In the Bathroom: Less is More. Don’t buy into advertising claims about the thousands of body care and bathroom products you hear about. Although  organic body care can enhance the health and appearance of skin and hair, what you put INTO your body will have a larger effect than what you put ON it. (Think EFA’s, other healthy fats, whole foods and hydration.)

So, keep it simple. When it comes to products for face and body, Alaffia Sustainable Skin Care is the cream of the crop in quality and on every other level. Their handcrafted products are made with shea butter and other natural ingredients indigenous to Africa. The founder, born in poverty-stricken Togo and now residing in Washington state, has dedicated his life’s work to supporting African and American communities by promoting fairly traded natural resources that are “culturally, spiritually, economically and ecologically sustainable.” Check out the full Alaffia story here.

Preserve toothbrushes and razors are made from recycled materials and you can send them back to the company (postage paid) to be recycled again. There are plenty of chemical-free toothpastes out there, but if you are tired of throwing out non-recyclable tubes, you can make your own.

Expensive bath salts? Forget it! Baths are so yesterday – just like our water supply. But, if you really need to use a tub full of tap water for a soak, invite a friend and use whole sea salt. The purest salt we know is from our friends at Himala Salts or try reasonably-priced Burt’s Bees Therapeutic Bath Crystals, instead of overrated luxury salts.

I’m keeping my ancient bath towels and wash cloths around until they fall apart, but when (IF) they ever wear out, I’ll go to Rawganique for luxurious organic cotton or hemp replacements.

Recycled TP may not be “squeezeably soft” but, hell, it’s toilet paper. I’d rather keep chemicals, bleach and artificial scents away from those vulnerable places and save some trees while I’m at it.

Conventional shower curtains are full of PVCs and other chemicals. Hemp has natural anti-bacterial properties; these and other alternatives have been around for awhile – see this past post.

For scrubbing the toilet and shower, I like the same natural products I use in the kitchen. Bon Ami for basic scouring or Mrs. Meyers for added cleaning power and scent from natural essential oils.

For Girls Only: You haven’t yet discovered The Diva Cup or The Keeper? Go here now!

Done so soon? That’s the surprising truth. We really don’t need all those bathroom products you see advertised. Get back to basics, save some bucks and stay healthy.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Most people spend up to 3,000 hours per year in bed. This certainly warrants some serious “Greening” for your health as well as your planet. Sheets, blankets and PJ’s – spend a lot of time next to your skin – going organic is wildly worth the investment. And your conventional mattress? It contains a nightmare of petrochemicals, pesticides, flame retardants, dyes and any other number of toxins. If you want to know more, go here.

I have hung my bedroom hat with Lifekind – they offer me everything sleepworthy and then some, including organic GreenGuard certified mattresses. All stages of production are done at the only North American Eco-Factory and they support American organic farmers as well as other local producers. I’ve been longing for a mattress like this for years. One day soon I will solve my dilemma of how to switch up my mattress without adding my old conventional one to the landfill…any ideas out there?

Pillows are personal. I’ve had my feather pillows about 15 years now and am rather attached. But, when I’m ready to move on, I met some sheep-loving women at the Mpls Farmers Market this Summer who make pillows out of home-grown and sheared wool (Azariah Acres Farm 320-355-2980). They felt wonderful and I’ve been, uh, lusting after one since.

Are you sleeping with the enemy? The cotton industry accounts for 25 percent of pesticides used on crops. Those really old t-shirts and thrift store flannels will do for now, but when you are ready for new stuff, skip Victoria’s Secret (negligees are highly over-rated) and check out The Green Guide’s guide to a natural sleep here. You can find sustainable comfort in organic cotton, hemp, extra-soft bamboo and even humane silk.

Like a little mood lighting before retiring? No, I’m not referring to the glow from your television set. Cfls can now meet bedroom standards with the new shapes and softer glow. The ultimate mood enhancer comes from candle light, of course. Use them responsibly by choosing petroleum- and lead-free beeswax.

Now you can get a REALLY good night’s sleep.

Greetings from Greg Gillette, Asheville, NC

My Halloween Costume

Green Shirt – $3 Goodwill
Green Pants – $3.50 Goodwill
Purple fabric paint – $3.49
Purple Face Paint – Burt’s Bees Lipstick – $8.99 – non-toxic

I am the Riddler, one of Batman’s enemies. But for these times, I am the Riddler of Consciousness asking the big questions and stimulating the deep conversations.
Greg

PRESS RELEASE NATIONAL DAY OF CLIMATE ACTION, 2007

When: Saturday November 3, 2:30pm – 4 pm

Where: Carrboro, NC, Town Commons

This Saturday, Nov. 3 the Carrboro Greenspace: Center for Community and Sustainability (carrborogreenspace.org) will be joining with various organizations and people throughout the country in asking our leaders to ‘Step It Up’ in the fight against global warming.

In the past few years, towns and citie throughout the country have actedwhere and when larger scales of governance have not. As the time frame for action is continually updated and becoming less and less, even leadership on the city and town scales are appearing to be too slow to keep up with
the change.

