Green Options

I’m in a foul mood today, people. The government is in talks to give away 700 billion dollars to companies who have proven to be irresponsible with money. The entire blogosphere is whining about Senator McCain being in Washington trying to do a job he was elected to do instead of being at a debate that could easily be pushed back a week. I would expect every official who the people have elected to do a job to be on that job in a crisis of this magnitude. I’m usually pretty easy going, but this has just set me off.

And so today when I read about Wal-Mart saying it will “potentially” cut its plastic bag usage by 1/3 by the year 2013, where I might normally say “good for them,” I’m saying, “big deal.” You might cut your plastic bag usage by 1/3 in five years. Big whoop.

Whole Foods, following in the footsteps of Taco Bell, Burger King, and McDonalds, agreed this week to become the first grocery chain to improve working conditions and pay for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), tomato workers from Florida.  Whole Foods will pay an extra penny per pound of tomatoes, and will work in conjunction with the CIW to establish modern working standards for its agricultural workers.

I’ve got a love-hate relationship with Whole Foods. On one hand, I like having organic products of all kinds available for my kitchen. I love their cheese counter (being a cheesemonger is my fantasy dream job!) and the specialty products I can find there that I can’t find anywhere else. On the other hand, it’s always crowded, and it’s always pricey. I really can’t afford to buy everything I need there, particularly their conventional produce. If I’m buying conventional apples from across the country, I’d rather not pay an arm and a leg for them.

Let’s face it: American’s have an obsession with white teeth, and what better way to get those pearly whites clean than with the ultra-comfortable wide head Radius toothbrushes. I initially spied them in my local Whole Foods and was curious about their HUGE heads.

When I finally decided to test them, they turned out to be comfy, comprehensive and eco-sensitive. Not a bad combination. The Original lasts 3x longer than a regular [...]

The advances in cloth diapering over the last few years, not only in availability of handy diaper services, but also the quality and simple use of the diapers themselves, have converted many a disposable diaper user to “greener” ways. But while many cloth diaper enthusiasts and flushable diaper users have strong opinions about which cloth diapers work the best, I’ve yet to see commentary on reusable swim diapers.

If you’re already a cloth diaper user, than the concept of using a resuable swim diaper is probably not a far stretch. But if you use disposables or ’sposies, then you might be glad to know that reusable swim diapers are a fantastic budget conscious choice, particularly since disposable swim diapers are super expensive.

Truth be told, disposable swim diapers are more for easing our minds and less about containing bodily fluids and bowel movements. Basically, they just don’t contain all the chemicals that regular disposables do, therefore keeping them trim and less saggy when they hit water. But, they certainly don’t hold urine well. And, while they might hold a bowel movement for a good five minutes, you do not want your kid swimming around with a swim diaper full of poop.

I am not entirely sold on the idea that people need to take multivitamins if they eat right, but I give them to my children frequently despite my reservations. I feel that multivitamins can accommodate for days when my children don’t eat well (or I don’t cook well). Now, there is an organic multivitamin powder for kids made by New Chapter Organics.

EveryKid comes in three flavors: awesome apple, brilliant berries, and grape (sold exclusively at Whole Foods). The powder can be taken directly or mixed with water, and it is recommended for children over the age of four. At first, my daughter thought EveryKid was strange, as she is used to a chewable multivitamin; however, in subsequent days she requested EveryKid over her regular Rainbow Light’s chewable NutriStars. EveryKid is organic. Since I only feed my children organic food, it makes sense to give them organic vitamins. Dr. Charles Benbrook, Chief Scientist of The Organic Center explains:

All kids need wholesome, safe foods that protect their growing bodies from pesticides, chemicals, and unknown risks from genetically-modified crops. Nourishing young bodies with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants each day is equally important, because growing up is serious business.EveryKid whole-food complexed multivitamins are a great way to fill any nutrient gaps in kids’ diets, so that they build a lifelong foundation for good health.

This morning I brushed my teeth with a recycled toothbrush. As I looked in the mirror, toothpaste frothing, the thought that it had all started with this simple piece of plastic was enough to make me stop for a second. And then I kept brushing.

Over a year ago, one of our designers in our firm brought in a Preserve toothbrush made by Recycline, along with a Stonyfield Farm yogurt cup that mentioned Recycline recycling all their plastic yogurt containers. The toothbrush was their first product—the foundation of all the Preserve products—it received placement in specialty stores, then eventually mass merchants and even a cameo role in a movie (Will Farrell brushes his teeth with it repeatedly in “Stranger than Fiction”).

We had been reviewing the products that we had made in the past and wanted to work with a company that reflected our own mission for sustainability. After all, we didn’t endure the looks from the natives when we turned a sewage treatment plant into our company headquarters for nothing (ah, but that’s another blog entry).

So, as the head of design, I did something and … I called them. I talked to someone on the other line, made a proposal to expand their product line and hung up.

Over the course of many phone calls and meetings, Recycline took us up on our offer to supply them with product design and refinement in exchange for a royalty on whatever went to market. A lot of firms our size have worked on royalties for years but this was our first try. And I’m happy to report that after less than a year, several of the products we developed with Recycline are available at Whole Foods including food storage containers, cutting boards and colanders. (For the whole story, check out Metropolis: Cooking with Leftovers)

Where else would you find Jessica Alba’s baby, Angelina Jolie’s movie, Emeril Lagasse’s TV show, and Ed Begley Jr.’s book in one blog post?! Read on after the jump for more on the latest “HollyGreen, CA” news:

“Hellboy II” Gets a TerraPass

The 2008 Los Angeles Film Festival announced that it is implementing numerous changes to produce an eco-friendly, “green” Festival this year, as part of a company-wide greening initiative by Film Independent – the non-profit filmmakers organization that produces the Los Angeles Film Festival, as well as the Spirit Awards.

The Festival has partnered with NBC-Universal, which is a green company, on both Opening Night (Thursday, June 19) and Closing Night (Sunday, June 29) of the Festival. The Opening Night premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Wanted” (starring Angelina Jolie), as well as the Closing Night premiere of Universal Pictures’ “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” will be produced in an eco-friendly fashion.

At the Investors’ Circle Conference in San Francisco, the Plenary Session of the May 7th Education Day was titled, “Is Organic the Next Clean Tech?” Can organic foods (and other products) can attract major investment capital, in the way clean technology has in the past few years, to the tune of tens of billions of dollars.
I am not sure whether the answer is a resounding yes, but panelist Walter Robb, Co-President and COO of Whole Foods Market announced that Whole Foods will be investing in small supplier companies, and all of the panelists were positive about the potential of investing in organics.

Kristen Groos Richmond, Co-founder/CEO of Revolution Foods, who has a wonderful if improbable company, which I wrote about before, can speak first-hand about the ways entrepreneurs can attract professional investors while pursuing goals such as connecting local farmers and consumers.

While her uncle’s Presidential record on the environment has been a scandalous disaster, fashion model Lauren Bush has created a 100% organic cotton and sustainable burlap bag — and an accompanying humanitarian initiative — exclusively for Whole Foods, launching today.

For $29.99, you can purchase Lauren’s “Feed 100″ bag: a lightweight, white, cotton tote that collapses easily into its rectangular burlap zippered pouch. The bag is created in facilities which ensure fair treatment of workers, [...]

Shopdropping is sort of like reverse consumerism.   Artist Ryan Watkins-Hughes switches the mundane packages on tin cans, then sneaks them onto the shelves in stores, such as NYC’s Whole Foods.  He thinks of it as reverse shoplifting.