eco trendy at hot docs

Topping the list of North America's largest documentary festival - the 2009 Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto - is "The Cove," spotlighting the annual slaughter of more than 2,500 dolphins in Japan.

171 films from 39 countries will be screened at the 16th annual festival, 9 of which are environmentally-charged. "Waterlife" profiles the beauty and toxicity of the Great Lakes, while "End of The Line" delivers a disturbing wakeup call about humanity's overconsumption of fish.

"H2Oil" is an eye-popping exploration into the impact of the Alberta's Athabasca oil sands.

More from Constance Droganes, entertainment writer at CTV.ca>

pets count too

Fido and Fluffy may not care about stepping lighter on the earth, but you do, so are 6 simple ways to 'green' your pet:

1) biodegradable poop bags - we like Scoopies the best

2) natural cat litter - try World's Best Cat litter, made from whole-kernel corn

3) already destined for the bin 'toys' - tinfoil balls, old rope and tennis balls, milk cap rings, torn socks, wine corks

4) natural foods, made from real ingredients, not fillers - pets say Innova is yummy

5) spay or neuter - pet overpopulation is a serious environmental and economic problem, not to mention sad as hell when pups and kittens end up paying the price

6) grow organic catnip or cat grass - easy, and she'll love you more than ever!

For more tips, check out Eco Dog by Corbett Marshall
and Jim Deskevich!

all natural green eco recycled stuff

Greenwashing is the new price chopping. Underhanded, unethical practices meant to increase sales. Walmart has been there, done that when they cut prices so low in the 90s that smaller businesses simply could not keep up. They closed, and Walmart raised its prices.

Now, every company and their brother is determined to get on the green bandwagon. Things they didn't care about 5 years ago (recycling), things people were laughed out of boardrooms for even mentioning (less packaging), these are now things entire departments are dedicated to promoting.

Green product packaging - and I mean the color green, not the make-up of the packaging itself - is a proven way to convince us that whatever is inside is good for the planet. Slap an "all-natural" or "eco-friendly" tag on that and you'll have us salivating for more.

To illustrate:

The Amazing Dryer Ball of infomercial fame

becomes Nellie's Dryer Balls. Same product, same plastic, still made in China.



The fact is, there are no regulatory bodies to approve these claims (such as the ones that monitor and enforce nutritional labels on packaging). Anyone can claim their product is somehow "green," and the worst part is, it takes away from businesses that are actually offering honest eco-friendly products and packaging.

So be careful out there.

Thanks to Andrew Kinnear and his post Green, Leafy, Eco, Enviro, logo design for the great compilation of logos.

fly and buy carbon passes, suzuki tells ed

Ed Begley Jr. that is, star of Living with Ed. Catherine Porter reports back from the Green Toronto Awards last night, kick-off to the Green Living Show here in Toronto:

Green living isn't just a hobby for Begley. It's an informed passion. Just ask him about water quality, and he will spout off words like trichloroethylene, an industrial solvent used as a degreaser found today in groundwater. He agrees that the science on climate change is daunting, and the planet's prognosis is bleak without an all-out commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions (by something like 90 per cent in Canada).

He doesn't expect everyone to get solar panels. Start small, he says. With an energy audit. Maybe some more insulation in your home, so you don't leak carbon-fuelled energy. It will save you money, he says. And get you hooked – so soon, you'll be like him, buying an electric car and brewing up your own all-natural household cleaners.

But what about all that flying? Airplane travel is for carbon junkies. Each round-trip flight Begley takes spews out carbon equivalent to the emissions he saves with two months' worth of solar power generated on his roof. And he takes dozens of flights a year now.

"I didn't fly throughout the 1990s," he said. "But then my friend David Suzuki said, `I think you should start flying and buy Terrapasses (carbon offsets). It's more important that you get the message out there.'"

Read article >

beyond the shopping bag

Finally! reusable options for things we toss every day.

Sandwich Bags
snackTAXIs are a great alternative to plastic bags and wraps, especially when just one reusable bag has the potential to eliminate an average of 1000 plastic bags over its lifetime! snackTAXIs are lined with coated nylon, and can be machine washed and dried, or simply wiped clean with a damp sponge.

