Paw Pods wants your pet’s funeral to be green, too.

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Fluffy and Rover don’t know much about climate change, so it’s up to you to take the lead and be a green pet owner.

Our pets are consumers too, and the food, toys and blankets you give them impact the environment as much as your own, human-friendly products do. In fact, New Zealand scientists Robert and Brenda Vale claim that one medium-sized dog causes more environmental damage than an SUV. Instead of running from the issue with your tail between your legs, take some of these simple steps to green your dog or cat.

1. Go veggie (at least sometimes).  It takes far more resources to raise cattle and other livestock than plants, and most pet food is especially meat-heavy. While the idea of vegetarian pets is controversial; WebMD explains that dogs can often be healthy on meatless diets with careful planning and supplementation, but cats don’t fare as well without animal products. Still, just participating in Meatless Monday with your pets, or buying peanut butter treats instead of beef jerky, can make a difference.

2. Skip the breeder. You already know that adopting is the most humane way to pick up a puppy or kitten. (You do, don’t you?) Well, it turns out that cruel puppy mills—which often house their animals in filthy, torturous conditions—tend to overbreed, placing extra strain on the environment. Head to the adoption shelter or check the classifieds to save a pet’s life—it’s just good karma.

3. Buy organic (and humane). You know all those nasty hormones, pesticides and antibiotics that come with your average burger? Well most pet food comes from the same factory-farmed cows, chickens and fish that eco-minded consumers are afraid to touch themselves (though from far more unsavory parts). And these days, there’s simply no reason to compromise. You can make your own dog food with organic, free-range meats, brown rice and veggies, or buy organic brands like Newman’s Own Organics and Dick Van Patten’s Natural Balance Organic formulas.

4. De-flea naturally. The ingredients in many commercial flea medicines were derived from chemical warfare experiments, according to Mother Earth News. Chemicals like carbamares and organophosphates can make your best friend nauseated, and even cause convulsions. Skip the toxins and look for natural products with diatomaceous earth, made from fossilized algae. Brand names include Nature’s Wisdom, Thomas Laboratories and GreenSense. It also helps to keep your home clean and vacuumed, emptying the vacuum cleaner after each use.

5. Get Chemical-Free Toys and Accessories.  With the wide assortment of green pet goods on the market today, you have no excuse to keep buying the same toxic plastics and chemically-treated blankets and collars. In the best pet stores, shelves are stocked with organic catnip, organic collars and leashes, biodegradable waste bags and hemp toys. If your local pet shop doesn’t offer any of these products, look no further than your computer. Online vendors like Vitacost, Only Natural Pet Store and Organic Dogs and Cats are there to help. Even big chains like Petco have some green options.

image: -=RoBeE=-

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Is it plastic technology or just consuming less plastic that’s the answer? It’s up to us.

It’s a very simple equation: Plastic=bad. This is why we stick our fold-up totes in a purse to go to the grocery store, and why we fill up our water bottles at the fountain instead of buying another from the vending machine. But as hard as we try, it’s difficult to eliminate plastic entirely. For example: Despite my best efforts, at this very moment my house shelters one bottle of Heinz ketchup in the fridge and a bottle of Nyquil in the medicine cabinet.

As it exists today, plastic is lightweight, versatile, convenient and affordable – qualities that not all packaging materials possess (we’re looking at you, glass and paper). The solution is to find a sustainable alternative for traditional PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, which is made from fossil fuels.

The Coca-Cola Company thinks they’ve found it. They’ve implemented a new plant-based PET into their bottling line, which they’re reporting has a lower environmental impact than traditional PET. That’s why four other companies – Nike, Proctor & Gamble, Ford and Heinz, – have teamed up with Coca-Cola under the umbrella of the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC), to fund research and accelerate the use of plant-based plastics.

According to Katherine Schermerhorn, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola, plant PET is currently made from a number of different sources, including sugarcane, sugar beets, corn and cassava. The PTC is currently developing criteria to ensure that plant PET will be made solely from non-food competing sources, and will be produced sustainably.

Most of their future projects are still confidential at this point. According to Ed Sawicki, the associate director at Proctor and Gamble, the PTC will be looking at work at universities, research labs and other academic institutions in addition to the member company labs.

