As for a basic definition, organic clothing is made from all-natural, non-synthetic materials. Easy enough right? Recently it has become a bigger trend with people. I know a couple of people who have their own organic clothing line and many universities such as Northeastern University are selling organic shirts too in order to “get in” on the fad. Perhaps they actually do care about the organization that they are supporting, but in general, organic clothing is starting to become more and more popular.

Organic shirts started to be made as part of the organic agriculture movement. The point of this movement is to emphasize farming and processing methods that will work with nature and will help minimize soil, water, and air pollution. For example, all organic clothing materials come from organic plants that have not been genetically modified, treated with chemical or synthetic pesticides, or radiated.

Organic cotton is the most popular type of organic fabric and after cotton follows hemp, silk, and wool. Many people like using hemp because it requires no pesticides and very little water to grow. Not only that, but it is a renewable resource that is also a highly curable natural fiber. However, if you have never felt hemp before, it is not exactly the softest material in the world. These fibers are often blended with silk or cotton.

Another resource that has been being used for some time now is bamboo. I personally do not support the use of this material because it might eventually lead to the deforestation of bamboo gardens, however it does seem like a good organic option. The pros to using bamboo are pretty substantial. Bamboo grows very quickly and it can be farmed without any pesticides or chemicals. It fairs well in most conditions, so it is pretty easy to grow. Also bamboo is 100% biodegradable. Pretty cool huh? Making bamboo fibers requires that the plant is pulped until it separates into tiny thin threads that can eventually be spun and woven into cloth. It also caries natural antibacterial and moisture-wicking properties, so it is great for sportswear.

Organic clothing can be very comfy, you just have to go to the right places.

Styrofoam trays have been quite the debate in many school districts over the past few years. Most schools choose to keep Styrofoam as the material for the trays because of the costs. Some students eat off of these trays three times a day. In other words, students eat off of these trays three times a day, for about 30 minutes a day, and then they throw them out. What a waste right?

Not only is it a waste in terms of the volume of trays that are thrown out, but the fact that these trays are made of Styrofoam makes it much worse. Styrofoam is terrible for our environment. Not only this, but there is also some concern that toxins can leach from Styrofoam when it comes into contact with hot food. There is no “good” way to recycle Styrofoam. If they are thrown out, then they will most likely go to a landfill. Once they have reached their resting point at the dump, it will take over one millions years to decompose. Yes, one million. So not only will it take a very long time to “decompose”, but the trays also just sit there, taking up space, in our already overfilled landfills.  Also, when expanded polystyrene enters aquatic environments, creatures could ingest it; this causes intestinal blockage that will ultimately lead to death.

So, why not recycle the trays? Some schools do try to have a separate spot to throw away trays so that they can be recycled, but even when the trays are recycled, not much good becomes of them. Also, trays are not often recycled because it costs a lot to do so and the facilities for doing so are few and far between. Some burn the Styrofoam, but because they are based on crude oil, and chemicals such as benzene and styrene, the burning of Styrofoam produces toxic gases.

These are all things that school districts are well aware of. The thing is, it costs close to nothing per tray (about 3 cents) — it is hard to convince a school district to pay more for trays when they are struggling with other costs. There are many other options out there, but costs are what are holding the schools back.

Are you looking to move somewhere that’s more eco-friendly? Are you curious to find out which state is as green as it gets? Here is a list of the greenest states in the US and what makes them part of this list.

Washington

Washington tops this list. Their high standing is due to the high number of LEED buildings in the state. They also have a high number of green businesses as well as renewable energy resources, including the Nine Canyon Wind Project of Energy Northwest. The Nine Canyon Wind Project was designed to produce up to 95.8 megawatts of renewable energy using wind power. Phase I officially started in 2002 and they just completed Phase III in late 2008.

Vermont

The Searsburg Wind Power Facility, one of the state’s renewable energy sources, powers about 1400 homes a year. This has made green businesses confidence to operate and now, about a hundred green businesses are operating within Vermont.

New York

New York is home to about 3000 green businesses. Several eco-friendly and green organizations have also set up shop to help other businesses go green.

Oregon

There are about 600 green businesses in Oregon and the number is growing regularly. They also have one of the highest recycling rates in the country, at almost 50 percent.

