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Why buy recycled?
Recycling is only half of the equation; if we don't buy recycled products too, then there is nowhere for our recycled garbage to go! By buying recycled products, you help create a market for recycled goods, and you use significantly less resources.
Where can I buy recycled paper and office supplies?
You can buy recycled products at any office supply store. It make take a little extra effort to read the labels, but soon you'll learn which office products are made from recycled goods and buying them will be second nature.
If you are a UT employee, just look for the green recycling symbol in the Office Depot catalog or visit the Office Depot's Green Homepage. You can get white paper as well as a variety of colored papers and recycled office supplies. Typically the administrative staff in your main office will be in charge of purchasing for your office. Talk to them and ask them to purchase recycled products, or talk to your boss to get his or her approval for buying recycled.
What about quality?
Recycled paper, like many new items, used to have quality problems when it was first introduced, but now it is the same brightness and quality as regular paper. If you're not convinced, try it out! You'll see it works just as well in copiers, printers, and wherever you use it.
Recycled ink cartridges
In addition to paper products, you can also buy recycled ink cartridges. They’re usually about half price and have more ink. However, quality can vary, so look for a guarantee.
| Buy Reusable or Sustainable Dishware |
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Do you use reusable or disposable dishware at home or at work? If it's disposable, imagine how much you are throwing away every year!
At work, encourage your officemates to bring their own cups, plates, and utensils. Or ask your boss to invest in a set for your staff to share. This will save money, as your boss won't keep having to buy more and more disposables.
If using reusable dishware is not possible (say, for large events or locations without sinks), there are more environmentally friendly types of disposable dishware that you can choose. Here are some eco-friendly options; each of them has a price comparison with the non-eco version.
Napkins
Ecoproducts.com:
11X12 unfolded White 400 for $7.95
- Compare to regular napkins at Wal-Mart: 400 for $4.99
Plates
Ecoproducts.com:
7" Bagasse Tree-Free Biodegradable Sturdy Plates - Natural White – 50 for $6.75
- Compare to regular plates at Wal-Mart: 50 for $2.99
Bowls
Ecoproducts.com:
11.5 oz Bagasse Tree-Free Biodegradable Sturdy Bowls - Natural White – 50 for $6.50
- Compare to regular Dixie Brand bowls at Wal-Mart: 35 bowls for $3.50
Utensils
Ecoproducts.com:
Compostable Biodegradable Corn Plastic Cups
7 oz 1000/box for $57.85
9 oz 1000/box for $71.80
10 oz 1000/box for $80.65
12 oz 1000/box for $88.80
16 oz 1000/box for $103.75
- Compare to regular size 16 oz plastic cups (25 pack) at Wal-Mart: $8.50
20 oz 1000/box for $117.85
24 oz 600/box for $86.25
| Buy Socially Responsible Products |
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Sustainability isn't just protecting the environment; it's also about promoting equality and human health. Ways you can be socially responsible at work and home include:
Buy Fair Trade Products - Fair trade products are guaranteed to give workers a wage they can live on. The Fair Trade price means that farmers can feed their families and that their children can go to school instead of working in the fields. For more information on fair trade, visithttp://www.transfairusa.org/ or http://www.coopamerica.org/programs/fairtrade/. You can get Fair Trade Coffee at Whole Foods, Central Market, Wheatsville, and O's Cafe.
Buy Non-Sweatshop Clothing - When your office or organization buys t-shirts, go for American Apparel shirts. They are made in the USA, and workers are paid a fair wage. Much of our clothing is made in sweatshops and workers are paid low wages.
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Why I should buy sustainable foods?
Today’s agricultural industry depends heavily on chemicals pesticides and fertilizers that produce damaged soil, polluted rivers, and depleted groundwater. Buying sustainable foods can not only improve your own health, but your contribution can help improve the health of the environment.
What’s the difference between what I eat now and sustainable foods?
Non-sustainable agriculture uses a lot of synthetic pesticides (including herbicides) and most of the meat is injected with growth hormones and antibiotics. As far as fish goes, many aquatic ecosystems and fish populations are harmed by overfishing, bycatch, and concentrated wastes from fish farms. Places like the Monterey Bay Aquarium provide friendly fish choices on their website so you know what is healthy and good to get.
Where can I go to buy sustainable foods?
There are several places you can go that sell sustainable products:
- Wheatsville Food Co-op embodies the values of local and organic as much as possible and humanely raised animal products. Furthermore, it is a co-op, so staff and members are the owners.
- HEB has also stepped up their organics selection, expanded their natural food sections in some stores and owns the Central Market shopshttp://www.centralmarket.com/cm/index.jsp which have house-brand organic products that are increasingly available at regular HEBs.
- Whole Foods Markets carry extensive organic produce and grocery selections and credits you a nickel for every grocery bag you bring. Whole Foods is committed to foods made without GMO ingredients and features foods that are free from artificial preservatives, colors, flavors, sweeteners, and hydrogenated fats.
- Sun Harvest has an extensive bulk section, good prepared foods section and a decent section of organic produce.
What about restaurants?
For those days when you really do not feel like cooking or need something on the go, there are several restaurants that are committed to organic food and healthfully prepared balanced meals. Some are Casa de Luz, Castle Hill, Por Tabla, and Texas Picnic Company and Bakery.
For More Information
There are plenty of websites with “greentips” on how to eat healthy and keep the environment healthy as well. In some of these sites, you can look up grocery stores and restaurants near you.
