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??
Wondering what to get the graduate in your family? How about getting them something that’s eco-friendly and matches their interests? Eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean an organic shirt or Fair Trade items, although those are great as well. You can get something related to your graduate’s interests that he/she will use longer term or something for his/her next stage in life, be it college or entering the “real†world. Some ideas:
An adventure: They’ve graduated and have the whole summer in front of them—it’s time for some adventure! Excitations or the Green Tortoise Bus Tour provide some fun experiences that they’ll remember for a long time.
Transportation: Whether it’s a brand new bike and/or related accessories, or a Eurail pass to help them on their wanderings, having a way to get around is always appreciated it (if it’s an old car, you might want to promote the biking!).
Sports equipment: Encourage him/her to spend time outdoors and play their favorite sport. Whether it’s at the park or on a field, they’re still experiencing a bit of nature and hopefully learning to appreciate and respect it!
Music: No, I don’t mean CDs, I mean a gift card for music downloads, from a source such as iTunes. If they don’t have an iPod or MP3 player, that might be an option. While you’re at it, you can also get a solar charger like Solio to help them power it up (or power up their cell phone, which they are sure to be using!).
Eco-friendly furniture: Be it for their dorm room in college or their apartment out of college, or even after grad school, home-related items are always welcome (but make sure they match your graduate’s tastes!!). Choices include: Ikea, Eco-Furniture, 2modern (their eco-friendly section), Re-Modern and Vivavi, among many others.
Eco-friendly anything! There are so many products out there, there’s bound to be one that fits his/her tastes. Great Green Goods is a blog to check out on eco-friendly items to buy. Take a look, or make something (as always, a good option for the creative types).
Mother’s Day is right around the corner! Show your mom (or any of the amazing women in your life) you love her and Mother Earth (it is Mother’s Day after all - it shouldn’t be just for humans!). Here are some eco-friendly ideas:
Spend quality time with her: We’re so busy running around, that even when we are with others, we’re thinking about something else half the time. Focus on just her for a few hours.
Cook! Especially if you don’t usually do it: There are plenty of great recipes even for people (like me) who aren’t master chefs. You can make her brunch, dinner, or just a snack - and spend more quality time with her! Check out the Edens Food or Organic.com web sites.
Get her a subscription to a “green” magazine: There are more and more out there - odds are, you can find one that focuses on her favorite topic and is environmentally friendly, like Natural Home, Organic Gardening, and Organic Spa. You can also go for something less mainstream, like A Real Life.
And while we’re on the subject, another option is a gift certificate to an organic spa: Check out one that’s near her.
Or how about some organic bath and body products? I seem to be stuck on the spa theme - the idea of massage sounds heavenly right now, but I digress…
Write her a note or a letter: Remember writing and how good it felt to get something handwritten in the mail? When was the last time you wrote your mom? Now’s the time. Don’t forget to do it on recycled or tree free paper!
Then there’s the old standby - flowers: Always a great gift, whatever the occasion. I’d suggest ordering flowers or a plant from a store that is near your mother’s, to decrease emissions created from transportation, or at least one that has organic flowers, such as Organic Bouquet or California Organic Flowers.
For those of you who feel like doing some serious shopping for mom: Check out Gaiam, GreenFeet, Commondi (if you’re in Canada), and all the fun stuff on the Internet. Happy planning! or
AND we’d love to hear what you’re thinking of doing for Mother’s Day that is also eco-friendly.
I just got back from the farmer’s market this morning with a week’s worth of organic produce and a lot on my mind. Usually, the market is a place for me to escape to on Sunday mornings, with my fabric shopping bags in tow, and reconnect with my values and my community. I love to chat with the local farmers about their produce and hear the wonderful stories about their farms and their families. I feel so happy as I peruse their wooden box stalls and take in the natural diversity in size and shape and color that indicate freshness and a lack of chemical pesticides. It feels so different from the waxy, uniform perfection found in conventional supermarkets and produced and packaged at enormous factory farms owned by multinational conglomerates. Here, I can feel close to the people who produce my food and feel good about knowing that my patronage can help to ensure their continued existence.
Today I heard that Priscilla the milk cow is sick but expected to recover soon, the creamer’s wife invented a new seasoning for her feta cheese, and Bluebell, the buffalo rancher’s favorite dog, is expecting puppies next month. I tasted no less than a dozen different types of apple while happily comparing flavor and consistency with the farmer’s daughter. But I also heard about the difficulties the produce farmers had this past winter with the bizarre weather we’ve had this past season, yoyo-ing between hot and cold all winter long. There is no doubt that climate change, as it continues to mold our future with unsettling consequences for all of us, will have a real impact on local farmers.
Just a few weeks ago, farmers in Australia were warned by a climate change forum that they might have to make some changes to their agricultural mix and reform some of their farming practices because of climate change. In Malawi—a poverty stricken country in Africa that is regularly ravaged by drought and famine—climate change threatens what little agriculture the people do have. In Scotland, farmers are experiencing what some call “climate chaos” in the form of reduced snow cover, more flooding and increased risk of landslides. And in the Washington DC area, local farmers feel just as concerned and just as threatened.
As the saying goes, there has never been a better time to “buy local, think global”. Find a farmer’s market in your area and read a few tips before starting out. After all, do you really need a banana that has been flown in from Ecuador? Or will a locally grown apple taste just as good? I choose the apple.
