Keeping it green, clean and pretty

Two of my pet peeves? Liquid soap and disposable hand towels. I was recently sent a hard-plastic liquid soap-dispenser with a battery-powered motion sensor, and a box of paper towelettes; the manufacturers were touting both as a way to fight germs in the home. I just don’t buy it. Institutional settings are a whole other ball-game, but in your own home – unless you’re called on to perform an emergency tracheotomy on Aunt Edna at Thanksgiving — I think a bar of soap and cloth towels that get washed on a regular basis provide an adequate level of hygiene. (If the house is hit with the Norwalk Virus, of course you'll have to ramp up your defense plan.)

I’m queasy about (although admittedly ignorant of) the additives used to keep soap liquid, and I hate that it comes packaged in plastic containers. My solution for our tiny powder room? I buy up large vintage linen napkins (no, of course, they don’t have to match!), plunk them in an old wooden tool box and keep pretty bars of soap on hand, as in the pic above. I actually ironed these napkins, because I wanted to impress you, dear reader. But normally, I just line-dry them in the sun (which kills bacteria!), fold them and plop them in. Why use energy when the sun and wind will do the job for you?

I pick up wrapped and boxed soap at one my favourite discount stores, HomeSense  and use them as needed. The boxes are used on my vanity to hold hairpins, tweezers and lipsticks – all that necessary but slightly unsightly girlie stuff, which I stack on a little tray, made from an old cabinet face and two handles from Stanley’s excellent hardware collection  

The pot of flowers on it were a little treat to me from myself — and got plopped into an old biscuit barrel that long ago lost its lid but which now has a second life. Take a look below. You like? 

Are you lovin' the green tips? Then check out the uber-useful Practically Green website, and tune in to their Twitter party today at 9 p.m. It's where all the cool kids will be, including me! I can't wait to get in on all the good  ideas  from fellow Greenies. 

Need help with your green living cred?

As Earth Day approaches, attention once again turns to living a little more lightly on the planet. If you need fresh ideas on how to do that, visit the Green Living Show, which will run April 15 to 17 at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place.

In addition to over 400 exhibitors showcasing all things green ­ — from jewelry to cookware to furniture — scheduled events include a green business forum, youth conference, fashion show and appearances by journalists such as Evan Solomon and Emily Hunter.

Celebrity chefs will cook eco-delicious dishes, and visitors can taste local foods, wine and beer. Fresh, local and sustainable foods can also be purchased at a Farmers Marketplace. Hybrid, electric and fuel cell cars will be available for test drives, and there’s a programmed EcoKids Zone for the little people. A panel discussion on the prevalence of toxins in beauty products will also take place, led by Gill Deacon, author of There’s Lead in Your Lipstick. Musicians Sarah Harmer (whom I adore!) and Alyssa Reid will perform  in a live concert on Saturday at 6:45 p.m.    
  
On Sunday, April 17, feature speaker Tom Rand will offer a presentation called Kick the Fossil Fuel Habit, which is also the title of a book he wrote. Rand was a successful businessman who now focuses his energies (get it, energies?!) on carbon mitigation. The anti-carbon crusader is now active in raising venture capital for clean technologies and works with a number of clean energy companies and organizations.  (see pics above)

For décor-istas, there will be also lots of information about, and inspiration for, green renovation and design. Two exhibitors that I think are especially worth checking out are The Recycler, the nom de green of a former pig farmer who now makes whimsical furniture out of old bicycle parts and The Timeless Material Company   which offers wonderful salvaged and reclaimed building materials (see pics below).


 


 

Larger corporate exhibitors, such as American Standard , will also be there. Visit their booth and ask about their FloWise toilet, which saves about 25 per cent more water than conventional dual-flush toilets.  (I like the Tropic, a sleekly contemporary looking toilet that comes in white and biscuit.)

Admission to the Green Living Show is $12 for adults, $9 for seniors and students between 13 and 17. But Samsung Electronics Canada will provide free admission to anyone who brings e-waste to the event for recycling at their Canadian facility. For details visit the Green Living website. 

A fresh take on summer (which will arrive - eventually - we hope)

 

 
 

 
The same folks who brought us the Joe Fresh clothing line at Loblaw's are now exerting creative influence over the company's home and housewares lines. The results are fabby-do. So it's VERY hard to choose what I liked the most from the spring/summer preview by PC Home.  But here are a few pieces that stood out. The woven hammock, with a lovely, soft textured sling on a steel frame ($159), cute-as-a-button powder-coated steel square and lollipop-shaped side tables ($29) in sunny yellow, cheery turquoise and zesty green and the super-chic, super-clever (foldable!) aluminum roll-top table. There’s tons more to the offering, which should begin showing up in stores soon. But I just had to show you a sneak peak. Watch my column for more….

