FitSugar

Some products can help you shop green

supermommie — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 12:02:49 -0700

By Nadine Kam
nkam@starbulletin.com
Earth Day has passed, but concerns over the planet's dwindling supplies of oil, clean water, arable land and mineral resources are not going away. Here are a few companies offering ways to think about the individual's role in preserving the planet.

Shoes gain a second life
Nike is hosting its annual Reuse-a-Shoe event Sunday at Niketown in Waikiki, part of its recycling mission aimed at getting people to think of meaningful ways to eliminate waste.
Bring in old athletic shoes (any brand), which will be ground up to make new sport surfaces like soccer fields, basketball courts and playgrounds. This year's goal is to collect 30,000 pairs of shoes.

The collection runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 2080 Kalakaua Ave. There will be free refreshments from Jamba Juice, face painting, deejay music, giveaways and environmental displays. Mayor Mufi Hannemann arrives at 2 p.m. to present awards to the schools that collected the most shoes.

Outrigger Corp. is collecting shoes among employees and will deliver them at the event, encouraging other companies to participate as well.

Among the day's highlights is a Creative Kicks Contest inviting all to try turning old athletic shoes into works of art. Entries will be accepted from 9 a.m. to noon at Niketown. Prizes of new Nikes will be awarded in categories of Most Creative, Most Earth-Friendly and Best Overall Shoe Re-use, in four age divisions starting from kindergarten. (Participants must be present to win, and only one entry will be accepted per person.)

Nike created the Reuse-a-Shoe program in 1993. Visit www.nikereuseashoe.com or call 983-5804.

No paper or plastic
Shasa Emporium has developed its own branded Eco bags made by ChicoBag.
The bags are colorful, lightweight and ultracompact to provide a stylish yet sustainable alternative to throwaway plastic and paper bags. The bags can be folded and carried in a pocket, purse, backpack or car glove box.

The bags, made of sturdy woven nylon, expand to 18 inches square, folding down to 3 by 4 inches. They can be machine-washed in cold water and drip-dried.

According to ChicoBags, the average American uses 300 to 700 plastic shopping bags per year. That number comprises three to seven gallons of crude oil.

The bags sell for $8 at Shasa Emporium, Kahala Mall, and the boutique is offering a one-time 10 percent discount to those using Shasa Eco bags (some restrictions apply). Call 735-5122.

Also, the Outrigger Condominium Collection is offering its guests a free reusable travel tote when they stay a minimum of two nights at any Outrigger resort condominium. Reservations: (800) 688-7444.

The totes are green with a monstera leaf design, and measure 16 by 16 by 4 inches. Additional totes are $2.99 each.

Nix the fancy wrap
While most beauty companies build their marketing around layers of fancy packaging, Lush takes the opposite approach. A majority of Lush products are formulated so that they can be sold "naked," with no packaging at all.
Their products include bath bombs and shampoo and bubble bath bars sold in solid, dry forms that don't dissolve until they meet up with water. Any packaging, including gift wrap, is biodegradable.

One reminder of the company's association with the Earth is its Geo Phyzz bath bomb ($6.95), made of sea salt and red clay from Molokai.

Selected for their high level of purity, the Hawaiian volcanic sea salts (30 percent) are combined with coarse sea salts (40 percent) and seaweed to help relax tired muscles and moisturize. The bomb, shown above, is scented with cypress, sandalwood oils and pine.

Geo Phyzz is at Lush's Ala Moana and Royal Hawaiian Center boutiques, or online at www.lushusa.com.

How to rid yourself of stuff that can't go in the recycling bin

Shiloh Jolie Pitt — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 09:57:53 -0700

ReadyMade magazine

A Flash In The Can

How to rid yourself of stuff that can't go in the recycling bin
by Jennifer Boulden and Heather Stephenson
photo credit: Alex Farnum

Anyone who’s ever moved from a larger place into a smaller one knows how difficult it can be to jettison unwanted stuff in an environmentally friendly way-especially when it’s bulky, of unknown origin, or the type of thing that requires wearing a Hazmat suit to recycle. Seeking answers, ReadyMade enlisted the help of Ideal Bite, a daily email newsletter devoted to “light-green living,” to create a crib sheet for those with the urge to purge. Downsizers, don’t leave home without it.

