I only wish I did not think about the BPA coating my hands (my purse, my pockets, etc.) every time I handle a receipt… and for quite a while afterward.

Meh…

As G.I. Joe reminds us, knowing is half the battle.  Right?

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Sounds kinky (and maybe even fun for some of you), but what I am weighing is how environmentally-friendly latex balloons are.  Or aren’t.

Five years ago I did a project for my fraternity, during which I found the fact that latex biodegrades at the same rate as an oak leaf: about 26 days.

Well, as I plan for a wedding that is in nine months, I am trying to weigh out different decorating options. You might know what I mean – what do I need to buy, what should I certainly avoid buying, what do the things I buy need to be made of or where… and the questions keep going.

original on Austin Wedding Blog

While I also have to debate the equally pressing question of how tacky balloons are as decorations for anything except a 10-year-old’s birthday party, I decided (at 3 a.m.) to Google how environmentally sound (or destructive) latex balloons are.

As with everything, that all depends on who you ask.

Some blogs have ridiculously uni-dimensional and short-sighted views condoning balloons and claiming “all natural latex balloon releases are safe for the environment“.  There is even a Balloon Council (and several variations) looking out for the welfare of latex workers and balloon advocates everywhere.

I found that many green bloggers out there have already questioned the same thing.  Leslie Garrett over at Gaiam has the most comprehensive weighing of the issue that I have found, sharing the compounding issues such as latex’s slowing of biodegradable capabilities in certain temperatures, as well as her personal experience of constantly finding latex balloon remnants littering the ground.

Plus, what about the plastic ribbons knotted, tangled, and dangling from these balloons?  Those are toxic.  They get tangled around animals or eaten, right?

Some people have tried to feel good about using latex balloons by adding wildflower seeds inside to spread across the land after mass balloon releases.

Change.org has us pondering how many children in India are involved in human trafficking, making the very latex balloons we use to celebrate our own children’s birthdays.  They site this November 23 article from Times Live.

From an environmental perspective, some of my research showed promise that latex balloons can be used responsibly (like this and this).  And everything concludes to Green Sexy’s final thought:  Mylar balloons are always bad, so latex is the choice between the two.

Me though… pictures like this are all I needed to know that, as cute and whimsical as giant balloons are (SERIOUSLY check these cute wedding pics!), I have to decline.

Photograph by: ANDREW BIRAJ Credit: REUTERS

Just because I am blessed to live where I did not have to work in horrible conditions as a child to support my family does not mean I also have the right to buy products manufactured in such ways.

… in fact, it means just the opposite.  It is our responsibility to create a better world for others too.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

PS. A mere hour after writing this original draft, I went for a walk at Shelley Lake here in Raleigh, NC and spotted this balloon debris just off the path, washed up from flooding… Perpetuating the solid no of balloon use.

One of my favorite companies is Equal Exchange.  Their coffee is superb*, their mission is amazing.  Since 1986, Equal Exchange has taken on the mission of creating a world where farmers are getting paid fairly for their work, farm families are able to support themselves financially, and sustainable farming methods are used to insure a healthy farming society, a healthy planet, and a healthy us!

Their products are more than coffee.  They have teas, chocolates, nuts and berries, and another favorite of mine: cocoa.  In fact, Marc and I are decking the halls tonight with Equal Exchange hot chocolate in our hands!  Yum!

So why, you ask of me, am I raving about Equal Exchange?

Equal Exchange is an awesome gift for the holidays. AND they have a great deal on a holiday gift basket until December 15th!**

Now, my families do not give presents for Christmas.  Not because we’re Jewish.  Not because we are holier-than-thou and snub the holiday.  In part because we decided to peel away the stress of what holiday gift-giving had become, and in part because nearly half of the people in my families have lost their jobs and been out of work for longer than a year.

Regardless, I like to bring coffee beans and treats with me for holiday fun.  Everyone gets to enjoy treats and company.

I always preach that no matter if you are struggling with money, or floating in money, each dollar you spend is a vote, each penny is a reflection of what you care about or disregard.  Coffee and chocolate are always two areas I feel guilty if I do not buy fair trade and sustainably grown.

