Tag Archives: eco-friendly

An Eco-Do: Getting Your ’Do Done at a Green Salon

by Ilaria3pl Posted on April 4, 2018

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Treating yourself to a cut and color feels luxurious and, sometimes, essential. The confidence boost that comes with a new ’do is priceless, and the blissful head-massage-meets-shampoo-services is icing on the cake.

Salons are bursting with styling tools, hair clippings, dyes and various other beauty products that need recycling, reuse or proper disposal. Considering our personal eco-friendly behavior is one thing, but larger-scale businesses like salons deal with a green dilemma, too. Efficient recycling, waste management and green actions are a common concern in the industry.

The salon industry in North America generates more than 400,000 pounds of waste every day.

How long will your hair dryer live if you use it, say, every other day? In salons, electronics like these are used much more frequently. The amount of electronics, shampoos and other environmental pollutants salons churn through is staggering.

Until recently, most salons were unsure of what to do with their excess.

Salons Go Sustainable

Green Circle Salons was born in 2009. The innovative company is focused on creating sustainable salons in North America, primarily through a green certification for salons that meet their recycling and waste-reduction standards.

Their efforts have diverted nearly 3 million pounds of waste from landfills so far, and they’re still going strong. Green Circle Salons are committed to recycling and reusing electronics, paper and plastic products, color by-product, aerosol cans, foils, and hair clippings. Green Circle collects these items from certified salons on a weekly basis, recycling and disposing of materials appropriately.

The company also encourages salons to cut down on water use, reduce energy with LED lights, and invest in organic tea and coffee for clients. Certified salons often implement water-saving faucets and eco-friendly cleaning products, too.

Instead of rinsing hazardous chemicals down the drain, they are sent to chemical waste plants. Foil, plastic and paper products are dutifully recycled, and collected hair clippings are used to make ultra-absorbent brooms to clean up oil spills.

In green salons, those hair clippings go to good use. Photo: Adobe Stock

Where Can I Find a Certified Salon?

Though the company is based in Canada, Green Circle Salons has certified thousands of green salons across North America.

Green Circle certified salons are a win-win — both stylists and clients can feel comfortable knowing they are supporting a sustainable business.

Any salon in North America can join the movement. It’s as simple as giving them a quick call or filling out their short online form. Once you’ve undergone a staff orientation, Green Circle Salons will send you everything you need to take eco-friendly initiatives at your salons. Recycling bins, bin labels and promotional materials will arrive on your doorstep in no time.

Becoming Green Circle certified does wonders for salons. Green-minded clients (like Earth911 readers) come running when it’s time for their next service.

The company has an online directory of certified salons, so you can easily find a green stylist in your area.

Convert Your Favorite Salon

If you notice your community is lacking in green salons, you don’t have to give up haircuts and let your locks grow to your knees.

Green Circle Salons trains teams of ambassadors to help get the word out about their green certification. With the public’s growing interest in sustainability, a business lacking an environmental impact plan is hopeless. It’s important for behind-the-times salons to learn about the benefits of becoming Green Circle certified.

Becoming an ambassador is simple. Anyone is eligible to sign up for the program on the website, go through a training session, and begin backing the company’s mission. They’ll arm you with the tools needed to motivate your favorite salons to go green, build revenue and gain eco-minded clients.

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Eco-Friendly Hair Dyes You Can Buy or Make Yourself

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An Eco-Do: Getting Your ’Do Done at a Green Salon

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An Eco-Do: Getting Your ’Do Done at a Green Salon

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Natural Stain Removers (and Why You Should Use Them)

by JaninaIhzxdcqf Posted on March 30, 2018

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Natural Stain Removers (and Why You Should Use Them)

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MIT just had a nuclear fusion breakthrough.

by TaraKillough604 Posted on March 9, 2018

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MIT just had a nuclear fusion breakthrough.

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Cape Town may have conserved enough water to avoid running out this year.

by FranklyPonce Posted on March 7, 2018

In a ruling this week, Judge William Alsup said that plaintiffs can sue greenhouse-gas emitters in federal court. That’s a big reversal. So far, the courts have held that it’s up to the EPA and lawmakers — not judges — to bring polluters into line.

In this case, the cities of Oakland and San Francisco sued a bunch of oil companies for contributing to climate change, raising sea levels and damaging their waterfronts. Because federal courts had previously said they wouldn’t regulate polluters, the cities were trying to move their lawsuit into the California court. If federal court wouldn’t punish polluters, the lawyers figured, maybe state court would.