California

California is home to eSolar’s Sierra SunTower, which powers 4,000 homes in Southern California alone.

Nevada

The ACCIONA’s Nevada Solar One powers up to 14,000 homes in Nevada every year.

Maine

Maine is one of the states with the highest number of LEED-registed and LEED-certified buildings. Businesses have utilized solar panels, recycled materials and rooftop gardens to achieve this distinction.

Colorado

Colorado has one of the highest concentrations of green businesses in the US.

Minnesota

Minnesota has a high number of green businesses and LEED-registered and LEEd-certified buildings, including the newly constructed baseball stadium, which has recycling stations, water-saving fixtures and recycled building materials.

New Hampshire

One of New Hampshire’s achievement is its low energy consumption and emissions. They also have their first wind farm, which started operations last June and expected to power at least 10,000 homes in the state.

Cape Wind is a very exciting project that will be America’s first offshore wind farm. The site of this offshore wind farm will be on the Horseshoe Shoal in Nantucket Sound. There has been a ton of opposition to the placement of the wind farm and there are plenty of efforts that are trying to “Save the Sound”, but the permits have been put in place and the project is a go!

I honestly do not see why people think that wind turbines are ugly. I think that it will look kind of cool to have rows of wind turbines stretching across the water, but I can see how there could be opposition and how it would make the Sound less natural. They received state and local permitting in 2009 and federal permitting through April 2010. From when they start construction, it should take them less than 2 years to build the wind turbines that should last 20 years or more. Once the wind turbines are at the end of their economic life, the Cape Wind team will provide a decommissioning financial instrument that will fund the removal of the wind turbines down to the seabed.

In this project, they will place 130 wind turbines that will harness the wind to produce up to 420 megawatts of renewable energy. The 130 wind turbines will be spaced six to nine football fields apart so that shallow draft  boats can pass through or fish. It has even been endorsed by the Maritime Trades council and the Seafarers International Union.

It has been calculated that the turbines would provide about three quarters of the Cape and Islands electricity needs. It will also reduce global warming green house gas emissions by 734,000 tons per year and will provide enough clean, renewable energy that should replace about 113 million gallons of oil per year.

With numbers like that and events such as the major oil spill this year, who would not be in favor of this project in the Nantucket Sound? It is definitely time to start using more forms of renewable energy and to start using resources like the wind– which I don’t think we will be running out of any time soon.

For more information check out Cape Wind’s website.

An article on Yahoo highlighted a woman’s transformation from a high-consumption life to an eco-friendly one by making a few instrumental changes in her life. Do you want to know how she did it? Here are a few tips she shared in the article.

1. Natural Cleaning Agents

Instead of buying the pre-made cleaning products in the stores (which are filled with all kinds of chemicals and bleach), make your own using items already found in your home. These items include vinegar, baking soda, natural soaps and lemon.

2. NO to Bottled Water

Buy a filter for the faucet or a pitcher with its own filter and start drinking from the tap. When going out, bring your own mug and fill it with tap water. Just this act alone can eliminate usage of at least 300 bottles a day.

3. Reusable Shopping Bags

Make it a habit of bringing your own shopping bags to eliminate the use of plastic or paper bags for your items. The bags only cost between $0.99 to $2 (some cost more but you don’t need to buy those) and use them again and again.

4. Avoid Plastic Wrap

When putting leftovers in the fridge, don’t use plastic wrap to cover your food. Use container covers or brown wax paper.

5. CFLs and Energy-Saving Appliances

Switch to CFL bulbs and energy-saving appliances and notice the big change in your electricity bill.

6. Grow Own Food

If you have the ability and the space to do, grow your own food. Just buy some pots, soil and seeds and plant away. You can plant spinach, mushrooms, tomato, eggplant, any kind of fruits or whatever else will fit in your space. Don’t forget to take care of the plants, though.

7. Don’t Be Afraid To Buy Used

There are some items that you can always buy used, like furniture (including book cases, chairs and tables, etc.), clothes, DVDs, CDs and other items that won’t compromise your health or will be with you for the long haul.

8. Say NO To Paper

Go paperless for all your bills and statements. Cancel all catalogs, print newspapers and other subscriptions and choose to view them online instead.

