News Picks:

Top 12 Non-Toxic Sunscreens: The Environmental Working Group recently assessed 500 sunscreens–only 39 were deemed safe and effective! Did yours pass the test? Check yours on Yahoo!Green and look for affordable alternatives.

Save Water with Drought-Resistant Plants: This summer, save some much needed H2O by planting perennials that do not require watering. Gardening without the added effort? While conserving water and money? Sounds like a win-win to us!

Safer Hair Products for Curly Hair: This one is for curly-haired beauties! We understand that you want a product that works for your hair without all the toxins, so do we! Here are some great options…

Multimedia Clip:
Hanes Clothes ‘Future Green Generations’ Commercial: Okay, whether it might be greenwashing or not, this commercial is pretty funny. Today’s kids care about the environment–who doesn’t like that?!

New and Cool Pick:
Greenopia’s Greenest State Guide: A detailed and easy-to-use list to find out how your state ranks on air quality, recycling rates and renewable energy usage among other criteria. The greenest state? Washington. Least green? Louisiana.

Photo Credit: Screenshot of http://www.greenopia.com/NY/state_listing.aspx?ID=1&input=Name-or-product&Listpage=-1

One of the joys of living in Boston is that Copley Square hosts a wonderful farmers’ market every Tuesday and Friday from the middle of May to the end of November. I attended the farmers’ market for the first time last weekend, only a week after it opened for the season. I strolled through the square, mouth drooling over all the fresh fruits, vegetables, pastries, cakes, hand-crafted jewelry and artisan breads and cheeses. I wanted to buy everything, it all looked so good.

Three vendors in particular stood out on my second visit to the market on Tuesday.

Narragansett Creamery:
This company, which is partially family-run, specializes in artisan cheeses handcrafted in Providence, RI. Boy, am I glad they make the trip up to Boston twice a week! The booth is well-organized and it has stations where market-visitors can test a variety of the famous cheeses. The Narragansett employees working the booth were so kind and friendly, willing to explain to everyone the difference in cheeses and spreads and the process in making them. While they are not certified organic, they support fair-trade products and pledge not to use growth hormones.
My favorites were the Salty Sea Feta and Divine Providence. The Salty Sea Feta was so delicious, had a unique texture and was addicting (I wanted to go back for seconds, thirds and fourths!). It would be fantastic on salads. Divine Providence was equally good in a very different way. The texture was creamier and had a buttery, sharp flavor, exactly the way the name tag described it. The Creamery recommends this cheese for grilled cheese sandwiches but I could easily eat it alone. Hmmm-hmmm!

Siena Farms:
I had the pleasure of meeting Farmer Chris and other members of his staff. This company had the most impressive booth I saw at the market. Fresh items were displayed in rustic wooden crates and bowls, and the gold/burnt-orange label stood out from the rest of the banners. There was even more to love when I learned that all the “produce is grown using the traditionally sustainable farming practices of modern organic agriculture; free of chemical herbicides, pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers.” Does it get any better? It did when I purchased some greens for dinner that night (They were delicious!). I followed the recipe they recommend on their blog.

Cook’s Farm and Bakery:
Now for my favorite purchase, Cook’s Farm and Bakery Homemade Apple Pie. My pie’s ingredients were healthy and tasty: The crust of the pie was amazing! Cook’s is a small, family-run farm so before I left the stand, I felt compelled to ask the employee working the booth, Simeon, if the pie is a family recipe. He smiled and replied, “Of course!” Perfect. I would definitely purchase other baked goods from Cook’s next time. There were fresh breads, cakes and cookies that sold out fast, so get to his stand early for the best picks.

The good news? Most likely there is a wonderful farmers’ market near you! The best way to find them is to ask around or visit a website like LocalHarvest.org. Local Harvest is a website that can help you “find farmers’ markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area, where you can buy produce, grass-fed meats, and many other goodies.”

How about you? Do you live near a wonderful Farmers’ Market and want to rave about it? We want to hear about it! Share the goods!

Photo Credit: Thank you to Narragansett Creamery, Siena Farms, and Cook’s Farm and Bakery for allowing me to take these pictures.

Do you suspect your family is single handedly responsible for global warming? Do you believe global warming is a myth? Do your family members disagree about going green, to the point that you actually fight about it? Are you interested in saving money?

Answer these questions (assumedly in the affirmative) and you could find yourself on Wa$ted, a reality/advice show on Planet Green. You could also find yourself totally shocked, embarrassed perhaps to the point of tears, and then motivated into action by what host Annabelle Gurwitch and her team find in your garbage (and other wasteful places).  Yes, each episode begins with a garbage assessment.  In most episodes, it’s a slightly comical, if not a bit horrifying, view of what we throw out without thinking.

This week, I had a chance to meet Annabelle and one of the families who will be on at 8pm tonight. The Space Family is from Northwest New Jersey and seem like a very typical mom, dad and three teen-aged children, with the notable exception that they run a zoo.  What they throw out without thinking is nearly everything.  Lots of cans (despite Dad, who is also mayor of the town, recently passing a mandatory recycling law). Bags of  perfectly good clothes.  Dinners served on disposable products rather than regular dishes. A dishwasher run for one item. A pool left on 24 hours a day.

Want a sneak peek?  Here’s a clip:

In Wa$ted, the motivation for change is primarily cash–earned based on changes that translate into real-life savings.  But there is also pressure. One child usually becomes the green warrior, trying to coax parents to change. And then there is Annabelle, a funny, passionate, and at times totally unpractical “green life coach”. To make her point, she uses humor, facts, indignation and at times, totally crazy demands–like Mrs. Space having to do her laundry with a washboard one day.

The show highlights struggles that many Practically Green readers can relate to. Most common is just having no idea about the impact of something you do. There are also green spats between spouses, parents, siblings over how practical something is or isn’t. “I’m busy so I can’t….” is a common refrain. And not everything works or sticks, just like in real life.

What Annabelle and the Planet Green team hope is that viewers can find something in the show they can relate to in their lives.  Says Gurwitch, “One of the strange hallmarks of American life is the isolation. We don’t know the impact we are having or how we compare. The value of the show is the modeling of behavior.”  OK Annabelle, I’m already cringing about the Hyper Diaper episode at 8:30pm.

Of course, we here at Practically Green love anything that combines assessment with action. We also really like that they focus on behavior changes that don’t require major investment and show these small steps can lead to big benefits. But what resonated most was the overall philosophy, which is to emphasize a mindset change towards more conscious living.  That all seems very Practically Green to us.

As a girly-girl, I have always liked the look of a fresh coat of nail polish on fingers and toes. However, after taking this job, I learned that nail polish could be one of the most toxic things I put on my body. I have learned that it isn’t a coincidence that I get dizzy when I open a bottle of nail polish. Really, what IS that smell?? Well, folks, it is chemicals. Not just any chemicals: bad ones. In fact there are three chemicals in conventional nail polishes that raise some very red flags.

The first yucky ingredient is the scariest of all, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which is added to soften the plastic and make the nail polish more malleable. DBP is said to have the potential to disrupt hormone levels, cause birth defects, and cause cancer. Yea, definitely not something I should be using if I want children some day.

