Category: Beneficial Reuse

Posted on

Sustainability 101: Fashion

It’s payday. You get off work, head over to your favorite store at the mall or your favorite online retailer, and use your latest check to overindulge in some retail therapy. You spend hours poring over shelves and racks (or web pages), considering styles and looking for the perfect bargain in your size. It’s extremely easy to get caught up in the excitement of the hunt for that perfect outfit. When you find it, the rush you get (especially when it’s a financial steal) is part of the appeal. You’re thinking about when and where you’re going to wear it, rather than the environmental implications of its production, purchase, and disposal.

It’s easy to see that the how of clothing production is less well understood and publicized than the marketing of the clothes themselves. Fashion retailers want you to find that consumer high and spend your money, not think about how the clothes are made or what happens to them when they go out of style.

Some people would classify that as a blissful ignorance, but I think it has more to do with a general lack of mainstream media promotion of sustainable fashion as a real, attainable thing. How are people supposed to know about something they’ve never heard of? On the surface, sustainability and fashion are two completely unrelated things, so it’s not surprising that people don’t see how production and consumption influence one another. But the relationship between these two are very much intertwined. It’s important for the public to start taking note.  

Photo Courtesy of GreenEarth Cleaning 

Fast Fashion  

The issue with the fashion industry as a whole, specifically regarding environmental sustainability, is its determination to keep up with quickly changing trends. The average shopper buys much more clothing than did a few decades ago, but keep items half as long. They want trendy, stylish clothing in an accessible location at a reasonable price and they want it NOW. Fast fashion refers to the production of clothing at high speed and low cost to meet increasingly impatient consumer demand. Fast fashion companies are most concerned with lowering costs and getting the product from design to shop floor as quickly as possible. While fast fashion is economically attractive to retailers, the fast-paced production expectations have an enormous environmental impact.

According to the United Nations Economic Commission of Europe, the fashion industry is responsible for producing 20% of global wastewater and 10% of global carbon emissions. That’s more than the emissions of international flights and maritime shipping combined. Creating vibrant and colorful textiles is a critical part of the industry, yet the toxic chemicals associated with textile dyeing are the second largest polluter of clean water globally. Fast fashion has also led to oceans getting bombarded with over a half million tons of plastic microfibers per year due to the washing of plastic-based textiles (polyester, nylon, or acrylic). Textile waste may be an unintended consequence of fast fashion, but that doesn’t mean the industry shouldn’t be held accountable. The problem has now reached a global level. Wardrobes in developed nations are oversaturated. Retailers want to sell as many products as possible and to do that they must stay ahead of the curve, convincing shoppers that their brand is a “must-have” and the items already in their closet are no longer fashionable.  

Sustainability and Fashion  

While eco-friendly fashion is a trend on the rise, no environmental organization had decided on a concrete definition for what sustainable fashion truly means and stands for. The Ellen Macarthur Foundation recently published a report titled, A New Textiles Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future, which establishes sustainability goals for the fashion industry. This report includes four recommendations: 

Phase out substances of concern and microfibre release

A. Align industry efforts and coordinate innovation to create safe material cycles. 

B. Drastically reduce plastic microfibre release   

Transform the way clothes are designed, sold, and used to break free from their increasingly disposable nature

A. Scale-up short-term clothing rental  

B. Make durability more attractive

C. Increase clothing utilization further through brand commitments and policy 

Radically improve recycling by transforming clothing design, collection, and reprocessing 

A. Align clothing design and recycling processes

B. Pursue technological innovation to improve the economics and quality of recycling.

C. Stimulate demand for recycled materials. 

D. Implement clothing collection at scale. 

Make effective use of resources and move to renewable inputs

The report was written in consultation with many major fashion design companies. Its underlying message is that fashion that should be produced and sold in the most eco-friendly way possible during all stages of production, including design, raw material production, manufacturing, transport, storage, marketing, and final sale. Sustainable fashion can be achieved by ensuring efficient and careful use of natural resources, selecting renewable energy sources (wind, solar, etc.) at every stage, and maximizing repair, remake reuse, and recycling of the product and its components. It even uses sustainability storytelling by highlighting how environmentally conscious fashion can significantly lower costs to businesses and create positive long-term customer relationships.

Ideally, the rules of A New Textiles Economy would be incorporated into every fashion and lifestyle brand’s business model and production processes. Some companies have done so, but there is more work to be done. These standards help raise awareness of sustainability practices, as well as show manufacturers that considering the environment doesn’t have to be expensive or overly complicated.

