Mom Goes Green

Saturday is “America Recycles Day”… a day that ‘encourages more people to join the movement toward creating a better natural environment by recycling and buying recycled products’ and ‘promotes the social, environmental and economic benefits of recycling.’

A very worthwhile cause, I’d say!

As the Recycling/Environmental Programs Chair at our daughter’s school I’m promoting this great day by encouraging the kids to submit their best recycling tips and the favorite ways their families recycle.   I’m going to compile all of their great ideas and turn it into a recycling newsletter that will be sent home to each family.  Some will even win cool prizes, like a recycled pencil bag from Terracycle! The response has been overwhelming!  It’s so exciting to see their enthusiasm.  Kids rule!

So, to get back to the basics of this day… let’s remember WHY we recycle:

• to reduce pollution
• to save energy
• to help the environment
• to save natural resources
• to keep trash out of landfills

And here are some things to think about …

1. PLASTIC– it can take 20 years for a plastic bag to biodegrade and 250 years for a plastic cup!  And if every American household recycled just one of every 10 plastic bottles, it would keep 200 million pounds of plastic out of landfills each year!
2. PAPER – it accounts for HALF of what is sent to landfills… and it’s recyclable! Plus, recycling one ton of paper would save enough energy to power an average American home for five months!
3. ALUMINUM – recycling just one aluminum can saves enough energy to run a computer for 3 hours.  Last year cans that were NOT recycled and went to landfills were valued at $600 million! (let me go get my shovel and start digging!)
4. GLASS – a bottle in a landfill would take more than 4000 years to decompose, but glass never “wears out” and can be recycled forever!

Sadly, 75% of “trash” is recyclable, but only 25% actually gets recycled.

So get recycling, increase your recycling, start someone you know recycling… just get to it!… because “America Recycles” and that’s a club all of us should want to belong to!

Oh, Mickey should NOT be happy!

We could probably look around the home of just about any parent we know and find some things, multiple things… uum, PILES of THINGS bought to us by Disney.  Last year, net income of the Walt Disney Company was valued at $3.83 billion (yea, that’s billion with a “b”!).

However, I just learned that while they avoid all toxic chemicals in the Animal Kingdom of Disney World, they are using over 80 varieties of very toxic cleaners and only a dozen green cleaners in the rest of their facilities (including parks, hotels and restaurants).

I know the “go green” movement can be a slow process, but as pointed out by CHEJ, they’ve obviously put some serious thought into their consideration of what comes in contact with the animals, but what about those areas where our children “bathe, eat and play”?

A reply letter from Disney said that they are “in compliance”, but we know that sometimes compliance is a fairly lax guideline and that seems like a fairly weak stance.  And it’s especially bothersome when you consider how susceptible children are to these toxic chemicals… and isn’t Disney World all about kids (okay, us “big kids” too!)?

If you’ve spent some major cashola at Disney World or just on a mountain of Disney products, you can go here to ask them to change their ways and reconsider their practices.

I think we’ve all “purchased” the right to higher expectations.

Who doesn’t enjoy the spirit(s!) of Halloween? Ghosts, goblins, jack-o-lanterns, crazy costumes and of course, those wonderful treats!

I’ve always loved being a gift-giver and our kids are no different. They always love giving gifts and especially treats to their classmates at Halloween. In past years, we’ve always filled little cellophane bags with candy, pencils and other goodies. But this year, I decided that I wasn’t going that route… at least, not so much the normal route.

This year I bought our son’s preschool friends a sweet little Halloween book (because it’s a very small class and the books were a buck each from Scholastic) and we’ll top it off with some treats. My daughter insists on some treats for her friends too but, this time, I made a wiser choice than un-recyclable cellophane bags.

I found these adorable uncoated (recyclable!) paper bags that will carry the loot. They were the same price as the cellophane bags, but they don’t carry any of the guilt of plastic trash. They came from a dollar store – 25 for $1! A deal, I’d say, and available just about anywhere.

