talking toilets

Did I dare title this article - “let’s talk shit?”…no! Because we cannot talk about his sensitive topic in polite company…in fact, we cannot pretend that we even have such stuff in our lives, so we flush it away using gallons of ever-more-precious clean water…drinking quality water we have spent much time, energy and money getting to our front door, and yet more energy cleaning up over and over.

This has never made sense to me, esp. since the revelation I had one evening in 1969 - under the influence of an incredible brownie, I bored my friends for hours with my treatise on toilets and the curse of the flush toilet and how it has ruined civilization, blah, blah, blah…

Well, I was actually on to something - but it was 40 years too soon, as usual. Now, things have caught up with us and here in California as we watch the reservoirs dry up and counties begin to squabble over who owns the right to suck out which river…we are beginning to talk water conservation…not toilets – yet - but i predict it is only a matter of time…

I especially am bothered by the sound in women’s public bathrooms – of a toilet being flushed before and after use! Why not let it “mellow”? Of course, we are afraid of contamination and probably rightly so. I had a crazy idea last year of offering a “Flexi-flush” stall in some multi-stall public facility to see if women could be encouraged to flush only occasionally ( every third use?) rather than every time.

They could choose to use that stall, and would get a “GOLD STAR” for not flushing…also a pen/poster on the door could be used to note every time a flush was saved…we could monitor our progress in saving water. Crazy? Maybe not! Maybe we could slowly change some habits.

There are great options to flushing. The best one so far is the composting toilet. I have used a number of these inventions, and can tell you that almost every experience was a majorly smell-free and enjoyable moment, as these things go…of course. So, check out composting toilets as you build new houses or change out old bathrooms, I think we could change the shitty direction things are going! There - I said it.

GREENER THAN THOU? Let’s talk Stuff, Let’s talk Trash.

Yep - you read it right….I am asking - what is really and truly Green? Well, the answer as I see it - is - everything is relative…yep, ok , seems like an easy out to say this. But, after years of living Green, doing my own “Green thing” - and discovering my strong and weak points in the deal, it looks like we are each doing some things “Greener Than Thou” and other things are “Not so Green”…it is an individual style. We need each other to show the way.  Hey, this is not a contest, by the way - and “Greener Than Thou” is a sticky issue…who wants to be guilt tripped into doing stuff?  Into getting rid of stuff?  Into not buying stuff??  etc…anyway, I think it is fun to challenge myself about my sustainability options.  That works for me.

Anyway - back to the relative points of green, and how we are all made differently.   My recently ended relationship points this out immaculately. B____ has a terrible time recycling, he just can’t seem to get it - what is recyclable and what is not! I always became the “Recycling Police” and pulled weird stuff out of the Recycle bin, and also went through the trash finding lots of goodies that could be sent to the recycle center instead of landfill. I prided myself on a small bin of trash only every 3-6 months. Without me he is doomed… recently I looked into his garage to see a horrifying pile of “trash” that could mostly be separated and recycled or composted. I retreated before the urge to organize came over me.

But, at the same time - I was a shopper, I loved to get more STUFF!…could not dare go into Ross or Dollar Store or any other sale…would come out with some wonderful bargains of new cotton sheets or a beach towel, or even a pair of shoes that I ended up not wearing. (made in China?) Pathetic.

I stay out of stores, but that is not the point. We all are so used to having whatever we want, to buying things because we can afford them - we think that affordability and priviledge means it is “OURS” - like we own it, it is MINE - whatever we want as long as we pay for it. What I am trying to say is that the waters, the air quality, the resources that are being mined and extracted to give us these many “things” belong to everyone, belong - in fact - to the Earth herself, and just because I am wealthy and an American does not mean that i get to have it all…read George Carlin’s wonderful rant on STUFF.

The recent change in our mutual economic fortunes may give us all pause long enough to change some bad habits. Maybe we’ll slow down on our Stuff buying…Maybe becoming Green will be an economic necessity. In fact, really- people have not lined up for sustainable lifestyle in great hoards before now… we may be pushed to the new Green World kicking and screaming… our cold dead hands pried off the steering wheels of our SUV’s ( sales are way down for SUV’s - finally!!!)

Ok, this is a rant - I can tell by the punctuation.

If I were to write it in a succinct and intelligible manner, I would repeat the above, but - like this…

We cannot easily quantify the ecological impact of production, distribution, consumption & dump-tion of our consumer choices. How to make informed decisions? Green by Choice - not chance? This takes a team of researchers for every subject, every item. I believe that without merely “Green washing”, our Ecomania can be appeased by stopping and breathing deeply for a moment.

The dirty secret - is that NO purchase is better for the environment that anything you can buy - whether it is organic, or “reused” - esp if you tire of it and need to now pass it on or dispose of it. The dump-tion footprint is there eventually. But, you say - are we doomed to live in a cave eating with our fingers?

I for one, will probably not be willing to go there, being over a certain age and no longer finding enjoyment in sleeping on rocks. I doubt most of my friends would either. So, we make our compromises, find our strengths, encourage each other in ways that matter to us, and take encouragement from others when the strong point is in their favor. Slowly we wean ourselves from excess - from big cars, from lights left on in empty rooms, from shopping without a list, from impulse purchasing, from junk foods and imported beer. These are the small changes that will give us opportunity to take on bigger challenges, and not a moment too soon!

