It’s time to think about what you’re not eating. 

Your mother wasn’t kidding when she told you to finish your meal. It’s not that if you don’t finish your broccoli you won’t get dessert. If you don’t finish your broccoli you’re contributing to the huge problem of food waste.

In a culture where food is readily accesible to many of us, we’re busy throwing it away. In fact, according to a new report released by the Natural Resources Defense Council, 40% of our food supply goes to waste every year, accounting for $165 billion. That is at the same time as hunger and poverty are on the rise, with one in seven American households dealing with food insecurity, as well as significant issues of drought and skyrocketing food prices.

Although grocery stores and other food sellers lose as much as $15 billion annually in unsold fruits and vegetables, the majority of food waste occurs in restaurants and household kitchens. Why? One of the factors is size; we’re serving ourselves more than we can eat. Today, portion sizes are two to eight times larger than the government’s standard serving sizes. We’re throwing out about 20 pounds of food per person every single month.

A few facts about food waste:

• The average American family of four ends up throwing away an equivalent of up to $2,275 annually in food.
• Food waste is the single largest component of solid waste in U.S. landfills.
• Just a 15 percent reduction in losses in the U.S. food supply would save enough food to feed 25 million Americans annually.
• There has been a 50 percent jump in U.S. food waste since the 1970s.

How do we fix the problem?

We need a change in infrastructure. The NRDC recommends policy changes to deal with the issue of food waste, including action from federal and state governments to set targets for reducing food waste as well as implementing programs that help address the problem.

But personal responsibility is just as important. Know what you’re buying, plan your meals ahead and buy what you need, not what you think you need.

In other words, start eating consciously. And finish your broccoli.

Image: jbloom

The post Food Waste: The Average American Throws Out Every Other Piece of Food appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnVogue, Clean by Design and the CFDA collaborate to clean up the fashion industry.

In a new initiative, leaders of the mainstream fashion community from the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Vogue have joined forces with the NRDC’s Clean By Design program in an effort to reduce the impact of the textile industry on the globe’s environmental state. With the backing of Vogue’s “Nuclear Wintour” herself and the CFDA’s President Diane von Furstenberg, could Clean By Design now have the potential to push the issue and bump environmental and social issues associated with the textile industry toward the front of prominent designers’ methodologies? The NRDC’s National Media Director Jenny Powers tells EcoSalon that engaging industry opinion leaders gives them a powerful and enhanced edge.

“Clean By Design aims to make the way we produce our clothing more sustainable by cutting water and energy waste and reducing pollution,” Powers tells EcoSalon. With the intention of utilizing the buying power of multinational corporations as a lever to reduce the environmental impact of their suppliers abroad, Clean By Design is stepping up their media presence and future goals with this recent collaboration. As shown by the above diagram, the spectrum of Clean By Design’s approach to bettering the textile industry’s impact starts with the raw materials and goes full circle through to addressing the way consumers are caring for their finished garments.

Spearheading the research abroad, the director of the NRDC’s health and environment program, Linda Greer has traveled to Asia in hopes to better understand the four core impact areas of the supply chain. Through visiting a range of factories that create clothing for major retailers, Greer has been able to secure pilot programs with The Gap, Levis, H&M, Target, and Wal-Mart, who are all now exploring ways to clean up the factories that supply their clothes. As companies that produce massive quantities each season with loyal global customers, the impact these pilot programs could have on the environment is vast.

Waste water from the discharge pipe at the Youngor Textiles Factory

By focusing on China to begin, the possibility to make a big change exists, as many of these factories produce a large percentage of our mass retail clothes.

“Transforming the way the major players do business can have a ripple effect throughout the industry. Fashion leaders can play an important role in this effort by shaping popular attitudes and creating demand for sustainably produced fashion” says Powers.

One massive waste example that was prevalent throughout Greer’s travels in Asia was leaky tubes. Textile pollution is often associated with the chemical emissions from fabric dying or the number of dirty dozen chemicals that are utilized in conventional cotton production. While these are key issues to address in the raw materials and manufacturing sectors, another often forgotten problem involves tubes with leaking steam that can be found everywhere in fabric dying and printing mills. For instance, a hole in a steam pipe only 2 mm in diameter can cause a textile mill to waste energy equal to more than 10 tons of coal a year.

DVF’s Spring 2012 Collection

With higher profile initiatives like Runway To Green in the past, the NRDC has been on a consistent mission to bring these environmental concerns related to the textile industry to the forefront of high end and mainstream fashion houses. While the CFDA/Vogue/Clean By Design initiative is strongly focused on the environmental impacts and the effects of environmental pollution on human health, it doesn’t focus on social or labor issues.  Powers tells EcoSalon, “Dirty water and dirty air affects us all – humans and critters alike. And the reality is that by cutting waste and making factories run more efficiently, these factory owners are actually saving money in the process.”

With the environment as a starting point, the transparency and exposure of these realities could potentially open designers’ eyes to the way people connected to their supply chains are affected as well. By continuing to work with individual designers on ways in which they can apply the Clean by Design principles to their own operations, the future affects of upcoming and established designers on the globe’s flora and fauna is hopeful.

Image: Greenpeace, H&M

The post THREADED: Cleaning Up The Fashion Industry From The Top Down appeared first on EcoSalon.

As spring flowers bloom, something else is growing in your backyard and the neighborhood park too – the flea population. If you have a dog or cat that roams outside, you don’t want your pet bringing home any new friends in their fur. But the flea and tick control products your vet probably encourages you to use are typically toxic.

