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Is The Retail Industry Going Green?
Created: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 10:00 PM Modified: Tuesday, January 31, 2012, 10:00 PM
You wouldn’t think so given the number of Reviews we get on Consumer Change regarding the retail industry. Common complaints include the over packaging of good and not promoting reusable bags.
The Retail Industry Leader’s Association (RILA) published it first Retail Sustainability Report on January 26, 2012. The report is promising; it outlines the Retail Sustainability Initiative which RILA spearheads. This initiative focuses on five areas: 1) energy and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; 2) waste and recycling; 3) products and supply chains; 4) environmental compliance; and 5) communicating, reporting, and engaging.
The Sustainability Report includes information from a group of 30 retailers as well as interviews with 20 diverse retailers. We were pleased to see the issues that our Users care about being addressed although no quantitative information is provided across the industry:
· CVS and Ikea are mentioned for reducing single use bags and promoting renewable bags; Ikea which eliminated 92% of their single use bags in 2007 and eliminated the rest a year later.
· Target, Staples and Best Buy are mentioned for making customer recycling available.
· An entire section is devoted to the reduction of packaging.
We were delighted to see the emphasis on employee engagement. So many of the Reviews on Consumer Change are for employees not carrying through the policy of their employer.
The report cites four trends:
1) Working across sectors to achieve sustainability goals
2) Turning from sustainability as a cost and risk reduction measure to an opportunity for business growth
3) Developing systems for continuous improvement
4) Fostering transparency in operations and in the supply chain.
It is disappointing that no quantitative information was provided in the report other than for a few specific case studies; nor were any quantitative goals described. However, we are glad the retail industry recognizes sustainability is important enough to produce a report. We look forward to an increase in sustainability by retailers across the board.
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Trash Talk
Created: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 07:44 AM Modified: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 07:44 AM
In San Mateo County where I live and work, our residential trash is collected in 20 gallon or 32 gallon bins. This year the trash collection rates went up, households with 20 gallon bin get an increase of $3.31 per month and households with the 32 gallon bins, $3.93 per month. After the increase, I save $4.86 per month or $58.32 a year for using the smaller size bin. I rarely fill up my 20 gallon bin, I would love the opportunity to be provided with an even smaller bin (say 15 gallons) and pay even less.
An even better option for me would be trash metering. This method charges residents by the amount of waste they produce, it is also known as PAYT (Pay As You Throw). Householders are charged either by the volume or the weight of the trash they produce. Bye bye flat trash fee. PAYT has been introduced in more than 300 communities throughout the U.S. and has led to a sharp decrease in trash, an average reduction of 20%, and an increase in recycling and composting when introduced.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cites three benefits to PAYT:
1. Environmental Sustainability - Communities with programs in place have reported significant increases in recycling and reductions in waste, due primarily to the waste reduction incentive created by PAYT. Less waste and more recycling mean that fewer natural resources need to be extracted. In addition, greenhouse gas emissions associated with the manufacture, distribution, use, and subsequent disposal of products are reduced as a result of the increased recycling and waste reduction PAYT encourages. In this way, PAYT helps slow the buildup of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere which leads to global climate change. For more information on the link between solid waste and global climate change, go to EPA's Climate Change Web site.
2. Economic Sustainability - PAYT is an effective tool for communities struggling to cope with soaring municipal solid waste management expenses. Well-designed programs generate the revenues communities need to cover their solid waste costs, including the costs of such complementary programs as recycling and composting. Residents benefit, too, because they have the opportunity to take control of their trash bills.
3. Equity - One of the most important advantages of a variable-rate program may be its inherent fairness. When the cost of managing trash is hidden in taxes or charged at a flat rate, residents who recycle and prevent waste subsidize their neighbors' wastefulness. Under PAYT, residents pay only for what they throw away.
PAYT does have its limitations, it is hard to implement in apartment buildings where multiple tenants use a common dumpster. It could also lead to an increase in illegal dumping, although existing PAYT communities have not found this to be true.
Businesses could be subject to PAYT and this would be an incentive for them to recycle and provide recycling for their customers (a pet peeve of mine at most Starbucks).
PAYT makes sense to me, not only because I would save money but for most resources we pay proportional to our usage such as water, electricity, and gas. Trash takes up landfill space. The more landfill space we use, the more we should pay.
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Why are JCPenney’s Receipts So Long?
Created: Tuesday, January 17, 2012, 11:48 AM Modified: Tuesday, January 17, 2012, 11:49 AM
Over the weekend I visited my sister who showed me her receipt from Black Friday which was as long as her arm. Defending herself against accusations of being a spendthrift (after all, her husband was in the room), she quickly pointed out that there were 6 line entries for each item she purchased including the item at full price, markdown, another discount, net sales price, total discount, and return value.
Sure enough, the receipt was much longer than it needed to be!
