Pays to Live Green New Layout
Just as I promised a few months ago, I updated the appearance of Pays to Live Green. All of the changes made should help make the appearance and usability of my site much better, but the content will remain exactly the same 
I hope everybody enjoys the new look and feel and let me know what you think of the new change. Please contact me if you find any questions or comments about the new change or you find anything that seems off.
Reynolds Recycled Aluminum Foil Deal
If you haven’t already tried Reynolds Recycled Aluminum Foil and you have a Sam’s Club membership, this might be your best opportunity. Sam’s Club is offering 2 200 sq. ft. rolls of the recycled aluminum foil for only $4.81. This offer may not be available at all stores, so you will want to make sure the product is available in your area. That’s a really good price on this product considering the normal price at a grocery store for aluminum foil is about $2.50 for a roll of 35 sq. ft.
Children School Supplies: Save and Go Green
Photo by shawncampbell.
The end of the summer is near and it’s time for kids to go back to school again. The first thing to get kids ready to go off to school is get them all the supplies they need to be prepared for the start of the school year. The only problem with many of the supplies we buy for our kids are that they not so environmentally and have a hefty price. Try to make this year a little different by using green school supplies.
Reuse Last Year’s Supplies
Often times, kids want brand new supplies each year so that they can keep up with the trends. There is absolutely no reason that if something is in good condition that it needs to be thrown out or not used again. Get as much use out of the product, even if it was made from not so environmentally products including petroleum based fabrics and non-recycled materials. The supplies are already purchased and by letting them go to waste will only contribute to the problem.
Not only are you reusing items, but you don’t have to buy new supplies and save big. School supplies are expensive enough as it is, there’s no reason we have to buy new ones each year. If you do decide to purchase new items, try donating the school supplies instead to your local school, community center or charity.
Eco-Friendly Materials
Supplies we use often contain materials like plastics, especially harmful PVC plastics, and virgin wood that take their toll on our environment. Many of the supplies that our kids need can be found in a more environmentally friendly version.
Backpacks
Backpacks are often made with either plastic or nylon. There are alternative fabrics that are used to make backpacks to give a more eco-friendly options. Some are made from recycled plastic, cottons and hemp canvas. Backpacks made from these materials are made much more durable than in the past, while still providing a stylish look. If you are unable to find a backpack that is made from a more eco-friendly material, be sure to get one that will last you a long time. I had the same backpack from middle school all the way through college ( I actually still own that bag ).
Recycled Materials
School supplies made from recycled materials can often go without any noticeable difference of use as compared to ones made with new materials. Products including paper, pens, pencils, folders and even binders are made with recycled or natural materials. Places like Staples, Office Depot and even Target all carry these types of products usually at a comparable cost. Even though they don’t carry a lot of colors and styles in recycled materials, they get the job done just as well.
Are you purchasing green school supplies for your kids and if so, what kinds of products were you able to find?
Save the San Francisco Bay
The San Francisco Bay is a precious habitat, just like the Chesapeake Bay is to Maryland. The University of Phoenix has partnered up with the Save the Bay organization to help protect and restore the bay. For all contributions made until the end of August, the University of Phoenix will match ever dollar for a total amount of up to $40,000. This gives people the opportunity to double their donations to this organization to help get rid of the large amount of trash entering the bay every year.
About Save the Bay
Starting in 1961, Save the Bay has become the largest organization to help restore and protect the San Francisco Bay. They take action to make sure that pollution stays out fo the bay and overdevelopment doesn’t affect the bay. Over a million plastic bags entered the bay each year alone. They also restore the habitat of the bay and help restore much of the beautiful wetlands that are essential for the environment.
No matter which part of the country you live on, we can all appreciate the beauty of the San Francisco Bay and it’s habitat. Visit Save the Bay to make your donation before the end of August to make a larger impact. Be sure to also check out the volunteer opportunities available to keep this organization doing it’s great work.
Reintroduce Our Kids With Nature
Improvements in technology have taken us a long way and has made some aspects of our lives much better. The downside to much of this technology is that children are staying indoors much more often instead of enjoying the outdoors. That’s why The Ad Council and the U.S. Forest Service have partnered together on a new campaign focused on getting us an our children more reconnected with the outdoors. The campaign is called Where the Other You Lives in hopes to get kids out of the house and spend more times in nature.
Probably no surprise to many, the amount of time U.S. children spend outdoors has decreased by 50% over the last 20 years. Children are filling their time more and more with tv, video games and computers that do not require them to go outdoors. Kids in the age range of 8-12 seem to be the worse culprits of not getting out enough. Check out a commercial of this new campaign:
Go Outside
The biggest problem is that kids don’t necessary not want to go outside, but parents are not encouraging kids to go outside. If parents livie a sedentary where all they do is watch tv and stay indoors, kids are going to live a similar lifestyle and not necessarily want to go outsides. Not only can it provide more physical activities for our children, but help relieve stress from our hectic lives. After being inside learning all day, kids don’t need to spend the remainder of the day staring at a screen. Sitting indoors only promotes an unhealthy lifestyle and contributes to the obesity problem we have in our nation.
