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1. Dress up as an environmental issue – be a tree, a smoke stack, an endangered animal, or even be the globe. This may not lower your carbon footprint, but it can be a great talking point if you’re headed to a Halloween party.

image courtesy of Better Homes & Gardens

2. Don’t throw away candy when Halloween is over – offer it to coworkers or neighbors after the holiday, or freeze it and snack slowly all year long. Frozen chocolate is especially delicious, and doesn’t go bad!

3. Make, swap, or purchase a costume that doesn’t contain any plastic. Cardboard and old clothes are the raw materials for any great costume. Cheap plastic costumes are easily destroyed in one night so are difficult to swap later, and of course, they aren’t biodegradable.

4. Use only biodegradable or reusable party ware – you don’t need pumpkin-themed plastic plates to have a great Halloween party. Instead, decorate your party space with real locally grown pumpkins and use reusable dishes, cups, and flatware. If you do need to decorate with paper materials make sure they are either post-consumer recycled or certified by the Forest Stewardship Council [FSC].

5. Give your trick-or-treaters something organic, fair trade, or local. Taza chocolate is a great local business with fairly traded chocolate that everyone will love – or check out Whole Foods for some other green options.

6. Save candy wrappers for craft projects or give them to someone that will reuse them.

“Stylish, sustainable living” is a motto of one of my favorite websites out there – Ecofabulous.com. It is a great online guide that includes product reviews, how-tos, news articles and ton of other useful information that is also fun to read – or watch. The website is most well known for being one of the foremost eco-fashion websites because they are great at finding “high style with a low impact,” which of course is every ecofashionista’s goal. However, EcoFabulous reviews more than just clothes. They also write reviews and recommendations of beauty products, home décor items, children’s toys, electronics, and other miscellaneous objects. Everything that they recommend must meet strict sustainability criteria set out by the EcoFabulous editors in order to prevent greenwashing. This makes EcoFabulous a great tool for consumers to research products that are healthy and well made. And while the website is mostly geared towards a female audience, it appeals to a wide age range.

EcoFabulous was founded by Zem Joaquin (pictured above), an incredibly talented editor, who has done work for Architectural Digest, House & Garden, and Domino. She has been well recognized for her contribution to the green design and green living community. Her passion is clear, especially when visiting the video section of EcoFabulous, because she is the host of many of the green how-to videos. The website itself has also been well recognized and has been featured in Women’s Health, TreeHugger, U.S. News and World Report, Planet Green, Dwell, and in many other media outlets. While, I’m on the topic of other media, I have to point out that EcoFabulous has an excellent list of links of other “sites they love.”

EcoFabulous isn’t just product reviews either. There is also a wide array of other content from issues and causes, notices about upcoming sales, and finds from “elsewhere in the ecosphere.” The diverse content may be a result of their cross-country approach. EcoFabulous is based in San Francisco but they have correspondents in New York as well. So whether you’re looking for information on something specific, or just trying to find good reading or videos to pass the time, I highly suggest visiting EcoFabulous – because it is simply that – EcoFabulous!

This past June an exciting new organization formed in Boston – Boston Food Swap. Boston Food Swap is a monthly event hosted by its self-titled nonprofit in which everyone is invited to come trade their surplus homemade, homegrown, or foraged goods. The swaps have been incredibly successful so far and have drawn lots of interest from local foodies. Boston Food Swap has even been featured in the Boston Globe and on NPR’s Public Radio Kitchen.

Food swaps are an increasingly popular phenomenon and are popping up across the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom. They are particularly popular in California, but have steadily spread east. Boston Food Swap was specifically inspired by the Brooklyn, NY Food Swap which received a lot of press when it first started. When three talented and ambitious Boston women read about the success of the Brooklyn food swap, they were inspired to create a similar series of events in the Boston area. The founders, who have ties to companies and organizations as Apartment Therapy, Boston Green Drinks, The Massachusetts Department of Energy, and the Boston Center for Adult Education, are familiar with the culture and eco-mindedness of Boston, and knew that the Boston Food Swap would take off. They thought it would be a great idea for Boston to have a food swap so that people could trade excess from CSA shares, or show off their excellent canning, jarring, and baking skills. Food swaps help promote eating healthy and local foods, and give urban homesteaders a network to spread their knowledge and foods.