Not only are extraneous information on receipts a waste of paper and ink, as we mentioned in our November 8, 2009 Blog, many receipts are made of thermal paper which is coated with BPA (bisphenol-A). BPA has been detected in nearly all Americans tested, it is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones and may lead to negative health effects especially when exposure occurs in early development.
In 2009, The Endocrine Society released a scientific statement expressing concern over current human exposure to BPA. Research has linked BPA to prostate and breast cancer, obesity and diabetes, early puberty ovarian cysts and uterine fibroids, reduced fertility and miscarriage. Many states have banned BPA in infant formula containers, baby bottles, and sippy cups. In August 2011, Connecticut became the first state to ban BPA in receipts, from October 2013. The use of thermal paper and BPA makes receipts unrecyclable.
Regardless of BPA content, receipts can be a waste of paper. AllEletronic estimates 9.6 million trees are cut down to make receipts for U.S. consumers each year. If all receipts were like JCPenney’s, we could save millions of trees by offering only meaningful information on the receipts. JCPenney’s environmental policy statements includes paper reduction statements for its catalogs but not its receipts. Yes catalogs use up more paper but we really should look for all opportunities to save the environment. Clearly JCPenney wants its customers to clearly understand the bargains they are getting, even if its at the expense of the environment.
After all, saving the planet starts with Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. We cannot reuse or recycle receipts; we should be able to reduce them!
Postscript:
While I was writing this Blog, a friend mentioned that Safeway is just as bad, providing really long receipts for a couple of basic items, unfortunately Safeway and JCPenney are not the only ones. On the positive side, a special shout-out for Starbucks – their employees almost always ask before printing the receipt.
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Stephen Hawking’s Comment on Sustainability
Created: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 09:12 AM Modified: Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 09:12 AM
Stephen Hawking, the famous physicist and author turned 70 on Sunday, January 8 2012. Not a momentous age for most people but Mr. Hawking, who suffers from a motor neuron disease, was not expected to have lived the last 45 years.
The medical miracle and genius, Stephen Hawking may have made a comment on sustainability, during a pre-recorded speech at his 70th birthday party he said, “I don't think we will survive another thousand years without escaping beyond our fragile planet.”
Of course, as a cosmologist, Mr. Hawking would be encouraging us to explore the universe around us, even if it donut shaped. However in the last few years he has stated that colonizing other planets is crucial to the survival of human species.
I am in favor of progress and exploration. However, wouldn’t we be doing a huge injustice for the other species on earth if we were to abandon them after destroying their habitats? By the way, Stephen Hawking does not suggest abandoning other species or not fixing climate change. If we cannot manage our planet Earth properly and are forced to abandon it for our survival do we deserve the opportunity to get a second home?
Some hope exists though for the rest of the universe, the nearest exo-planet is about 10 light years away, so we will have to figure out how to live sustainability on our way there.
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My 2012 Green Resolutions
Created: Tuesday, January 3, 2012, 09:40 AM Modified: Tuesday, January 3, 2012, 09:40 AM
Exactly one year ago, I blogged about my 2011 green resolutions, which I am proud to say I kept all year. It makes a welcome difference from my usual (non-green) resolutions which have included losing 10 pounds and becoming a better swimmer for at least a decade and will continue to make their annual appearance on my 2012 resolutions list.
My 2011 resolutions were:
1) Use reusable produce bags. I got my reusable produce bags from Whole Foods in a set of 3 and use them for bagging fruits and vegetables.
2) Use dryer balls. I got mine from Target and they have had a few lucky escapes from my cats who think they should be cat toys. My laundry is just as soft as before but no dryer sheets are added to the landfill and no softener is added to the water.
3) Use a shower bucket, which goes to watering the garden in the summer and flushing the toilet on rainy days.
4) Buy less packaged food.
Having successfully maintained my 2011 green resolutions, and none of my non-green ones, I had to keep green resolutions on my list for 2012. So here are my 2012 green resolutions:
1) Buy used whenever possible. Buying used saves the raw materials that would have been used to make that item brand new; it saves the energy used, and pollution created, in the production, manufacturing, and transportation of the new item; it saves on the packaging of the new item, both the production of the packaging, and the waste that it creates. My resolution is to go to thrift stores and try freecycle whenever I need to buy clothes or household items.
2) Carry a travel mug with me for when I pop into a coffee shop (Starbucks, etc.). Estimates vary for the number of disposable cups used each year in the U.S. between 16 billion and 23 billion disposable cups. Reducing this number by 200 or so disposable cups I use each year would be a worthwhile effort.
3) Invest through Kiva.org; inspired by one of the Facebook friends who shares his experiences investing through Kiva.org, all of which are positive. My 2012 investments, other than for my pension plan which will not allow it, will be in environmentally friendly projects through Kiva.org.