Atmospheric carbon is at an all time high. Turn off that air conditioner, and lie on the ground under the shade of an oak tree. Give thanks that that tree is standing. Simple acts will save us from the crazy thoughts of what is “Greener than Thou”?

If you need a booster to start undoing your STUFF additction - see the movie - “Trashed”

“Trashed” is a provocative investigation of one of the fastest growing industries in North America. The garbage business. The film examines a fundamental element of modern American culture…the disposal of what our society defines as “waste.” It is an issue influenced by every American, most of whom never consider the consequences. Nor, it seems, the implications to our biosphere. At times humorous, but deeply poignant, “Trashed” examines the American waste stream fast approaching a half billion tons annually.    

What are the effects all this waste will have on already strained natural resources? Why is so much of it produced? While every American creates almost 5 pounds of it every day, who is affected most? And who wants America to make more?

The film analyzes the causes and effects of the seemingly innocuous act of “taking out the garbage” while showcasing the individuals, activists,corporate and advocacy groups working to affect change and reform the current model. “Trashed” is an informative and thought-provoking film everyone interested in the future of sustainability should see.

SMALL FARMS ARE MORE PRODUCTIVE AND PROFITABLE

Let’s take another look at small farms. The localization of our food supply will offer many positive opportunities to our youth, to our sense of place & community, and also to the quality of health and well being we each take from our daily meals.

American agriculture is mired in a mind-set that relies on capital, chemistry and machines. Food production is dependent on oil, in the form of fertilizers and pesticides, in the distances produce travels from farm to plate and in the energy it takes to process it.

For decades, environmentalists and small farmers have claimed that this is several kinds of madness. But industrial agriculture has simply responded that if we’re feeding more people more cheaply using less land, how terrible can our food system be?

Now that argument no longer holds true. With the price of oil at more than $120 a barrel (up from less than $30 for most of the last 50 years), small and midsize nonpolluting farms, the ones growing the healthiest and best-tasting food, are gaining a competitive advantage. They aren’t as reliant on oil, because they use fewer large machines and less pesticide and fertilizer.

• A 1,000 acre U.S. corporate farm growing genetically engineered crops nets an average of $39 an acre.
• In contrast, a four-acre family farm nets, on average, $1,400 per acre.
• Small organic farms are proving to be even more profitable. With oil prices on the rise, growing food without petroleum-based pesticides/fertilizers, and delivering that food to local markets will quickly prove to be the most affordable food available.

I love eating the fresh greens that come in my weekly CSA basket, everything was just picked, and is organic and as fresh as possible. Why not look online for your local Farmer’s Market or CSA ( Community Supported Agriculture) and start getting the best food for your family and for your money right now!

Source: Solving the Food, Health, & Energy Crisis: Local & Organic Production on Smaller Farms

* Change We Can Stomach
By DAN BARBER
The New York Times, May 11, 2008
http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_12216.cfm

Local Food Rant

Eating avos in winter? Lettuce in the heat of summer? Here’s the hard truth! We have gotten so off track on local food in just the last 30 years we don’t even realize what that means to our footprint.

~ I love world market foods, give me a Thai Green curry any day… But, let’s take a look at this addiction to variety, to exotic tastes…

In my childhood, (1960’s) hardly one had ever eaten an avocado or artichoke in the Midwest, and international food was a dream that was only real when you ate pizza (either in a restaurant on special occasions - or from a box mix)

This boredom was also unrelieved by hot new restaurants. Mostly people ate at home, in fact - they hardly ever ate out, except for church socials or community potlucks…this all a world from the past, from our rural heritage, and certainly a world that did not know what they missed…

Fast forward to today - where Trader Joe’s brings us Israeli cheese, Italian olive oil, and such things are very available in any corner market in the USA. We have gotten everyday habits that are going to be hard to break. Do we have to break the imported food habit? Is the 1500 mile salad, the supermarket dinner sustainable? To complicate things - we have gotten used to spending only 11% of our income on food, unlike most of the world - and getting the huge choices, big super sizes of everything as well!!

Yikes - time to reassess. Can we find happiness chewing on locally grown potatoes, broccoli in season, waiting for the peaches to come ripe? This is what local food means - grown nearby and in season. Your CSA shows the way - they give you a basket of whatever is ripe and ready to harvest in the garden. Try the Farmers Market for a great selection of timely foods, picked recently and by people you get to talk to while you handle their life’s work! Either is a simple and fun way to begin eating local.

Even more directly connected is your own garden, imagine how much more local can you get – than a 20 foot away dinner rather than a 1500 mile dinner! Check out your own slow food connection as you eat tomatoes that you grew – right off the plant, now that is a 1” dinner….the most local of all…now if only I didn’t need my hands at all – how much closer can I get? Mmmmm, a no-hands lunch! Ok, I am over the top – but you get the point… if I eat that tomato, ripe from the sun , my mouth filled with its just picked sweetness, I have just lowered my carbon footprint by a a factor of a thousand. Yay team! Let’s eat the imports, with grace and appreciation for their amazing availability, occasionally – as befits such luxury.  Here’s to your health…please pass the spinach!

Check out this site for a localization conversation-locallectual

Also the movie - The Real Dirt on Farmer John!

 

Localization, Relocalization, Futurization

What is localization? Let’s look at the leading localization movement description - by the localization group of WELL in the small town of Willits, CA

 

The WELL Vision:  An enduring local economy that provides health and security for our community.

