In an effort to encourage and promote sustainability, Merida Home is offering a $1,000 scholarship to the high school student who best expresses Merida’s key theme: sustainability with style.

Cassandra McCullers – Yorktown, VA

The air buzzes with talk of environmental problems, of sustainability and ‘going green’. Carrying a canvas tote bag is becoming increasingly popular. Many people wear t-shirts with Earth-friendly messages. Yet their sustainability only scratches the surface. They have painted themselves green, to reflect the trends around them. Many people buy clothes made from cotton, a pesticide-intensive crop, or eat meat from factory farms without even thinking of the ramifications of their purchases. Few people check to see if the workers who made their products are ethically treated. Many revel in their obsession with the latest and shiniest products, producing mountains of trash as they fly through phones, computers, clothing, cars, furniture, and decorations among numerous other things. It never even occurs to them that they might be damaging themselves and the world with their unsustainable actions, like a plane held in the air by momentum alone. If somebody points out the effects of their actions, they often shrug it off or forget entirely.

To me, ‘sustainability with style’ represents the opposite of this shallow trend. It is a conscientious effort to investigate every producer, to shape the world for the better through consumer activism. Sustainable style uses plants grown without pesticides, and animal fibers taken from healthy and ethically treated animals. It pays workers a living wage and fosters growth within communities. It allows people to lift themselves out of poverty and desperation through the work of their own hands, rather than having to rely on others’ charity. The drive for sustainability with style leads to products that improve the health of the workers, the environment, and the consumer. It creates a system that everyone benefits from and that propels society along on its path to a better world for all, if only in small ways.

The style means making true sustainability fashionable and desirable. It pushes against fast fashions and disposable lives. It means designs that work with and overcome the limitations and unique opportunities offered by certain materials. The designs used in sustainable style celebrate their sustainable as an integral part of themselves, like a house designed to beautifully showcase solar panels. They capture the intrinsic beauty of the natural world and the communities that they protect, acting as a natural advertisement for their cause, merely by existing.

In an effort to encourage and promote sustainability, Merida Home is offering a $1,000 scholarship to the high school student who best expresses Merida’s key theme: sustainability with style.

Thomas W. Ricks Jr. – Front Royal VA

What “Sustainability with Style” means to me.

It’s safe to say the world is falling apart as a result of human actions. Pollution, global warming, overfishing and topsoil destruction are just a few of the issues facing our planet’s ecology that have been attributed to humans. It’s also safe to say that we must, as workers, as students, as producers, as consumers and as artists, respond to this threat with all the ingenuity and lust for life that brought the threat itself into being. Sustainability doesn’t mean a tiny population of people living austerely, in huts, subsisting. It means a vibrant culture, working together to live in within the means of our planet-sized spaceship, seeking to live in a world of harmony and beauty. It means utilizing human creativity to define the aesthetic that will guide us into that world. It means that a belt made out of a recycled bike tire or sustainably harvested textile fibers aren’t merely quirky, generation-y conceits, but a vision and a goal for the future.

‘Sustainability with style’ means sharing your love of beauty with others AND caring for the planet and its sensitive ecology. This is achieved by not only being diligent in one’s habits and conscientious in one’s purchases, but inventive and creative in finding new ways to lower ones impact. This means the form and the function are no longer separate; sustainability is stylish (because protecting the environment is always current and important) and hence style must be sustainable; Sustainability with style is a math equation, and it’s the job of producers and consumers to ensure that it balances out. So while the Green Movement might be criticized as “trendy” or “hip,” do we have another option?  For once, style can be a powerful statement of a culture’s values and vision for the future, as opposed to merely a vapid ploy to keep consumers buying. ‘Sustainability with style’ can also be a commitment to quality; poor quality materials and craftsmanship result in a product that doesn’t last long, and while this is a good short-term business strategy (products will need replacing, etc.), it’s a poor long-term strategy for our planet and for people in general.

A company with the slogan ‘Sustainability with style’ should be committed to selling quality, stylish, environmentally sound products; ones with elegance, beauty, and durability -  meeting  the challenge of a green economy with spirit and elan.