So are you ready to switch to a green lifestyle? Take the challenge and start now!

What could be better than making sure you’re practicing green tips in your own house than to build and design your dream green home?

Styles

There are several styles to choose from. Conventional styles are the usual styles anyone and everyone uses to design their own home. It can be Victorian, Southwestern or Bungalow. Contemporary or traditional styles may be used, depending on your own taste.

A Rounded style simply means that a significant part of the house has a rounded or curved appearance. This could be the roof or the floor plan. These styles usually convey a cozy and comfortable feeling inside the home.

An Earth-Sheltered home is either fully or partially nestled in the earth. Temperature rarely changes in an earth-sheltered home and uses less energy to keep it cold or hot. Be sure to keep the part of the house in the underground well-insulated, as it can be too cold.

Materials

There are a lot of natural materials that can be utilized to create your dream green home.

Adobe, cob and rammed earth are the most common materials from the earth. Traditional burlap bags can also be used and stacked vertically or horizontally to create walls. You can fill the bags with rocks, adobe, shells or sand.

Wood is the most common choice of material for anything, including green homes. Make sure that the wood comes from certified sustainably harvested trees.

Other materials that can be used include straw, bamboo and stones.

What other styles and materials can be used for your future green dream home?

Just remember to make sure that all materials were provided through sustainable harvesting and production. Otherwise, it will defeat the original purpose for having a green dream home.

Situation: It’s spring. The weather’s getting nicer, and the sun is finally starting to bounce off  the walls in your home. While you couldn’t be happier with the light, you could be happier about the color of your walls. It’s time for a change. You head to the hardware store and buy the first bucket of paint that matches the color sample you like.

Wait! Rewind. Instead of buying the first pretty bucket of paint that you see, consider the fact that there are many paint options that are much m0re environmentally-friendly than typical paints. Just how bad is the environmental impact of regular paint? The EPA discovered that VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) levels were 1,000 times larger than the standard outdoors amount in a room that was painted recently. They also were able to conclude that the VOCs (including benzene, formaldehyde, kerosene, ammonia, and other carcinogens and neurotoxins) are released at a higher rate from regular paint that is being applied than from any other indoor product. Furthermore, in that aforementioned sunlight that we love, many paints react with nitrous oxides in the atmosphere, a process which contributes to the formation of smog.

Not surprisingly, several companies have come up with paints that have no or a low level of VOCs. The Green Guide offers a comparison of the different brands that are available. You’ll find the type of paint (water-based acrylic, latex, milk paint, clay paint, natural paint, or recycled paint), level of VOC, area of use (interior or exterior or both), and the typical price per gallon. According to the Green Guide, the paint that is the best value is the Innovative Formulations Company Ecological Paint, which is a water-based acrylic, with no VOCs, for interior and exterior use, and just $20 per gallon. The greenest product is the BioShield Casein Milk Paint, while the Green Guide overall recommendation is the Bioshield Clay Paint, though its cost is $34 per gallon.

So, if you have that urge to repaint the walls, consider making the switch to eco-friendlier paint. Green paints come in a variety of different colors!

For a lot of us, we have dedicated ourselves to living a green life at home. But what about outside the home? What about at work? Is it easy to translate the same dedication to a green life at the office or at work?

Redefine commuting

Let’s face it. Bringing your own car has more cons than pros. You need to worry about traffic, gas, tolls, parking spaces, parking availability and parking fees, among others. Consider carpooling with your friends or officemates. If your city has a great public transportation system, consider taking the bus or train going to work. You could walk or take your bike to work.

Telecommuting

Another option to avoid even being on the road, if you don’t have to, is telecommuting. Work from home instead of the office. Commute to the office only if you have to but limit it to just some days in a week. You can maximize email, instant messaging and video conferencing to communicate with your other co-workers at work without having to leave the house.

Computers and other office equipment

Be sure to activate your computer’s energy-saver settings. When leaving for the day, don’t just press standby and shut down your computer. Make sure to unplug other equipment (including printer, scanner, etc) when not in use, as they contribute to power wastage when plugged but unused.

