Green & Clean

The Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on a marketing claim that may have ensnared many environmentally conscious buyers: “bamboo.”

While clothing and other textiles may have started off, at some point, as the rapidly regenerative bamboo, the FTC says companies can’t label rayon as bamboo, even if it’s made from bamboo. Why?

Because, according to the FTC:

Rayon is a man-made fiber created from the cellulose found in plants and trees and processed with harsh chemicals that release hazardous air pollution. Any plant or tree – including bamboo – could be used as the cellulose source, but the fiber that is created is rayon.

The FTC this week sent warning letters to 78 retailers about misguided use of “bamboo” marketing. Among the warned retailers: Amazon.com, Barney’s New York, Bed Bath & Beyond, BJ’s Wholesale Club, Bloomingdale’s, Costco Wholesale, Garnet Hill, Gold Toe, Hanes, Isotoner, JC Penney, Jockey, Kmart, Kohl’s, Land’s End, Macy’s, Maidenform, Nordstrom, Overstock.com, QVC, REI, Saks Fifth Avenue, Sears, Shop NBC, Spiegel, Sports Authority, Target, The Gap, The Great Indoors, Tommy Bahama, Toys R’ Us, Wal-Mart, and Zappos.com. Last year, the FTC sued several retailers for advertising rayon as bamboo.

“We need to make sure companies use proper labeling and advertising in their efforts to appeal to environmentally conscious consumers,” David C. Vladeck, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a prepared statement. “Rayon is rayon, even if bamboo has been used somewhere along the line in the manufacturing process.”

If retailers and manufacturers fail to comply, the penalty can be severe: $16,000 per violation.

The FTC’s consumer tips include this information about “bamboo” rayon:

* Rayon made from bamboo uses “toxic chemicals in a process that releases pollutants into the air.”
* “Extracting bamboo fibers is expensive and time-consuming, and textiles made just from bamboo fiber don’t feel silky smooth.”
* “There’s also no evidence that rayon made from bamboo retains the antimicrobial properties of the bamboo plant.”
* “No traits of the original plant are left in the finished product.”

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There are shockingly few places in the United States where you can escape  mechanical devices, where you can be in a ’silent’ place–though perhaps naturally quiet is a better description.

It’s great for you mind, body, and spirit to slow down, quiet down, and think about conservation. Something which I hold dear to my heart and I encourage everyone to do.

But if you live in a city like i do, you’re unlikely to find five seconds of natural quiet, let alone the five minutes which is the current US average for the longest period without mechanical punctuation.  Though experiencing the natural quiet of wilderness, or even semi-wilderness, may be the ideal, you can still reap some mentally green benefits from silence.

Sitting Quietly Is About Awareness More Than Hearing
After all, when you are sitting quietly in nature part of what you are doing is listening to what is happening around you, but if you are truly quiet and considered about it what you are doing is listening to the silence of yourself. You are observing yourself, silencing the inner monologue and just being. In cultivating this sort of awareness you can really be any place.

Do it now. Close your eyes. Just hear what is around you.

In the space around me right now I hear traffic going by outside, horns far away, a cough on the street below, another beep, the gentle hum of my laptop, a truck pulling up, idling at the traffic light, starting again, voices on the street, someone calling out, child’s voices, a dove (one of a pair) that often land on my windowsill to sun themselves, the heat pipes creaking and trilling.

Notice the Space Between Sounds Not the Sounds
Sitting a bit longer begin to notice the spaces between the sounds. You begin withdrawing your association from I am hearing that sound to just hearing it. You begin to hear a faint continuum punctuated by sound, not the other way around.

On some level it may seem more enjoyable to let the sounds of running water, of trees, of grass blowing, of birds, but for cultivating awareness–something which really is one of the greenest things you can do, becoming more aware of your actions and their cascading effects–any place will do.

Do you meditate and/or find time in your day to close your eyes and give yourself a few minutes of peace and quiet??  I have found that it can uplift your spirit and energy level which can make you a better parent, employee, and lower your overall stress levels.  So go ahead and reward yourself with a few minutes of “you” time!!

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Treat yourself to a FREE all natural spa experience at home with a Eco-Me Natural Body Care Kit .

Natural Body Care by Eco-Me Includes:
1 spray bottle (8 oz) with recipe to mix body tonic spray
1 jar (16 oz) with recipe to mix body sugar scrub
1 jar (16 oz) with recipe to mix body powder
Eco-Me Plant Essential Oil blend (bergamot, lavender, lime) fills up to 4 products
Ingredients to fill each product vinegar, sugar, olive oil, baking powder

Eco-Me containers are reusable, refillable, and recyclable.  Buy refill essential oils and bring your own ingredients to re-use and re-fill containers

Eco-Me Natural Body Care kit is a natural and healthy skin care system.  Exfoliate, tone and soften skin with Eco-Me.  You know it’s safe because you make it yourself.

Ingredients: Bergamot, lavender, lime, vinegar, sugar, olive oil, baking powder.
Free Of Chemicals.
Directions
Follow the directions & recipes included in kit

The kit is valued at $29.95 USD

You may enter the giveaway by:

• Following me on twitter @ecogirl91304
• Retweeting this contest
• Bloging about the giveaway and leaving a link to this post
• Adding this blog your blogroll or website links page
• Subscribe to my feed using the following link

Subscribe to Green & Clean by Email

One entry is allowed per day to U.S. and Canadian residents.  Giveaway will end Feburary 21, 2010 @ 11:59PM PST. One winner will be selected via random.org. The winner will be announced the following day. Please make sure you use the correct email address, as winner will be notified via email. Giveaway winner will have 48 hours to respond, if no response is received, another winner will be selected. We will not share your email with any third parties.

