Green Products

New Year’s Resolution: Make Your Keurig Coffee Better for the Earth

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Terrace Cafe Biodegradable Kcups
Terrace Cafe Biodegradable Kcups

I just found a great new innovative product that can help you meet your new year’s resolution to be more green. Keurig coffee makers are convenient and offer a selection of individual coffees, teas and cocoa. However, a “side effect” of these machines is that millions of plastic coffee pods or “K-Cups” become waste in landfills or incinerators. Also the plastic used is often #7, which can be different types of plastic, some of which may contain the hormone disruptor Bisphenol A (BPA).

So to my pleasant surprise I just encountered an eco-friendly version of the Kcup, called Terrace Café Cups, made by a local New York company. It uses only a ring of plastic with a biodegradable filter.

Another alternative is to have a fully biodegradable pod, much like a tea bag, that you use with a washable pod holster that you use each time. These are made by several companies including New Hampshire Roasting Company.

Fill your cup with an organically grown beverage, and you are well on your way to being greener in 2014!

Green Festival NYC 2013– Beth’s Favorite Products!

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The 2nd national Green Festival (green festival) at the Javits Center in New York City took place last weekend, and did not disappoint. The event included hundreds of exhibitors of green products and advocacy organizations, as well as multiple educational workshops on everything from healthy food to eco-friendly vehicles. Several workshops focused on sustainable and fair trade fashion, one of my favorite subjects, bringing together some of this area’s top experts. (Stay tuned for a blogpost on one of the weekend’s highlights: an Eileen Fisher eco-fashion show!) Since last year I wrote about my favorite exhibitors, I thought I‘d continue the tradition.

1) My favorite product was ipad/Nook/Kindle covers made from recycled fleece jackets. Available from Refleece in numerous happy colors, these fun covers help keep old jackets from ending up in landfills.

Fleece Kindle Covers

2) Second favorite exhibitor was SpinGreen who are also making sure old clothing gets a second life. Spingreen expands recycling at schools by placing clothing collection bins at schools. Usable clothing is given to several charities, and stained or ripped clothing is repurposed for home insulation or car seat stuffing, again diverting waste away from landfills.

Casket by Green Burial Council

3) Call me morbid, but third, believe it or not, was the Green Burial Council, since many burial practices involve the use of toxic chemicals, and it’s not something we often think about. The council educates about environmentally sustainable funeral / cemetery / cremation options, and have set forth the World’s first standards and eco-certification program for burial grounds and burial products.

These are just a sampling of the numerous forward-thinking organizations featured at Green Festival. My main takeaway is how inspiring it is to witness the creative innovation, dedication to craft, and caring for the planet that all the participants exhibited. It gives me hope seeing so many people who care enough to make the planet’s sustainability part of their business. I hope these qualities become mainstream sooner than later.

Eco-Chick’s Sustainable Spring Fashion Party

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Fabulous eco fashion event last Thursday night at Green Spaces in NYC hosted by Starre Vartan from Eco-Chick.com, one of my favorite blogs.

Eco-Chick's Sustainable Spring Fashion Party
Eco-Chick’s Sustainable Spring Fashion Party | Photo by Rose Brook

50+ people came out to support sustainably-made clothing, mostly made right in NY, by designers including Elsa and Me, Feral Childe, Study NY, Sylvia Heisel, Carrie Parry, Auralis and others.

This conscious event included vegan and organic provisions, and generous goody bags filled with organic cotton socks by Pact, all-natural hand soap by Mrs. Meyer’s, and other green schwag.

Great to see so many new designers making beautiful clothing and accessories while keeping the planet in mind.

Eco-friendly Yoga

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Mat by Jade Yoga, block by Gaiam
Organic cotton yoga strap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you’re practicing yoga, congratulations- you’re doing something great for your body and spirit. But is there a way to make it great for the earth too? Yes! Here are 3 ways to make your practice greener.

  • First, check into your yoga mat and see what it’s made of. It may be made with PVC (polyvynil chloride) plastic. However, the good news is that there are biodegradable mats made with natural latex, which is tapped from rubber trees. See Jadeyoga.com and Manduka.com.
  • Foam yoga blocks are likely made from plastic (often ethylene-vinyl acetate or EVA). Remember that anything plastic will not break down in the environment for hundreds of years. Look for wood blocks, or these cork blocks from greener country.com. (Gaiam also sells recycled plastic foam blocks.)
  • Finally, wear your inner bliss on the outside with organic cotton or bamboo yoga clothing which can be found from numerous retailers. I’ve even found a strap made of organic cotton!

All of these items can be purchased through Gaiam.com.

Skip the Disposable Plastic Produce Baggies!

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Grocery stores provide thin film plastic bags as a convenience for transporting fresh vegetables from store to home. These bags are usually made from LPDE (Low Density Polyethylene) plastic #4, and like large grocery bags, end up in landfills or get incinerated. Like many of us, though I’ve been pretty good about remembering to bring reusable shopping bags (even if they sometimes get forgotten in the car), I had never even thought about a reusable alternative to produce bags. So when I received this one from Environmental Working Group (EWG.org), made by Chico Bag, it was really encouraging. Though it seems to be made from virgin (nonrecycled) nylon, Chico Bag offers to recycle it for you. It’s mesh on one side and lightweight, and I’m hoping it becomes the next big trend! See these links for others like it too!

Chicobag.com

washableproducebags.com

reusablebags.com

Organic Ketchup Packets?

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If you are in charge of a restaurant kitchen, or school or business cafeteria, you probably offer ketchup packets. If so, consider these, which I was pleasantly surprised to find at a local eatery in Syosset, New York called Energy Kitchen: organic ketchup packets! The difference is that the tomatoes used to create this ketchup were grown organically, meaning no synthetic pesticides, no irradiation, and no genetic modification of the plants. Common ketchup packets typically also contain high fructose corn syrup.