Green Eco Services » Green and Save

Most Expensive ($18,000) Flip-flops Help Protect the Rainforest

Cathy — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 23:35:33 +0000

No doubt ecology is a big issue, and no doubt businesses will hype their ecology concern in an effort to increase sales. However, one company takes it to the extreme and hopefully it will benefit Costa Rica.

Last week, designer sandal’s guru, Chipkos announced their latest pair of flip-flops. They will be the world’s most expensive, jaw-dropping $18,000 for a pair.

WOW!!! - H.Stern’s $17,000 diamond-flecked sandals previously held that title.

Hand-painted by Los Angeles contemporary artist David Palmer, the one-of-a-kind, ashram-inspired sandals features the Chipkos emblem gilded in six grams of 18-carat recycled gold by Readers Fine Jewelers in Santa Monica. Although they are pretty funky, the pair is not emblazoned with diamonds, or even Swarovski crystals or any other precious jewels for that matter.

So how can they justify the price?

Here is the “justify price” or eco-hype: For each pair sold, Chipkos will adopt 100,000 square feet of endangered rainforest in Costa Rica and guarantees, the protection and preservation of land, species and natural resources … read more at Flip-flops Help Protect the RainforestSimilar Posts:

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Green And Save: Buy Local

Cathy — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 15:39:02 +0000

I have been an avid local shopper for over 20 years, trying to support local businesses as much as possible. Admittedly it is not easy to buy green locally after my last search for blue or green organic towels. Why I shop locally? The number one reason, is I want local businesses to pay taxes, and the more I shop with them, they will stay in business and pay alot of taxes. Those taxes mean more money for things like libraries, police, fire departments, roads and more.

The next reason- time v.s. money. I don’t want to waste time driving 20-20 minutes away to get ‘a better deal’ . It costs too much, especially now with the price of gas. I have also discovered you don’t save that much money. Perhaps shopping at the small local business will cost me $1.00 more for an item, but I am supporting them. As a budding entrepreneur, I want them to support me as well.

‘For every dollar that is spent at a big box retailer, approximately $0.30-0.35 remains in the local economy.Â For each dollar spent at a local, independently-owned business, however, $0.70-0.75 remains in the community.Â These numbers are even more significant when one compares food purchased at a supermarket with food that one buys directly from a local farmer, whether at a farmersâ€™ market or through a CSA (community supported agriculture).Â Just $0.15-0.18 of each dollar spent at a supermarket returns to the farmers that produced that food; upwards of $0.85 goes to the farmer when you buy your food directly from its source. (source)

American Express Open conducted a study of 600 retail small business owners and managers on Buying Local. The goal was to get impressions of whether or not there was a trend, did it actually exist and to understand the effect on their businesses. Of the retailers polled:

I Just Gotta Eco Ya

51 % said they believe there is indeed a growing “buy local” sentiment in the United States.
55 % believe that buy local campaigns can help small businesses compete in challenging economic times.
57 % are planning local campaigns in 2011.
20% plan to give more of their business to local businesses in 2011.
36 % of small retailers say the biggest incentive for consumers to buy at local, independent businesses is ‘better customer service’.
16% said second biggest incentive is supporting the community by creating local jobs
If the average American patronized a local business one out of 10 times, there could be nearly $140 million in new economic activity and more than 1,600 new jobs that provide more than $50 million in new wages.

Buying Local supports your local business, decreases taxes, lowers the price of goods and increases jobs and helps local business owners invest in your community. As a by product it also lessens your carbon footprint. It is also a great marketing tool for those who own a business.

Resources:

Green Marketing

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Eco Friendly Umbrella- Reuses Materials Into Umbrellas

Cathy — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 14:42:45 +0000

I just did this post on 35 Ways To Reuse Umbrellas and came across this nifty Umbrella that the user can use any material to make their own umbrella. Eco Brolly allows the users to adapt almost any materials to make an umbrella.