What’s really great about going outdoors to parks and enjoying nature costs is that it costs absolutely nothing. Above all the great things I mentioned above, getting outside can help you actually save money. All those electric devices and expensive air conditioning can be turned off. There is no guarantee that you will save money, but it’s just another reason to get you and your kids outdoors.
If you don’t already, get your kids outdoors so that they can enjoy our beautiful nature while getting them more healthy.
Bamboo Fabrics Warning
Bamboo fabrics are becoming more and more popular, especially because manufacturers advertise just how soft the fabric feels and that it is more environmentally friendly than traditional fabric materials. The big problem is that many manufacturers are using these false claims to sell more of their high priced products that are far from being eco-friendly. The Federal Trade Commission is taking stand against these companies who are ‘Babmoo-zling’ consumers by making claims that their fabrics are actually bamboo. Instead, these manufacturers are using a man-made material called rayon that no way resembles bamboo.
What is Rayon?
Rayon is a man-made fiber that is created from the cellulose found in plants and tree which is then processed with dangerous chemicals. No matter which plant source the cellulose came from, the final product is always called rayon. So this means that even if bamboo were used to produce the rayon, there is no characteristics of the material that resemble bamboo. On top of that, the chemicals used emit dangerous air pollutants and possibly our health.
The Claims
It’s bad enough that companies are using rayon as a material, but also making outrageous claims that their fabrics are eco friendly. Let’s look at some of the crazy claims and how they are completely false:
- “100% Bamboo Fiber”: It’s great that companies are using bamboo as a fabric, but rayon is no longer bamboo. This claim would make sense for a company that makes their fibers naturally from bamboo.
- “ecoKashmere“: Making the claim that rayon is anywhere near as soft and natural as cashmere wool is ridiculous.
- “Bamboo Comfort”: That’s great that rayon is comfortable, but once again it’s not bamboo. When bamboo is naturally made into a fiber, it is not nearly as soft and resembles fabrics like hemp.
- Biodegradable: Just because bamboo is biodegradable, doesn’t make rayon as well.
Consumer Beware
The FTC currently has complaints that are either settled or still pending against many major “Bamboo” fabric manufacturers including:
- Sami Designs, LLC,
- Jonäno
- CSE, Inc or Mad Mod
- Pure Bamboo, LLC
- M Group
- Bamboosa
Don’t fall prey to any of these companies and be sure to research any “bamboo” clothing product before you buy. There is no reason that we should pay exorbitantly high prices for products that are nothing as the claims make them out to be.
Which Wine Cork to Choose?
There is a heated debate in the wine industry and among consumers as to which wine cork does the best job in preserving our wine. Synthetic stoppers and twist tops are two options becoming more popular because many wineries feel that they are superior in preserving the quality of wine. Traditional wine corks on the other hand are much more environmentally friendly and are still the leading wine stopper. So which is the better stopper?
The Cork Industry
Cork is an extremely sustainable material because it is harvested by stripping the bark off of cork oak trees, leaving them unharmed. For centuries, dating back almost 4,000 years, cork has been used for many purposes and even started to be used in other forms like flooring. Up until the 1970’s there has been somewhat of a monopoly for cork as the only type of wine stopper. A complaint for years with cork wine stoppers is that a small portion (around 1%) of wines have been tainted, containing a substance called TCA. This leaves the wine with a horrible odor, though it can still be drinkable without harm. Cork is not the only reason for the the build up of TCA in wines, but has received the majority of criticism for it ruining so many wines. The biggest issue with cork is that it had such a monopoly that it allowed them to let their quality slip.
The Rise of Alternatives
When synthetic plastic stoppers started to come out, the cork industry was skeptical and felt they would not last like cork has. Well, it turns out that they were wrong since synthetic and twist cap wine stoppers have come on strong and are heavily being used in today’s market. Not only can they more cost effective, but also have lower occurrences of TCA in wines. Both alternatives are not perfect and have faults of their own. Synthetic stoppers tend to let the wine be exposed too much to oxygen and thus not age as well. Screwcaps do a better job at protecting from oxygen, but allow for reduction to occur in the wine leading to an unpleasant odor. Screwcaps have grown heavily though because they are much more consistent and allow for every bottle to age similarly. They are coming close to taking over synthetic stoppers as the largest used alternative stopper. There are environmental concerns with using alternatives to cork though because it is such a sustainable materials. Screwcaps are made from aluminum and synthetic stoppers are made from plastic, neither material sustainable though can be recycled.
The Future
With a smaller market share, many of the major cork manufacturers are now producing much higher quality cork wine stoppers that have far lower occurrence of wine taint. Millions have been invested to ensure that the quality is much greater than it was in the past. The problem is that now people are wary of using cork stoppers because of worries about taint. The good news is that the majority of wineries still use cork as wine stoppers. The cork industry is largely dependent on stoppers and would take a huge hit if everybody switched over to using alternatives.
The issue I have with the cork industry is that they began worrying too much about profits and less about quality that they really hurt themselves. Let’s hope they learned their lesson and not only make cork a sustainable option to choose from, but one that produces the highest quality wines. At the moment, there is no true winner in the wine stopper business as there is no perfect stopper. In terms of the environment, cork is clearly the leader in the wine stopper market.
Check out this great interview with George Taber, author of the book To Cork or Not To Cork for more details on this debated topic.