The next yucky ingredients are toluene and formaldehyde. Yes, I said formaldehyde. Bring back memories of science lab in high school? It should, considering it is commonly used to preserve biological and anatomical specimens. Gross, I know. These two ingredients are suspected to cause organ damage and cancer as well as cause nausea and dizziness.

At first, learning all of this made me think I would never be able to paint my nails again. But of course, some brilliant green minds have come up with non-toxic solutions. So, I did some research, Sarah and I picked out 5 colors, I volunteered two of my roommates’ hands and I conducted another experiment.

I judged the following three brands based on the price, shipping, color, application, odor, number of coats needed and drying results.

First brand, Butter London.

Price: 2 colors, $14.00 each = $28.00
Shipping to Boston + Price = $36.50 TOTAL (yikes!)
Color: Come To Bed Red … very pretty! (One of my roommates tried this one)
Application: “It has an easy, smooth application.”
Odor: “It is rather smelly!”
Coats: “It only needed one coat, which is nice because it saves time and paint.”
Drying Results: “it dried smooth and shiny. It doesn’t feel like I can pick it off, that it a good thing!”

Color: British Racing Green (I LOVED this color, so I tried this one)
Application: A very easy application. Not very drippy.
Odor: It does have a strong smell like conventional nail polishes.
Coats: I could have gotten away with one if I had a more steady hand. But I needed two to cover up my mistakes.
Drying Results: It dried very nicely. It wasn’t very shiny though, the color got duller after one day.

If there isn’t DBP, formaldehyde, and toluene in Butter London’s formula, then where are the fumes coming from? I went onto their site to look up ingredients and couldn’t find anything! But I found the ingredients for British Racing Green’s formula on Amazon.com:

Ingredients
Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol, Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid,Neopentyl Glycol, Trimellitic, Anhydride, Copolymer, Trimethyl Pentanyl Diisobutyrate, Triphenyl Phosphate, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Diacetone Alcohol, Citric Acid, Dimethicone and Benzophenone-1. MAY ALSO CONTAIN: Aluminum Powder, Bismuth Oxychloride, Black Iron Oxide, D&C Red no.30 Lake, D&C Red no.33, D&C Red no.34 Calcium Lake, D&C Red no. 6 Barium Lake, D&C Red no.7 Calcium Lake, D&C Violet No. 2, D&C Yellow no. 11, D&C Yellow no.10, FD&C Yellow no.5 Aluminum Lake FD&C Yellow no.5, FD&C Yellow no.6, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Mica, Red Iron Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, D&C Red no.17 and FD&C Red no.4.

Next brand, Nubar.

Price: 2 Colors, $7.49 each = $14.98
Shipping to Boston + Price = $27.07 TOTAL (expensive shipping! It took very long to get here too…)
Color: Oh Baby Pink (I tried this one as well, and am still wearing it! Reminds me of Barbie…)
Application: It went on well. A little drippy, a lot goes a long way. It is very opaque.
Odor: It has very strong fumes.
Coats: It needed 2 coats, streaky otherwise.
Drying results: It stayed gummy for awhile. Drying took longer. I had to be careful but it doesn’t seem like it will chip easily.

Color: Camelot Blossom (My other roommate tried this one and loved the color)
Application: “It is very smooth.”
Odor: “It has a lot of fumes, but not too bad. It just smells like nail polish to me.”
Coats: “It looks better with two. With one, you could see the white tip of my nail.”
Drying Results: “It dried smooth, no trapped air bubbles, very shiny.”

Nubar’s formula had a very strong smell as well, so I did another search. Their ingredients were very easy to find on their website:

Nubar Nail Lacquer Ingredients

Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Isopropyl Alcohol, Triphenyl Phosphate, Trimethal Pentanyl Diisobutyrate, Butyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Citric Acid, Benzophenone-1, Dimethicone May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Black Iron Oxide, Red Iron Oxide, FD&C Yellow #5, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyde Anide, Bismouth Oxychloride, D&C Red #7, D&C Red #6, D&C Red #34

Last brand, Aquarella.

Price: 1 color, $18.00 each = $18.00 (Most expensive color yet)
Shipping to Boston + Price = $18.00 (No shipping cost though! Thank goodness!)
Color: Incognito (One of my roommates tried this on her other hand. I loved the navy color!)
Application: “I had to keep redipping, going back for more paint.”
Odor: “It has a nice smell. Not a normal nail polish odor. The smell is more pleasant.”
Coats: “It feels like it could flake off with one coat.”
Drying Results: “Good color! But it already flaked…”

Incognito had a nice smell that wasn’t as strong as Butter’s or Nubar’s. So what is in it?

Ingredients: Acrylic polymer emulsion, Water, and non-toxic colorants (No FD&C)… (Hmm. Interesting.)

So far, so good.
Whoa…. wait a second.
When one of my roommates began washing her face before bed, the Incognito chipped right off with the warm water…Bummer.

And when I tried to take off British Racing Green, it stained my nails highlighter yellow only after 2 days of wearing it!… Double Bummer.

I think I will stick to the pink…

Actually, a lot of big name brands are eliminating DBP, formaldehyde and toluene from their formulas, which is great. You can now find some safe formulas in brands like Honeybee Gardens, Urban Decay, Revlon, and Avon, just to name a few.
Next project, non-toxic nail polish remover. I’ve heard Almost Natural Nail Polish Remover smells like vanilla. But does it work? Have you tried it?

True confessions: “I couldn’t face my last hamburger.”

Graham Hill is the founder of Treehugger.com. So he’s about as green as it gets, right? “Knowing what I know,” he asks, about all the reasons not to eat meat—budgetary, environmental, emissions, water consumption, animal cruelty, and health among them—“why am I not a vegetarian?… Any of these angles should have been enough to convince me to go vegetarian…. So why was I stalling?”

Long story short, Graham couldn’t face his last hamburger. But he came up with a great solution called, simply: Weekday Veg. Here he explains how he’s stuck to the plan for a year:  http://www.ted.com/talks/graham_hill_weekday_vegetarian.html (Thank you, Maggie Fellner Hunt, foodie and smartie, for sharing this video.)

Maybe the conversion to Weekday Veg will go more smoothly with a recipe to love. Here’s the dish my family asks for no matter what day it is, Sunday or Thursday, meat or no meat: Pesto. It’s made primarily of leaves. I’m always happy to comply–the inebriating basil aroma probably has something to do with this. I can’t think of an easier vegetarian recipe: easy to make, and easy to adore.

How to make Pesto:

2 cups fresh basil leaves: washed and patted dry

2 cloves garlic

1/3 cup pine nuts

½ tsp salt

¼ cup evoo

Put the first four ingredients in a food processor. Press the button to chop and blend. Add the evoo in a trickle. Taste. Adjust. Store in an airtight container until ready to toss with freshly cooked pasta. Add grated cheese and ground pepper as you wish. Keeps in the fridge for a week. If you don’t already include pesto as a staple in your diet, you might want to consider it. Have it on pasta, of course, but also have it on crackers, on apple slices, on celery sticks, slathered wraps, drizzled into omelettes, on tomatoes, mixed into soups and sauces – or even by itself, in obscene spoonfuls. The pesto pasta dish can be served with steamed vegetables – sliced zucchini, asparagus, peas, or broccoli are some excellent options. If you’re short on basil, swap in parsley, spinach, cress, or arugula.