The Equal Exchange holiday gift basket has all of these yummies in an awesome grass basket from Ten Thousand Villages:

• Organic French Roast Coffee – 10oz, drip grind
• Organic Hot Cocoa Mix – 12oz
• Organic Very Dark Chocolate – 3.5oz bar
• Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds – 3.5oz bar
• Organic Milk Chocolate with a Hint of Hazelnut – 3.5oz bar
• Organic Tamari Roasted Almonds – 5oz
• Roasted Salted Pecans – 5oz

Hurry though.  Seriously, December 15th.  Twelve days.  Less than two weeks to order, which you need to be getting all the shopping you are going to do anyhow.  Trust me, remembering you do, indeed, need to buy something for someone and rushing out a couple days before Christmas is the perfect recipe to buying stuff from China that you do not even feel good about giving because it is a cheap, thoughtless crap.

The site has lots of other cool gifts and items as well, each with a full description and pic. 

Cheers to each of you, your holidays season, your family, great ethical companies, and a belly of yummy Equal Exchange!***

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

PS.  This cool company also offers educational materials to help you and your kids’ school groups share awareness that each penny we spend, each sip we take, each bite we enjoy, impacts many others than us.  How cool?!

*In case you’ve never read this blog, I have a bit of a coffee addiction.  I’ll even drink Maxwell House instant if I must… yck… of course, only if it is my only option for a long time to come, a situation which I try to avoid putting myself in.

***Sorry I sound like an advertisement recently.  I figure, for Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, birthdays or whatever, we all do give gifts out of love… and I can promote ethical, loving companies as where each of our dollars goes.  Cheers!

A little while back, Earth Fare asked if I wanted to give a $50 Earth Fare gift card to one lucky (Green)Grounded reader.  With a landslide of holidays coming, a $50 gift card is exactly the stimulus package we each could use!

A happy Earth Fare gift card, valued at $50, is waiting for your happy, warm wallet.  I would love for each of us (myself included) to receive one, but only one winner for this giveaway.

So how do you win?

1.)  Leave a comment with your favorite tip for living green in a grounded way.  You know… how do you live a little greener without feeling a tremendous pinch?  A tip that perhaps someone else could use as they and their families are heading into this holiday season.

Me?  I started buying hand soap in the refill pouches and bottles instead of always getting the pretty little container to go by the sink.  Now I just refill the cute soap bottle and keep the giant refill stash under the sink.  Less packaging is a great thing, plus it saves me money!

2.)  Want a second way to enter?  Twitter fans have the advantage here.  All you have to do is tweet this (or something similar):

Living greener & tastier is easy with a $50 @EarthFare gift card giveaway via @AshleySue at http://idek.net/eQa!

Then, come back and leave a second comment with your Twitter @ handle.

One comment on being green = one chance.

One comment on being green + one separate comment about your tweet (with @yourname) = two chances.

I cannot wait to hear all the different ways you live greener and more grounded!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

(Contest runs Tuesday, 10th November 2009 at 930 A.M. EST until Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST. Winner will be selected on Monday, 16th November 2009 at 7 P.M. EST.  Winner will be contacted via email.  Once winner acknowledges winning and replies with physical address, gift card will be sent via USPS.  Winning comment number will be selected via Random.org.

Also, many of your comments may be held for moderation.  Do not worry, I will daily approve comments, so they will appear within 24 hours, and in the order received.  Thank you for your patience as I fight spammers.)

You know how I have difficultly finding shoes I like, but TOMS makes finding a shoe company I want to support easier with their One for One Movement.  You buy a pair of organic canvas or such shoes from TOMS, and they give a pair away to a child needing shoes.  Yes, they give a pair of shoes for each pair purchased.

