The Conscious Consumer

Preserve® Products for the Disposable Society

2009-10-28T15:45:00.000-07:00

Disposable Society is a label that clearly defines the affluence of American life in the past century, particularly post-World War 2.

My great respect for saving and conserving comes from the influence of my family, especially my Nana. She was an old-school Irish immigrant to the United States. She came here at 17 years of age, worked hard at three jobs as a domestic. Married soon after arriving, she continued to work and raise nine children on her own as she was widowed very early. She lived through the Great Depression. She knew about conserving resources and she made those resources stretch far to meet the needs of her family. Can't tell you how scolding she would be toward us with regard to opening presents - that Christmas wrapping paper had to beatify many, many gifts! Way into her 80's she had the speed of a 20-year old, when given access to the shopping cart, armed with all the coupons she ransacked the Sunday papers for.

All three of my parents (mom, dad and step-mom) also struggled - and continue to in today's economy - to make due with limited resources. Much of their influence has carried over in me (both genetically and through socialization). I revel to find uses for what most people wouldn't think twice about throwing out (old packaging, "twisties", envelopes, cardboard, jars...). So recycling and reusing has been the modus operendi of my life long before it became "in" to be "Green." I am not unique in this regard since all these personality traits (or quirks) manifesting through us long-time conservers have made their way to mainstream - with great impact! When I find companies that "get it," and continue to grow with these values and innovation in preservation, it makes it easy to "feel good" about and "do good" with purchasing from them.

One such company is called Preserve® . I had seen their razors and toothbrushes at Whole Foods Markets and decided to give them a try. Why theirs? Not only are these items produced with recycled plastic, Preserve® provides postage paid envelops at the location where you purchase the products (you might have to ask customer service for them) so that you can mail them back when you have used them up (or had your fill) - so they don't end up in the landfill or floating toward some remote island in the Pacific killing off the wildlife. I've been using them for a few years now and still love the quality.

Recently, I had gone to their website and saw that they are now setting up #5 plastics recyclable stations at Whole Foods Markets. And just in case you move or your area does not recycle #5 plastics, you can ship them to Preserve®. They are working in conjunction with Brita® (a Clorox company) with recycling Brita® water filters. Kudos to Clorox as well!

In addition to these personal care products, Preserve® also offers plastic tableware and - I just discovered their new Kitchen items - colanders, mixing bowls, cutting boards, measuring cups....can't wait to see how they continue to evolve!

Preserve Products has earned my support and admiration!

Check them out, and the next time you want to change your toothbrush or disposable razor, take a moment to consider where that "throw away" is going, and know that there is a better way, a better product and better outcome for us all.

Corporate "Green" - a "growing" critical personal perspective

2009-10-27T16:16:00.000-07:00

I had originally posted this in my notes on Facebook, but thought it would fit here...

I need to express a "growing" concern I have been dealing with lately; one that I need to address personally and why I am writing about it.

I have been a supporter of the "Green" movement. The principles of organic production, sustainability of resources, and the respect of natural processes (both in nature and our own) are very important to me and in how I wish to live my life.

With this movement comes the corporate infrastructure. The ideology of corporations is bottom line profit. Nothing wrong with this ideology at all - hence why I am quite conservative in certain arenas of politic. Whole Foods Market is a great case study to see how well a corporation, which upholds and nurtures "green" ideology, does while keeping with the corporate ideology of profit. From the beginning, Whole Foods has been exceedingly high-priced. Its primary justification is "specialty" Supply and Demand. So the Green Movement generates a lot of "green" when it goes corporate despite the fact that overall it costs less to produce most of these "specialties". With the growing demand, the prices have not reduced - to the contrary they have been increasing. The specialty bandwagoneers are ever-increasing (demand driven), while the packaging is getting more and more "pretty", the amount of real quality and quantity (Supply - once you remove the creative marketing glitz) is highly imbalanced.

One specific area of focus is produce. Whole Foods carries conventional produce. They even carry a fair supply of local. They pride themselves on "organic". This is where I need to stop and say, okay I spend the "extra" money to get a product produced according to values I uphold and quality I want to consume. But Whole Foods as of late has been offering some really "green" organic - let me spell it out - Corporate Green has turned into Corporate Greed for Green - it is selling high-priced "green" produce. Organic means to abide by natural process...so picking produce while it is green and marking it up as organic is nothing, but corporate greed (and who wants to consume that?). With my work schedule it is difficult to get to the farmers markets which I love and whole-heartily support. So I have been electing to shop at the next best alternative based upon convenience - the Whole Foods Market right up the street. One - two bags of groceries (mainly produce, dairy, legumes and grains) costs about $80-100 (no joke).

