We chat a lot about farmer’s markets here on the website, but it’s a pet topic for some good reasons. Who can argue with buying local food, which carries a lower carbon footprint, is often more nutrient-rich (according to recent studies) than less fresh options and also supports the local economy?

Here’s a new twist on the concept that we stumbled upon – a farmer’s market that comes to your workplace. They started one in Chester County, Pa., last year and are bringing it back this summer.

The impromptu, lunchtime markets provide both gastronomic and economic benefits. Farmers get a new outlet for their goods and the county employees are treated to fresh produce, allowing them to skip the daily chore of stopping at the grocery on the way home.

The arrangement also pleases the county HR folks, who can sneak in a punt for good nutritional habits.

“One of the goals of our County Wellness Program is to provide opportunities for our employees to eat more fruit and vegetables,” said Terence Farrell, Chester County Commissioner Chair.

And there will be plenty a veggies at the weekly grower’s markets, which also will offer seasonal fruits, free-range chickens, eggs, cheeses, honey and whole grain breads. The food comes from the Westtown-based Stratton-Wynnorr farm, in conjunction with eight Amish families and other local farmers.

For those of you outside of Chester County, which is west of Philadelphia, let our story Getting the Most From Your Farmer’s Market inspire you to find your own nearby produce outlet.

(Four locations will host the Chester markets: the historic Chester County Courthouse on High Street in West Chester; the Government Services Center on Westtown Road in West Chester; the Exton Library rear parking lot; and the open-air pavilion at Pocopson Home on Route 52. Each Thursday during June, July and August, the market will be based at one of these four locations, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Summer just got more complicated. Now, in addition to watching out for skin-withering UV rays, you may want to check your sunscreens for nanoparticles.

Nanoparticles might sound like the smaller (even tiny!) issue here, compared with the serious matter of protecting yourself from possible skin cancer with adequate sunscreen.

Here’s why some people believe you need to worry about both the sun and the nanos. Some research shows that nanos release free radicals that are activated by UV exposure.

Here’s what a March 2009 advisory from Friends of the Earth reports:

“Scientific studies have shown that nanoparticles of titanium dioxide and zinc oxide commonly used in sunscreens and cosmetics can produce free radicals, damage DNA and cause cell toxicity, especially when exposed to UV light. The concern is that rather than offering us sun protection, nanoparticles used in sunscreens and cosmetics could actually result in serious skin damage.”

This is emerging science. But let’s say it turns out to be true. Instead of protecting your epidermis from the damaging free radicals released when you get hit with natural UV rays, your sunscreen with nanoparticles could be compounding the skin damage.

Ouch. That stings worse than a sun burn.

Friends of the Earth Health and Environment Campaigner Ian Illuminato, who illuminated me on the potential dangers of nanoparticles in cosmetics, alerted us to this issue. (Note: the problem is not the titanium dioxide or zinc oxide, just their nano versions.)

But now…for…the good news!

FOE, made a list in August 2007 of the only ten companies that confirmed to FOE that they have kept nanoparticles out of their products. So if you are concerned about nanoparticles in sunscreens look to these brands (some make sunscreens, others make moisturizers with sun protection):

Alba Botanica

Allergan

Avalon Organics

Black Opal

Blistex

Chattem, Inc. — Bullfrog

Lakeview Laboratories — Tatoo Goo

Lavera

Schwarzkopf & Henkel

Soleo Organics

Other sunscreens might also be nano-free – or not. Manufacturers typically don’t disclose which products contain nanoparticles (which are impressively tiny, with one nanometer being one-millionth of a millimeter).

The cosmetics industry uses nanoparticles in an array of products, including soaps, toothpaste, hair shampoos and conditioners, foundations, moisturizers and eye shadow. But none are subject to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

New rules passed in the European Union in March require label disclosure of nanoparticles in cosmetics as well as mandating safety testing. (Look for the “EU compliant” notation on a beauty product.)

Illuminato reports that groups monitoring the potential threat from nanoparticles are far from agreeing on the degree of harm.

