Archive for the 'Being Green' Category

January 10, 2008 | Laundry, Being Green, Cleaning tips

We posted a little over a week ago about the wonders of dryer balls, but more research led us to different conclusions. As it turns out, these ingenious little things are made of PVC. TreeHugger did a post about them a while back, and you’ll see there why PVC is so important to avoid. For a quick rundown, it’s one of the most poisonous plastics ever made. It’s toxic in its production, product life, and disposal. There’s not much good about it. (more…)

Bleach alternatives, Being Green, Cleaning products

A question we get pretty frequently asks if natural cleaning methods will really get rid of the bacterias we don’t want in our homes. Sure, vinegar, baking soda, and lemon are great old wives’ tales, but do they really work? (more…)

January 1, 2008 | Being Green, Lifestyle

Happy New Year!

I can’t think of a better time to begin the switch to more natural, sustainable living, if you haven’t already. Changes can be made gradually, and what a great resolution - to transition to a healthier, more natural lifestyle. You don’t have to throw out the baby with the bath water, but if you haven’t done so already, this is a great time to start making strides to the greener side. Some small changes you can make:

• Switch to organic food with the 12 worst offenders (produce items that absorb the highest level of pesticides)
• Find a local fruit stand (I know, it’s hard this time of year!) and stop by periodically so you can buy locally grown produce
• Stop buying bottled water (this is a big one!). Get a water filter for your sink and invest $10-20 in a stylish reusable travel mug. You’ll save huge amounts of money and keep tons of bottles out of landfills - not to mention the amount of carbon emissions necessary to produce the bottled water.
• As your regular cleaning supplies run out, replace them with natural cleaners. If you don’t trust vinegar and baking soda to start, then switch to brands like Seventh Generation, Ecover, and Method.
• Pick up a few canvas bags and have the bagger use them when you do your grocery shopping. It’ll keep all that bag clutter out of your pantry too.
• And the heartbeat of the green movement: want less, consume less, waste less. Buy in bulk to avoid excess packaging. Use your local library for books you don’t need to own. Do you need 4 pair of black pumps? Maybe you can waste less by paying bills online and canceling magazine subscriptions that you don’t read.

Just some ideas to get you started.

December 14, 2007 | Company news, Being Green

We wrote a post a few days ago about Green-washing. We thought it might be helpful to come completely clean about our business - for the sake of our clients, and for the sake of transparency. I’d hope that other products and services out there would do the same. So here are the 6 sins, complete with how we add up:

• Trade-offs. The example given: Paper. It may be harvested from sustainable forests but how environmentally-savvy is the production?
  • Broom Huggers is gradually taking steps to make all aspects of our business sustainable and responsible. The places where we’re lacking right now are transportation (financial prohibitions have kept us from going carbon-neutral), energy (our office uses some sustainable power, but not 100%), and marketing (while we opt for 100% recycled paper, and go paper-free as often as possible, we still advertise in print and haven’t paid the high premium for the most environmentally-responsible paper and inks).
    
• No proof. Claims are offered, but no substantiation is given or made available.
  • We aim to be as transparent as possible. If you have questions about any claims made in our marketing or on our website, we’ll be happy to respond via telephone or email. We’re the only cleaning service in Georgia certified by Co-op America. 
• Vagueness. This is a big one. Claims like chemical-free, non-toxic, and all-natural can’t be substantiated.
  • Well, we happen to use these terms all the time. Why? Because according our market research, it’s what our target clientele wants to hear. And according to their definition, it’s true - we meet their expectations there. But, we go one step further. We also tell you that we’re phosphate-free, paraben-free, and phenol-free. We’re chlorine-free and ammonia-free. Lead-free too. We’re hypo-allergenic. We don’t use disposables. Our cleaning solutions biodegrade in 28 days or less. Ask us what we mean by any of those things and we’ll tell you. There are plenty of other things that you won’t find in our products, but most of the readers here wouldn’t be interested in that list. Let me know if you want it, and I’ll get it to you. 
• Irrelevance. Companies use advertising claims that have little to no relevance to their product or target group. They count on their consumers not paying attention and not doing any research.
  • Our blog is intended to educate. We want you to know what we’re talking about, and we want you to know why it’s relevant. The truth is a tool, and we intend to use it often and wisely.
• Fibbing. Lots of companies make claims that are simply not true. Dig a little deeper than the surface, and you’ll find little fabrications.
  • Frankly, this one just makes me a little sad. You’ll never - and I mean never - catch us in an intentional fib. Nor will you catch us hiding the truth. See, our business is designed around faith-based values. Integrity is key, and not just because it’s a nice trait, but because one day we believe we’ll have to answer to the only High God and King. And fibbing just isn’t worth having to justify to the Creator of the heavens and the earth. It just seems silly. We won’t throw our faith in your face, but you can be confident that our integrity and honesty is driven by something deeper than mere warm fuzzy feelings. 
• The lesser of two evils. The example given is ‘organic’ tobacco or ‘green’ insecticides.
  • If you can find an ‘evil’ that we’re ignoring, please - by all means - bring it to our attention. I’ve put quite a bit of thought into this to figure out what this could be for us. I just can’t find anything. But that doesn’t make us perfect. Like I said, you look. Ask questions. Be an informed consumer. And if you find something, let us know so we can fix it!
    

