Consumer Shopping Guide

[midwesternerr]

In response to another recent thread, I've decided to make a convienent shopping list of thumbs up or down products. I'm making every effort to be objective here, and since I've decided to post my list publically, please do not refrain from posting a rebuttal if you think I've called something incorrectly. I am also linking or listing my sources, so that other's can do a fact check and make their own decisions. Of course, in order to not be a hypocrite, I am pledging to make these changes myself. If nothing else this list should motivate myself and other posters to practice what we preach

Coffee:

Consider purchasing Audubon shade grown coffee from your local Audubon chapter or at the following website

Veggies:

Dole and Chiquita subsidiary Fresh Express have produced regulations that have led to an all out assulat on wildlife. As such, I am not purchasing bagged veggies bearing any association to either company.
Please see the Sierra Magazine March/April 09 Article Leaf and Let Die and this forum entry.

Seafood:

Sea Food Guide (Use this to select the best choices based on your location).
I belive it is worthwhile to download, print out, and put a copy of your local guide in your purse or glovebox.

Paper Products:

Based on information from NRDC: A shopper's guide

Green Forest, Earth First, Marcal, 365 (Whole Foods) seem to be reliable choices across the board, while Kleenex, Bounty, Scott, Charmin, Cotonelle, and Viva should be avoided. The guide rates many other brands and suggest we should purchase chlorine-free products that use recycled content, especially post consumer fibers. A similar, printable pdf guide can be found here

Audubon recently printed an article titled Paper Chase in the Jan/Feb edition of its magazine that explains how paper used by Kleenex is destroying vital habitat in Canadian forests, read more about it here and an older article here.

You may also want to replace paper towels with old Tees or other cloths. Source:Sierra Club Green Home Website.

Cleaning Supplies:

Chlorox Green Works line of products is endorsed by the Sierra Club. Read more about this partnership here.

Alternatively, you can make your own cleaners. Taken from Sierra Club Green Home

Make your own. It’s easy to make your own cleaners using basic ingredients such as baking soda, lemon juice, liquid castile (or vegetable-based) soap, vinegar, and salt. Though some take a little more elbow grease than conventional cleaners, they are a lot safer. Try some of these simple homemade cleaners:

• Creamy soft scrub. This is a great mild abrasive cleaner, and can be used for most tubs, showers, toilets, countertops, and sinks, including stainless steel, Corian, Formica, engineered quartz, and glass. Should be used sparingly on fiberglass. Mix 1 cup baking soda with 1/4 cup liquid castile (vegetable-based) soap in a glass jar. You can add more soap if you want a creamier soft scrub. Stir. Add 2 teaspoons vegetable glycerin (available at most natural food stores and many drugstores) if you want it to keep it for up to a year; otherwise, it will harden. You can add a couple of drops of a favorite organic essential oil (extracted from plant parts) if you want a pleasant scent–or try almond or peppermint castile soap.
• All-purpose cleaner. Combine 2 cups white vinegar with 2 cups water in a spray bottle. Again, you can scent with a few drops of essential oil. As with all acidic solutions, do not use this on marble. It will destroy the finish and can even etch the surface. Another option is 3 tablespoons baking soda dissolved in warm water in a spray bottle.
• Scouring powder. Mix 3 parts baking soda with 1 part borax (found in the laundry aisle). Keep handy in a shaker jar and sprinkle with some essential oil if you like. Borax should not be ingested, so store out of reach of children, and can cause skin irritation in some people.

Wood:

The Sierra Club's Green Home website recommends Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) wood, wood engineered from waste chips and scraps or agricultural wastes, or salvaged wood. It is also suggested that home builders consider the use of Structurally insulated panels and advanced framing techniques to decrease the time and cost of building plus reduce wood use. It is recommended not to use salvaged wood with paint on it (possibly containing lead) or engineered wood with formaldehyde. Exterior grade plywood and oriented strand board should be safer products. Read more here. However, not everyone supports FSC wood. A website has popped detailing why FSC may not be the answer. Read more here Given the lack of credibility to FSC wood, I have decided to avoid purchasing it. Unfortunately, I believe a label that claims to be environmentally friendly while winking at timber industry is more harmful than no label at all. Hopefully, a new, better standard can rise from its ashes.

Lighting:

The best lighting to use comes from the sun. Consider opening windows or installing skylights. Alternatively, consider using Compact Flourescent Lights. Look for CFLs that are Energy Star rated, these bulbs have passed a battery of tests regarding quality and energy efficiency. Incadescent like quality is in the 2,700-2,800 K range, for better reading light consider 3,200K to 4,000 K, and for something closer to natural daylight use 4,000+. Source: Sierra Club Green Home

CFLs should not be thrown into tash cans. You can find recycling centers that accept them on Earth911 Just put in cfl and your zip code to get a list on the search box on the first page. In my area, all Home Depot stores accept them.

Credit Cards:

Consider donating your reward checks to wildlife friendly organization or using a credit card that donates your points toward renewable energy such as this one.

Pots for Plants:

Cowpots is a biodegradable replacement for peat pots made from composted cow manure

Travel:

Your travel destinations can benefit wildlife greatly by selecting the best private reserves. Unfortunately, many "eco friendly" lodges dump into rivers and commit covert signs of greed and laziness. There are too many to list them all, but I'm listing those which I happen to know of and believe are first class all the way.