For further culinary inspiration, check out Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods, from the creators of the ubiquitous regional Edible magazines.

Frankly, we thought we already knew of every veggy/yummy/local/sustainable/practically green cookbook in print, but here are five we missed. They all won prizes at the 2010 Green Books Festival last week.

• Winner: Sustainably Delicious: Making the World a Better Place, One Recipe at a Time, Michel Nischan with Mary Goodbody
• Runner Up: Easy Green Organic, Anna Getty
• Honorable Mentions: The Big Green Cookbook: Hundreds of Planet-Pleasing Recipes and Tips for a Luscious, Low-Carbon Lifestyle, by Jackie Newgent; Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide To Eating, by Terry Walters; Simply in Season, Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert.

News Picks:

5 Natural Summertime First-Aid Solutions: Whether it is sunburn or bee stings, these natural remedies will help sooth your summer ailments without loading on all the toxins. (Lauren here: I have tried the aloe plant remedy and it really works!)

Pesticides Linked to ADHD: A study shows there may be a possible link between pesticide exposure through consumption, inhalation or poor water quality and the occurance of attention-deficit disorder in children. Scary! The “persuasiveness” of a link makes us want to switch to organics for life…

Eco-friendly and Efficient Laundry Tricks: Okay, you may already use the Seventh Generation Natural Laundry Detergent but these tips are easy and cheap, so why not try them?

Multimedia Clip:
We keep hearing great things about the Slow Food Movement which promotes “good, clean and fair food” and this video from the President of Slow Food International (Carlo Petrini) does a great job summing up why it is important. Plus, we love his humor and Italian accent!

New and Cool Pick:
Eco-Friendly Office Supplies: Lexon Design’s new line of eco-office supplies are so cute and still very functional. Maybe a great Father’s Day gift? Or maybe a nice splurge for yourself? We think so…

Photo Credit: http://inhabitat.com/2010/05/17/lexons-renewable-energy-office-products-made-from-bamboo/

The U. S. Green Building Council may sound like an organization for serious contractors and electricians, but don’t let the name fool you. It’s an amazing resource for homeowners who want to learn more about green building materials and practices. After all, the USGBC is the Mother of the LEED green-building program.

The USGBC has chapters all over the country—from Alabama to Wyoming, from New York City to San Francisco—and most places between. Locate your branch on this map:  http://www.usgbc.org/FindaChapter/ChapList.aspx.

Margie McNally, Practically Green’s  resident expert on Green Building Materials, wants to help you tap into this incredible network of expertise on sustainable stuff for your house. She encourages everyone to “Get out there and see what’s new in green building materials for your home!” To ask her a question—on lighting, flooring, roofing, insulation; or on any room in the house—please post a comment, or email her: margiemcn@comcast.net.

Margie attended a recent event at the USGBC affiliate in Boston, Green Roundtable/NEXUS (reception area is pictured above), and we asked her for a report.

Last week I attended the semiannual building products showcase at the Nexus Center. Over 40 green-building product manufacturers were represented, and architects, designers, students and other building professionals participated in the lively event. I was impressed by the diversity of product categories including a display by Xerox Corporation highlighting their environmentally sustainable copy machine; ENERGY STAR-labeled, smaller, recyclable solid-ink cartridges; office optimization and scanning solutions; and paper. Since paper is the number-one contributor of office waste, it makes sense to look at greener options in the workplace.

Here are some of the other highlights:

• Kirei board presented their sustainable wood alternative made from reclaimed sorghum straw and no added urea formaldehyde adhesive.
• Plyboo bamboo flooring was laid out in a variety of warm finishes.

• Bostik spoke about their adhesive, coatings, and sealant technologies that minimize environmental impact.
• Marvin’s Integrity series offered a “window” of opportunity to view the latest collection of high-performance glazing options. On display: a cut section of the window’s energy-efficient construction. The site has info on the homeowners’ tax credit, which applies to replacement windows through December, 2010.
• Natural stone products from Pierre Habitat are sourced exclusively in North America and available in an array of smooth textures and earthy colors….
• Good old-fashioned, natural linoleum from Forbo lends itself to multiple applications….simple, sustainable beauty with guaranteed longevity and color choices galore.

• Green Product Technologies: Structural insulated panels (SIPS): quick assembly, energy-efficient and fully recyclable.
• Haworth and KI office furniture and systems: adaptable workspaces with greener options. Haworth furnished the USGBC headquarters in Washington, D.C., pictured here.

• Image 4 ‘s “Rapidly installed and totally reconfigurable” Reform wall system has green attributes such as recycled content, reduced construction waste, and the ability to reconfigure with ease. The primary target is museum and other exhibition projects, but a residential application would be amazing!

In summary, this showcase was a genuine eye feast for the green-building client and professional.

The NEXUS Resource Center is a year-round trade show of green building products—from structural elements to flooring and countertop materials—with resources and information on each product. You will find that green can be beautiful as well as sustainable as you glide your fingers across the silk-like texture of Ice Stone recycled glass countertops for your kitchen or bath! (See “persimmon” below.)

In addition to the display, NEXUS offers a dizzying program of workshops, lectures, and events including LEED training. Chances are there’s a USGBC affiliate near you! Whether you’re building a home or embarking on a small renovation project, check out your local USGBC chapter location to learn about the latest green technologies that will save you energy, water, time, and money.

No, we don’t mean blood-sucking monsters, or the people in your life who have the ability to suck positive energy out of you–we mean the sneaky devices in our homes and offices that ’stand by’ and consume energy without you knowing. To us at Practically Green, these vampires are the scariest of all!

First you need to identify the culprit with some awesome visuals from Duke-Energy’s article, “Identify and Eliminate Energy Vampires“.

You can improve your home’s energy savings by identifying and unplugging your energy vampires. Here are some examples of energy vampires:
Wall Warts: Devices – such as cell phone chargers – have a large plug. They consume energy, even when the device to be charged is not attached.

Bricks: Cords used with laptop computers, televisions and some cable TV equipment are often joined in the middle by large black boxes. These “bricks” use energy continuously as long as they remain plugged in.

Get the nitty-gritty answers following these three questions–and look ahead for more solutions from Yahoo!Green’s post, “Energy Vampires: Fact versus Fiction,” by Lori Bongiorno (2/26/09)

1) Which electronic devices waste the most energy when they are turned off but still plugged in?
Set-top cable boxes and digital video recorders are some of the biggest energy hogs. Unfortunately, there’s little consumers can do since television shows can’t be taped if boxes are unplugged. It also typically takes a long time to reboot boxes.

However, some of the other major consumers of standby power are more easily dealt with: computers, multifunction printers, flat-screen TVs, DVDs, VCRs, CD players, power tools, and hand-held vacuums. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) measured standby power for a long list of products. (Lauren here: I was shocked by how much energy a seemingly-innocent amplifier eats up when turned on whether it is playing or not playing…)

While it’s true that each individual product draws relatively little standby power, the LBNL says that when added together, standby power can amount to 10% of residential energy use.

2) Why do electronic devices use energy when they are switched off?
Electronics consume standby power for one of two reasons, says Chris Kielich of the Department of Energy. They either have an adapter that will continue to draw electricity, or they have devices (such as clocks and touchpads) that draw power. Anything with a remote control will also draw standby power, she says, since the device needs to be able to detect the remote when it’s pushed.