One more issue I have with Whole Foods Market is that it was never satisfied with being one among the growing green markets - it had to be the only one. They have made a huge dent with taking over many of the original natural food chains and responsible for the closure of many of the local "mom and pop" natural pantries. The farmer's markets are a beautiful example of "good" business. You deal directly with the growers - who are people (not bureaucracy) just like you and me - who are intimate with and immediately accountable for what they've got to offer. They want to give you the best, because their livelihood depends upon it. They know the next booth over will ensure that they stay true to what's good - because they know the next table has a draw for my attention. When the grower isn't organic- certified, you can learn about what their practices and philosophies are in the process of what they produce. Most of those I've encountered are probably more "green" in perspective and practice than the ones who are out picking their "organic" product early in order to supply Whole Foods demands for more more more.

With all this said, I will continue to take the time to remedy these concerns, by taking back this final bag of "green" produce (Bartlett pears from the state of Washington) which have yet to ripen in more than a week of purchase. I will forfeit convenience to support what is good for myself and others.

It's a shame to have to admit that "green" and "greed" are so closely related words, but it's a cold, hard bottom line (cha ching)!

Stay true.

One more from Aquasana

2008-04-04T17:52:00.000-07:00

Drugs in drinking water causes a frenzy with consumers.

With all the media focus on the recent testing of major municipal

water supplies and the realization that most, if not all, contain numerous

prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals… our Aquasana call center

has been overwhelmed. These compounds obviously pose significant

health concerns and should not be ingested.

The question of the day is "Does Aquasana remove these pharmaceuticals?"

While the answer is yes, it also calls for an explanation. There are no

current test standards for "pharmaceutical" and therefore there are

no certifications offered for the removal of these contaminants.

However, most good quality home water filters will filter them out.

According to the U.S. EPA, the vast majority of these compounds

are Synthetic Organic Chemicals (SOCs) and/or Volatile Organic

Chemicals (VOCs). Consumers should look for filters that are

certified for VOCs, THMs and Chloroform as these are

representative of the vast majority of prescription drugs.

Aquasana is certified for all 3.

Drugs get into our water supplies from recycled waste water

and livestock run-off. Standard municipal water treatment does

not remove them and therefore they are in most tap water and

should be removed at the point of use.

Aquasana Water Filtration System by Sun Water Systems

2007-11-16T09:48:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share a life-enhancing offer from Sun Water Systems.

I had done a little research a couple years ago on water systems since LA water quality sucks. Sometime afterwards my folks asked what I had wanted for Christmas and so I mentioned Aquasana water filters. I've been using the kitchen filter for over a year now and just short of a year using the shower head filter - I love them both!

The cost savings compared to the price of bottled water or delivered service is a benefit worth noting. A reduction of landfill plastic is another type of savings, but so is the fact that you won't be drinking water that has plastic leached into it. Some other benefits I've noticed are that my hair doesn't bleach out or get stripped from the chlorine and my skin doesn't chafe like it used to due to the healthier flora. It's nice to be able to clean fruit and veggies with filtered water especially since I buy organic produce, it stands as ridiculous to wash them with bleach and chemically-laden water. It is just plainly convenient to have cooking and drinking water right at the kitchen tap.

As a yogini, I perform a technique called jala neti (nasal irrigation) and it is so much easier being able to do this is shower. Before I had the shower filter, I would have to warm up bottled water (steam-distilled) and then perform the process over the sink. Needless to say - this has made jala neti very practical.

The installation of the filters is easy and if you sign up for the "Water for Life" program, the warranty lasts forever. The replacement filters are shipped every six months and if for any reason you need replacement parts (O-rings, etc.) they ship them straight-away.

If you live in a metropolitan area -you really should take some time to check out the reports on the quality of your city's water. For most of you it will serve as a very enlightening endeavor - if you find it too disturbing - you might want to check out your options.

Glad Rags

2006-07-30T14:32:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd start with a (radical?) product that a man will need not concern himself with since this one is just for those few of us still "on the rag!"; those who are unashamed nor inconvenienced by the natural processes and rhythms of life. For the rest of the women too inconvenienced by Nature - you can always continue polluting not only your body, but our planet. I'll stick with glad rags versus happy pills (like YAZ which promise to shorten if not eradicate the menses altogether - a costly propaganda) and convenience products like Kotex and Tampex which are chemically-treated, require landfill deposal, and have high recurrence of resource and production impact.

These gals at Glad Rags have brought back the art of womanhood and made it environmentally-friendly. I have used the rags for over 2 years now. At first it was a little costly ($10 for a pack of 2 pad sets) in investment, but considering the re-usablility it has paid for itself and then some. The process may take a little getting used to, but I found it to be worth it. Following their suggestions, I use the soak water to feed my plants since the blood is quite rich in minerals. I prefer rags to plugs (always have), but for those who prefer the plugs to the rags, they have menstrual cups. Keep an open mind! I did and haven't regretted it one bit.

Hint you can also make your own to suit you better. The design is easy.