TOMS has been really great at keeping me abreast of some of their initiatives and efforts.  I was happy to offer them the opportunity to explain in their own words what the initiative is.  Check it out:

According to UNICEF, every year, nearly 10 million kids in other countries die from preventable causes. More specifically, causes that can be prevented by simply wearing a pair of shoes. TOMS decided to do something about it – in fact, Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie founded the company solely (sorry, we couldn’t resist) to help counter that problem.  When consumers buy TOMS shoes, any pair at all, the company gives a pair to a child in need. They’ve already given more than 140,000 pairs of new shoes to children in need — in just 3 years. By the end of 2009, TOMS will give an additional 300,000 pairs of new shoes to children in need all around the world, including places in the US.  It was such a great idea that it worked and managed to help a whole lot of children in just its first three years. Not only that, but TOMS sells organic and canvas shoes — this not only teaches children a little bit can go a long way to help, but also the importance of organic materials in today’s world.

Thanks to several mothers and fathers who wanted to teach their children the power of giving and helping and the importance of organic materials, TOMS created their TOMS Youth Collection. This collection offers several styles for children, and buying any pair of shoes from the collection can support the One for One Movement.

The first collection of TOMS youth shoes, Tiny TOMS, will have nine different canvas styles for boys and girls. October might be a little late for back-to-school, but shopping for new shoes for your kids online with them, whatever the occasion, can help spread the TOMS One for One Movement and help get even more children who need shoes those shoes.

Just by shopping for TOMS youth shoes for back to school, a pair of shoes goes to a child who doesn’t have any. By wearing TOMS organic shoes, you – and now your kids! – can support the One for One Movement. Now that’s something that takes a step toward a better future.

Personally, I love this.  TOMS makes great shoes that are environmentally and socially responsible, as well as having vegan lines.  TOMS has a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook page, and YouTube, proving they get what community means today in our culture.

Check out their comfy kicks and know you’re voting with your dollars for a company that cares about the world in which they are a part.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

After the SIGG debacle, which turned into the GAIAM debacle, it has turned to the war of bisphenol A-laden receipts.  Yes, according to articles in the last month, receipts are a primary BPA source that all Americans are exposed to (as well as canned foods).

Miss the receipt-full-of-BPA news clips?  Check here.

Really, this is annoying a bit.

Scare tactics abound us in the realm of living “healthy” and “green”.  Media and many other message-pushers rely on fear to get you motivated.  Have you seen the “Eat fruit alone or it gives you cancer” email?  Or “don’t drink cold water or it will give you cancer” email?

Further, we begin to feel like “hey, what around me isn’t toxic?”

It reminds me frequently of a conversation with my best friend Sara (also on Twitter) where we discussed ~ when is enough enough?  What all do we have to do in our daily lives to feel like we can breathe easily and safely?

Is avoiding nail polishes with formaldehyde, tolune, and phthalates enough?  What about your vinyl accessories?  Or the upholstery in your furniture, carpets, and car?  What about the paint on your walls?  Your drink bottle?  Your deodorant?  Your grocery bags?

And now, your receipts?

The loose-powdered BPA from receipts reportedly is much easier ingested and concentrated than that “locked” into polymers of can liners and water bottles.  Meaning, wash your hands super frequently because otherwise you eat it easily as the BPA moves from receipt to hands to food.

What about sticking the receipts in your wallet or purse?  Have you just transferred mega-toxins into (and onto) everything else you touch a hundred times a day and can barely wash out?

I mentioned last week that “no one gives” a hoot “about going green”, which I meant (in earnest) as a jab at deceitful companies such as SIGG and GAIAM.

The deeper issue is, however, it can be hard to give a hoot when it feels like a huge losing battle anyhow.

For instance, besides lousy water bottles and everyday receipts, you can find BPA in:

• ALL of your canned foods.  Yep.
• Soda cans.
• City drinking water.
• Pizza boxes made of recycled cardboard
• Recycled paper
• Wine (fermented in BPA-resin lined vats)
• Beer (likewise)

Find more info on that here.

So, what is a girl to do?

Give up?

Take it all on and battle every frustrating piece of news we get?

Quit our jobs and lobby congress?

All I can offer is the reminder that you are not alone in your frustration and efforts.  Together, we can hold our heads high and make differences where we can, forgive ourselves for the things we let slide, and resist temptation to give into the media pressure to scare you.