4) Buy local, this way I will invest in my local community, reduce the carbon footprint of my food and eat fresher food too.
5) Get outside and enjoy more nature hikes. This might help with my ongoing new year’s resolution of losing 10 pounds too.
Happy new year!
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Would Santa Deliver the Gifts In Time If He Routed Like FedEx?
Created: Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 06:57 AM Modified: Tuesday, December 20, 2011, 06:57 AM
Last week one of my Facebook friends posted a status comment about a FedEx delivery sent from Ventura to Valencia that was shipped through City of Industry and Sun Valley making a journey of 136 miles to get a distance of 46 miles from its origination.
This reminded me of an older Consumer Change post where a gift certificate sent via FedEx to an address 2 miles away, traveled more than 4,600 before reaching its destination. (Consumer Change users have better stories!)
Santa could not possibly plan routes as badly as FedEx, otherwise it would be impossible to deliver to an estimated 110 million households in one night even allowing for time zone changes. Not to mention that reindeer pollute less than FedEx fleets, and contribute to the health of the environment by fertilizing as they go.
FedEx has never responded to any contact attempts we’ve made (about the Review on ConsumerChange.com – not about Santa or reindeer). Their online environmental page leads with:
FedEx is committed to providing global connections while minimizing our environmental impact. We have integrated responsible environmental practices into our daily operations, and we continuously set goals that challenge us to increase efficiencies and reduce waste.
In their 2010 Global Citizenship Report, FedEx stated some wonderful initiatives and environmental goals. However these mean nothing unless a more sensible route planning is used. FedEx projected that by the end of 2011, 20% of their vehicles would be electric or hybrid (still more polluting than reindeer). Assuming the electric vehicle routes are spread evenly that means 20% of the 4,600 miles the gift certificate travelled, 920 would be by renewable energy, the other 3,680 would still use fossil fuels (possibly more as many of these miles were by probably air which almost certainly use fossil fuels).
We will be checking FedEx’s 2011 Report when it is available to see whether they have met those goals. In the meantime, we’re going to stay up on Christmas Eve to see if we can get Santa to deliver a few of our packages; it would be the right thing to do for the environment.
Happy Holidays.
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10 Green Tips for The Holidays
Created: Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 08:43 PM Modified: Tuesday, December 13, 2011, 08:43 PM
We were too busy partying to write a Blog this week, but luckily last year’s Holiday Blog was SO good we decided to use that one over again. We realize that many of you are very environmentally conscious so we invite you to add your own green Holiday tips as comments to this Blog.
1. Make your own wrapping paper – for inventive and original wrapping use old maps, children’s artwork, old comic books or magazines. If you feel the need to buy paper, buy the kind that has recycled content and can be recycled. Or use gift bags made from recycled content paper and reuse them.
2. Send e-cards or make phone calls – many of your long distance friends would appreciate a chance to catch up maybe more than a card on their mantelpiece. If you feel the need to send real cards, use ones that have recycled paper content.
3. Give the gift of green, see our Blog from last week for green gift ideas. Help your loved ones save the environment too – reusable shopping bags, travel mugs, water bottles and recyclable battery kits all make great gifts and help your friends and family live a greener lifestyle. When you go shopping for those green gifts - take your own reusable shopping bag. See our Blog from last week for more green gift ideas.
4. Buy a pesticide free Christmas tree – or buy a plastic tree and use it year on year. According to the Sierra Club, each year 10 million trees end up in landfills. If your city does not recycle trees, use www.earth911.org for tree recycling programs near you.
5. Be energy efficient with your holiday lighting. You can buy solar powered holiday lights for the outdoors, use energy efficient light bulbs or at a minimum, put your holiday lights on a timer so they are not constantly on.
6. Buy local, organic food – support local farmers that use sustainable practices. Buy only what you need and send guests home with leftovers to limit waste.
7. Keep and reuse gift bags, paper, ribbons and bows.
8. New gifts may mean that your old stuff needs to go; donate, freecycle or recycle anything that is replaced.
9. Make a New Year’s resolution to download and use the Consumer Change iPhone app so you can post Reviews on the go.
10.Take time out to enjoy your friends and family. A happy and refreshed you can only bring good things in 2012.
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Give Green This Holiday Season
Created: Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 09:56 AM Modified: Tuesday, December 6, 2011, 09:56 AM
Over the course of the next few weeks we will be reviewing ways in which you can make the holidays greener. The subject of this week’s Blog is green gifts.
The National Retail Federation estimates that holiday spending will reach $465 Billion in 2011; the average American is expected to spend around $704 on gifts and seasonal goods. Here are some ways to make sure that your gift spending is as sustainable as possible:
Buy Second-Hand, it doesn’t have to be cheap or cheesy – think antique jewelry or first-edition books. Buying second hand means you utilize the second of the three R’s of the environment – Reuse. Your gift won’t have the footprint caused from the extraction, and manufacture of a new item.
