In June, Greenpeace released “Slaughtering the Amazon,” a three-year investigation into deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon. Greenpeace found that people were taking over protected lands in order to expand their cattle ranches. This was not only illegal, but large quantities of greenhouse gases were being released into the atmosphere as a result of the rapidly depleting forests.

Adidas, Nike and Timberland have committed to cancel supplier contracts unless their products were guaranteed to be free from Amazon destruction.

Deforestation accounts for around one fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than all the world’s trains, planes and cars combined, and Greenpeace estimates that the cattle industry is responsible for  80 percent of all deforestation.

Now, just four months after the release of “Slaughtering the Amazon,” positive steps are being taken by some of the big companies implicated.

“Each of the companies, JBS-Friboi, Grupo Bertin, Minerva and Marfrig, declared the adoption of environmental and social standards to ensure their products are free from cattle raised in newly deforested areas of the rainforest,” according to a Greenpeace statement.

Greenpeace says there now will be a strong monitoring of supply chains and clear targets for the registration of farms that both directly and indirectly supply cattle. There also will be steps taken to end the purchase of cattle from protected land and from farms that use slave labor.

Bertin, one of the largest leather traders named in the report, supplies shoe manufacturers such as Adidas, Nike and Timberland. Since the release of the investigation, all three manufacturers have committed to cancel supplier contracts unless their products were guaranteed to be free from Amazon destruction.

“This is an important step in the fight to stop the destruction of one of the world’s most critical rainforests and vital to helping tackle climate change,” said Paulo Adario, Greenpeace Amazon campaign director, in a statement.

Gov. Blairo Maggi of the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, which has the largest cattle herd in Brazil, has also announced that the state would support efforts to protect the Amazon and would provide high-resolution satellite images for monitoring.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Photo: Nike

In just one year, 300 million pairs of shoes are thrown away. These shoes end up in landfills across the US. Not only do these shoes not easily break down, the glue that holds a shoe together is toxic. So instead of adding to the growing trash problem, give your shoes a new life. What’s old to you, could be a playground for someone else thanks to Nike.

Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe program, in partnership with the National Recycling Coalition, takes used athletic shoes and transforms them into something new.  The program, which began in 1990, has collected and recycled over 24 million pairs of shoes. Old athletic shoes are converted into Nike Grind, material that is then used to make:

• Athletic facilities: tracks, basketball and tennis courts, playgrounds, and turf for soccer and football fields
• Clothing accessories: zipper pulls, snaps and buttons
• Shoes: Air Jordan XX3, Nike Trash Talk, Tiempo Super Ligera Soccer Shoe

With grinding facilities in Wilsonville, Ore., and Meerhout, Belgium, donated shoes are broken down into three parts:

• Nike Grind Rubber, made from the shoe’s outsole, is used in track surfaces, interlocking gym flooring tiles, playground surfacing and consumer products, such as new footwear outsoles and trim items like buttons and zipper pulls.
• Nike Grind Foam, made from the shoe’s midsole, is used as a cushion for outdoor basketball and tennis courts, as well as futsal fields.
• Nike Grind Upper, made from the shoe’s fabric upper, is used in the creation of cushioning pads for indoor basketball, volleyball courts and equestrian surfacing products.

Nike’s Belgium distribution center runs completely on wind power. “The facility produces enough power not only to provide energy for the distribution center but also puts energy back into the grid for the community to use,” said Kate Meyers with Nike.

Nike accepts any brand athletic shoe, no matter how worn out, excluding only cleats and spikes. There are over 300 drop off locations nationwide at Nike stores, and if there is not one near you, you can mail your shoes directly to Nike’s distribution facility. Nike’s Reuse-A-Shoe also reaches Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada.

Nike has been doing well by the environment for quite a while now. “We take our commitment to the environment very seriously.  We were the first US company to join the World Wildlife Fund’s Climate Savers Program where we have reduced our CO2 emissions– 18 percent over what it was 10 years ago,” said Meyers.

But, if your shoes are not totally worn out, there is another option. Just because you don’t think your shoes are trendy anymore, doesn’t mean someone else wouldn’t wear them. If your shoes are wearable, there are great charities that you can donate your shoes to such as Soles4Souls. This organization that is “Changing the World One Pair at a Time” gives gently worn shoes to people in need.

“There are an estimated 1.52 billion pairs in American closets that are no longer being worn,” stated Elizabeth Kirk, Public Relations and Marketing for Soles4Souls, Inc. Soles4Souls has distributed over four million pairs of shoes in 125 countries. They accept ALL types of shoes, even a single shoe will taken.  Soles4Souls gives you an opportunity to do good for the environment and for those less fortunate all at the same time.