Starting at 2:30 p.m. at the Carrboro Town Commons, during the Really
Really Free Market, everyone including candidates for office are invited
to share with one another what we are already doing and what we plan on
doing to achieve the 97% of 1990 level reduction of Global Warming Gases
by 2030 – a requirement if we are to prevent the climate system from
reaching positive feedbacks that would render human influence in
mitigation insignificant.

Having this event during a Really Really Free Market serves to highlight
one of the many (i.e. The Carrboro Greenspace, The Recyclery and the CCGC
community garden) grassroots people-driven projects in Carrboro that are
contributing to the reduction of CO2 emissions. These projects
demonstrate the power that people can have independent of initiatives
normally expected from official leaders.

“Carrboro has many exemplary grassroots people-driven projects that are
absolutely essential if we really want to tackle this enormous
problem—the main thing here is that change has to encompass all levels,
from reducing energy consumption at the individual or family level, to
changing the ways our communities and even our food systems are
organized. Its big, but its doable—the thing is we have to act now!” said Sammy Slade, local resident and activist.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

I can go back to being thrilled about compostable trash bags! I don’t know how I missed this news, but BioBag USA makes biodegradable and compostable bags from certified NON-GMO corn. Certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute, they are shelf-stable, have no additional chemicals, yet will break down in a controlled composting environment in 10 – 45 days.

As the nation’s best selling brand, they were chosen for this San Francisco initiative:

The city of San Francisco selected BioBag to promote their residential food waste collection program. The city is sending 100,000 rolls of BioBags to residents within the county to help educate consumers on the importance of diverting food and other biodegradable waste from entering landfills. San Francisco residents can now purchase additional supplies at over 100 outlets in the bay area.

San Francisco on the leading edge again! Anyone getting any ideas? I’m going to send this to my local leaders tomorrow – what a great way to participate in Step It Up call to action, happening all over the country tomorrow. Go here to find an event near you.

by Tao Oliveto, Carrboro, NC

Need a starter kit for going green at home? Take it one room at a time. Beginning with the most important and most-used space in the house – the kitchen. Here’s your list:

Cleaning supplies – Start with one good green soap and you’re set. Most specialty products aren’t necessary unless you believe the television commercials. Try an all-purpose cleaner like Dr. Bronner’s magic soap or Bio-Pac that is so safe that you can pour your used dishwater on outdoor plants.

If you need some scouring power, skip the chlorine and chemicals – Mrs. Meyers makes a surface scrub with natural silica, Oxygen Bleach and essential oils for extra cleaning action and scent. Bon Ami also makes a back-to-basics, unscented version at a lower price.

My favorite dish soap is made by Seventh Generation, maker of many high quality and natural cleaning and paper products. Did you know that most popular cleaners are made with petroleum (and tested on lab animals!)? Yuk! Green and clean alternatives use only naturally derived cleaning agents that are safe for our bodies and our environment. Save the automatic washer for party clean-ups and save water and energy. Hand washing is my favorite Zen activity, done with two large bowls, one for washing, one for rinsing (and the water off).

For bigger jobs like walls, refrigerators and floors, citrus-based concentrates like Citra-Solv are killer (as in grease, odor and germs). They can be used at different strengths for many jobs, even for window-washing or as a laundry booster.

Drain de-cloggers are pure evil on the environment – if you have a major clog, call a plumber BEFORE dumping a bottle of Draino down your pipes Can we disco that stuff yet??). Use Earth Enzymes by Earth Friendly Products to maintenance or to dissolve a clog in progress. It is non-caustic, non-acid, non-toxic, phosphate -free and biodegradable. Good ol’ enzymes and bacterias save the day in a natural way.

Most of us have a garbage disposals, but did you know that it is illegal to put food down any drain in some cities? Makes sense to me. Instead, scrape food scraps into your compost container before washing.

What’s that? You’re not composting yet? It’s easier (and less smelly) than you think. You don’t even have to purchase a special container – though you can. If you keep your scraps in the refrigerator in a bowl short-term or sealed container long-term, you’ll never know they’re there. Apartment dwellers can worm their way into composting – see how.

Break the paper towel habit – the sooner the better. Dishtowels are tried and true. If you gotta have a roll of tree pulp – I mean, paper – around for occasional emergencies, make sure to buy recycled and unbleached.

Natural cellulose sponges beat the heck out of those made with chemicals. Keep your sponge dry between uses to decrease bacteria build-up and increase their durability. I like to use old-fashioned cotton dishrags that I launder frequently.

I was thrilled when the first biodegradable and compostable trash bags appeared on the market and now they are widely available from several companies. I stocked up on these awhile ago, but when I discovered that these bags are mostly made from GMO (genetically modified) corn, I decided to switch. Seventh Generation makes bags out of 65% recycled plastic and puts it like this on their (very informative) web site:

If every household in the U.S. replaced just one package of 20 count drawstring tall kitchen bags made from virgin plastic with 65% recycled ones, we could save:

* 45,100 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 2,500 U.S. homes for a year
* 824,800 cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 1,200 full garbage trucks
* and avoid 16,800 tons of pollution!

Re-do and Re-live.