Nanos perpetrate damage by crossing into the blood stream, but how much effect they have on the body is not well understood or researched, he said.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

It’s been brought to my attention that my earlier references to the Clampetts ages me terribly and may be sailing over the heads of some of our younger readers.

Apparently, the person flagging this didn’t realize that I’ve seen the Beverly Hillbillies ONLY on TVLand in recent reruns and never in person in real time (during the 1960s and 70s, God forbid).

Of course, I failed to watch TV in the 1980s, and I only remember two shows from the 1990s, which are rather a blur. Those would be Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond. But no one had gardens on those shows. I mean, Jerry, gardening? Maybe if the garden were in his refrigerator. So we may be stuck with Jed, Jethro and Daisy May and Elly May. We’ll see.

More importantly, the garden now has plants. Cool huh?

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?

For an increasing number of consumers, these are important questions. But the answers are spread across a universe of websites, books and human resources. That’s where GoodGuide and TheFind come in. GoodGuide is an online index that rates green food, toys, personal care and household products. TheFind is a shopping search engine that allows you to search and segregate green consumer goods. Both websites want to help you find the stuff that’s legitimately green, with the attributes that you value, and also ferret out products making false claims of sustainability.

Both websites also aim big: GoodGuide has already investigated tens of thousands of green products and wants to become the largest, most reliable online tool that consumers employ to vet the green credentials of a product, be it baby food or dog food, hairspray or bug spray, an action figure or a soil activator.

The free service tells prospective buyers about the product’s contents, its environmental pedigree and whether its manufacturer is working to lower greenhouse gas emissions, embracing low-impact methods, cultivating non-toxic alternatives, treating workers fairly and offering transparency into company workings.

The GoodGuide, which launched last September, already boasts a library of 70,000 products and is getting daily queries from the public for more, says Jodie Van Horn, director of partnerships for GoodGuide. (Now that consumers can assess their food, they’re asking for the guide to step up its inventory of pet foods.)

Now about TheFind. Its goal is simple: to show shoppers “everything” that’s available for sale, online and locally.

“With Google you can see (and) you can find any article from any website anywhere, we’re just trying to do that with shopping,” says TheFind’s CEO Siva Kumar. “It can be done.”

A distinguishing feature of TheFind, which can link shoppers to 500,000 stores, is that it gives searchers an option to sift out the “green” products and/or find local stores. The local shopping option, in some instances, may offer the lowest carbon-footprint purchase. All told, TheFind can locate some 320 million products, and more than a million of them are part of its green data collection.

Are you sensing that the GoodGuide and TheFind might be compatible? So did the proprietors, which is how TheFind and GoodGuide came to partner by interlinking to each other’s data. This just-announced partnership should put green consumers on the fast track to finding the best-of-class, verifiably green products – in the price and location they want.

What we do:

We are the owners of an artisanal organic coffee roasting company.

How it helps:

We source 100% organic, ethically traded coffees from small scale farmers who practice responsible land stewardship and fair trade. Shade grown organic coffee farming discourages rainforest destruction, protects the watershed and the eco system and the farmer. Shade Grown organic coffee tastes better and retains more of the healthful benefits of coffee. (Neumann pictured at right.)

How we got here:

We have been involved in coffee since the 1980s and started Florida’s first and only Organic Fair Trade coffee roasting company, Sweetwater Coffee. We sold Sweetwater last year after it became too large for us to maintain our vision of offering only the finest small batch roasted organic coffees, and have refocused as a retail direct roaster.  We recently launched our web store and will be opening our retail store and coffee bar in May.

Where we’re going:

The superior quality of organic coffee makes this business a win-win for everyone in the supply chain. Today’s educated, eco-conscious coffee lover demands delicious, ethically traded, sustainably farmed coffee –the future is bright for organic coffee and for our small business. We have no current plans for major expansion, and are focused on a sustainable direct trade business model that provides a quality coffee and hands-on service to our community.