 Photo Courtesy of Fashionista 

Sustainable Brands

So with A New Textile Economy’s standards in mind, here are some examples of companies that are incorporating sustainability into their brands.

  • Organic by John Patrick created the world’s first organic oxford cotton shirt and uses other eco-friendly materials such as vegetable-tanned leather, organic wool, and recycled cotton.
  • People Tree, partners with Fair Trade artisans and farmers to produce a wide collection of ethical and eco-wear for over 20 years.
  • Patagonia’s mission statement incorporates sustainability by making quality products that can be repaired, supporting grassroots activists by paying an Earth Tax, and supporting regenerative practices in ranching and agriculture.
  • Adidas partners with Parley Plastics to incorporate plastics recovered from the ocean in their shoes, clothing, and plastic hangers. On some of their product lines, they’ve also debuted ZeroDye, which features undyed polyester. Finally, they’re partnering with Fashion for Good to green the apparel supply chain. Read more about Adidas’ sustainability initiatives here.
  • Nike incorporates recycled polyester into 75% of their shoes and apparel. The dye process used for soles in the Nike Air line allows 99% of recoverable dye water to be recycled.  All Air sole innovations designed since 2008 are composed of at least 50% recycled manufacturing waste. Nike also transforms used product into Nike Grind, which is created from recycled athletic footwear and surplus manufacturing scraps to make performance products, ranging from new footwear and apparel to sports surfaces. Read more about Nike’s sustainability efforts here.
  • H&M’s new Paris flagship store includes an entire floor dedicated to clothing repair. It includes a fleet of sewing machines, bottles of natural detergents, and eco-friendly stain removing sprays, along with bins of patches and embroideries. The idea is to invite customers to bring in clothing, both H&M and other brands, to be repaired and made new again. Customers can restyle their old clothing to update and upcycle their looks. The floor also includes a recycling station where customers can recycled their old clothes (not just H&M) in exchange for a store discount.            

Photo Courtesy of Patagonia 

For more info on sustainable brands visit http://www.thegoodtrade.com/features/fair-trade-clothing and https://www.marieclaire.com/fashion/a22237305/sustainable-closet-guide/.

The Bottom Line  

Turning the fashion industry into something noticeably more sustainable won’t happen overnight. Some brands will continue to pursue short-term economic gains over longer-term environmental costs. That’s why it’s so important for consumers to understand the impact of their choices on the industry. Fast fashion is preventable. If we take a second to slow down and pay attention to how much our desire for the latest styles at the lowest prices encourages companies to cut environmental corners, real progress can happen. The more we become informed about these issues and use that information to change our daily routines, the more the fashion industry will be pressured to think more sustainably. Next time it’s payday and you go on your shopping binge, shop with a conscience. Or don’t shop at all.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted on

The IDEA Store

A sustainability gem hides in Champaign, just east Neil Street and the Springfield Avenue viaduct. Tucked away on the second floor of a nondescript strip mall, The IDEA Store, an “eco-edu-art marketplace,” has set the standard for creative reuse retail in downstate Illinois. Any preconceived notions one may have about traditional secondhand shopping will be suspended the second they walk into this expertly-curated hub of reusable goods.  

PHOTOGRAPHY BY: Margaret Golden, ISTC Intern

Co-founded by Carol Jo Morgan in 2010, the IDEA Store accepts items that would normally be thrown in the trash and gives them a second life. This isn’t your average thrift shop. The IDEA Store exists more as a testament to the benefits of sustainability. Its specialty is showcasing how almost any household item has the potential for reuse, encouraging the community to refrain from contributing to landfill growth.

“My favorite thing about working here, of all the awesome things, is seeing people’s faces when they come in the door,” says the Idea Store’s Retail Manager Jessy Ruddell. “When you see one bottle cap, it doesn’t seem awesome, it seems like trash or recycling. But when you get a collection of bottle caps together, it can really inspire people creatively.”  

The shop is filled with typical household items as well as more unexpected discoveries. You can find school supplies next to glass slides donated by the University of Illinois’ Art History department. A bin of rubber stamps

is an aisle down from a collection of disconnected keyboard keys. There are greeting cards, yarn, fabric, candles, magazines, records, instruments, office supplies, metals, and even home improvement materials. The most interesting item the store has received? “We once had someone donate a desiccated tarantula,” Morgan said, in between bouts of laughter. “And it sold for $20!”    

