Eco-friendly Holiday Gifts to Consider
December 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The most wonderful time of the year is here. Christmas is indeed the best time of the year to share and give gifts but sad to say, it is the time of gathering many trash and waste brought about by season of giving itself.
According to Huffington Post from Recycle Works.org, “The accumulated waste per household increases by 25% between Thanksgiving and Christmas.” This means that most Americans throw and junk into their trash cans about 4 million tons of shopping bags and gift wrapping and other trash from the Yuletide season.
There is so much focus and concentration on gift-giving that sometimes consumerism is being promoted instead of celebrating the real spirit of Christmas. In the same article it further showed that Americans buy 2.65 billion holiday cards per year and spends an average of $800 per person on Christmas gifts.
Why not do something different this time? You can always contribute in your own little way by lessening the trash through the use of environmentally friendly products that are available in the market. Here are some innovative ideas to give as gifts this Christmas:
- Clothes – these items will never be absent as gifts this season but instead of buying the usual, opt for eco-friendly clothing. The fashion industry is beginning to go green and you can just search online for eco-friendly brands that are becoming increasingly popular. Since the fashion industry has been one of the biggest waste producers, it is now the best time to shift gear and adapt eco-friendly fashion to our own system.
- Baby clothes – there is an eco-friendly baby clothing that is made from all-natural soybean protein and organic cotton. Why buy the ones in the store when you can have one that is safe for baby and Mother Nature?
- Luggage and Bags – consider buying a bag made from recyclable materials. There are bags made from seatbelts and vinyl to produce distinctive bags that are eco-friendly and practical!
- Wallets – these are the most common and very convenient items to buy. Try to search for a wallet made from hemp since hemp is the most eco-friendly with few pesticides used and goes through carbon neutral production.
- Candles – choose the one that lights and refreshes and not candles that burn your lungs with synthetic and harmful chemicals.
There are still a hundred and one eco-friendly items to give this Christmas season. These are just the basics.
Planning Eco-Friendly Holidays
November 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Everyone looks forward to holidays. It is a great time to bond with the family or perhaps a perfect opportunity to have an “alone” time for reflection purposes. Christmas is a much anticipated holiday wherein friends and family are able to reconnect and spend some quality time together. Holidays restore meaning to life – taking time out to pause and appreciate blessings amidst the daily pressures of school and work. It is also the best time to rejuvenate and relinquish, equipping yourself for the next few months of toiling. With it comes a more noble way to plan and celebrate holidays. You can still have all the fun you want and at the same time choose to plan on eco-friendly holidays rather than the usual. Why not? Yes! You can have a greener holiday if you opt to. Not only are you guaranteed a restful and rejuvenating holiday, but also you are doing a helpful one for the environment as well. Who said you cannot mix and match both?
Here are some workable ways to plan on an eco-friendly holiday:
Do you know that almost 3 percent of the total greenhouse emissions are caused by constant air travels? You can have a memorable and pleasant holiday without having to ride a plane. This is much more economical. You can plan a holiday at a nearby area, a destination that is in close proximity to you.
Wherever you go, always think of the place you are at and take care of it. Even if you are just a visitor, learn to throw garbage in its proper place and segregate if you can. This can help that local area as well as lessen the piles of garbage in that locality’s landfill.
Choose the hotels that adapt to green methods. There are many hotels all over the world who take part in preserving the environment like water-efficient shower heads, energy saving lights and many more. Support their cause rather than check in a hotel that does nothing to go green.
You better choose public transportation instead of using your own. You can save on gas and it will definitely be a whole lot of fun riding with many people.
You see, no matter how simple, you can make a difference. Go ahead and plan your holidays ahead and remember to inject a tinge of eco-friendliness in it. Mother Earth needs people who, in their own special and meaningful way take time out to participate in saving the environment.
A Green Halloween Means a Lot
November 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Maybe it’s a bit too late to talk about going green in Halloween because it is already past Halloween, but perhaps this could be serve as a post-Halloween article that can come in handy the next year and the years to come! Just a piece of advice could go a long way in making something worthwhile every Halloween time. Aside from prepping up for something spooky, what about something green instead?
