Green Options

Thanks to trailblazing enviro-publisher Asgard Press, Superman, and the other heroes from the DC Universe, will be joining the fight to save the environment.

What is a card or wrap trap? A waste of resources that eventually cost more than money! Most people spend special occasion and holiday funds on ultimate trash when they buy conventional cards, gift wrapping paper and ribbon. Such items are rarely recycled and cause an excessive landfill burden, especially during December.

Perhaps you’ve noticed gift and holiday supplies proudly claiming recycled, post-consumer, chlorine-free, or tree-free? Sounds nice, but are you confused? Most consumers are when trying to decipher it all. Frustrations peak when claims are misleading.

The key element to the success of any event, especially a wedding, is planning. In the savvy bride’s arsenal you’re sure to find her Wedding Binder, where all her checklists, magazine clippings and sketches lie.

I’ve always loved the designs & concepts from russell+hazel, a company who obviously adores paper and organization as much as I do. And as such, they realize that cutting down trees is not something they what to perpetuate, so each and every product they offer is made from 100% post-consumer recycled materials and most are biodegradable and/or reusable; from the spirals in their notebooks to the covers of their binders. And now, with their ultra-stylish Wedding Organizer Set, you can keep everything on track while still looking good. My particular fave is their whiteboard feature inside of the binder cover so that quick notes or sketches can be made easily and wiped away when finished.

My Bag and Me!, written by Karen Farmer and illustrated by Gary Currant, is a cute rhyming board book about the benefits of using reusable shopping bags. The little boy in the story has his own shopping bag he takes to the store. He also reminds his mother to do the same.

Then it’s off to the checkout where we’ve all been before. I hand over My Bag and say, “Paper and plastic no more!” We feel really good when our shopping is done. We’ve saved so many bags by using this one!

My Bag and Me! comes with a reusable, small shopping bag. My only criticism is that the bag is made from Tyvek, a Dupont product. Dupont doesn’t exactly have a clean environmental record, and Tyvek is not as long lasting or washable as a cloth shopping bag. Furthermore, the bag and book both claim to be 100% recyclable, although I’ve never seen Tyvek accepted at a recycling center, and neither bag nor book are made from post consumer content.

500 billion paper and plastic bags are used each year globally! These “free” bags actually cost $4 billion dollars a year, and thus consumers pay the price for them in other ways. It is also staggering to consider that it takes 1,000 years for a plastic bag to decompose, and we have all seen the litter they create.

It’s not often that I write about a specific yarn instead of a whole company’s collective offerings. Rare as it is, I couldn’t resist when it comes to Knit One, Crochet Too’s 2nd Time Cotton yarn.

I first heard about 2nd Time Cotton in Knit 1 Magazine’s first green issue (Summer 2007), which features the yarn in a few of its different projects. Though KOCT has a few other pseudo-sustainable yarns (Wick is made with 53% soy and BabyBoo with 45% bamboo), their 2nd Time Cotton is inherently “green” because of its recycled nature.

How is it recycled? Second Time Cotton is made from cotton fibers that are textile factory scraps and leftovers from their usual operations here in the United States.

In the picture to the left, you’ll see their solid-color 2nd Time Cotton in Artichoke. Helene from Knit One, Crochet Too was nice enough to send me a hank of this swank fiber. Available in 12 solid and 11 striped colorways, 2nd Time Cotton does contain 25% acrylic, which is “added for fiber stability.”

OK, so it is not 100% eco-friendly, but hey, you have to start somewhere … right?

Paper, paper, paper. It's everywhere. Even though it is easily recycled, a lot of paper evades the recycling bin and winds up in the landfills.

Everyday items — toilet paper, facial tissue, napkins, paper towels, and even books and magazines — can be made from recycled paper and can include post-consumer materials.