Image Grenade

Although we don’t own a car and are becoming increasingly aware of new ways to recycle, and conserve energy, we do travel….alot. Recently my husband has been pressing me to calculate Carbon Footprint number.

What is a carbon footprint? The carbon footprint is a measure of the exclusive global amount of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and other greenhouse gases emitted by a human activity. The number, usually expressed in tonnes over the period of one year, contributes to global warming in the same way greenhouse gasses do. So as I’m about to fly to California, I thought now might be the time to see for myself just how big our footprint was.

So how do you figure out your carbon footprint? The easiest way is to vist www.carbonfootprint.com. By answering just a few questions, you can get discover your number (mine is 12.43 tonnes) and more importantly the site will provide you with a list of charities to whom you can contribute to help offset your use.

While I’m all for offsetting your footprint, if you’re green enough to want to know your carbon footprint, then you should be doing more than just throwing money at the problem. Charitable contributions to reforrestation charities is a great thing,  but is changing personal habits. It is the little everyday things from donating clothing so it doesn’t end up in landfills, to using washable and reusable things from mop heads to dust towels instead of single use items like Swiffers that will make a difference. And so does being evangelical about the Eco message.

So I encourage you to find your carbon footprint and when I return from California I’ll have loads of new Eco ideas to share, especially after our dinner date with a man who’s so green, he’s off the grid.
If you don’t know what that means, that’s even more of a reason to check back.

Stay Green!

Danni 

I’m over 40, but I’m a girl. In fact, I’m a very girlie girl. I love lotions and potions, anything smelly and make up. I love dresses and hand bags and believe the truest statement ever made regarding fashion came from fictional fashion mag director, Patsy Stone when she quipped “You can never have enough hats, shoes and gloves” in Absolutely Fabulous. So it truly pains me to miss Shecky’s Girls’ Night Out when it returns to Philadelphia September 22^nd, 23^rd and 24^th. (Sorry but my hands will be full of low VOC paint as we transform our kitchen from Coca Cola kitsch to a fusion of  Modern Industrial/ English farmhouse/Eco sustainable we call Steampunk dream kitchen.)Since Shecky’s premiered in fall 2007, I’ve attended with my pal Gaby and we’ve traversed the aisles grabbing fashions and accessories from emerging designers at a great discount. In it’s previous incarnations it was held at the 21^st St. Armory and while I’m so envious that I won’t get to enjoy it at it’s new location, the Crystal Tearoom at Wanamakers. Although they offer a regular ticket for $10, Spring for the deluxe goodie bag for $25. It never disappoints and as this event grows larger with each new date, I’m sure the swag will do nothing but improve.If you go, be sure to look out for Galleria Belissima (my fave local boutique) as owner Kristin Lisi will be there with fabulous clothing, jewelry and accessories.
Tickets are available on line only so visit www,.sheckys.com for more inforShecky’s Girls’ Night Out

Date: Mon.-Wed., Sep. 22nd-24th, 2008; 5pm-10pm
Place: Crystal Tea Room at Wanamaker
100 Penn Sq. E. (@ Chestnut St.)
General Admission Tickets: $10
Deluxe Goodie Bag Tickets: $25 (includes admission)

Rolling away puffy eyes 

I have notoriously bad sinuses and suffer from year round allergies so I often waken with puffy eyes. I’ve tried ice cubes, tea bags, egg white and refrigerated eye gels with a modicum of success but all can be a bit messy and not the easiest to travel with. But finally, I think I’ve cracked it. Though I’m no big fan of the iconic SJP (that’s Sarah Jessica Parker to those of you  the loop) when she became the spokeswoman for Garnier, the products that were once part of the booty scored on my semi annual trip to Britain, began to trickle over to this side of the pond. My new favorite import is the Ganier Nutritioniste Skin Renew anti-puff eye roller. Because I was already familiar with the product, when I saw it at my local CVS pharmacy, I grabbed it straight away. Now that the word is getting out, you may find yourself in your local pharmacy staring at the spot where the stock should be, but if you see this little green tube, don’t think; buy it. You’ll thank me later. When used at night, this helps to reduce dark circles and tightens the sensitive skin under your eyes. Should I rise with nose stuffed and eyes puffed, the cool metal roller re massages away swollen and congested tissues, by improving circulation with it’s infusion of caffeine. Since this product is encased in a thin wand, it’s perfect for travel. Since it’s introduction, the word has now spread and I have noticed several websites have had their stock depleted, but I encourage you to persist in your search because $12.99 is a snip for a product that works this well.

Garnier Nutritioniste Skin Renew Anti-puff eye roller @$12.99 and in an ideal world, available at CVS, Rite Aid, Duane Reade (in NY) and amazon.com.

I am a Mag Hag. I’ve had a passion for periodicals since I was knee high to a grasshopper. But what do you do, when you want to keep current, but go green?
Here are a couple of ideas for the responsible periodical reader.

Digital Mags:
More and more magazines, especially environmental ones, are available online. Once you download the issue, you can view the full content (including the advertising) and then simply print out any pages that you want to keep. The digital versions save tons of paper and resources (glue, printer’s ink) and it’s easy to archive former issues in case you need to reference the information at some later date. The Green Guide from National Geographic is available in both digital and print editions (www.nationalgeographic.com) while Organic Style (www.organicstyle.com) and Green Living (www.greenlivingonline.com) are available exclusively in a digital format and when the new issue is complete you’ll recieve a notice in your in box instead of your mail box.