APPAREL

Clothing Free up some closet space by giving away that big sack of old threads. Donate women’s professional outfits to Dress for Success (www.dressforsuccess.org), a nonprofit that helps disadvantaged women find jobs. The Salvation Army (www.salvationarmy.org) will take your tees with open arms. If you want to trade, invite friends over for a frock swap, or haul your garb to a Buffalo Exchange store (www.givethegiftofsight.org).

Shoes More than 16 million pairs of sneakers have been recycled through projects like Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe, which grinds up worn-out soles and converts them to basketball and tennis courts and running tracks. Find out where to drop off your worn-out kicks (whether or not they’re Nikes) at www.nike.com/nikebiz/reuseashoe.

AUTOMOBILE

Motor oil If it’s disposed of improperly, used oil can render fallow a four-acre area of soil for more than 20 years. But recyclers can re-refine it to create lubricating oil. Many auto shops, including Jiffy Lube and Kragen, will take the stuff off your hands.

Wheels Car tires make up 2 percent of all solid waste in landfills. Retailers like Big O and Goodyear will accept old tires for a few dollars apiece, and most local waste management companies organize free collection days. The road-weary rubber gets recycled into playground surfacing, soil additives, and flooring.

CHEMICALS

Cleaners Donate your out-of-use under-the-sink stash to a shelter or other nonprofit (call ahead), or visit www.freecycle.org to find people who’ll cart away your spray bottles and powder cans.

Medication In recent studies, more than 80 percent of rivers sampled contained chemicals from antibiotics, birth control pills, and/or antidepressants, largely because of flushed or dumped meds. The Starfish Project (www.thestarfishproject.org) redistributes certain meds to countries in Africa, while some states, such as Ohio and Wisconsin, run local repository programs. For expired prescriptions, call your pharmacy to see if it’ll accept them for incineration.

Paint If kicked to the curb, a single gallon of the conventional stuff can seep into the earth and pollute 250,000 gallons of drinking water. Earth 911 (www.earth911.org) lists local drop-off locations for both reuse (or proper disposal) and can recycling.

ELECTRONICS

Batteries Some stores (Ikea, for one) will take your alkalines for proper disposal, but you can actually recycle rechargeable batteries when they reach the end of their long lives (you can use them up to 1,000 times). They do contain hazardous chemicals like cadmium, though, so take them to a specialized drop spot (check www.rbrc.org for locations).

Cell phones Rather than sending your expired handset to join the more than 500 million mobile phones already in landfills, bring it back to the store where you bought it-T-Mobile and Verizon will recycle all brands of used cell phones. If you don’t have access to a store, check out Collective Good (www.collectivegood.com), where you can turn cell donations into cash for your choice of charity.

Computers About three-quarters of obsolete PCs-each with an average weight of 60 pounds-are sent to landfills. The Cristina Foundation (http://www.cristina.org">www.cristina.org) will pick up any old-but-working machine for redistribution to someone who can use it. Trade in newish computers through recycling programs organized by tech companies like Toshiba (www.toshiba.eztradein.com) or HP (www.hp.com/united-states/tradein). To find local spots to donate dead computers, visit E-cycling Central (www.eiae.org).

Fax machines Clear some space in your office by sending and receiving faxes digitally via eFax (www.efax.com) or MyFax (www.myfax.com), then list your hulking machine at Throwplace (www.throwplace.org) and send it in as a donation.

Ink The average printer cartridge can take more than 450 years to decompose. The Funding Factory (www.fundingfactory.com) and RecycleFund (www.recyclefund.com) will pony up cash for empty cartridges, then recycle them. Many national office-supply stores also accept ink cartridges.

MATERIALS

Appliances Looking to upgrade your oven or fridge, and need a place to donate your old one? Habitat for Humanity (www.habitat.org), a charity that builds homes for those who can’t afford them, will pass along your in-working-order castoffs to a family in need.

Carpet More than 2.5 million tons of rugs are discarded each year. Get a list of recyclers nationwide from Carpet America Recovery Effort (www.carpetrecovery.org), launched by carpet producers and the EPA, or donate like-new shag to Habitat for Humanity.