So, if you haven’t already made your loot bag purchase, give it some consideration. Or better yet, that’s what receipts are for… return them for an environmental choice.

Halloween treats go better with paper… hold the nasty cellophane trick.

The scenario:  Sunday morning.  Breakfast table.  Family eating.  Kids giggling.  Coffee drinking.  Newspaper reading.  (cute little picture, huh?)

Then, a small snippet in the newspaper gives me a bigger jolt than my coffee.  The Canadian government has banned BPA in baby bottles because it is deemed toxic.  Well, round of applause for Canada, but what in the heck are they looking at that the US refuses to see?

I’ve mentioned my fear of BPA (bisphenol A) so many times, but it continues to rattle me.  The FDA needs a vigorous shaking to wake up and ‘taste’ the danger. Of course, the chemical industry maintains that bottles contain little BPA and are safe for use – sure they want us to believe that… what else would we expect them to say.

But Canada based this decision on 150 (150!!!) worldwide studies.  How much more evidence do we need?  Well, would you believe the FDA says they are awaiting word from yet another scientific panel expected to deliver an independent risk assessment later this month.

Wow.  So do you really think they’ll change their tune after assessment 151…!?!  Don’t count on it.

(*Don’t wait for “studies”. If you are looking for BPA-free baby bottles, check here.  It’s a great list!)

I’ve never really been a girly-girl (in fact, in my college days, my husband referred to me as “goth lite”), but I always wear make-up, lipstick, all that “presentation jazz!”

Because I’m a daily lipstick wearer I find that, at the end of the day, I need to put something on my lips or they just feel dried out and naked.  My husband uses lip balm (am I allowed to disclose that?) and our kids are always grabbing our stuff and putting it on too!

Now that winter is around the corner (ugh!) I’ve been thinking more and more about what we put on our lips and the need to keep our mouths healthy.  Our daughter is notorious for licking her lips and they get super chapped… and this is where my concern comes in.

Too many products on the market are made of the stuff we really don’t want to ingest or have absorbed into our bodies.  I read the label on a bunch of our products – ingredients #1 thru 3: petroleum and waxes.  They don’t even protect your lips and I’ve seen research calling some ingredients potentially carcinogenic… Oh, that’s not good.

So, I found a great line of lip balm products that will accommodate our entire family – Eco Lips!  Their ingredients are organic, natural, nutrient rich, cruelty-free and even made in a solar powered plant!  They have a tinted version for me (made with natural mineral pigments), a scented version for the kids (they’re 100% edible, though not encouraged!) and a sport version (that can be waved about by Mr. Man!).  And they really work!  Plus, they donate a percent of profits to environmental initiatives.  Bravo!

It may seem really simple, but when you consider that our lips are the most absorbent part of our bodies (and all of the synthetic ingredients contained in the more common products) it’s really quite a big deal that you keep your lips protected, healthy and NON-toxic.

See, I got you thinking.  Now you, too, will reconsider what you put on your precious little pucker!

One of my greatest frustrations is when I feel like I’m fighting the green battle against people I feel a bond with.  Whether it’s family, friends or groups I associate with, it can be really difficult to be the wave maker… well, I’m about to battle… enter: waves!

Our daughter brought home a letter from school that announced a special school program focusing on proper nutrition and making healthy food choices.  Sounded like a great program to me!  They’re setting aside a day where students can sample healthy foods and snacks. Still, a big thumbs up!

Then, I got to the part that asked for parent participation.  They asked for volunteers to send in apples (okay!), granola bars (can do!) or bottled water (no!  Say it isn’t so!)

So, while we’re teaching 400 kids about eating properly, we can give them a chaser of BPA laced water and bottles that will go into the school’s trash cans and create our very own space in a landfill.  Augh, I think I’m going to scream.

