environmental themes and images.

When I was in Turku at the Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova Museum, I saw an exhibit by Finnish artist Kaisu Koivisto. Koivisto uses many different types of art, including photographs, sculptures, and video. The exhibit, titled Loud Silence, included photographs of Soviet Cold War buildings and missile sites that are being overgrown by nature.

Another piece, called The Absorption of Pollution, is made of cow horns. The piece is moved to different places around the world, sits outside, and collects pollution from those areas. It changes as more pollution is collected.

Reintroducing the Species is a part of the exhibit that focuses on the idea of bringing cows back to Staten Island, where they could be found on farms several decades ago. Koivisto made cows out of blankets, placed them around the area, and took photographs of them.

Koivisto also keeps nature in mind when creating her art. She reuses (upcycles) old materials to make her pieces. To see and learn more about her work, check out her Web site.

The Skinny on Lunch

For the last three months, I have been making and eating packed lunches without the help of plastic sandwich bags.

In January, I started using reusable sandwich bags from LunchSkins. The bags are made from food-safe fabric that contains no lead or BPA (Bisphenol A). They can be washed in the dishwasher and are good for holding many kinds of food in addition to sandwiches. Also, they are made in the United States.

I really like them, especially when I think about all the plastic I'm not using.

One small issue with the bags is that they do not offer the same kind of airtight seal provided by a plastic bag. As a result, the very top part of the sandwich bread tends to dry out a little after a few hours in the LunchSkin. That's a price I'm willing to pay for chemical-free food and using less plastic.

For more information about LunchSkins, click here.

Clothes, Women, and Nature

My sister wanted me to say a word about a clothing company that is emphasizing the empowerment of women and the protection of the environment.

kikaPaprika sells women's clothing made from organic cotton and recycled and repurposed materials. Additionally, the clothes are made in the United States, so they didn't have to consume more energy by traveling around the world to get here. kikaPaprika also represents an opportunity for women who want to own a business.

For more information about the clothes or the business opportunity, click here.

So That's What it's Called

I've blogged about reducing waste by considering the packaging and the life of a product a couple of times, including here. It turns out that someone else has given such an approach to shopping a name: precycling.

It would be great if "precycle" became a word we hear even more frequently than recycle. Recycling is a good idea, but not having things to recycle means less energy is used in producing and cleaning up products. For some ideas about how to start precycling, click on this article from Earth911.

Plant a Flower Day

Tomorrow is Plant a Flower Day, so if you can, celebrate by getting a head start on your garden.

For those of us who live where it's better to not plant outside yet, the National Wildlife Federation has some tips for starting seeds inside. Even cooler, the article talks about ways to reuse household items as pots for your seeds. Some of the items, including toilet paper tubes, make biodegradable pots.

Ideas You Shouldn't Throw Away

In the past, I've blogged about the need to reduce trash and also shared one of the ways I remind myself that trash starts with a purchase. Today, I wanted to share someone else's ideas for dealing with trash.

Terri Bennett recently gave her top seven ways to be less trashy. I like that the ideas address all three Rs: reduce, reuse, and recycle. In particular, I find the suggestions for reusing electronics and recycling clothing of great use. Also, I enjoy seeing that her seventh suggestion echoes my call to think about the trash that might result from buying something.

If you like Bennett's suggestions about trash, be sure to check out the rest of her Do Your Part Web site.

Plastic: Time to Wrap it Up

Besides doing away with my need for gasoline, cutting down on the use of plastic is one of my biggest environmental goals. The problem is that plastic comes with so many things we use all the time.

It definitely takes a conscious effort to avoid plastic. For example, when I think I want to buy something, I ask myself if it or its packaging contains plastic. If the answer is yes, I often decide against buying it or choose to look for alternatives.

Sometimes, my attempts to keep plastic at a distance need a little help though. I found some in this article about five packaged foods you never need to buy again. It contains information about making things like soup, soup stock, and, my personal favorite, cereal.

Now, I can take my anti-plastic life to the next level.

Every Last Piece

As you may know from my June entry, I use body wash instead of bar soap, so while the following idea may seem basic, when I heard it, my eyes opened.

A family friend who got tired of trying to deal with the little pieces that remain of a soap bar near the end of its lifetime decided to buy a luffa with a soap pocket. That way, the entire bar of soap is used before a new one is needed.

I love the idea of getting the most out of every product. It saves money and resources.