As some of you might know, I have spent the past two years living in Central America working on marine conservation issues. That work led me to collaborate with communities of poor fishermen, journalists, environmental groups, and government officials. It was an extraordinary experience that gave me a new understanding and perspective on the struggles to achieve meaningful conservation in the region. But it was also very frustrating to see the lack of resources, information, public commitment and/or political will to create lasting protections for these critical conservation areas.
My base was in Costa Rica, a country that has a global reputation for being an ecological paradise. And that brings me to why I think I just made a lot of people mad… A few days ago, an interview that I did a couple months ago was finally published (http://www.nacion.com/ln_ee/2007/abril/28/aldea1077541.html) and well, I think the title must have gotten people’s attention. “Cousteau says Costa Rica isn’t as green as they claim!” Yikes! That flies in the face of everything your average Costa Rican believes.
Of course, Costa Rica DOES have some achievements that they are justifiably proud of. They are a world leader in environmental services, a quarter of their country is put aside in national parks, they have no military and free health care, they helped to develop the concept of climate credits, and over 90% of their electricity comes from renewable energy sources (unfortunately though, mostly from damming rivers). The men and women that I have met and/or worked with at institutions like INCAE (www.incae.edu) or organizations like MarViva (www.marviva.net) are on the front lines of the struggle to promote sustainable development and find viable solutions to protect our environment and the people who depend on it. They are doing exceptional work and deserve our praise and support.
However, (and this was my point in the interview) Costa Rica does have serious challenges to overcome. Development is running rampant and sadly, over 95% of all the water used in households and industry throughout the country is channeled straight to the ocean with no treatment whatsoever. Deforestation outside the parks is as bad or worse than other Central American countries, and some laws that were passed to protect natural resources are not being respected by the government officials whose responsibility it is to uphold those very same laws.
One of the issues of poor governance that I am very worried about concerns the practice of shark finning. Although Costa Rica has laws prohibiting shark finning in their waters and/or the unloading of shark fins in their ports, the government officials are not enforcing the law as they should. The Taiwanese, who have long been fishing sharks (and just about every other fish they can get their hooks into) in Central American waters, have been granted “private docks” at which to secretly unload their catch. The docks exist behind high walls topped with barbed wire that prevent casual observation. Although officially, government officials are occasionally invited to observe the unloading of the ships to ensure that the Taiwanese are obeying local laws, I am positive there is a lot of additional unloading that also happens after they leave. Like those last few shark fins for example…
My friend Randall Arauz, president of Pretoma (www.tortugamarina.org) and one of the most dedicated and effective activists that I have had the pleasure of knowing, has actually taken the government to court to try to force them to comply with the law that states that private docks are now illegal. He has won three times and the government still won’t act. I wrote a letter to President Oscar Arias (he may be a Nobel Peace Prize winner but is he a friend to the sharks???) and have received no response.
Another friend of mine, Rodney Pietra, is a park ranger at Baulas National Park (http://www.leatherback.org/lasbaulas/costa-rica/), one of the last viable nesting beaches in the Pacific for the severely endangered Leatherback Turtle. There is a heated battle happening now between the park rangers and conservation groups who are trying to protect the beach and the developers who are anxious to put up some more hotels on it. Are a few extra hotels really worth the extinction of a species that has existed since the time of the dinosaurs? I guess they are. And judging from the death threats Rodney has received recently, human life isn’t that valuable either.
Costa Rica has spent gazillions of marketing dollars trying to convince the world to go visit their ecological paradise. And it has worked- Boeing-737s are dropping off thousands of new tourists every day. But there can be no doubt that if Costa Rica doesn’t give priority to addressing some of the urgent environmental issues in their country now, their ecological paradise might not seem so in a few years.
So, while I am sure that I made some people mad by saying all this, there are also quite a few who want to take me out for a drink to thank me for talking about what few in Costa Rica ever dare to mention. They are the ones I care about and who need our support.
I love seafood but there is so much of it I won’t eat because it’s not sustainable. “So, what IS sustainable?” is a question I get a lot. Check out this video blog by Brian Halweil of the Worldwatch Institute. It says it all!
Several chefs in the Washington, DC, area are have made a commitment to sustainable seafood in their restaurants. Today’s Washington Post article highlights the good work that our friend Barton Seaver is doing at his new restaurant Hook. EarthEcho is happy to be working with Barton and his staff to help them communicate their messages of sustainability.
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:
Wondering what to get the graduate in your family? How about getting them something that’s eco-friendly and matches their interests? Eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean an organic shirt or 
Mother’s Day is right around the corner! Show your mom (or any of the amazing women in your life) you love her and Mother Earth (it is Mother’s Day after all - it shouldn’t be just for humans!). Here are some eco-friendly ideas:
I just got back from the farmer’s market this morning with a week’s worth of organic produce and a lot on my mind. Usually, the market is a place for me to escape to on Sunday mornings, with my fabric shopping bags in tow, and reconnect with my values and my community. I love to chat with the local farmers about their produce and hear the wonderful stories about their farms and their families. I feel so happy as I peruse their wooden box stalls and take in the natural diversity in size and shape and color that indicate freshness and a lack of chemical pesticides. It feels so different from the waxy, uniform perfection found in conventional supermarkets and produced and packaged at enormous factory farms owned by multinational conglomerates. Here, I can feel close to the people who produce my food and feel good about knowing that my patronage can help to ensure their continued existence.