The Latest

What does it take for a product to be labelled “organic”?

On September 22, 2010, in Health & Wellness, Home & Garden, by joegreen
0

In today’s society, the retail business is competitive and one way to make a product really stand out is by labelling it “organic.” But what does this actually mean?

What Does “Organic” Mean?
The word organic fundamentally means relating to living organisms. Nowadays it has come to mean a natural product which is grown with the use of fertilizers and pesticides which come from animals or vegetables (like manure or compost) rather than chemicals.

Being Labelled Organic
For any government to certify a product as organic, it must comply with several key rules:
*Be produced without the use of chemicals
*Be produced on land which has been chemical free for three or more years
*Keep organic products separate from non-organic products.
*For any company who would like to have their products certified as organic they must keep detailed records of production and undergo frequent inspections.

Levels of Organic-ness
In North America there are three types of products which can be labelled as organic: products which are 100% organic or 95% and above organic can legally be labelled “organic.” Products which are 70% and above organic can be labelled “made with organic ingredients.”

Advantages and Disadvantages of Organic Products
Advantages: The number one advantage of organic products is that it is healthier, but there are a number of other advantages too. Chemical pesticides and fertilizers increase soil erosion, so by using organic replacements the land on which organic products are grown is more profitable. Organic farming is also more environmentally friendly.

Disadvantages: Producing organic products is more time consuming since weeding is normally done by hand. Surveys have also shown that the yield of organic products is a lot less than that of non-organic products. It costs more to produced organic products and therefore organic products tend to be more expensive.

Conclusion
“Being organic” is not just something retailers can stick on their products to make them sell better. Being certified is no mean feat and it costs a lot to do it. It certainly has its benefits, but its downsides too – especially for smaller businesses. The cost of becoming certified organic is high and many local or family businesses just can’t afford to do it.

Tagged with: • •
 

Benefits of Going Organic With Your Baby

On September 1, 2010, in Baby & Kids, eco, by joegreen
1

Kiddopotamus SwaddleMe Organic Print, BoyWith the push toward green living, many parents have chosen to go organic with their newborn. With good reason, since the benefits of going green with your baby are enormous–both for the environment and your new tot. If raising your baby organic is an option, consider two areas: what goes inside and what touches the outside.

Breast milk is the ultimate organic food for your newborn. Full of all the nutrients and vitamins your baby needs, it’s been proven to fight multiple illnesses, as well as help you bond with your newborn. However, if breastfeeding isn’t an option, organic formula is the next best choice. Made with milk from organic farms, it doesn’t contain growth hormones or antibiotics that are present in regular milk. No chemicals in your baby’s food means no unwanted chemicals in his or her body.

What touches your baby’s skin is equally important. With a delicate hide that hasn’t yet been toughened by chemicals and UV rays, the dyes and fragrance in many products can wreak havoc on your baby’s skin. It’s a proven fact that babies just don’t get dirty, so forego the baby wash, scented wipes and baby lotion. Instead, use plain warm water and, if dry skin is an issue, try an organic baby balm or oil.

For organic diapering, consider cloth diapers. More cost-effective and environmentally friendly than their disposable counterparts, they also have numerous benefits for your baby. Made of comfortable, breathable cotton, they are free of dyes, chemicals and fragrances that many brands of disposable diapers contain. Because of this, they are less likely to cause diaper rash on sensitive skin.

Green living is good for the environment. But, more importantly, organic parenting is an easy way to assure the best health possible for your baby, both inside and out.

Tagged with: • •
 

How to Create a Paperless Home Office

On August 22, 2010, in Home & Garden, eco, by joegreen
0

Going green in a home office by becoming paperless is a great way to keep the environment healthier. When too much paper is moved to the garbage instead of being recycled, it can cause landfills to grow and destroy fertile land. A paperless office may not be completely paper free by any means but by having a much smaller amount of paper than necessary is a big step in keeping the environment healthy. The home office can still have a printer, even though it may not get as much use as it otherwise would. The positive aspect for a little used printer is an ink cartridge that lasts much longer, plus lesser energy consumed in operating the printer. Below are some main steps in making a home office paperless and more green friendly:

Use email and instant messaging to communicate with instead of snail mail when possible. The exception would be if the home business sells goods over the Internet and auction sites like eBay. Here, recycled packaging can be used to ship out the goods in. This includes mailers, boxes, packaging tape, and packing filler.

