What's behind what you buy?

Sweatshops, are we adding fuel to the fire by not being conscious of what we buy?

Sweatshops are a term used for a working environment that is said to have unacceptably difficult or dangerous working conditions and is often also linked to low wages, long hours and child labour.

Not being a very sport orientated person I have never really bought into Nike’s idea of being the one. Recently I have however been considering what we buy and what goes into the production process of the things we consume.

When it came to light that a big brand like Nike were using sweatshops to produce their goods, most companies knew that it was time to start changing. Nike has stepped up and is even starting to develop greener clothing.

The new culprits are technology companies these days. Making themselves guilty of mistreating workers to feed consumers insatiable need for new products. Hewlett Packard, Dell and the might Apple have come under the microscope following the recent troubling events at Foxconn. Watch this video to see what companies are doing to people in a quest to fulfill your needs.

Let’s be more proactive and start supporting companies who support their staff. Let’s invest in ethically run companies who uphold morals and values. Why? Because it’s the right thing to do.

Beauty products..

Beauty products… we are bombarded with so many choices today, but how harmful can these products be to us and the environment we live in? We are not taking note of the effects of these products but rather on the effect they have on our self-esteem. Most beauty products go through extensive animal testing to ensure that we can use them, because of the complex formulations of the ingredients used.

Wait, shouldn’t this be setting off some alarm bells already? These products contain so many ingredients that our skin needs to process daily. Shouldn’t we be searching for healthier alternatives?

I’ve started with my hair-care routine. Found a wonderful product called Rosemary and White Tea Shampoo and Conditioner sold by a local store called Sudbury Hill. Very impressed so far. My hair is shiny, clean and it smells great.

Now I have to find some more natural make-up products. This is bigger challenge in my community than I had anticipated for so I’ll be doing some more research.

Quick tips I’ve found for lowering your impact on the environment when doing your daily skin care routine are as follows:

- Use a facecloth instead of make-up removing wipes.

- Don’t use disposable razors.

- Take shorter showers.

- Make sure you finish using all of your product before buying new one’s.

- Use products with less chemicals in them

Monday Madness and Shopping

So it’s Meat Free Monday and I, being in a hurry this morning (and very hungry) bought myself a bacon and cheese sandwich, which I then realized I couldn’t eat. So I had some muesli and yoghurt and took the bacon off the sandwich. Commitment is so bittersweet. Trying to find something yummy to eat on campus has led to a bit of frustration. Ending in me eating a packet of chips (mostly due to the fact that our cafeteria only offered peas as a vegetable.) I suddenly have a new appreciation for vegetarians. Will have to make my own supper tonight.. Enough ranting.

I’m assessing my wardrobe. Let’s face it. This not usually the first thing one changes when going green. Reading a view articles most people agree that wearing things that already exist is the best way to go. One can of course always add things to these old garments or change them in any way to ensure that your look is fresh and updated. Furthermore there is consensus on the types of fabrics that should be worn when buying clothes as these fabrics are made to lessen the impact on the environment by for example saving water. Fabrics recommended are wool, hemp, organic cotton, soy silk, bamboo etc. The newspaper dress shown is beautiful…tad bit extreme but I might try it when I feel adventurous.

Placing shopping on my agenda this week has also led me to conclude that it is time to buy some re-usable shopping bags. I have however been using the bags I get in shops as dustbin liners, so they have not gone to waste.

Photo from: http://goo.gl/852jy

Carbon free cities, eco-density huh?

While watching this video by Alex Steffen on carbon free cities, I stumbled across the term eco-density. Eco density is a proposed way of encouraging the densification of cities, which is more environmentally friendly and also helps to reduce carbon emissions.

Still not sure what this means. Well, the idea is that development should take place in areas with a low to medium density that will allow more people to live there.  The focus will be on sustainability, affordability and the ease of living.

So it sounds like eco-density means that people are proposing that we squash more people into a smaller area. Yes, the difference being this will lower carbon emissions as necessary services and goods will be more accessible to the public and the use of private vehicles will decrease.

Reading up some more on this issue, some people have criticized the idea especially when one considers housing prices. More densely populated cities tend to have higher house prices. Vancouver (wannabe greenest city of the world by 2020) is no exception. It seems that we are encouraging people to invest more expensively initially, using the long term pay-off as the added benefit.

Agree or disagree, I must say it seems to make more sense to offer people the ability to access the things they need within a closer range to their homes , and still help reduce carbon emissions. Win-win.

Think it’s possible, carbon free cities?

Video taken from Youtube: Alex Steffen the shareable future of cities

Meat free Mondays

I’m upsetting the apple cart as they say, by posting today instead of Sunday. I have recently decided to investigate and challenge myself to take part in Meat free Mondays.

So what’s the big deal, are they asking me to eat no meat for the rest of my life on Mondays. I think its manageable, but why? How will this save the earth?

Been reading up on what the whole hoo-ha is and these are the facts:

-At least half of all the greenhouse gasses are due to livestock production.

-It requires 500 times as much land to produce 1kg of beef as it does to produce 1kg vegetables. Which means we will actually be able to feed more people if we start to grow food instead of slaughtering animals.

-It takes 250 liters of water to produce 1kg wheat, and 25 000 liters of water to produce 1kg meat.

-Cows, pigs and sheep bred for human consumption discharge millions of tons of methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, which affects the degration of the ozone layer. Livestock accounts for about 18 percent of greenhouse gases, more than all the world’s transportation systems including cars.

I like a good steak every now and then and good food has always been a joy in my life but these facts speak for themselves. Giving up meat for one day a week seems to be the least I can do. Going to have to watch out when my mom cooks again though…

Photo from: http://goo.gl/ga8pP and info from http://goo.gl/MZoWI

Uncovering the mystery

To solve the mystery of the can versus bottle debate I asked 6 popular spots in my town if they recycle cans and glass bottles that are used. Hardly getting a reply, the first two places (who have the same owner) said they do not recycle at all, very disappointing as my friends and I spend a lot of our time there. Leaving me at a bit of an ethical crossroad as well.

The next place (that was opened quite recently) indicated that they recycle all their glass bottles and cans, which was quite a surprise to me. The fourth place was n club whom I assumed would not really take any interest in the recycling of any goods as most of its customers usually do not even remember what street their on, totally besides the point, but even they recycle their glass bottles. The other nightclub indicated that they recycle 65%. What does that 65% mean, 65% of what exactly? I’m not sure what that means and have requested some more information to figure out their recycling habits, on the positive side at least they are doing 65% of some form of recycling.

Still waiting on a reply from the last place which has a more sit down cocktail lounge feel, tedious thing waiting. And it has been close to a week now.

The matter I guess comes down to your attitude towards recycling and how much value you place on helping the environment. Most clubs, cocktail lounges or hang outs are not aware that people have a need to be more environmentally friendly which leads them to a state of inactivity. It is assumed that no one gives a damn anyway, and that their contribution will have no effect whatsoever. Take a stand and put some pressure on the places where you love to spend time with your friends.

If that fails, take your business elsewhere. Or switch to bottles. (Most businesses seem to recycle bottles because of their perceived higher value)

Photo from http://goo.gl/F18HM.

Partying green and no I don't mean just drinking Heineken

Owning to a recent birthday I have been thinking about how I can be more environmentally friendly when going out with friends. The old can versus bottle debate has come to the foreground and now I’ll have to figure this out.

What is better? According to Portland Tribune’s Sustainable Life the bottle has won. Why? Well let’s weight the two up against each other according to cost, appeal(I’m a girl , of course this counts),  taste,  ease of handling and how easy they are to recycle.

Let me be clear, we are of course discussing a beer can versus bottled beer as beer is my preferred drink of choice. The fact is most “so called girl drinks” are not sold in cans. Back to the point.

Cost: Well when looking at the cost, buying beer in cans seems to be more affordable then buying them in bottles. On average a saving of about R3 for every six beers you buy, which I suppose is not a lot depending on the amount of beer you consume.

Score: Can 1 Bottle 1

Next appeal: I must say I do like drinking beer out of a bottle, a can always seems a bit weird. I mean if I get a can of beer I usually just pour it out in a glass. For me a bottle seems to win here hands down.

Score: Can 0 Bottle 1

Well here comes the whole mind over matter thing. I know it’s the same beer, from the same distillery but I must admit that drinking from a can does seem to make beer taste different. Not in a bad way necessarily. It’s just well… different.

Score: Can 1 Bottle 1

Ease of handling. What I meant by this is how easy is it to clean up after your drunk buddies who have had one too many drinks and for whom you reserve special plastic glasses every time you drink together. Here I should add clumsy people as well. Can wins hands down.

Score: Can 1 Bottle 0

How easy they are to recycle? Well it seems the question should rather be if they are recycled or not. I cannot give a score on this account, as I do not know if my local pubs, restaurants and clubs recycle. Will do some digging and find out.

So the score is at Can- 3 and Bottle-3 which means the jury is still out. Guess some more research is in order and the final score will come down to which is being recycled.

Let's change

So this is my first post on my quest to making my life more environmentally friendly. I started with this site, keeping the design simple using black is beneficial for people who still use old CRT(Cathode Ray tube, who knew?) screens which use more energy to display lighter colours whereas modern LCD screens which most  people use now can display darker colours more energy efficiently.

I think it is important to say why I would like to live more environmentally friendly. Our fast paced way of life has turned our attention away from the simple things in life that our parents taught us to enjoy like spending time outside. We prefer running around with our smart phones, buying quick meals and conforming to this consumer culture we have been thrown in without a second thought.

No more. It is time to decide what is really important to us. Do we wish to be slaves to society or are we going to ensure those generations to come have something to enjoy first hand instead of images on man-made devices that enslave us…speaking of I’m dying to get an iPad (see what I mean)

Let me know where you would start or any useful tips would be appreciated.

Picture above from deviantart