But the work done so far looks promising. Schermerhorn estimates that Coca-Cola’s use of plant PET packaging has, over the past two years, helped save more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. In 2009, Coca-Cola produced nearly 10 billion bottles using plant PET, and has a standing goal to use the material in all their PET plastic bottles by 2020. Heinz is currently licensing the technology from Coke for use in their plastic ketchup bottles in the United States and Canada.

It seems oddly incongruous to hold up several multinational corporations for laudable business practices. The phrase “sustainable packaging” seems to be an oxymoron. Moreover, it’s hard to picture a staid product like a 2-liter bottle of Coke as of-the-moment and eco-friendly.

But the ubiquity of these products is the very reason why it’s important for these companies to take a step in the right direction. Bringing reusable bags to the grocery store won’t stop everyone in the world from buying the occasional bottle of condiments (even when it’s so easy to make).

But we’ll all breathe easier knowing that even so, the air is still a little bit cleaner…right?

Image: Steven Depalo

The post Will Plants Be the Answer to Our Plastic Obsession? appeared first on EcoSalon.

When a new crop of shoes comes out, I start blubbering.

The Naya shoe line is completely drool worthy, and it’s also completely sustainable. The brand was “born from the belief that shoes should be beautiful on your feet, soft on your step and gentle on the environment. Because you should never have to choose between what looks good, what feels good and what is good for you and for the earth.”

Hear, hear!

The current Fall collection includes “Origami Rose,” “Tailored Temptation,” “Beautiful Bows,” “Super Soft Suedes,”  “Rugged Resource” and “Kimono Knot,” each collection a comfortable and trendy take on what’s hot.

Naya’s sustainable points:

• Vegetable-tanned leathers and linings
• Natural or recycled content fabrics
• Water-based cements
• Footbeds containing natural cork
• Outsoles containing natural materials
• Boxes made with 80 percent recycled paper pulp, soy-based inks and water-based glue
• Reusable shoe bags and shoe forms made with recycled PET

Naya means “renewal,” and the only thing they’ve asked in return for giving a lucky EcoSalon winner a $285 Naya gift card towards the purchase of one pair of shoes or boots is that they make a comment on renewing as it pertains to some aspect of their lives.

So leave an inspiring little comment below relating to the theme because if you don’t stick to the rules on this one, you don’t qualify.

(Legalese: contest rules and FTC compliance.)

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When I look at this umbrella from A Lot To Say, I have high hopes that its cool factor will encourage me to remember to take it with me on overcast days.

Made entirely of recycled bottles, the line consists of not just umbrellas but t-shirts, pillowcases, undies and scarves (for people and pets) clad in hip messaging about conserving water, loving the earth and being aware of flushing and nuking things. Nothing like a wearable fact to keep the awareness.

Here’s one fact for you: The United States sends over two million tons of plastic drink bottles to landfills yearly. The bottles, identified by the number “1” in the recycle symbol we all know, are made of the plastic called PET, which A Lot to Say recycles into their products: “The materials saved from not having to grow, harvest and process the raw materials not only helped conserve our planet’s limited resources, at the same time, it also played a huge part in removing non-biodegradable materials from our landfills.”

Reuse alone is great, but the company also addresses a more sustainable approach to printing and dyeing that was lower in toxins and that consumed less water usage. Their solution is to use AirDye® technology from Colorep®,  a forward-thinking company that pioneered waterless technology in the application of color to fabric.

“If everyone employed AirDye® technology, it could save trillions of gallons of water a year around the globe that are currently used to apply color textiles. This preserved water could then be used to feed the world and provide a cleaner, safer environment,” says the A Lot To Say site.

Do you feel strong enough to shoulder this information and spread the word? If yes, then leave a comment below. Good luck!

(Legalese: contest rules and FTC compliance.)

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Dog gone it, not again! My gluttonous pug – not satisfied with a veggie burger chew toy – has gone bin diving in my compost bucket and recycling bags. These receptacles for reusable waste are placed securely under the sink and not so securely beside the other trash cans in the kitchen. What a mess it makes on the kitchen floor as I catch him in the dirty deed, flattened face buried in the bag, chewing hardened flakes off a cereal box or licking up the yolk residue and eggshells now pasted to my hardwood floor.

