Green Vacation

We are leaving for vacation for couple of weeks. Of course, besides the usual preparations, we are trying to figure it out what can we do to stay green while away. Here are some simple “green” things you can do when in vacation:

1. Leave the house in a “green” state: turn off lights, turn off the water heater, turn off the air conditioning, unplug any things you use daily (e.g., clock, battery charger, razor, monitor, etc.). Leave on only your alarm system.
2. Try to find a green hotel or, even better, rent an apartment – in this way you can be like home. The green hotels are usually a little more expensive than normal ones and than rental apartments.
3. Even you rent an apartment/cabin/house or stay in a hotel you can always keep your “green” routine:
- turn on only the lights you need and only when you are in the room;
- do not let the water run if you are not there;
- turn off the air conditioning when you are not at home. It needs only about 15 minutes to cool a room;
- turn off the TV when you are not using it;
- reuse the towels you find in the hotel (like you would do it at home); do not change them everyday.
- minimize waste;
- do not rent a car – walk a lot. This is the fun part of vacation – walking, taking the train – feeling like when we were younger and strong. However, if you need to rent a car, try a hybrid.

What else?

I’ve read about some advice on the internet and I have found some of them being rather extreme: for example planning your vacation closed to your home so you do not need to fly or drive….maybe bike? Of course it is greener than flying but this will not work for me ever; for me vacation means away, far away from home, work, paying bills, etc. Somebody suggested a vacation in your own back yard. Hmmm…..I do not know if I could go in vacation for 3 weeks in my own back yard! It might be green, but it's lame. Enjoy your vacation!

Going Green: Product Review of the Week - Baby Diapers

In reviewing the prices for the baby diapers I chose Diapers.com; but this is not necessarily a cheap source to buy baby diapers. Of course, there are more manufacturers than I am reviewing here; I will try to review the most popular and available diapers. When we left the hospital they gave us Pampers Swaddlers for the baby which were very nice and soft but it did not fit well for my babies shapes so they got their pants wet almost all times. I switched to Huggies Supreme and they worked always very well. At the day care they are using Huggies Snug and Dry which works well; I cannot complain about Huggies – it is good quality; too bad they do use chlorine which makes their diapers un-biodegradable. I am using now Seventh Generation for the little one which are great and, of course, I do not have to feel guilty by adding more toxins on the environment. For the older child I am still using Huggies Pull-Ups; I have tried the largest size from Seventh Generation but they were too tight so he decided not to go potty anymore. And in my eagerness of making him go to potty all times I returned to Pull-Ups, so he is on the potty again. That said, Seventh generations training pants were great -- just 2 sizes too small.
Amazon has reasonable prices for Seventh Generation diapers; (You can find them also at Whole Foods and other traditional retail stores, but they are more expensive).

Here's the table for price comparison.

Natural/Green diapers	$/unit	Conventional diapers	$/unit
7th Generation (sizes 1-6)	0.24 - 0.49	Pampers baby dry(sizes 1-6)	0.17 - 0.34
7th Generation training pants (sizes 2T-3T - 4T-5T)	0.41 - 0.57	Pampers Swaddlers (sizes 1-3)	0.25 - 0.33
gDiapers (small-med/large)	0.36 - 0.45	Huggies snug and dry (sizes 1/2-6)	0.17 - 0.35
Tushies tender care (small-XL)	0.25 - 0.48	Huggies Supreme natural fit (sizes 1-6)	0.22 - 0.46
Tushies gel free (small-XL)	0.27 - 0.55	Huggies Pull-Ups (sizes 2T-3T - 4T-5T)	0.41 - 0.55
Nature babycare (1-6)	0.26 - 0.51	Luvs (sizes 1-6)	0.16 - 0.30

Target Gets its Eco-Apparel Line

More stores jump on the green and organic bandwagon; now Target (with a marketing splash at Barneys New York and designed by Gregory). Gregory uses 100% certified organic cotton and other natural fibers, such as silk and linen, and his collections are sold at Barneys and Bloomingdale's. Gregory is the eleventh Go International designer who is adding his talent and design into the Target's Go International program, a private label collection that features the hottest trends for guests who welcome individual style at an affordable price. The line includes loose tanks, wrap dresses and hoodies, striped vest, wide-leg trousers, jeans, a strapless knit dress, crochet tunic, trapeze tanks, a plaid linen dress created from organic cotton, linen, bamboo and hemp and the price range is between $14.99 - $44.99.