3) Does everything suck energy when it’s plugged in and turned off?
No. If your coffeemaker or toaster doesn’t have a clock, then it’s probably not using standby power, says Kielich. Chances are your hair dryer and lamps (although they may have a power adapter for the dimmer) are not drawing standby power either, she says. Devices with a switch that physically breaks the circuit don’t consume standby power.

Here are some good numbers from WorldChanging’s post, “Vampire Power,” by Jeremy Faludi (5/2/06)

Anything with a transformer, such as chargers for mobile devices or computer power supplies, keep using power whenever they are plugged in. Sometimes it’s just a watt or two, but sometimes it’s much higher. As GrinningPlanet points out, this still only amounts to 10% of most people’s energy bills, but that still adds up, particularly in an office.

Now, I don’t mean to be a downer, but it’s also important to know the ghoulish info on total vampire energy loss from the Union of Concerned Scientists’ article, “Are Energy Vampires in Your Home?” (Greentips: April 2006)

This wasted energy, known as standby or phantom-energy loss, represents a relatively small but growing percentage of an individual home’s electricity use (about 5%), but taken across all U.S. households, adds up to an estimated 65 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year. This extra electricity costs consumers more than $5.8 billion annually and sends more than 87 billion pounds of heat-trapping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year. (Lauren: Ughh. That one hurts…)

And here’s a wonderful graph by The Architect of the Capitol’s web document, “Beware of Energy Vampires.”

What can you do (without bringing out garlic and silver crucifixes) to protect your home?

Plugging electronics into a power strip and turning it off when you’re not using it is a widely prescribed solution for curbing vampire power. Here are answers to common questions:

- Power strips draw energy when they are turned on, but not when they are switched off.
- Any decent power strip should have surge protection, according to Kielich (Lauren: Remember, she is from the Department of Energy, so she probably knows more about power strips than I ever will!). Flicking your power strip on and off will not create a power surge capable of damaging electronic devices. In fact, it will protect devices from other surges.
- Several readers were worried about the possibility of fires caused by plugging too many things in at once. If you plug in the allowed number of devices, then power strips are safe, says Kielich. Just don’t plug your power strip into another power strip, or you run the risk of creating an overload.

So, what do you think? Was this helpful? What safety route are you taking: power strips? Diligent unplugging? Or what?

Ashley Adams English lives in North Carolina and blogs at Small Measures: http://small-measure.blogspot.com. She’s created a book series called Homemade Living, with two new titles: Keeping Chickens (All You Need to Know to Care for a Happy, Healthy Flock) and Canning & Preserving (All You Need to Know to Make Jams, Jellies, Pickles, Chutneys & More). Earlier this week, Canning & Preserving received an honorable mention in the “How-To” category at the 2010 Green Book Festival. Congratulations!

Ashley says she’s “making an attempt to craft a good life in a small mountain community”:

I find pleasure in the light at dusk, atlases, hard cider, cat antics, dog breath, homemade ice cream and snorty laughter.

We’re delighted to have discovered Ashley, and we look forward to a Practically Green relationship with her. Her stories and advice are terrific, and she shares some of our pet peeves. Wasteful packaging, for one:

“From bags to utensils, plates, cups, and to-go containers, more and more products are being made available for objects that would otherwise sit for years (and years, and years; around a thousand, in fact) inside of a landfill.

“Companies such as Biobag , Ecosafe , Indaco , and Green Genius , among others, carry entirely biodegradable waste bags. From small countertop compost liners, to pet waste bags, tall kitchen bags and large trash and yard waste bags, these companies offer items that can be penetrated, and subsequently consumed, by microbes, unlike plastic bags. Meant to be indestructable, and last literally forever, production of plastics by manufacturers, and use by the public, has resulted in a host of environmental concerns (Incidentally, I’m not so naive as to think that all use of plastics could be supplanted overnight; they’re a deeply embedded component of modern life and transition away from their manufacture and use will undoubtedly take time). For a grouping of biodegradable trash bags, Amazon has a handy compilation.”

For the full story, please visit Design*Sponge, where Ashley is a regular. And thank you, Grace Bonney, the creator of Design Sponge — one of our favorite sources on home design: a buzzing bazaar of creative innovation and inspiring ideas.

One of the occupational hazards of running Practically Green is realizing that an extraordinarily ordinary item in your household is the center of a raging debate. Last week, it was our non-stick cookware–a set of All-Clad pans we got for our wedding nearly 13 years ago.  I vaguely remember reading for the past few years that Teflon wasn’t so great, and we had been systematically reducing our usage without really understanding why.  But now, in the process of editing our soon-to-be-live site, I needed to read all the articles that a group of environmental-studies graduate students had aggregated on the topic.

OMG!  Is what first crossed my mind.

How the *&*(^& did I not know this?? was second.

Here’s the quick summary from the Environmental Working Group and Scientific-American:

Often known by the brand name TEFLON, non-stick cookware can be coated with PTFE, a subclass of chemicals known as perfluorochemicals (PFCs). PFOA, a gas, can be formed when the coating is subjected to high heat and begins to degrade. Some reports suggest that the heat doesn’t need to be that high for PFOA to be released. The direct health effects of Teflon have been observed with birds, some of whom die within minutes of being exposed to PTFE coated lights or when overheating a non-stick pan.

The Environmental Working Group has compiled a long list of other health related concerns related to PFC exposure in amounts not dissimilar to amounts where lab animals showed affects. The EPA considers PFCs likely human carcinogens, and they are known to induce testicular and mammary cancers in animals. PFCs are also associated with impaired fetal development, altered male reproductive hormones, and effects on the liver, thyroid gland, and immune system. Dupont, who makes Teflon, has agreed to phase it out by 2015.

While many experts insist it’s safe, it was that last sentence plus the fact PFOA in any amount is found to impact the immune system, that made me decide this wasn’t just a controversy to watch unfold.  I decided those pans were headed to the recycling bin, especially since they were flaking–which seemed to me akin to “degrading”.

The only problem is that I really like non-stick pans.  As the “hot breakfast” person in the house, I make pancakes and scrambled eggs in them.  My better half does a mean set of chicken fingers and fish sticks for the kids.  Now what?

We figured our regular pans and copious amounts of butter and oil would probably be fine, but we did need a few smaller sizes. We considered cast iron.  We read about anodized aluminum, but ruled out as we have induction burners.  And then I read about Green Pans, a new line of PTFE, PFOA free pans and even read a few “Are Green Pans really green?” articles.   While we read about some concerns about the use of nanotechnology in Thermalon (the patented surface for Green Pans), I came away thinking it was a good compromise between eliminating non stick and our current state of affairs (Editor’s Note:  We followed up with the company about the nanotechnology and those concerns are evidently “Internet myth”.  A letter from the company, saying there is no nanotechnology used in GreenPans, is in our comments below).  I not so subtly mentioned them as something that would be both very useful and very appropriate for Mother’s Day.

