Twinkle Loon

That’s right, there is another green term starting to make the rounds on the internet, PRECYCLING! (seen on The Alternative Consumer) As if we didn’t have enough already! Eco-friendly, Green, upcycling, downcycling, recycle, reuse, reduce, sustainable, organic, renewable, cage-free, carbon foot print, carbon neutral, certified organic, LEED, fair-trade, pre- and post consumer recycled… the list goes on.

While consumers should be aware of the true definitions for all of these words you have to keep in mind this… you are a consumer! You are being marketed to and you need to educate your self so that you don’t get taken in by all the greenwashing(haha there’s another one!) that’s out there.

I introduced my boyfriend to toothpaste that did not contain sodium lauryl sulfate a known irritant (no it won’t give you cancer but it will irritate your skin) and low and behold he hasn’t had a canker sore since. But last weekend he bought new toothpaste and as soon as I began using it my mouth started burning and I saw he bought the wrong kind. He did everything right, he chose a known eco-friendly brand from the eco-friendly/green isle. So what went wrong? Greenwashing alert! These companies are so good at making us think that their product is what we want. Don’t buy into it, educate yourself. And for goodness sake never say the word precycling. ‘k, thanks!

(Image above and a great article you should read: Get Closure- When Green Gets Murky )

(Resources: Natural Health Information Center, Alternative Consumer)

Fanny pack’s, remember those hideous nylon sacks in colors that nearly blinded you? Or better yet the faux black leather! Yes! Mine was neon green with black zippers. Oh yeah! Haha!… *ahem* well recently I was watching It’s Me Or The Dog and my boyfriend pointed out Victoria’s awesome little doggy treat fanny pack which of course got me thinking. I scoured the inter-net to no avail, Victoria would not reveal her fanny pack provider. I found some (well, like two) cute fanny pack’s but they just weren’t quite right and I really don’t like spending money on something I can make my self. I have started testing out some patterns using felt and am pretty happy with results. It’s the perfect size for all the basics: wallet, camera, phone, pad of paper & collapsible pen. I think I am starting a new old trend here. FANNY PACKS, THE NEW MUST HAVE FOR SPRING! OK maybe not but at least I won’t have to carry around a purse!

There is a very cool and inspirational new site called craftgawker. It is an off-shoot of the foodie site foodgawker. Anyone can post photos of their work by following a few simple rules, find out how here. This is such a simple, great way to show off your work… speaking of I really need to get it together and photograph some of my own work! Maybe the idea of putting my work up on this site will motivate me.  

Like I said, the site is new but it’s looking very promising! I can’t wait to watch how it spreads over the interwebs!

Thanks Landon!

(Photos above from craft gawker. top to bottom: xenosdesigns, katbaro & maebee )

CFLs!!! I know, I know, you are probably so tired of hearing about changing to compact fluorescent light bulbs by now. But the savings are pretty undeniable. But there are some major issues, such as the mercury content and disposal. There is also the concern over CFLs making people sick, triggering headaches and epilepsy in children. But it seems like the verdict is still out on that one. If I had children however, I think I would stick with conventional bulbs or LEDs.

The concern over disposal is pretty big for me. Fortunately Home Depothas a recycle program. But if you have a problem with who Home Depot supports then there are other options for you. There are recycling programs where containers are sent to your home for you to fill with unbroken bulbs and then send back to a recycling facility. But these kits do cost money. So unfortunately if you don’t have the money and your city has no other options it’s off to Home Depot you go. Two kits I found on-line were Sylvania and Recycle Your CFL. To find out if there is a CFL recycling center near you you can go to Earth 911 .

Now all that’s great, I’ve got it covered on where I can recycle my CFLs but what about if they break? You can find some good information about the mercury in CFLs as well as clean up instructions on many sites. Here is a pretty informative one from snopes. If you read through the instructions you will see why I said I would not get CFLs if I had children. I can’t imagine going into hazmat cleanup mode with little kids running around. Just my personal opinion.

(References from: Natural News, Move- do it green, Public Citizen, Wikipedia, Snopes )

(Image above: Move- do it green )

Baltimore Green Week is April 18th- 25th. Check out the Baltimore Green Works website for more information on not only green week but also the year round effort to make Baltimore Green!

You can also check out the Cleaner Greener Baltimore website for information on the city intiatives as well as a break down on what Baltimore city does and does not recycle.

(Image: Baltimore Green Works )