Keep Drinking Organic Milk: It’s Making a Difference

Organic farming is better for the environment than conventional farming: that much is already well known. But no one has actually put a number on just how many pounds of destructive chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been avoided thanks to a percentage of consumers choosing to buy organic food: until now.

The Organic Center, a non-profit based in Colorado, created a calculator that helped them determine that 40 million pounds of fertilizer was avoided in 2008 thanks to organic milk production in the U.S. The organization hopes that its Microsoft Excel-based calculator will be used by consumers, farmers and food companies to get an idea of how big an impact switching to organic can have.

From GreenBiz.com:

The 761,000 acres of organic feed cropland or organic pasture also dodged the use of 758,000 pounds of pesticides. Cows also given 1.7 million fewer drug treatments, including antibiotics and hormones.

There were roughly 120,000 milking cows on organic dairy farms in the U.S. last year, according to the Organic Center.

“This calculator gives us the means to uniformly measure the extent to which organic dairy operations prevent toxic materials from entering our air, water, soil, and in some cases, our food and drinking water,” Charles Benbrook, the Organic Center’s chief scientist, said in a statement.

Curious about how the calculator works? Check out the Organic Center’s report, “Shade of Green: Quantifying the Benefits of Organic Dairy Production.”

Of course, the chemical companies will probably figure out some way to spin this. Like the oil companies, they’re getting scared about the fact that public opinion is turning against them – so scared, they sent Michelle Obama a letter berating her for not using pesticides and chemical fertilizers in the White Houste veggie and herb garden. Amazing.

Link [GreenBiz.com]
Photo credit: Flickr User Royalty-Free Image Collection

Clothing Retailer H&M Boosts Organic Cotton Content

When you’re on a really tight budget and are sick of fruitlessly picking through thrift store racks, finding affordable organic clothing can be tough if not impossible. In such a scenario, it can be tough to pass up $6 t-shirts from places like Old Navy, until you really think about the pesticides and questionable labor practices – but not all “affordable” clothing chains are alike. Swedish retailer H&M, which is known for offering up-to-the-minute fashion at low prices, is getting in on the organic cotton game.

From Green Biz:

Since H&M first started slipping organic cotton into its products in 2004 it has quickly ramped up the amount of organic cotton in its offerings, and this year the clothing retailer plans to use 50 percent more organic cotton than last year.

In 2008 the company used about 3,000 tonnes (about 6.6 million pounds) of organic cotton, putting its goal for this year around at least 4,500 tonnes (almost 10 million pounds).

H&M took its first tentative steps into using organic cotton in 2004, using 5 tonnes (11,000 pounds) in children’s clothes, an amount that represented about 5 percent of the material in the clothes. The items were not labeled as containing organic cotton.

In 2007, H&M began releasing items made from 100% organic cotton as well as some that are a 50/50 blend of organic and conventionally grown cotton. This year, H&M also plans to integrate other alternative materials into its line, including polyester made from recycled plastic bottles and recycled polyester, as well as recycled cotton.

While H&M’s entire line isn’t organic (and I don’t know anything about their labor practices), it’s really encouraging to see a major retailer that caters to the non-green general public put some thought and effort into sustainability. Though these steps may not be enough to win over hardcore greenies, they’re a great way to introduce ecologically conscious clothing to the masses.

Link [Flickr user reiner.kraft

The Organic vs. Intensive Farming Debate

As consumers cut back on spending this year, will higher-priced organic foods look less appealing? In case you’re starting to hesitate in the grocery aisle, here’s a little refresher course on why organics are not only better for our bodies but also for our environment.

According to IFOAM,

organic agriculture:

• enhances soil structures
• conserves water
• mitigates climate change
• ensures sustained biodiversity

conventional agriculture:

• employs harmful inorganic fertilizers, herbicides and insecticides
• increases the suffocation of aquatic plants and animals due to rapid growth of algae
• spreads toxic dosages of herbicides and insecticides up the food chain to humans

Natural, Organic, Ecocert – Which Eco-Labels Can You Trust?

