Living eco-consciously and other fun stuff!
Care2 posted 8 Things You Didn’t Know You Could Recycle – four of which were new to me…
1. Wine Corks
2. Books, DVDs, and CDs
3. Shoes
4. Foam Packing Peanuts
5. Carpet
6. Holiday Lights
7. Bras
8. Prescription Medication
Check out their post to find out exactly how and where to recycle these items…
I know there are so many different opinions about H&M and other similar stores. I’m well aware that they may be exploiting workers in third world countries to make inexpensive, low quality clothing only to end up in our ever growing landfills. That being said, I do appreciated their efforts in creating organic and sustainable lines. I also understand that they may be doing these small lines every now and them to make themselves look like a company who cares when maybe they don’t. That all aside, I was just checking out their new Conscious Collection and they have some adorable pieces! Not everyone can afford higher-end eco-conscious clothing. Offering it at a reasonable price, which makes it attainable by the general public, not only is an avenue for more people to wear sustainable clothing but its a way to continue to influence the consumer to make smarter purchases. H&M may be paving the way for high school and college aged girls to have a love for other eco-conscious fashion once they graduate and have money to spend on lines like Stewart & Brown, Vaute Couture, Popomomo, Eco-Skin, Bodkin and Stella McCartney.
I love how light and airy this collection is for summer. This dress is adorable, it could so easily be dressed up with fun jewelry and heels for a wedding or wear it on a summer afternoon with flat sandals and just one very simple accessory.
Recycled Fabric Dress $49.95
According to H&M, the materials they’re using in this line are…
Organic cotton Is cotton that has been grown without the use of hazardous chemicals. Organic linen Is linen that has been grown without the use of hazardous chemicals. Recycled polyester Is polyester made from PET bottles or textile waste. Tencel Silky, renewable material produced with minimal environmental impact.
This is my other favorite piece – $44.95…
Check out the entire collection…H&M Conscious Collection
If you’re interested in learning more about H&M’s corporate responsibility – working conditions, wages, environment, etc., you can find it all here.
Category : Dining Out, Food & Beverages
I was very excited to see this bin for recycling used Starbucks cups while I was in NYC! I’ve never seen one of these before. I had always heard that you can’t recycle used cups or food containers as the food/beverages contaminate the paper. I guess Starbucks figured out a way around that so they can recycle their cups. The disappointing thing though was that not many people followed the directions of cups only – no lids Why are people so lazy?! I certainly noticed the big white instructions and if you can’t be bothered to follow the directions there is another regular trash right next to it. Often when there are too many non-recyclable items the recycling company has to dump the who lot – why ruin it for everyone with your laziness Ugh, frustrating. Anyway, moving away from being a downer, this is fantastic and I sure hope to start seeing them at more Starbucks! -even though I always bring my own stainless steel mug
does your Starbucks have one of these? do people seem to be following the directions?
Since I know not all of you lovely readers are vegetarian or vegan like I am, the chances of you partaking in some Mars/Wrigley and Cadbury Halloween candy is high so I figured I’d pass this along to you. If you’re going to indulge in the sugary goodness, why not do some good for the environment at the same time. Instead of tossing those wrappers you can send them off to TerraCycle to be transformed into purses, backpacks, coolers and more! Even better is that for each approved wrapper (I’m assuming that means usable – so not torn to bits) they’ll donate $0.02 to a non-profit organization or school or YOUR choice!
Here’s how to do this…
Participation in the Candy Wrapper Brigade is simple and it’s completely FREE – all costs and shipping are covered by Mars/Wrigley and Cadbury. Sign–up online today and the rest is easy:
1. Once you sign–up to participate in the Candy Wrapper Brigade you will receive prepaid postage labels and collection materials from TerraCycle.
2. Collect enough wrappers to fill a box (no larger than the size of a copy paper box).
3. Affix the pre–paid postage label and drop it off at a UPS location
and just in case you’re not into this type of Halloween candy this year, or you’ve already eaten yours and tossed the wrappers, here are some other Brigades you could consider joining…
I JUST learned that recycling old cell phones can help save gorillas! Please watch and listen to Jane Goodall –
Gorillas Are at Risk from The Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.
I’m so excited to see that there is a way to recycle Brita water filters. I don’t actually use Brita but now that I’ve seen their filters can be recycled I’m going to do some research to see about recycling the filters I use!
Recycle Brita® pitcher filters at participating Preserve Gimme 5 locations
To Recycle Brita® filters in the U.S. – (click to for instructions for Canada)
If there isn’t a Preserve Gimme 5 location near you, simply mail your filter.
Preserve will recycle the Brita plastic pitcher filter casings received into Preserve’s eco-friendly, 100 percent recycled products such as toothbrushes, cups and cutting boards. All Preserve plastic products are also recyclable, giving Brita® filter materials a third life. The filter ingredients—activated carbon that reduces chlorine (taste and odor) and ion exchange resin that reduces lead, mercury, copper, and cadmium and zinc that might be found in tap water*—will be regenerated for alternative use or converted into energy.
*Substances reduced may not be in all users’ water.
Preserve has calculated that the benefits of keeping Brita® filters out of landfills and making them into Preserve products outweigh the impact of shipping them for recycling through this program.
Please note that, at this time, Preserve can only accept Brita® pitcher filters for recycling. No other brands are currently recycled by Preserve.
Category : Fun Things To Do
I saw this game at the All Things Organic Show and thought it was the coolest thing! What a fun way to test your green knowledge and learn lots of new facts and tips! It is made from 100% recycled material, soy inks and wood composite game pieces. It is 99.8% bio-degradable and is carbon neutral due to the six drink coasters that will sprout and grow wild flowers when planted! The Green Game retails for $26.99.
Category : Fun Things To Do
It’s the perfect time of year for some golfing and it couldn’t be a better time to green your golf game. Wilson now has Eco Core Golf Balls – the core is made from recycled rubber tires and the packaging is made from recycled board stock. The balls still comply with all U.S. Golf Association regs but they’re so much better for the environment. I’m not the best golfer and since I don’t seem to hit the ball too far I never lose my balls – but for those of you that do go through a lot of balls these are so much less of a strain on the environment!