Instead of creating hard copies for every file, use a CD-ROM to store the information on. This is especially true of writers who prefer efficiency in keeping track of their text documents. The CD-ROMs can be stored in recycled paper envelopes or in plastic storage cases.

Online billing is practiced by many people instead of mailing in their paper bills through the postal system. This makes less paper for the billing companies including credit cards, utilities, and bank accounts at the same time.

Use a word processor like MS Office or OpenOffice to create agendas, presentations, and notes. If it is necessary to convert the documents to PDF format, it is very easy to do so without having to buy new software. So long as the Adobe PDF is downloaded on your computer from their site, it should be easy to change text documents and graphic files to PDF format.

A scanner can come in handy for saving copies of important documents that can be shredded and recycled. There are many good scanners on the market that are affordable. Scanning copies and saving them as PDF files on a CD-ROM will also cut down on the amount of paper stored in the file cabinet.

Purchase an electronic rolodex. This is great for keeping track of contacts without resorting to using a large rolodex file on the top of the office desk. It is a space saver in addition to being a paper saver. Many electronic rolodex files are very affordable for under twenty dollars so it is worth investing a few bucks in.

For the few papers that are absolutely necessary, a small file cabinet with folders made from recycled paper can be used. The files will take up little space and remain neat, without being oversized and bulging.

Tagged with: • • • •
 

Recycling Tips: Go Green in Your Kitchen

On August 11, 2010, in Home & Garden, eco, by joegreen
0

Recycling is becoming a way of life. Most people know about the 3Rs: Reduce, Re-use, and Recycle. And many of us make an effort to reduce the amount of waste we create and recycle a large portion of what’s left. And with spiralling gas and electricity costs, it only makes sense to try to conserve energy.

What happens in your kitchen? The most commonly performed tasks will include food preparation, food storage, and entertaining. And each gives you opportunities to reduce waste, re-use and recycle items and save energy.

Food Preparation
Cooking provides many opportunities for ‘going green’.
Reduce possible waste by buying your vegetables loose, rather than shrink-wrapped and displayed on natty little trays.
Invest in a compost bin and turn all the fruit and vegetable waste into fertile new soil for your garden.
Keep lids on your pots when boiling water. It makes cooking quicker and saves energy.
Plan ahead. Defrost frozen food on the worktop rather than using the microwave.
Cook from fresh. Ready meals are heavy on packaging and – as we are told often enough – not that high on nutritional content.

Food Storage
Your ingenuity can run riot here, as storage is a good field for re-using.
Make use of plastic storage boxes, such as empty ice cream containers.
Use empty plastic milk containers to make sorbet or ice cream – save on the required whisking by shaking the containers vigorously.
Cook double and freeze half rather than buy cook-chill suppers from the supermarket.
Keep paper carrier bags from the garden centre to store potatoes and carrots or use old shoeboxes.
Ask the kids to decorate any old boxes and use to store herbs, spices, and other small packets.
Old baskets can be scrubbed up and pressed into service as bread or fruit stores.
And any pots or pans past their serviceable age can be painted and used as planters for herbs or tomatoes.
Create separate ‘collection space’ in your kitchen or yard for glass, tins, and other items that can be recycled. And make sure that each member of your household uses them. Make use of your home recycling bin, if your local authority provides one.