Morgan, who received her master’s in Natural Resources & Environmental Sciences, has some advice for other retail outlets looking to incorporate sustainability into their business plans. “We know that there are cottage industries that have sprung up as a result of the IDEA being here. When you think about it, the raw materials we supply are so inexpensive, it helps their profit margin,” Morgan explained. “We’ve provided a sustainable place for people to shop. People with budgets, people without budgets, there’s something for everyone. We’ve filled a niche. That is the secret of success in any kind of nonprofit or business. You look where the need is and you fill that.”

The IDEA Store won’t be located at its current Springfield Avenue location for much longer. Morgan and team are in the process of transitioning the store to a new location at Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana. To accommodate an exponential growth in donations, the Lincoln Square storefront will be three times larger than the current location. This will allow excess items currently stored in the warehouses to be sold on the floor. The location also makes it much easier to donate materials. Instead of having to physically bring their donations in and hand them off to volunteers, customers will be able to drive around to the back of the mall and simply ring the doorbell to have their items collected. Keep an eye out for the new store, which has a targeted opening date of late October.

A crowdfunding effort will be launched August 20th to support the financial cost of the IDEA Store’s big move. Community support ensures that the shop’s growth will be successful and smooth.

To donate, visit:

https://secure.givelively.org/donate/champaign-urbana-schools-foundation/the-big-idea

Posted on

Sustainability 101: Breweries

Your next beer is about to go down guilt-free. Breweries around the world are making concentrated efforts to incorporate innovative, cutting-edge sustainability practices into their facilities. Yes, you heard correctly, those emporiums of creatively-titled beers and delicious pretzels are now some of the most environmentally-conscious businesses in the country.

I’ll now take you on a Food Network-style cross-country tour of four sustainable breweries in the United States, making note of their environmental contributions along the way.  

Stop One: Sierra Nevada Brewing Company

Our first stop along the tour is Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. in Chico, Calif. The brewery earned the US Zero Waste Business Council’s first-ever platinum certification. Why? It developed a waste diversion program (or, in layman’s terms, making sure our already- massive landfills don’t get any bigger) that results in over 99.8% of its waste going somewhere other than a landfill. The company sends spent brewing ingredients to local cattle and dairy farms to feed livestock. In addition, they compost organic waste from their brewery and restaurant. They also recover CO2 produced during fermentation and recycle it back into the brewery instead of transporting purchased CO2 from miles away. As a result, their Chico brewery captures and reuses so much CO2 that they only need to source around a dozen tanks a year instead of 3-4 truckloads each week. Their results were impressive. In 2013, the company saved  $5,398,470 in avoided disposal costs and $903,308 in added revenue, as well as diverting 51,414 tons of solid waste from landfill and incineration and avoiding emission of 11,812 tons of CO2e in greenhouse gases. Its headquarters is also home to one of the country’s largest privately-owned solar arrays. Their energy efficiency efforts include using heat recovery units on boilers, microturbines, and brew kettles, as well as devices on large motors and pumps which automatically adjust to demand. They’ve also installed light sensors that adjust to the amount of natural light coming through large windows and skylights throughout the brewery. Motion sensors and timers also ensure lights are off when not in use.

Stop Two: Yards Brewing Company

It’s time to swap coasts, and swing by Yards Brewing Co. in Philadelphia. There’s a laundry list of ways in which Yards stays sustainable. Water re-use? Check. Yards collects and reuses 2 million gallons of water each year. Community engagement? You got it. Yards sends its spent grain to farmers for them to feed their livestock. Impressive titles with fancy names? Yards’ package is certified by the Sustainable Forestry Initiatives and it’s the first brewery in Pennsylvania to be powered 100% by wind. I mean, the bar tops in their tap room are made from REPURPOSED BOWLING ALLEY LANES. 

Stop Three: Schlafly- The Saint Louis Brewery

We’ll now head into the Midwest, where Schlafly- The Saint Louis Brewery is busy crafting with a conscience. Schlafly uses sustainability storytelling to present the merits of L.O.V.E.:

  • Leave it better than we find it;
  • Original in thought, disciplined in action;
  • Value long-term viability over short-term trends; and
  • Encourage education to increase exploration.