When people move their possessions out of a self-storage unit, they often leave behind a whole lot of things that they don’t really need or want to take with them to their new location. Usually, a storage facility will haul these left-behind items to landfill. However, U-Haul has launched a smart new resource that will keep these items in the consumer stream – a reuse center.

The plan is a self-storage reuse center for customers of the facility. The reuse center provides a “redistribution network for unwanted, gently used household goods, furniture, sporting equipment, bikes and clothing that formerly were destined for landfills.” The plan has been launched in many of U-Haul’s 1,100 self-storage facilities nationwide, which means a whole heck of a lot of stuff is being given a second life, rather than sent to sit for hundreds, or even thousands of years in a landfill pile.

Any items placed in the reuse area are available for any of the customers or facility staff to use. There will also be a donation box in the facility for items that customers want to have donated directly to organizations like the Salvation Army and Goodwill.

Keeping consumer goods in the consumer stream as long as possible is a very green move – “reuse” is the second most important R, after “reduce.” It’s great that U-Haul is starting to promote this concept at at least one of their facilities.

Reusing is Greener Than Recycling
Recycling keeps items out of landfills and turns used things into new things. But it’s also energy intensive to break down old goods and reform them into something new. Far less energy intensive is simply reusing items. There are ways to reuse even the most odd items, like nail files, bottle caps, or even shower curtains – all things that would most likely end up in landfill.

Sometimes it can seem pointless to try and find a reuse for some items, and it feels easier to just toss it in the recycling or trash bin. But even the smallest reuse projects matter, and make a difference.

I’m so tempted to open this post with a series of football clichés and metaphors. You know, something like this:

It’s fourth and goal for Planet Earth. Thirty seconds on the clock with no time-outs left. Down by 3. Do we kick the game-tying field goal or go for the win?

But I’d never, ever stoop so low. Besides, unlike my usual fare, this is definitely a game-tying field goal kind of post.

So, if you find yourself at a party on Sunday, February 7 and the flat screen home theater is displaying images of steroid-pumped men crashing into each other in pursuit of a leather-covered object, hey…at least you’ll know the chips and dips are forward-looking (and organic).

DIY Chips

Make Your Own Tortilla Chips
As Kelly Rossiter explains, all you need is some masa harina flour, water, and salt.

Raw Curried Potato Chips
Hey, even football fans can sometimes go raw. For this eco-treat, you’ll need: 8 large potatoes, curry powder, salt, freshly cracked pepper, cumin, and one organic lemon.

DIY Dips

Lemon-Walnut Hummus
According to our resident expert, Kelly Rossiter, whipping up this popular party dip will require: 1/2 cup walnuts, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cayenne pepper, 15-ounce can chickpeas, extra-virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice, 2 garlic cloves, and sea salt.

Overtime Guacamole
This recipe comes courtesy of Emeril Lagasse, so gather the following: 2 ripe avocados, yellow onion, jalapeno or Serrano chilies, 2 cloves garlic, fresh cilantro, 2 limes, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Salsa Mexicana
Once again, Kelly has the scoop. This dipping favorite uses: 12 ounces tomatoes, 1 medium white onion, 2 to 8 serrano or jalapeño chiles, 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, and coarse kosher salt.

Once you’ve dazzled your football friends with these DIY delights, you might be able to kick-off a rational discussion on the concept of leather.
By Mickey Z.

Rust is one of the toughest household stains to clean. Many of us try to remove rust stains with chlorine bleach, however chlorine bleach actually makes rust stains worse. Of course, if you’re a green cleaner like me you avoid using bleach anyway.   So this is one of those times when being considerate of the environment pays off immediately.

Here is what you need to remove rust stains: Salt and lime juice. Yep, that’s it. Already have them in your house? Great, your rust remover is now free. Just sprinkle some salt on the rusty spot and put some of the juice right on top of the salt…but not so much that the salt floats away. You want the mixture to sit right on the rust. Leave it to sit for a few hours and come back with a scrubber and go to work. It won’t take much effort to remove the rust, I promise.

You might also be interested in our other easy green cleaning tips.

Big-box retailer Target has already won accolades from greens for being out front in stocking sustainable fashion and phasing out toxic PVC plastics from products. Now, the Minnesota-based company has announced that it has eliminated all farmed salmon from its fresh, frozen, and smoked seafood offerings in its stores nationwide.

This announcement includes Target-owned brands — Archer Farms and Market Pantry — as well as national brands. According to a press release, all salmon sold under Target-owned brands will now be wild-caught Alaskan salmon. Sushi featuring farm-raised salmon will be wild-caught salmon by the end of 2010. “In consultation with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, Target is taking this important step to ensure that its salmon offerings are sourced in a sustainable way that helps to preserve abundance, species health and doesn’t harm local habitats,” according to the release.

Why is this important? Many salmon farms have earned criticism for damaging fragile coastal areas, polluting waterways with waste and antibiotics and spreading parasites to native fish. Penned salmon also frequently escape, where they breed with wild populations and dilute their genes. The fish meal fed to farmed salmon has been shown to be contaminated with toxic chemicals like PCBs, which can lead to unsafe levels in the meat, and producing the feed can result in overfishing.

Wild salmon is leaner and has more nutrients like heart-healthy Omega 3s, plus it does not have to be artificially dyed, since unlike farmed salmon the flesh naturally attains that attractive pink color.

Wild-caught Alaska salmon is largely considered a sustainable fishery, and helps support small coastal communities. The fish is considered a “Best Choice” by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and is certified as sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council.

Just please don’t call it “Tarjay.”

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