Chopsticks
bambu's snapstix are made from organic bamboo and they're chopsticks and a chopstick rest all in one snap. Both the snapstix and the rest pop back into the cheerfully designed sleeve for easy storage.

Tampons
Jade & Pearl's 'Sea Pearls' are sea sponge tampons containing no dioxin or synthetic fibers. Sustainably harvested and reusable for three to six months or more, Sea Pearls are economical, easy to use, and earth friendly. We were surprised to learn they've been selling them since 1974!

Cloth Produce Bags
There's nothing funny about a cloth grocery bag filled with plastic bags of produce :> Happily, Blue Skies Yoga carries cloth produce bags made of a unbleached, lightweight cotton that barely weighs on the produce scale.

Plantable Paper
Botanical Paperworks creates beautiful stationary and cards made from 100% post-consumer waste collected from local businesses. The paper is embedded with wildflower seeds, that bloom when planted. Eco and easy!

9 things people do...

...to feel less-guilty on Earth Day:

1. take public transit (and ask the driver how much it costs)

2. use a travel coffee mug (and ask if there's a discount)

3. plant a tree (with the help of local kids who know what to do)

4. buy organic produce (and balk at the cost and vibrant colors)

5. pick up litter (as long as it's not too dirty)

6. put batteries aside for disposal (instead of in the garbage)

7. wear green (st. paddy's day was last month?)

8. whip out the credit card and donate to an eco-charity online

9. drive the fam to an earth-day event (if the irony is lost...)

bank the rest

Thanks Ecoki for this great post on reducing paper consumption in one easy step: internet banking. Get and pay your bills online to save paper, stamps, and envelopes, not to mention time.

Never miss a deadline with automatic payments, and stash away savings without doing anything with an automatic withdrawal program (hello compound interest)!

Ecoki also points us to PayItGreen's “financial paper footprint” calculator, which can tell you how many trees you'll save, and the equivalent savings of miles driven in your car.

Bank away!

damn you sticky note papers

Whilst tearing off a small canary yellow piece of paper from it's sticky home to apply to a document (with a thrilling "Please Approve" message for a colleague), I got to wondering just how many of these little sticky notes I waste per year.

So I did some calculating and concluded about 2080 pieces (100 sheets per pad x 1 pad every 2.5 weeks). I felt guilty, then found this reusable post-it idea at Halfbakery (with some pretty colorful comments); I started feeling really guilty, until this colossal waste of thousands of post-its made me feel better.

resisting the squeeze

Lays off, cut backs, bail outs. The list goes on, but business is still hanging on to green ... but for how long?

Trend-watcher eMarketer reports that polls from the American Marketing Association and Fleishman-Hillard show that companies are still investing in green projects and products—and they want their customers to know it. Yet, when asked if consumers would pay more for green products now, only 40% agreed.

As for them, over half surveyed said that sustainability is an essential element of their company’s reputation. What's worse, the survey showed that even popular sustainability programs, such as recycling and electric energy efficiency, were embraced by only a minority of businesses, 36% and 20%, respectively.

eMarketer's round up? Green marketing is good, but no one can be certain whether—under continuing pressure from the economy—it will wilt.

but where would the magnets go?

Could you live without a fridge? Torontonian Andrea Peloso turned hers into a storage cupboard two years ago.

And apparently she's not the only one. Do some searching online, and you'll find hundreds of blog posts and articles on the subject. Aside from the obvious energy savings, many fridge-free-ers report better eating habits (fresh produce, less processed junk), although some admitted that they ate out a lot more.

Eco-blogger Vanessa Farquharson talks about some unique solutions in this article from Eye Weekly, like storing wine bottles in the toilet tank, and switching to almond milk, which lasts unrefrigerated for 3 days.

"Greenpa" fancies himself as having lived "ultra"-green for the past 31 years. He uses solar electricity, a composting toilet, and hunts, gathers and gardens for food, and covers it all on his Little Blog In The Big Woods.

Greenpa points out that, while a lot of people are anti-anti-fridge, it's actually quite simple to live without one, particularly if you live in the city where it's easy to pop out for some meat or cold beer.