December 12, 2007 | Being Green, Lifestyle, News

TerraChoice, an environmental marketing firm, has keyed us in to a new trend in the marketplace. They call it “Green-washing,” which by their definition is “the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.” They deliver to us the 6 sins of green-washing, which are frighteningly prevalent.

Without regurgitating their list (you can read it here), I will point out that some of the big points are unsubstantiated claims and blanket, meaningless terms. Certain products cannot be certified organic (most meat, many cleaning supplies, etc.). But that doesn’t stop companies from calling their products or services organic. Another big one is “all-natural.” My high school English teacher would put that in the same category as the word “good” - totally meaningless in that it’s too subjective, overly broad, and not verifiable. In fact, even cocaine is natural, but that doesn’t make it healthy.

The fact of the matter is, the ‘green’ market has been flooded by people jumping on the band-wagon, but unfortunately the vast majority of companies, products, and services out there are only giving it lip-service. John Makower wrote a great post about TerraChoice’s Six Sins of Greenwashing, and I encourage you to check out what he has to say about it.

If you, as a consumer, are going to spend the extra energy and money to come over to the greener side, you owe it to yourself to be informed about the market.

November 26, 2007 | Water, Being Green, Lifestyle

Bring Your Own Bottle. Or, more precisely, mug. When you’ll be stopping off at Starbucks or whatever your favorite coffee shop is, have your own to-go travel mug handy. Think about the waste we’d save if stopped using disposable coffee cups and water bottles. The way our population drinks bottled water and lattes in to-go cardboard cups, the numbers are staggering.

If readers of a single magazine (Organic Style did the study) brought their own cups for one week, enough trees would be saved to fill 2 football fields. If they switched for only a day, they’d save enough energy as 1,000 gallons of gasoline. There’s a website that estimates how much waste we generate with our disposable coffee cups. You’d be surprised. Right now, it’s at approximately 2,684 pounds per hour - including only the people who have registered their coffee cup on the website.

The moral of the story? Bringing your own mug gives you a cuter, more ergonomic, highly personalized container. It turns your coffee into a wardrobe accessory! (Well, maybe that’s pushing it a bit.) And it’s good for the environment. What’s to lose?

September 27, 2007 | Being Green, Health, Lifestyle

Never before have natural products been so close to my heart. I haven’t posted much lately, and that’s because of what’s happening at home. We’ve spent a good bit of the week at the neurologist’s office.

It turns out that my toddler has a benign brain tumor. They aren’t sure if it’s what’s causing the seizures or not, so we’ve had to do 2 EEGs and a battery of other tests.

With all that going on, other things have fallen by the way-side. Cabinets aren’t always being locked, spray bottles get left out when I do find the time to clean… But knowing that there are no chemicals that (a) could be causing the seizures and (b) could harm my kids when my mind is elsewhere - is awfully reassuring. If you haven’t made the switch to natural yet, I highly recommend it. It’s most definitely worth it.

September 17, 2007 | Being Green, Health, Lifestyle

… that I love going all-natural:

My son’s been having seizures lately, and it’s pretty scary. The doctors have all sorts of questions they ask, and I can’t answer them all. They ask things that I’d never have thought to pay attention to. But one of their questions after a seizure is if my child could have been exposed to chemicals. And on that one, I can give a resounding no. At least it rules out one thing.

Along the same lines, when I walk into the kitchen and see the child lock on the kitchen sink unlocked, there’s no need to panic. I know that there’s nothing in there to hurt my kids. And that’s some pretty important peace of mind.

July 26, 2007 | Broom Hugged, Being Green, Lifestyle

I’m a Google fan. In fact, I’ve incorporated Google into my vocabulary as a verb. (”I’ll google it”) But Blackle has found a way to harness the power of Google while saving energy.

Here’s how it works. A white screen (like the one Google uses) uses about 74 watts of power, and a predominately black screen uses only 59 watts. A saving of 15 watts may not sound like much, but think of how many people use Google. Multiply 15 watts to the number of users and frequency of use, and it adds up to roughly 3,000 megawatt hours per year.

So check out Blackle. Try using it for your searches. And if you’re into website design, take the idea of dark-colored screens and run with it. Save a little energy - it’s good for you and for your website readers!

July 23, 2007 | Reviews, Broom Hugged, Being Green, Shopping

I’ve checked out every book my library system has on ‘green cleaning’ and ‘green living.’ Each had its pros and cons - useful for some things, not so useful for others. But I just came across Green Clean by Linda Mason Hunter and Mikki Halpin. It’s your go-to book for most situations, filled with a wealth of information about the importance of green cleaning and innovative ways to green your life.

Some things I learned - dishwashing liquid is the most frequent cause of childhood poisoning. (Wow!) Or a great idea, start a neighborhood curbside compost and sell it to local farmers - everyone wins! I love this stuff. And what else? The book is water and stain resistant! (well, maybe that’s just a marketing ploy) But how cool is it that I can use it on my cherry-juice covered countertops and not worry about the book! Or take it out with me while I’m working on that compost… I have to say, it’s a nice marketing ploy.

We like it (and no, I’m not getting paid to say that - it’s all me, honest and true). But we like it more for newbie greens or people who are ever so gradually making green changes. If you’re already there, you’ll want to look elsewhere for great ideas to keep you going.