Check here for a drop off location near you. “We have anywhere from 1,500 to 3,000 retail locations that are currently collecting shoes.  We ask that the public clean out their closet, take their shoes to one of these participation locations and in most cases receive a discount on a new pair,” said Kirk.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

When we put our shoes on, we don’t really think about where they’ve been before they got to us.

Most likely, they were manufactured somewhere overseas, China or Vietnam perhaps, then shipped to the United States. But where did the material used to manufacture them come from? Are your shoes made of leather? If so, there’s a chance they’re contributing to climate change — and the illegal destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

Greenpeace International says rainforests are being needlessly lost not just to the meat trade but to the leather industry, as cattle ranches expand illegally in Brazilian Amazon region.

In June, Greenpeace released Slaughtering the Amazon, a three year investigation into the deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. The group found that illegal incursions by cattle ranchers were rapidly depleting the forests, which released large quantities of greenhouse gases otherwise stored in the tropical environment.

“Forest destruction accounts for almost 1/5 of global emissions-that is more climate pollution than all the world’s cars, trucks, trains, planes, and ships combined,” said Lindsey Allen, Forest Campaigner for Greenpeace.

“Slaughtering the Amazon” estimates that illegal expansion of cattle ranches is responsible for 80% of all deforestation, and according to Greenpeace, “the cattle sector in the Brazilian Amazon is the largest driver of deforestation in the world, responsible for an average of one acre lost every 8 seconds.”

Usually, this would be when we would expect for someone to tell us to pay attention to where our steak is coming from. It’s true that Brazil is now the world’s largest beef exporter, and the meat trade is a huge player in deforestation. But the actual beef is not the only big money maker.  The hides of the cattle play a larger role than you might imagine in its value.

Leather accounts for more than one quarter of the total value of the cattle trade for Brazil. The report states that “the Brazilian leather industry’s total export revenue in 2008 was $1.9 billion from some 24,800,000 million hides.” The largest use of the leather is not furniture or garments, but shoe production.

Bertin, the world’s largest leather trader, receives their hides from the Brazilian Amazon and supplies brands such as Nike, Adidas/Reebok, Timberland, Prada, Geox, and Clarks.

These surprising details contained in the “Slaughtering of the Amazon” were eye-opening to these shoe manufactures. Nike took the first step.

“When Greenpeace brought this issue to our attention we knew that Amazon deforestation is a serious concern and one that required we immediately look into our supply chain and leather sourcing,” stated Kate Meyers, Corporate Communications Manager for Nike. The company has developed a new policy that’s asking suppliers to verify where they’re getting their leather.

Putting Leather on a More Sustainable Track

Nike is giving suppliers until July 1, 2010, to create a transparent system showing none of the leather came from ranches responsible for illegal deforestation. Nike also will require that suppliers join the Leather Working Group by December 2009.

“Our hope for the new policy is that through the Leather Working Group the industry will work together over the next 12 months to institute a traceability system that the entire industry can use,” said Meyers.

The Leather Working Group (LWG), founded in 2005, is engaged in reducing environmental impacts through the footwear leather supply chain. They audit leather manufacturers, ranking them on environmental stewardship. The LWG will help set the traceability and measurement requirements for the new system, which will be incorporated into current protocol.

Other shoe companies also are trying to make changes. Adidas/Reebok released their policy last week.

Greenpeace, however, is not certain the Adidas/Reebok plan goes far enough, because it may not hold all suppliers accountable. The Adidas/Reebok policy restricts all leather trading with the Amazon Biome suppliers, but Greenpeace worries that other leather traders could still receive leather from the rainforest  and sell to Adidas/Reebok.

“The policy in our opinion needs to be strengthened a bit…We believe it is better to set a timeline to suppliers of leather to commit to an end of new deforestation within the Amazon,” said Oliver Salge, Head Forest and Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace. Adidas/Reebok and Greenpeace are currently working together to develop a stronger policy.

Meanwhile, Bertin also is under guidance from the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation to tighten its supply chain and make sure its operations do not encourage illegal deforestation or the illegal use of lands belonging to indigenous people.

For consumers who want to be part of the solution, environmentally friendly shoes are popping up everywhere.

• Online mega-shoe store Zappos has eco-friendly and vegan categories.

• La Sportiva has a new line of recycled shoes. Their new sustainable shoes are made of recycled rubber for the outsole and recycled nylon for the mesh, laces, webbing, and lining.

• Another brand, Simple shoes, whose slogan is “shoes for a happy planet”, offers a 100% sustainable product. You will never guess what things they use to make their shoes. Simple Shoes (pictured, right) are made out of materials such as hemp, bamboo, corks, car tires, and coconut shells.

(Photo credits: Greenpeace International, Nike, Simple Shoes.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Phoenix Sun’s all-star guard and environmental advocate Steve Nash worked with Nike to this week launch the new Zoom MVP Trash Talk that is made from scrap materials left over from the footwear manufacturing process.