La Tirimbina Rainforest Center I've been to this one which is an 852 acre research center and ecotourism area. It is sponsored by Milwaukee Public Museum and Riveredge Nature Center. There are river boat rides, night hikes, a live bat program, bird watching hikes, etc. which are all led by researchers who work in forest on a daily basis. On my visit I saw: Tons of birds including Tucans and parrots, dart frogs, 5 or 6 bat species up close (4 that were mist netted and surveyed for scientific purposes), wolly oppossum with babies in pouch, more treefrogs that I can count including a glass frog, lizards such as basilisks, monkeys, sloths, etc. Kinkajus, porcupines, and occasionally anteaters are also seen. Cats have been recorded on cameras but are too difficult to find in the jungle. Best of all the accomodations are super nice, food is good, and the staff is incredibly nice and knowledgable.


If you just want to see a ton of monkeys, lizards, or a scarlett macaw, I can recommend Curu Wildlife Refuge The food is great but the cabins are rustic. There probably won't be many, if any, other people in the forest with you which is nice. Your cabin is on a beach and you can go snorkeling or horse back riding if you wish. You can even find bats hiding in the gift shop! There are no tours other than horse riding and snorkeling, so this is for people who aren't afraid to go out into the jungle. Animals you can see there include White faced/Spider/Howler monkeys (you will definitely see all of them if you look at all), bats, anteaters, coati, crocodiles, etc. Lizards are absolutely everywhere as are monkeys. A Jaguar was photographed here in the past couple of years, but I do not think there is much chance of finding one.


Belize Audubon Society manages a number of important areas. Your visit will help support their efforts. For example, a jaguar preserve Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary sounds like a great place to visit.

Gifts:

Plant a tree in one of our national forests in celebration or memory of a loved one. Each dollar plants a tree. Details on this Arbor Day Foundation webpage. Alternatively, you can send a gift tree for the reciever to plant himself or herself. You may also want to send one of the magazines below or a bag of Audubon Coffee as a gift.

Magazines:

It may be less spicy than Cosmo, but many wildlife-friendly organizations produce magazines to inform and educate regarding issues of sustainable living and wildlife management. These also make great gifts! There are too many to list them all, but some of the choices include:
The Audubon Magazine (http://audubonmagazine.org/)
The National Wildlife Federation (http://www.nwf.org/magazines/)
Bat Conservation International (http://batcon.org/)
The Sierra Magazine (http://www.sierraclub.org/sierra/)

[Staff]

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/s...iqNnUpYE9L2jO8

[Stoloniferous]

Wow, midwest, this is a great resource! I hope you will continue to add to it!

[midwesternerr]

Everytime I learn of a company making a product significantly helping or degrading our environment, I plan to add it to the list. I will be gone for 10 days as of tommorrow, but will resume the effort when I return. I probably won't add obscure things, but instead I am trying to focus on things most of us will use on a regular basis. If everyone adds posts to this thread it will help too, I can move them up into the main post as well.

[midwesternerr]

This weeks challenge: I challenge everyone who agrees with the idea of supporting sustainable products to make their own cleaners or purchase Chlorox Green Works, and to buy at least one CFL, energy star rated bulb to have on hand to replace an existing incadescent when it goes out. I am heading to the store later to do this myself (promise).

[biigblueyes]

Originally Posted by midwesternerr

I am pledging to make these changes myself. If nothing else this list should motivate myself and other posters to practice what we preach

If this does nothing more than cause each of us to one something that we've been "meaning to do, but. . . . . ", then it's all worthwhile.

[midwesternerr]

Blueeyes, that's exactly what I am hoping. Even this short list is too much too tackle all at once. But if we pick one thing and commit it til it becomes a habit, then it will be easier to broaden out over time. I'm going to have one suggested challenge every 10 days or so. I have two incadescent lights to replace, both of which are getting replaced with CFLs today. I am also swapping out cleaners for the Chlorox Green Works (I'm purchasing today but will continue using what we have til it runs out).

I think once you commit to that initial purchase, then it's easy to remember because you see the bottles everyday and recognize the light bulbs you've been using. Companies often give out samples because they know once you start using something, you'll likely stay consistent with it.

My schooling was in social sciences, and one thing I learned is that making a public commitment means you are much more likely to follow through with something. Hence, I have forced myself to follow through Anyone who wishes may also make a commitment pledge to help self-motivate as well.

[midwesternerr]

Just completed the test of the CFL bulbs. I replaced 120 watts of incadescent with 2 15 watt energy star logo CFLs. Although it takes the CFLs about 10 seconds to fully "charge up" the light is probably as bright or brighter and uses only 30 watts!

Based on these results, I have decided to use CFLs anywhere that the lights will be kept on for a more than a few minutes. For example, there is a spare bedroom which the light is only turned on occasionally for less than a half hour, so I won't bother replacing those. The kitchen is now using solely CFLs and I kept the incadescents as backups for the spare bedroom and closet. I might switch over the living room too except for the light I use for reading. Not sure if CFLs create flicker or not?

[biigblueyes]

I haven't noticed any flicker on ours.

[JennyC]

I've discovered I like CFLs for reading; the bright white light is nice. For softer light, I have CFLs in lamps with brown or beige shades.