L.O.V.E guides the creation of Schlafly’s major sustainability initiatives, which start with the brewery’s implementation of ultra-high efficiency HVAC and ventilation systems. When it comes to solar energy, Schlafly’s 105 photovoltaic rooftop solar panels produce 32,000+ kilowatt hours per year. In addition, the company also focuses on urban revitalization by repurposing two previously abandoned buildings in an attempt to spur economic development in a blighted local community. Schlafly Bottleworks grows thousands of pounds of produce for its restaurants at their 1/7 of an acre garden. They purchase locally sourced packaging, which includes bottles manufactured in Missouri and boxes made in the city of St. Louis. Finally, they limit their beer distribution channels to reduce their overall carbon footprint.

Stop Four: Brewery Vivant

Finally, we’ll move north to Grand Rapids, Mich., which is home to Brewery Vivant, the world’s first LEED-certified microbrewery. Owner Kris Spaulding broke down how sustainability is seamlessly woven into the fabric of their company during her webinar for Michigan DEQ. “To us, being a sustainable company means that we consider the impact of our decisions on the natural environment, the people that may be affected, and the financial health of our business. We hold ourselves accountable with yearly sustainability reports tracking our progress as we go. These reports make sure we’re working towards our goals and balancing all of these areas to operate our business with a long-term approach.” In 2014, they became the fourth certified B Corporation (B Corp) in West Michigan. B Corps are for-profit companies certified by the nonprofit B Lab to meet rigorous standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. Learn more about Brewery Vivant’s sustainability efforts at https://www.breweryvivant.com/sustainability/.  

The Bottom Line

You can’t talk about sustainable breweries without touching on the triple-bottom-line (TBL) business framework, which involves successful implementation of social, environmental, and financial values. The TBL is important because it encourages these hip, influential breweries to make being at top of their eco-friendly games a business priority. The Brewer’s Association for small and independent craft brewers helps them apply the TBL framework by providing sustainability benchmarking tools and manuals, which guide breweries on how to better protect the environment, increase productivity, and become an integral part of the communities in which they operate.

Cheers to that.  

Posted on

Oil and Gas Wastewater Use in Road Maintenance is a Potential Pollution Source

Did you know that at least 13 states–including IL, IN, MI, NY, OH, & PA bordering the Great Lakes–allow wastewater from oil and gas extraction to be used in a variety of road maintenance applications? The high salt content of oil and gas well wastewaters makes them  effective for use in deicing or retaining road moisture for the purposes of dust suppression. At first blush, this arrangement seems like a win-win, saving the well operators money in terms of wastewater treatment, and saving local government funding that might otherwise need to be spent on deicing and dust control fluids. The cost-effectiveness of this arrangement could be particularly important for rural communities with limited budgets.

Map of US highlighting states with regulations for spreading oil and gas (O&G) wastewaters on roads.
From Tasker et al., 2018. Environmental Science & Technology, 52 (12), pp. 7081-7091.

However, a report published in a recent issue of Environmental Science and Technology highlights the potential environmental and human health ramifications of using oil and gas wastewater in this fashion.  From the article’s abstract: “Analyses of O&G wastewaters spread on roads in the northeastern, U.S. show that these wastewaters have salt, radioactivity, and organic contaminant concentrations often many times above drinking water standards. Bioassays also indicated that these wastewaters contain organic micropollutants that affected signaling pathways consistent with xenobiotic metabolism and caused toxicity to aquatic organisms like Daphnia magna. The potential toxicity of these wastewaters is a concern as lab experiments demonstrated that nearly all of the metals from these wastewaters leach from roads after rain events, likely reaching ground and surface water. Release of a known carcinogen (e.g., radium) from roads treated with O&G wastewaters has been largely ignored. In Pennsylvania from 2008 to 2014, spreading O&G wastewater on roads released over 4 times more radium to the environment (320 millicuries) than O&G wastewater treatment facilities and 200 times more radium than spill events. Currently, state-by-state regulations do not require radium analyses prior to treating roads with O&G wastewaters. “

