Like most children, Halloween is one of my kids' favorite things about the month of October. However, it is a holiday that's celebration can have a real negative impact on the environment. From the disposable costumes and plastic candy wrappers that are littered throughout the neighborhoods, to the electrically lit pumpkins and blow up lawn decorations that are kept inflated night after night, Halloween can have a SCARY effect on our planet. Luckily there are many simple steps we can take as parents to make Halloween an eco- friendly holiday.

Costumes - I know this is a difficult one with all the commercialism and cartoon bombardment our kids get at every turn, but avoiding brand new store bought costumes each year can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Costume ideas that are more eco friendly include renting a costume, passing on your older costumes to someone else’s kids or have someone else’s kids pass down their costumes to your kids. You can also make cute and simple costumes out of old sheets and clothing. September and October are also times of the year when thrift stores carry many costumes. These eco-friendly costume ideas not only promote recycling but will also save you a lot of money.

Treat bags - Instead of buying a new plastic bucket every year for your kids to collect their treats in, try using a cloth bag, a bucket from home, a pillowcase or a basket which you can decorate to match your kid’s costume. In September and October, you will likely find recycled Halloween buckets/baskets for sale at your local thrift store as well.

Treats - Try to buy treats that use as little packaging as possible or treats that use eco-friendly packaging. We as parents can also remind our kids and neighborhood trick-or-treaters to keep plastic wrappers and all other garbage off the ground and in the garbage. Some chidlren may even feel inspired to pick up wrappers found on their trick or treating route.

Pumpkins - If you are able to purchase your pumpkin from a local farmer instead of a large supermarket, your local farmer will receive a larger portion of the food dollar supporting endangered family farms and ensuring that healthy, flavorful, nourishing and abundant food will be available for future generations. Buying local keeps your dollars circulating in your community and builds a stronger regional economy. When your pumpkin has lost its Halloween flair, you can compost it in your yard waste bin and save precious space in our landfill.

 I heard about this on NPR and thought I would pass it on.....

I am happy to hear that "green" is going mainstream. There are some down sides to greening mass production that's done overseas ( as you will hear when you listen to this story), but I am still happy to hear about the direction we are slowly heading in.

  Zoe&Zac, the new "green" shoe collection from Payless Shoes, hit shelves last week on Monday, April 13. The collection offers shoes featuring organic cotton canvas, hemp, linen, EVA (non-PVC) foam beds, recycled rubber and water-based glues.

The entire collection for women and girls is offered at a budget friendly price of under $30. The packaging is also eco-smart and uses 100 percent recycled shoe boxes printed with soy-based inks.

Also, for every Zoe&Zac item bought, Payless will contribute $1 to The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Campaign.

I just got back from a big Costco trip this a.m. and continue to be impressed with all the organic itmes they are carrying. I bought organic cage free brown eggs, organic chicken, beef, milk, coffee, cereal, ketchup, lettuce, spinach, carrots, butter, spaghetti sauce, and pasta.

There were several other organic items I didn't buy today but I am pleased with the widening selection they offer on organic foods. They even sell some organic cotton clothes. 

We buy our ECO brand laundry soap there and now they offer a Kirkland brand organic laundry detergent too so you have more than one choice.For washing cloth diapers, I buy bulk vinegar and baking soda at Costco which saves a lot of money. 

Does anyone else have good tips on saving money on organic / local food / goods? 

I feel a movement coming on...I was inspired by this, and wanted to share.

ROSA LOVES

This CROW clothing company is an inspiration. They are eco-all the way around- and offer a sliding scale pricing for their clothing line. It reminds me of the business model that One World Everybody Eats uses. It is so great that companies are beginning to have such a positive and inspirational business model. Definitely something to support!

http://climate.weather.com/video/?clip=10859

We have solar bras but our cars are still running on gasoline????

Something is wrong here.  

The kids and I went to the Goodwill today to do a little shopping and I noticed that the employees were wearing T shirts that read, "Goodwill, Not Landfill". I love that. They usually focus their marketing on all of their humanitarian efforts which are wonderful too and include education, training, and job placement programs for people with disabilities. But it seems now they are focusing on the ecological benefits of donating and shopping at thrift stores too.

I still cant believe how often I hear people say they went through their things and threw out everything they didn't use anymore.  I keep hoping they mean they gave it away but I have a feeling many times they REALLY mean that they threw it away. 

While at the checkout line, I found information on the Goodwill's new online store. What a great idea! 

There is a website for everything I tell ya!

I thought it would be helpful to post a site that I was told about on this blog. I know we are all trying to take small steps, and this site might help educate and inform in regards to laundry.

www.laundrylist.org 

I was just looking at these expensive tee shirts from Tonic.  I've been buying most of my clothes used, but when I do splurge and buy something new I'd like it to be from a company like this.  You can choose the cause you wish to support.  I like the concept.  Oh, and they are made from organic cotton and bamboo.  

Now that the torrential rains are behind us (or at least for the most part I hope) I have started to hang our clothes out to dry again. I know not everyone loves doing laundry.....I am weird like that.....but it feels very satisfying to do a household chore, carbon free. The feeling I think is comparable to getting food out of your own garden or walkiing / biking to an errand you would normally drive to.

If you don't already hang your clothes to dry and are interested in trying it, you don't have to have a traditional clothesline in the backyard to do so. We have a clothesline double strung the width of the garage inside the garage that works great. When we are home, we just leave the garage door open and during the summer months the clothes are dry in less than a day, sometimes less than a few hours. 

 Apparently, Martha Stewart even likes the idea of hanging laundry (or at least having someone do it for her : )

While googling hanging +laundry, I came across this green tip on her website.

Did you know that the tumble dryer consumes the most energy of all of your household appliances? To cut back on energy usage, you can easily hang your clothes to dry instead, and use the dryer as a last resort. Drying outside will make them smell fresher, and the added humidity is great for your plants, skin, and hair. Cutting your tumble dryer use reduces your home's CO2 emissions, and there's strong evidence that human emissions, such as CO2, are changing the world's climate. If you have to use the dryer, keep the filter lint-free and run loads back to back while the drum is still hot. And to save energy with your washing machine, reserve hot water for very dirty loads, and always rinse in cold water.

When choosing detergents, go with phosphate-free detergents. Phosphates go through the sewage system and can cause problems in the waterways. Algae feeds on phosphates, and high levels can use up the oxygen in the water, suffocating plant and animal life. So next time your clothes need drying, try the healthy alternative.

I heard this story on the radio yesterday (now I cant find the radio program online) and thought it was a great eco friendly idea.

The Goodwill and San Francisco designer Nick Graham will use used clothes donated to the Goodwill to make new fashions that will sell for more, be one of kind items and save LOTS of clothing from entering the landfills.  

What's different here is the green goal. The Bay Area Goodwill is the first in the country to try this pilot project, with the ultimate ambition of taking the line to the mass market and, in the process, saving 75 percent of all its donated items from ending up as landfill. 

 About 50 pieces will also be available at www.shopwilliamgood.com in mid-November.

Today I shopped at Sweet Pea, a local consignment store that sells children's clothing.  They lured me in with their 50% off sale and  I ended up spending WAY more than I  intended.  BUT, as I was trying to make myself not feel as guilty about the purchases on the way home, I thought about all the positives about spending my money at Sweet Pea (or a comparable business):

1) It is used clothing so no extra pollution, resources,  or low paid labor was involved in the purchase

2) I supported a local, non-chain business run by another mom

3) I am helping other moms make some extra cash (because of the consignment aspect of the business) 

4) And lastly, I still get to indulge in buying some darn cute baby girl clothes (a weakness for me ever since having a girl I am sorry to say...) 

I keep meaning to post this.

Since I bake cakes, I'm trying to be "green" with it. I noticed the other day that the "Wilton" brand is Made in the USA. At least the frosting they make is. I will have to double check on the pans and things.