Green Materials

Use only recycled materials for papers and envelopes. There are also recycled pencils and refillable pens and markers available for use. Better yet, go paperless and keep communication online. Reading memos and reports online, instead of printing, saves paper and space, by eliminating file cabinets.

Break Time

Bring your own lunch to work in reusable containers. It’s cheaper and eliminates or minimizes packaging waste. Bring your own tumbler to work, too, where you can pour in water, your coffee or juice. You don’t have to stay inside with your lunch, though. Go outside and walk to the park or nearby benches and have your lunch there. It’ll be good to breathe in the outside air and will re-energize you through the rest of your workday.

Influence Others

Encourage your co-workers, family and friends to join you in living a green life. It’ll be more fun to share this lifestyle with other people. And it’ll be more fun for the environment.

Let’s start the year the green way. Here are some green tips for different parts of your life.

Spring Cleaning

Remove all the clutter. Go through drawers, cabinets, inside the closets, the garage, attic and everywhere you can think of. Start going through all your things one by one. It will take some time to get through all this, so be sure to set aside time for this activity. Or better yet, get the help of a family member or a friend. Create separate piles for things you’ll never use, things you can reuse and things you can donate or recycle.

Spring Break

Plan the ultimate road trip and avoid flying to your destination. Travel with family or friends to take advantage of the car’s space. Be sure to stay at a green hotel with good ratings. Or stay at a rental house with lots of other friends. You’ll save money and have more fun! Support local establishments. Eat local and buy local. And always remember to dispose trash properly and recycle.

Dating

How to find someone who shares your green ideals? Try online green dating sites like Green Singles or Green Passion. Or volunteer at your local environmental organization to meet other like-minded people. Take them to green restaurants or restaurants that serve locally-sourced food. Or make your own food and plan a picnic. Cook food for your date using locally-sourced food and organic alcohol.

Work From Home

Choose an area in your place that will give you no distractions and allow you to be very productive. Determine what kind of desk you’ll need, if you need lots of drawers or a wide space or a foldable one. Be sure to do your research and invest in desks made of sustainable wood. And make sure your chair is ergonomic and has good lumbar support designed to go easy on your posture and muscles. Before buying office supplies, check your place first for supplies you already may have to avoid overstocking.

Workout

You don’t need to join a gym to work out. You can do it at your own home. Do lunges and squats while watching your favorite shows on TV. Lift weights while watching the news. If you want to go out, go running or biking outside. Encourage other people to join your workouts. And don’t forget to go green with the equipment you use. Buy used bikes and/or weights, eco-friendly yoga mats.

Next time, we’ll discuss how to apply green tips in your life.

Now, this is interesting. Go Green Fitness in Orange, CT, uses the people in the gym to generate their power. That is right, this new gym at 500 Boston Post Road features a room with 24 exercise bikes where riders pedal during spin class and generate electricity that is used to power the building. It opened a over a month ago and has been a successful business thus far.

While people pedal, they can see how much energy they are producing in watts. How does this energy convert itself into a useful source of power? Well, the watts from all of the pedaling travel to a converter box in the back of the room. This box then routes the energy into the building’s electric meter. From the electric meter, the power is split between the various businesses.  The amount of energy that this gym produces due to the spin class has been estimated by the owner himself to meet up to 72 percent of their electricity demand. I think that their logo, “Powered by the People” suits this company very well!

Of course, making their own energy is something to brag about, but apparently the gym even looks beyond amazing. For instance, the spin class is able to watch a flat-screen television that shows images of nature throughout each class. There are also LED lights that change color in the rooms. Look at that, they are even using LEDs to be resourceful. It is also a clean and healthy gym–especially with floors and walls that are intended to be as hypo-allergenic and clean as possible. Not only this, but the walls are coated with antibacterial paint.

Kravitz, the owner, definitely did a good job incorporating the spin class into a great investment for the company.

If you think he sounds interesting, I read an article from December 8th that stated “Kravitz is seeking to hire spin instructors and plans to grow the business to include nutritional counseling, personal training and other services. He also hopes to grow Go Green Fitness into a franchise.”

I think it is interesting that more gyms are not doing this. However, I won’t be surprised in a few years from now if I see that every gym starts doing what Kravitz did to lower energy bills.