On this 40th anniversary of Earth Day…there are millions of individuals in this country with a bit of free time and an overwhelming desire to take action to make their communities and their planet better; an army of willing individuals who are quietly changing the world but who need more help if they are to reach their full potential. Who are these agents of change? Look around you, I have no doubt you encounter them everyday…you may even have them in your home. That’s right…youth. The power they have is amazing.

A year ago I had the opportunity to work with a group of three middle school boys who, as part of a service project in their community, did some research and found that lead wheel weights through improper disposal cause a considerable amount of lead pollution in the environment. These young men took matters into their own hands and worked tirelessly to pass a law in the state of Iowa to phase out lead wheel weights on state vehicles. Then the EPA cited the program as one of the reasons they are re-assessing their position on lead wheel weights, a development that will affect 300 million Americans across the country. I have seen other projects as well, from Title 1 elementary school students in South Florida growing a garden and selling the produce into the local community,to a high school in Seattle reducing their greenhouse gas emissions by several tons each year . I have been all over the country and have seen countless programs such as these.

And now EarthEcho International has launched a campaign to bring much-needed resources and tools to build a community of best practice that will help to revolutionize this growing movement. In partnership with the leading youth service organizations and national education groups in the nation, we are launching a preview of the Water Planet Challenge (www.waterplanetchallenge.org) this week.This preview site includes a service-learning guide sponsored by Participant Media, and is being launched in tandem with the Disneynature film Oceans that premiers on Earth Day. This is only the beginning, however—we continue to develop the program and will constantly add more resources over the summer in preparation time for a full launch in the fall of 2010.

As the Greek philosopher Plato once wrote, “Youth are not vessels to be filled but flames to be lit.” The Water Planet Challenge will light the flames of a whole new generation, giving them the tools and knowledge to build the kind of sustainable future we all dream of.

A couple of days ago, I received an email from a friend about a clothing swap. She is getting ready to move and was about to donate her clothes when she got the idea of having a swap with friends. I’ll admit it, I still have some clothes with tags on them that looked cute in the store but somehow never made it out of my closet. Perfect for the swap! This got me thinking about the evils of impulse shopping and consumerism, but before I digress, and since I’m also a culprit, I’ll stop and offer some suggestions on how to make your wardrobe (and mine) more eco-friendly:

• Think before you buy: Are you really going to wear that micro mini outside your house? Remember, your closet is not a storage unit! If you have limited closet space, like me, you might end up losing clothes in the back of the closet, only to have them resurface at the end of the season. So, buy only what you will realistically wear, and before you do, you might want to check whether the clothes have been manufactured in a sweatshop, just in case!

• Buy higher quality clothing when possible: I’m not advocating you spend all your money on trendy designer names. However, there are certain basic pieces in a wardrobe that can withstand the changes in fashion from year to year. Buying higher quality pieces means they will last longer and you will save money in the long run, not to mention that they will look better on you!

• Choose eco-friendly fabrics: More and more affordable choices can be found in regular stores. See Alexandra’s great blog about eco-fashion and organic cotton clothing for more info.

• Consider vintage or used: Yes, it’s used, but if you’re going for a unique look that won’t be found on everyone else this season, you might want to check out a vintage shop near you. Freewill Fashions in New York is an example of how vintage can be fashionable.

• Limit your washing: Washing is energy intensive, so only wash when you have a full load, and use the lowest temperature. There are very few items that need to be washed in hot water, so warm and even cold are perfectly acceptable settings. It goes without saying that you should use biodegradable detergents. As for dry cleaning, switch to a green cleaner. Perc (perchloroethylene), the major active ingredient in conventional dry cleaning, is a carcinogen and has been associated with reproductive and nervous system issues. There are a few green cleaning alternatives, including wet cleaning, cleaners that use the Green Earth method, and cleaners that clean with carbon dioxide.

• Donate your clothes or organize a clothing swap. On average, we each throw away about 68 pounds of clothing and textiles a year. I’m sure there is someone out there who could benefit from items you don’t wear. Check with your friends, look for organized swaps, or donate it to a local charity or on Freecyle.

The great thing about taking these steps is that, not only will it make your wardrobe more eco-friendly, but it will re-acquaint you with the clothes you own. You will look inside your closet and find clothes you could actually wear, instead of reciting the “I have nothing to wear” mantra every time you look in there.

For all you fashionistas out there… listen up! Sustainable, organic and fair trade fabrics are IN. Sweat shops, pesticides, and toxic materials are OUT.

With the green craze that has taken us all by storm, even the famously fickle world of fashion has jumped on the bandwagon. Designers are starting to source their fabrics with more care and produce their clothes in a more responsible way. Yay!! This is so exciting! I have now resolved to try to gradually build a green wardrobe and there are really exciting options out there. Two of my personal favorites are Linda Loudermilk and Stewart Brown, both of whom have taught me that fabrics made of bamboo, organic cotton, sustainable silk, hemp, jute, corn, and seaweed can be just as soft and luxurious as the mainstream fabrics we are all used to. And there are an increasing variety of other options out there as well, many of which are outlined in the Green Guide to Fashion Fundamentals.

So why is this emerging green fashion trend so important? There are a lot of reasons and cotton is one of them. Check out some of these scary facts of cotton production from the Sustainable Cotton Project:

• Cotton uses about 25% of the world’s insecticide and more than 10% of the pesticides (including insecticides, fungicides, miticides, herbicides, defoliants, and growth regulators).

• In the United States, 25% of all pesticides used are applied to cotton.

• In the United States, it takes about a third of a pound of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides to grow enough cotton for a T-shirt.

• In California, five of the top nine pesticides used on cotton are cancer-causing chemicals (cyanazine, dicofol, naled, propargite, and trifluralin).

• All of the top nine cotton pesticides in California are labeled by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as Category I or Category II materials, the most toxic classifications.

• In India, 91% of male cotton farm workers regularly exposed to pesticides eight hours or more per day experience some type of health disorder, including chromosomal aberrations, cell death, and cell decay.

• Cotton fibers account for almost 50% of the textile market worldwide.

• Globally, nearly 90 million acres of cotton are grown in more that 70 countries. The United States is the second largest cotton producer in the world, growing approximately 19 million bales worth $6 billion in 1997 (enough to make approximately 9,215,000,000 T-shirts).

• As much as two-thirds of a cotton crop can creep into the food chain. Each year, half a million tons of cottonseed oil make their way into salad dressings, baked goods, and snack foods; another three million tons of raw cottonseed are fed to beef and dairy cattle.

We can’t avoid wearing cotton but we can choose ORGANIC cotton and other sustainable fabrics for a greener wardrobe and a greener planet. For more tips on how to make your wardrobe more eco-friendly, visit Anca’s latest blog.
Are you in??

Green is the New Black T Shirt
available from Perfect Organics.