This umbrella can re-use and adapt objects such as newspaper, card, and plastic bag and turn it into an umbrella. It can re-use whatever the consumer thinks of reusing. It is a supporting devise when it rains, all the user has to do is unscrew the top lid, poke the lid onto the middle of a reuseable object, quick screw to secure it & open it out like an umbrella!

This is for short distances, but it can last longer, by clipping the clips at each end of the umbrella onto the newspaper to stabalise it. It is pocket size, lightweight aluminium, suitable for Britan, where its hard to predict the weather, espeically for Central Londoners, where free newspaper is available

Re-Adapt, Reuse and Re-Purpose Into Umbrellas

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EcoFreek- New Site For Global Free Stuff

Cathy — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 13:26:58 +0000

It just came to my attention, about a new site that surfs throughout all the giving away, swapping, trading sites in the world and puts it all in one site. Eco Freek searchs over 45+ websites and 10,000 libraries for FREE stuff from people that no longer want them. Craigslist is included!

I love free stuff! It is easy to use, I plugged in my zip code and firewood, TV’s, boxes and dirt all came up. Very cool.Similar Posts:

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ecoHow: Buy-Sell-Get Rid Of Reclaimed And Salvage Wood

Cathy — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 03:32:19 +0000

Photo:Flickr- Robnits Photostream

Unfortunately I do not buy or sell any building materials. I only write and update where to get reclaimed wood and salvaged materials. I am writing this post as a referral to all those who email me and ask for:

Quotes on Reclaimed Wood from their houses, barns, fencing and other used building materials.
Want to know where to find reclaimed wood.
Want to know about finding places to get other salvaged materials.
Want deconstruction services.
Want to get rid of a bunch of building materials sitting around their house/ storage area.
Will give away the wood from old barns and buildings in return for deconstruction.

This goes for bowling alleys, barns, sheds, silos, old houses, stairways, radiators, fireplaces, schools and more.

Where To Find Reclaimed Wood -Salvage- Used Building Materials:

Check Out post on National Sites Used Building Materials - listed of giving away and listing sites for building materials.
On left sidebar of Green Eco Services are categories per state. Each state has a salvage and reclaimed wood listing- click on your state and check the resources.

Deconstruction and ReUse Network
Reuse Development Organization loadingdock.org/redo
Building Materials Reuse Association www.bmra.org
Green Eco Services- 40 Sites For Reuse of Materials
Salvage Old Barns

If looking for deconstruction resources:

Some are listed in the Salvage Reclaim listing- Click local state on sidebar
Google deconstruction services plus your city/state and see what comes up.
Call local ReStore or Habitat For Humanity and see what they offer.
Put a listing on Craigslist or other sites to see if someone will deconstruction and take away for free (big trend)

Listing For Buying, Selling or For Free On Green Eco Services

Make a comment in your State (left sidebar), products that you want to give away or try to sell, will need all info, and contact number.

Looking For FREE reclaimed Wood or Building Materials

Judging by the amount of emails I get from people looking for free reclaimed wood and from people who will give away the wood for deconstruction, this is what I would do:

List on Craigslist or other give away sites, that you will deconstruct for building materials
Local milling companies, furniture and cabinetmakers might have discards. Check out flooring companies.
Lumber Mills and Lumber Yards
Local Industry that uses wood for their products.
Garage Sales and Junk Yards,
Any construction or demolition site, it costs them money to go to landfills, if they can get rid of construction debris, all the better. Contact local contractor and ask them
Wood Pallets are free and easy to find, in fact all you have to do is cruise any strip mall and they are available.
Curb Alerts- Often have free wood and furniture.
Tree Surgeons, Tree Cutters, Landscapers and Gardeners- We have all seen them, they too have to pay to dispose of waste, contact them to get free wood.
Local Governments- All have tree cutting crews
Pool Companies- many times they have to take out trees in order to build pools.
After storms- take a cruise around the neighborhood and pick up fallen trees and limbs
Contact Local Artists and see if they work with wood and have any cast-offs

Give Away Or Sell Salvage And Reclaimed Wood And Used Building Materials

Craigslist.com- advertise wood, also firewood
Yingyango- Free giving away site
Eco Freek- Global site that searches through other sites for free stuff
Giving Away- Free site to post things to giveaway
Freecycle Free to join, ask or give away anything, but mainly household goods.
Free Sharing-Groups that free recycle objects they don’t want
Habitat For Humanity or ReStores- Some of them will pick up for you, call your local to confirm. Double check for tax- write offs.
Regives - State listing connecting People in local communities
Contact Local Artists
Contact Local woodworkers, cabinet makers, crafters: they love working with reclaimed wood and it’s expensive.