Plastics Just because there’s a number inside the arrows on the bottom of your yogurt container doesn’t mean it belongs in the recycling bin. Plastics #1 and #2 (detergent and water bottles, and food containers) are accepted by most municipal programs. Plastics #3–#7 (Styrofoam, shrink wrap, padded envelopes, product display casing, many to-go boxes, and yes, yogurt containers) are more difficult to recycle. If your city’s recycling program doesn’t accept them, try to reuse the items you can’t avoid acquiring in the first place.

Roofing. Construction jobs generate 11 million tons of asphalt shingle waste each year. If you’ve recently reroofed, www.earth911.org has a directory of recyclers who’ll turn old shingles into pavement and new roofing.

Wallboard About 12 percent of new drywall doesn’t survive installation. Luckily, it’s made from gypsum, a mineral that can be recycled into new drywall or used for cement production. Head to www.earth911.org for drop sites.

MEDIA

Books Got tomes that are gathering dust? Trade them in at your local used bookstore, or drop them at the library. You can also list unwanted volumes on Book Crossing (www.bookcrossing.com), a free service that alerts users to books left in public places.

Computer CDs, DVDs; jewel cases; VHS tapes Recycle these through Act Recycling (www.actrecycling.org), a nonprofit that helps people with disabilities find work. GreenDisk (www.greendisk.com) will take any hardware lying around the office (up to 20 pounds of monitors, cords, mice, and so forth) for $6.95.

Paperwork Clear out your filing cabinet by scanning photos and paper documents. Digitize photos on sites like Flickr (www.flickr.com). Check with your local waste management service about photo paper, and recycle all standard-issue stock after digitizing records, articles, and any other notes you can’t bear to part with.

Kick it up a notch

Lindsb — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 17:58:26 -0800

I just read an article about recycling shoes and was totally inspired.

You can donate any brand of athletic shoes to Nike's Reuse-A-Shoe program and the company will recycle them into materials that will be used in sports surfaces, such as playgrounds, basketball courts, and running tracks, for under-served communities around the world.

Go to: http://www.letmeplay.com/reuseashoe for the nearest drop off location near you.

On the website - when you look for drop off locations, it also shows you the existing contributions they have made with donated sneakers!! I searched and there are 3 courts/playgrounds in Philly that they have created. It warmed my heart - I tutored young kids when I lived there and I know how much they struggle to stay out of trouble..

How many have they created near you!? I am definitely dropping off my old sneaks next time I drive by a donation center.

5 little ways to living a greener life.

pinkflats — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:46:38 -0700

1. Think outside the recycling box. It's simple: These days you can recycle a lot more than paper, glass, aluminum and plastic. Even better: Reuse stuff--less energy is wasted on making it new, and less pollution gets spewed out. A few of many options: Drop off your old prescription eyeglasses at an eyewear store (find one at givethegiftofsight.com); give that outdated cell phone back to the store; hand over old sneaks at Nike's Reuse-a-Shoe program (nikereuseashoe.com) and they'll be turned into playground flooring. Also check out freecycle.org, a network in which people offer up free gently used items--futons, quesadilla makers, you name it.

2. Sign up for online banking. It saves you time, and it saves trees. If every American did this, 2.3 million tons of wood could be spared annually, and 3.9 billion pounds of greenhouse gases (directly to blame for heating up the planet) would be eliminated. When you visit an ATM, skip the receipt--those scraps of paper are a top source of litter.

3. Shop online, too. By some estimates, every minute spent driving to a store uses 10 times the energy of doing that same shopping on the Web. For eco-driven sites so good you'll never miss the mall, visit nau.com and thegreenloop.com for fashion, and econsciousmarket.com for home finds.

4. Buy local, whenever possible. Purchasing a sweater made by a neighborhood knitter and baked treats from farmers' markets instead of buying goods from far-off locales drastically reduces pollution and fuel use.

5. Switch to green power. You don't have to build a windmill in your backyard or anything. Just find an energy company that uses good old wind, sun or water (but not from a big dam) for power. Visit eere.energy.gov/greenpower to find a local supplier.
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Source: http://www.glamour.com/lifestyle/articles/2008/03/green_tips?currentPage...