Each swap is a two hour silent auction, during which attendees go around sampling and learning about the goods at each table and writing down what they’d be willing to trade for a given item. So far most of the swaps have been held at Space with a Soul at 281 Summer St. in Boston’s Seaport District. In between swaps, the Boston Food Swap website is a great way to stay inspired. The website’s blog features great recipes, resources, and ideas for the next swap. Currently, the website is being used to promote the next big event: National Food Day. Food Day is the first of a hopefully annual event on October 24^th in which people across the country are celebrating the “real food” movement. As part of the national series of events, Boston Food Swap is hosting a locally sourced potluck dinner.  For more information on the Food Day Potluck, please visit the Boston Food Swap website. Hope to see you there!

Man-made fibers are mostly made out of petrochemicals and increase our dependence on nonrenewable fossil fuels and foreign oil. However, DuPont’s new invention, Sorona, is challenging the way we think about man-made materials.

Sorona is a fairly new alternative fiber to nylon 6 that is made of 37% corn sugar, which of course, is renewable. Furthermore, producing Sorona requires 30% less energy and produces 67% less greenhouse gases than nylon 6 production.  Sorona fabric is also recyclable and does not require any chemical finishing treatments for end-use.

Sorona can be used in a variety of common applications in replacement of nylon, including active wear, swim wear, car interiors, and rugs.  It can also be woven with other materials to be used for even more applications, however, this makes the material less easy – and sometimes impossible – to recycle. Happily, people are often choosing to weave Sorona with other renewable or natural fibers such as bamboo.  Sorona is part of DuPont’s focus on compromising sustainability and performance. The company first discovered nylon in 1937 and is continuing to innovate in the materials industry, now in a way that is more renewable and responsible. While Sorona is not as sustainable as the natural fibers used by Merida (which uses 100% renewable sources such as wool, jute, and abaca), Sorona is a step in the right direction.  In fact, it has been recognized by the USDA and was one of the first materials to be given the USDA BioPreferred label. The USDA BioPreferred Purchasing Program requires that all federal agencies use renewable sourced materials if such materials can achieve equal performance, price, and availability of the nonrenewable equivalent. Sorona products can also help achieve points in the LEED certification process because Sorona rugs have passed the strict air quality tests of the Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI).

While Sorona isn’t the most sustainable material, it is paving the way for a compromise in man-made fibers. It may not be completely natural or biodegradable but it is cheap, stain resistant, and durable. Sorona is likely to be the first in whole new arena of semi-renewable materials.

How much do you know about Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC), also known as vinyl? Most people use it one way or the other on a daily bases. PVC can be found everywhere – it is used to make shampoo bottles, toys, shower curtains, ceiling tiles, clothes, shoes, building materials and more.  In fact, PVC is the third most widely produced plastic in the world. It is cheap and it is both soft and flexible so can be used for many applications. However, PVC has been the center of a human health and environment debate for nearly forty years!

All phases of life for PVC are controversial: production, use, and destruction.  During its production, PVC releases many chemical gasses, including dioxin which is a known carcinogen. Dioxin is extremely toxic because it is bioaccumulative, meaning that it is stored in fatty tissues, so even if an animal is exposed and then another animal or human eats it, they are exposed to dioxin as well. However, PVC advocates claim that once PVC is in its “use” phase, it no longer releases carcinogenic gasses, but many are still concerned about vinyl products off-gassing once they are in the hands of consumers. One example of this is “that new car smell.” Car interiors are often largely made of vinyl, and that “new car smell” is actually the vinyl off-gassing, so the purchasers are breathing in potentially hazardous chemicals. In response to this concern, Japanese companies have stopped using PVC material in car interiors. The European Union also severely restricts PVC applications in an attempt to reduce human exposure to potentially harmful gasses in the use phase.

Especially concerning is that 75% of all PVC is used in building applications which degrades indoor air quality. PVC offgas may include hormone disrupters (phthalates), but conclusive evidence has still not been found. So while it is known that PVC building materials offgas even when they are in your home, the amount of chemicals they release may not be significantly harmful to humans.

PVC is also very difficult to recycle. It is a number 3 recyclable which means that when it actually can be recycled, it is often downcycled, because there is no process that can maintain the material’s quality. Therefore, PVC is often turned into mudflaps, road gutters, or industrial use floor mats, but most often, PVC ends up in the landfill or at the incinerator.  If the PVC is burned at the end of its life, it can also release carcinogens like dioxin into the air, unless it is burned at a low temperature.

PVC poses both health and environmental threats because it is made with toxic chemicals and is not biodegradable.  While scientists have yet to pinpoint the actual effects of longterm exposure to PVC, it is best to at least avoid PVC production and newly produced PVC products (after a while the products will be more safe since the offgassing process will have stopped). The best way to avoid PVC-related chemical exposure is to purchase only all natural and sustainably produced products for your home – like a Merida area rug!

                Many Merida natural area rug owners have a holistic approach to their sustainable lifestyle, meaning that they not only want a clean and healthy home, but they also want a clean and healthy diet for themselves and their family. Fruits and vegetables are absolutely essential to a healthy diet, but sometimes consumers get stuck in the supermarket, thinking to themselves “is the higher price for organic produce really worth it?” and “I want to buy organic, but I simply can’t afford to buy the organic version of every product I want…”. Knowing that these thoughts are not uncommon, the Environmental Working Group has published their Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists at http://www.ewg.org/foodnews.

                The dirty dozen is a list of the twelve fruits and vegetables sold in the United States with the highest amounts of pesticide residues. Thus, when given a choice, shoppers should opt for the organic brands of these twelve foods in order to make the most impact with their purchase, and decrease their own pesticide exposure. The dirty dozen includes: apples, celery, strawberries, peaches, spinach, imported nectarines, imported grapes, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, blueberries, lettuce, and kale. What further adds to the risk is that many of these foods have permeable or non-existent skin. For example, bananas have very thick peels that block the pesticides from getting into the food for the most part, whereas, people eat the skin of apples and grapes, so there is no protective barrier. 92% of apples tested contained two or more types of pesticide residues, and peaches are treated with a variety of different pesticides leading scientists to discover 57 different types of residues. The benefits of having a balanced diet full of fruits and vegetables far outweigh the potential hazards of pesticide exposure, but it is still something to keep in mind.

                Luckily, not all traditionally grown vegetables are doused in pesticides. EWG’s clean fifteen list features the fruits and vegetables that have the least amount of pesticides. They include: onions, corn, pineapples, avocado, asparagus, sweet peas, mangos, eggplant, watermelon, domestic cantaloupe, kiwi, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. However, most corn grown in the United States is genetically modified (and does not need to be labeled as such), so it may be best to buy organic corn if this is of concern to you. By remembering the clean fifteen, shoppers can get the most for their money by purchasing traditionally grown produce from the clean fifteen list, and organic produce from the dirty dozen list. Of course it is best to purchase as much food organic and local as possible, but this is not always an option. Hopefully someday all of our food will be cleaner, but even so, the tests used to produce these lists are fairly recent (2000 – 2009) and all food was rinsed (and peeled if necessary) before testing for pesticide residues!

It’s August, and we’ve spent all summer slathering on sunscreen in an attempt to avoid cancerous UVA and UVB rays, but sadly, even the products we use to protect us from cancer sometimes contain carcinogens. Sunscreens are meant to be put over large amounts of skin, yet many brands contain parabens, artificial scents, aluminum oxides, etc. Furthermore, most sunscreen brands are made with petroleum, packed in plastic, and contain resources shipped in from around the world.

Coola Suncare is tackling all of these issues with their eco-conscious line of sunscreens, sunblocks and moisturizers. I first read about Coola in the Summer 2011 Vineyard Vines Cataolgue and then later I saw that Coola was awarded a “green star” in the beauty section of the July 2011 issue of Elle Magazine. The name has been all over the place and I decided to do a little research into the company.

Coola was founded by husband and wife team Chris and Kristian Birchby in 2002 after both of their families experienced skin cancer scares. The Birchby’s were already trying to lead sustainable lifestyles, but noticed a serious lack of eco-friendly sun protection products on the market. The couple has a diverse background of experience in fashion, design, art, and marketing, but needed to spend a few years studying sun science and sunscreen formulations before Coola came to fruition. The result is luxurious, eco-aware, sunscreen made with organic ingredients. Their organically grown and certified ingredients are all listed on their website, but one of the most important of these ingredients is cetyl phosphate (a derivative of coconut oil) that prevents the active chemicals in sunscreen from being absorbed into the skin. Instead, it helps the actives stay on top of the skin where they both, protect the wearer from sun damage, and don’t build up in our bodies. Coola is also a safer sunscreen because they don’t use artificial fragrances, parabens, papa, nano particles, petroleum, or phtalates. Plus they package as many of their products as they can in FSC certified paper. To make sure their product is on the cutting edge of both sustainability practices and sun safety, their sunscreen is made in limited batches so that they can reformulate as often as they’d like.

So far I’d say that Coola is really living up to their goal of “No Red, Go Green”. Their products are all rated between 1 and 7 on the EWG Skin Deep database, which gives the most dangerous products a rating of 10. A rating of 7 seemed a bit high for a product made by a small business seeking to be both healthy and green, and upon further investigation, I realized that the 7 must have been a typo because it was given that rating in 1999, a full 3 years before Coola was even founded! Therefore it is most likely that all of Coola’s products are in the 1-5 range. Plus, Coola has received very high consumer ratings on skinstore.com and are especially praised by those with sensitive skin.