The Natural Resources Defense Council found that the residue left on fur weeks after a flea collar is put on are so high they pose cancer and neurological risks up to 1,000 times what the Environmental Protection Agency deems acceptable for children – not to mention the more than 40,000 reports of adverse reactions in pets per year. As much as I don’t want tiny bugs in my house, I want dangerous chemicals smeared on my dog who often sleeps in my bed. So is there a safe flea and tick control solution out there?

Less Dangerous Solutions

Propoxur and tetrachlorvinphos are two of the most dangerous pesticides used for pets. The NRDC is working hard to get them taken off the market. Until then, avoid them and look for less harmful products on the non-profit’s GreenPaws Flea and Tick Product Directory. Popular brands like Frontline and Advantage fall into the use sparingly category.

The least offensive category includes low-risk pesticides like Pyriproxyfen and S-Methoprene – they’re still chemicals and not 100 percent safe, but if you’re the type of person who likes to go green in baby steps, this is a good, comfortable place to start. Also low-risk are essential oil formulas, which might sound benign, but surprisingly many can cause trouble especially in high concentrations. Reactions in pets include severe dermatitis, muscle tremors, seizures and vomiting. Citrus oils including oil of limonene are the most mild.

A Natural Approach

If you’re brave and willing to put in the extra effort, some experts say you can keep fleas away without any chemicals or essential oils. However, chances are your vet will discourage this au naturale practice. The key to a flea-free pet is being clean. OCD-style clean. You’ll need to comb your pet daily with a flea comb and dip the comb in soapy water between strokes. Monthly baths are also important. If you can keep your pooch still with suds on, wait 10 minutes (or as long as you can) before rinsing shampoo so it has time to kill any bugs.

You should also wash the areas your pet sleeps weekly, whether it’s a pet bed or your bedding. If you have carpeting, you should vacuum regularly and throw away or empty the vacuum bag each time. If you have a yard where your pet plays, pick up some nematodes at your garden supply store – they’ll help keep the fleas away naturally, but remember, that doesn’t mean your dog can’t pick up a flea in the park or at the dog run. If your dog does get fleas despite your efforts, expect a hefty professional cleaning bill to de-bug carpets, linens and furniture.

And here are three other steps you can take to find a safer, more sustainable way to keep fleas and ticks off your pet.

Image: Tombothetominator

The post Toxic Flea Treatments Pose Cancer Risk to Children appeared first on EcoSalon.

Forgive the cliché, but every day is Earth Day around EcoSalon. We’re still getting a lot out of April 22nd, though. It’s not just benefit concerts and vegan Iron Chefs!

There’s a bevy of activity online around Earth Day, though the movement started 40 years ago when the predecessor to the world wide web, Arpanet, was just a twinkle in Steve Wozniak’s eye.

We rounded up a dozen of the best Earth Day petitions, quizzes, games and guides to help even the most ecologically-minded among us figure out how to do more to protect and restore the planet.

Quiz

Take this 10-question quiz about climate change, and the Clinton Foundation will donate $2 towards a program delivering solar-powered flashlights to people living in camps in Haiti.

For Kids

Are you a Mary Poppins in the making? PBSKids.org offers some Earth Day content to help you teach your kids, nieces, nephews or just brats you babysit. Their “Eeeko World” is full of kid-appropriate games and cartoons – just be prepared for animated monkeys and silly voices.

Activism

Act.ly asks web citizens to “Tweet change.” We like the initiatives focused around human health and the environment, including one demanding that mobile manufacturers treat their factory workers fairly, and another asking the EPA to control a pesticide chemical, methyl iodide.

Eco-To-Do List

The Nature Conservancy provides a list of things you can add to your to-do list, that will green your house, office and diet. We love their sustainable seafood recipes from star chefs like Dan Barber.

E-waste, Away!

Happy 40th birthday Earth Day, says Earth911.com with this 40 Green Tips & Tricks site, which includes great information about how to recycle your electronics properly, and recycle more than you have before.

Reminders

Don’t have an iPhone or other smart phone where you can access great green apps? Print “reminder” wallet cards with reminders about what to look for in fresh fish, or paper goods, from the Natural Resources Defence Council’s Earth Day pages.

Buy & Trade

The environmentally friendly section of Amazon.com is now live, and includes a program to trade in old stuff for new Amazon.com gift cards. Just be sure to ship green, when you send in your stuff!

Get on the Bus

Once you sign the official Earth Day Climate Petition to “support fair, ambitious, and comprehensive climate legislation”¦”  hitch a free bus ride from the Earth Day Network to attend the Climate Rally on April, 25th from select cities within day-trip-distance from D.C.

Earth Friendly Foodies

Think you’re diet’s eco-logical? Take this Food, Inc. inspired Earth Day quiz at YumSugar to find room for improvement.

Green, Inc.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce set up a special Business Civic Leadership Center page for Earth Day 2010, highlighting what their members are doing to go green. Read through and if you see any signs of greenwash, call “˜em out!

Green IT

The Green IT Economics summit, a major conference of the information technology industry, is taking place appropriately on Earth Day. Tune in to this webcast what thought leaders in tech are worrying about, environmentally speaking, when it comes to servers, software and social media. Check the program guide for what’s going on at Green IT!

Image: Ed Yourdon

The post Bookmark This! Digital Dozen Earth Day Links appeared first on EcoSalon.