Entertaining
If you’re having friends round for dinner or a party, it doesn’t matter if the friends are 4 or 40 years old. You want to have a good time and enjoy the food and company. But even though you’re catering for many more than the usual number of people, you can still be ‘environmentally friendly’ without neglecting your guests.
Drop the disposables. Paper plates and cups may be very convenient, but create a lot of waste.
If you’re crockery does not stretch to so many people, there’s no need to go out and buy more. Many supermarkets now offer ‘party pack’ rentals containing crockery, cutlery and glasses – and some even do the washing up!
If you’re having a birthday party, don’t buy the expensive disposable streamers, poppers, and decorations that are thrown out as soon as the party is over. Professional party companies offer good quality re-usable decorations for hire.

Saving waste and energy in the kitchen is a straightforward affair and every small effort will, over time, make a difference. Being aware of the possibilities of reducing, re-using, and recycling will change the way we shop, cook, eat, and celebrate. And our living space will benefit.

Tagged with: • •
 

Recycling Tips: Shop Smart

On July 29, 2010, in Home & Garden, eco, by joegreen
6

We all want to do our bit for the environment. But where do we start? The weekly supermarket-shopping trip is a good place. Supermarket products account for a large percentage of the goods bought every week. That gives supermarkets enormous influence over the products they offer, and the raw materials and packaging they use. But it also makes us, the shoppers, very powerful. By choosing or refusing, we can let the supermarket bosses know that environmental concerns are important to us. And when their profit’s on the line, they listen.

Plan your weekly shopping trip with the environment in mind and you’ll be surprised how many smart choices you can make. Aim for maximum waste reduction, but you can also support and encourage re-use and recycling. Start by taking your own shopping bags to the supermarket. If you only fill 5 plastic carriers per weekly shopping trip, taking your own bags will save 250 bags a year!

If your local supermarket offers a carrier bag recycling service, use it to get rid of all the bags you’ve collected from other stores. Not only will you de-clutter your home, but you will also help save precious oil and energy.

Avoid heavily packaged items. You only pay for what you throw in the bin as soon as you get home.
Cosmetics are serious offenders here. Take moisturiser: a glass jar, in a dinky little cardboard box, shrink-wrapped in plastic. Then there’s usually a leaflet in there somewhere, telling us how to cream our faces. Would it surprise you to know that 16% of the item price is for the packaging?
Cornflakes or other breakfast cereals are equally over-packaged with their plastic or foil bags inside cardboard cartons. Some manufacturers now use sturdier bags and dispense with the cardboard. Try to support them – they are helping to save trees.
Fruit and vegetables can add to your packaging waste, too. Styrofoam trays, plastic bags, and shrink-wrap are all unnecessary when buying fruit. Invest in washable cotton bags, or make your own from old pillowcases. You’ll get your fruit and vegetables home in top condition.

One sure-fire way of saving money is to buy frequently used items in bulk. Most of us do this automatically, but pat yourself on the back when you reach for the family pack of toilet rolls, shower gels, rice, or pasta, because you are also saving on packaging!

Another good place to reduce packaging waste is the aisle containing detergents and laundry aids. Concentrated detergents or fabric softeners come in much smaller packages and last just as long, if not longer, than the standard product. Many manufacturers also offer refills for the existing containers. Both are good ways to reduce waste. Alternatively, ditch the detergents, softeners, and drier sheets altogether and use wash balls and drier balls instead. Each wash ball lasts for approximately 100 washes before it needs to be replaced. Drier balls, once bought, will last forever. Add up the yearly cost of laundry aids, and all the waste they create. Then try wash and drier balls.

We all know that glass is a useful material, because it can be recycled. Most of us have home recycling bins for glass and use them. But do you buy soft drinks or beer in cans or plastic bottles? Do you buy milk in cartons? Look out for packaging materials that can be re-used or recycled and your waste reduction programme will run and run.

The weekly shopping trip has a large impact on the content of our rubbish bins. Smart shopping ensures that the weekly rubbish heap is as small as possible, by reducing waste before it reaches our homes. Making smart, environmentally aware, choices during the weekly shop also conveys the message that we care about waste reduction, pollution, and recycling. Smart shopping can help the environment and will benefit your wallet, too.

Tagged with: • •
 
« Previous Entries