In an effort to encourage and promote sustainability, Merida Home is offering a $1,000 scholarship to the high school student who best expresses Merida’s key theme: sustainability with style.

Igor Chernenko – Grand Junction, CO

From generation to generation, people lived along with nature using its gifts in many different ways. First, they grew food on its fertile soil; later, they built rafts from the trees. Centuries passed, progress developed and more natural resources were discovered. People quickly found ways to use environmental assets like coal, fossil fuels, and other types of minerals for the betterment of society and to make their personal lives more comfortable. However, not many people back then troubled themselves to realize that those resources were limited. As of today, mankind continues to extract natural resources from depths of the earth wastefully, not thinking about the possible consequences. Fortunately, there are people who see this as an ongoing problem and are taking the necessary actions. Moreover, there are people who mix sustainability and style in an effort to make the results of the repair process look saucy.

Sustainability is the principle by which the human needs on Earth can be met unlimitedly. It can be represented in the form of an environment with a maximized quality of life and energy conservations, and with a minimal level of pollution and degradation of nature. Sustainability is the final product for people whose efforts are directed with making life on the Earth continuous.

Reaching the point where sustainability can be seen as a practicable goal requires humans to accept the fact that it will take a tremendous amount of work to make this dream a reality. Recycling different material and creating various projects aimed toward the development of true sustainability has brought humanity closer to the desirable principle. Over the past thirty years, more and more people have begun to take action to enforce the principal of sustainability. The term has been widely developed across the planet since it was first coined and now either describes permanence of families or maintenance of sustainable practices by companies and organizations. As time passed, people have learned to combine sustainability together with style.

What does sustainability with style mean? This term means not only maintaining the continuity Earth, but also sustaining certain levels of the peculiar rareness and style of the original environment.

For me, sustainability with style can also be seen as an actual attempt to maintain sustainability while complying with the specific boundaries of style. Let’s reprogram our way of thinking and ruminate about deriving stylish benefits from actions taken toward sustainability. When people think of converting something non-renewable into something renewable, I believe that they should automatically sort out many options in their heads on how to make the end-product of that process look nifty! We should all be eager to reach sustainability with style! We can make our world look perfect and extremely chic if we are led by strong desire to do so.

Continuous attempts to reach sustainability with style may actually result in a more harmonious life on Earth. Accordingly, those attempts mingled with desire to get fashionable results could wrap our world into the mantle of creativity.

Lately, many cosmetic companies have been advertising that their products are “paraben-free”, but before purchasing one option or another, it is important to know what exactly parabens are and the possible threats they pose. Like VOCs, parabens are extremely common in consumer products and almost everyone has some exposure to these chemicals. Furniture and decor companies like Merida, try to reduce the number of VOCs in their products (such as Merida’s Pure Line of natural fiber area rugs), but there is much more conclusive research about VOCs, finding that exposure to them is harmful to human health. Less is known about the effects of paraben exposure, but since they are so pervasive, it is good skill to be able to identify which products have parabens.
Parabens are chemical preservatives used to prevent the growth of microbial organisms in personal care items and foods. It is estimated that about 25,000 different products contain parabens. The most common of these products are body moisturizers, hair care products, makeup, toothpaste, sodas, mayonnaise, and jam. About 85% of all toiletries contain parabens. In 2004 safety concerns surfaced when a study detected parabens in breast tumors. It is thought parabens mimic estrogen and disrupt the body’s endocrines causing harmful hormonal confusion within the human body. Parabens are also stored up in the body and can be passed on to children. Studies have shown that parabens can affect male reproductive systems in newborn mammals. However no studies on this topic have been conducted on humans, and the study that found parabens in human breast tumor tissue failed to prove that parabens caused or even played any role in the actual tumor development. Therefore the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has maintained that  there is no reason for consumers to be concerned about parabens just yet, and that studies will continue.