Stressing out frequently will kill you and your loved ones far quicker and more miserably than your receipts or your SIGG.

And as you keep living your life consciously and in stride, say no to receipts when you can (as a budding environmentalist, you prefer to save trees anyhow).  Pay attention to what is in your food… and cosmetics… etc.  Vote with your dollar and support companies you can believe in, who strive for progress.

Any suggestions?  I would love to hear from you.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Gaiam is the new SIGG, in case you missed the BPA leaching heard ’round the world.

I am out on this one.  Twenty-times the leaching level as SIGG Bottles (manufactured before August 2008), and Gaiam did, indeed, market themselves as “BPA-free”.

THESE companies are why no one middle-America does not give a shit about “green” or “BPA” or “environmentalism“.  They feel they cannot trust the words or the promises. (Yes, I, who do not cuss, just went there…)

That is all you are getting from me regarding BPA.

You want more info? Check Strollerderby, JustGetThere, Mother Nature Network, and of course, Z Recommends.

Moving on…

I have to revive the garbage disposal controversy, as spawned a year and a half ago when Raleigh, NC government banned garbage disposals in homes (and quickly caved under scrutiny from lazy, self-absorbed, financially-influential people who worship their disposals).

A while back, I saw this great article by Raleigh Eco News regarding how “the quality of Falls Lake — Raleigh’s main water supply — is suffering while officials with the power to do something are failing to act”.

Reading it reminded me how ill I am that Raleigh renegged on their garbage disposal ban.

Why do I feel they should be banned?  Well, I do not feel like these sorts of kitchen scraps belong washed down our drain.  Besides killing your plumbing (yes, most of the people I know have to get their disposal repaired or unclogged, which we have never done since we toss our scraps), composting is the optimal option.

Despite Insinkerator’s claims of using the disposal being “green”, I have interesting consensus that it is the worst, most financially costly, most energy and environmentally-inefficient choice.  You pay the plumber, we all pay in higher taxes to come as the burden grows, and the natural waterways pay.

Plus, I see all the time that people who rely on their garbage disposal (usually absent-mindedly even) also are regulars at pouring grease and cooking juices down their drain, which is actually illegal in many states because of pollution.  Don’t believe that many people feel that way?  Just look at this one forum and how people tug-of-war over being able to.

Next time you have potatoes and squash to peel, grease to empty, and plates to scrape off, head to your compost bin or trash bag.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

Yes, I insinuate that you consume plastic, metal and glass in your everyday foods.  Chemical & Engineering News indicates that chemicals leach from all of our packaging, including from drink cartons, medicine foils, and glass jars.

The article contends that we do not face a question of if our foods contain leached levels of the containers, but instead how much.

I found this article from one of my favorite Twitter friends, @SueHuskins who sent me the article by way of @FoodSafety.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

I may have already shared my final thoughts on the SIGG debaucle, but Z Recommends gave me more food for thought.  Z is good, by the way.  I am not sure how I am only now becoming such a fan of the site.

First, Zrecs gave the full low-down on what sins really were committed versus what it seems to some.

Then, Zrecs shares an actual interview with SIGG CEO Steve Wasik, less than a month after Wasik’s admission of BPA in certain SIGG liners.

Zrecs also shared that independent labs actually show that the SIGG bottle liners in question DO indisputably leach BPA, and why it matters.

Finally, Zrecs shared their 2009 BPA-Free Water Bottle Showdown to give us educated alternatives to SIGG bottles.  After returning mine (I love you still), I walked out of REI with a store voucher instead of a new bottle.  I do not yet trust these new EcoCare SIGG liners (after reports of liners flaking off during normal use), and I hate SIGG’s new uber-cliche-themed bottle designs.  Lame.

Thanks to the BPA-Free Water Bottle Showdown, I actually opted for the 32 ounce, Made in Spain, Laken Classic water bottle from REI.  Yay!

Now, barring finding out that Steve Wasik is the real father of Gisele Bundchen’s unborn child instead of Tom Brady, I am finished.  I have a new bottle coming and will review it when I have it.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue