Lighten Your Carbon Footprint

1. Buying organic will help to ensure that your children and grandchildren have a friendly environment in the future.

2. Buying organic promotes a better market for the farmer and better  prices for the consumer.

3. Buying organic encourages more farmers to turn to organic farming methods.

4. Buying organic ensure that less synthetic fertilizers and insecticides end up in our water tables.

5. Buying organic supports the contributions made by organic farmers.

6.. Buying organic reduces your carbon footprint.

7. Buying organic means a smaller amount of toxic substances go into the air

8. Buying organic helps the soil to regenerate.

9. Buying organic is body friendly.

10. Buying organic sends a message to the large corporate commercial farmers that we want change.

11. Buying organic will help bring our eco-systems back into balance.

12. Buying organic makes a statement that you care for the environment.

Be proactive! Start buying organic today.

Some suggestions: Organic cotton t-shirts, bamboo linen, organic food stuffs like fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts and seeds, organic cotton baby clothes.

Today, I thought I would go to our local shopping mall to see if I could find some eco-friendly clothing. I was looking for a long sleeved top and pants. The mall I went to is the largest in this city and I spent 2 hours checking out the stores very carefully.

My criteria was that it had to be either hemp, 95% organic cotton or 95% viscose from bamboo. I didn’t want any non-organic cotton and I would have taken something polyester if it was made from recycled plastic.

I spent two hours checking out items I might be interested in and some just to see their content. Out of all the tops that I looked at I found only one made of viscose at a price of $22. I didn’t buy it because I didn’t really like the style. Most everything else was made of regular cotton totally not eco-friendly but rather, eco-damaging. There were items that were rayon and polyester but no mention about recycled plastic. I won’t buy polyester if not from plastic again because it is too damaging to the environment.

I am trying very hard to do my part to lighten my carbon footprint with my shopping practices and to stay local but with out the products being in the local stores I am frustratingly unsuccessful.

I live in a city with a population of 116,000 and I am unaware of any store here that specializes in eco-friendly clothing for men and women. So, when I shop I have to diligently look at all the tags to identify the materials in the item and I am almost 100% disappointed at what I find. Not only did I waste two hours but also the fuel (not eco-friendly)to come home with nothing.

When I arrived home I decided to go on-line to find what I needed. There is a plethora of on-line stores and with-in minutes I was able to find exactly what I was looking for. Mind you I don’t get to have it in my hand until it arrives at my door but at least I didn’t waste hours walking around stores being disappointed.

Now I will chalk this day up as an experiment to see what worked for me, shopping locally or shopping on-line and clearly for me shopping on-line won out this time. So, in my opinion, if you are in the market for eco-friendly clothing don’t waste your time in the stores unless it is a specialty shop for eco-friendly apparel.

By the way,I have also encountered this when looking for eco-friendly linen.

Is your life stagnating right now? Are you having difficulty accomplishing anything? Do you want to improve your luck? Are you always tired and run down? Do you want a change? If this is you then you need to take a look around. You need to identify what is in your life and home right now that is clogging up the energy? Are you a pack rat, a hoarder or just saving all that stuff in case you need it. Are there piles of stuff lying around, stuff you just can’t bear to eliminate?
Well, guess what? Now is the time to take charge. You need to change your environment. Get rid of anything that is not bringing positive energy into your life. I know it can be overwhelming to see what needs to be done but just start will a small space and branch out from there. For instance, if you closet needs revamping choose just one little section. Let’s say you start in your lingerie. Get rid of anything tattered, stained, stretched or doesn’t fit. Decide if it is worthy of giving away or just tossing; and let it go. Then move onto your socks. This is a big one even though they don’t take a lot of space. For some reason we tend to keep the odd ones just in case their partner turns up. If you have a few of these that have been around for a while the divorce is final and the partner won’t be back. Purge! Offer them to a nursery school or nursing home for them to use in puppet crafts. Sort the rest according to their usage and wear-ability and if you don’t use them. Purge!

Once you have uncluttered the first area you have chosen then just for fun try to visualize the energy begin to move into the area and into your life. Keep the space clear and uncluttered to allow new things to come in.
Use this system throughout your entire living space. Remember you can’t get away with just moving the stuff from one place to another, you have to eliminate it. If things have a value but not to you then you can sell them or pass them on to some in need who will love them. Often, things have a new energy in a different environment when someone uses it and it will bring joy to that new space and person.
Be resourceful in your purging and gifting. Enjoy it and begin to feel the benefits in your home, body, mind and spirit. Letting go and passing on these items will open up your space to allow new to come in. And when your are ready, be sure to think of the environment when you acquire the new; what ever that is from an organic cotton hoodie to a new bamboo table, from eco-friendly footwear to energy saving light bulbs.
Start clearing!

It’s that time of year again, where we all rethink our lives and vow to make changes. Changes that will make us better people. Changes that will help us to clean up our bodies and our actions. Inside, we all want to be the best we can be but for some reason we need this time of year to activate our desires. Most of us think about our own physical bodies when making those vows for change. How about adding a new dimension to your vow this time around?

This year, when making your resolution, why not think about the health of the earth. Why not vow to make changes that will lighten your carbon footprint so that the future of the earth will be a viable place for your children and grandchildren.

A simple start would be with your daily purchases. Begin a little bit at a time to incorporate eco-friendly products into your life. Think earth friendly when picking out your cleaners, light bulbs, groceries, clothing, shoes and anything else you can think of to reduce your family’s impact on the planet. Green living in what ever way you can is a good way to make you feel that you are doing your part to clean up the environment and to teach your children to pass it on.