Alsup denied the cities’ motion to move to state court. But instead of bowing to precedent and punting responsibility over to the EPA, he’s letting the lawsuit go to trial — in federal court.

“[The oil companies] got what they wanted; but they may be sorry they did,” said Ken Adams, lawyer for the Center for Climate Integrity, in a statement.

Of course, after opening this door, the courts could very well slam it shut again. The Supreme Court unanimously ruled in 2011 that it’s the job of Congress and regulators, not the court, to police emissions. But that decision concerned an American electric utility. Alsup said this case was different because the cities are suing international corporations.

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Cape Town may have conserved enough water to avoid running out this year.

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Get Ready for a Green Chinese New Year Celebration

by Jamie Cox Posted on February 12, 2018

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Get Ready for a Green Chinese New Year Celebration

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New U.S. Solar Tariff to Stall Solar Energy Growth

by CristinWroblews Posted on January 31, 2018

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New U.S. Solar Tariff to Stall Solar Energy Growth

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Predicting the Biggest Green Trend for 2018

by HomerPSCwxnsyw Posted on December 29, 2017

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Although Kermit the Frog once sang, “It’s not easy being green,” over the past decade, it sure has been cool to live green.

Ever since An Inconvenient Truth debuted in 2006, there seems to be one eco-friendly product or innovation that takes the U.S. by storm each year and enters the mainstream. In many cases, it’s a product that has been around for years that becomes popular due to legislation, lower prices or a scientific health study.

Even without a crystal ball, we can look at some of the green trends that appear to be on the rise heading into 2018.

What Makes a Green Trend?

In order to identify which green trend is about to take off, it’s helpful to look back at how previous green trends came to play. Here are the biggest green trends since 2007 and the trigger that started each:

Year
Green Trend
Cause(s)
Impact
2007
Compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFL)
Legislation, price
Highest U.S. CFL sales of all-time
2008
Proper disposal of medications
Scientific study
DEA starts national drug collection events
2009
Television recycling
Legislation
Consumers stop buying CRT screens and recycle old ones after digital switch
2010
Metal water bottles/ Bisphenol A (BPA)
Scientific study
Drop in reusable plastic water bottle sales due to BPA concerns
2011
Online shopping/
Cyber Monday
Price
Cyber Monday catches Black Friday for consumer interest in holiday shopping
2012
Hybrid/electric cars
Price
High gas prices, new models lead to 73 percent increase in hybrid sales over the previous year
2013
Fracking
Legislation, social media
New tech for acquiring natural gas leads to countless protests over environmental impact
2014
Farm-to-table food
General trend
Americans demand (and pay for) locally sourced foods
2015
Graywater
Legislation, natural disaster
California droughts make graywater a hot topic to water plants and grow crops
2016
Dakota Access Pipeline
Legislation, social media
Native American tribe protest goes viral on social media
2017
Flexitarianism
Scientific study
Documentaries like What the Health lead Americans to consider more plant-based diets

There’s no real pattern to discern from the past 11 years, other than the fact that these green trends were fueled by new laws, health studies, social media or a reduction in price. All of these circumstances are difficult to predict.

Candidates for 2018’s Greenest Trend

Before we crown a winner, here are a few contenders for the biggest green fad of 2018:

Companies embrace telecommuting: Yes, working from home already feels big, but only 3 percent of the U.S. workforce got to work from home in 2015. The environmental benefits are obvious, from reducing car emissions to limiting office waste. But companies are finally starting to see the cost savings in telecommuting, and as the unemployment rate falls, working remotely will be a top way to recruit new talent in industries like technology and health care. Expect to see fewer employees around the office next year, and for a positive reason.

Telecommuting will only rise in popularity in 2018. Photo: Adobe Stock

Emphasis on food product labeling: Consumers have already shown they want to know where their food comes from and its ingredients, but labels can tell so much more. The FDA will be requiring food manufacturers to print new nutrition labels starting in 2018 that provide a more accurate account of nutritional elements. Whole Foods has also announced that all its food products must provide genetically modified organisms (GMO) information on the label by September 2018. Expect to spend more time at the grocery store researching what goes in your body.