Re-gift: nobody likes admitting they’ve done it but a thoughtful re-gift that will be cherished by someone is better than an item laying unused in a closet, or worse, in a landfill.
Make a charitable donation in the name of your guest, this supports the first of the 3Rs (Reduce) and also supports a good cause.
Adopt an animal: A variation of charitable donation, Defenders of Wildlife run a Adopt an Animal program where the adopter (your gift recipient in this case) get an adoption kit but the majority of the ‘adoption funds’ go to support wildlife. Can I have a Polar Bear please?
Buy from a source you and or the recipient support: Many charitable organizations have gift catalogs which support their causes. My favorite is Heifer.org where in addition to buying gifts from their catalog, you can gift livestock to a family in need.
Gift a ‘green item’: Consider gifts that help your gift recipient live a greener lifestyle such as a rechargeable battery set, solar charger, reusable shopping bag, reusable water bottle… the list is endless.
And don’t forget the presentation. The best gift wrap options are reusable gift bag, or re-used wrapping paper followed by recycled content paper.
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What is Fair Trade?
Created: Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 08:57 AM Modified: Tuesday, November 29, 2011, 08:57 AM
Fair Trade seems to have come into my life in a big way lately. Everyone seems to be to talking about it, the local Sierra Club is putting on a Fair Trade Chocolate tasting next week, my sister is promoting a Fair Trade faire where she lives and made a point of buying of buying fair trade for my birthday.
Fair Trade is not something we have historically focused on at Consumer Change. However, it is at the heart of sustainable living and fits in nicely with environmental concerns and good corporate governance. Fair Trade was defined by the FINE principles in 2001 as:
Fair Trade is a trading partnership, based on dialogue, transparency and respect, that seeks greater equity in international trade. It contributes to sustainable development by offering better trading conditions to, and securing the rights of, marginalized producers and workers – especially in the South.
Fair Trade organizations (backed by consumers) are engaged actively in supporting producers, awareness raising and in campaigning for changes in the rules and practice of conventional international trade.
Several products are eligible to be Fair Trade including coffee, chocolate, cotton, honey, oranges. Fair trade products are often organic but do not necessarily need to be so, however farmers are encouraged to be organic; genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are excluded from certification.
Fair Trade goods should be certified by a member of the Fair Trade Labeling Organization International; certification includes standards for the environment, labor, and development. The most topical of these is that there is no child or forced labor involved.
According to a recent petition that Care2 distributed, more than 100,000 children are reported to work in the cocoa fields of the Ivory Coast, the world's leading supplier of cocoa. As many as 10,000 are suspected to be victims of human trafficking and slave labor. Global Exchange has a list of Fair Trade certified chocolate producers.
Fair Trade benefits smaller farmers who get a fair price for their produce, laborers who get a fair wage for their work, and consumers who can rest their conscious that they are voting with their pockets for ethical practices. So as you shop for the holidays (and beyond) consider shopping Fair Trade.
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Buy Nothing Day
Created: Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 02:15 PM Modified: Tuesday, November 22, 2011, 02:15 PM
This week I am going to celebrate two days with friends and family – Thanksgiving Day and Buy Nothing Day. The hoards of shoppers and consumerism of Black Friday do not appeal to me, I would rather spend quality time with loved ones.
Buy Nothing Day was started in 1992 in Mexico as a protest against consumerism, the original day was celebrated in September. In the United States it moved to the day after Thanksgiving which is also known as Black Friday and is one of the top shopping days of the year. This year, the National Retail Federation expects 152 million Americans to hit the malls or purchase online over Black Friday weekend (the Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving). I feel crowded just thinking about it.
Every year, I am appalled at the ‘spend, spend, spend’ messages we get, but I am also sad for the workers who have their Thanksgiving spoilt by having to get up at an ungodly hour the next day to go to work. This year it is particularly bad as many stores are opening for Black Friday at midnight, and in the case of Walmart, 10pm on Thanksgiving Day! Are we so desperate for discounts that we can’t wait until 9am the next day? If you are planning to shop on Buy Nothing Day, consider avoiding those stores that open at midnight as a sign of consideration for their workers. If those stores make little money by opening early maybe they will be more reasonable next year.
Wikipedia has a list of alternative things to do on Buy Nothing Day, including:
· Cutting up credit cards in a visible location in a mall, an act which is sure to win the hearts of the Occupy movement;
· Zombie walk through the malls, this sounds like fun and zombies are definitely trendy this year; and
· Hike, a healthier alternative and one that justifies the extra slice of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day.
You may have guessed it I am eating that extra slide of pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving and going for a hike on Buy Nothing Day. Besides savings are only savings if I was going to buy the item anyway. Buying something I don’t need is not saving!