Recently, I came across this unique baby bathtub. The design resembles a womb in both shape and size and it helps baby to make the transition to its unfamiliar new world. This tub is very popular in Europe and is now making its way into homes in America.

Bath time is less stressful for both parents and baby compared with the old familiar style tubs . When babies are placed into the tub they easily return to the fetal position and quickly calm and relax in this warm cozy environment.

The tub has an anti-skid base and it is engineered with a low center of gravity for safety and stability. It meets the most stringent safety regulations worldwide and is phthalate, BPA and lead free. It’s eco-friendly in that it is wholly recyclable, it conserves water and it saves energy. This wonderful item can be used for children up to 35 lbs.

My children and grand-children are long past this stage but I wish there had been a tub like this when they were babies.

This is a good example of what eco-friendly baby accessories there are available to the public today.

Yoga is a workout for the body, mind and spirit. It helps us to become more flexible in all these areas. However, we most often relate a yoga workout to the physical practice. With that in mind we are often very selective in what we choose to wear into the yoga studio. We look for clothes that are loose, free flowing and comfortable (warm or cool depending on our body’s tendencies). We also look for fabrics that breathe and wick away moisture helping us to maintain our cool and calm composure as we twist, stretch and bend.

As a yogi and a yoga teacher I reccommend staying as close to nature as we can with our clothing choices while practicing non-violence or non-harming (one of the yamas) to the environment. What I have found that works well for me is bamboo clothing for yoga. The styles are flattering to the body and the fabric is soft and fresh to the skin. The many properties of bamboo make it perfect for your yoga practice whether it be a Gentle Hatha class or a Vigorous Astanga class.

I support the campaign in preserving mother earth. I do believe that for this one to work, everyone should do their own share. Most of you would surely ask, how? Well, there’s so many ways to contribute in caring for the earth’s preservation. Just by practicing proper waste segregation in our own homes is sure to produce great results.

You don’t need to be an environmental activist to show that you truly care for the environment, in fact, just by patronizing organic products that are made of natural materials like an organic clothing or recyclable bags, or maybe consuming organic foods instead of the ones that were mass produced with the use of fertilizers and chemicals which are very harmful to nature. Best of all, caring for mother earth is not just a choice…it’s a commitment.

In case there are some folks out there that just aren’t sure what eco-friendly clothing is, I thought I would give you some tips.

Firstly, eco-friendly is anything that is not harmful to the environment. When it comes to qualifying clothing as eco-friendly we consider the fibers, the growing habit(sustainability), the farming, the processing, the dyes, the construction and sometimes the shipping. Some of the most eco-friendly fibers my be processed with harsh environmentally damaging chemicals rendering them less eco-friendly.

One of the most eco-friendly fibers is hemp. Hemp is a highly renewable resource with a process that is safe for the environment.

100% organically grown cotton is an eco-friendly fiber that maintains it’s status when the processing avoids bleaching and uses natural vegetable dyes. Locally farmed and manufactured 100% organic cotton is more eco-friendly than imported 100% organic cotton.

Organic bamboo another eco-friendly fiber gets it’s status mostly by the fact that it is highly sustainably, very fast growing and has many properties desirable in clothing, however some bamboo today is still processed in non earth-friendly ways using toxic chemicals.

Recycled polyester is considered eco-friendly because it re-uses plastic water bottles as a portion of the material for the fibers, saving the earth from this ecological danger. Since the amount of these empty used bottles is staggering this fabric could really help clean up the environment.

Soy fabric is made from the waste product in the production of tofu. These waste soy-proteins are spun into fibers and turned into fabric like other yarns. Once again this is a fiber that is very sustainable and eco-friendly. It is said to be so biodegradable that when the garment is worn out you can just throw it into your home compost pile and it will disappear in about 28 days.

The above fibers are the most common eco-friendly ones to date but with growing technology and experimentation more fibers are discovered all the time. Here are some new ones to look for in the coming months or years…seacell(seaweed) , Lenpur(corn), and Stingplus Nettle fabric (stinging nettle).

Bamboo clothing is either 100% bamboo or blended with cotton or Lycra for a silky soft feeling. Since bamboo natural clothing feels so gentle on the skin, it stands to reason that it would benefit from gentle washing as well. Check the garment label for specific instructions.

It is recommended that bamboo clothing is washed in cold water with like colors on the gentle or delicate cycle, using a minimal amount of soap. Because bamboo has a fiber that provides a natural antifungal agent, it will keep your clothes from picking up unwanted germs, bacteria, or odors. Avoid bleaching or using fabric softener on your bamboo clothing. Line or air drying is recommended. Bamboo clothing can be dried on the cool setting, but it may shrink. Never dry bamboo clothing on the warm or hot dryer setting. It can be ironed with care, using a dry iron setting no higher than “low”. If you steam iron bamboo clothing, rings can form in the garment that cannot be washed out.

Mid November marks the start of rifle season in many parts of North America, and all week long my thoughts have been wandering to the trophy buck I aim to haul in this year. For me, heading out to hunting camp is a hallowed tradition that allows me to commune with nature and my fellow man. In some cases, it’s the only chance I get to catch up with old friends, play some competitive hands of euchre and take a swig or two of peppermint schnapps.

But before I drive out to my camp in the woods, it’s essential that I make a list of all the relevant supplies and gear. A good, sharp hunting knife tops the list, along with camouflage wardrobe to keep me warm and hidden from prey. Like many people, I’ve started buying green clothing in order to reduce my carbon footprint and respect the environment. Hemp is one of the most sustainable crops around, and it makes the perfect material for an insulated winter coat.