Green Toe

A while back I gushed a bit about Simple’s fresh, new, more environmentally responsible approach to shoe making. Well since then, I went and bought myself a new pair of shoes! I hadn’t planned this, but within days of my last post about Simple, my boyfriend found a Simple deal online (yep, he is a professional online shopper, and I am so grateful because I am absolutely not one)… It seemed almost serendipitous, so I went and investigated. The deal was, spend over $25 and get a pair of Stitch It’s FREE. In my search I found these Green Toe sneakers, which in concept are very exciting. Plus, they are pretty cute, don’t you think? So far, I like ‘em…

• Organic cotton/linen, printed wool, and wool felt uppers
• Bamboo lining
• Cushioned felt heel pad
• Molded latex outsole
• Rubbahyde rand (what’s a rand? and rubbahyde??)
• Unfinished brass hardware
• Jute laces
• Removable natural latex pedbed with a cotton canvas cover
• Natural crepe rubber midsole
• All held together by water based cements
• Shipped with 100% post consumer paper pulp foot form

You can almost eat ‘em.

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Co-op Project

We have a new co-op in town, which is an exciting addition after our longtime local healthfood store went out of business. I had a request recently for reusable produce and bulk bags, as a friend of mine who works there knows I like to sew. She saw a customer using a cloth bag for her produce and felt like something similar would be a nice addition to the store. This is what I have made up so far. The image above is my display.

The sizes range from about 4″ x 5″ for little things like spices and herbs, up to as large as a full size produce bag. They are made of natural cotton muslin, which is unbleached and undyed (with one made of recycled red calico cotton thrown in for fun). The muslin is a sturdy yet lightweight fabric. There is a cotton twill tape tie stitched into the seaming, so there is no need for those wasteful twisty ties either.

I look forward to washing a set for myself and putting them to use next shopping trip. No more digging around in the piles of used baggies and twisties! And when needed, I can simply throw them in the washer. How is that for a bit of eco satisfaction : )

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Reduce

Through the years I have intentionally simplified my life down, on every level I can. In a society where excess is the norm, and in many cases encouraged, it is a sure challenge. Considering the critical state of the planet and all the creatures that live here, this may be the worthiest challenge I can think of.

I thought it would be interesting, both for myself and for whoever might stumble upon this, to list all the ways I can think of where we have reduced here in our home and in our lives – lightened up our impact and limited down our consumption. The idea is to inspire further efforts. The idea is to ultimately live harmoniously with the planet and everything that lives on it. I think it is important to act as though everything we do matters to the life of another living being – because it really, really does.

R E D U C I N G  it down, to a list…

• We drive only 2-3 times a month
• We only flush when needed (it is really less times a day than you might think!)
• We eat whole foods rather than packaged foods where ever possible, which allows us to buy much of our food in bulk
• We eat organically grown foods, almost only
• We eat fruit instead of fruit juice
• We buy bulk tea instead of tea bags (no need for box, tea bag package, tea bag, tag)
• We are vegetarian (it is stunning, the ratio of resources used to resource output in the meat industry)
• We have a water filtration system (no landfill filling plastic water bottles!)
• We compost
• We recycle everything we can
• We reuse what packaging is suitable for things like shipping materials (those awful plastic blister packs make great padding!)
• We shop at thrift stores almost exclusively. There are SO many useful things that people get rid of.
• What we do not buy at the thrift store we buy from small organic businesses (Check out VitalBodies.com for a great selection of carefully chosen organic bedding, towels, water filtration and other such sustainable household items).
• Our home is filled with natural materials and fibers, which means everything in it will biodegrade! Oh, how I love this!
• We use biodegradable, non-toxic cleaners
• We do not watch TV or movies (if you think about it, this really does fit on this list!)
• We have a “bug cup” with which we take spiders, flies, moths, and other creatures that get into our home, back outside so they can find what they need (often moths cannot seem to make their way back out). Nothing is squashed, flicked or swatted in our house.
• We bring our own cloth bags (some of which I made myself out of recycled fabrics) when we shop for food. Since we only shop once or twice a month, this requires a lot of bags! I forget every now and then and it is always stunningly A M A Z I N G how many bags just ONE TRIP OUT accumulates.
• I will add to this list as I can…

We often talk about “the things of things of things…” when you have things, it usually requires more things to maintain, update, coordinate with, recycle, get rid of, transport, etc those things, if you know what I mean. Less truly becomes more, as there is more time and energy for more useful, progressive, healthy endeavors.

I would love to hear ideas about how others reduce and give back to the earth. Comments are sincerely welcome.

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For the Love of Hemp

I Love hemp! It is an amazing plant in almost any way you could possibly think of. As a plant, it grows remarkably fast, making it highly sustainable. It is resistant to pests, which means it does not require pesticides for healthy growth. It is an incredibly versatile plant and all of it’s parts can be utilized. The seed is delicious, edible and highly nutritious. The oil is healing and moisturizing. The fiber can be applied to a multitude of uses from textiles (like the Blossom Bag and the BRING IT ALL messenger) and non-toxic diesel fuel to building materials! You could even build a house with hemp. Really! It is a long staple fiber, which makes it strong and durable. It is also highly resistant to mildew and UV. I love hemp! I also love the planet.

The Blossom Bag has been in high demand this week, so here is a peek at my available hemp fabric options, which you can feel free to request. (These options also apply to any of my bags!). I hope to have the Blossom Bag made up and photographed in Natural and Sage sometime next week. The Natural and Sage are 100% hemp. The Chocolate is a blend of 55% organic cotton (also sustainable!) / 45% hemp.

I support sustainability. Hemp is surely at the top of my list!

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