Buying, Selling, Giving Away Cardboard I do not buy or sell cardboard but because I have alot of people ask about it here is what to do:

What To Do:

Many people do collect cardboard and take to local scrap dealers and make money. You can do the same thing.

Give Away

Craigslist.com- advertise wood, also firewood
Yingyango- Free giving away site
Giving Away- Free site to post things to giveaway
Freecycle Free to join, ask or give away anything, but mainly household goods.
Free Sharing-Groups that free recycle objects they don’t want
Habitat For Humanity or ReStores- Some of them will pick up for you, call your local to confirm. Double check for tax- write offs.

Contact Moving Companies

Boxcycle-Used Cardboard Exchange CA
Used Cardboard Boxes (CA)
DJ Boxes- D.J. Transport (Canada) we carry a large inventory of new and used boxes as well as packaging supplies. Our company buys and sells used boxes and contributes ecologically by recycling corrugated boxes, pallets and more. Boxes that have been misprinted or overrun can be re-used for packaging.

Selling

Selling: Reuse Cardboard- Make Money- How much money you can make is dependent on scrap dealer, cost of paper.

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Eco Friendly Site Pulls Green Products Together

Cathy — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 13:49:18 +0000

Eco Friendly Shopping

You can shop on ebay for green, you can shop on Amazon for sustainable products, you can search on the Internet, but a new website that features over 150 Eco Friendly products was launched a few months ago. Neerg (green spelled backwards) a startup is one of the first that pulls together sellers to sell directly to the consumer. With over 2,000 products available, it give the sustainable consumer alot to choose from. The best part is they are a member of 1% for the Planet, Global Green USA and one of my favorite charities Surfrider! 3% is given back to support the environment.

What can you buy? Fashion, building supplies, cleaners, food, furniture, garden, office supplies, lighting… Pretty incredible site and I wish them well!

You can also follow them on Twitter and become a Fan on Facebook.Similar Posts:

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Top 5 Reasons To Ditch The Paper Towels

Cathy — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:14:40 +0000

Flickr:crustmania

Despite all our best efforts to cut back on the consumption of paper products (many of which can now be purchased in the 100% PCW variety), there is still one product that we use in abundance: paper towels. Although most of us have rags and cloth towels around the house that work equally well, and many public restrooms now come equipped with air dryers for our hands, most people still demonstrate a stubborn refusal to buck their reliance on tree-killing paper towels. Of course, “experts” say that paper towels are more sanitary, but in truth, hand towels are equally hygienical when laundered regularly and used properly (don’t wipe hands covered in raw chicken on the towel and expect to use it later to dry your clean hands). And how about adding a little sophistication to your dinner table with cloth napkins?

In short, there are many reasons why you should toss paper towels (out of your life) and get back to basics.

1. Deforestation. Well, duh. Sure, there are some brands that offer partially or fully recycled paper towels, but by and large, this is not the case. Considering that about four billion trees are cut down each year to make paper (of which paper towels are only a percentage), we could make a pretty big dent in deforestation if everyone decided to cut paper towels out of their everyday lives.

2. Pollution. You may be wondering how making paper towels contributes to pollution, and you may be surprised to know that it actually plagues every step of the process. Diesel machinery is commonly used in logging operations to haul felled trees off the site. Then it is put on logging truck and shipped around the world via road or water (and you know those vehicles don’t run on steam). From there they make their way to paper mills that pollute the surrounding countryside and the air. And finally, the paper products are shipped to your neighborhood by way of planes, trains, and automobiles (hello, greenhouse gases!). Yup, paper production is a pretty dirty business.

