Green Products

OK, you’re saving on your hot water bill and your light bill, what’s next?

DAY 3

We  have appliances. Some big, some small, but they all use power and energy.

This Organically Green step is quite simple to do, but will require thought to make it happen.

We spoke before about running your dishwasher and clothes dryer only when full, which are two very highly used appliances in your home. Let’s talk about a couple others.

There’s your heat and air conditioning. When it’s cold it’s cold, and I’m not asking you not to run your heat all together. Or your A/C. But aren’ there perhaps times that you run your systems when you really don’t have to? Or maybe run them more than you need to?

Say for instance, you get up at 7am, get ready for work and leave the house at 7:45am. You come home at 6pm, eat dinner do all that good stuff, and are usually in bed by around 10-11pm. You have “used” your home for about 5-6 hours of the 24 hours in a day. Were you running the same constant temperature the entire time? A big way to save on your heating and cooling bills is to cut the thermostat down when you’re not in the house (at work, at play, where ever) and down when you go to bed at night. A big way you can do this easily is to buy a programmable thermostat to replace your current one, if it’s not programmable. Any local hardware store will have these for $30.

Programmable thermostats:

• are more convenient and accurate than manual thermostats and improve your home’s comfort
• contain no mercury
• save energy and save money on utility bills — when used properly, about $150/year
• are better for the environment, since using less energy helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions associated with energy production

And what about your computer. Do you leave it running all the time, even when you’re not using it? Whether at work or at home, computers are an often used item but can be a big energy hog. Computers today are equipped with this neat little feature called “hibernate.” Yes, like a bear, your computer can curl up and keep it’s current state by storing everything on from your memory onto your hard drive so it doesn’t get lost. That way, your computer can shut off, then when you want it back on, it’s like you didn’t miss a beat!

Turn your computer off when you’re not going to use it. If you’ll be away from it longer than 30 minutes, it’s a waste of energy. And don’t forget your monitor. Even though most monitors go to “sleep” after a while, they are still using energy during that time.

And how about your TV. Did you know that your TV is still using lots of juice even after you turn it off? A great solution to your stereo, TV, and other electronics using power while you’re not even using them is to plug them all into a surge protector, and then hitting the kill switch on it! That way, all you have to do is flip one switch and your stuff has juice again, but it didn’t run up your power bill in the meantime.

And your dryer– do you run it when it’s completely full? Ok, this is one place where you really shouldn’t, because your dryer isn’t going to get them dry and you’ll end up running it a second time. And make sure your lint filter is clean every time. Give some room for warm air to help dry your clothes while they’re in there. Also, you don’t have to put everything in the dryer, why not hang it on a clothesline? They’ll have that fresh air scent without using a dryer sheet, and you’ll have used zero energy to get them dry.

Think about how often you use your appliances, and then how often you really need to use them, and scale back accordingly. Using the tips above will get you on your way to saving lots of energy and money on your power bill, as appliances make up a big chunk of everyone’s power bill. I think that goes without saying.

So day three’s over, let’s recap:

• Careful on when you use heat and A/C
• Get a programmable thermostat
• Turn your computer and monitor to hibernate when not in use
• Plug your electronics into a surge protector you can hit kill when not in use
• Hang your clothes out to dry

You’ve spent around thirty bucks and will save WAY more money than that on your energy bill over the course of a year. Next up is Organically Green day 4!

Exercise every effort in keeping our environment clean. Advocate the use of eco-friendly products such as recycled bags. These days, bags made from juice foil/plastic containers are becoming a popular fashion trend among environmental advocates. These products are created using tetra-pack containers that are sewn together to create nice and trendy bags.

Refuse bringing goods home in disposable plastic bags. Always carry a recycled bag or tote every time you go out of the house. Keep this ready to contain whatever things you shop for to eliminate the need of bagging goods in non-biodegradable containers. Know that plastics are very harmful to the environment and we should minimize its use as much as possible.

Day one was super easy, you didn’t have to spend any money or any extra time. How quick was your shower? This is something I’m still working on, and I’ve put a clock where I can see it from the shower to help.

Day two is going to be just as easy.

These are the easy of the simple of the things you can do. Passing these next seven days will put you well on your way to a greener, healthier home and way of life. But it’s by far only a start.

Let’s talk about lighting. Yes, you know what I’m going to say– compact fluorescents. Well, we’ll start there anyways, since you brought it up. Here’s the power difference between CFLs and regular incandescent:

So you can see, to get the same amount of light you will only be using less than 1/4th of the power in a CFL. Plus, during the summer months, those incandescent bulbs are just adding tons of heat to your home. 95% of the energy goes to heating the bulb. By just replacing five incandescent bulbs to CFLs, five of your most used lights, you will save about $60/year in energy costs. So they pay for themselves in two months! Plus, they last way longer.