Dan brought home the other day a pair of giraffe socks for Victoria. I noticed they are Made in the USA. I will have to check out the gift shop the next time I go to Safari West and find more things that are made in the USA.

Greenfeet is a  website that I came across while reading a magazine article  in a waiting room today . It looks like they carry many interesting "eco products". It was begun by a stay at home mom  who has 7 employees (including her husband : ) and a projected gross revenue for 2008 of 3.5 million dollars. The article focuses on how to run a green business.....

Greenfeet makes it easier to leave smaller, "greener" footprints. Hey, nobody's perfect - including us. We recognize that there are often obstacles in the path of green footprints. They range from awareness and knowledge to economics and availability. It's our mission to help everyone overcome these obstacles. Welcome to Greenfeet! We truly want your experience to be fun and educational. We are dedicated to helping you make informed decisions about our products, so you are 100% confident in your purchase. Our first responsibility is to provide high-quality, truly natural products that you can trust. If you don't trust us, then you won't buy from us again and, quite frankly, we don't like that any more than you do. We continually strive to:

• Live by the philosophy that our customers are like family, treating each one with respect and honesty.
• Treat our employees with respect, loyalty and fairness. Their commitment is key to Greenfeet's success.
• Be socially and environmentally active in our local community, and conduct business in an ethical and responsible manner.

Thanks to EnviroMom, I just learned that Goodwill and Salvation Army may be places we DON'T want to donate to.  This surprised me, but like most things, things are never as simple as they seem.  Seems like a simple and honorable situation of donating things, buying things and that's it!  But no, Goodwill and Salvation Army are big money operations, which usually translates to less than ideal aspects to the company.

Goodwill donates a large portion of clothing overseas.  Hmmm, besides the shipping aspect, this seems like a nice thing because people overseas get used clothing at a cheap price.  BUT this displaces local textile workers overseas.  So it's not such a good thing for those people trying to make a living.

 So do we stop shopping and donating to Goodwill?  Or just shop there and not donate?  But shopping there essentially tells Goodwill that their business practices are okay with us. 

 So, what are the alternatives?  Freecycle, Craigslist, Swaptree, Neighborrow,  ebay, consignment shops and good old fashioned garage sales to name a few.  Can anyone think of other ways to donate or recycle things we don't use anymore?

My friend Jen introduced me to the website etsy.  Everything sold is made by hand.
Items range from pottery, to jewelry, to clothing, to kid's toys, to ......you name it!
It's a great way to support "grass-roots" creativity and avoid the "made in china" stuff.
Any creative green mommies out there can also use etsy.com to sell whatever it is you make to earn a little cash on the side. Everything I have purchased from etsy has been beautiful and the service/delivery is great.

Wells Fargo Center for the Arts is hosting a used clothing sale for children on October 19th from 11-7pm and Oct 20th from 10-4pm.

There will be a huge selection of quality childrens clothing in all sizes. Shoes, toys, tights and accessories too. Wee Peats offers slightly experienced  quality clothing, and Wee Three Children's Store will bring up past years Fall/Winter clearance. Over 25,000 pieces! Excellent shopping both days, all day!

Click here for more information! 

I was at Target earlier today and noticed in the Women's/Junior's sections they had a few tees with green messages, but they were made in China and not out of sustainable fabric!  Just reminded me that I need to really be smart when buying green and make sure I'm not just a victim of marketing.  

One of the families at David's school owns www.elementalfour.com

A Sonoma County company selling sustainable clothing, check it out! 

Tomorrow at Finley Community Center, the Santa Rosa Park and Rec Dept is hosting a Kids Stuff Flea Market.

There will be community members selling their used children's books, toys, games and clothes.It is a great way to recycle items, conserve resources and save money too.

Date: Saturday , Sept 29th (tomorrow) from 10-2 pm

Address: 2060 W College Ave in Santa Rosa