Many people are choosing to purchase paraben-free items because the possibility that these chemicals could cause cancer or birth defects is not a risk worth taking. Cosmetics are required by law to list their ingredients, so once consumers learn the various terms for parabens, they are much easier to avoid. These names include: propylparaben, parahydroxybenzoate, and ester. Some companies like Aveda, Burt’s Bees, and Origins make it easy because they don’t use parabens in any of their products. If you are trying to reduce your exposure to parabens, but don’t have time to read ingredient labels on everything you buy, then just read labels on products that you use the most of. For example, many people lather lotion over their entire bodies which is left on and absorbed into the skin, but only use a pea-sized amount of toothpaste, most of which will be spit out anyway, so it will make a bigger difference to purchase paraben-free moisturizer than paraben-free toothpaste. Whatever you decide to do, it is always responsible to know that you and your family may be exposed to risks based on your daily purchasing decisions.

Mother’s Day is just around the corner so its time to start looking for a gift to show her that you appreciate all of her love and support. It is good to look for a gift that is fairly traded and sustainably produced, so that whatever you give her is meaningful and responsible. Below, I’ve compiled a list of Mother’s Day gift ideas that keep production practices, health,  the environment, and the developing world in mind.

1. Shirt by Project Iris
These whimsical and floral shirts provide more than just style. Project Iris has partnered with the World Food Program USA so that a portion of the proceeds from shirt sales goes to help feed mothers and children in economically developing countries. Project Iris is helping serve nutritious meals to 12,500 impoverished people across the globe. Giving a Project Iris t-shirt to your Mom will show that you care not only for your her, but also struggling mothers around the world. The shirts are responsibly made in the U.S. and are reasonably priced.

2. Scotch Naturals Nail Polish
Looking for a cute little something to accompany the card you’re giving you mom? A bottle of nail polish in her favorite color could be the perfect solution. Scotch Naturals makes non-toxic water-based nail polishes, and until now they have focused on making kid-friendly polishes, but Scotch Naturals recently released their line of sophisticated nail polishes for adults. Traditional nail polishes usually contain harmful chemicals such as toluene, dibutyl pythelate, formaldehyde, acetone, and even some heavy metals. Yikes! Give your mom some non-toxic polish instead- I suggest “neat” which is a pale neutral pink color.

3. Tagua Bracelet from The Andean Collection
The Andean Collection has sixteen colors of their popular tagua bracelet which is made from sustainably harvested tagua nut. The bracelets are created as part of an initiative to employ impoverished people in South America. The bracelets are naturally dyed with non-toxic materials, and they are the perfect summer accessory. They are available for $26 on The Andean Collection website.

4. Shea Souffles by Carol’s Daughter
Treat your mom to some luxurious shea butter moisturizer by Carol’s Daughter. The shea souffles do not contain parabens, petroleum products, mineral oil, or artificial colors. This is important because parabens have been linked to breast cancer, and while studies aren’t conclusive, it is better to be safe than sorry. And, it is always good to avoid cosmetics that contain petroleum in order to decrease our dependence on non-renewable foreign oil. Furthermore, the company, Carol’s Daughter, has been recognized for encouraging female entrepreneurism.

Of course, if your mom is redecorating for spring or summer, consider getting her an area rug from Merida’s Pure Collection. The rugs are extremely low in VOCs and come in a variety of all natural wool shades that would suit any room.