Happy Thanksgiving and Buy Nothing Day.
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Green Your Thanksgiving
Created: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 06:36 AM Modified: Tuesday, November 15, 2011, 06:36 AM
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. None of the angst or commerciality of Christmas and two days off work to spend with family – what could be better? How about a Green Thanksgiving.
Turkey time: In 2010, Americans ate about 46 million turkeys at Thanksgiving. It takes 84 pounds of feed to raise a 30lb turkey; essentially each animal consumes almost three times its weight in feed. This is why environmental groups tout eating meat-free once a week as a climate change fighting tool. The Environmental Defense Fund estimates that if every American ate 1 vegetarian meal each week it would be the equivalent of taking 5 million cars of our roads.
Nevertheless, many people will not want to be without turkey on Thanksgiving. In which case, choose organic. Not only are animals grown on organic farms typically raised more humanely, they have been fed an organic diet and their meat is better for you than their counterparts. Organic meat may be more expensive but it’s better for you and the environment.
Be a locavore: The website Locavores.com estimates that our food travels an average of 1,500 before it gets to us. That’s a lot of carbon used in the transportation of food. Try to eat food grown within a 100 radius to lower the carbon footprint of your food.
Travel sensibly: Thanksgiving would not be the same without a family get together. Whether it’s carpooling, biking, buses or trains, think about ways to reduce the carbon footprint of your family gathering. It is not always feasible to travel green but when you can, greener transportation is often healthier and less stressful than driving.
Save on Black Friday: the best way to save is not to spend at all. In fact, many celebrate the day after Thanksgiving as “No Shop Day” or “Buy Nothing Day’ in a move to limit consumerism which has lead to many of our environmental (and monetary) issues. It’s easy to participate in No Shop Day – simply stay at home and enjoy your family, go for a hike with friends; in fact you can do anything that day as long as it you do not spend money.
Have a green Thanksgiving.
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Unsubscribe From Those Pesky Holiday Catalogs
Created: Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 05:35 PM Modified: Tuesday, November 1, 2011, 05:35 PM
This week I called Heartland America, the catalog company, to unsubscribe from their catalog mailings. It is the third time I called them to unsubscribe in the last 12 months. I have never purchased anything from them so I do not know how I got on their list and why they are so insistent about keeping me on it.
Mad that they make me keep calling them to unsubscribe, I researched but could not find any laws against junk mail except to maintain privacy by financial institutions. Considering there are laws against email spam and telemarketer calls, a law against junk mail is long overdue.
There are ways to reduce the amount you receive and, in particular with holiday season coming up, here are some steps you can take:
One good way to get off any junk mail list is to register with the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) Mail Preference Service. You must re-register after three years.
When you buy something from a mail order catalog, your transaction is likely to be reported to Epsilon Abacus Cooperative. Many catalog and publishing companies join this cooperative to contribute and exchange information about their customers. Your name may also be sold to other catalog and publishing companies. There are two ways to opt out of the Abacus database. You'll need your name, including any middle initial, your current address, and if you've moved recently, your previous address.
· By mail:
Epsilon Data Services
P.O. Box 1478
Broomfield, CO 80038
Epsilon Data Services
P.O. Box 1478
Broomfield, CO 80038
Finally, you can always call the phone number in the catalog, go online to their site, or, if necessary, write them and attach the mailing label.
Green Dimes estimates that 100 million trees are cut down every year and 28 billion gallons of water used to create 4.5 million tons of junk mail, about 44% of which is discarded without being read and only 32% recycled.
Be persistent. I am hoping my persistence with Heartland America (and others) will save a few of those trees each year.
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Health vs. Convenience vs. Environment
Created: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 06:58 AM Modified: Wednesday, October 19, 2011, 06:58 AM
I remember being taught at school that tissues were healthier than handkerchiefs as we throw the tissues containing our ejected germs away instead of storing those germs in our handkerchiefs for later re-contamination. It made sense even though people seem to manage just fine with handkerchiefs.
Nowadays however everything seems throwaway, including things that would not normally be a hazard to our health such as plate, cups and cutlery. The latest trend seems to be in disposable cleaning products. We have disposable toilet scrubbers, disposable floor cleaners, and disposable dusters. Are these really necessary? We do not need these items to be disposable for health reasons. We are sold on the convenience of these but what is the environmental cost?
The bottom line is that all these products result in more consumption of resources to create products as well as contributing to our landfills after a singular use.
Swiffer, the manufacturer of several brands of disposable cleaning products in use in 50 million households worldwide, is a subsidiary of Proctor and Gamble (P&G). P&G state in their environmental statement:
P&G is committed to ensuring that our products, packaging and operations are safe for consumers and the environment. For products that go out with the trash, our approach is to reduce, reuse, recycle, compost or incinerate (with energy recovered) waste prior to landfilling, where it's environmentally and economically appropriate.
