FYI, flowers are lovely and all, but incredibly eco-unfriendly.  Particularly when you’re talking the scale of the Rose Bowl Parade.  Doubting they are grown with much concern for toxins, not to mention the global transport for these flowers.  I have no doubt by refusing to watch the parade I am making a difference, too.

Meh.

Oh yeah, and HAPPY 2010!  I’m thirty now!

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…

Welcome to the 2009 North Carolina State Fair, with a new Deep Fried theme (yum) and the second annual Green NC exhibit!

In eight days, Raleigh will host the Deep Fried State Fair.  I personally love the tasty, indulgent, artery-clogging, sizzling hot fun of this year’s theme.  Frankly, they found a way to make our deep-fried Southern reputation and make it kinda hip (instead of the hokey themes of years past).

OurHashtag even got the NC State Fair into super-hip mode by getting an NC State Fair Deep-Fried Tweetup rocking on October 22nd.  I expect to see you there.  Really, can you pass this up?  Western NC needs to make the trip to meet and greet with other Tweeple from across the state.  This will be an awesome Tweetup experience!  Get your free ticket here!

I actually found the Green NC information while surfing the N.C. Deep Fried State Fair on MySpace blog.  There I learned about the Confessions from the Green NC Exhibit and am excited to see how it grows this year.  Check out the official Green NC Exhibit website for a preview of what we will see.  On top of great exhibitors, we can expect an increased recycling effort, care to storm water, and LED lights to green up our fair.

For the full up-to-date NC State Fair info, check their deep fried blog, Facebook page, YouTube, and Twitter.

See you at the NC State Fair and Deep Fried Tweetup…

And will cover the Green Efforts!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

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

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

Summer is winding down (technically gone), and thus I realize I must transition away from my trusty SIGG bottle and a favorite summer treat ~ real tomatoes.

Yes, that means that all my tasty garden-grown tomato sandwiches are coming to an end for this year.  Marc and I learned several years ago that store-bought tomatoes are always grainy and flavorless in comparison to the beauty and vivacious taste of real garden-grown tomatoes.  We do not have a garden, but lucky for us, my sister and her husband have a thriving beautiful garden, and Marc’s Mom always has fantastic tomatoes.  We are happy to have a supply on both sides.

I also finally took my SIGG bottle, one I bought early summer of 2008, back to REI.  If you are not familiar with REI, they are an amazing company (co-op) that stands 100% behind every single product they sell.

I spent plenty of time sulking since Steve Wasik’s admission of BPA in pre-August 2008 SIGG bottles.  My bottle and I mourned our relationship having to move on, as we both agreed SIGG should have to replace every single bottle they lied about which they put in trusting consumers’ hands.

Yesterday, however, my bottle and I decided it was a time to celebrate the journeys we have taken together as well as new journeys to come.

Yes, my bottle and I are in a relationship, and the next leg of my journey will be with some other bottle, and the next leg of its journey will be as it joins thousands of other SIGG bottles to be recycled into something new.  Perhaps one day, we will meet again.

So, cheers to what we once had in our lives, cheers to letting go with openness and love, and cheers to taking joy from our pasts to move boldly into new futures.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

*PS. Asheville friends, I just found out that Greenlife Grocer will replace your SIGG bottles for one with the new EcoCare liner for free, and regardless of whether or not you bought yours there!  No other store in Asheville is doing that (to my knowledge)!

Just like any other media story or corporate scandal that becomes overly saturated throughout the media (as niche as it may be), I am sick of hearing about the SIGG dramas.  If you want my opinions, I’m angry at the distrust caused, and I have stated it here, here, and here.

For an update, however, here is a post by Towns and Trails on REI responding to the SIGG issue.  I love REI for always standing 100% by their products.  Also, SustainLane discusses the embers remaining aglow from this highly unfortunate misstep of the company.

One quick point to remind people, however.  I do not believe the media has created a panic, as SustainLane states.  I, in fact, have seen nearly nothing regarding this when I watch CNN, FOXNews, or local news, all of which I watch lots of.  Instead, we the blogging-community media have expressed our concerns and frustrations.  We, the people, have a voice, and it is utilized for issues like this.  MarketingDaily does a great job explaining this as SIGG proving that consumers own brand.

Also, the argument that older versions of SIGG are safe is definitely questionable, as the “100% leach-free” tests for those SIGG bottles tested only to the parts per billion.  Some tests show that BPA can affect hormones at the parts per million level.  Where are those tests on SIGG?  Want to see two great (opposing) perspectives on this?  Check out this by Treehugger and this by Real Green Girl.  Spectacular.

Sadly, this leads me to say I cannot feel great about the new EcoCare liner in the newer SIGG bottles either.  I just do not have a choice but to assume well of it.

On that note, I am heading to REI now to return my old SIGG, which I am really sad I have to part with… We’ve had good times together.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Steve Wasik, CEO of Swiss-made SIGG water bottles, finally offers his full apology for not disclosing to the public that the resin epoxy liner of their reusable water bottles contains trace levels of BPA in products manufactured before August 2008 ~ an admission that made many of their best and biggest advocates outraged and heartbroken.

Unfortunately, I am still learning to be a green CEO. When I took this position, I naively assumed that “green” meant being a steward of the environment…  However, being a green company also means being held to the highest degree of corporate transparency.

I appreciate Steve Wasik’s apology.  A sincere apology is always better late than never.

Regardless, as a CEO, Wasik has failed.  (more…)

In the ongoing BPA battle, Swiss-made SIGG CEO Steve Wasik broke news last week that SIGG bottles manufactured before August 2008 contain BPA.  He assures customers, however, that the pre-August 2008 water-based epoxy liners are safe and durable, as studies show that the liners do not leach the BPA they contain.

I wonder where the ethical line is drawn with SIGG.  Has this seemingly good company done their public wrong by lying?

Yes, I consider this a lie.  A lie by omission, but a lie nonetheless.

In CEO Wasik’s public letter (found here on their website), Wasik admits to (more…)