Green Options

Donating your old shoes may seem gross, but Soles4Souls gives consumers a non-smelly option.

This is about more than recycling - it is also about safety and health. When someone in a developing country doesn’t have shoes, they could step step on something that causes infection, and even death. According to AboutMyPlanet,

There are plenty of people in Canada and the United States who need shoes, and they provide those shoes. In

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Following-up on my previous post, this part explores need for local action in tackling the “e-waste menace.”  Delhi being the world’s e-waste capital sure raises several interesting questions. This is especially the case as one discovers that no other Indian state – with the exception of forward-looking Kerala – has any legislation in place to deal with the issue.

I am not in favor of widespread governmental micromanagement of anything and everything. So, I was initially happy to see the southern Indian cities – Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad (all of which are closely associated with the development of the Indian silicon valley) – boast of having the private sector involved in e-waste disposal. This demonstrated that sufficient economic incentives exist to invite private disposal of electronics waste. But then I started having second thoughts.

I have strong opinions, and I rarely suppress them (just ask my husband). During political campaigns, I show support for my candidates with buttons and yard signs. I have plastered my car with progressive bumper stickers. Before I have even started sipping wine at parties, I am already loudly proclaiming the beliefs I hold on important current issues. Lately, I have been taking my strongly-held opinions to the next step: I am becoming a green business proselytizer. Like a lot of people who become religious missionaries, I can not help it. I believe that I have found my calling.

My preaching, my free advice to business owners, my reaching out to people who never consider their carbon footprint–it all happens spontaneously. But it keeps happening, and it feels like the right thing to do. A few months ago, while shopping and talking to the owner of my two favorite women’s clothing boutiques here in Evanston, IL, where I live, I started explaining to Kelly how she could make her businesses greener. I gave her standard advice: install compact fluorescent lights, change to low-flow plumbing, get a more efficient heating and cooling system, recycle more. Even though I have no official training in how to green a business, the ideas popped into my head, and the conversation flowed naturally. As I presented the options to her, she listened.