I can visualize the sequel now: Smokey and Me. Now that Marley has been put to sleep, we focus on the next heartwarming saga of a well meaning conservationist and her beloved, mischievous family pet.

No matter how much I try pug-proofing my compost containers, the wrinkly chunk always finds the loopholes and manages to get his flat snout in the waste whenever we ease up on our security – a naughty act that begs answers to the following queries:

1. Is the pug an eating machine akin to the great white shark, propelling robotically through his milieu, jaws opening wide and devouring anything and everything in site – from Bounce sheets to cardboard to whatever foul things are carelessly discarded on the street or Polo Fields at Golden Gate Park?

2. Does the dog think of me as terribly wasteful and shameful for getting rid of perfectly good gristle, chicken skin, pork fat, egg shells, coffee grounds, biodegradable clam shell containers and rotting fruit? Does he eat it to teach me a valuable lesson about sustainability?

3. Am I simply dysfunctional in the temporary storage of  disposables?

“Be compassionate with yourself,” my therapist reminds me when I get frustrated about someone removing the rubber bands we connect to the cabinet knobs to proof them. Who would do such a thing? Was it the kids, neighbors, the cleaning lady?

Fine, I’ll ease up on myself and seek counseling for the dog, who might be undergoing some sort of eco-stress from all the talk about eliminating waste around the house. “I’ll eliminate it for you, you guys, if only you will stop trying to lock me out of the goods.”

I wonder what other green dog owners do that we aren’t doing. I would happily take pointers. Do you keep all your household recycle and compost containers outside of the house in a hidden spot, so they can be dumped in the bins collected on trash days? Do you maintain counter buckets that tenacious animals cannot reach? Do time outs? Take away treats. Tell me. I want to know!

Maybe I should resort to threatening no dessert or taking away the privilege of peeing in the doctor’s carport across the street. In the meantime, I’m trying to talk some sense into Smokey, hoping that those scoldings make an impression.

How does it make you feel when your family is doing its part to reduce and reuse, and you go and tip over the containers and cause a lot of angst? Look at the cat. She doesn’t behave like that. She also poops neatly in a box and never begged for food at the table until you came along and corrupted her.

He seems to think I’m speaking in a foreign language, like how some disbelievers glare at us when we talk about climate change and plastic poisons. He cocks his little head and seems to be saying, “When you can get the girls to pick up their wet towels off the floor and un-glue their Power Bars from the car seats, I will resist burrowing in your trash. Otherwise, talk to the paw!”

Guess I’ll have to rely on the blessings of the skinned knee. One day he will suffer a bad case of  diarrhea and projectile vomiting from consuming something nasty and disturbing my waste. He will learn from the pain of his mistakes and only eat kibble at meal time and be a more obedient pug-child. And if he won’t, there is always college.

Images:Mavis, Wickenden, Luanne Bradley

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Your iPod can run off the grid with this solar powered iPod Case Charger.

Give someone Wheels When They Need Them with a ZipCar membership.

Great for hot and cold beverages, this tumbler will save a lot of trees and CO2 used to produce coffee cups. To emphasize your point, toss in a gold tone coffee filter to cut down on the paper ones that get pitched each day.

Your favorite tea lover can brew on the run with this combination tumbler-infuser.

Green those meals with a CSA Membership (Community Supported Agriculture). This site will find the closet farm throughout the U.S. for you to purchase from.

Rid friends and family of energy vampires with the Smart Strip Power Strip.

Power small electronics like a GPS or cell phone, with the Solio Solar Universal Charger.

Get your colleagues to ditch the plastic utensils in the office kitchen with reusable bamboo tableware that works great on the go. Utensil holders give plastic bottles a second shot at a useful life, and an opportunity to stay out of our landfills. Made out of RPET (recycled PET plastic).

Chico has taken the reusable shopping bag one step farther with The Messenger, a super hip bag that folds into a small pouch.

Instead of a gift card to the local mall, try the gift that keeps on giving with Microplace.com, a Microfinance organization that serves a range of focuses from Fair Trade to women.

Main image: alan_cleaver2000

The post From Cheap to Chic, 10 Holiday Gifts That Respect the Earth appeared first on EcoSalon.

