Green Leaf

How green are the clothes you are wearing? It can be challenging to discern this information, even from product labels. Yet a growing variety of environmentally friendly textiles are available for the choosy shopper. As a general rule, you can read the labels to find out if fabrics require dry cleaning or are treated with chemical flame retardants, and avoid buying them because they are not sustainable. It’s a good idea to steer clear of polyester because it comes from petroleum. Follow this eco-friendly textile guide to make more informed purchases. Here are the top green textile choices to seek out in your next wardrobe. Bamboo Bamboo is a highly renewable resource that requires few chemical inputs. The fabric is soft, breathable, and biodegradable. Unfortunately, toxic chemicals are sometimes used in the production process, but the Federal Trade Commission requires such products to be labeled as bamboo-based rayon. If you see “rayon” in the description of a bamboo-based textile...

Did you know that a gas-powered lawnmower emits 88 pounds of CO2 annually? The other gas-powered two-stroke engines used in yard tools such as blowers and trimmers contribute more CO2. Gas-powered lawn and garden tools contributed between 24 percent and 45 percent of the non-road gasoline emissions in the United States. By making the switch to electric alternatives, you and your neighbors can make a bigger difference in the battle against global warming. Data source: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provided this data in a 2015 report, “ National Emissions from Lawn and Garden Equipment .” Print or share We Earthling posters to inspire others with your stories. This post was originally published on October 15, 2019. You Might Also Like… How To Choose Eco-Friendly Fabrics September 1, 2020 We Earthlings: Gas-Powered Yard Tool CO2 Emissions September 1, 2020 Landscaping for Fire Resistance August 31, 2020 The post We Earthlings: Gas-Powere...

Companies are starting to improve the health, nutrition, and sustainability of their products with the help of scientific innovation—and the demand of customers to keep them motivated to improve. Collectively,… The post How Health and Nutrition Innovation Is Changing How We Eat appeared first on Ecofriend . from Ecofriend https://ift.tt/3lyPU8f https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Lately, it seems like every year is a bad year for wildfires. If you live in an area prone to wildfires — most of the American West — you naturally want to minimize that risk. And there are natural ways to do so. A wildfire-resistant landscape won’t necessarily protect your home from the flames, but it improves the odds of your home’s survival compared to a traditional garden. While it is possible to design a fire-resistant landscape to fit almost any aesthetic, fire-resistant landscaping guidelines will usually result in a natural landscape that blends in with the surrounding environment. Defensible Space Defensible space is the central concept behind wildfire-resistant landscaping. For most homeowners, defensible space refers to two zones surrounding the house. Yet, the term is often misunderstood as a 100-foot vegetation-free area around the house. But keeping all vegetation 100 feet away from built structures is not only ugly, it increases other environmental problems like fl...

There are so many amazing people in this world who have dedicated their lives to reducing waste and creating a better world for all of us to enjoy. Here are seven ways you can contribute, support, or get involved by turning something old into something new. We have a feeling you’ll just love these upcycling ideas! 1. Upcycle sails into seasonal decor Sea Bags has breathed new life to over 500 tons of sails that would have otherwise gone to a landfill. Sea Bags creates fun, functional, and stylish totes, bags,  wine bags , and home goods from reclaimed sailcloth in Portland, Maine. Meticulously designed and produced by Maine craftspeople, the bags are “as rugged as they come and each one is a little different than the next.” If you’re a seaman (or woman), you can become  Sail Trade Partner . You’ll earn a free Sea Bag product as thanks, or you can turn your trade into a donation to teach a child to sail. Sea Bags will even arrange to pick up the sail or pay to have it shipp...

The Earth911 team is talking about the sustainable household decisions and projects to think about if you have some extra coronavirus-isolation time on your hands. We look at four kinds of laundry detergent , including powdered, liquid, pod, and sheet detergents that are easier on your clothes and the environment. Thinking about a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift you can make yourself this year? Take a look at our guide to making an eco-friendly shaving kit or eight ways to reuse aluminum cans in DIY projects that also make fun gifts. And we discuss the labeling of foods and a recent study by As You Sow , a nonprofit that examined the supply chains of major food producers for pesticide-use transparency. You’ll be surprised by which companies did well and some of the names of the laggards that are best to avoid if you want to know what you are eating. In this week’s Earthling Questions, we explain how to recycle VHS tapes and used tires. Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes . ...

We scan the media for useful and interesting stories about sustainability, recycling, and actions you can take to reduce your carbon footprint and support responsible policy. Start your Saturday with a quick review of this week’s Earth911 Reader. In Recycling How to Engage Middle America In Recycling Suzanne Shelton of Shelton Group writes in GreenBiz that sustainable behaviors collapsed after the onset of the pandemic, falling to 2013 levels. As basic needs became tenuous, people abandoned their focus on issues such as single-use plastics — a year ago, 27% of people surveyed said they could make a difference by reducing their purchases of single-use packaging and this year only 18% agreed with that idea. “If we don’t feel like we actually can affect the plastic waste issue and some of us have gone to sleep in terms of our habits and actions, what does this mean for recycling?” she asks. Information and increased awareness will be key to reviving recycling and sustainable shopping ...

Eating your vegetables is one of the best things you can do for your body and for the environment. Our diets account for 14% of household carbon emissions , and meat is responsible for more than half of the average American’s foodprint – so any meal that emphasizes vegetables over animal protein is an environmental win. But some vegetarian foods have surprisingly serious environmental impacts. Don’t step away from that salad – even vegetarians can cut carbon from their diet. Processed and Pricey Foods You can expect processed foods to have more climate impacts than raw produce. That’s simply because of the energy used to manufacture the product after the ingredients are grown. The price of some expensive foods reflects a complex production process with a lengthy supply chain that crosses continents. For example, the BBC’s climate calculator confirms that the impact of wine is more than double that of grapes. But unfortunately, there does not seem to be good data on the relative...

Today’s Earth911 inspiration is from American environmental activist Julia Butterfly Hill: “I wake up in the morning asking myself what can I do today, how can I help the world today.” Earth911 inspirations. Post them, share your desire to help people think of the planet first, every day. Click the poster to get a larger image. You Might Also Like… Cutting Carbon From Your Vegetarian Diet August 28, 2020 Earth911 Inspiration: How Can I Help the World Today? August 28, 2020 Earth911 Quiz #50: The Circular Life of LED Bulbs August 27, 2020 The post Earth911 Inspiration: How Can I Help the World Today? appeared first on Earth 911 . from Earth 911 https://ift.tt/34F10T7 https://ift.tt/3gwecMs

Oh, journalistic hubris. I had it bad after I published on Racked what I hoped would be the death blow to the oft-cited factoid that “fashion is the second most polluting industry in the planet.” I found no basis for this fact, no research, no compilation of data. Once I shared this with the world, I expected everyone to read my story, and stop using the fact. But of course, during Fashion Revolution week, the fact continued to pop up in every article and panel, to my deep frustration. Instagram is positively soaked with it. The problem is, I had no fact to replace it with. All I could say was that we had no idea how bad fashion is for the planet, and we desperately needed research to ascertain that figure. Why, you might ask, do I care? I’ve heard several people say that it doesn’t matter if fashion is the second or 22nd most polluting industry — clearly it’s bad. So we need to clean it up and anything that will motivate people to do something justifies the means. But I suspect t...