The Mission of WELL To foster the creation of a local, sustainable economy in the Willits area by partnering with other organizations to watch for opportunities and vulnerabilities, incubate and coordinate projects and facilitate dialogue, action and education within our community.

 

Why Are We Doing This? Willits is a great place to live for many reasons. We have a strong sense of community, creative and dedicated residents, and surrounding natural beauty.

Economic, demographic and environmental trends concern many in our community. Rising fuel costs, climate change, and the importation of most of our essential goods leaves our community vulnerable.

Localizing our economy means that we will produce more of our essentials here in Willits. This behavior models the great American values of self and community reliance. Creating local food and energy systems will tap the vast wealth of knowledge and ingenuity in our area. Benefits include:

Diverse local employment Clean, efficient and more responsible options for food, energy and transportation Securing the future for our families and children Having a stronger connection to each other and the natural beauty around us

Through economic localization we strive to protect and enhance existing qualities of our community and meet the challenges of the future.

 

At foremost issue is the coming decline of petroleum resources and the impact it will have on all of us. The goal is to find creative methods to sustain and empower the local community while moving away from global (imported) resources — in essence, to ‘localize’ our community. WELL is made up of a network of citizens and community organizations that meet regularly to create a common vision, foster education, plan work, and carry out projects.

The simple idea is to remember what we all used to do - before the boats, trains & trucks rolled into town bringing all the supplies of modern life to be purchased by the “consumer”.

What did we do? We used to MAKE things and had local food supply, grain and flour mills, manufacturers & suppliers of conveniences and dry goods…you remember olde time “Main Street” with its shops - each one a distinct and different entity - the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker…not just a children’s poem, but a real community. We even picked our own fruit

from trees that our grandparents planted! I love those stories of possible past and possible future. An emblem of hope in TURBULENT TIMES.

Other groups are helping pioneer the change to a “Post carbon” future with more local evolution of services and goods. The time too begin is now - with oil at over $120/barrel, we can re-apply efforts to discovering old ways, using new low-technologies for energy and transport, and mentoring local “green transition” skills.

Join the pioneers of future and start a localization movement in your town - it can be as simple as plantiing a community garden, publically showing films like “Escape from Suburbia”, promoting energy farms.

Energy Farms are a response to the dominant agricultural model of the so-called “Green Revolution” that turns soil to dust, chemicals to food, and food to fuel.

Using science, proven tools, and evolving methodologies the Energy Farm Initiative seeks to demonstrate systems of agriculture that can sustain both farms and communities in the face of climate change and peak oil. This program weaves threads of the Relocalization vision into a fabric of local currency, local food and biofuel systems, revitalization of local industry, and community cooperation.

 

Ok, so - lots to do!!! In fact, I gotta run - plants to water, bee swarms to manage…see you later,

-anniegreenjeans

STUFF! To Have or Have not…

Do you have a lot of stuff? Are you trying to find places for your “new” stuff, but are having trouble due to so much “old” stuff being in the way? Does dealing with your stuff take up a lot of your time? You have to get it, sort it, carry it around, find a place for it, clean it, and finally get rid of it! Notice that we hardly ever actually repair our stuff anymore. Except for cars and houses,most stuff is disposable, and in fact - becomes undesirable to have around due to the nature of the snazzy newer stuff that we would rather have…

Your stuff has a story.

The story of your stuff and my stuff starts with the Earth, the free bounty of which is extracted by someone who knows that you want more stuff. These natural resources- from iron for cars & stainless steel bottles to silver for jewelry and photos or trees reaped from precious forests to make paper & lumber are transported and transformed so that you can have your stuff.

Coal taken from dynamited mountainsides, oil extracted from threatened habitats are used as the energy needed to make the stuff we all consume.

The story of our stuff ends with waste–the stuff we tire of and eventually toss-the “waste stream”-which ends up in landfills, incinerators, or someone else’s backyard where they must deal with the messy, dangerous and deadly consequences of our wastefulness.

There are ways we can do better–for the planet and for our future.

I am currently very aware of my stuff because I am moving out of a home I stored stuff in for over 14 years! It is a big house, and somehow over time my stuff expanded to fill all the spaces allotted for stuff. I confess that much of the stuff is hard to get rid of. It might come in handy when I find my next house. It might even be original art, craft - or is certainly good looking & usually of very high quality. It is filled with history and indeed - has a story to tell. Yes,these are the reasons I am now packing dozens of boxes with my stuff. I am of course - not going to be like those people who rent a storage unit only to find that after 10 years they have not looked into those boxes, used much or even any of their stuff,and yet - must hold onto it!

Ok, so I don’t know how this will turn out - perhaps I will let you know later, or maybe I will be so embarrassed by my lack of ability to deal with these of piles stuff that I will never reveal what has happened to my boxes of stuff. What I do know - is that I began to NOT buy any more stuff several years ago. Somehow I found out I could do without more stuff. I have been wearing the same clothes and shoes, using simpler and older versions of techy stuff, fewer tools & kitchen stuff, and generally getting by without new stuff! Oh, yes - I fall off the wagon occasionally - especially when I smell the scent of a bargain or sale. But, I am a recovering Stuffaholic and want to hear your story too.
Starting today, you can rewrite the story of your stuff. Tell me what you have done to reduce your stuff, help me out here!
And - more importantly - let’s celebrate Earth Day together by not buying any stuff at all - Including gas for our cars. Now - that is a great way to begin making our future - a future beyond stuff.
Happy Earth Day!