You can have your (Barney) cake and (afford to) eat it, too.

If you would like to read the whole article go here.

The Air Quality Awareness Week

The air quality awareness week is here! The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Weather Service are putting efforts together to help all Americans to improve their knowledge of the Air Quality Index (AQI) (a color-coded tool used to communicate the quality of the air to the public). EPA recently strengthened the national ozone standards from 80 parts per billion to 75 parts per billion, but it still needs to determine when the new standards take effect; it is said that if the new standards will take effect today, more than 300 American counties would be in violation. EPA suggests that sensitive people should stay inside on days when the ozone is under “code orange” or higher.

Check the air quality in your area whenever you like on AirNow.

The First Eco Certified Computer

Lenovo’s M57/M57P “Eco” is the first computer that is certified by the Greenguard Environmental Institute (GEI) (the largest certifier of chemical emissions from building materials and furnishings in the U.S.) after going through rigorous testing for up to 2000 chemical emissions.

Eco is the first ThinkCentre computer made with recycled, post-consumer plastics and is EPEAT Gold and Energy Star ® 4.0 rated. The system comes with Intel vPro technology, Core 2 Duo E6550 / E8200 / E8400 Processor, 2GB DDR2 RAM, 160GB HDD, Dual Layer DVD Burner, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator X3100, and Windows Vista Business.

I found the news very interesting and promising since it is well known that lots of phthalates (for example) in the environment are coming from electronic and computer products. I hope this kind of certification takes care of that too.

USDA Certified - Cosmetics, Body Care and Personal Care Products

The organic trend is just starting in the cosmetics industry, so be prepared for the same "gold rush" of marketing claims as we've seen in other product categories. The good news is that some regulation exists in the US, check for the USDA Organic logo on cosmetic products that claim to be organic (unfortunately not too many, yet).

USDA uses the following rules to apply its organic seal on cosmetics:

100% organic - "Product must contain (excluding water and salt) only organically produced ingredients. Products may display the USDA Organic Seal and must display the certifying agent’s name and address."

Organic - "Product must contain at least 95 percent organically produced ingredients (excluding water and salt). Remaining product ingredients must consist of nonagricultural substances approved on the National List or nonorganically produced agricultural products that are not commercially available in organic form, also on the National List. Products may display the USDA Organic Seal and must display the certifying agent’s name and address."

Made with organic ingredients - "Products contain at least 70 percent organic ingredients and product label can list up to three of the organic ingredients or “food” groups on the principal display panel. For example, body lotion made with at least 70 percent organic ingredients (excluding water and salt) and only organic herbs may be labeled either “body lotion made with organic lavender, rosemary, and chamomile,” or “body lotion made with organic herbs.” Products may display the USDA Organic Seal and must display the certifying agent’s name and address."

Less than 70% organic ingredients - "Products cannot use the term “organic” anywhere on the principal display panel. However, they may identify the specific ingredients that are USDA-certified as being organically produced on the ingredients statement on the information panel. Products may display the USDA Organic Seal and may not display a certifying agent’s name and address. (Water and salt are also excluded here.)"

For more information go here.

Cosmetics that are using the USDA organic seal are: (last updated August 1st, 2008)

Origins – only some of their products are USDA certified.
Dr. Bronner – only some of their soaps are USDA certified.
Terressentials - USDA certified.
Aubrey Organics - only some of their products are USDA certified.
One Group - only some of their products are USDA certified.
Organic Essence - all of their products are USDA certified.
Nature's Baby Organics - baby products that are USDA certified.

Dont't forget: The USDA Organic Certified products must have displayed the USDA organic seal on them.

Going Green: Product Review of the Week - Baby Wipes

Until I discovered the 7th Gen wipes I have used both Pampers and Huggies. With Pampers, my child got a very bad rush any time when I used them. I used to like Huggies a lot; I never had a problem with them - they were efficient and non-irritating. Now I use 7th Generation and I like them a lot too and not only because they are free of fragrance (Huggies has some wipes free of fragrance too), but they are a little thiner which makes them easier to use. They are free of chlorine, which means that they can biodegrade easier. Some friends are complaining that they get dry easily, but it never happened to me; I probably finish the pack before that.

Natural/Green	$/wipe	Conventional wipes	$/wipe
7th Generation Unscented	0.04	Huggies Cucumber & Green Tea	0.04
		Huggies Unscented	0.04
		Pampers Sensitive	0.04
		Luvs	0.03