I’ve now owned two Green Pans for a little over a week and here is my experience:

Cooking:   The chicken fingers and fish sticks cooked very well, very crispy and easy to turn.  Pancakes were a little tough.  First the pan wasn’t hot enough and so it made cloud looking pancakes–more oval with fluffy edges.  Then the pan got too hot, and burned the edge before the middle was done. By the fourth or fifth one we seemed to find the right temperature setting and the shape and flavor were back to normal.

Cleaning:  As claimed, so far nothing has stuck to the pan more or less than our regular non-stick. They rinse beautifully, but I’m a little befuddled by the instructions from there.  The pan says it’s dishwasher safe.  The printed instructions have a line that says they are dishwasher safe, but it’s literally crossed out.  The website says “Although it is (dishwasher safe), we advise you to just wash it with a little soapy water and clean it with a soft dishcloth or sponge. If you wash it over and over again in a dishwasher, the non-stick properties of all ceramic-type non-stick coatings slowly start to fade.”   I know the right thing to do is not put them in the dishwasher and that “degrading” on the Teflon version was part of the health issue.  What’s not clear is whether the degrading of Thermolon is a durability issue or a potential health thing.  Hmmm….We were dishwashing them, but I may decide to hand wash from here on out. (Follow Up: We decided to handwash.  I will say that now, only two months later, the pans aren’t looking great with some brown spots on the interior and lots of staining on the exterior.  We’ve seen other complaints regarding cleaning.  Cooking is still good however.)

GreenPans are by no means the only option to avoid Teflon on the market.  Cuisinart launched a PFOA/PTFE free line called Green Gourmet.  The New York Times’ Marian Burros has a comprehensive review of other choices.  However, if you do decide you are looking for GreenPans, they are sold at Crate & Barrel and Bed, Bath & Beyond as well online.

News Picks:

60 Watt Incandescent Lightbulb Replaced by EnduraLED: This new lightbulb will last 25 times longer, use only 12 watts and will deliver up to 80% energy cost savings. The best part? It will produce a light similar to that of an incandescent. Whew! Finally a lightbulb that will make the switch easy on the eyes…

How to Wash and Replace Pillows to Reduce Allergens: Did you know that a 10 ounce pillow can double its weight in 3 years due to a buildup of dust mite remains? Oh yes, we thought it was super gross too. Here is some great advice on how to decrease asthma and allergy triggers that reside in your pillow.

The Onion’s “Are you Green Enough Quiz”: Ok, so we admit it. All of us here at Practically Green LOVE quizzes so when we saw this hysterical quiz made by those funny folks at The Onion, we couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

Multimedia Link:
BP Oil Disaster Slideshow:We can’t believe its been three weeks since the oil leak began. Not only is it hard to keep up with all the news coming in about the issue, it is hard to fathom. This Big Picture slideshow from Boston.com is worth a thousand words.















New and Cool Pick:
PUMA’s New Packaging Project–The Clever Little Bag: PUMA spent almost two years developing a smarter way to package their shoes. We think it is more than just clever, it is genius!

Dominique Browning is one of our favorite green bloggers, friends, and Practically Green advisors. She’s been writing about gracious good living for decades, and before that she was talking about it and simply doing it at her house, in her life, and with her kids.

She’s got a new book out called Slow Love. We recommend it to anyone who’s ever been smacked with a curve ball—fired from a job, received a scary medical diagnosis, reckoned with a dead-end relationship, moved from a “forever” house. The book resonates for anyone who’s had to let go of whatever was familiar, cozy, expected, and routine. And that’s practically all of us.

In Slow Love, Dominique describes how she digested her own complex prickly ball of unexpected change—and how she’s moved on.

There’s lots of wisdom in this deceptively little book, and we look forward to spoon-feeding it to you—slowly and lovingly, that is—during the next few months. For today: Sometimes it’s the little things that matter, like thinking through the soap at your sink.

From www.SlowLoveLife.com:

SLOW ME UP! SOAP DISHES

I have turned against those liquid soaps in plastic dispensers. First, it was the chemicals in the plastic that made me nervous. Then, it was a matter of aesthetics. Even the best of those liquid soaps have an annoying, stumpy look. Of course, I recall that I turned against bars of soap when they got gummy with sitting in pools of water, or cracked and dried out from disuse. But that reminded me that what I miss most of all is soap dishes. Frances Palmer made the lovely ones in this picture, and they turned my head.

I have lately found myself snuffling the bars of handmade soap that are turning up all over town–and online too, like the gorgeous little goat milk jewels from Beekman 1802. They remain my favorite houseguest present–and a few pretty stones in the bottom of the dish will keep the soap from melting.

Dominique’s blog: www.slowlovelife.com

Her “Personal Nature” column for the Environmental Defense Fund: http://blogs.edf.org/personalnature/

Learn more about why switching from gel to bar soap is green.

Whether you loved it or hated it, went with the cutest boy on the football team or the dorkiest boy from 5th period Calculus class, EVERYONE has a vivid memory of their Prom. However, Prom is often an event of excess–excess glitter, hair spray, makeup, spray tan, flowers, jewelry, and–in my sister’s case–braces. (Don’t worry Lily, you will still look like Kate Hudson in How To Lose Guy In Ten Days this Saturday.)

As my little sister’s first Prom approaches, it’s a perfect time to re-evaluate this monumental event of our youth and find ways to make it more green. YOU might not be going to a Prom, but you most likely have a little sister like I do–or a niece, or a daughter or a friend’s daughter–so pass this along!

Let’s start with the dress. How can you green it?

This is Lily. Sixteen years old and a freak of nature–tall, blonde, athletic, curvy AND a size 0. Yes, as her older sister, I weep that I didn’t get those genes. However envious I am of her, I do acknowledge that finding a dress was the hardest part for her. She doesn’t fit into any of my dresses, our step-sisters’ dresses or our friends’ dresses. So unfortunately she had to buy a new one.

If she was a more typical size, she could have borrowed a dress from someone or searched at our local consignment shop. There are seriously good finds in those stores. I found a beautiful dress (with the tags still on!) for $10 at our local consignment shop and wore it to my mom’s wedding a few years ago. If you don’t know where the closest consignment shop is, you can search directories online like ResaleShopping.com and Consignmentshops.com. If you want to get more specific searching for Prom dresses online, check out PreownedPartyDresses.com or Buyselldress.com. If you are handy with a sewing kit, you could design and make your own dress like our CEO, Susan, did in high school. I have heard stories of girls making dresses out of duck tape too… maybe give it a try? That seems like a lot of duct tape, though…

Want a high end option? Try Wear Today, Gone Tomorrow, a company that rents designer dresses by big-name labels (see this dress by Nicole Miller) and uses organic dry-cleaning methods. Or try Rent The Runway, which will actually send you a dress in two different sizes “just to be safe”.

Next, accessories. Lily is using a handbag and shoes from our step-sister and borrowing jewelry from me. I have also been known to rummage through my mother’s accessories for items, so ladies, look in your closets! Look through your mother’s closet! You might be surprised how well that gold-sequined clutch goes with your daughter’s blue-and-gold dress… Don’t be afraid to snip an 80’s foo-foo bow if it ruins the entire purse!

