nellie's sets laundry straight

Fans of Nellie's will jump with joy (well, about as much as one can muster about laundry) over their new metal tin packaging, replacing a combination of paper and plastic.

According to Nellie's, 'iron and steel are the world's most recycled materials and among the easiest materials to reprocess.' They look pretty cool on the shelf too.

On the burning question of liquid vs. powder, here is their response:

Liquid detergents are made up from at least 50% water. At Nellie's we don't think selling you water and moving water around the planet is a very good idea. The fact is, more cleaning power can be packed into a smaller space using powder.

Not exactly well put - but they have a point.

i search, therefore i'm green

"A single Google query consumes as much energy as an 11-watt light bulb does in one hour."

This according to the home page for Znout, an free Google-based search site. Znout says their search engine turns your "web searches into green web searches," by measuring the energy consumption of their servers, plus emissions from the network infrastructure, plus the energy consumption of your own computer.

Then they purchase renewable energy certificates (similar to carbon credits) to balance out the environmental footprint caused by searching. Apparently, this in itself makes your searches "eco-friendly."

Forestle - another "green search engine" based with Yahoo - donates all profits to the "Adopt an Acre" program of The Nature Conservancy, which uses this money for the sustainable protection of rainforests.

Sounds simple. But, like the debate over carbon offsetting (why are we not trying to reduce emissions instead?), it's not.

Both sites bear the logo "Green Certified Site" - a product of C02 stats, which charges between $10-100 a month in exchange for a logo that says your site is "carbon neutral and energy-efficient."

But hey, what's Google doing about the environment anyway? Search away! Ecocho | Blackle | EcoSeek

way better than sunday school

TerraChoice Environmental Marketing, brainchild behind the Sins of Greenwashing reports, has launched an online game to encourage consumers to make smarter, greener purchasing choices - and avoid the Seven Sins of Greenwashing.

“Name that Sin” is a custom-built Flash application that challenges players with a variety of multiple choice questions, such as identifying a legitimate eco-label from a fake one.

Other questions ask players to select the correct “Greenwashing Sin” that a product claim is committing. The game is designed to play more than once, with new questions added each time.

So go on! Play it now at sinsofgreenwashing.org or on Facebook.

4 ounces of fun in the sun

Congrats go out to C. Matthews of Ottawa, ON, who won the random drawing today for sunscreen from Kiss My Face.

Thanks go out to all of those who entered with their fabulous summer green tips!

a rose by any other name

Everyone needs some time off in the summer, and the team here at footprint is no exception. After some much needed sunshine (avec sunscreen of course!) we're back and eager to bring you more light steps.

Speaking of vacations, one of us had a nasty dining surprise when she found out that her beloved pan-seared Chilean sea bass is actually the Antarctic toothfish - over-fished, and endangered.

Mainly caught in the Ross Sea, Antarctica, industrial fishing for this key predatory fish started in 1996 with New Zealand and now includes a dozen nations.

Though the industry maintains that the fishing pressure has not yet caused irreparable harm to the ecosystem, reports indicate that the fishing already has already had a dramatic impact.

The Ross Sea ecosystem, the last healthy open-ocean ecosystem left on earth, is in immanent danger.

So what's a girl to do?

Stop eating Chilean sea bass for one (try this seafood selector from the Environmental Defense Fund), and start supporting organizations like The Last Ocean Project, who is giving the Ross Sea a voice.

boreal forests 1: kleenex 0

Yesterday, the Kimberly-Clark Corporation - maker of Kleenex, Scott and Cottonelle tissues - announced it will change production standards to increase forest conservation due to pressure from a five year Greenpeace campaign called Kleercut.

At a news conference in Washington DC, Greenpeace and Kimberly-Clark announced this historic agreement that will ensure greater protection and sustainable management of Canada's Boreal Forest. The agreement also will stand as a model for forest-products companies worldwide.

Kimberly-Clark is the largest global tissue producer, manufacturing more than 4 million tons of tissues annually. They had formerly used virgin fibers to produce the single-use tissue materials.

By the end of 2011, Kimberly-Clark will stop using any forest products derived from the Canadian boreal unless that wood is Forest Stewardship Council certified, and the company will ensure that 40% of its North American tissue fiber is either recycled or Forest Stewardship Council-certified, an increase of more than 70% over 2007 levels.

From Richard Brooks, Greenpeace Canada’s forest campaign coordinator:

Today’s announcement shows that perseverance and dedication can achieve great environmental victories even after many years of campaigning.

I expect to a large ripple effect from this policy and its implementation for years to come. We have moved a mountain and that is going to have impacts around the world.