A fellow blogger and friend of mine recently suggested that I try Vaska for my laundry because it is a non-toxic detergent that still effectively cleans clothes and removes stains. Though I grew up using Tide and associate its scent with clean laundry, I decided that Vaska was definitely worth trying in order to reduce the amount of chemicals I am contributing to the earth’s waterways.
Vaska is a self-proclaimed “herbatergent” that uses the power of natural ingredients to clean all types of fabric. Vaska was founded in Berkeley, California in 1999. The goal of the company is to provide exceptional textile care without harming either people of the planet. This certainly syncs with Merida’s mantra: Sustainability with Style. The herbatergent has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and has been admitted to the EPA’s Design for the Environment Program. This means that Vaska’s formula must adhere to strict environmental standards. The EPA reviews the ingredients to make sure that they quickly break down and don’t cause harm once they enter the environment after use. In 2008, the EPA awarded “Champion Status” to Vaska under the EPA’s Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative.
In addition to being recognized for its non-toxic ingredients, Vaska encourages environmental sustainability and healthy living in other ways. They don’t test any of their products on animals, and their bottles are made from 50% post-consumer recycled content. They also widely advertise that their products work well in cold-water washes, which helps people save energy. Since the formula of the detergent is concentrated, it has a small easy-to-use cap for measuring the proper amount needed for various sizes of laundry loads. This was much better than the Tide cap, which even on concentrated bottles is too big and makes it easy to use too much product – wasting money and causing unnecessary pollution.
After using Vaska for myself, I am a convert. My clothes were clean; There were no coffee or red wine stains to be seen! Vaska herbatergent comes in two varieties, unscented and lavender. I used the lavender scented version, and my clothes smelled wonderful afterwards, and it was nice to know that the smell was real lavender and not a synthetic chemical scent. Vaska doesn’t use any skin-irritants or dyes, and is gentle on fabrics so that they last as long as possible. Vaska is good for people, the environment, and clothing – what more could you ask for in a detergent?!

Sheep’s wool is a valuable natural fiber that Merida uses to make some of its favorite area rugs, such as the new Pure line and our other wool rugs. However, there is another animal that can be safely sheered for eco-fibers: alpaca! Like sheep, alpaca are gentle grazing animals that are relatively easy to raise. Their feet are padded so they do very little damage to the land they graze, and they are more resilient animals than sheep so need less pesticides and antibiotics. Due to their camel ancestry, alpaca don’t require much water either. In fact it is quite easy to raise alpaca organically, but since 99% of alpaca fiber is grown in South America, it has a rather large carbon footprint because of the distance it travels to get to consumers in the United States.  Alpaca are typically raised in Peru, Chile, and Bolivia, but alpaca herding is an increasing business in the U.S., Australia, and Canada. Alpaca wool is in great demand because of its soft texture and sustainable qualities. The U.S., Canada, and Australia are quickly tapping into this market, and alpaca herds are growing in these countries at a rate of 15%-18% per year. In fact, economists are estimating that by the year 2020, the United States will be producing between 20%-30% of the world’s alpaca wool.

So why the rapid growth? Well, alpaca has been called a “miracle fiber” by both farmers and designers. As the eco-fashion and design industries continue to grow, there seems to be unlimited potential for alpaca wool. Alpaca herding provides profitable family farming opportunities across the U.S., especially for people that want to become part of the Sustainable Agriculture movement. Sustainable Agriculture means farming that is ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, and humane. Plus since alpacas can be many different colors, their wool doesn’t necessarily need to be dyed to create a beautiful garment. However, if the designer does want to use dye, alpaca fibers hold color quite well. Alpaca fibers are also much finer than sheep’s wool, which means that the fabric doesn’t have that same itchy feeling. Hopefully the growth of alpaca farming in the United States will help push eco-fibers into the main-stream. Lets say goodbye to petroleum based fabrics!

