Environment, Organics, Fair Trade & Recycling at Big Green Purse

US-China Greener Consumption Forum Lays Groundwork for Future Projects Together

How can the world's two consumer "superpowers"- the U.S. and China - work together to reduce the impact that consumption has on us and our world?

  That was the topic a capacity crowd addressed on March 22 at the U.S. - China Greener Consumption Forum. The event, held at the World Bank in Washington, D.C. and co-sponsored by Big Green Purse and the International Fund for China's Environment, pulled together scientists, consumer advocates, public policy advocates, and green entrepreneurs to share ideas about strategies to inspire manufacturers to create greener goods -- and get consumers to buy them.

HIGHLIGHTS:

The Forum focused primarily on women because women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the  marketplace – and we’re not just buying cheese doodles and diapers. As I say here on CCTV, the national television network of China, we buy more clothes.  More food.  More cosmetics and personal care products than men. We also buy more electronics, more home furnishings, almost as many tools, just as many cars. Women are spending billions of dollars, day in and day out, year in and year out.

But even with all that clout, we won’t be able to use this power of the purse effectively until we achieve true gender equity worldwide, points that both Ban Li, Deputy Counsel of the Shaanxi Women's Federation, and Liane Shalatek, Associate Director of the Heinrich Boll Foundation North America, made very powerfully.

 Christine Robertson of Earth Day Network facilitated a provocative panel on the impacts consumption has on our health and the health of the planet. Sarah Vogel of Environmental Defense Fund (pictured  right) was peppered with questions after her presentation on the way the toxic chemical Bisphenol-A (BPA) affects the reproductive systems of men and women alike.

Ping He of the International Fund for China's Environment, the co-sponsor with Big Green Purse of the Forum, moderated the session on barriers to sustainable consumption and solutions that help surmount them. Meaningful eco-labels and standards can make a big difference, pointed out Arthur Weissman, President and CEO of Green Seal, especially when those standards are set by an indendent third party (like Green Seal is) whose primary interest is not in selling products, but in helping manufacturers become more sustainable over time.

LISA JACKSON, Former EPA Administrator

 Lisa Jackson's luncheon keynote address was the highlight of the day for many people. As a mom, scientist, and long-time public servant, Lisa has a unique appreciation for the impact consumption has on us as individuals and on society as a whole. She spoke movingly about being the first African-American to serve as head of the EPA and how important it is to bring women as well as people of color and low-income populations into the conversations we're having about pollution and climate change.

Lisa noted that her favorite law is the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act because it empowers people to protect themselves wherever they live. She is also proud of technology EPA has shared with the city of Shanghai to help monitor air pollution there.

Lisa agreed that the way we use both the purse and the pocketbook can inspire manufacturers to reduce pollution and energy consumption.

Shopping for Eco-Friendly Clothes, Part 3: Choose Hemp

Part 1 of this series suggested you read the label and look for specific certifications that indicate clothes were made to reduce their environmental impact. Part 2 noted you could make it easy to buy greener fashions by choosing Tencel and Lyocell, fibers woven from natural cellulose. In the last of our three-part series, we're focusing on one of my all-time favorite fabrics: hemp, made from a plant that's been a source of food and fiber for the past 10,000 years.

Because it's botanically related to marijuana, many people believe that hemp is completely illegal to grow in the U.S. This is not the case, though it is not grown as widely as it should be. Industrial hemp is legal to produce, trade and possess in Oregon, Maine, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and Vermont, though the federal Drug Enforcement Agency has imposed some restrictions. To be absolutely clear, hemp does not have any of marijuana's psychoactive properties. You can grow it, process it, eat it, and wear it, but you sure can't smoke it, even if you set it on fire! Meanwhile, Americans spend $360 million every year on imported hemp, and that number is growing. Wouldn't it make more sense to develop the industrial hemp market here in the U.S.?

WHAT'S SO GOOD ABOUT HEMP?

"Inception" and "The Adjustment Bureau" Ain't Got Nothin' on the New Disney Movie

Matt Damon and Leo DiCaprio move over. Sita, cheetah mother, gets my vote for "action hero" when it comes to thrillers that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

"African Cats," Sita's star vehicle and this year's Earth Day release by DisneyNature, doesn't at first seem like an obvious nail-biter. Gorgeous shots of Kenya's extraordinary Masai Mara grasslands open the film before it homes in on the animals that steal the show: Sita and her mischievous cubs, and Fang, the patriarch of a large pride of lions and their playful offspring. But you know what's coming next: The breathtaking scenery is only a backdrop to the life-and-death struggles that play out between these cat "families" and the animals that prey upon them. It's the "Lion King" in the flesh.

The Mara is one of the few remaining places in Africa where lions, cheetahs and leopards live in large numbers and in close proximity. The River Pride, a dominant group of lions led by "Fang," roams the hills south of the Mara River. A second group of male lions—a powerful father and his four sons—rules the area to the north. The River Pride is threatened by these lions from the north who are awaiting the perfect opportunity to move in, depose Fang, and take over his pride. Meanwhile, Sita must defend her babies against the lions, as well as ravenous hyenas and even other cheetahs.

The young cheetah and lion cubs are gosh-darn cute, and the filmmakers make the most of their playful antics and mewling cries to set the stage for the inevitable clashes between protective mothers and their hungry adversaries. The films' directors insist on building suspense by creating a very human story line intent on driving home the point that a mother will do anything to protect her babies. But the story and its corny script get in the way of the pictures unfolding on the screen. The movie would have been wonderful to watch with music alone, sans narration. 

That said, I loved the film's high definition cinematography and "you are there" shots. I've been on two safaris, including one in the Masai Mara. I saw first-hand lions eating their way through the steaming belly of a zebra they'd just killed, and watched a cheetah kill an eland then effortlessly haul it up into a tree for safe-keeping. The filmmakers show the animals exactly as I remember them in the wild, foregoing special effects, animation, and other cinematics in favor of spellbinding close-ups of animal eyes, rippling muscles, and jaws dripping with fresh blood.

DisneyNature hopes "African Cats" will do more than entertain. The company is partnering with the African Wildife Foundation in a campaign to "Save the Savanna" where these big cats live. Throughout Earth Week, April 22-28, a portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will be donated to support AWF's program to protect the Amboseli Wildlife Corridor. The corridor is the expanse of land that stretches across the Savanna between three national parks in Kenya. Lions, elephants, cheetahs, zebras, and other wildlife traverse it when they migrate and look for food and water. AWF's work will help insure that the corridor stays open and wild enough to help these animals thrive despite the pressures put upon them from tourism and encroaching development.

NOTE: "African Cats" is sometimes graphically violent and may not be appropriate for children younger than 13. The scenes of predators chasing down and devouring their prey are totally realistic - which means they're brutal and bloody. At one point, the little girl sitting next to me in the theater just put her head down and covered her ears.

African Cats is DisneyNature's third Earth Day feature. Here's a review of last year's film, "Earth."

 

Recycling Your Computer Just Got Easier

Tired of how inconvenient it can be to recycle your cell phone, laptop, MP3 player or PDA? A new ECycling Leadership Initiative will make it easier for you to find more than 5,000 recycling locations around the country so you can keep your e-waste out of the trash.

Consumer electronics industry leaders have launched this first-ever industry-wide electronics recycling initiative with an ambitious goal: To recycle one billion pounds of electronics annually by 2016, which would be a more than threefold increase over 2010. One billion pounds of electronics, if not properly recycled, would completely fill the equivalent of a 71,000-seat NFL stadium. (The picture to the left shows a mountain of electronic keyboards in need of recycling.)

E-waste is the fastest growing element of the waste stream, so recycling it rather than throwing it away must be done. Electronic equipment contains many heavy metals that are better captured than left to get loose in landfills or trash heaps, where they can contaminate groundwater and soil. Plus, given how much energy, water and other resources it takes to make a computer or a phone, it's much more environmentally friendly to recapture and reuse those materials than tp throw them away.

"The billion pound challenge is about both the quality and quantity of electronics recycling,” said Walter Alcorn, CEA’s vice president of environmental affairs and industry sustainability, in a company press release. “But we won’t stop at a billion pounds. The eCycling Leadership initiative is an ongoing, permanent initiative that will ... prohibit the use of recyclers and downstream processors who dump end-of-life electronics in developing nations.” 

To that end, CEA supports certifying third-party recyclers to verify that the electronics are, in fact, being recycled rather than trashed when they're out of sight.  In the future, look for new mobile apps to help make recycling used electronics as easy as buying new ones. The eCycling Leadership Initiative will also bolster the number of collection sites by working with state and local governments and charities to make more ecycling sites available.

NO NEED TO WAIT! GET STARTED NOW

Best Buy - I regularly recycle my electronics at Best Buy. Here's their policy: "We'll take just about anything electronic, including TVs, DVD players, computer monitors, cell phones and more. You can bring in up to two items a day, per household, and most things are absolutely free. However, there is a $10 charge for TVs 32" and under, CRTs, monitors and laptops — but we'll give you a $10 Best Buy gift card to offset that cost." Along with an in-store drop off program and kiosks, Best Buy also offers a TV haul-away service when a new product is delivered, and a Tech Trade-In program compensating consumers with gift cards for valuable products. In early 2011, Best Buy stores nationwide collected nearly 400 pounds each minute for recycling.

Goodwill - Businesses and consumers can donate computers to Goodwill for recycling. Check with your local Goodwill office before dropping equipment off.

EBay.com, CraigsList.com, and FreeCycle.org - These sites also enable you to sell, trade or donate your computer rather than toss it in the trash.

Earth911.com enables you to find more local computer recycling locations. Just go to their website, plug in your zip code, and you'll find electronics recyclers nearest your home or office.

WHAT ARE COMPANIES ALREADY DOING?

Apple 
All e-waste collected by Apple programs worldwide is processed in the region where it was collected. The company says nothing is shipped overseas for recycling or disposal. Apple has instituted recycling programs in cities and college campuses in 95 percent of the countries where its products are sold, diverting more than 130.2 million pounds of equipment from landfills since 1994. Apple also takes back Apple computers, iPods, iPads and iPhones at no charge.

Dell
A partnership between Dell and Goodwill Industries International lets consumers drop off any used computers for no-cost recycling, whether they're Dell brand or not. Donated equipment meeting Reconnect’s criteria are resold, and devices needing repair are either refurbished or broken down into parts to be recycled by Dell partners. The program supports Goodwill’s job training programs, employment placement services and other community-based programs for people who have disabilities, lack education or job experience, or face other challenges to finding employment.

HP
HP currently operates recycling services in 56 countries or territories worldwide. In the United States they launched a buyback program in January 2009 that includes free recycling if an HP- or Compaq-branded system has no value for consumers. HP recycled more than 200 million pounds of hardware globally in 2009, resulting in an estimated 210,000 tons of avoided carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions. Since 1987, HP has recovered over 2 billion pounds of electronic product (for recovery and recycling) and HP print cartridges (for recycling).

LG
LG’s recycling program lets consumers drop off unwanted electronics at a Waste Management designated eCycling Center, or other alternative methods may be available. LG has recycled more than 7 million pounds since 2009, of which 3.3 million pounds were through LG’s voluntary program.

Nintendo of America
Because video game systems and games retain their value for many years beyond their retail lifecycle, Nintendo of America offers a number of customer support options to maximize their continued use, while also offering a free courtesy Take-Back Program to minimize the waste disposal of its products. The Take-Back Program provides for recycling of Nintendo hardware, software, accessories, and rechargeable batteries.

Panasonic, Sharp and Toshiba (Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company, LLC)
Among other things, the Electronic Manufacturers Recycling Management Company, LLC (MRM) operates a voluntary nationwide collection and recycling service for brands produced by Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Vizio. Since October 2007 MRM has established 840 collection sites across the U.S. and recycled more than 78 million pounds of electronics.

Samsung
Launched in the fall of 2008, Samsung Recycling Direct[SM] offers drop off locations in all 50 states.  Samsung holds its recyclers accountable for environmentally responsible recycling, including no landfill, incineration, or export to developing countries of hazardous electronic wastes as commonly defined. Last year, in 2010, Samsung recycled over 50 million pounds of e-waste across the U.S., most of which was done voluntarily.

Sony
The Sony Take Back Recycling Program was the first national recycling initiative to involve both a major electronics manufacturer and a national waste management company. Since its inception in 2007, Sony has established a goal of collecting a pound of electronics for every pound it produces. To date Sony has collected and recycled more than 43 million pounds of electronics.

 The eCycling Leadership Initiative is a collaboration among consumer electronics manufacturers, retailers, collectors, recyclers, non-governmental organizations and governments at all levels, and is coordinated by the Consumer Electronics Association.

You can find more information on the eCycling Leadership Initiative here.

 

 

 

How to Shop for Eco-Friendly Clothes - Part 1: Read the Label

If we want our apparel to be "eco," most of us start by buying vintage or second-hand, swapping with friends or family, or dragging out the sewing machine to pull together a pattern or alter an old style into something more trendy. We recycle our clothes in a lot of creative ways, too. But even with all that, we may still need to buy new at some point.

When that time comes, what should you look for? We've previously tackled the problems with buying apparel made from bamboo, even if it claims to be "eco friendly." Organic cotton is among the most reliable options to choose; it's gotten pretty easy to find socks, t-shirts, maybe even some lingerie made from this "green" fiber. But beyond that, the choices are pretty slim, especially if we still do most of our clothes shopping at the mall.

So if bamboo is out and organic cotton is hard to find, what does that leave? We'll attempt to answer that question and more with this primer on how to shop for eco-friendly clothes.

Here's Part #1 - Read the label.

When shopping for "greener" clothes, ignore words like "environmentally friendly," "nature safe," and "eco." Instead, look for third-party certifications  for claims that mean the shirt or shoes or pajamas were predominantly made from sustainable fibers by adults, not kids, in a Fair Trade process that minimizes its environmental impact. The following companies certify companies that meet these criteria.

GOTS - The Global Organic Textile Standard

The raw materials that GOTS certifies must first be approved organic by a trusted company such as The Institute for Marketecology.GOTS will then review every step in the manufacturing process, from the harvesting of raw materials right through to proper product labeling. GOTS pays special attention to the dyeing process, as this can be extremely harmful to the health of workers as well as the environment. GOTS will not certify any manufacturer that uses any heavy metals, formaldehyde, GMO enzymes or carcinogenics.

GOTS is also very strict about environmental discharge during production and chemical residues in the finished product. GOTS will grade a product as an "Organic Textile" if it has at least a 95% organic origin. They will grade a product as "Textile containing organic fibers" if it has at least 70% organic origin. Several companies partner with GOTS and share their standards, including ICEA, based in Italy, ECOCERT, based in France , the Organic Trade Association in the U.S., Soil Association, based in the UK , and the Japan Organic Cotton Association.

Global Enfant sells baby and children s products that are both COTS and SA8000 (see below) certified.
 Recycle a Tee also uses GOTS certified materials.

 

Oeko-Tex® Standard 100

Oeko-Tex is also recognized globally as a reliable and independent 3rd party eco-certification. The company will test and if applicable, certify textile raw materials, as well as intermediate and end products at all stages of production.  Oeko-Tex will allocate a product into one of four classes based on how much contact it has with skin. Products intended for babies, for example, must meet more stringent requirements than those woven into a woman's blouse.  

Eden Home and Green Earth Bamboo  both offer Oeko-Tex-certified clothing for the whole family.

 

 SA8000
If a company states that it is SA8000-certified, it means it has passed a globally recognized social accountability standard for fair and humane working conditions. Specifically, products must meet the following criteria to be considered for SA8000 certification: No Child Labor, No Forced Labor, Proper Health and Safety, Workers' Freedom of Association and Right to Collective Bargaining, No Discrimination, Reasonable Working Hours, and Fair Wages.

 

Fair Trade Certified™ You may already be purchasing Fair Trade coffee or chocolate. This certifying group now also certifying apparel and linens. If you are buying apparel that has been Fair Trade Certified, you can feel good about your purchase knowing that you are helping fight poverty and develop sustainability for some of the world’s most indigent cotton farmers and factory workers.

In the US, HAE NOW and Tompkins Point Apparel are among a handful of companies that have been Fair Trade Certified.

Read more about sustainable and eco-friendly clothing here. And check back soon for Parts 2 and 3 of our eco-friendly clothing series.