We’ll spend more time reading labels in the store in 2018. Photo: Adobe Stock

The solar revolution takes hold: Until recently, most of the investment in solar technology was restricted to commercial buildings and the richest homeowners. But the price of solar panels continues to fall, and it’s not just for buildings anymore. Some of the coolest innovations in electronics are due to solar power. Expect to see more solar-powered backpacks, watches and city trash cans, as Americans embrace the power of the sun.

Expect more roofs with solar panels this coming year. Photo: Adobe Stock

And the Winner Is . . .

Emphasis on food product labeling

This trend has everything consumers care about when it comes to green trends: government involvement, health concerns and even the price impact as health care cost increases necessitate better nutrition. Plus, in two of the past four years, the green trend was related to diet.

What do you think the big green trend will be this year? Let us know in the comments below.

Predicting the Biggest Green Trend for 2018

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Predicting the Biggest Green Trend for 2018

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Urban hunters are pretty delighted by the coyote takeover.

by AHVCarinatd Posted on December 27, 2017

It started with the cinematic, widely serenaded death of spunky little spacebot Cassini, closing out a 13-year mission to Saturn with a headlong dive into the planet’s gaseous atmosphere.

Meanwhile, back on a more familiar planet, an orbiting satellite named DMSP F19 quietly blinked out. The DMSP weather-tracking satellites have meticulously recorded Arctic sea ice coverage since 1978, which makes them one of our longest-running climate observations. But in 2015, Congress voted to mothball the last satellite in the series. Now, on the cusp of the biggest planetary shift humans have ever seen, we stand to lose one of our best means for understanding it.

Also this year, I started following LandsatBot, a project by Welsh glaciologist Martin O’Leary that tweets out random satellite views of Earth’s surface hourly. Like a geographic Chat Roulette, LandsatBot scratches the same imaginative itch that high-def images of Saturn’s rings do, but its alien views are all terrestrial. From satellite height, every landscape looks like an abstract painting, all fractal rivers and impressionist daubs of cloud.

These days, amidst an unending torrent of Game of Thrones gifs, signs of the end of democracy, and variations on that distracted boyfriend meme, I sometimes come across a Landsat image dropped without comment into the clutter. I stop and stare. Whether it’s an astroturf-green wedge of land somewhere in the Indonesian archipelago or the Crest-colored swirl of icy Antarctic seas, I try to imagine the world down there: A place I will probably never go, without landmarks or footprints, but irrevocably changed by us. Whether you recognize it or not, it’s home.

Amelia Urry is an associate editor at Grist.

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Urban hunters are pretty delighted by the coyote takeover.

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7 Laundry Hacks That Save Time, Money and the Planet

by MikelSlowik Posted on December 6, 2017

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Laundry is a drain on the modern green household. It sucks up energy, water, and time — three things very precious to any eco-warrior. Fortunately, technology has some excellent solutions to our laundry problems. Here are seven laundry hacks that help you make sure your washer and dryer are doing their part for the planet.

1. Upgrade to an Energy Star Model

If your current washer and dryer are more than 10 years old, upgrading them will save you significant time doing your weekly laundry and also reduce your utility bills. Energy Star–rated washers can reduce your water use by 45 percent and your energy use by 25 percent. An Energy Star–rated dryer will save you around $245 in energy costs over its lifetime. If upgrading isn’t an option yet, be conscientious about using your current washer’s settings correctly. If you have water level settings, make sure to set your washer to the lowest one. If not, always use the correct load size setting — small for small loads, medium for medium loads, and so on. You could save more than 1,200 gallons of water per year.

2. Wash Your Clothes in Cold Water

Almost 90 percent of the energy a washer needs is used to heat water. If you wash your clothes in cold water, you’ll cut down your energy use significantly and save $66 or more a year on your energy bill, depending on the amount of laundry you do. New high-efficiency (HE) washers clean just as effectively with cold water. Make sure to use a specially designed HE laundry detergent.

3. Select the Fastest Spin Speed

Choose the fastest spin speed your washer (and your clothes) can handle. The faster the washer spins, the more water is whisked out of the load, and the less time it needs to spend in the dryer. Be sure to use this for towels, if nothing else.

4. Take Advantage of Sensor Features

Load and moisture sensors will intelligently adjust your washer and dryer cycles. Load sensing assesses each load you put in the washer and determines how much water is needed to clean it properly. Similarly, moisture sensors are more efficient than setting a timer on your dryer. These sensors can tell when your clothes are dry and stop the machine, reducing your dryer’s energy use by about 15 percent.