3. Dust allergens. Perhaps you are one of the many people who suffers from an aversion to airborne allergens. Most people don’t realize just how many household items can cause an allergic reaction, and dust and dander are the two most common. By getting rid of the paper towels, you could really cut down on the amount of lint and dust floating around your house, making you sneeze, and becoming lodged in your lungs.

4. Organic cotton. Okay, this one is big. If you opt for towels made of fabric, you can go the extra mile for the Earth by choosing organic cotton (or other sustainable textiles). This is a great alternative to denuding our planet and it is guaranteed to be chemical-free, which is great for you and your family (because remember, most paper towels are bleached and then patterned with chemical dyes).

5. Drying. If for no other reason than your own comfort, you should make an effort to cut paper towels out of your life. They are definitely more drying (and not in a good way) than cloth towels. They can leave your skin rough and cracked, necessitating the use of buckets of hand lotion when the simple solution is just to use a regular towel instead. And vanity wins it!

Submitted by guest blogger Kyle Simpson writes for Wine Rack Plans where you can find a wine rack to fit your individual needs, taste, and style.Similar Posts:

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What is A Freegan?

Cathy — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 04:48:37 +0000

Somebody who abstains from contributing to the economy and salvages society’s wasted food and resources rather than purchase more themselves.

I also found that freegan.info takes the definition a step further to include not just people searching for food but also:

“People who are concerned so deeply with the social and ecological impact of economic over-consumption that they choose to buy and work as little as possible and, instead, to live directly off the massive waste created by our modern society.”

Personally, I think this is great, unless they are a free-loaders (we all know lots of them). When I look at people’s trash cans and the new shoes, clothes, sports equipment they throwaway, I don’t blame anyone for dumpster diving, taking things out of the trash, reselling or using.

I just gotta Tell Ya

Americans represent 5% of the world’s population, but generate 30% of the world’s garbage
Americans waste or cause to be wasted nearly 1 million pounds of materials per person every year.
Less than 2% of the total waste stream in the United States is recycled.

Here is the kicker: If you were savvy and had access to a computer, you would never need to

buy sporting equipment, shoes, clothes again.
buy mattresses, furniture, computers again.- all of that is free
buy fertilizer, there is plenty of free dirt available and no need to add nutrients, compost.
buy food (yes, there is plenty of food – 96.4 Billion pounds of food go uneaten

That is not the full list, but there is something to be said for Freeganism. Why not take what other throw away?Similar Posts:

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Reduce, Reuse, Regive- A Free Giving Site YinYango

Cathy — Tue, 26 Oct 2010 02:25:04 +0000

Unyango- Give Away Site

I love Giving Away sites, go to Craigslist and Giving Away and now a new site has cropped up called yinyango, in which you can list your give away stuff for free. There is no membership involved. Since we Americans generate an average of 1600 pounds of waste per person per year, half of which comes from “durable goods” and packaging. Yinyango.org aims to make it easier for people to minimize this portion of their waste by enabling people all across the country to more easily participate in the “free local reusing” movement. The website recognizes a user’s location and instantly shows which free items are available nearby. Thousands of free items are available in populated areas. Announcement of the nationwide launch: http://www.yinyango.org/press

The name “Yinyango” is a tribute to the philosophy of yin and yang, which involves concepts such as “renewal,” “interdependence,” and “balance.” Yinyango hopes to inspire the world “to realize its abundance.

The advantages of Yinyango.org is the site immediately recognizes your location and instantly shows which items are closest to you. No more plugging in your city etc..You can still browse by category and put in your information if you are traveling to an area and want to see what is for free in that area.

I was pretty impressed, normally with new sites that are just getting going, they had a lot of stuff close to me from dog food to furniture to mowers and even copper wire (easy to resell). I even bookmarked the site, I think they will continue to grow and wish them the best of luck!Similar Posts:

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50 Freegan Living Blogs- Reduce Waste And Live Free

Cathy — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 14:34:48 +0000

Flickr: Karen And Allen, Dumpster Diving

I ran across this great blog post on FREE Stuff! or Freeganism, which is getting stuff for free. The 50 articles listed are a great resource for those who are on budgets, want to live a waste free life, lessen their environmental impact and just want great deals!