The researchers propose the following means to reduce potential harmful impacts from using oil and gas (O&G) wastewater for road treatment. Note that “DRO” stands for “diesel range organics” and “GRO” is “gas range organics” which is indicative of the total petroleum hydrocarbon present (see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Total_petroleum_hydrocarbon for further information).  “1) Only O&G wastewaters that have been treated at wastewater treatment facilities should be considered for road spreading. The high calcium, sodium, and magnesium concentrations in O&G wastewaters are important for suppressing dust. In addition to the high salt concentrations, these wastewaters contain lead, radium, and organic compounds that could be potentially toxic. Wastewater treatment facilities are not designed to remove the high salt concentrations in O&G wastewaters. However, they can effectively remove radium, oil and grease, and other trace metals. 2) O&G wastewaters approved for road spreading should contain <60 pCi/L radium and <10 mg/L of total DRO and GRO, similar to other industrial wastewater effluent standards. No induction to human cell receptors was observed at DRO and GRO concentrations below 10 mg/L. In most cases, the chemical composition of O&G wastewater intended for road spreading must be submitted and approved before use. However, requirements for these chemical characterizations are relatively modest, vary widely between states, and currently do not include radium. Having chemical standards for O&G wastewaters that can be spread on roads could help reduce the potential toxicity concerns associated with this practice. 3) Affordable nontoxic dust suppressants should be developed and used.”

In other words, they recommend development and use of cheaper, nontoxic alternatives for the benefit of communities with limited road maintenance budgets, and in instances where oil and gas wastewaters are used, those substances should be treated first to remove potentially toxic trace metals, as well as tested and confirmed as having levels of radium and petroleum hydrocarbon levels deemed safe based on industrial wastewater treatment standards.

Read the full article at https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.est.8b00716.

Citation: T. L. Tasker, W. D. Burgos, P. Piotrowski, L. Castillo-Meza, T. A. Blewett, K. B. Ganow, A. Stallworth, P. L. M. Delompré, G. G. Goss, L. B. Fowler, J. P. Vanden Heuvel, F. Dorman, and N. R. Warner. 2018. Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Spreading Oil and Gas Wastewater on Roads. Environmental Science & Technology, 52 (12), pp. 7081-7091. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b00716.

Posted on

International E-waste Design Competition Turns Refuse into Resource

Electronic waste, or “E-Waste,” generated by computers, TVs, cameras, printers, and cell phones, is a growing global issue. According to the U.S. EPA, Americans currently own nearly 3 billion electronic products and as new products are purchased, obsolete products are stored or discarded at alarming rates. About two-thirds of the electronic devices removed from service are still in working order. However, only about 15% of this material is recycled while the vast majority is disposed in landfills. The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), hosted by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), is pleased to announce the International E-Waste Design Competition, in which participants will explore solutions to this problem at the local level and beyond, by using e-waste components to create appealing and useful products. Continue reading “International E-waste Design Competition Turns Refuse into Resource”

Posted on

Registration Open for Biofuels and Sustainability Conference

Registration is now open for the Biofuels and Sustainability Conference to be held at the University of Illinois campus in Champaign, IL on October 21-22. This event will provide a forum for researchers, policy makers, students, activists and industry leaders to share and gain perspectives regarding the entire life-cycle of the biofuels industry–from feedstock development through fuel consumption. Diverse constituencies will be able to network and develop future directions and strategies regarding this important and complex topic and examine innovations that can improve the sustainability of the biofuels industry.

See the conference website for a detailed description of the event, a list of speakers, and registration information.

Remember that if you have events related to sustainability and pollution prevention that you would like to promote to the region, you can suggest them for the GLRPPR Calendar by sending them to Wayne Duke. Events posted to the GLRPPR Calendar also appear in relevant Sector Resources and are featured on the RSS feeds for those Sector Resources.

Posted on

September 2008 Site of the Month: US Business Council for Sustainable Development

The United States Business Council for Sustainable Development (US BCSD) is a non-profit association of businesses whose purpose is to deliver highly focused, collaborative projects that help its members and partners demonstrate leadership in the United States on sustainable development and realize business value. US BCSD leverages member participation and partner support to serve five platforms of activity — By-product Synergy, Ecosystem Services, Value and Supply Chain, Energy and Climate Change, and Water Resource Management. In addition to information on each of these activity areas, the US BCSD web site includes member/partner profiles, information on joining the council, and a list of upcoming events.

Posted on

P2 Go Bragh: A Different Shade of Green Beer

The first installment in this series concerns something other than Irish heritage that, for better or worse, has become inextricably linked to the celebration of the holiday in the U.S.: beer. Although this alcoholic beverage is sometimes dyed green for the sake of St. Patrick’s Day parties, the following resources relate to beer and brewing practices that are green in the sense of their environmental impacts.