In a society where greenwashing is rampant, it’s easy for well-meaning people to simply trust that the labels on the products they’re buying actually mean something.  By now, there are so many ‘eco-labels’ out there that purportedly certify products as safe and natural, it can get pretty confusing as to what they even mean.  While you definitely shouldn’t trust a product that merely calls itself ‘natural’ without any kind of certification, an official-looking seal doesn’t necessarily make the product all that great either. So, which ones can you trust? The Daily Green has taken a comparison created by David Bronner of Dr. Bronner’s castile soap fame and added text that explains them.

From The Daily Green:

USDA “Organic” – ***** (5 Stars)
When you see the word “organic” you know what it means. U.S. standards back it up. If the entire product is labeled USDA Organic it contains at least 95% organic ingredients, and any ingredients that aren’t organic are included only because organic versions don’t exist in a commercially viable quantity or quality. If the labels says “made with organic,” it has at least 70% organic ingredients.

As Bronner writes, these products have “no synthetic preservatives or petrochemicals” and the statements on labels are backed up with “rigorously enforced compliance.”

NSF ***+ (3.5 Stars)
NSF International, a U.S. not-for-profit, develops standards and certification for products. Its rating system is a “responsible compromise” between the makers and consumers of products and the cosmetics industry, according to Bronner. It allows a few synthetic preservatives that are identical to compounds found in nature, according to Bronner.
The rest of the certifications rated include ‘Natural Products Association’, ‘Ecocert’, ‘Certified Natural Cosmetics’ and four more.

Check out The Daily Green for the full list!

Link [The Daily Green]

Meatspace Tees: Eco-Friendly Ink on Organic T-Shirts

If you’re looking for some badass new t-shirts to add to your closet, Meatspace Tees has just what you need.  The new company is the project of our very own Shea Gunther, so naturally there’s a green angle.  Shea, a longtime eco-entrepreneur, combined his love of screenprinting with his green sensibilities to create awesome t-shirt designs like the one pictured above (which is my favorite for obvious reasons).

The details on Meatspace Tees’ green cred:

We only print on American Apparel’s 100% organic cotton shirts, made in downtown LA by well compensated workers with better healthcare than we have.

We one print with green ink- the Gen IV ink series from International Coatings does not contain PVC, Phthalates, Organo-Tin Compounds, AZO, Heavy Metals, PCP, APEO, Poly Chlorinated Biphenyls, or Pesticides. It blows my mind that regular (and cheaper) plastisol inks have all of those ingredients.

We buy wind credits to offset 100% of our energy use from our office and shop as well as from all our travel.

We include wind credits in the sale of every shirt to offset the emissions used in shipping it from us to you.

We use all natural citrus based cleaners and supplies in the shop. Our ink cleans up with just water, removing the need for nasty solvent cleaners used in standard plastisol printing.

Shea’s commute to the Meatspace Office: walking downstairs. Miles driven: 0.

We only have things shipped to our shop via Ground and we buy wind credits to offset the impact

We recycle like fiend

Tidal turbines turns us on.

Gotta love it when you can find t-shirts with slogans like ‘To the Blog Cave!’ AND they’re green.  Meatspace Tees is also home to the one and only sanctioned Nerdfighters t-shirt. Check out all the designs at MeatspaceTees.com!

Link [Meatspace Tees]

Uh…What’s That Green Shit… On Your…Head?

Our young and hip editorial intern Caroline will be taking a skewed view of the world of of green products and consumers with this series Uh… What’s That Green Shit…. Enjoy!

Physician’s Formula is coming out with the first ever line of EcoCert Certified makeup in the U.S. The makeup is organic, vegan (except for the goat-hair brushes) 100% paraben free, recyclable, and will be widely available in stores like Walgreens. Only downside is that they used this ridiculous, freaky-ass swamp woman in the promotions. She looks like she’s wearing this pea-pod haloween costume snuggly my crack-head friend’s baby mama used to dress their kid in all the time. I like organic make-up, but am i gonna cover my damn head in leaves? Bitch, please.