Moving on to makeup. Search for the best-rated cosmetics on Cosmetics Database or see how the products you already have measure up against this safety-rating system. Personally, I focus on the products with a 0-2 Low Hazard rating. Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Makeup, Physicians Formula, and Origins are some of the well-known brands that qualify. If you are worried about spending too much money on makeup, just go with three main products: mascara, concealer, and blush/bronzer. Less is more for a Green Prom, ladies…

Green your transport. Steer away from the Hummer stretch-limo. It is bound to dent an unlucky chaperone’s car in the event parking lot. (That happened at my Junior Prom. Oops!) How about renting a school bus? It would be cheaper, retro, and you can fit more of your friends. For my Sophomore Prom (yes, I went all four years), a group of us rented a small Jitney bus that has room for probably 10-15 friends. You could always make a scene and take public transportation. Or drive a hybrid for the night.

Greener hair? And, no, I don’t mean the awful green Lily’s hair turns whenever she takes a dip in an over-chlorinated pool during summer. I mean, how about less hair spray? Less hair glitter? Check out the Good Guide for a less-toxic hairspray. Don’t worry, Susan had to make the same switch. Not sure if there is a greener way to curl hair though… Any ideas?

Finally, flowers. Every girl loves to get flowers the night of their Prom, so why not suggest purchasing a bouquet or corsage from Organic Bouquet? Or make your own boutonniere using flowers from your garden!

Have you been to a Green Prom? Are you helping someone close to you prepare for Prom in a green way? Any more ideas for Lily?

Photo credit: http://www.weartodaygonetomorrow.com/Nicole-Miller-Gown-Silk-p/nm1000l-pb.htm
Jitney Bus

Crispy, crunchy, chewy, slightly sugary, wholesome and flavorful…

Last Tuesday, I was in granola heaven. Sarah and I (the official PG Taste-Testers. Jealous, I know…) tried fabulous granola made by Solange Voss, owner of Gappy’s Granola. Gappy’s Granola has two main granola recipes, Original and Dark Chocolate, which are available as loose granola or convenient bars. Sarah and I tried both :) .

The Original is a hearty recipe of organic rolled oats, almonds, dried cranberries, organic coconut, organic pumpkin seeds, organic golden flax seeds, white sesame seeds, peanut butter, apple cider, brown sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and sea salt.

The verdict…
– Sarah: “It is so savory. You can really taste all the unique flavors. The salt is subtle but it complements the almonds and pumpkin seeds. This is my favorite.”

– Me: “Wow, the cranberries really stick out to me in this recipe. They are still juicy and full of flavor. I can taste the vanilla and subtle sweetness of brown sugar and apple cider. It is more of an earthy snack than the chocolate I imagine.”

The Dark Chocolate recipe has the same ingredients as the Original recipe but with a delicious addition of bittersweet chocolate chips (82% cocoa mass, cocoa butter, sugar lethicin, natural vanilla).

The verdict…
– Sarah: “Ohh, this is more of a sweet treat to me. Almost like a dessert snack. I think the cranberries stand out more to me in this recipe. I would put this on ice cream!”

– Me: “O wow, the chocolate is so good. Since the almonds are kept whole for these granola recipes, sometimes I get a bite of a chocolate-covered almond. Soo good, this is my favorite.”


I loved the granola so much that I arranged an interview with Solange to get all the details. I learned that Gappy’s was created out of the necessity to feed her family a healthy snack, breakfast or finger food on-the-go. Solange believes that “necessity is the mother of invention” and that is the creative viewpoint behind her company. Growing up in New Hampshire, Solange’s parents owned their own restaurant that had simple, fresh food and ingredients from their family garden. (I was jealous of this, it is kind of my dream.) This philosophy of eating ‘whole foods’ was important to her when she started her own family and her company.

I asked “Why granola?”: “For me, granola was a hard healthy product to find. When the national financial situation turned the way it did, I still wanted to work but in a field that was valuable to my family. We love granola and we had a family recipe, so I figured why not that? Then things just fell into place; my mother did the logo sketch, my friend printed the labels for me, and it was never about being ‘gourmet’ it was about being real…”

“Who is Gappy?”: “My daughter tried to say ‘Grammy’ when she was learning to speak and it came out ‘Gappy’ and it just stuck.”

“Are you playing around with any other recipes?”: ”Yes, with recipes without honey and brown sugar for people who are affected by diabetes or sugary foods in general. It won’t work for bars because I would be using an apple-cider reduction and the honey is what makes the bars stay in their shape.”


“Have you always been green?”: “I was fortunate to be raised with reverence for the environment. My family was green before it was trendy — living in a rural community, using minimal electricity, no TV. We had animals, we composted, canned, and preserved. Green was second nature to me, and like all green people, I am constantly trying to be more green.”

“What is your favorite of the two main recipes?”: “Oh my gosh, it’s the chocolate! Chocolate is one of nature’s most fabulous gifts and when it is in granola, it’s so good.”

And by the way, Gappy’s Granola can be eaten in more ways than just by the heaping handful. Try the Original over yogurt or cereal or the Dark Chocolate over ice cream. And both would be delicious with just a dash of milk I imagine. To find out where to buy Gappy’s in the MA and NH area, click here… For other parts of the country, order it online here.

Gappy’s doesn’t make a nut-free and sesame-free option that would be safe for people with severe allergies like Susan’s son, but I found a company called Jake Bakes. I haven’t tried any of their products (and it will take a lot to even come close to Gappy’s), but it is nice to know there are options out there.

What are your favorite ways to eat granola? Have you tried Gappy’s? Have you heard of any other nut-free organic options?

The front hall at our house is a decompression chamber in disguise. Here’s my concept: no matter how stressed out you are, no matter how crabby, when you walk through the front door, this space is guaranteed to restore you.

When we bought the place ten years ago, I picked out a vivid jungle pattern with lush and detailed foliage, birds, turtles, and insects all climbing the walls. You could almost hear the cicadas in that space. My husband would sometimes come in after an intense day at the office, grumbling a bit, and presto! Mr. Pussy Cat! He was transformed simply by walking through the “jungle”.

Yes: that was beautiful (and effective) wallpaper, but it wasn’t green. It was printed on another continent, with high-impact inks, on non-FSC paper and — like most wallpapers — it had a coating of toxic vinyl.

Two summers ago, we had to replace the jungle paper because of an involuntary major demolition-renovation. I called the decorators who sold me the jungle paper. I explained that I’d like to use a “green” paper this time: made in the USA, with low-impact processes, no toxic ingredients, organic if possible. They came over with swatches that ranged from bland to blah to blech. I complained: “They look like dishwater! Why can’t green wallpaper be interesting, fun, shocking?”

Enter Nancy Mims and Mod Green Pod:

“Twelve years ago a designer friend saw my doodles,” Nancy told us. “She said, why don’t you sell those? It had never occurred to me before! I jumped in and eventually formed Mod Green Pod with my sister-in-law. Both of us have little kids and we wanted to bring ethics to the company — including organic cotton, healthy inks, and no toxic anything, ever.” Click here for more on Mod Green Pod’s green practices and processes.

Nancy’s kids fool around with her fabric:

“I bought this chair for $40 at a thrift store. It’s amazing what you can find, even on the side of the road! I love the idea of turning some trashy item into a one-of-a-kind piece. I love saving a piece of furniture that might otherwise get tossed.”