A 5-pack of CFLs can be had at Ace Hardware for $10.

If every U.S. household replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an Energy Star qualified compact fluorescent bulb, it would save enough energy to light about 3 million homes for a year and save more than $650 million in annual energy costs. Think it’s important now?

Another important factor in lighting is cutting the lights off when you’re not using them. It sounds so silly to tell yourself, cut off the light when leaving the room– but do it!

An even bigger part is making efficient use of our windows. Did you know that during the winter, you can help heat your home with the windows on the south side of your home? That’s because they get the most sunlight. So leave the blinds open on that side of your house (sun rises in the east, sets in the west, so you can get your bearings). During the summer, close the blinds where the sun is glaring in to prevent the heat of the sun fighting your AC system.

You also want to open those blinds to let in natural light. During the day, instead of using the overhead light, open the blinds. How many times could you have just done that instead of turning on a lamp or overhead light?

That’s all for day two! Let’s recap today’s money/energy saving tips:

• Buy a 5-pack of CFL bulbs
• Cut off the lights every time you leave the room
• Use blinds and curtains to your advantage
• Let in natural light

You’ve spent $10 that will make you $60 maybe even before the end of the year. Are we smart or what?? Keep it tuned  for Simple Day 3 to a Organically Green Lifestyle.

Seven days to go green and save money. If that’s what you’re looking to do, not change your lifestyle this is for you.

To start off the with, I’m going to give you something simple to do.

These are the easy  things you can do.These seven days will put you well on your way to a greener, healthier home and way of life. But it’s  only a start.

Let’s get started! I want you to start by taking a shorter shower. The average home uses 15% of it’s energy in heating water. Taking a 5-minute shower instead of lolli-gagging and taking a 20-minute shower will improve your power bill and the amount of water you use, which is another benefit for the environment.

You could go all out and take a cold shower, but the title is 7 simple days, and taking a cold shower isn’t very simple.

The other way to save water heating energy is to only turn on the dishwasher when it’s full. Tonight, instead of turning on that dishwasher right away, peek in there and see if you could add some items before turning it on. Again, you’re saving water on top of your water heating bill.

Same goes for washing clothes. Only here, you can cut out hot water all together. Using cold water for laundry saves on average $63 a year. And there are detergents specially formulated for cold water that get your clothes the same amount of clean.

While you’re over switching your washer to cold/cold, turn the hot water heater down. What do you have it on now, hot? It should be set to warm, which is somewhere between 120-140 degrees. Can’t tell? Hold a thermometer under your sink and see what it reads– anywhere over 120 degrees is too hot.

That’s it for day one! See simple, quick, and didn’t cost you a penny.

• Take a shorter shower
• Turn on the dishwasher only when full
• Wash clothes in cold water instead of hot
• Turn the temp on your hot water heater down

Do this, and you’ll see the results on next month’s power bill, and water bill. I will post Day 2 soon for an Organically Green Lifestyle.

So I’ve been working on a TON of green projects lately that has taken my time away from blogging. But I need to!

I have been working on a few different websites, so for one if anyone has a green business and needs a website please get in touch with me. Anyways, here’s the one that I’ve been working on lately that I want to tell you about. It’s a real estate company that specializes in sustainable real estate! Eco-Realty International specializes in how to green your home for sale, buy a greener home, and is a complete consultant in these areas as well as an expert for buying and selling a green sustainable home.

Exciting, huh? Nancy Riehle is the broker, and she got started by investing in a home here in Spartanburg, SC that was in need of repair. Their repair option? Make it green! They put in Icynene spray foam insulation, used a tankless hot water heater, recycled/able carpet from Milliken, bamboo flooring, concrete countertops, geo-thermal heat pump, I mean everything, and the house sold for $100k MORE than any other house on the street! She had over 200 people at the open house! Green is in baby!

So, now she along with her agents would like to help others do the same thing. Maybe not as large of a return, but it will definitely help your home sell.

Besides, buying and living in a green home is the healthy, wealthy, and wise choice to make!

By Nigel Hunt and Brad Dorfman

LONDON/CHICAGO (Reuters) – As recession drives consumers to cut costs, their commitment to organic food has been tested with sales growth slowing — but so far, sales are not falling. How green are our wallets?

Grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, organic food has been booming, driven by claims it is healthier, tastes better and its production does less damage to the environment than conventional agriculture.

The global market for organic food and beverages was worth $22.75 billion in 2007, after more than doubling in five years, according to market research firm Euromonitor International. The United States accounted for about 45 percent of that total.

With economies in crisis, the trend is slowing in the United States, Britain, France and Europe’s most important market for organic food, Germany. So far, Britain is the market tipped for a fall as shrinking incomes force the newly green to save money.

Typical growth rates of 20 to 30 percent for organic food sales in the United States eased in the second half of 2008 as middle- and upper-income families felt the strain of layoffs and declining investment portfolios, said Tom Pirovano, director of industry insights at market research firm The Nielsen Co.

Sales in December were up 5.6 percent, year on year, against a 25.6 percent rise a year earlier.

Even though growth is slowing, Pirovano noted that most people who purchased organic foods were very committed.

“I’m not convinced that we are going to see big declines in organics any time soon,” he said.

Nielsen data measures packaged foods with bar codes at many retail outlets. Discount retailer Wal-Mart does not participate in the market research.

Late on a Friday in London’s South Kensington, shoppers at the Whole Foods store owned by the U.S.-based organic and natural foods supermarket were sparse.

“I always try to buy organic if I can. But I definitely have cut back,” said Mary Boynton, 20, adding that she buys more organic produce from supermarkets which have a cheaper offer.

Shares in Whole Foods Market Inc. have been on a broadly weakening trend since 2006 and trades around $11, down from nearly $80 in late 2005.

But Michael Besancon of Whole Foods, which claims the world-leading slot in the sector with more than 270 stores in North America and Britain, says there is a hard core.

“It is not a fad,” said Besancon, the company’s senior global vice-president of purchasing, distribution and marketing. “I’m 62 and my mother is still waiting for me to shave my beard and stop eating organic food. That isn’t going to happen.”

Ronnie Cummins, national director of the Organic Consumers Association, said occasional buyers of organic produce were cutting back, but regular buyers were lightening up on processed food in favor of organic whole fruits, vegetables and meats.

“They are trying to stretch their money but they are not willing to stop buying organic,” he said. “We think in the long run the prognosis is good. The energy crisis and climate change can only really be addressed with organic production.”

Wholefoods’ Besancon argued consumers were treating organic purchases differently from those of other premium products.

“When you buy organic you believe it is inherently better for you and the planet,” he said. “Who can afford to get sick? So people are becoming more introspective about what they eat. There is growth in the category. It is just less than it was.”

GERMAN CARROT SHORTAGE

If the relative cost of healthcare is one significant factor keeping well-educated Americans with organic produce, in Germany producers argue organic foods are being helped out of a niche into the mainstream.

Growth in Germany’s organic food sales in 2008 to 5.8 billion euros did slow to about 10 percent, the German organic food industry association BOLW estimates.

This compared with 14 percent growth booked in 2007.

Alexander Gerber, the association’s chief executive, argued that Germany’s giant discount food supermarket chains were increasingly introducing organic food, which was underpinning the market.

Germany had a shortage of organic carrots in 2008 as major discounter Aldi suddenly introduced them into its product range, buying up most available supplies, Gerber said.

“Consumers want healthy food produced in an environmentally friendly and humane way,” Gerber said. “They are not simply throwing this concept overboard because of the difficult economic times.”

In France, the sector continued to grow last year and the head of “Agence Bio,” the main organic food group gathering officials and producers, said she was confident it would continue to do so, albeit more slowly, in 2009.

“For the moment sales are keeping up, consumers are still interested and demand is rising,” said Elisabeth Mercier.

Although official data will not be available until next month, she said her comments were based on wide and recent contacts with producers, specialist shops and supermarkets.

“In Europe, apart maybe from the U.K. where the market seems more fragile, I do not believe there will be a drop in consumption this year although growth rates may be less spectacular,” Mercier said.

DEEP GREENS

In Britain, growth in sales of organic products has slowed dramatically, to an annual rate of about 2 percent from 16 percent, according to Nielsen data for the year to early November 2008.

“What I would expect is for this year to see a small single- digit decline for organics,” said Jonathan Banks, U.K-based business insight director with Nielsen.

The challenge boils down to quality. “Organic producers must show their products taste better, are more nutritious and better for the environment. If they tick all those boxes they can sustain a (price) premium,” he said.

In the London Whole Foods store, shopper Jonathan Daniels agreed. “Eventually, it has got to hit home. I think I’ll cut back,” he said, checking his mobile phone near the cheese display, a pack of green beans tucked under his arm.