How we’re doing:

As green entrepreneurs it is our commitment to and passion for our craft and our product that drives us. Retail is a new area for us (our previous company was wholesale only), and we look forward to sharing our passion and enthusiasm for our product directly with our end customers for the first time.

Advice:

Follow your passion and never compromise your vision.

See more profiles at MY GREEN JOB

See Recent Green Jobs Listings

What I do:

I bake organic, gluten free, dairy free cookies and brownies at my bakery, Molasses Bakery.

How it helps:

It enables people who are on gluten-free and dairy-free diets to enjoy the same type of desserts and baked goods as those not on restrictive diets. I believe that organic foods are the most environmentally ethical choice and the healthiest for your body.

Where I’m going:

More and more people are taking wheat and dairy out of their diets due to intolerances and life style choices. They are also turning to organics as a means of keeping themselves and the planet healthy. As these choices become more common, Molasses Bakery will be able to provide treats that people feel good about buying. The combination of organic and gluten-free is sometimes difficult to find and Molasses fills that niche.

How I’m doing:

Before the recession hit, I was steadily building clientele. Now it is more difficult to persuade new stores to carry my products, but I continue to receive steady orders from my current clients and many compliments from happy customers.

Advice:

Passion drives creativity. If you let your passion direct you, you will reach your goal. Also, it never hurts to have good financial planning and a carefully plotted business plan.

See more profiles at MY GREEN JOB

See Recent Green Jobs Listings

With unemployment at a 25-year peak, it’s sometimes difficult to find the good news. The silver lining.

You have to look for it. Sometimes you have to pull up a curtain, or crawl behind the scenes, but we believe it’s there: a green jobs revolution.

OK. Maybe the revolution is more of a restless assemblage, a loose gathering on the horizon than a storming of the palace. But we’ll take it. When we started looking into it, we discovered that green jobs are bubbling up in so many sectors. They’re rewarding, forward-looking and surprisingly well-paying.

The people we’ve been talking to about their planet-preserving employment are beyond enthused. Whether they’re in recycling, home building, organic baking, new energy or water conservation, so many green-collar workers in these new (and some old) jobs see a bright future. Just read their stories, which begin today on GreenRightNow in our Business section. Look for the “My Green Job” headlines.

We start with Susan Casias, a woman whose chosen career involves destruction and renewal — she’s head of a document shredding department. Casias’ verve for the work is infectious. She loves her job and tells her employees that they’re “superheroes” because they’re fighting crime and saving the planet!

Later this week and every week throughout April, we’ll bring you more stories about other people in green endeavors.

And if you know someone who’s gone green who wants to tell how they’re doing, we would love to hear about them! Please drop us an email. (Or a tweet on Twitter.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Want to dress just like Michelle Obama, but can’t afford to? You can replicate her garden instead!

Local Harvest (.org) has put together a list of seeds similar to those that will be used in the presidential veggie garden. If you’re considering your own home-ag project, it’s worth a look. The carefully plotted White House garden will feature a lot of green leafy stuff with at least five varieties of lettuce as well as spinach, snap peas and broccoli (apparently the Obamas are NOT broccoli-phobic), promising a bounty of antioxidants and a lot of fun times for the receiving chefs. All this seasonal cool Mid Atlantic produce we assume will be followed by tomatoes and squash later on.

The kitchen garden also will be a wonderfully aromatic venue with lots of herbs like sage, chamomile, thyme, marjoram and rosemary. And there will be flowers, in particular, marigolds and nasturtiums, which are known for attracting beneficial bugs and deterring pests, demonstrating the technique of “companion gardening” popular with organic growers in which flowers complement and assist the veggies. Think of it as bipartisan support.

New Year’s Eve is upon us, an occasion when even teetotalers may be tempted to toss back a couple of stiff drinks. Celebrants concerned with the origins of their booze are in better shape than ever this year, with enough organically produced spirits available to intoxicate the whole of Times Square.