Now (since I am the Recycling/Environmental Programs Chair)  I get to contact all those in charge and ask “why” and “what can we do?”  I hate these confrontations, but I have to do it.  I’m expecting that “convenience” is the reason, so I will probably have to be content with the idea of pushing for a special bottle receptacle.  Sadly, we don’t have a plastics recycling program in the school.  It’s something I’m working for, but we aren’t there yet.  (You wouldn’t believe what it takes to get something so simple in place).

So, as I sit here, I’m preparing my approach to people that are trying to teach the right nutritional choices, but using bad environmental choices.  I have no idea how this is going to end up, but I don’t like where it’s starting!

I can see it now… Wednesday recycling pick-up is going to be crazy at my house after I lug 400 plastic bottles home and they later come flying out of my recycling can… and my neighbor’s…and the neighbor’s next to them….

We’re getting ready to head off to another kid birthday party… I imagine you can already feel me shuttering through the monitor with thoughts of the waste I’m about to encounter!

The birthday boy is in our daughter’s class, but I can’t say that I really know him and I had no idea what to buy… so we landed at Toys R Us, and the search began.

But while we were there, I made a great discovery. “Geoffrey” has taken a nice “giraffe” step in the right direction. There, in the front of the store, were the most adorable reusable bags. They were not shamelessly emblazoned with the Toys R Us logo. They were simply decorated with polka dots, stripes, flowers, solid colors, animal prints… plenty of cute, colorful patterns for any kid, of any age…even adults!

Best of all, they were only $1.49! I know I have said that gift bags are the best option, over wrapping paper, but I’m really rethinking that. I think about larger gifts and having spent $4.99 to buy one big enough for the gift and now, I can spend $1.49 and give the kid a bag that they can use to lug books from the library, tote toys to grandma’s, cart towels and snacks to the pool, haul overnight gear to a sleepover… very cool! And truly, they’re nice enough to use for anyone’s gift, not just kids. I really think I’m going to make a trip back there and pick up a bunch for all of my gift-giving.

Plus, I have a second discovery to share. A great line of fabric gift bags from Lagniappe Gift Wrap. They’re made by a fellow mom, they come in all kinds of themes and sizes, are made from natural fibers and tie at the top. They could be used for just about anything, but I think they give a beautiful, upscale feel to the gift, when a reusable bag just won’t do — and then they can be put to other uses afterward or simply passed on!  I even hear they’re going to start making treat bags soon… BONUS!  I don’t think I can stand buying another plastic treat bag.

(So, honey, when you buy me that beautiful new diamond for being such an awesome wife you can put it in a nice little jewel bag!…. hmm, was that too obvious? ) 

I just can’t take any more gift waste — so, whatever you do… bag it, tag it, tie it, give it… but just don’t “trash” it!

At the end of a “crazy, busy kid” weekend, we all settled in for some mindless TV viewing before bedtime.  America’s Funniest Videos was on (yes, we all love it… especially when people fall down… how mean of us!) so I paused it and we went to take baths and get jammies on.  Needless to say, when we returned, I accidentally hit the wrong button, changed the channel and POOF!  AFV was gone…

My kids were not amused.  So I searched around for another option and found the “Planet Earth” series re-running on The Discovery Channel.  I was suddenly happy I made that button mistake.

The kid’s were immediately ‘into it’, because we had seen parts of the series when they originally broadcast.  We were watching the one about the oceans and then it switched to caves, but our kids were silent and never protested even a second.  They sat wide-eyed and watched, in amazement, all the breathtaking views of this incredible world we live in.

If you haven’t heard about it, the series was five years in the making (talk about dedication!).  For the first time, we get to take a look at all of the things you can’t see outside of your door and travel won’t even allow a glimpse of.  You can venture deep to the ocean floor, through underground rivers and the darkest caves and explore untamed jungles and forests.  You truly won’t believe what you’ll see.

It gave me a reminder of why we’re doing what we’re doing.  Why we are working so hard to preserve this AMAZING planet we live on.  Why we’re not the only “thing” to consider.  It really rejuvenated me to work harder and continue my journey to do all I can do to see that we aren’t part of the destruction of the planet, by giving us views of the beauty of it all.