Recycling old school:
Since my interests are not limited to the green movement, I spend a large chunk of my disposable income on magazines which cover a multitude of subjects, especially when I’m in the Motherland, where the Newsagent on Oxford Street or any large W.H. Smith are among my most favorite stores in all the land.
If I didn’t divest myself of the issues after reading, I’d be virtually entombed by my passion for the written word. My solution is the share recycle. I have two groups to whom I forward magazines after I’ve read them. I send cookery, home design and health and wellness magazines to my parents. Mum reads the health and women’s lifestyle, while Dad peruses the recipes, especially in the European mags. Then they are passed on to my Mum’s best friend Martha, who’s daughters fight over the fashion while the home design and cookery ones take pride of place on her friend’s coffee table. My women’s mags from England go to my girlfriend Bette, so she can keep current with Eastenders’s plot lines, who then shares them with her sister and family. When everyone has read what they want, all of them are tied with twine and put out for the semi-monthly recycling pick up.

So now, you can grab that mag guilt free, but only if you recycle it later.

As part of our greening, I’ve started making note of the chemicals contained in the products we use everyday. In some cases it’s an easy swap. Instead of using antibacterial soaps and washes, which contain low level pesticides you can simply wash your hands for 20 seconds using Dr. Bronner’s  soap, which is  kinder to the environment and to your skin.  But most beauty products contain some sort of  synthetic dyes, preservatives. The worst offender, may be a staple in virtually every woman’s handbag: mascara. So believe me, it was quite a coup to find a lash color that was 100% Pure; which coincidentally is it’s name. The entire line of 100% Pure contains absolutely no parabens, toxic preservatives, no sulfates, harsh detergents, artificial fragrances or colors,alcohol, phthalates, petro-chemicals, propylene glycol or PEGs ,animal by-products, toxins, fillers, thickeners, emulsifiers or other fillers, GMO ingredients and everything is biodegradable and cruelty free. All of the colors are derived from fruits and vegetables and when you’re using something so close to those beautiful eyes of yours, gentle and natural is the way to go. While most products are available on their site, (www.100percentpure.com) the Lengthening & Conditioning Mascara with Fruit Pigments is available exclusively at QVC (www.iqvc.com). Available in three colors, this water resistant mascara is a godsend for Green Girls who want to save the planet while batting a gorgeous eyelash. 100% Pure Lengthening & Conditioning Mascara w/Fruit Pigments. $25.20 introductory  price ($2.97 S&H ) for a set of two.

Going green doesn’t have to be a struggle. It simply means you’re taking a minute to think about what you’re buying/using/throwing out, before you actually do it. While there are levels of green, any positive change is a good one.

Okay, so maybe, you don’t have kids and aren’t altruistic enough to want to save the world for future generations; but recycling does have other benefits. Perhaps the pay offs listed below will help convince you to join the green agenda.

If you recycle from home, you not only “appear” green to your neighbors, but in Philadelphia, it’s the law, so at the very least, you’re saving yourself a fine. If you take your own bags shopping, you’re not only saving non-bio degradable plastics from entering landfills, but some markets give you cash credits (usually around 5 cents) per bag they don’t have to supply.

 While water is the lowest of our utility costs, by simply speeding up morning showers and turning off water while lathering hands or brushing teeth (and/or the grosser option of not flushing after #1) we’ve dropped our water costs by nearly 20% in just one month.

Even with the expense of purchasing a either a Brita filter (for home) or a filtered water bottle, for work and travel, the cost is less than what you would spend on about 10 purchased bottles and most filters are good for 90 days, so you’re saving the number of bottles in landfills and money.

So go green and save some green.

It began very small. It always does.

Before the City of Philadelphia began their recycling program, we were already bundling papers and cans for the old man who traversed the city streets in search of paper and aluminum.  Then we began conserving energy, lowering thermostats in winter and raising them in summer. Then the water was turned off  between toothbrushings, and when lathering hands during washing. As we became more aware, we did more, like replacing lightbulbs with Compact Fluorescent ones, and buying local and organic.

Then the Discovery Network launched the eco-friendly channel, Planet Green and everything changed. And now we’ve become the people who, when we’ve forgotten our earth friendly totes,  would rather carry our purchases in our bare hands, than leave a store with a plastic bag. We look for options that involve less packaging. We buy paints with low VOC (volatile organic compounds), eschew chemical cleaners and have abandoned the disposability of Swiffer mops and dusters for microfiber mop tops that are washable and reusable.

Why?

Well, we’ve both been aware of the wisdom of reusing what you can. Our Friends, the Quakers, instilled that in us, but I think the image of Birkenstock clad Pachouli wearing long haired hippies was the absolute antithesis to our lives, that we mentally opted for Groovy instead of Gross; Mod instead of Mayhem.

But now we’re learning, we’re greening and we’re evolving and now I’m determined to spread the word and that Stylish and Sustainable can fit in the same closet and that you can look good and do good at the same time so watch this space.