The most popular variety of liquor for organic producers appears to be vodka: You could stock a nice little bar choosing only from green-friendly vodkas with numbers in their names: Vodka 360 and Vodka 14, for instance, alongside Square One, whose promotional materials (after scrupulously detailing a tightly-controlled production process) offer plenty of unusual imbibing ideas, from “culinary style” to tea-infused cocktails.

In keeping with wider vodka trends, some offer varieties infused with things like cucumber; Crop Vodka goes a step further, offering the unusual choice of tomato infusion — an excellent idea for Bloody Marys.

Not content to stick with a single product, the Organic Spirits Company may emphasize its Juniper Green Gin, which it says is “the world’s first organic London dry gin,” but it also produces vodka (of course), plain and spiced rums, and even a scotch whiskey using organic methods. All have won awards, but the company seems most proud of an endorsement from the Royal Family, whose members probably know a thing or two about gin.

And lest you think there are only organic options for garden-variety spirits, check out the Del Maguey company, which as of this writing offers a whopping seven varieties of mescal, each of which is produced within a single Oaxacan village using no chemicals, colorings, or additives. (They also come packaged in distinctive straw containers that may be redundant packaging but are appealing enough to reuse in a variety of ways.) Find outlets, retailers and restaurants, on their website.

“Sip it, don’t shoot it,” the company urges, though it also suggests a tempting non-straight option: dropping a shot on top of a freshly made margarita. (Unless you’re the designated driver.)

Happy New Year!

Copyright © 2008 Green right Now  | Distributed by Noofangle Media

The smell of autumn permeates the air. The cool, crisp weather signals fall’s annual crimson-colored foliage. For many an avid lawn keeper, the harvest season often means returning to the never-ending chore of raking and bagging leaves, then setting them at curbside for the weekly garbage haul-off. But stop right there.

Leaves are packed full of nutrients! Under normal growing conditions — with varied values, based on the source and condition of each tree — leaves are jam-packed with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, chloride, boron, iron, sodium, copper, and zinc. To simply rake and bag them up, only to be hauled off to the garbage landfill is a total waste of nature’s vast supply of rich nutrients, perfect for replenishing the soil.

So how do you go green in the fall? Start the process by not throwing away your leaves. There are alternatives. Mowing leaves, then mulching, and composting are the most effective way to reuse and recycle leaf mixtures. In addition, leaves can be used for overall soil improvement, directly working them into garden and flowerbed soils by tilling them in.

Master Gardener Beth Finlay, of Berks County, Pa., educated through the Penn State University Master Gardener Program, is an avid-promoter of mulching and composting autumn’s treasures.

“Rake to get the leaves off of the perennial beds; rake them onto the lawn, then mow both the leaves and the lawn together, which results in a perfect compost mix. This is an ideal mix; ready to place into the compost bin,” Finlay says.

Recycling leaves may seem like additional work, but Finlay drives the point home about these techniques: “Look, (before going green) you’re already doing all the work; you’re raking, bagging and hauling the bags to curbside. All you’re really doing differently is placing the mulched mixtures into a compost pile or taking them to a facility, it’s just a different process, and it’s extremely simple. After a while, it becomes automatic. It just makes more sense.”

“For lighter leaf fall, fine leaves are a good source of nitrogen and great for placing back into the soil,” Finlay explains. “But in Pennsylvania, we suggest using only a finer mixture of leaf mulch, because heavy leaves are too much, and can smother the ground. If your leaf fall is heavy, the fall rains and then snow, will compact the leaves and kill the grass beneath it. So mulch in the fall.”

For those who do have really light leaf fall, recycling is much easier. “In fine form, a leaf and lawn mixture that’s just been mowed, can be left on the lawn,” Finlay says. “If it’s in fine form, it will get down in between the blades of grass and incorporate into the soil; feeding it and supplying it with nutrition.”

This type of fine mixture can additionally be applied in a 3 to 6 inch layer around the base of trees and shrubs, and a 2 to 3 inch mulch mixture can be placed in annual perennial flowerbeds, for a beneficial source of nutrients.