We're continually researching alternatives for more environmentally improved products and packaging. For more information about what P&G is doing to achieve this, please visit http://www.pg.com/company/our_commitment/sustainability.jhtml
Attention P&G - We would love to see an environmentally improved product line that does not contribute to landfills after a single use.
We will display leadership in the pursuit of this goal by complying with applicable requirements and applying best practices to prevent pollution, conserve resources, and by assessing and addressing our risks and impacts. To this end, we will regularly measure, evaluate and document our performance and communicate lessons learned, as we strive for continual improvement.
SC Johnson, just like for P&G, we would love to see alternatives to the disposable products you make.
What you can do:
1. Buy reusable cleaning products;
2. Avoid any items which are designed to be used only once, perhaps with the exception of toilet paper, which in my opinion is the only cleaning product that should be designed for single use;
3. Provide feedback on Consumer Change to companies that make wasteful products.
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5 Ways to Green Your Halloween
Created: Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 06:32 AM Modified: Tuesday, October 4, 2011, 06:32 AM
The National Retail Federation estimates that American will spend an average of $72 each this Halloween, a total of nearly $7 Billion nationwide. Our Blog this week looks at the breakdown of how this will be spent, what you can do to reduce the environmental impact of those purchases and save some money.
· About $21 per person or $2 Billion will be spent on candy.
What can you do to reduce the environmental impact? Traditional candy is full of sugar, preservatives and food coloring. Think about spending your money on organic candy that does not contain these additives or providing healthy snacks instead.
· About $1.9 Billion will go towards Halloween decorations.
What can you do to reduce the environmental impact? Use the same decorations year on year; as the decorations only get used a few weeks a year, it takes a long time before they get worn out. If you are tired of your Halloween decorations, think about swapping decorations with friends or shopping for second hand decorations. Freecycle.org can be a great resource for getting stuff that’s new to you.
· $1.2 Billion will be spending on costumes for grownups.
What can you do to reduce the environmental impact? Try to re-use your Halloween costume, buy used or host a Halloween costume swap party.
· $1 Billion will be spent on children’s costumes.
What can you do to reduce the environmental impact? Reusing these may be difficult as children can outgrow them so fast. Instead of buying new, hosting a Halloween costume swap party; make a trip to your local goodwill store or try Freecycle.org for costumes that have been outgrown by someone else’s kids.
· $0.5 Billion will be spent on greeting cards.
What can you do to reduce the impact? Send an e-card, buy a card made from recycled paper, or buy a ‘tree-free’ card. Tree-free cards can be made from (among other things) banana skins, reclaimed sugar cane or elephant poo.
Happy Halloween!
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Subway’s Addiction to the Plastic Bag
Created: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 07:01 AM Modified: Tuesday, September 27, 2011, 07:01 AM
Stuck running errands at a recent lunch hour I popped into Subway for a quick and relatively healthy bite to eat. I am not a frequent customer so I had completely forgotten that they put all sandwiches in plastic bags after they wrap them up in a paper bag. What a waste!
According to the Wall Street Journal, Subway the world’s largest restaurant chain, generated $10.5 Billion of revenue in 2010. Assuming that the average order is $10, that’s 1 Billion orders or 1 Billion plastic bags a year! This estimate is roughly the same as reported by TreeHugger.com in 2008 which estimated Subway uses 4,000,000 bags a day. Whichever estimate you wish to pick, the number is huge!
There is absolutely no reason to wrap a sandwich in sandwich paper, then a paper bag and then a plastic bag. Even though the Subway plastic bag is printed with a message “Please Reuse or Recycle This Bag” on average about 13% of plastic bags in the US are recycled so we can assume that the majority of the Subway bags will end up in landfills.
I can only think of one valid reason for Subway’s use of the plastic bag - to keep the sandwich dry if it is raining - otherwise there is no excuse for the wasted plastic bag. Subway are apparently working on this issue, their website states:
To further reduce bag usage, we are currently testing a new way to secure our wrapped sandwiches which will eliminate the need for a bag when only a sandwich is purchased to go. However, we recognize that some meal orders will still require a bag so we have recently redesigned reusable bags (made with 30% recycled content) for franchisees who wish to offer them to their customers.
While I appreciate the environmental effort I still believe that there is no reason why Subway cannot stop plastic bagging most sandwiches. It’s time for Subway to end its addiction to plastic.
What You Can Do:
· Ask the attendant not to give you a plastic bag – trust me your sandwich will taste the same.
· Join the cause and ask Subway to eliminate the double bagging through providing feedback on Consumer Change.
