Trick-or-Treating Green
October 6, 2008 by momgreen · Leave a Comment
Halloween is approaching. Go green for halloween this year. Here are some ideas:
- Hand out organic candy or healthy snacks like trail mix.
- Trick-or-Treat for your local food bank: Accompany your kids (in costume, of course!) and ask your neighbors to donate a canned or non-perishable food item for the bank. Try organizing a community-wide effort by asking everyone in your neighborhood to do the same, and compete to see who can bring in the most food donations.
- Host a costume exchange party. Get together with your friends pre-halloween and exchange kids’ costumes rather than purchasing new ones.
- Make costumes and decorations from used or recycled materials and save them for next year.
- Participate in reverse trick-or-treating. Hand fair trade chocolate back to your neighbors along with a card explaining the social and environmental issues in the cocoa industry, including abusive child labor. More information is available at www.reversetrickortreating.org.
Green Countertops in Any Color
October 2, 2008 by boygreen · Leave a Comment
When choosing countertops for your green building project, there are several aspects to consider:
- Sustainability means durability - you don’t want to install cheap products that will wear out or appear dated after just a few years. Request a sample of the product you’re considering and try scratching and chipping it to see how it holds up. Ask yourself if you’ll still love it in 10 years.
- Consider the source - how far did the countertop material have to travel? What are the working conditions there?
- Check VOC levels - some countertops may contain recycled materials, but what holds them together? What sort of sealer is applied? These glues and sealants may contain VOCs that ends up in the air inside your home.
There are so many choices when it comes to countertops. So which countertop materials are the greenest?
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