Green Options

Kids like straws, and it is actually good for their oral motor development and speech articulation to use them.  As a green parent, I hate plastic straws.

They can’t be recycled, they are used one time, and they are a waste of resources.  I have purchased the thicker plastic kind before and attempted to wash them, but it is impossible to get them entirely clean.  I can only imagine what germs you would see if you cut one open and put it under a microscope!  Plastic straws can’t go in the dishwasher, or they melt or release toxic chemicals, and who knows about BPA in straws?  I have finely found the eco-alternative to the plastic straw:   GLASS!

Glass Dharma’s David Leonhardt’s mission is to “Save the Planet – 1 straw at a time”.

Here are five reasons why you should switch from plastic straws to glass ones:

Recent concern and awareness of the hazards of polycarbonate plastic baby bottles has resulted in many companies looking to produce safer alternatives. Many experts recommend glass for the most safe and eco friendly bottle, but anyone who has ever had children knows how babies love to throw things onto the floor. Obviously, for this reason glass bottles don’t seem like such a good idea.

The makers of babylife wee*go bottles must have had this in mind when they developed their product.  Their glass bottles are protected by a colorful silicone sleeve that can be boiled or put into the dishwasher along with the bottle itself.  The nipple that is included with the bottle is latex-free, and the recyclable plug and cap contain absolutely no polycarbonate.

More than ever, homeowners are making and using green cleaning products at home.

So, what’s your favorite green cleaning recipe?  The Clean Calgary Association’s Green Cleaning Guide For Businesses and Individuals by Lindsay Luhnau serves up green cleaning recipes galore.

First, it lists key DIY green cleaner ingredients: white vinegar, washing soda, castile soap, baking soda, Borax, olive oil, water, lemon juice and elbow grease.  Here are a few of the guide’s green cleaner recipes:

My editor asked me to post a few more ideas on what an Ecopreneurist or any business interested in giving green gifts this year, might give customers for the holidays.

I wanted to approach the idea from two points. First, I am in the promotional items business. For our industry the main purpose of gift giving is to say thank you to the clients you have done business with in the past year, and to keep your name in front of those clients so that they do business with you next year.

Second, as an Econpreneurist gift giving gives my business a chance to show off our green credentials but also - maybe - influence our clients, not all of whom are green, about becoming more green in their own businesses.

So I decided to start off with something very basic. Mugs.

A basic mug cost little and can normally be printed on both the front and back, so there is a lot of room for both your logo and a message.

Perhaps “Thank you for your business in 2008. Think of XYZ company in 2009 for all your ABC needs” on the front and maybe an eco message like “Americans throw away an estimated 25 billion Styrofoam cups every year. The same Styrofoam cups will be sitting in a landfill 500 years from now. Please re-use this mug each day to lessen your impact on the planet.”  Yes that will all fit on a mug.  And trust me a case of mugs showing up at your client’s office goes a lot farther than a fruit basket.

When Great Green Goods mentioned Bedrock Industries and their recycled glass robot people on Monday, I knew I should pop over and check it out.  Why?  Well, I love robots.  Who doesn’t?  But what actually caught my eye was this part of the Great Green Goods post: “They have a large selection of tile and tumbled glass for use in your home or garden.”

My friends, this is no lie!  The good people at Bedrock have tumbled glass for all kinds of crafty and gardeny adventures.

I love the colors available in their mosaic glass, and mosaic is a craft I’ve always wanted to try.  Their glass is 100% pre-consumer recycled glass, taken from the waste generated during the production of stained glass.

–Don’t forget! Carnival of Green Crafts is fast approaching. Send in your submissions now.–

Out of all the items found in my recycle bin, glass bottles are the ones that puzzle me the most. I know that we can make plastic beer rings into beautiful silver necklaces and the bottle caps into pendants and pincushions but what about the bottle itself?

Glass is one of those crafts that is very elusive to me. First there is the process of creating it which involves very high temperatures, taking hot molten glass and using tools that, by necessity, keep you at a far distance. Second, there is a certain aesthetic that glass caries that just isn’t my cup of tea.

I am definitely intrigued by the process of glass making and have spent much time interrogating friends that have taken glass blowing workshops. I am oddly fascinated by it, even if I’m not attracted to it aesthetically. Juliet got me thinking with John Bassett’s glass sculptures but I wanted more. That is why I was pleased as punch to come across a group of Etsy sellers that recycle empty glass bottles and turn them into a variety of wonderful and quirky objects.

16 years ago, Gail Gibbons wrote Recycle!: A Handbook for Kids, but not much has changed since then. Recycling is still an important green practice, and this informative book printed on recycled paper gives parents, teachers, and children a straightforward explanation how recycling works and why we should do it. There is soo much information in this book, that even I learned something new when reading it the first time.

Gail Gibbons is well known for her children’s non-fiction books. From Weather Forecasting to Chicks & Chickens, the text and illustrations are loaded with detailed information. Recycle! is no exception. The book begins by talking about the problem of garbage and how to dispose of it. Recycling is presented as a solution that can “cut down the amount of trash we make.” From a simple explanation of recycling, Gail breaks down the specifics of recycling paper, glass, cans, plastic, and polystyrene. She explains how each is made, recycled, and reused.

It takes lime, soda ash, and sand, called silica, to make glass. These three elements are mixed together and heated at a very high temperature to make a glassy liquid. Measured amounts, sometimes dyed, are dropped into forming machines, where the liquid hardens to make bottles and jars. Many products come in glass bottles or jars. Sometimes, when they are through being used, they are just thrown away. It would take thousands of years for them to biodegrade at a landfill. Instead, these bottles and jars could be reused. RECYCLE!

Editor’s note: This week, our friends at Life Goggles make another find: Couronne Co glassware. The company’s decorative items (vases, jars, bottles, etc.) are all beautiful, affordable and sustainable: they’re made from recycled glass. This post was originally published on May 14, 2008.

Couronne Co make glass bottles, vases, jars, bowls and candle holders from recycled glass. I was sent some fantastic products, a gerbera bud vase, a blue glass ball vase and a diamond red bottle.

Their website explains that Couronne prides itself on a vast selection of glassware and home décor products that are both eco-friendly and affordable. They recognize the importance of recycling glass, because it not only conserves the environment but it also saves energy. The process required to produce glass is quite simple as it is composed of sand, soda, lime and a lot of heat. The obvious benefits of recycling glass is to reuse and save our natural resources, but the most important benefit of recycled glass is that it requires considerably less energy than that which is needed to melt raw materials.

I am having such a great time discovering artists using recycled materials in their crafts. I was so excited about this recycled glass artist, I could barely wait until Monday to share it with the CAGW readers!

John Bassett has been making these amazing glass panels and sculptures since 1979, long before green crafting was all the rage. John creates his works of art out of used bottles, chandelier parts, and other glass scraps. John [...]

As humans, many of us enjoy embracing the beauty of art. Adding a piece of creative work to your home often means it is delegated to hang on a wall, gathering dust. Sol Mesz, founder and crafty force behind Sillice, seamlessly blends the worlds of design and practical, everyday items - all while using recycled glass and natural colors. Plates, candle holders, soap dishes, board games, and jewelry are just a few of

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