If you haven’t seen it, please do.  I’m sure it will have the same effect on you and your family.  Read about the series at The Discovery Channel or buy your own copy, so you can be reminded again and again.

As I was tucking our daughter into bed she said “Mommy, it’s okay that you changed the channel.  I know it was an accident, but really… Planet Earth was way better anyhow.”  (* insert huge, proud smile here! *)

Just like so many parents, I have kids that are constantly growing out of their clothes.  Our daughter was complaining that a few pairs of her “jammies” were getting too “squeezy”, so I went shopping for a few new sets.

At The Children’s Place I found an adorable set that I knew she would love because they’re loud and bright (just like her!) and pink!  At TCP, a lot of their sets come folded in a plastic bag-style package that hangs on a rack, but I read that they were pre-washed, pre-shrunk (all of that good stuff) so I bought them.

All was well until I opened them.  I was immediately hit with the most powerful plastic smell I had ever experienced opening one of those packages.  I didn’t know if it was the fabric dye (they said it was pre-washed, so it shouldn’t be, right?) and I started wondering if it wasn’t just the chemicals in the plastic.

I remembered how my dear friend, Kevin, told me about how he and his partner got a brand new Memory Foam mattress and, immediately after starting to sleep on it, he got sick. He said it was an all-over “un-well” feeling that gave him stomach discomfort and even hallucinations!  Believe it or not, they tossed the mattress, bought a new one and he never had the symptoms again!

Naturally, with this experience (as odd experiences often do) it got me to thinking.  What about the vapors that come from plastics and fabricated materials… is there a danger?  There are plenty of things we aren’t supposed to breath in and could this be a growing concern? It’s something I, admittedly, know nothing about.  And I couldn’t find much information about it either, aside from Kev’s experience.

So this time, I have nothing to offer, but I’m asking for your help… What do you know?  Have you had an experience?  ARE there dangers?  Do we have another concern with how seemingly safe products come packaged?… Please…share!

I washed her jammies (don’t you love that word… it just implies “relaxing” and I love that!) and the smell went away, but I can’t help but believe there was something really strange going on there…

H2O…a requirement for healthy little bodies. Our kids love water, but it can be dull, dull, dull.

When our daughter was about a year and a half old, my husband and I started talking about what a goldmine it would be to package water in a really cool box (like juice boxes) because I truly believe the package is a HUGE part of the appeal.  We even named it “Aqua Box”, but never developed the idea.

Bad move. There are some great products out there now and I missed my boat! There goes my mansion!

Now, as our daughter gets older and has more occasions to be away from us, (although she is a big water drinker) we worry that she’ll get sucked into the vortex of “Juice Box World!”  She’s bound to be surrounded by tons of over-sugared, artificial temptations that will be offered to her.  Good lord, I’m making it sound like a 6th grader is going to corner her on the playground and offer to sell her a juice box!!!

But, honestly, I found a really cool solution for water (that went quite a few steps further) and I had to share.  It’s called bot.  Simple as that…bot.  It’s a vitamin fortified water, made without artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors or preservatives, with 75% less sugar and calories than 100% fruit juice!  It comes in four flavors – grape, orange, berry & lemon – and tastes great to boot.

Top that off with a recyclable bottle made from recycled materials, and a company that donates 1% of their annual revenues to environmental causes, and it’s a green mom’s dream.

The bottles’ characters are way cute, too, and each has a little personality that our kids love.  Now they don’t feel left out when their friends are rockin’ their juice boxes, because they have something cool of their own.

Honestly, it’s great to send to school, on playdates, to sporting events, on the road — and it’s even yummy enough for mom and dad (although our kids won’t let us get near theirs with a 10-foot pole!)

So, if H2O is an H2-NO(!) in your fam, give it a try! It’s like the Cristal of kiddie water and they might just like it!

(*Does the “Betty Botta”-thing make you think I’ve lost my marbles? It’s actually a tongue twister I remembered from being a little kid.  Don’t believe me?  Then check here!