5. Opt for Models That Use Less Water

Traditional top-loading washing machines fill up the entire tub with water and rub clothes against the agitator in the middle of the tub. New top-loader models don’t have an agitator — they flip and spin clothes through a stream of water instead of filling the whole tub, which significantly reduces water usage. Front-loading washers tumble clothes to clean them instead of using an agitator. Either option is an eco-friendly choice that will reduce the amount of water you use to do laundry.

6. Turn Down the Dryer Heat

Longer drying cycles on a low heat setting use less energy. Be sure to clean the filter in between loads to keep the dryer in top working order.

7. Toss a Tennis Ball into the Dryer

This old-school trick really works. When you’re drying large, bulky items — such as down comforters, jackets, blankets or pillows — throw in a couple of new tennis balls with the load. The balls bounce around in the dryer to separate the waterlogged, heavy material, which reduces drying time and energy usage.

Follow these laundry hacks to take advantage of today’s washer and dryer features that save time, energy and water for a super-green laundry routine.

Jennifer Tuohy is an earth-conscious mom who writes for The Home Depot on a variety of green, tech, and parenting topics. She provides advice on easy, simple ways to be greener when doing your laundry. To see a selection of Energy Star-rated washers and dryer like the ones Jennifer mentions in this article, visit The Home Depot here. 

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7 Laundry Hacks That Save Time, Money and the Planet

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How to Store Vegetables Without Plastic

by ElviraCrouch70 Posted on October 21, 2017

Bringing a reusable canvas?bag to the grocery store is a fantastic way to avoid sending plastic to the landfill on a regular basis. But what happens when you get all that delicious produce home? How do you keep it from going bad without using plastic wrap, plastic baggies or other types of packaging?

That’s right, we’re talking about zero waste food storage!

Stored in plastic, fruits and vegetables stay fresh for weeks. But the environmental footprint?that comes with using plastics?wildlife-destroying pollution, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, adding debris to landfills?makes?using plastic bags and wrappers far from eco-friendly.

Ready to kick your plastic habit? Here’s how to store every type of vegetable in your fridge without a single piece of plastic. Stored like this, your produce?should last for up to 2 full weeks!

Veggies by Type

Leafy Greens

Leafy greens are known for their tendency?to wilt or brown quickly. To keep your greens from spoiling too soon, first remove any tight bands or ties, then rinse and dry fully (these should not stay wet!) before wrapping loosely in a dry tea towel and placing uncrowded in the fridge. Kale, a hardier green, will stay crisp and full when placed in a cup of water like a bouquet in the fridge.

Bulb Vegetables

Bulb vegetables should always be stored in a cool, dark, dry place with good air circulation (a.k.a. a cellar or cool pantry). You can also store them?together with tubers in a thick paper bag, then place them in a cool area. A dark corner of the kitchen pantry?should work too!

Tubers

Store your tubers just like your bulb vegetables (see above), in a cool, dark location that has good air flow. What you?re trying to avoid is your potatoes getting too much sun and greening or growing eyes.

Fruit Vegetables

Fruit vegetables like bell peppers, cucumber and zucchini?have a tendency to mold, thanks to their high moisture?content. Only wash these vegetables right before you?re ready to eat them, as wetness will decrease your storage time.?Place?your?vegetables loose in the crisper if it?ll be a while before you use them, or leave them?on the counter for up to a week.

Inflorescents & Mushrooms

Inflorescent vegetables like broccoli or cauliflower should be put?in an open container or wrapped with a damp towel then placed in the fridge. However, they?will likely have the best flavor if used the day of! Mushrooms, on the other hand, should be stored in a paper bag in the fridge. Bonus tip: if they dry out before you use them, you can reconstitute with water!

Root Vegetables

Beets, carrots and the like, tend to wilt before they mold. No one wants a soggy carrot! To store properly, cut the tops off (leaving any top on root vegetables draws moisture away from the root, making them lose firmness) and then place in an open?container with a moist towel on top,?or dunk in cold water every few days to rehydrate.

How do you keep your vegetables fresh without using disposables?

Related:
Tips to Reduce Vitamin and Mineral Loss When Preparing Food
8?Tips for Keeping Vegetables Fresh Longer
Make Your Own Vegetable Broth

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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How to Store Vegetables Without Plastic

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