Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Hot Summer Clothes? No Sweat!

One of my favorite environmentally and socially conscious directories has done it again! Coop America has put together a list called “9 Ways to Avoid Sweatshops”coopamerica. In it, you can find everything from men’s undies to bath towels that are produced without using labor from sweatshops.

As an added bonus, most of these companies are also environmentally friendly (the two tend to go hand in hand after all), and many of the websites from Coop America have links to other environmentally and socially conscious designers. For example, a virtual trip to again.nyc (#7 on the list) yielded an entire page of designers that purse designer Allison Teich loves. You could be done shopping for that new socially conscious summer wardrobe in a day.

My new assistant Charlotte and I are heading into New York City soon to check out some of these designs in person. We'll keep you posted on our adventures in sustainable fashion hunting, and please let us know what you find as well. Contact Us

Saturday, May 19, 2007

Please Drive Responsibly

Memorial Day is right around the corner, and this 3-day weekend brings with it the promise of summer: long, lazy days at the beach, vacations, road trips, and an average national gas price of $3.10 a gallon. Gulp, Guzzle - that means my fairly fuel-efficient 2003 Toyota Corolla cost exactly $34.58 to fill up this week - ouch.

Given the high price of gas this summer, and the well-established negative effects that carbon emissions have on the environment, it seems to be obvious that we should drive as little as possible, and when we must drive, we should operate fuel-efficient vehicles. According to edmunds.com, these are the 10 most fuel-efficient vehicles produced in 2006:

  1. Honda Insight— 60/66
  2. Toyota Prius— 60/51
  3. Honda Civic Hybrid — 49/51
  4. Volkswagen Golf TDI — 37/44
    Volkswagen New Beetle TDI — 37/44
  5. Volkswagen Jetta TDI — 36/41
  6. Toyota Corolla— 32/41
  7. Scion xA — 32/37
  8. Hyundai Accent— 32/35
    Kia Rio — 32/35
  9. Honda Civic— 30/40
  10. Pontiac Vibe — 30/36
    Toyota Matrix — 30/36
If a new car is not in the budget right now, you can also ensure that your vehicle gets the best fuel-efficiency possible by taking simple steps such as making sure your air filter is changed on a regular basis, keeping your tires properly inflated, using your air conditioner sparingly, and avoiding idling. For a full list of tips on how to achieve optimal fuel-efficiency, check out eartheasy.com.

Lastly, you can utilize the power of your dollar by buying your gas from the most responsible of the oil companies and boycotting the rest. According to Fortune, Exxon-Mobil made over $36 billion in profits in 2005, the largest profit of any company in the world. They achieved this number one status due to the hefty increase in gasoline prices. In addition, according to The Sierra Club, their environmental record places them at the "bottom of the barrel" when ranked with seven other major U.S. oil companies. You can sign a petition at coopamerica.org urging Exxon-Mobil to invest some of their record-breaking profits in renewable energy. The two highest ranking oil companies on Sierra Club's list are BP and Sunoco. You can read the complete environmental lowdown on all eight companies at sierraclub.org.






Tuesday, May 15, 2007

The Twenty Dollar Bottle of Water

A small donation really can make a big difference. Here’s how it works: Buy a $20 bottle of virtual water at www.charityis.com, a nonprofit organization founded by a NY event planner turned humanitarian. Each purchase goes towards building sustainable drinking water systems in Africa. Through their work, they are “stimulating greater global awareness about extreme poverty, educating the public, and provoking compassionate and intelligent giving.”

The first of charity:’s campaigns is to use the money raised through the sale of their $20 bottles of water to provide clean drinking water to people in Africa. One bottle provides one person with safe water for 15 years. Through a unique funding strategy, 100% of your water purchase goes towards this campaign, as operating costs for the organization are covered by a separate fundraising campaign. When you go to charity:’s website, you can choose to donate to the water campaign or to the operating costs of the organization. Charity: has also partnered with Charity Navigator, so you know exactly where your money is going.

Check out their website today and consider buying the most expensive water you will never taste. And, if you actually would like to taste it, you can always spring (pun intended yet again) for a case. $480 will get you 24 bottles of water which "can produce the equivalent of more than 13 million 16.9 ounce bottles of water in Africa." We can all drink to that.

Monday, May 7, 2007

Ten Ways in Ten Days

This business of changing the world is overwhelming. Every day, I receive a new magazine to read, updates from the charities I support, and my stack of books and newspapers is almost tall enough to use as a measuring stick for my sixth grade students. In short, (pun unintended), I’m a bit overwhelmed myself, and this is my job.

But the good news in this confluence of good intentions, fluctuating priorities and time shortage is that we have already taken the first step – we care. I wouldn’t have created this website, and you wouldn’t be reading my blog if that were not the case. You probably also wouldn’t be reading the weekly way, if you were not looking for some advice. So here it is -

Just start. Take an action or two every day. Once these actions become second nature, you will find yourself looking for more ways to change the world. Visit the website and the blog often for more ideas. I will try to be both creative and practical with my suggestions.

The practical side of me says that it is important to suggest ideas that offer at least some immediate results. In order to kick off the website and welcome you to this new community, I have put together a list called Ten Ways in Ten Days, with a way inspired by each chapter of the book. Try a few or all of them out – let me know how it goes!


1. Register to Vote – This is the first step to getting involved politically and having your voice heard. If you have already registered to vote, then make sure you vote in all of the elections; even the local ones make a difference.

2. Watch a Movie – Well, more specifically a documentary or feature film about an issue or cause you are interested in. This is a great way to get educated. Perhaps the movie will inspire you to take further action. The most famous film of late that has spurred millions to action is An Inconvenient Truth, but some other films worthy of viewing are Who Killed the Electric Car?, Hotel Rwanda, Walmart: The High Cost of Low Price, Bowling for Columbine, The Ground Truth, or Super Size Me. They each offer information about issues worth getting involved in, and each movie offers suggestions for fixing the problems addressed.

3. Sign the One Declaration – which is “an historic pact for compassion and justice to help the poorest people of the world overcome AIDS and extreme poverty.” one.org

4. Unplug – Every appliance that we leave plugged in while it is not in use continues to draw electricity. Unplug any appliances in your apt./house that are not in use.

5. Find Something New to Recycle – We all know about recycling aluminum cans, plastic, and glass. But you can also recycle printer cartridges, cell phones (most or all of the components), batteries, and plastic bags. Many grocery stores including Whole Foods offer plastic bag recycling receptacles. If you are ready to stop using plastic bags once and for all, good for you – bring your own reusable bags. Check out reusablebags.com.

6. Give a Green Gift – With many occasions to celebrate in the spring, including Mother’s Day and graduations, you are sure to need a gift for someone. Give a gift from an environmentally responsible source; it is a great way to raise awareness and give a wonderful gift. Check out earthmamaangelbaby.com, organicbouquet.com, equalexchange.com, oraganic.com, or ecoexpress.com.

7. Buy Local, Sustainably Grown Food – check out localharvest.org to find farmers' markets, CSA's, grocery stores, co-ops, and restaurants that supply and use local and organic products.

8. Become Carbon Neutral – Check out terrapass.org or drivinggreen.com and use their emissions calculator to first determine your carbon footprint and then learn how to offset it.

9. Check Out the tenways.org Website – especially the Businesses Making a Difference and the Organizations Making a Difference pages. Try one of the products or join one of the organizations listed.

10. Throw a Party with a Purpose – When you have decided on an organization or cause you would like to support, invite your friends over for a party. Provide some information about the cause and ask them to bring a small donation rather than the usual host/hostess gift.