We love this idea, too, and we’re going to stay in touch with Nancy as she transforms this unfortunate chair into something beautiful. Stay tuned for the result! Here is the fabric she’s going to use:

“I want to help people learn the art of re-upholstery. My grandparents’ generation would buy a piece of upholstered furniture and redo it every couple of decades. We need to get back to that idea, I think. Too much of the time, my generation just tosses their furniture, goes out and gets more.”

Here’s Nancy impersonating framed artwork on a Mod Green Pod wall:

And, here’s our Front Hall a.k.a. Decompression Chamber:

Go see more Mod Green Pod at http://modgreenpod.com/

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Mod-Green-Pod

Twitter @modgreenpod

News Picks:

9 Ways to Reduce Cancer Risk: Did you know 4 out of 10 Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime? And 2 of every 10 will die from it? The EPA provides these suggestions as to how you can lower your risk of cancer by making small changes and reducing toxins in your everyday life.

5 Best Organic Online Florists: You won’t feel guilty about sending mom flowers if they are organic, sustainably grown, packaged with recycled materials and sent from one of these honorable florists. So go ahead, send mom some love…

How To Make Your Greens Last Longer: Lettuce and spinach are too yummy to let them go spoiled. Pack them right with these easy tips.

Multimedia Pick:

We all want to simplify and make our homes more efficient but this guy takes the Gold Star Award in the ‘Space Savers’ category. It is incredible that a home that is 300 sq ft small can fit 24 room combinations! This makes us feel silly about feeling so accomplished after using those SpaceSaver bags last Spring…

New and Cool Pick:

20 of the Best Smartphone Apps for the Home and Garden: Whether you need help in carpentry, have a paint chip problem or could use some landscaping advice, it seems the Smartphone has an App for that.

Photo Credit: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/06/garden/06apps.html

This Sunday is Mother’s Day and we all know it is one of the best days of the year to celebrate life and love and to formally honor the moms and mother figures in our lives. Since being in college, I only get to see my mom a few times a year which is sad, but I still remember all the boo-boo’s she kissed and I thank her for still thinking I was cute when I went through my awkward tween stage (bad haircut, thick glasses, bad skin and a mouth full of braces. Thank goodness I grew out of that…) Moms are just the best.

However, Susan, Jason, Sarah and I here at Practically Green also believe that Mother’s day is the perfect day to honor our other mother, Mother Earth. How about we do both!? Sounds good to me too…

Here are some ways you can honor both of your mothers this year:

• A card is a MUST on Mother’s Day because you need to be able to thank Mom for all the selfless and loving things she has done for you. Instead of sending a paper card, try Paperless Post, a website that lets you send fine stationary over the internet. Mom will receive the card in an email that allows her to “open” an envelope (so cute, I know). And don’t worry, if she really likes it, she has the option of printing it out.

 

• If Mom is a flower lover, try Organic Bouquet, an online provider of eco-friendly and organic floral gifts. Not only are their products beautiful and thoughtful, the company upholds some pretty green standards. Organic Bouquet is Organic Certified, Veriflora Certified, Biodynamic Labeled, Rainforest Alliance Certified as well as certified in many other important areas of green. Their packaging includes recycled items like paper, fibers and they use soy-based ink. Oh, and I should mention that they have a Carbon Offset Program to make you feel less guilty about shipping those beautiful flowers to Mom in Florida. Here are some ideas from their website that I like:

• You could give Mom a fun and unconventional gift by sending a live tree seedling in a mailable tube through Mail-A-Tree. Mom will receive a Colorado Blue Spruce if she lives in the northern states or a Meyer Spruce if she lives in the southern states. You can choose colored end caps, recycled paper, and a poem that can be personalized and inserted into the tube. 
• Mom not into flowers? Get her a pair of TOMS shoes, and TOMS will give a pair of new shoes to a child in need through their One for One philosophy. 

We like these Blue Tangier Vegan Classics that are made using sustainable materials like hemp and recycled plastic bottles, and uses no animal products. 

• If you were hoping to get Mom a high end gift, check out the online gift shop of NYC’s Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). They have some quirky yet gorgeous gifts made out of recycled materials. 

I like this Recycled Can Concho Clutch which uses aluminum pull tabs from post-consumer recycled cans and is handmade by a fair-trade co-op in Brazil. 

• We also loved these ideas from Earth911, check them out!

But what does Mom really want? I asked three mothers, all of whom are at different stages of their parenting careers, what is the best gift your children could give you? You might be surprised by their responses…

Susan, mother of two young children
- “Three years ago, my son and my husband planned a picnic for me at the Arnold Arboretum in Boston. They bought me a picnic basket that contained a blanket, wine glasses,reusable picnic-ware and lots of my favorite snacks. It was really nice to be outdoors and enjoy my family at the same time. I also wouldn’t mind if my two-year-old would sleep through the night and sleep in…”


Sarah, mother of three college-age children
- “My kids are all busy, but I sent them an invitation to a fancy, community Mother’s Day Brunch anyways. Two out of three said they would go, but the third was busy with school so it didn’t work out. They came home for the weekend last week instead and it was great. We had great conversations, much needed quality time and it was perfect because we just relaxed at home. That was the best; their visit home, it meant so much to me…”

Auntie Liz, mother of two married sons
- “At my age, you have everything you need, so I don’t need things. I love being able to see my sons and their families, that is the best gift. I like being able to do something with just us. We don’t have to go anywhere or do anything, but just enjoy each others company. We have fun doing the simple things, watching a movie, talking, cooking, anything…”






So it turns out, the gift Mom might actually want is the greenest of them all! The nonmaterial things seem to matter most. Perhaps this Mother’s Day you can get something small (and green) to show your appreciation but spend most of your effort on spending time with her and heading home for the weekend. What are your plans? How are you celebrating your Mom? If you are a Mom, what was the best gift you have received or could receive?

See our friend Heather? We love her fresh effortless look. We prodded for her beauty secrets, and she told us this story the other day. Well! Are we ever impressed by her Sharpie technique for getting the job done!

Two years ago my husband and I made the decision that we were going to eat organic whenever possible. We weren’t going to go to extremes or stop eating out socially but when we ate at home we were going to buy organic produce, meats, and products. This stemmed out of concern for our own bodies as well as the children we would someday have.  Who knows what causes severe food allergies or autism but we were taking chemicals and preservatives out of the equation, or so I thought.

One day my husband, reading an article, peered over his Macbook and said “huh, did you know half of the chemicals and preservatives in your (women’s) system are from your healthcare products?” and then nonchalantly went back to reading. Whoa, WHAT!? I never thought of that. I guess it makes sense, I thought: you can receive medications topically, I guess you can also receive harmful chemicals and preservatives topically as well. When I started thinking about the breadth of that statement I got incredibly overwhelmed. On a regular basis I use face wash, body wash, skin toner, face moisturizer, eye cream (thanks to my 30’s), deodorant, body moisturizer, sun screen, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, shaving cream, face mask,  the list felt like it went on forever and I didn’t know where to start!

After some searching I found Skin Deep’s cosmetics safety database, where I could type in the brand and name of my products and they would rank them on a scale of 0-10 (0-2 low hazard, 3-6 moderate hazard, 7-10 high hazard).  As I sat with every product on the kitchen table and a sharpie I marked each product with its number.  Anything above a 7 got thrown out immediately, 3-6 I’m keeping until it runs out (let’s face it, this stuff is expensive!) and anything 2 or below I will keep and replenish as needed. (See photo of Heather’s medicine cabinet.)