Comment 1
By: Plastic_Hater On: Monday, October 10, 2011, 12:03 AM
I have seen the same thing at my local Subway shop. The last few times there, I went out of my way to say "no bag please" before they had a chance to bag it (which they seem to do even if I am eating there at one of their tables!). They should go the mile and just ask if a bag is wanted. Not much effort, but the impact could be significant.
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Saving Trees Through Paperless Billing
Created: Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 06:37 AM Modified: Tuesday, September 20, 2011, 10:13 PM
This week a Consumer Change User wrote a Review on ATT, adding them to the list of companies Consumer Change tracks. The Review was about store displays being left on after hours. As I looked through the ATT website it is evident that the environmental since they are pushing is paperless billing.
The ATT website, quoting PayItGreen.org, states that if 20% of US households switched to online bills, statements and payments, every year, we would:
· Avoid using 102,945,600 gallons of gasoline.
· Avoid 1,960,402 tons of greenhouse gas.
· Save 1,811,275 trees.
These are some impressive statistics.
I am not sure whether they took into account the paper people use to print statements at home. Regardless, there will be savings with paperless billings as the paper which make up the envelope, the advertising pamphlets (which seems to be a must with every bill) and the gas used during transport of the bill will all be saved. Of course, many of us recycle paper, but energy and water are used in the recycling process which means that reducing usage has a greater environmental benefit than recycling what we have used.
PayItGreen.org, an paperless billing advocacy group lists 24 members, many of who are large banks and telecommunications companies. Of course, a company does not need to a member of PayItGreen.org to switch to paperless billing, my credit unions switched to paperless billing a long time ago but it is not listed on the PayItGreen.org website.
With the kind of benefits PayItGreen.org has calculated it is well worth the switch to paperless billing and online payments. Online payments also save consumers the cost of a stamp each bill.
Now if only ATT would train store employees to switch off display lights after hours, they could save energy too.
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DIY Environmentalism
Created: Tuesday, September 6, 2011, 08:31 PM Modified: Tuesday, September 6, 2011, 08:31 PM
Even in the glow of his presidential victory, I suspected Obama would disappoint as a president. When there is so much hope and focus on a person, how could they not fail to disappoint? I think he knew it himself, his victory speech he said, ” For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime -- two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century.” He went on to say, “The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term.”
I understood that the challenge was great and that a lot of Americans would be disappointed that he could not solve all our problems quickly or easily. I also expected to be somewhat disappointed, but I did not expect to be disappointed as much as I am.
Obama admitted in his victory speech that the planet was in peril, so I expected some serious pro-environment legislation. I remember hearing a speech by Trip Van Nodden, the president of EarthJustice who, at the time, was delighted that instead constantly defending environmental laws they could help create new ones. Unfortunately President Obama’s environmental record has been a mixed bag at best. Last Friday, September 2, 2011, as President Obama failed to update a 2008 ozone standard, the little belief I had left in him as an environmental champion ended. The standard recommended by the EPA had scientific backing but Obama failed to uphold that standard instead staying with the limits President Bush had set. This was not only an environmental issue, it is a health issue. You can read the American Lung Association’s perspective here.
The majority of people expect the government to protect the environment through legislation and policy. I am of the view that this current administration has and will continue to fail to do so. We cannot rely on the government or any other body(ies) to do what we, collectively have to do – protect the environment and with it, our own futures.
So where should we start?
1) Live green – there are many ways to save the planet and help your pocket too. There is a wealth of resources to help you. Here are my favorites: WorldWatch Institute, National Resources Defense Council, Yahoo! Green
2) Vote with your pocket, support only those businesses which maintain good Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) standards. Check the listings on Green America,
3) Advocate for change through ConsumerChange.com
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Protecting Our Planet From Alien Invasion
Created: Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 07:06 AM Modified: Tuesday, August 30, 2011, 07:06 AM
I had lunch last week with two friends and our conversation turned into a discussion on whether aliens exist and if so, whether they would come to visit us. A topic none of us had any experience or special knowledge about. One of my friends deduced that aliens would only ever come to earth if they either want to study us, in which case they would observe us and leave the majority untouched, or come to earth for its natural resources. “But we’ve already ruined our natural resources,” I quipped, “Who would want our water and air, they are all polluted.” Reflecting on this conversation afterwards led me to wonder whether climate change and pollution was the right long term strategy for human survival? Let’s pollute and trash our planet now before someone else comes to take its resources away. Maybe climate change deniers are secret believers in extra-terrestrial life and polluters are simply working hard to fend off a future invasion?
But do alien life-forms would need air or water? Maybe they breathe carbon dioxide and therefore climate change is making the earth more attractive to them? Would this make polluters secret conspirators for an alien invasion?
I believe that polluters are simply after short-term profits and we, as a species, are failing to protect the most important resource that we have - us! We protect our homes with fences and locks, we protect our economy through government action but these are small fry. We should be protecting us and our future by protecting the environment that allows us to survive – the air we breathe the water we drink and the food we eat. These are more important than profits, comfort and the conveniences that we have gotten used to, yet we take them for granted and are pushing them to the limit (and some say we have already pushed them beyond).