Recycled Reads: 50 Freegan Living Blog Posts We Can All Learn From

Freeganism earns considerable attention from a wide variety of communities. Environmentalists, the frugal, anarchists, anti-consumerists and others have thoroughly dissected its components – which, as the nomenclature implies – spending as little money as possible while living off what some people consider waste. But this lifestyle, as with any that dangle on the fringe of society, does not come without its controversies. The following blog posts represent a broad spectrum of opinions from passionate freegans to ardent critics, hoping to present the most balanced glimpse possible of the practice. It is up to individual readers to formulate their own educated guess regarding what they make of the philosophy and what they hope to take away from their lessons.

1.) “Freegan Fashion? You’d be Surprised!” at beingfrugal.net

Freegan fashionista Lauri Apple, founder of FoundClothing, expounds upon the benefits of discovering perfectly viable apparel (sometimes even designer!) in dumpsters and other rubbish bins.

2.) “Veganism vs. Freeganism” at happyCow veggie blog

Both the vegan and freegan lifestyles concern themselves with ethical food, clothing, shelter and other necessities, but how far one wants to take their habits remains up to the individual.

3.) “Secret Freegan is Dumpster Diving’s Robin Hood” at TreeHugger

Grocery stores shockingly throw out thousands of dollars’ worth of food every week, and ardent freegans raid their dumpsters to make sure it does not go to waste.

4.) “Freegans: Anti-Consumerists or Just Tightwads?” at Neatorama

Neatorama presents a Los Angeles Times article for readers’ consideration, which concerns a former Barnes & Noble executive who quit her job in order to live a freegan life.

5.) “Zero Waste, Zero Greed, Zero Currency” at A Funky Freegan Journal

Passionate freegan and unapologetic idealist Grace shares her thoughts behind what the lifestyle means to her and how she hopes to influence the planet as a whole.

6.) “Freeganism” at An Experiment in Freeganism

Another dumpster diver, Mikey, discusses what motivated him to attempt a freegan existence. He uses his blog to chronicle the different treasures he discovers in Greensboro dumpsters.

7.) “Extreme Personal Finance: One Month as a Freegan” at Get Rich Slowly

No lifestyle is more frugal than that of the freegan, as J.D. Roth at the well-respected personal finance blog Get Rich Slowly points out in his series of resources on the subject.

8.) “Freeganism – The New Frontier” at Not Quite Nigella

Lorraine Elliott explains all the core components of freeganism and experiments with the lifestyle herself, showing off a shocking array of wasted products.

9.) “Mongo, Freegan and Dumpster Dive: Continuing the Life Cycle of ‘Junk’” at Sustainablog

Dumpsters provide great opportunities for enterprising and creative types to find household items and components for art pieces.

10.) “Freegan Out” at Fairfield Weekly

Foraging comprises a core component of freeganism, with adherents searching the woods for mushrooms and other edibles. This article features a couple of proud foragers and dumpster divers explaining how they navigate their lifestyle.

11.) “Freeganism: What’s Up With That?” at Tigers & Strawberries

Barbara Fisher supports the ideals behind the freegan philosophy, but she finds some of their practices on the unethical and self-serving side. Anyone considering sticking with the lifestyle should read her critique before making the commitment.

12.) “Dumpster Diving for Dinner – Freeganism Explored” at Crunchy Domestic Goddess

After Oprah jumped on the freegan media bandwagon, Amy Gates wondered about how it paralleled her own quest for eco-friendly living and minimizing waste.

13.) “New ‘Dumpster Diving Tips’ Video for Freegan Kitchen” at Freegan Kitchen

Learn the art of the dumpster dive – a staple of freegan living – with this informative video for insiders and curious outsiders alike.

14.) “Going Gratis” at Wasted Food

This relatively quick blog post discusses the very basics of dumpster diving and forging in the United Kingdom.

Read the rest of the Blog Post here at Online CollegesSimilar Posts:

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