    In Merida’s continuous effort to be as sustainable as possible, we began working with Save that Stuff in 2008. Save that Stuff is a Charlestown-based waste management company that helps its clients reduce waste and save energy. It has become a leader in the waste management industry, serving over 2,000 businesses in New England. Some of its other clients include Boston University, American Airlines, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital. Save that Stuff, which was founded in 1990, helps businesses with all aspects of waste management including: auditing, zero-waste planning, event recycling, resource management, and of course waste pick-up. Since Merida began working with Save that Stuff, we have saved over 200 adult trees, prevented 70 cubic yards of landfill space from being filled, and saved over 72,170 kilowatts of electricity! Save that Stuff has also inspired some behavioral changes and purchasing decisions at Merida; we have replaced all disposable cups, plates, and utensils with long-lasting durable reusable alternatives.
    One of Save that Stuff’s most unique initiatives is organics recycling – or compost pick-up. Save that Stuff is one of the only waste management utilities in the Boston-area that collects compost, and their services have provided a great opportunity for area businesses and residents. The compost is brought to a large composting facility where it is made into a soil amendment that is then sold to landscapers, farmers, and gardeners. The compost collection program is particularly popular with restaurants and cafes because they generate so much food waste. In addition to making restaurants more environmentally sustainable, composting also helps cut trash pick-up bills – so composting can be a great business strategy in today’s slow economy. Save that Stuff collects more than 4,600 tons of compost annually.
    Save that Stuff also specializes in recycling electronics which can be a tricky business. Compact fluorescent lightbulbs must be properly disposed of because they contain a small amount of mercury. Batteries can leech toxic chemicals into landfills if not recycled. Save that Stuff collects these items and also takes old electronic devices like computers to a company in Vermont that refurbishes and repurposes them.
    Properly disposing of waste can help Boston businesses save money, energy, and the environment. We are happy to be working with Save that Stuff to make progress towards all of these goals and it is great that so many other area businesses are doing the same.

Merida has some exciting news for the spring of 2011; we are announcing a scholarship for high school students! The goal of the scholarship is to engage in sustainable practices personally and professionally and encourage young people to do the same. The scholarship will recognize high school juniors and seniors that are already passionate about sustainability.

The scholarship will award $1,000 to the student who best expresses their interpretation of our motto Sustainability with Style in an essay. The top five essay submissions will be featured on the Merida Home blog. Readers will vote on their favorite essay, and the winner will be selected based on the highest number of votes. So if you know of a high school student that walks and talks with a Sustainability with Style mentality, encourage them to enter the competition, and make sure to check back on this blog to vote on your favorite essay!
Directions for Scholarship Entry:

-Compose a 300-500 word essay that best answers the question: What does Sustainability with Style mean to you?
-With entry submission, students must include: name, age, e-mail address, mailing address, phone number, and name of high school.
-Participants must be in 11th or 12th grade to be eligible.
-E-mail completed submission to Scholarships@meridameridian.com with a subject line that reads: Merida Scholarship Submission – [student name]
-Submissions are due May 15, 2011
Voting:

-Each visitor to the blog will be able to vote for their favorite out of the top five scholarship
submissions ONCE during the voting period.
-The winner will be announced on June 1, 2011.

For more information please click here.
Best of Luck!

We also encourage you to check out our collection of natural area rugs, sisal rugs, rug runners, and more at Merida Home!

Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle is a mantra that all environmentalists live by – but what about designers and artists? One San Antonio artist is uses this well-known mantra as inspiration for creating beautiful and functional pieces from salvaged metal. Randy Schwartz welds scrap metal into gorgeous wine racks, clocks, fire-pits, candle holders, or basically any other piece of furniture or accessory you can think of. 99% of his work is made from pre-used metal and Schwartz’s philosophy is that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. This has captured the attention of green bloggers and designers: his work has been featured on Treehugger.com and Greendiary.com. Schwartz’s company, Weldit Customs, also has a website of its own that features photos of his past work and encourages people to contact him in order to commission future works. He seems willing to create almost anything out of metal by saying on his website that he looks forward to “building your dreams”, after all, he says that the goal of his sculpture is to capture all shapes of man’s imagination through metal. Schwartz receives many commissions along with the scrap metal the object is to be made out of, which means that Schwartz doesn’t need to collect all of the materials himself. Instead, people come to him saying “can you make ____ for me out of _____?” and he will most likely reply “Yes!”.

Since he lives and works in San Antonio, Texas, much of his work has a southwestern vibe to it. In fact, the first piece he ever made was a wine rack of welded together horseshoes. He was inspired to create the wine rack for his own home after his wife gave him a welding machine about three years ago. This type of sculpture has become his passion and he even teaches welding classes at a nonprofit organization called Inspire Art. Schwartz’s work is a great reminder that reused objects can become something completely new, useful, and high-end.