True, we are still living in a material world, but cotton grown with pesticides is no longer the fabric of our lives.

The green movement is making huge strides replacing toxins and waste in the marketplace with organic fibers like bamboo and hemp, as well as good old corn starch, throw-away cork and used paper.

The brave, new soldiers of eco industry believe enough is enough when it comes to creating more waste and adding to our grossly overflowing landfills and plastic islands. Bet you do, too!

Instead, the trend has been to meet a growing consumer demand for renewable and reusable resources, seeking out the scraps of industry (glass, cork and plastic bottles) and growing plants without pesticides to make healthy fibers with no trace of petroleum.

Here is a go-to list of the friendliest materials that have our planet covered.

1. Bamboo Fiber

The eco fiber option of choice, bamboo is woven into everything from fashionable dresses like those made by Spun in Seattle and other respected labels, to towels, totes and interior elements such as window treatments. This natural textile is made from the pulp of the bamboo grass and is best in the organic form – pure and unbleached. It is a strong fabric, considered more durable and sustainable than conventional textile fiber.

2. Bamboo Hardwood

Considered a renewable resource, bamboo is a grass that thrives quickly. Oak trees can take 120 years to grow to maturity while bamboo can be harvested in three. it also regenerates without need for replanting, and requires minimal fertilization or pesticides. The jury is still out on whether or not bamboo flooring is as durable as traditional European hardwoods. As Tree Hugger points out, now all bamboo products are alike. Since it  is mostly shipped from China, you have to determine if the product is treated according to environmental standards. Companies like Teragren are careful about adhering to strict environmental specifications.

3. Cork

Got a surface that needs covering? Put a cork on it. Whether molded into mosaics for floors by Mod Walls or adapted as a textile for chic handbags by Shop Cork Design, cork is a renewable resource from the industry’s by-products. It can be waterproofed to extend the life of the surface and also applied to walls as an unexpected modern surface.

4. Plantation Grown Teak

Teak is a deciduous hardwood tree from the highlands of southeast Asia and is considered a sustainable timber for indoor-outdoor furniture, as well as decking. The Maku Chaise, below, is an example of outdoor designs sold by Design Public and other vendors. Teak has a naturally high oil content which makes it both stable and resistant to rotting when exposed to extreme climates. Much of it comes to us from the island of Java. The Dutch started plantations there about 150 years ago. The Indonesian government agency, Perum Perhutani, now manages the plantations, enforcing a strict policy regarding the size and quantity of trees felled each year together with annual replanting.

5. Corn Starch Biocompostables

Corn: it’s what’s for dinner and so much more. These utensils from the Biodegradable Store made of sugar cane fiber, corn and potato starch are the green alternative to petroleum-based plastics and styrofoam materials which take thousands of years to degrade. Thankfully, the new biocompostables are not restricted to the home pantry but are showing up at shopping mall food courts and school events where large crowds gather and consume disposables in bulk. Corn has also been used for library cards in San Francisco and ringtone downloader cards. And don’t forget ethanol, a fuel helping to reduce greenhouse emissions and slow global warming.

6. Hemp

Hemp is grown without pesticides or fertilizers and is rapidly replacing plastic-based materials for clothing and home decor. A member of the Cannabis Sativa plant family (don’t worry, it won’t get you high – other than environmentally!), it yields 250% more fiber than cotton per acre plus 500% more pulp fiber than forest wood. Sold by the yard or already woven into bedding, curtains or fashion garb by brands like Eco Fabrik, hemp dates back to more than 10,000 years ago with a myriad of uses such as paper making, cloth weaving and extracted oils for medicinal products and skincare.

7. Soybean Fabric

Soy fabric is friendly and soft and similar to cashmere or silk in texture. It is found in luxury items, such as these cushy robes from Eco Body wear, and scrumptious baby rompers from Baby Soy USA. Soybean protein fiber is a sustainable and botanical textile fiber made from renewable and biodegradable natural resources – the leftover soybean pulp from tofu and soy milk production. Its 16 amino acids are healthy and nutritional for our skin.

