Grounded!

When it comes to package shipments consider choosing ground shipping instead of air. Ground shipments burn less fuel which means less impact on Mama Earth. According to an article on Grist.org "aircraft transport boasts greater fuel consumption and greenhouse emissions per ton-mile than any other mode of transport. And their emissions' negative impacts are amplified due to the high altitude where they occur."


If you've gotta send that certain something to NYC by early morning next business day then opt for express air shipment. But if you have a say on how your package gets around then go for ground.

You can also be more conscious of where your items are coming from when doing some online shopping. Sites like Etsy.com have a Shop Local feature where you can purchase items from artisans in your 'hood.

Shopping on eBay? Try to choose sellers who are closer to you rather than farther and that way less pollution is emitted during transit. Or troll the local listings on Craigslist or get free stuff in your area from Freecycle.org

So make an effort to shop local when it comes to clothes and other miscellany items just as you would when shopping locally for food. And if you gotta get it from somewhere far then go with ground!

Be Green, Eat Better!

Along with being stricter with my shopping habits I'm excited to get back to being stricter with my diet! Think about it. Many processed foods and ready made meals come in so much packaging whether it be plastic, paper, Styrofoam, glass, etc. These foods are often wrought with preservatives, additives, salt/sodium, refined sugars, fats, and the list goes on. Plus, consider how much energy is going into processing these processed foods.

Cutting back on processed and packaged foods means less sodas and sugary juices, less boxed instant sodium-filled foods, less junk foods, less starches and bad carbs, and more fresh fruits and veggies, foods whose ingredients you can control by using sea salt, fresh herbs, grains, etc.

It's great because I am taking the time to prepare my own meals, experiment with recipes, and having fun making things from scratch. More time getting creative when I get home rather than wasting away in front of the TV (which means more time for it to remain unplugged!). And if I wanted to cut down my energy use even more, I make raw meals like salads and enjoy fruit as a dessert! Then I can sit at my dining table with my deelish dinner and catch up on my reading of the latest GOOD magazine I got in the mail!

So start small and think about your next grocery list. What can you cut back on? What fresh foods can you throw into the mix? How can you get creative with radishes? (I just bought a bunch and have no idea how to prepare them yet).

Less packaging! Less processed foods! Less weight! (Healthy, of course)


[Photo from healthline.com]

adventures in grocery shopping

Grocery shopping is quite an ordeal for me. Not only do I like to thoroughly scope out every aisle for things I need but once I start making my way towards the store with my reusable bags in tow, I start to calculate how must more I can reduce my packaging consumption that trip. As you know, I've given up the produce bags because I find them ridiculous (although, I know the checkers find ME ridiculous). But I've been trying to up the ante by considering what type of packaging my potential food choice uses, if it is really necessary for me to have (find a non-packaged alternative), and if I do need packaging, is it readily recyclable/reusable?

I don't buy cookies or chips or candy so I'm good in that department. But what about my oh-so-convenient Lean Cuisines and its store-brand copy-cats? It's been really hard for me to let those go because they are so cheap and easy! But I am proud to say that I said 'nay' to them, just cold turkey, because since I've been monitoring my trash (even at work), I find myself tossing that black tray. So no more Lean Cuisines. My alternative for this week? Veggie sandwiches. I'm clear in the packaging front with veggies because I grab from the bulk bins and reach for unpackaged veggies in the produce section. But I faltered a bit in the bread department. Plastic!

It was annoying and moment like this I yearn for boulangeries so I can get my fresh baked bread from Mme. and slip it into my canvas bag. Sigh, indeed. But I figured I can just buy the packaged bread and reuse the bag for my next visit when I want to buy snowpeas! Yes, every trip I stare at the snowpeas, wanting to buy them to add into my delicious meals but knowing it would be a 'mess' at the checker because I forget to bring a smaller reusable plastic bag. So note to self: redeem myself by reusing that bread bag.

Faltered in the dairy department, too. Needed cream cheese to spread in my sandwiches and veggie cheese slices. I can easily reuse the cream cheese container as Tupperware. It's a "#5" plastic so a tough one to recycle. (Yes, don't get me started on the plastic types. You can definitely find me flipping over plastic containers to check for their number and hope for #1 or #2 plastics since they are readily accepted in curbside recycling programs). The plastic film on my veggie cheese slices, though, are a lost cause and will be noted in my personal trash monitoring.

Other purchases:

• cans of soup (I can recycle the cans)
• tofu (in #2 plastic -- readily recyclable)
  
• fake chicken nuggets and fake ground beef for my tacos (#7 plastic -- cringe -- but recyclable paper packaging)
• flour tortillas (I know, I know. Will have to visit a local tortilleria with my own packaging)
• pasta sauce (reusable & recyclable jar)

Did not do too bad for myself but definitely room for improvement.

Just Press No!

Rising gas prices making you cringe at the pump? I can't even watch the numbers tick away when I'm filling up anymore!

Next time you're at the pump just press NO when the machine asks if you want your receipt. You're going to crumple it up anyway once you get back into your car or forget about it when it's crammed in your wallet.

But if you encounter the inevitable receipt from restaurants or grocery stores be sure to reuse it as scrap paper and/or recycle it the first chance you get (after you shred the evidence, of course). Some merchants may use soy ink on their receipts. If so, you can toss that baby into the compost bin! And if you can, refuse the receipt altogether just like you refuse plastic bags at the store!

global exchange store

I want to give a little shout-out to the online store/non profit my sister works with! Global Exchange is a Fair Trade Program that works to successfully market fairly traded products in order to provide a fair price and improve the quality of life for producers and artisans, and to build a more sustainable system of trading goods all around the world! Check out the different products they have on the site. There's alot of cute stuff from different co-ops around the world.

If you're going to buy things, why not purchase socially conscious items?
My sis is one of the people modeling the wares. Figure out which one is her...

Shop now!

Read their blog, too!

plastic-less produce

I've been really good about reusing my paper grocery bags and handy cotton and canvas bags when I go shopping. I get really happy when I see more people doing the same thing. People are starting to get it! But what's silly is seeing these reusable canvas bags filled with small plastic bags of produce!

Do what I do and refrain from produce plastic all together! I just pile my fruits and veggies into my cart and go my merry way. Everyone tosses these bags out anyway once they get home. No harm in placing your stuff on the conveyor belt. You're going to wash your food later on anyway. And the plastic bag isn't really saving your produce from getting squished during the ride home - it's a plastic bag not a metal box! Other shoppers see my produce go down the conveyor and hopefully they will follow in my footsteps.

But if you still want a bag of sorts you can re-use the plastic bags for your next grocery and/or farmer's market trip, reuse mesh bags that you get when you buy oranges or avocados, or you can buy these reusable mesh bags. They are quite cheap (10 for $1.95) from the grassroots store

You can also get these smaller reusable canvas bags from Moondrop Clothiers
They come in different sizes so peruse the site for the perfect fit.