As I’m finishing my “moderate hazard” products I am having so much fun finding and learning about alternatives!  Whole Foods stores are a great resource and some of their larger stores have full make-up lines with people who know what they are talking about.  My favorite face regimen is by a company called Skin Organics, which includes face wash, toner, weekly scrub, day and night moisturizers, and eye cream.  Works incredibly well and very reasonably priced.

I’m so glad I made the switch…every little bit counts!  Now if I could find an organic toothpaste my husband didn’t think tasted like saw dust we’d be great!

Heather K. Margolis is an entrepreneur, part-time foodie, and founder of Channel Maven Consulting. A proud alum of Babson’s MBA program, Heather grew up in Massachusetts, a 6 time Pan Mass Challenge rider who can be found riding, hiking, or attempting to tear up the slopes when not helping her clients reach their channel goals.  Heather and her husband Simeon (also an eco-friendly entrepreneur and Babson MBA) live in Newton, MA.

Links: Heather’s company:  http://www.channelmavenconsulting.com Twitter:  http://twitter.com/HeatherMargolis LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherkmargolis Simeon’s company:  http://www.themonkeybed.com

At 9:25 am the phone rang with a blast call from the mayor’s office to say it’s okay to drink water again here in Boston. We’ve gone three days without it. We’ve gone without Starbucks, without ice cubes, without bubble baths. We’ve boiled our water so we could brush our teeth and rinse our lettuce. We’ve kept it from the mouths of our children. We’ve experimented with microscopic amounts of Clorox in the dishwasher. And now our little 21^st-century urban-suburban weekend of suffering is over: Just flush the water lines by turning on the faucets (one minute for cold, fifteen minutes for hot), the recording says, and we’re through this crisis.

I turn on all the faucets and showers in the house to flush the system as instructed. And onward we go, the same as before: another relatively minor and inconvenient situation behind us, like a transit strike, a blackout, or a blizzard.

But this time it’s different. This time we Bostonians adjusted to the temporary inconveniences of no potable water against the backdrop of two other water-related disasters in this country. And those other disasters are exponentially more serious than ours. If Boston’s water crisis is size Medium, Tennessee’s flooding is Large, and the Gulf’s oil spill is, well, XXXL. As the President said, the BP oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico is a “potentially unprecedented environmental disaster.”

We don’t usually write about disasters here at Practically Green. The volcano erupted in Iceland and the currency teeters in Greece. But we can’t ignore this one. I hope you don’t mind. We can’t quite ignore the millions of people, animals, and sea creatures that are affected by the oil spill, which one blogger describes as not a spill, but more of “a gush, like an underwater oil volcano”:

A hot column of oil and gas is spurting into freezing, black waters nearly a mile down, where the pressure nears a ton per inch, impossible for divers to endure. Experts call it a continuous, round-the-clock calamity, unlike a leaking tanker, which might empty in hours or days.”

Ever the optimist, I wonder if there’s a silver lining to this crisis. Just as the water crisis in Boston reminded us all to be more thoughtful about water use, for three days, maybe the BP crisis — however it is solved — will force fresh thoughts for the country. Maybe now we will all agree that we need to shun all toxic and harmful elements, whenever possible, for once and for all. “If the cost of spills like this one is too high to bear,” Ezra Klein writes, “then we have to wean ourselves off of oil, not simply get really upset about this spill.”

Not so fast, the denialists and the no-can-do-ers rise in their chorus: it’s complicated, it’s expensive, we don’t have to. We don’t want to. We won’t. No way.

How long does it take to form a healthy habit? I estimate it has taken me a year to switch to using cloth bags for grocery shopping 100% of the time, without a second thought. How many times did I spank myself and trudge back to the car to get the bags (“the walk of shame,” one friend calls it).

How do you tend to make improvements in your daily life?

What would it take for an entire country to commit to positive new way of living?

Meanwhile, we’re holding our breath, dreading each unfolding news broadcast from Louisiana — and hoping to go forward together. Please send your ideas, comments, recommendations, and stories to us at Practically Green.

A few years ago, I came to the last of my Garnier Fructis XXL volume hair spray and realized that this was probably another “unhealthy for me and the environment” habit I just needed to kick.  I had already given up on the aerosol version twenty years ago, but I still relied daily on hairspray to be able to see easily out of both eyes.  A check on the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Database confirmed my suspicions.  Garner Fructis XXL Volume, Extra Strong is a high hazard or “red” product coming in at a 7/10.  Ugh.

I KNEW the healthiest thing would be to just pin my hair back, get bangs, or survive with it falling in my face all day. But I’m a creature of habit and I liked my hair the way it was and out of my face.  Hair spray stayed.  But what to do to be healthier?!

Unfortunately, very few “low hazard” options existed at the time.  Even worse, I couldn’t seem to find the words “EXTRA STRONG HOLD” anywhere in the low hazard items.  Almost everything was “natural hold”.   “Natural hold” would last for about 30 minutes with my hair.  One was called an “LA Hold” spritz, but LA conjures up beach hair and natural locks.  If I want a strong hold, I would prefer a NY Hold,  a get-out-of-your-face-and-stay-out-of-your-face-spray.

Once I decided I would go up to a Level 3, which is a “medium hazard”, but still a major improvement from a 7, options started to open up, including an Aubrey Organics brand that says “Super Hold” and J/A/S/O/N naturals which were both available at Whole Foods. I decided on the J/A/S/O/N brand for the road test, putting aside concerns that it still contained Retinyl Palmitate, which is either banned or deeply restricted in Canada.   I just kept thinking, “Hey–it beats the 7!”

I was NOT a huge fan of J/A/S/O/N.  It sort of worked, but the smell was awful even though it’s technically fragrance free.  And of course now I was stuck with a bottle of the stuff.  And still spraying myself every morning with Retinyl Palmitate.

sunglasses as headband, a toxin free style

Six months later, I just gave up.  I grew out my hair by another 3 inches so I could tuck it behind my ears, invested in a few hair clips, learned how to use my hair dryer a little more strategically for volume on those big nights out, and stopped with the spraying. Instead of a hair spray habit, I developed a “flip hair out of eyes” habit  in the winter and a chronic “wear sunglasses as a headband” habit in the summer.

Because I broke the habit completely, I failed to notice until recently that there has been a boom in choices for a healthier hair spray over the last few years.  Granted the Good Guide has different standards than the Environmental Working Group, but there are now FIFTEEN options that get a “10″ health rating including a Clairol brand that has the words “Maximum Hold”.  And there are at least some choices now in the 0-2 category from the Environmental Working Group.

This weekend, I found myself wandering down the aisle at Whole Foods and stopping briefly by the hair spray–perhaps it’s time to cut my hair and redo that road test? After a brief inner debate, I decided after all that hassle, it was a habit I wasn’t in the mood to unbreak that day.  And when and if I do unbreak it, I would prefer a few friends to weigh in on the options to avoid a J/A/S/O/N like experience.

So–if anyone IS using a healthy super hold–do share!  Those people who have to see the flip about 15 times a day would appreciate it immensely.