Well, October is the month of black, orange, red and purple – the pumpkins and the bats, the grime and the gore… but what about going green this Halloween? While everyone is busy wearing their Halloween costumes, it is never too late to consider these green Halloween tips and keep the wellness of the environment in mind! It is best advice to do some green thing rather than experience an environmental nightmare in the long run.
First, make your own costumes. Bring out that sense of creativity in you. If you have a sewing machine, gather those old clothes and sew up a new one with a completely different disguise. You can save on cash plus a good amount of cloth and color. You can use bed sheets and old linen and hang it up on trees to create a ghost-like effect.
Second, this is the best part. Though this may come out on such late notice, hold another Halloween night, a week after the actual Halloween celebration. This would be a great way to wear your costume once again, maximizing its use and purpose. Remember, most people wear their Halloween costumes once in a year, and wearing it again the next consecutive weekend would be a blast! Enjoying the fun a bit longer for another weekend is momentous and green.
Third, if you are hosting a Halloween party, make a touch of green. Use old and recycled materials as spooky decors. An article from the Huffington post suggests the following:
1. You can use peeled red seedless grapes to appear as Eyeballs.
2. Transform some chocolate kale chips and make it into Bat wings
3. Use mashed strawberries to make it look like blood with some flesh in between
4. Mash some guacamole and put in a cup with a mannequin design to make it appear like parts of the brain.
The list can go on, for as long as you keep on thinking green, a Green Halloween is possible and most of all, fun!!! A Green Halloween Means a Lot to the Environment.
Why Organic Cotton is better
October 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The most commonly used fabric of all times is cotton and its use is beyond measure. We use it most of our lives from tank tops, bed sheets, blankets, kids’ diapers and even some of the foods we eat have some tinge of cotton in it. Unknowingly, most consumers continue to use cotton without the slightest idea how this glorious fabric is grown and manufactures.
our lives from tank tops, bed sheets, blankets, kids’ diapers and even some of the foods we eat have some tinge of cotton in it. Unknowingly, most consumers continue to use cotton without the slightest idea how this glorious fabric is grown and manufactures.
Of the world’s cultivated land combined, growing cotton on these lands cover 55%. Ironically, 75% of the world’s insecticides are all geared towards using it for this particular crop alone. Growing cotton in the conventional way would mean the utilization of a great number of pesticides which poses not only huge environmental impact but also threatens the health of workers and manufacturers that surround it as well as indirectly bring about a threat to the end users – us!
According to Wikipedia, here are some ill-effects of conventional cotton growing:
High levels of agrochemicals are used in the production of non-organic, conventional cotton. Cotton production uses more chemicals per unit area than any other crop and accounts in total for 10-16% of the world’s pesticides (including herbicides, insecticides, and defoliants).
Chemicals used in the processing of cotton pollute the air and surface waters.
Residual chemicals may irritate consumers’ skin.
Decreased biodiversity and shifting equilibrium of ecosystems due to the use of pesticides.
Although it is much cheaper to grow conventional cotton, opting for an eco-friendly way to grow cotton is raving positive feedback from everyone across the globe. Cotton growers have learned to shift from conventional to biological based growing of organic cotton. Eco-fashion is now supporting the use of organic cotton while more and more manufacturers and fashion gurus are switching green. The benefits of the use of organic cotton are: (from Wikipedia)
Protecting surface and groundwater quality (eliminating contaminants in surface runoff)
Reduced risk in insect and disease control by replacing insecticide with the manipulation of ecosystems
Long-term prevention of pests through beneficial habitat planting.
Conservation of biodiversity
Eliminate the use of toxic chemicals used in cotton
Organically grown crops also yield soils with higher organic matter content, thicker topsoil depth, higher polysaccharide content, and lower modulus of rupture; therefore reducing considerably soil erosion.