Make mine cashmere

The World Wildlife Federation has come up with a wonderful winter idea. On February 17, they want everybody to turn down the thermostat by 3°C, and put on a fun sweater for National Sweater Day!

The gesture is meant to raise awareness that small steps toward energy conservation can make a big difference in helping the planet. About half of Canada's ecological footprint is the result of carbon emissions from transportation, heating and electricity. The kick off to this event brought some fun snaps from a fashion show featuring sweaters created by leading Canadian designers.

Interested? Then get “sweatered” on facebook.

Flat water - a good thing

If you love your portable water bottle, but find it sometimes takes up too much space in your purse or satchel, you’ll want to know about the Vapur Anti-Bottle. (Sorry, I tried to get a picture, but geting info and images from the PR company was a bit like pulling teeth! Check out their website to see what it looks like.)  This reusable bottle is flexible, so while it stands upright when full, it can be rolled, folded or flattened when empty. Selling for about $13, it holds 16 ounces, and is freezer- and dishwasher-safe. It’s also BPA-free. The Vapur has other environmental pluses; made using wind power, it comes in packaging made from recycled paperboard printed with soy ink. And it ships flat, which means fewer trucks on the road, lower fuel consumption and reduced carbon emissions. Get more information online or look for it at Toronto-area stores, including Bergo, Neat, Rolo, Swipe Books , and Mercantile. Full disclosure: I did call a  few of these stores to check on availability. It seems like stock is dwindling, so if you want to buy a Vapur locally, better get one fast! 

 

Bikes, bags and bad ideas

 
Okay, so I’m no Alfred Stiegltiz, but I think my “Still Life With Bags”, featuring just a few of my collection of shopping bags,  speaks volumes about how I feel about Mayor Ford’s suggestion that the five-cent levy on plastic bags should be repealed. Why on earth would anyone want to encourage the use of plastic bags, which are made from petroleum, which — unless you’re a climate change denier — should convince you that it makes sense to use fewer of them?

Charging for them  does make a difference; recent news suggests that chains who charge have seen plastic bag consumption drop by as much as 50 per cent. We could still do better. Canadians still carry home about 55 million of the things each year, according to Environment Canada.  And for some sad, but telling, anecdotal evidence, consider this: on the few times I’ve forgotten to take the proverbial poo bag when walking with my dog in the park, I never panic. I simply mosey over to the nearest fence or garden edge, where I’ll be sure to find plastic bags of all sorts and sizes nestled among the barnacles of detritus that collects there. 

Not only are my reusable bags better for the environment, but I find that many of the plastic bags now given out are made of flimsy material. So the last time I got caught short and tried to carry some oranges in one, the bag ripped, spilling the contents across the sidewalk. This was unfortunate for many reasons,  not the least of which being that small children passing by at the time were unwittingly treated to some good old Anglo-Saxon cursing . 

My totes also work better when I occasionally have to  hang them on the handles of my bike, a device which — being a left-wing kook — I do use in clement weather.  And finally, darling, there’s the question of style. Think you not that my totes are beaucoup plus chic than a plain-Jane shopping bag?

So, Mayor Ford, no more suggestions that we repeal the levy. Because it’s just plain silly.

Wondering about e-waste? You should!

 
A few months ago, I mused in this space about whether the decline of paper communications (newspapers, notebooks etc), and subsequent rise of electronic media, had been good or bad for the environment. After all, I asked, hasn’t the electronics industry created a lot of waste? (Bias alert -- I still love my Moleskin - see below!)

That drew an invitation from Matt Weiner, marketing manager of IT solutions for Samsung Canada, to chat about whether we should be concerned about e-waste clogging our landfills.

In fact, Weiner seemed to share my worry that people aren’t sufficiently aware of what happens to old electronics when they’re no longer functional. He explained that Samsung was involved in a survey of businesses with between five and 100 employees that looked at whether purchasers of IT equipment considered end-of-life issues for the products. The results were not encouraging. “It was very disappointing to us that many purchasers making a big decision to buy a system do not think what the heck will happen to it at the end of life,’ says Weiner.

But end users, he insists, are just one piece of the puzzle. “The user has to have some responsibility when they get rid of items, but manufacturers should be making it easier for them to do that,” he says.

To encourage consumers, Samsung has launched a program called Recycling Direct that allows people to drop off used electronics at 45 locations across Canada. From there, product goes to their recycling partner, Global Electric Electronic Processing (GEEP)  where plastics, glass and hazardous materials such as cathode ray tubes are removed and electronic components are taken apart and sorted. Plastics are recycled or converted into diesel fuel; and metals like copper and iron can be re-used.  