8. Organic Cotton

The Organic Trade Association tells us organic cotton grown by farmers worldwide increased 152 percent during the 2007-2008 crop year. Organic cotton is grown without harmful toxic pesticides and synthetic fertilizers meaning the farming methods and materials have a low impact on people and the environment. Production replenishes and maintains soil fertility to build biologically diverse agriculture. Genetically engineered seed for organic farming is strictly taboo, and all cotton sold as organic in the United States must meet strict federal regulations covering how the cotton is grown. In terms of products, it is much easier to find now in upscale and everyday clothing and underwear,  stylish bedding like this soft set from Pottery Barn, rugs, bags – you name it.

9. Recycled Glass

Companies like the inventive Vetrazzo are sparing landfills of post-industrial glass scraps, while giving new life to post consumer glass such as Corona Beer bottles which are made into countertops. It all goes into the mix of making a sustainable recycled product that adds great beauty to the environment. The same reusable resource is being molded into jewelry or new tumblers for entertaining. One man’s junk”¦you get the picture.

10. Low VOC Paint and Finishes

You’ve probably heard of VOC’s, the solvents in paint which evaporate easily at room temperature. They smell bad bad and are bad for people and other living things. They contribute to the depletion of the ozone layer as well as  poor indoor air quality. That’s why companies like Benjamin Moore and  YOLO Colorhouse® are offering us alternatives. The scientists and artists at YOLO produce a premium zero-VOC paint with an appealing designer palette of 40 hues for interiors, inspired by the natural world. It seems to be the direction more makers of finishes are going. Let’s follow this path and refuse to buy anything less healthy for our homes.

11. Recycled Polyester

Yes, rPET is the new polyester! PET stands for Poly Ethylene Terephthalate, a plastic resin and a form of polyester. PET is a polymer that is formed by combining two monomers called modified ethylene glycol and Purified Terephthalic Acid. PET is labeled with the #1 code on bottles and containers used to package soft drinks, water, juice, peanut butter, salad dressings and oil, cosmetics and household cleaners. PET is a popular package for food and non-food products because it is inexpensive, lightweight, resalable, shatter-resistant and recyclable. To source the post consumer bottles, they are sterilized and then dried and crushed into tiny chips. The chips are heated in a vat and forced through spinnerets (as with virgin polyester) and then are spun into yarn and dyed without toxic properties. What can you make with the Eco-fi material? Everything from carpets, bags and clothing to wall coverings, furnishings and craft felt.

12. Recycled Paper

Did you know 57 million trees are killed each year to produce the paper catalog companies crank out to market their stuff? The catalog industry floods our mailboxes with over 17 billion catalogs a year in the United States, many produced on paper that comes from endangered forests, including those in the Canadian Boreal forest. But businesses, such as Norm Thompson Outfitters of Portland, Oregon, are setting new standards by using recycled paper for their catalogs. Many other companies are getting on the recycled paper bus, including card and stationary designers such as Papel Vino in Vancouver and Bird Dog Press. Magazine strips are also coiled for trays and meshed into placemats for chic home decor. For every ton of paper that is recycled, 17 trees are spared. You can recycle most paper, including white office paper, newspaper and mixed-color paper, through a local curbside recycling program.

13. Felt

No longer just the craft stuff of school kids, if you’ve got an eye like Josh Jakus (bags and coasters) and Ronel Jordaan (modern stones) there is nothing you can’t glue together with this delightful, ecological textile. Felt can come in many forms, from recycled wool from PET bottles to made the old fashion “wet felting” way by nomadic peoples in Central Asia. The non-woven cloth is made by matting, condensing and pressing organic fibers while they are wet. While some types of felt are very soft, some are tough enough to use on construction materials such as a tar paper called roofing felt.

14. Solar Cells

A solar cell is a device that converts light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect. Assemblies of cells are used to make solar panels and solar modules to produce energy for practical use. Harnessing energy from the sun is a major goal in slowing global warming. Prefabricated solar panel systems for roofing usually range in capacity from 3 to 120 kilowatts. According to Technology Review, solar roofing materials can “cut the cost of household solar installations by doing double duty, generating electricity while protecting buildings from the elements.” Scientists tell us that on a bright, sunny day, the sun shines approximately 1,000 watts of energy per square meter of the planet’s surface. Collecting all of that energy would allow us to easily power our homes and offices for free.

