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Green stores spring forth, from New Jersey to California
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Everyone knows you can’t shop your way to green. A true greenie is always looking for ways to reduce and reuse. That line of thinking generally doesn’t propel you to the mall, at least not often.
BUT…you knew there was a but… eco-conscious consumers still have needs. Their motivations are just different. They look to buy lower impact, organic products from like-minded companies and retailers. They want fairly produced goods to create a less-toxic home environment, with healthful food, that supports sustainable practices.
Over the past two years, we’ve noticed that the market is bringing us more and more small, green stores that aim to be a nexus for this movement. Take it back. Some are large, like the home supply Green Depot in New York City. They sell lotsa stuff that can really help you dig in to cut your energy bills and remodel greenly.
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Tags: · Allentown, BarbaraKesslerBlog, Chicago, Earth Goddess, eco-friendly retailers, Green 11, Green Depot, green stores, Greenheart Shop, Houston, Minneapolis, New Jersey, New York City, One Green Street, organic clothing, Organic Food, recycled products, San Francisco, Twin Cities Green
Kimpton Hotels championing greener hospitality
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
If you’ve been taking your home green, you know how ideas can feed off each other. Someone gets picky about paper recycling; someone else becomes the food waste arbiter; pretty soon everyone has their eco-role and the household’s carbon footprint is shrinking.
Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants realized early on that green grows like that. The hospitality chain, with roots in San Francisco, has a history of putting eco-friendly ideas in place. Even before green hotel or green restaurant designations were developed, Kimpton was experimenting with eco-friendly practices at its San Francisco properties, such as the Hotel Triton, where motion sensors turn off lights and 60 percent of the waste gets recycled.
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Tags: · building renocations, building restoration, Chicago, Eco Champions, eco-friendly hotel practices, eco-friendly hotels, green hospitality, Green Hotels, Green Seal certification, Green Seal Cleaners, Kimpton Hotels, low-flow faucets, non toxic products, Organic Food, San Francisco
‘The Denim Diet’ offers some good green tips for dieting
By Ashley Phillips
Green Right Now
 The Denim Diet: 16 Simple Habits to Get Into Your Dream Pair of Jeans by Kami Gray claims to be a “no-nonsense guide to a smaller you and a healthier planet”. While I would not go far to say that it is a guide to a healthier planet, it does provide a glimpse into an environmental approach to dieting.
This book would appeal to people who are unfamiliar with the benefits to eating organically, a great source for the newly green.
Gray explains what it takes to be certified as organic by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA). It is also notes that just because food is labeled as “all natural” or “100% natural” does not necessarily mean that it is, because the term “natural” is not yet regulated by the Federal Drug Administration. Anything can be labeled as natural. Go beyond the label to look at the actual ingredients, Gray advises.
Since most people avoid organic food because of the cost, she also provides some money-saving tricks, like buying fruits in season and freezing them and buying store-brand organic foods, which are less expensive.
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Tags: · ethical omnivore, Fish, grass-fed beef, Kami Gray, Organic Food, The Denim Diet
Toxicologists say media, activists overstate chemical threats
From Green Right Now Reports:
As toxicologists see it, our chemical world is neither as dangerous as portrayed by the mainstream media and environmental groups, nor as safe as the American Chemistry Council and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) would have us believe.
That’s according to a survey of 937 members of the Society of Toxicology in early 2009. The survey, released Thursday, was administered by Harris Interactive and conducted by the nonprofit Statistical Assessment Service (STATS) and Center for Health and Risk Communication at George Mason University.
“This survey suggests that the public doesn’t get a full and balanced picture of chemical risk,” said Dr. Robert Lichter, the survey director.
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Tags: · bisphenol-A, chemicals, genetically modified organisms, GMOs, high fructose corn syrup, hormone disruptors, Organic Food, organic products, pesticides, phthalates, Teflon
Finding local food can be cruciferous, get help with the NRDC local food finder
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
We all need to start eating closer to home, and with all due respect, I don’t mean down at the corner KFC.
I’m talking about finding fresh, locally grown produce for home cooking. Do we even need to list the reasons? Buying local food cuts down on polluting “food miles”, bypasses refrigeration trucks, supports local farmers and puts nutrient-rich foods on our plates.
But unless you grow a lot of your own food, how can you distinguish what came from your friendly local farmer in Illinois (or Texas or California) from what came from a rain forest-encroaching big-Ag operation 2,000 miles away?
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Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, farmer's market, fruits, gardening, Illinois, Local Food, Organic Food, Texas, Trees/Plants/Yard, Trees/Plants/Yard
Gardens within prison walls (how to escape bad prison food)
By Sommer Saadi
Green Right Now
Side by side, hunched over mounds of dirt with shovels in hand, students from Scripps College and inmates at the California Institution for Women (CIW) in Chino, California, plant an organic garden. It’s not the most conventional pairing – twenty-somethings in jeans and t-shirts and women clad in prison uniforms growing fresh produce along stale concrete walls. But it’s a pairing that works. And to those involved, it makes a lot of sense.