Thursday, July 28th was a historic day in the city of Boston because it marked the launch of the city’s $6 million bike-sharing program, Hubway. Boston is only the 6th major city in the United States to institute a major bike sharing program, though they seem to be the norm across Europe and Canada. Hubway is based largely off Washington D.C.’s successful program that now boasts over 10,000 members and has an average of about 3,000 bike trips per day. The Hubway is starting with 600 bikes and 61 rental kiosks throughout the city. If the program is successful, its founders envision Hubway growing to a 5,000-bike program with kiosks in surrounding towns like Brookline and Somerville.

     Alta Bicycle Share will run Hubway with the support of Mayor Menino and various sponsors including New Balance. Alta also runs the bike sharing program in D.C.. After the opening of the program, the bikes will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from March through November every year. Annual membership fees for Hubway are $80, and short-term “casual membership” options are available for both a 3-day ($12) and a 24 hour ($5) period. In addition to the membership cost, there are also usage fees (so that people don’t keep or steal the bikes). The first 30 minutes of each ride is free. People are encouraged to register for Hubway online. Annual members will receive a physical key which can unlock any of the bikes at any of the kiosks. Casual members will be given a unique access code that will unlock bikes for the given amount of time they purchased for their membership.

     Hubway is intended to be very user-friendly and already has thriving facebook and twitter accounts. The Hubway website not only has membership information, but also includes safety policies, traffic laws, and bike-friendly road maps. This is a great achievement for the carbon-free transportation movement because Boston used to be one of the worst cities for cyclists in the country (yes, Boston is home to the craziest and scariest drivers, which makes biking a bit more of a challenge!), but Hubway has gained incredible support and is changing the city’s infrastructure plans – more bike lanes! The Boston Police have committed to making Boston a more bike-safe city by increasing surveillance over ten of the city’s most dangerous intersections. The police are also starting initiatives to help motorists learn to share the road while also making sure that cyclists obey traffic rules. The Boston Public Health Commission is supporting Hubway by giving out hundreds of bike helmets, which will not only promote use of the program in general, but also how to use it in the safest way possible.

Be on the lookout for the silver Hubway bikes! They’re going to be the next big thing!

You might know the name PeopleTree from the add campaign featuring Harry Potter star, Emma Watson. The UK based company is actually a network of fair trade clothing producers and farmers. They work with over 50 companies in 15 different countries, and are working to make ethically produced clothing the global norm.

PeopleTree creates employment for people around the world by using manual labor rather than machinery and looms to create their clothes. Many of the items are hand weaved, stitched, and embroidered. Their artisans are treated justly and all clothing is certified by the WFTO (World Fair Trade Organization). All aspects of the clothing production line are fair trade and ethical, including cotton growing, weaving, dying, and sewing. Since the clothes are  hand-made, each piece is unique and of high quality. Further, the clothing designs are all exclusive, coming from PeopleTree designers in the UK and Japan.

In addition to being proactive regarding humanitarian concerns, PeopleTree also works to make sure their products are ecologically sound. They have a very thorough “ecology” section on their website that discusses their philosophies from the natural fibers that the clothes are made from to the methods of shipping they use. Their overarching environmental policy includes five main goals:

- To promote organic farming
- To avoid pollution
- To conserve water
- To use biodegradable materials whenever possible
- To recycle as much as possible

PeopleTree strives to use only organic materials, and specifically organic cotton. Traditional cotton farming accounts for 10% of the world use of chemical pesticides. This number is disproportionate to the actual amount of cotton that is actually produced, so PeopleTree makes sure not to contribute to this ghastly figure. Instead, PeopleTree’s farmers use natural ingredients to deter pests, such as chili, garlic, and soap. PeopleTree also minimizes its use of fertilizers – making a safer work environment for farmers and protecting nearby water systems.

One struggle that PeopleTree has faced is how to most efficiently ship their goods to consumers. Shipping by sea is much more fuel efficient than shipping by air, so PeopleTree does this whenever possible. However, because shipping by sea takes longer, the garments have the potential to be exposed to more elements, making paper wrapping insufficient. PeopleTree packages their pieces in the most efficient plastic possible, but it is not biodegradable, so PeopleTree is still searching for a solution this problem. The fact that they discuss this very issue on their website shows that PeopleTree is transparent and good-natured. I look forward to seeing how companies like this can change our standards for fashion.