Local Harvest--Why Buy Local?
www.localharvest.org/buylocal.jsp
U.S. Department of Agriculture--The National Organic Program
www.ams.usda.gov/nop
Monterey Bay Aquarium--Seafood Watch
www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp
Eat Well Guide
www.eatwellguide.org/
UCS--What’s in the Meat You Eat?
www.ucsusa.org/publications/green_tips.cfm?publicationID=689
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Green Cleaning: What’s polluting your home?
Many household products contain harsh chemicals that can irritate your eyes and skin, and severely harm not only your health, but the health of the environment. For this reason, we encourage the use of natural products that can help keep you and your family healthy.
What, exactly, is in the products that I use now?
Many allergies and food sensitivities are caused by exposure to chemicals in the home. Here is some information on just a few of those chemicals.
- Phthalates is a family of chemicals used to give flexibility to plastic products. Although it has been banned for use in childrens’ toy manufactures, it is still found in products such as plastic containers and perfume. Phthalates are linked to lung, liver, and kidney damage; as well as harm to developing male testes.
- Paraben is a synthetic antimicrobial preserving agents found in shampoos, conditioners, moisturizers, and deodorants. It is linked to cancer and skin allergies, also a suspected to interfere with, mimic, or block hormones.
- Dioxin is an unintentional by-product of industrial process involving chlorine and it is found in food, chlorine bleached paper, and insecticides. Also known as carcinogen, it can cause liver and kidney problems or severe birth defects.
That’s just the beginning.
How can I start green cleaning in my home?
Contrary to belief, using natural alternatives is not that difficult and not that expensive. There are many different ways of approaching green cleaning and here are some ways to do it:
Take an Inventory
Make a chart and determine the areas that pose the most risk for you and others in your home, and replace those items first.
Food Related Products
- Try to use glass or metal cups when possible for drinking.
- Buy food products with as little plastic packaging as possible.
- Avoid microwaving food in plastic containers as this can result in the leaching of chemicals into food. Also avoid using saran wrap in the microwave; use glass bowls with plates as covers.
Miscellaneous Products (household cleaning, cosmetics, etc.)
- Avoid products with added fragrances and go easy on perfumes and colognes. These products tend to contain large amounts of phthalates and parabens.
- Women who wear mainstream cosmetics could be applying up to 175 different chemicals to their skin everyday. Several websites, including www.ewg.org/skindeep orwww.thegreenguide.com, offer natural alternatives to cosmetics and household cleaners, and shopping guides and suggestions.
Other Alternatives
- To get rid of ants, sprinkle red chili powder or paprika on the bed or point of entry.
- Egg yolk, milk, olive oil, and oatmeal can all be used as safe moisturizers and conditioners and end up being better than what you use regularly!
- Instead of using air fresheners, you can place bowls of vinegar or baking soda around the house (out of reach of kids and pets) or use natural oils.
- Use Chlorine-free Bleach.
For more information
Here are some websites with more information regarding what’s in our products today, how to do green cleaning, and more.
NRDC website with a good FAQ list on endocrine disrupters.
http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/qendoc.asp
Website providing great information on all sorts of environmental studies. This link brings you to the page on phthalates, and how the EU has banned them.
http://www.greenfacts.org/phthalates/links/index.htm
Webpage on dioxins, causes and effects.
http://www.greenfacts.org/dioxins/index.htm
Great guide to a toxin–free home.
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/living_green/toxin_free.php
Guide to toxin-free cleaning.
http://www.seventhgeneration.com/living_green/toxic_cleaning.php
City of Austin webpage about household hazardous waste drop off location and times. Also describes what they will accept.
http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/sws/hhwimage.htm
Website providing detail about toxic chemicals developed through the collaboration of health professionals, scientists, citizens groups and environmental organizations.
http://www.chemicalbodyburden.org/
What about kids' "sippy" cups?
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2007/04/02/plastics-n-kids/index.html?source=daily
| Be Green During the Holidays |
The two holidays that most people spend the most money on are Christmas and Valentine’s. Every year, when these two holidays roll around, the amount of waste people throw away just grows tremendously. Piles of wrapping paper are throw away and boxes are opened and thrown to the side. Therefore, why not try and save some energy during the holidays?
During Christmas, the amount of wrapping paper used and thrown is just unbelievable. It hurts the environment to add more waste so here are some things you could do.
- Reuse wrapping paper, ribbons, boxes, and tissue paper.
- If you really don’t plan on reusing, then recycle.
- The third “R,” reduce the amount of wrapping paper and boxes. Use gift bags! They don’t get torn and you can always reuse them (just make sure you give them to someone who hasn’t seen it).
Then there’s Valentine’s. The most common gift is flowers. But did you know that 78 percent of the 4 billion flowers that are purchased by Americans come from overseas, mostly from Latin America? These flowers are care for and picked by people, including children, who do some real hard labor but face poor wages, discrimination, threats, and unjust firings. These flower workers are exposed to toxic pesticides as well, some of which are banned in the United States. These pesticides not only harm the workers, but it definitely hurts the environment.
Instead of supporting this industry and buying your love flowers that will die in a week, why not grow your own? You can take care of them and they can bloom year-round!
For more information on how to save energy, or BE GREEN, during the holidays, check out this website: http://www.newdream.org/holiday/index.php
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