“It all hinges on: ‘Is organic all it’s reputed to be? Is it really better for you?’”

Patrick Holden, director of Britain’s leading organic certification body the Soil Association, said he was getting mixed reports, with some consumers switching from organic to cheaper free-range products.

Demand for many products is, however, holding up well: some are benefiting from growing demand for locally produced food.

“Organic food with a local story is bucking the recession,” he said. “This recession has destabilized things a little, but not catastrophically.”

Holden said about 20 percent of organic food sales were vulnerable, being bought by “light green” purchasers who had been influenced by the actions of other consumers.

These he contrasted with the “deep greens” — who make up 80 percent of demand and are committed to the benefits for health and the environment.

“Storm and tempest won’t affect their buying habits,” he said. “I think that rump of committed consumers are with us to stay.”

Thousands of mattresses end up at the landfill each day. They pile up because they’re not made of materials that break down. 
 
The Organically Green Store sells organic mattresses and bedding.

All natural materials have a natural enzyme to go with it so they can break down naturally in the environment when their time is ready. Your petroleum products do not have that

There is only a handful of facilities in the U.S. that even try to recycle conventional mattresses.

All the materials in these “green” bedding and pillows come from Kapok to organic cotton and wool. They’re completely renewable and sustainable.

You’ll like sleeping on these organic mattresses.

It’s very breathable.  All natural materials breathe. We lose a pint of moisture every night when we sleep.  Where does that go…into your spongy mattress.  All of this breathes. It keeps your bed very dry and healthy, resistant to dust mites, mold and mildew. There’s no chemicals, no hazardous PBDEs and you’re not taking that in your lungs or your pores at night so it’s a very healthy sleep system as well..

It’s hoped that over the next 30 to 40 years when these mattresses lifespan is complete, there will be processes to recycle the material if they’re separated. 

The wool, the organic cotton, and the rubber from the rubber trees can be broken down so the mattress won’t take up landfill space.

Posted by as Green in the News

 The grocery business is another example of an industry that could significantly cut costs by switching their appliances over to greener systems.

GreenChill, a partnership being established by the EPA, is encouraging supermarkets to switch their refrigeration units over to ones that are both healthier for the environment and more energy efficient for the businesses.

Many supermarket chains are already working with the EPA in this effort, which is still in preparatory stages, such as Publix. See more information on what Publix is doing to support sustainability by clicking on this link. They have reportedly cut energy usage in existing stores by 7 percent and in new stores by 23 percent!

 They’re going the extra mile when it comes to green ideas even beyond advanced refrigeration units, by having opened their GreenWise stores which are a one-stop shop for organic foods.

Back to GreenChill– it’s estimated by the EPA the grocery business could save $12 million per year by converting to this initiative! That’s a lot of moo-lah!

That’s 1 million metric tons of carbon emissions.

The equivalent to taking 800,000 cars off the road per year.

Coolant leakage is also a problem with current systems, with DuPont quoted as saying that as much as 20% of the coolant in the refrigerant systems being leaked. That’s a huge ozone/health hazard, since many of the systems in place still have HCFCs in them!

So let’s support the stores that are taking the initiative to care about our health (because this contributes to the indoor air quality of the stores we’re shopping in) and energy consumption.

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, the female adult uses an average of seven cosmetic products a day. One of those seven can cause an allergic reaction to your skin. Does that mean you can no longer use makeup forever?

It’s a yes and a no in some ways. Doctors say you should stop using all makeup immediately when the reaction occurs. Let it heal, and then start using your makeup items one at a time. This will let you determine which item caused your allergy. When you’ve finally identified the culprit or if you fail to find one, go for medical advice and have yourself tested. In the meanwhile, you can switch to items which have less ingredients or to organic makeup. Items with simple formulas can also be a good alternative.

The move towards organically grown food items and commodities is growing fast. Whereas before only people with cancer or vegetarians were the biggest consumers, today more and more people are becoming more conscious of what they eat, wear, and use around the home, thus increasing the need for widespread availability. The organic movement started with food, when concern about chemicals such as pesticides contaminating harvested food prompted consumers to look for produce that was grown naturally. Soon organic farming methods found their way to the clothing industry, where organic men’s and organic women’s clothing became the savior of people with allergies.

Apart from these, home cleaning products which are made from organic components also proved to be a better option. These products were aimed at weaning people away from toxic cleaning chemicals, which can cause harm for both humans and materials in the long run. They wean consumers away from the thought that the strong smell of ammonia means clean, and instead create products using nature’s natural cleaners.