BEGINNING the GREENING

BEGINNING the GREENING

A quick start for a retail store might look like this-

~ REDUCE : Minimize or eliminate packaging? Ask if they want a bag before offering one.

~ REUSE : Encourage the reuse of market bags with register discounts or rewards. Sell several versions of reusable bags, or give them away!

~ RECLAIM : Use your local “rebuild store” when remodeling. Think out of the box when building displays - is it a sustainable use?
~ REMAKE : Offer those closeouts to a local school for craft projects, don’t throw things away that can be used by others.
~ RETHINK : Schedule store hours for ease of commute times, what if we all shared rides or worked one less day week.
~ RECREATE: Can you compost lunch leftovers? Host a Barter night for your customers to exchange used art or craft
~ RECONSIDER : Add a small garden bed or container of lettuce or parsley to your back area or your front window, and eat it for lunch! In fact, invite munching and tasting, you may make some converts to slow food.

OUR GREEN FUTURE
On the horizon for us all is a whole new sustainable lifestyle and a new way of doing business. For my design business - that means downsizing products that I no longer feel are sustainable, cannot be “greened” due to supplier stubbornness or even due to the lack of usefulness in our simpler Green lifestyle.

“The Future is “Green” - A Major Report Examines Green Living in the United States - 2008- Research and Markets Report

Green Living in the United States 2008

<>- reprinted and excerpted from
http://www.researchandmarkets.com/
Mintel, Feb 2008,The “green” marketplace is one of the fastest growing, most dynamic sectors of the US economy. This report examines the size, scope, and growth of the green consumer marketplace, as well as driving forces that will shape its future. The report keeps an eye toward expected changes sector by sector, as well as short-term and long-term outlooks for the market as a whole.

We also explore the current trends and future outlook for eight key sectors of the green consumer marketplace, including personal care products, home building and home improvement supplies, electronics and appliances, automobiles, and travel.

Our exclusive consumer research identifies four types of green consumer: Super Greens, True Greens, Light Greens and Never Greens. A threefold increase in the ranks of the Super Greens and True Greens in just 16 months has driven growth in all sectors of the green marketplace. This report explores the special role of 18 to 24 year olds and college students in adoption of new green product categories, as well as the sometimes surprising influence of demographic factors such as race, ethnicity, education and household income.

In a new take on the green marketplace, we move beyond demographic categories to explore how green consumers think, identifying the lifestyle choices and personality characteristics that most closely relate to green behavior. These are the insights marketers need to reach out directly to core green lifestyle consumers.

In addition to a broad array of quantitative data presented for this report, we conducted qualitative research with respondents who described themselves as having already made lifestyle changes due to concerns about the environment. Our qualitative research explores the motivations that drive consumers toward green purchases, as well as the barriers to green shopping for different types of consumers, such as price premiums, perceptions of effectiveness and quality, and the critical importance of mainstream distribution.

This report covers many aspects of the emerging Green Market and has a huge scope of associated topics as well.

This is the Contents List:

Scope and Themes
Definition
Consumer research conducted for this report
Abbreviations and terms
Abbreviations
Terms
Executive Summary
Drivers and corporate developments
Climate change leads environmental concerns
Corporations scramble for “green” investing dollars
Slowing economy and rising fuel prices spur demand for energy efficiency
Health and safety concerns bolster the market
Market in transitional phase as green products mainstream
Green personal care goes corporate
Automakers scramble for position in green future
Consumer influences
Green consumers optimistic but skeptical
Consumers believe that “green” products work
Most consumers not willing to search for “green” products
Tolerance of price premiums at 10% or less
Efficacy, awareness, habit key issues in qualitative research
“Greenwashing” concerns reinforce need for more objective standards for “green” products
Demographics of Green living
Young adults key targets for cutting-edge “green” products
Asians lead; blacks lag in environmental interest
Students and college graduates committed to “green” lifestyle
Households with children pose a challenge for “green” marketers
“Green” lifestyle transcends demographics
Low-income households need not be excluded from the “green” marketplace
The future of Green living
Interest in buying “green” for major purchases skyrockets
Marketing of multiple values will ensure success of “green” products
The future is “green”
Market Drivers
Climate change continues to hold public attention
Figure 1: General attitudes toward environmental concerns, December 2007
Green investing dollars pour forth
Stagnant economy and rising fuel prices spur demand for energy-efficient products; limit willingness to pay
Figure 2: Willingness to pay extra for “green” products, December 2007
Product health and safety concerns spike following rash of recalls of Chinese imports
Figure 3: Attitudes toward health benefits of “green” products, by gender, December 2007
Large corporations enter the green marketplace in force
Green products linked to concepts of health and quality
Market Size and Trends
The LOHAS Market
Figure 4: Graph: LOHAS “green” market size, by segment, 2005
The U.S. Healthy Products, Healthy Planet Market
Figure 5: HP2 market size and forecast, at current and constant prices, 2002-12
The Natural Products Marketplace
Figure 6: Sales of natural products through conventional FDM and natural supermarkets, segmented by product type, 2004 and 2006
Market Segmentation
Introduction
Food and beverage
Figure 7: Sales of natural food and drink products at FDM and natural supermarkets, at current and constant prices, 2004-08
Green personal care growing 20% annually
Pet foods and supplies
Household cleaning products
Clothing and linens
Building, building materials and home improvement supplies
Certification systems blossom
Green building gets pop culture boost
Housing bubble bursts
Local mandates
Costs of green building shrink
Solar is hot
Green design goes from exception to rule
Electronics and appliances
Industry faces substantial sustainability and power consumption issues
New products ahead
CE recycling goes mainstream
Major appliances
Cars and trucks
Figure 8: Price premiums and estimated fuel savings for hybrid versus conventional passenger vehicles, 2008
Consumer services
Climate change concerns drive market for greener air travel
Carbon offsets to ease guilt
Hotels
Car travel
Finding and booking green travel
Super/True Green Population Tripled over 16 months
Figure 9: Change in frequency of “green” consumer population, August 2006-December 2007
Awareness and Use of “Green” Consumer Goods
Awareness of “green” household consumables
Figure 10: Frequency of purchasing different categories of “green” products, December 2007
All product categories show greater penetration among Asians and Hispanics
Education most important for awareness of established “green” categories
Awareness of “green” durable and infrequently purchased consumer consumables
Figure 11: Influence of “green” factors on major purchases, by category, December 2007
Youngest and Oldest Core of “Green” Market in Online Population
Introduction
Green categories by age
Figure 12: Frequency of buying “green” products, by age, December 2007
Attitudes toward recycling, pollution, and premiums
Figure 13: Environmental attitudes, by age, May 2006-June 2007
Interest in conservation tends to increase with age
Figure 14: Environmental behaviors, by age, December 2007
Seniors lead in “green” shopping choices
Figure 15: Environmental shopping behaviors, by age, December 2007
Interest in “green” shopping growing fastest among seniors
Figure 16: Influence of “green” factors on CE products, by age, December 2007
The Impact of Household Income
Introduction
Attitudes toward recycling and pollution
Figure 17: Environmental attitudes, by household income, May 2006-June 2007
Green shopping by the rich and poor
Figure 18: “Green” shopping habits, by household income, May 2006-June 2007
Race and Ethnicity
Introduction
Figure 19: Frequency of buying “green” products, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
Attitudes toward recycling and pollution
Figure 20: Environmental attitudes and behavior, by race/ethnicity, May 2006-June 2007
Looking forward, “green” factors to play a larger role
Figure 21: Influence of “green” factors on purchases of CE products, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
The Impact of Education
Introduction
Figure 22: Frequency of buying “green” products, by education level, December 2007
Figure 23: Frequency of buying “green” products, by student status, December 2007
Attitudes toward recycling and pollution
Figure 24: Environmental attitudes, by education level, May 2006-June 2007
Willingness to sacrifice convenience or income
Figure 25: Environmental behaviors, by education level, December 2007
Households with Children
Introduction
Figure 26: Environmental attitudes, by presence of children in the household, May 2006-June 2007
Convenience is a must for families with children
Figure 27: Environmental shopping behaviors, by presence of children in the household, December 2007
How do Greens Think?
Introduction
Figure 28: Environmental attitudes, by personality traits, May 2006-June 2007
Reasons for Buying or Not Buying Green
Introduction
Effectiveness/quality
Figure 29: Attitudes toward effectiveness of “green” products, December 2007
The majority of respondents do not see “green” products as safer
Figure 30: Attitudes toward health benefits of “green” products, by household income, December 2007
Health and savings vs. environmental concern
Figure 31: Main reasons for “green” shopping, by gender, December 2007
Figure 32: Main reasons for “green” shopping, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
Availability
Figure 33: Consumer experience with the availability of “green” products, December 2007
Figure 34: Consumer experience with the availability of “green” products, by age, December 2007
Will consumers pay more for “green” and energy-efficient products?
Figure 35: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by gender, December 2007
Figure 36: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by age, December 2007
Figure 37: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by household income, December 2007
Figure 38: Attitudes toward the cost of “green” products, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
What is an acceptable premium for “green” products?
Figure 39: Willingness to pay extra for “green” products, by age, December 2007
Figure 40: Willingness to pay extra for “green” products, by HH income, race/ethnicity, presence of children, and student status, December 2007
How Do We Know It’s Really Green?
Figure 41: Attitudes toward the effectiveness of “green” shopping, by race/ethnicity, December 2007
More standards needed
“Greenwashing” concerns provide incentives for industry-led standards
Results from Mintel’s Qualitative Survey
Introduction
Figure 42: Descriptions of “green” lifestyle interviewees, January 2008
Environmental concerns
“Green” shopping commonalities in qualitative study
Availability and awareness problematic for “green” shoppers
Figure 43: Availability and awareness of “green” products, by respondent and location, January 2008
Habits are hard to break
Figure 44: “Habit” purchasing, January 2008
Many see link between personal health and planetary health
Figure 45: Respondents’ thoughts about effectiveness and quality of “green” products, January 2008
Product quality and function overriding issues for some
Figure 46: Effectiveness and quality of “green” products, January 2008
Prices need to be competitive
Figure 47: Respondents’ willingness to pay extra for “green” products, January 2008
A “Green” Future
Green market to lose trendiness
Christian conservatives joining the “green” movement
Fair trade and local to become the new “green”
Fair trade
Local
Appendix: HP2 Market Detail
Figure 48: HP2 market detail, 2005
Appendix: Trade Associations

~~~

Specific large companies are mentioned such as -

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Wal-Mart Stores (USA)
Clorox Company , The
U.S. Department of Agriculture
Whole Foods Market Inc
American Honda Motor Co., Inc.

~~~~

This report costs about $4500 to buy - it is meant for big corporations to use to support their extensive marketing departments. Why the small guy cannot get their hands on such awesome research is probably a matter of pure economics of scale and competitiveness of the innovation curve. The summary of this report and others like it would be useful to anyone trying to “Green up” their business in the light of today’s trends and branding successes. I suggest that we can find a summary somewhere on the web. If I find it, I will post it for all of us to share. If you find it, please let me know!!!

Yours for Open Source,

Annie Green Jeans

LET’S TALK ABOUT PLASTIC WATER BOTTLES!

I hope you are taking it all in as the News exclaims the hype on bottled water… Are you making the switch from plastic personal water bottles to reusable glass bottles or a stainless bottle? I am not talking about “sometimes”, “when it is convenient” - I mean - why not eliminate plastic bottles completely from your life, your recycling bin, your personal contribution to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch? Hey - I know I sound harsh, and really - This is not a lecture, it is about your health and your pocketbook. Bottled water is simply a BIG WASTE OF MONEY! The bottled water industry expects that you will pony up $100-400 per year for their special water because you have become scared of tap water by years of advertising spin, and besides - the drinking fountains are hard to find, or it tastes weird - or…hey, have you even tried drinking it recently? I find tap water to be pretty good, actually!

In fact -

“about a third of all bottled water comes straight from our municipal water facilities”.

The New York Times Week in Review section calculated that drinking eight glasses of water a day will cost you about 49 cents a year if you take it from a New York City tap and $1,400 a year if you buy bottled.

Ok, here’s more facts….

There is a limit to plastics recycling and that we should be more concerned with reducing consumption of plastic packaging at source….that means – don’t use it! Only about 12 percent of “custom” plastic bottles, a category dominated by water, were recycled in 2003, according to industry consultant R.W. Beck, Inc. That’s 40 million bottles a day that went into the trash or became litter… I got about 100 in a few days from just a couple of local parties – most of them I scooped out of the trash. Pathetic. In fact, at Earthdance 2007, I had an informational display about plastic water bottles, with a big bag of 100 plastic bottles to make a point.

I was also selling stainless bottles and water bottle carriers while across the bowl from me was a brand new start-up plastic bottled water dealer who had sponsored the show. He was getting 1/2 hourly advertising from the main stage - what seemed like constant spin to go and buy their plastic bottled water right away, stay hydrated, support the sponsor…blah, blah. Well, this was not just any old tap water in a bottle, but was bottled tap “water with intention” Yep, that’s right - they had put words like “Gratitude” and “Love” on their labels, so that you could have a better life merely by buying and drinking their water! I am all for positive thinking, and in fact - as part of my obsession about water in general, botled water in particular, and the amazing capacity of water to offer us all life on this small planet - I often give away lots of great positive word/stickers that can be put on bottles - DIY style. But, really - by the end of Earthdance, there were huge piles of water bottles in the Recycle area, almost mountains - to my eye - perhaps as many as 5000 plastic bottles were brought and bought by us Eco-educated Earthdance Greenie types and to not taken home to reuse, to “create intention” and were NOT being “safely reused” beyond a quick hydration in the hot sun.

More bad news-
Your personal plastic water bottle contains toxic plastic traces….chemical names that you or I cannot pronounce…these chemicals end up in your fatty tissues…yuck!

 

<>Did you leave it in the car – did you wash it with hot water in order to reuse it? nice idea – to reuse it – but the hot water leaches out even more weird chemicals!…and never use the dishwasher !!! In other words, it is hard to safely use or reuse these things, so why get one at all?
Toxic Production of plastic bottles – Producing a 500 ml PET bottle (PET is the abbreviation of Polyethylene Terephthalate - a type of plastic) generates more than 100 times the toxic emissions to air and water than making the same size bottle out of glass.Problem chemicals are used in the manufacture of plastic containers for heat stabilization and as plasticizers. 1.5 million tons of plastic are used to bottle water every year.

Some good news-

*city water in almost every town is as pure or better than the water the bottle was filled with – if you don’t like the taste, get a filter and refill your GLASS or STEEL bottle with that!!

*Let’s talk about glass- Compared to plastics, glass is a far more environmentally friendly packing container. First, chemical contamination of food in a glass container is not likely. Second, glass containers can be used up to 25 - 30 times, as they can be easily washed and refilled. Third, glass can be recycled because of its short molecular structure, whereas plastic becomes brittle with recycling. We (of a certain age) are all familiar with the soda bottles of yesteryear, which were refilled dozens of times till they became chipped or broken at which point they would be sent for recycling… glass can be reused over and over if only it were produced somewhat locally, made durably, and was part of a continuous cradle to cradle sytem of recycling back to the maker/bottler. More info - from the WWF-

“Bottled water may be no safer, or healthier, than tap water in many countries while selling for up to 1,000 times the price,” the World Wildlife Fund says. Bottled water market is partly fueled by concerns over the safety of municipal water and by the marketing of many brands which portray them as being healthier than tap water.”

*if you have to use plastic- ( I hate this part - ok, yes - you will use plastic sometimes, I know, I know…) avoid polycarbonate plastic . Check the bottom/underside of the product. If you see “PC” (usually in or near the recycling triangle) signifying polycarbonate plastic, do not purchase it. Often a number “7” on the bottom in the recycling triangle, by itself, also means the material is polycarbonate, but not always. To be safe, avoid #7 plastic. Choose plastics labeled #1, #2, or #5 in the recycling triangle, but do not heat beverages or food in plastic containers of any kind.

Optional but fun and safer too….Put your glass or stainless bottle in a carrier bag to mark it as your own, to keep it cooler, to make sure you don’t break the glass anywhere except in the bag.

Ancient Circle water bottle carriers are one great source for your bottle bag. They can be had by calling 800-726-8032 Priced at only $12 and up – many are made locally from reclaimed fabrics and trims They have heavy fabric construction – in order to protect inside glass bottle from breakage, and use recycled factory fabric scraps, cotton remnants to save money, reduce cost, and also is in keeping with your Green Values

STOP USING PLASTIC BOTTLES

USE GLASS

REDUCE TOXIC CHEMICAL MANUFACTURING

YOUR BODY DESERVES the SAFETY OF GLASS

-Annie Green jeans wishes you health and happiness, and hopes that you drink filtered water from your own reusable bottle!

GREENING UP!

Ancient Circles is “Going Green.” This is becoming an interesting and not altogether simple process. In this early stage - it still comes down to price points and sourcing. My tried and true suppliers are not able to easily source Organic or other sustainable materials at a price my current customers want to pay. What to do? Do I educate my customers & help my suppliers to source? Cut my margins? Find entire new markets? At what cost? As we all know - 25 years of sound business policy cannot be turned on its head overnight just because we are in a planetary crisis…but wait! What did I just say?

INCREMENTAL STEPS

Ancient Circles/Open Circle is making incremental steps and organically changing our product mix. We began several years ago by fabricating market and bottle bags locally, and also found conventional cotton bag suppliers overseas and printers in the USA. Reclaiming scrap and remnants from the production waste stream is also fun and the creative use of such things have offered Open Circle some of our best selling items in the last few years. I am now sourcing Organic Certified Fair Trade tote bags and bedding that fits with current market pricing profiles, and educating my more innovative customers about selling such things. The next logical step is to produce my entire best sellers in Organic cotton or hemp, but will people pay the price increases necessary? I am at a loss to begin that, to be honest, but happy with what has happened so far.

YOUR UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY

There are other things we can do. Each business has a unique opportunity:

Open Circle has helped finance the installation of a simple dye waste treatment plant for my batik artist in Bali. Once I figure out how to post pictures, I will show you the building process in another article, meanwhile - write to me if you want to know how to design thsi low tech waste treatment for your own dye studio.

FABRICOLOGY
I have been researching rayon to see if it better for the planet than conventional cotton, and so far - I think it is. Balinese rayon products made by a small supplier, with good working conditions and family continuity can have a Green edge even though the Balinese cannot easily source Organics. I call these items “Fairly Traded”, as they adhere to the principles of fair trade agreements.

It sometimes comes down to the Shade of Green.

SIMPLE FIRST STEPS

I also have been offering flex-time for employees, reduced days a week ( saves commute energy) have been recycling and reusing most paper products, packing boxes and materials, using light wells and low energy lights, turning off office machines at night, flushing less often, and many other simple energy reductions. Solar would be great - but since I am renting that is a problem. Many businesses are in the same boat. We cannot install solar, radiant heat, or other large ticket energy savers without our landlord’s interest and frankly - financial backing. Why am I so interested in Greening my business?

ANCIENT CIRCLES HISTORY

Let’s begin with some history.

Ancient Circles began over 25 years ago with my discovery of meaningful ritual and a concurrent desire to create jewelry and designs that enhanced and empowered people’s lives. At that time, I was fabricating crystal pendants - hand making each one as the energy of the stone spoke to me. The crystals were very clearly part of our new Planetary harmonic, and it felt very right to be sharing them at that time. This successful launch evolved into a study and sharing of the symbolic images of world religions and ancient cultures- especially Goddess images and Celtic designs, which I felt strongly were bringing us all “back home” to our tribal roots and Planetary consciousness. Now, years later, the mass market has taken these images into our daily lives. Dragons, Fairies, Goddesses and the Green man are all about us now, and I feel that the arrival of the Divine Feminine as rightful counterpart to the Male God energy is also arriving for us all as we begin to reconsider the Green meaning of our lives.

GREENING OF THE SPIRIT

The spiritual background and discovery of our Ancient Roots is a great starting point for deep ecology - that deep “knowing” that does not require scientific proof of a melting arctic ice shelf to know that we are out of balance.

The Greening of our inner spirit with positive Male (The Green Man) and Female (Triple Goddess, Isis and others) Archetypes is offering us a way to connect with forgotten or untapped layers of our being. The outer world reflection of this rebalancing is seen in the current collective interest in Ecological matters, the Greening our lives, our material possessions and businesses. Many of us are in this place right now, right today. I feel strongly that soon we will evolve our deepest and truest values further – to a future of simplicity, fewer material goods, a sense of place, of community, of extended family and shared commons. This is - of course, not new at all, but rather a return to the ancient ways of our ancestors. We lost touch as we “partied” in the last millennia of cheap energy - especially the gross burning of an entire planetary supply of ancient sunlight - coal and oil resources.

GREEN VALUES

This re-newed emphasis on deep values is a necessary spiral curve as humans evolve to survive in the crisis ahead. Re-valuing love of family, re-considering nature, the beauty of sustainable goods, all of these outer signs are created and matched by a less obvious personal inner transformation. These are the elements of my own transition at this time, and I feel it being shared by most folks I meet. A study of the ancients, the stories of our grandmothers, and memories of the early years of the 1960’s and 1970’s culture are now the guiding light of an entire worldwide localization movement intent on reducing our energy consumption.

GREEN TRANSITION

Green products have always been with us, we are merely rediscovering and “Branding” them. The practice of using baskets and cloth bundles has been going on as long as there has been trading and sharing of goods. I still have several “Save a Tree” canvas market bags from the 1970’s. I don’t know who made them - but they were early innovators who have passed on their good idea to the rest of us “Ecobag” makers. My own product mix has included personal water bottle bags, and suggestions for reducing plastic bottles for about 10 years. This is just now gaining interest. How far ahead of the curve can we afford to be when in commerce? I have spent much of my professional life educating people about products because they were seeing the idea for the first time. Years ago - when I branded the personal care line - “Desert Essence”, I needed a huge space on the shampoo label to educate the buyer on Jojoba and the desert herbs that I chose for the innovative formula. Nowadays, it is common practice, but back then - it was a huge innovation. The usual creed of Branding - “Don’t make them think”, just help them unconsciously select your item in the store.” is at its heart very inauthentic! Let us all use some energy to bring everyone into this Green Transition. GREEN BRANDING WILL REFLECT OUR SUSTAINABLE VALUES, NOT THE OLD ADAGES.

As we truly Green our lifestyles and businesses, we will become better at choosing the best thing for the right reasons. Right now, we are all a bit unsure about the Shades of Green in our choices. Should I choose conventional cotton over rayon? Is that tag “Made in Indonesia” a good or a bad thing? Who makes it? Were they paid a living wage? How did they feel at work? Is hemp made in China really helping our world?

ANNIE GREEN JEANS CONSULTING

We all need help with these questions. My consulting services include research to fit your specific needs, direction and business plan. What is it that you have always wanted to do, but felt was not practical? Can you start simply with some surefire energy savers, and declare your Green Transition? What is the difference between true green and green washing?

My consulting practice offers an opportunity for research into these Shades of Green and share solutions to any business who wants to “Green-up” and is not sure how to begin, how far to go, how much they can afford, and how to best position themselves in this emerging Eco-marketplace. I offer the know-how to do all of these things, in a manner that makes pocket cents, and gives you a truly sustainable triple bottom line. You will now begin to consider profits, people and the planet in your economy, and make even more cents!

GREENING YOUR BUSINESS

There are several key areas to Greening your business or service.

We can all agree -

* It is time to change our way of doing business

*We are running out of cheap energy resources

*What to do? ~ Change from extraction to a sustainable economy- simple, but difficult.

*How to do it? ~ Baby steps are a great beginning. Baby steps are incremental and measurable

Some basic steps:

TAKE AN INVENTORY : Where are you now in the use of resources? What steps have you already taken?

MAKE A VISION: In the biggest sense, where could you be in 5 years with your use of energy, product sources or services that add to sustainable community?

BEGIN THE PROCESS- Know What Works - Monitor and Measure Your Sustainability

Where does this Green Transition take place?
The way to your fully sustainable business begins here:

Infrastructure: your energy sources and uses, the lunch room, drinking water service, and waste stream management

Product Mix: choose your front end displays using considerations for local production, priorities for fairly traded, living wages and other Eco friendly supplier practices. BUY LOCAL if you can!

SHADES OF GREEN

Ultimately this will take us way beyond the common advice of changing light bulbs, recycling plastics, yet - everyone will begin where they are right now . The important thing is to start BEING, thinking, talking and acting Green

Commit to going the distance as the societal greening process emerges further with new energy resources & future levels of clear choices in both products and services. What did I just say?

BEGINNING the GREENING

A quick start for a retail store might look like this-

~ REDUCE : How about minimizing or eliminating packaging? Ask if they want a bag before offering one.

~ REUSE : Encourage the reuse of market bags with register discounts or rewards. Sell several versions of reusable bags, or give them away!

~ RECLAIM : Use your local “rebuild store” when remodeling. Think out of the box when building displays - is it a sustainable use?
~ REMAKE : Offer those closeouts to a local school for craft projects, don’t throw things away that can be used by others.
~ RETHINK : Schedule store hours for ease of commute times, what if we all shared rides or worked one less day week.
~ RECREATE: Can you compost lunch leftovers? Host a Barter night for your customers to exchange used art or craft
~ RECONSIDER : Add a small garden bed or container of lettuce or parsley to your back area or your front window, and eat it for lunch! In fact, invite munching and tasting, you may make some converts to slow food.

OUR GREEN FUTURE
On the horizon for us all is a whole new sustainable lifestyle and a new way of doing business. For my design business - that means downsizing products that I no longer feel are sustainable, cannot be “greened” due to supplier stubbornness or even due to the lack of usefulness in our simpler Green lifestyle. I am proud to have made a great contribution to many people’s lives with deep symbology and offered added meaning in their clothing and adornment. However I am now looking to Organics instead of conventional cotton, to creative ways that remind people to simplify, to choose wisely. I discuss this daily with my friends and community, and would love to talk to you and point you in the right direction. The baby steps we spoke of are now at hand. Do we choose to step into the sustainable choices that carefully conserve our finite ecological resources or will we continue with business as usual and hope that we can get away with yet one more year of good profits before we are forced to change? Join me in this Green Transition.

- copyright 2008, Ann Waters Weller

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