Organic Cotton growing was first done in Turkey during the early 1980s. In a matter of 15 years, the amount of organic cotton that was produced has grown tremendously reaching to 13,000 tons. In fact, organic cotton is now grown and produced in 18 countries with many fabric companies already pushing for the much safer cotton.
In the United State alone, cotton plantations have to comply with the requirements instituted by the National Organic Program (NOP), from the USDA, to be classified as organic. With these stringent methods, the growing rate of growth and production of organic cotton catapulted to as high as 50% per year.
Acting Green and Buying Green: What Difference Does it Make?
October 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Thinking green and becoming eco-friendly can actually convert to two important things: acting green
and buying green. Although buying green is an act itself that comes from the need and awareness to
help save the Earth, you can still act “green” without the act of buying. In fact, it also takes additional
expense to buy green stuff in the effort of supporting eco-friendly products. What if you do not have the
budget for it? Does this limit you to help protect the environment?
To put it simply, there are a hundred and one ways to save Mother Earth by starting -out a few “green”
routines without having to easily resort to buy eco-friendly products. Don’t let this idea mislead you.
Yes, it is great to buy organic and eco-friendly products, but you can just start out a thing or two at
home without any act of purchase. This is not negating the support of eco-friendly products it is basically
just changing the mind-set in promoting a green and healthy lifestyle.
At home, almost all appliances utilize energy. Although you can use solar power and other energy-saving
devices (of course, these are good practices no doubt!), you can also do some sacrificial tasks from your
end.
Let’s take a little introspection here. How many minutes do you stay in the shower? Is 15 minutes barely
enough? Is 30 minutes to 45 minutes, beyond indulgence? You can help save water by decreasing the
time in the shower. Perhaps a regular 20 minute bath can be reduced to 10 minutes. Viable, don’t you
think? Water-saving, do you agree?
By changing your regular bulbs to LED is a great move but how about maintaining the regular bulb and
re-scheduling the time and length of its use? You see, you can always turn on the incandescent lights
only when you need it most like around 5:30pm when you need to do some chores in the kitchen for
dinner prep. While waiting for the rest of the family to come home and when the kitchen stuff is done,
you can turn off the lights by 6pm. What do you think? Does this sound new to you?
How about washing clothes? You can wear an outfit at least two times before throwing it in the washer,
you know. Not only will you save some water but energy as well. In your own little way, you can still
act “green”. By doing some extra effort in saving the Earth, it will go a long way when the time comes.
The Ayuvastra Healing Fabrics Brand
September 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Based in Ireland, Ayuvastra Healing Fabrics has been keen on showcasing quality yoga wear products, leisure wear items, baby wear options, and linens for beds all made under the standards of eco-friendliness.
Headed by Aslam Noor and Ema Staunton, the brand’s name is taken from the Indian technique of textile dying, successfully working with medicinal herbs. With the said technique taking root from a 5,000 year old healthcare system in India, the technique is revealed to be a branch of Ayurveda.
Ayuvastra Healling Fabrics’ heads are working in conjunction with the Kerala Weaving cooperative in implementing certain dyeing techniques and modes which had been traditionally passed down from ayurvedic physicians, resulting to the brand’s unique take on quality leisure and baby wear.
As such, the brand’s vision encompasses the promotion of eco awareness and sustainable practices, as well as voices out its support for traditional methods which have been used in the creation of certain garments and fabrics.
With the dyeing processes involved in the making of its products all free from synthetic chemicals, the brand’s line of products are also free from variants of toxic irritants, as well as made to be bio-degradable and organic in their inclinations.
Offering a diverse range of product color options, unique designs and the distinct comfort factors known to hail from organic materials, the brand is also keen on adding more products into their featured inventory, with plans to include organic silk in future releases and showcases.
For those on the lookout for quality organic wear, Ayuvastra Healing Fabrics has got something worthy of your attention.
Norrøna’s 100% Recycled Jacket
September 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
With the the Repreve 100 recycled yarn making up the Polartec Wind Pro fleece, the Norwegian brand Norrøna recently launched an “up cycled” jacket that is made out of recycled materials with the Polartec Wind Pro fleece being the product’s primary material.