“The garden is about connecting communities,” explains Scripps College senior and Criminal Justice Network co-leader Adrian Hodos. “These are two populations that don’t come into contact with each other enough. And now with the garden, they do.”
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Tags: · Adrian Hodos, California, California Institute for Women, Cedar Creek Corrections Center, Chico, Criminal Justice Network, James Jiler, Organic Food, organic gardens, Scripps College, sustainable living, Washington
Organic food sales grow to 3.5 percent of US market
From Green Right Now Reports
U.S. sales of organic products, both food and non-food, reached $24.6 billion by the end of 2008, a 17.1 percent over 2007 sales, the Organic Trade Association (OTA) announced today. Organic food sales now account for approximately 3.5 percent of all food product sales in the United States.
 The sales results were announced as part of the 2009 Organic Industry Survey, conducted by Lieberman Research Group on behalf of OTA. The survey measured the growth of U.S. sales of organic foods and beverages as well as non-food categories such as organic fibers, personal care products and pet foods during 2008.
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Tags: · 2009 Organic Industry Survey, Christine Bushway, Organic Food, Organic Trade Association, Sales of organic products
Look what we found: TheFind and GoodGuide
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
From electronics powered by the sun to plates made from corn, towels woven from bamboo and suits spun from recycled plastic bottles, green products are crowding into stores. Never before has the green consumer enjoyed such a dazzling, dizzying…and completely confusing array of treats.
How does one choose? Should you get the locally grown zucchini or the organically farmed summer quash? The bamboo towel from Asia or the organic cotton bath sheet from Texas? Organic face cream or natural? Disposable or reusable? Plastic or stainless? Is it green, sustainable, FSC and Fair Trade?
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Tags: · Fair Trade, Good Guide, Green Products, green shopping, healthy eating, household products, Organic Food, Organics, search engines, The Find, Toxins
Ten great, green, blooming and fragrant gifts for Mother’s Day
By Laura Elizabeth May
Green Right Now
When getting ready for Mother’s Day, don’t forget about Mother Earth. We have gathered eight ideas that your mother will love an d won’t hurt the earth.
A Gift That Blooms
1. Flowers are always right for Mom’s Day. If you are leaning in that direction, consider buying local blooms from a local florist. Picking out flowers that are grown locally cuts down on the amount of gas used to bring you that flower, and you will be supporting your neighborhood economy. If cut flowers aren’t easily found, look for a perennial or shrub in a pot.
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Tags: · Arbor Day Foundation, Blackbird Bakery, chocolate, flowers, fruits, handcrafted jewelry, Microplace, Mother's Day, natural scents, organic cotton, Organic Food, perfume, Sephora, sweets, Taza Chocolate, TheFind, Trees, Vintage Naturals, WomenHeart, WorldofGood, Yumi&Laurie blankets
My Green Job: George Eckrich, co-owner Dr. Kracker
George Eckrich, 38, co-owner of Dr. Kracker, Austin, Texas
 What I do:
I am fortunate to have experienced a “calling” or vocation, and I have been a baker most all of my adult life, except for a brief three years working in Mexico in agriculture. When I was 20 I went through a baker’s apprenticeship in Hanover, Germany, and I have been fascinated by the magic of turning simple ingredients like flour, water, salt and yeast into something deliciously edible. My lifelong interest has been whole grains, and this is my second bakery. Here at Dr. Kracker we concentrate on organic whole grain and whole seed flatbread crackers that are not only over-the-top great tasting but also good for you!
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Tags: · Austin, crackers, Dr. Kracker, flatbreads, George Eckrich, natural food company, Organic Food, whole grains
Books: Organic gardening
Here are some of the most popular organic gardening titles from Amazon.com:
In this introduction to sustainable landscaping practices, Linda Chalker-Scott addresses the most common myths and misconceptions that plague home gardeners and horticultural professionals. Chalker-Scott offers invaluable advice to gardeners gardeners who have wondered:
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Tags: · Books, Eliot Coleman, Organic Food, Organic gardening, Rodale
Top 10 reasons to shop at a farmer’s market
By Christopher Peake
Green Right Now
It’s already mid-March and that means the snows will melt and if the ground’s not too saturated farmers will soon be planting seeds for the food that will feed us this year.
 Since time immemorial farmer’s markets have been with us: farmers harvest, bakers bake, dairy farmers milk their cows and they all meet at a central location where there’s lots of foot traffic … and they sell. The common theme: the food is fresh.
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Tags: · California, Dairy, farmer's markets, food miles, gardening, gourmet food, Local Food, meat, New Hampshire, Oregon, Organic Food, plants, Produce, sustainable agriculture, Texas, Wisconsin
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— Linda Chalker-Scott