Well, at least we won’t need to defend the earth against oxygen breathing, water drinking aliens.
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Bathroom Habits of Canadians
Created: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 07:58 AM Modified: Tuesday, August 16, 2011, 07:58 AM
I just got back from a trip to Montreal, Canada where we had a great time attending my cousin’s wedding, and reuniting with family that we had not seen for a long time. It was not my first time in Montreal, but it was the first time I noticed how much greener the Canadians are than Americans.
Single-use plastic bags have to be purchased from stores for 5c each. I kicked myself for leaving my Chico-bag at home thinking I wouldn’t need it when I made my souvenir purchases.
Public transportation around Montreal was great.
Signs of the Canadians’ greenness were most evident in their public bathrooms. Seat covers were non-existent. I have never understood why we (Americans) need a piece of paper that is 22” by 15” when we use less than one half of it. There is much debate about whether it is even possible to catch a disease from a toilet seat with some studies finding less bacteria on public toilet seats than on common household items such as phone receivers and keyboards. Regardless if you are disgusted at the thought of your thighs touching a piece of plastic where someone else has been, there are greener alternatives to the toilet seat cover:
· Using the “hover method” is good exercise and the most environmentally friendly option,
· The “wipe-down” method uses a small amount of toilet paper and cleans the seat prior to use,
· Alternatively using a couple of squares of toilet paper in lieu of the seat cover is a better alternative than a full seat cover.
Another green bathroom habit of Canadians is the lack of the paper towel, instead every public bathroom has electric hand-dryers, and good ones that don’t take ages to dry your hands. Hand dryers are more energy efficient and produce less waste than paper towels. There are numerous studies on the environmental impact of the paper towel v. electric dryer; each study states that various assumptions have to be made including how much recycled content is in the towel and whether it will be composted to determine the true trade-off. Almost all studies that I have read give the environmental advantage to the electric dryer. If the establishment uses renewable energy then the electric dryers would have very little environmental impact at all and win the trade-off hands down!
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8 Ways To Go Back-to-School Green
Created: Tuesday, August 2, 2011, 07:36 AM Modified: Tuesday, August 2, 2011, 07:38 AM
The summer seems in full flow but the shops are already full of back to school supplies. The National Retail Federation (NRF) predicts that U.S. parents will spend $68.8 billion this year on school supplies for their children from kindergarten through college. Back-to-School is second only to the holiday season in total sales. Shopping for Back-to-School supplies presents a unique opportunity to do what is best for the health and safety of our children as well as what is good for the environment.
Avoid polyvinylchloride (PVC): A 2009 study found a link between PVC flooring and asthma and autism spectrum disorders in children. Vinyl chloride, the building block of PVC resin, has been classified as a human carcinogen. Several studies have documented links between working in vinyl chloride production facilities and the increased likelihood of developing diseases including angiosarcoma of the liver and other non-cancer disorders. Additives such as stabilizers, plasticizers, and fillers mixed in with the PVC can leach out of a product during its useful life posing public health hazards, including the development of reproductive problems in children. The problem of PVC exposure in children is so large that the Center for Health, Environment and Justice is running a PVC-Free Schools Campaign.
Avoid polyester: All the production steps of polyester required to convert petroleum into polyester fiber are energy intensive and result in significant emissions, including large amounts of carbon dioxide. Producing polyester also uses large amounts of water for cooling, as well as lubricants, which can become a source of contamination.
PVC and polyester are common in back packs and lunchboxes. PVC is also common in ring binders.
Instead consider these green alternatives:
Backpacks: Look for backpacks made of natural fiber instead such as hemp or canvas. If for some reason your child requires a backpack made of synthetic material, opt for polyester or nylon over PVC.
Lunchboxes should also be made of natural fibers if possible; they also present an opportunity to reduce waste and save money during the school year. Choose lunchboxes that can pack lunch and snacks bento-box style i.e., in a way that doesn’t require disposable food packaging.
Water bottles should be BPA-free. BPA is an endocrine disruptor, which can mimic the body's own hormones and may lead to negative health effects especially when exposure occurs in early development. Many states have banned BPA in infant formula containers, baby bottles, and sippy cups. If possible choose stainless steel water bottles like those produced by Kleen Kanteen.
Pencils: choose tree friendly products. Find pencils made from FSC certified forests and paper with a high recycled content. We found a brand made from recycled newspapers.
Paper: recycled content of course.
Avoid buying new school supplies if you want to be really green. If last year’s items are still in usable condition why not use them and save some money? Alternatively try thrift stores, yard sales and Freecycle for some second hand backpacks and lunch boxes.
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