15. Aluminum Bottles

A question that might be posed by Dwight Schrute of The Office is “which water bottle is best?” Many athletes, backpackers and soccer moms who used to quaff from leaky plastic will tell you the Sigg aluminum is best when it comes to bottles free of Bisphenol-A (BPA) found in polycarbonate plastics. Sometimes called Lexan, BPA is an endocrine disruptor that has been shown to affect reproduction and brain development in animal studies. It can leach into foods and liquids and mimics estrogen when absorbed by the human body. Sigg bottles are made from a single piece of aluminum (no leaks) and have a water-based, non-toxic interior coating. The liner’s finish keeps out bacteria and mold and is neutral and resistant to fruit acids and energy drinks.  SIGG bottles have been independently tested to prove they are completely leach-free and are 100 percent recyclable.

16.BPA-Free Plastic

While plastics have been shunned by environmentalists since The Graduate debuted, the new Better Bottle produced by  CamelBak is a move in the right direction. The company switched its 2008 Better Bottle line to Eastman Tritan copolyester, a new BPA- and phthalate-free material. BPA-free bottles started shipping to retailers in January of 2008 and are popular choices for children following required packing lists for summer camps and school field trips. Camelbak also makes stainless steel bottles, which are a close rival of aluminum in popularity and purity. You can buy them at outdoorsy outlets such as REI.

17. Cardboard

Recycling old cardboard to make recycling containers? Sure, that’s what the inventive set, such as Amazing Recycled Products, is doing and much more. Savvy products on the market include coasters, DIY speakers and journals. The two types of cardboard that can be recycled are flat cardboard, which is typically used in cereal and shoe boxes, and corrugated cardboard, which has a ruffled layer between the two flat pieces of cardboard and is often used in packing boxes. Both can usually be recycled through your local curbside recycling program.

18. Reclaimed Rubber

Tired of tires sitting in landfills for indefinite periods of time? So are companies like Rubber Sidewalks, which use shredded tires to compose panels that fit together to form a rubber sidewalk. The rubber is even good for trees, letting the sidewalk raise and bend around the roots. You no longer have to remove entire trees to keep concrete from being torn up and replaced. In 2006, 60 cities from 15 different states tested rubber sidewalks. Residents find the rubber feels good under their feet and sound is reduced, as well. It’s safe and non-toxic. Rubber sidewalks also comes in different colors. While the main motive is to save trees, recycled rubber also reduces the waste from tires each year. In California alone, tires create an estimated 408 million pounds of waste rubber.

19. Rice Hulls

Green Pots are made from rice hulls and break down much quicker than traditional planters. No pollutants are used or produced at any stage of the manufacturing process of the containers and there are no wasted materials because scraps are recycled back into the production process. Consumer rice also enjoys afterlife as durable messenger bags that look pretty and help us conserve.

20. Natural Earth Clay and Plaster

A friendly alternative to cement, gypsum, acrylic and lime plasters, products like American Clay Earth Plaster are pure and breathable, a popular choice in the new construction of walls and remodeling of old buildings. As Countryside Magazine points out, using earth to make walls and houses has been done for thousands of years. Uncle Sam invested in testing Rammed Earth construction from the 20s through the 40s as a practical way to achieve affordable housing. Even Frank Lloyd Wright was said to be a fan of using adobe and other natural earth sources. He drew up plans for a multi-family cooperative but due to the war that project was never fulfilled. The process of making rammed earth involves the mixing of raw material from gravel, sand, silt and clay.

*BONUS MATERIAL

21. Elbow Grease

Susie Homemaker is not staying slim these days by downing diuretics (that was my mother’s trick) but by spinning her salads, washing and wiping dishes by hand, hand washing and line drying clothes, riding her bike to the market, walking to her volunteer meetings and other steps that burn calories while leaving a lighter carbon pump print. The more we use our own body’s energy the less we rely on oil, electricity and other sources that drain the planet. And by the way, the exercise of cutting some of your pretty hair also can help the planet in the mopping up of oil spills in the form of hair mats. Human hair has not caught on as fabric for clothing yet, as far as we can tell from Project Runway.

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