The shoe also will be packaged in Nike’s new Considered Design shoebox, made from 100 percent recycled fiber and featuring a design that reduces the fiber content by approximately 30 percent. Nike says the Considered Design shoebox will be fully launched across all Nike footwear styles by 2011, which is expected to save nearly 12,000 metric tons of cardboard or the equivalent of 200,000 trees. Achieving this goal would mean waste in Nike’s supply chain will be reduced by 17 percent and the use of environmentally preferred materials will be increased by 20 percent.

The Nike Zoom MVP Trash Talk has a number of green characteristics:

• The upper is stitched together from leather and synthetic leather waste from the manufacturing process.
• The outsole uses environmentally preferred rubber that reduces toxics and incorporates Nike Grind* material from footwear outsole manufacturing waste.
• The shoe laces are made from 100 percent recycled polyester and sock liners use recycled Ethylene Vinyl Acetate, commonly known as “foam rubber.”
• The shoe will be packaged in a corrugated shoe box made from 100 percent recycled fiber, using 30 percent less material compared to the previous design.

Nike will make available a limited number of the Nike Zoom MVP Trash Talk shoes at the House of Hoops by Foot Locker in Los Angeles, New York and Chicago. The suggested retail price is $92.

Steelers fans are adding a new team color to their list: green.

Reebok is offering the first eco-friendly Super Bowl championship tee in organic cotton.  The shirts are made from organic cotton yarn with hang tags made of recycled materials. The shirts also feature green stitching on the shoulder and inside neck seams to represent the organic material.

The championship shirts are always a best seller and “by incorporating an eco-friendly element to them, the Reebok brand and the NFL are using the global platform of the Super Bowl to raise awareness about environmentally-conscious opportunities,” said John McMahon, Director of Marketing for Reebok Sports licensed Division in a statement.

If you’re not a Steelers fan, but still want green sportswear you are in luck. Reebok will be releasing a new line of eco-friendly NFL licensed apparel later this year. The line will include products made of recycled polyester and 100% organic cotton.

(Psst: Nike offers a few organic items available as well.)

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

We’re too familiar with the downsides of the holiday season. Bags of new things come into the house and get hidden in already-full closets and drawers. Boxes of decorations come out of their hiding places, muscling their way into your living space. Wrapping paper and ribbons multiply like guppies, scissors and tape go missing, cookies come out of the oven and the doorbell rings. When it’s all over, we work to find places for the new stuff, stash the decorations again and vow to make next year different.

Guess what. It’s next year.

What if – indulge us here, for a moment – what if you could simplify first this year, getting rid of things you don’t use, recycling them where they’ll be appreciated? What if you could make space now, and begin the New Year with closets that don’t look like they’ve been through a natural disaster?

You can. And you’ll feel so good, because one computer, one stuffed animal or one pair of old athletic shoes can change a life.

“You’ve heard the story about the young person tossing starfish back into the ocean when they washed up on shore and were in danger of dying in the hot sun, right?” asked Barry Cranmer, president of the Share the Technology computer recycling project. “Someone asks why she was bothering because there were so many and she wouldn’t be able to rescue them all, so it wouldn’t really make any difference.

“As she tosses another back into the water, she says, ‘it will make a difference to this one.’ “

Take a quick tour of your closets, the basement, the garage. Are there books, tools, sports equipment you no longer need or use? Old towels, a wedding dress, a wheelbarrow?

Let’s save some starfish.

The kids’ room

Kendra Robins knows her territory. The founder of Project Night Night, a program that gives books, stuffed animals and blankets to homeless children, learned when she had her son that not all toys find their forever home the first time around.

Children “find their favorites, and those get super-loved,” she said. “The other ones sit on a shelf, looking cute. Things are either tattered beyond recognition or nearly pristine.”

This year, in its fourth year of operation, Project Night Night will distribute more than 25,000 tote bags to kids who don’t have homes. Each bag will include a brand new blanket, at least one children’s book, and at least one gently used stuffed animal, most of which have been donated from kids’ rooms just like yours.

“Shelters use them for welcome gifts. All of this is new and very scary to the child, and some of the shelters are not that nice. A lot of kids are frightened, and having a stuffed animal helps,” Robins said. Books are important because homeless kids often have lower academic achievements than others. And the blankets give them something new, all their own, to cuddle for security.

Project Night Night has drop-off locations in Phoenix, Arizona, the Bay Area in California and in Solon, Ohio, and five mailing addresses around the country. You can also work with the organization to keep your donations in your own community. Project Night Night sells its Tote Bags online for $3.50; you commit to packing them and donating them to a shelter of your own choosing or one of the 300 shelters with which they already have affiliations.