 

Here's Your Chance to Learn About the Great Pacific Garbage Patch

There is so much plastic pollution in the oceans it's created "islands" the size of Texas. Small pieces of plastic are killing tiny birds and huge whales. And plastic is polluting people, too. Babies and pregnant women are particularly susceptible.

You can learn more about the threats plastic pose and what you can do to protect yourself, your community, and wildlife,

Clothing: What's Eco, and What's Not

What does it take to manufacture, sell, and dispose of clothing? You might be surprised. The clothing industry is one of the most environmentally intensive in the world. If it's made from cotton, it's been doused with as much as 22.5% of the pesticides applied to agricultural crops worldwide. If it's made from a synthetic fiber, its source is actually coal or oil. As much as we might prefer to wear fig leaves, when we have to wear fabrics, what should we choose? 

The Green Moms Carnival tackles the clothing conundrum this month. Most of us bemoan how difficult it is to figure out how to buy environmentally-friendly fashions in the first place.

Mary of In Women We Trust regrets how few organic fabrics are designed for the boardroom instead of the beach, and points out the valuable role that the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) play in ensuring that textiles are produced organically.

Amber at Strocel.com compares polyester and acrylic, two synthetics made from fossil fuels, and comes down on the side of buying less clothing over all, and natural fibers over synthetics. "Reducing consumption pretty much always comes out ahead," she notes.

Anna at Green Talk provides a comprehensive analysis of the use of recycled plastic bottles in clothing, as well as other textiles. A big concern is that textiles made from recycled plastic emit the chemical antimony, which has been linked to a wide variety of health problems in laboratory animals. Anna also reports that demand for plastic bottles that can be recycled into textiles has risen so much that some manufacturers are using brand new plastic bottles, rather than recycled ones. Talk about the law of unintended consequences! 

Linda at Citizen Green points out several benefits to using recycled plastic, like the fact that "30% less energy is needed to down cycle the bottles into shirts than is needed to make them out of virgin plastic." So what's the worry? Plastic is still plastic, and will take hundreds of years to biodegrade.

Sarah of Practically Green provides a great set of tips if you're shopping vintage. "Don't keep it if you will NEVER be that size again," she suggests -- good advice whether you're buying old or new. You'll also love her pictures of the vintage clothes she's snagged over the years, from a snazzy leopard clutch she lined with red leather (see photo, right) to her dad's v-necked, cashmere sweater.

Keep reading. There's more!

Bamboo Clothing: Green, or Greenwashed?

If you’re looking for more eco-friendly clothing, should you choose bamboo?

Bamboo has been touted for the last several years as being one of the most environmentally-responsible fabrics on the market. A hardy grass, it grows like a proverbial weed, sometimes sprouting 4 feet in a single day – and that’s without the assistance of pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers let alone irrigation. Bamboo sounds like the kind of “green” fabric you’d love to love – were it not for the process needed to transform it from a plant into something like a pair of socks.

In August 2009, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission issued "Have You Been Bamboozled by Bamboo Fabrics?" a report that questioned the fiber’s green bonafides. While not challenging how the grass is grown, the FTC warned that transforming the plant’s tenacious stalks into soft fabrics requires the use of toxic chemicals that pollute the air and water,” reducing the cloth’s natural appeal. Many consumers have been wondering ever since if bamboo is green – or being greenwashed.

What concerns the FTC is the manufacturing process. Because bamboo is so hardy, it is also hard to refine into fiber – unless a manufacturer uses toxic chemicals like sodium hydroxide, which can cause chemical burns or blindness, to break down bamboo’s cells into something pliable called viscose.

Some manufacturers claim that sodium hydroxide poses no health hazard if used and disposed of properly.  I’m more reassured by companies that use fabric from bamboo  which has not only been certified as organically grown, but where the chemicals used in processing bamboo into viscose are captured in a “closed loop” system that is supposed to prevent them from being released into the environment. The resulting viscose is Oeko Tex 100 certified, which means that no harmful substances lurk in the finished textile, where they might rub off on your skin. Conventionally produced and polluting "bamboo" might be labelled simply bamboo, or rayon from bamboo.  You can get a more comprehensive explanation on the entire process, and the controvery surrounding the selling of bamboo, here.

So...Cotton, or Bamboo?