He raises a good point about the luxury foods we all keep around too, like ice cream and pop: "Would you be better off if they weren't so handy? If you're like me, if the ice cream is there- I'll eat it. Then buy more. How much of our obesity epidemic is due to having a handy supply of treats in the fridge- all the time?"

Why not unchain yourself from the thought that you have to have a full-size fridge, and downsize to a bar fridge, or unplug altogether. If you need more inspiration, check out the iGreen concept kitchen over at Apartment Therapy's re-nest. Awesome!

recycled denim insulation

Square One Shopping Centre will be collecting used denim during its Project Denim drive which runs from April 22nd til 25th in the Centre Court of the mall. The collected denim will then be recycled into home insulation for Mississauga's first Habitat for Humanity home, scheduled to begin construction later this month.

Those who donate denim will receive a $5 Square One gift certificate and receive a sample for an environmentally-friendly liquid laundry product.

More info here

a greener easter

Why is it that whenever a holiday comes around, we go into extreme buy / trash mode (I'm looking at you Christmas). This Easter, give Mother Nature a break with these alternatives.

*Tiffany over at NatureMomsBlog has some great tips, like making your own baskets (with real grass!) and dyeing your (free-range) eggs with food you already have around the house (blueberries, spinach).

*As for the hunt, who wants a yard - or house - full of cheap, sugary eggs? The kids do! If you don't want to give this tradition up, look for eggs that have the least amount of packaging. Try to find fair trade and/or organic if they're chocolate. Or get reusable eggs that open (I've seen ones made from bamboo!) and fill them with almonds, raisins, or coins.

*If you fancy yourself a crafty type, hop on over to our new favourite site This Recycled Life for some 'upcycled' decorating ideas.

*When family comes calling, serve local farmers' fare if possible. Easter is also a perfect time to start new traditions, like planting a tree or volunteering together.

*Last but not least, send a smile with Easter e-cards - green AND free!

eco-trends spawn eco-phrases

The Korea Times posted an article today on some of the top Eco-Trends of the Year, sourced from leading international trend firm, trendwatching.com.

Among them, Eco-Edu (teaching green) and Eco-vertising. An excerpt:

Advertising has also joined the green trend, with many companies focusing on how to attract as many consumers as possible but not splurging on, or wasting energy.

Curb, "a natural media company," offers unique ways to advertise its clients by only using sustainable media, that includes sand, grass and even snow. Many companies have jumped into this green ad campaign, including sports brands Nike and Adidas, and even local car manufacturer Kia.

Kia joined Curb and carried out a green advertisement campaign, drawing pictures and the logo of their vehicle ``Soul'' on walls and sidewalks.

By drawing pictures and carving the logos of companies in an eco-friendly way, consumers are informed, the clients get to advertise their brands and the world gets greener all at once.

good for the earth, good for the wallet

If you haven't heard of Jeff Yeager, you probably live braver than I, sans television. Dubbed the ultimate cheapskate, Jeff's proof that living cheap is good for the pocketbook, the earth, and your life (spend less, work less).

Jeff's website is a goldmine of tips, tricks, and plain common sense. If you haven't given up the dryer yet, give up lint for Lent might be just the kick you need. Love lentils? He's an big advocate, and has even caused quite a little stir.

Jeff's now got his own blog over at The Daily Green. An excerpt from Give Up Credit Cards for One Week, and See How Much You'll Save:

Studies have shown that we are, on average, two to three times more likely to purchase an item when we're using a credit card rather than paying with cash. We're also willing to pay, on average, thirty percent more for the same item when paying by credit card. That's how much the credit card skews our critical judgment when we go shopping.

The consequences of buying something on credit, of going in debt, seem remote, almost like we're spending Monopoly money. It causes us to buy things we can't afford and often don't even want. Credit cards trigger what I call "Debtor's Dementia," a delusional state in which debt begins to seem natural, and where a few thousand dollars in credit card debt starts to make things like taking out a second mortgage on your house or borrowing money to buy a new car you can't afford seem like reasonable things to do.