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Americans tend to toss their outdated jeans as styles change, but old pairs can be cut into shorts, made into book covers or bags, used as cleaning rags, worn for yard work, tied in a knot and used as a doggie chew toy, or kept around for another 10 years when they’ll be in style again. The possibilities for reuse are endless.
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Welcome to Fashion Week here at the Green Life. For the next 5 days, our tips will be fashion focused. To make Fashion Week more exciting, we challenge you to upload your Green Fashion pictures to our Green Tips group on Flickr. At the end of the week, all of the images will be featured in a slideshow on our Green Life blog!
These boots were made for…tossing? Americans buy 2.3 million pairs of shoes each day. Instead of throwing your old shoes out, clean and donate gently used ones and keep grubbier ones around for yard work. Nike will take worn-out athletic shoes (of any brand) and recycle them into new surfaces for basketball courts, running tracks, and playground turf.
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As Halloween approaches, people in nippier parts of the country might be thinking about curling up in front of the fireplace. On this week's Sierra Club Radio show, we discuss greener ways to light your fire, including:
Although they're cleaner than they were 20 years ago, wood stoves can cause dangerous microparticulate pollution too. Before burning wood, check to see if the particulate level is high in your area by visiting airnow.gov.
I love to travel overseas at least once a year, as well as occasionally taking shorter flights to domestic destinations. However, air travel is a major contributor to pollution and the overall toll it's taking on our environment. So now I reduce my carbon footprint by making a donation to one of the 17 tree-planting organizations listed on http://www.americanforests.org/ prior to every flight I take. Donations as small as $10 are accepted, and every dollar donated plants one tree. Imagine that -- $1 plants new life that will combat pollution.
-- Submitted by Michael Henderson
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A home inspired by "the simple, yet vastly complex leaf," is currently in the lead in the Solar Decathlon, a biannual competition for college and university students to design and build solar-powered homes. The University of Maryland's LEAFHouse (shown) and 19 other entries are on display to the public on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., through Saturday. The winning team will be announced at an awards ceremony tomorrow afternoon.
UPDATE (10/19/07): The team from Germany's Technische Universität Darmstadt ended up besting the University of Maryland for first place. Congratulations to all the winners!
(Photograph by Jim Tetro, Solar Decathlon)
Have you ever thought about your dog’s ecological foot -- er… pawprint? Your neighbors and the planet will thank you if you make sure to always scoop your pet’s poop when you take him or her on walks. Your pooch can impress the neighborhood dogs with a hemp leash and collar from Rawganique.com. And comfy pet beds with no harmful chemical additives can be found now at many pet retailers or online. (Of course, Fifi or Fido would likely be just as happy sleeping on a folded quilt or blanket.)
Most importantly, make sure your dog eats healthy. Opt for organic brands such as Newman's Own or Nature's Variety. Or, once a week, make large batches of rice, steamed veggies and meat and dish out in appropriate serving sizes at mealtime. Just check with the vet to make sure your pet is getting all the nutrients she needs from the homemade food.
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Have the most important meal of the day the eco-way. Sip organic or fair-trade coffee or tea and put local, seasonal fruit and milk from cows not treated with hormones or antibiotics on your cereal. Want to do more? Try baking your own bread or making your own granola on the weekends so you have healthy, quick breakfasts at the ready on busy weekday mornings and won’t be tempted to hit the drive-thru.
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With almost 20,000 bloggers getting their two cents in, Blog Action Day tackled environmental issues from almost every conceivable angle, including:
Read an interesting post on Blog Action Day? Tell us about it in the comments section.
Concerned about chemical exposures? Then it’s time to mothball those, er, mothballs. In early 2005, the government listed naphthalene, the primary ingredient in mothballs, as a carcinogen. To keep moths out of your drawers safely, sprinkle a few drops of cedarwood oil inside. Or make your own natural moth-repellent bags with this recipe from Care2: Mix 2 ounces of dried rosemary and mint, 1 ounce each dried thyme and American ginseng, and 8 ounces of whole cloves.
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Green has been ruling the runway recently, with sustainable styles on display from Los Angeles to Paris. Over the weekend, London-based designer Gary Harvey showed off his creative recycled couture (like the dress pictured at right) at the EcoNouveau kickoff for L.A. Fashion Week, while Parisians celebrated the now-annual Ethical Fashion Show. Even Seattle shed its less-than-chic image to put on its first Green Fashion Week earlier this month, with hot designers and some stunning styles (although that seemingly picnic-tablecloth-inspired dress about halfway down the page is a step backward, as far as I'm concerned). Fashionistas, let us know what you think: Whose green designs are hot and whose are not?
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