This program is expected to expand in 2011 to over 75 locations. Non-Samsung-branded electronics are taken, but a small fee is charged.

Weiner says this process is vastly preferable to having waste shipped overseas as scrap, where highly dangerous materials are sorted by poorly paid workers, many of whom are children.   

“Our promise to customers, whether they are business or consumer, is that no product will be sold off to third-word or hit a landfill or go back into the waste stream,” says Weiner.

While he’s enthusiastic about the recycling program, Weiner still thinks there could be more awareness of the issue of e-waste. Given the chance, he says, most people will choose to recycle. He point to the company’s experience at the Green Living Show .  “We had a program (under which) you could get in for free if you dropped off used electronics. The response was overwhelming; 10,000 people gained access by recycling,” he says.

Confidence that the company will do the right thing is one reason to buy from a major brand, says Weiner. “Most major manufacturers are now doing a recycling program,” he says. “For the most part, it’s the smaller vendors, where it’s some weird name you have never heard of and that’s often made in a third world country, where you need to be careful.  Their rules and regulations may not be the same as here — so you won’t be sure.”  

 

Tomorrow: Let’s talk about plastic bags. Seriously, folks.

 

 

Exquisite recipe for an exquisite chocolate

 
Speaking of yummy cookies (see last post – or pic above!), here’s a delightful double shortbread recipe from Green & Black's Organic, makers of exquisite chocolate.  

What you need:

SHORTBREAD 1

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter

 

 

SHORTBREAD 2

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup organic unsweetened cocoa powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup sugar
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• One 3.5-ounce bar dark chocolate, minimum 60 per cent cocoa content, or milk chocolate, preferably 34 per cent cocoa content, finely chopped

(Hey, they’re being modest – but I would advise you use Green & Black's Organic - it's  glorious  choc! )

What you do:

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.

To make the first shortbread, sift the flour, salt, and sugar into a bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture combines. Knead lightly, then place the dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes before rolling out.

Follow the same step for the second shortbread, but include the cocoa with the flour.

Roll our each dough on a lightly floured surface into equal-sized rectangles about ½-inch thick. Place the plain shortbread on a sheet of waxed paper, place the chocolate shortbread on top of the plain one and then scatter the chocolate all over.

Carefully roll out the shortbread, as tightly as possible, using the waxed paper to support it. (Don't worry if it breaks or the chocolate pokes through.) Once rolled, pinch both ends together to prevent the chocolate falling out, then using both hands, squeeze until it is about 8 inches long.

Using a very sharp knife, slice the roll into ½-inch slices. Lay the cookies on the cookie sheet, 2 inches apart. Bake for 25 minutes, until the plain shortbread is a light golden color. Cool on a wire rack.

Makes about 14 cookies.

          

Feeling Christmas-y yet?

 
 
Gearing up for the holiday season and beginning to look for affordable gift and décor ideas? I love this simple, inexpensive idea using old mason jars and Walltalk - lightweight vinyl quotes, graphics, and monogram initials that can stick to a variety of surfaces, including glass. They also come off easily and won’t damage the surface. Use them in the project shown, or think about sticking a short quote or word grouping on small canvas and putting it in a vintage frame. Or try stacking three Christmas-y words (joy, love, peace) on an inexpensive glass vase from PC Home or Ikea. You could also spray paint cheap cookies tins from the dollar store or Goodwill and stick words on those. You'd fill them with home-baked goodies, of course. Or maybe espom salts that you'd scented with essential oils. You could also:

Add a quote or words to a wide ribbon and thread it through your Christmas tree.

Add a quote or thought to the edge of plate chargers.

Frame family photos from Christmas past and add a favourite saying or a line from a traditional carol to the border.

Visit WallTalk for more ideas, and a list or retailers — or to order from the site.

Next week, I'll share some ideas for creating holiday décor/gifts with Rustoleum’s Frosted Glass spray paint.

Leed certification named in class action suit

Pretty big “green” news broke this week south of the border. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC)  and its green building certification system known as LEED, has been named in a Class Action Suit that alleges USGBC has mislead consumers and misrepresented the energy performance of buildings certified under LEED rating systems. It goes further to suggest that LEED is harming the environment by leading consumers away from using proven energy-saving strategies. According to Treehugger.com, Henry Gifford, who launched the suit, has previously claimed that LEED rated buildings use 29 per cent more energy than conventional buildings. There’s more information about this on BuildingGreen.com