Essentially a recycled product which comes with increased warmth without the necessity of weight, the Polartec Wind Pro fleece is also known for its water repellent factors, its durability, breathability, and its capacity to be wind resistant.
With the Repreve 100 yarn made out of recycled PET plastic bottles, a jacket could be made from 40 recycled plastic bottles, leaving an estimate of less-than 20% energy required in their making, as opposed to the production stats of standard virgin fleece.
With the Repreve family of quality recycled nylon and polyester fibers, various applications of their fabrics have been known to be, with various Repreve items used in the construction of clothing and apparel pieces, seating and paneling-fabric needs and in automobile “upholstery” needs.
Introduced in 2006, Repreve now comes in various recycled fiber types, an off shoot from its one-time singular Repreve fiber option. Now featuring an entire class of sustainable products and items, brands such as Norrøna have partnered with Repreve, maximizing the positive impact their showcased products have on quality apparel items.
Given the demands often expected from outdoor wear like jackets, eco-conscious outdoorsmen and fashionistas can now be at ease with eco-friendly products like Norrøna’s jackets, bearing the self-same durability and comfort features found in their non-eco friendly counterparts.
The Music Industry’s role in eco-fashion – Trikoton
September 15, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Though not exactly a brand that is founded by an established recording artist, Trikoton stands to be a unique brand that’s been influenced by the music industry – specifically with the rise of software designed for audio editing and post editing – taking on an innovative approach in creating products based on the vocal patterns of a real person.
With a simple web application, Trikoton can easily convert frequency bands into a set of binary codes, which can be directly woven into fabrics used in the creation of clothing pieces and other garments.
Knitwear items such as scarves, leggings, vests and other fashion pieces can be readily customized to the tune of the vocal patterns of one’s voice, and added with options of utilizing vegan materials utilized in the making of products, Trikoton’s showcase take in the creation of unique wear items sets it apart from the rest.
The Berlin-based brand delves into the 70’s aspect of “preserving one’s voice”, raising that bar with the preservation of voices into the form of apparel items, offering them to consumers at a highly customizable take.
Though the brand’s web application, a visitor can easily “key in” an audio clip, the user’s own, a friend’s or anyone else’s, and get to see the “keyed in” audio clip transformed into a sweater, for example.
With a selection of colors and other design elements, users of the web application can get to see a preview of how a person’s voice would look in clothing form, a unique edge which Trikoton showcases to those who are in search for totally unique design patterns in clothing items.
Newlife’s new addition
September 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
As a leader in the creation of recycled yarns geared for various purposes and uses, Newlife has been keen on the developments and changes in the recycling standards, technologies and convention of yarns.
As such, it is not altogether strange to hear of Newlife’s newest addition to its already impressive family of recycled yarns, taking shape in super fine recycled yarns geared for the creation of light fashion products like lingerie.
Also developed for the construction of lightweight jackets with ultra light features, the new super fine recycled yarns was initially developed by Filature Miroglio, now having a place in Newlife’s Newlife Line of products.
To be showcased in the company’s upcoming Premiere Vision event, Newlife has built a reputation for their recycled yarns, utilizing recycled polyester which had been sourced from recycled plastics, particularly PET-plastics used in making consumer bottles.
Given the expected durability factors and lightweight features featured by the use of synthetic yarns in the creation of certain fabrics, Newlife’s range of featured recycled yarns allows for the creation of eco-sensible products, products whose materials in the past were only limited to non-recycled sources.
As an organization, Newlife is certified by the Global Recycle Standards by Textile Exchange, Oeko-tex and holds a PSV Certification (Second Life Plastic) by the Recycled Plastic Promotion Institute.
With Newlife’s partnership with different brands, including Velluts, Top Textil, Fiorentia, Tessitura Tessile, Gruppo Cinque and more, Newlife’s collaboration and partnerships with other brands and organizations further the circulation of their quality recycled yarns.