As is the trend with most organic foods and beverages, organic beer is becoming more and more widely available as even big box retailers climb aboard the “green products are good for public relations, profits and the environment” train. Co-op America offers an overview of organic beer and wine as well as the rationale for choosing locally produced beers whenever possible (to reduce negative effects of long distance shipping, among other reasons). You can also search their National Green Pages under “Wine/Beer” for examples of breweries that produce organic beer. There is also a North American Organic Brewers Festival, scheduled this year for June 27-29 in Portland, Oregon. The festival web site lists the participating breweries and the beers they’re presenting.

For those of you, like my husband, who enjoy brewing your own beer at home, you might find the Seven Bridges Cooperative an interesting resource. Based in California, Seven Bridges provides certified organic ingredients for home brewing, such as organically grown hops and grains.

Interestingly, organic beer became the topic of controversy last year, as the USDA added to the list of non-organic ingredients that may compose 5% of a product by weight and still allow that product to bear the label “organic.” Hops were on the list, and while critical to the production of beer, they do make up less than 5% of the finished product by weight. The Organic Consumers Association was outraged by what it termed the “Budweiser Exception” that could allow big brewing companies to mass produce “organic” beers without using organically grown hops; the controversy was covered by MSNBC. Anheuser-Busch has since switched to using 100% organic hops. See the USDA’s web site for more information on organic food standards and labels.

Turning to waste reduction and efficiency in the brewing process, regardless of the use of organic ingredients, the March/April 2007 edition of In Business magazine featured a profile of Mad River Brewing Company in Blue Lake, California, which recycles or reuses 98% of its residuals, with a goal toward generating zero waste. The April 2007 edition of eco-structure Magazine included a look at the sustainable practices of New Belgium Brewery in Fort Collins, Colorado. Among other things, the company purchases wind energy to power 100% of its brewery’s operations, the packaging hall was designed with energy efficiency in mind, and the brewhouse features a closed-loop heating system. For more information about New Belgium’s sustainability initiatives, see their web site.

For an example of sustainable initiatives at a brewery within the Great Lakes region, check out Michigan DEQ’s case study on the Leopold Bros. of Ann Arbor, Michigan. Goose Island Brewery in Chicago, Illinois is also a founding member of the Chicago Waste to Profit Network. An article from the October 2000 edition of Conscious Choice discusses several organic beers, including Goose Island’s organic beer production and partnering with Panorama Brewing Company to produce Wolaver’s Organic Ales regionally. Lakefront Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the first brewery in that state and the first business in Milwaukee to receive the Travel Green Wisconsin certification from the state’s Department of Tourism. Check out the brewery’s web site detailing what they’ve done to reduce their environmental and social impact and earn this recognition.

For more resources related to P2 for breweries, check out the GLRPPR Food Processing Sector Resource. I’ll be adding a “Beverage Manufacturing” subcategory in the near future to make finding resources related to brewing and other beverage production within this Sector Resource easier.

Posted on

This week’s photo post

[Post author: Scott Butner]

Boise Cascade Wallula Mill at dusk, originally uploaded by Scott Butner.

As long as my friends at GLRPPR have let me loose around here, I might as well have some fun….

Long before I became an engineer, I worked as a photographer. Recently, with the advent of digital, I have rediscovered photography. I do most of my shooting within 50 miles of Richland, WA.

Just because I like to think and communicate in pictures, I will try to post a weekly photo here, wherever possible one with an environmental theme to it. We’ll see how long this lasts.

This week’s photo is of the Boise Cascade Wallula mill, situated at the confluence of the Columbia and Walla Walla rivers in southeastern WA state. The mill produces a variety of paper products including office paper and label release paper.

I’ve recently had the pleasure of working with Ray Lam, who is environmental manager for the facility. Ray is a human dynamo, and has been bringing a great deal of energy to an industrial byproduct synergy effort here in the eastern half of the state.

SB

Posted on

Be My Green Valentine

Check out last year’s “Red Roses, Green Hearts” post for great information on how to show your love for the environment this Valentine’s Day. As of 2/13/08, all the links included in that post are still active. That post includes information on organic flowers; green gift guides; organic and fair trade chocolate, wine and coffee; safety ratings for perfume and cologne; and green restaurants.

The Chicago Edition of Ideal Bite also reports that the InterContinental Chicago is offering a green valentine hotel package for $219 a night and up, February 14-16. They also recently featured information on Ellie Thompson, a Chicago jewelry designer that uses reclaimed metals and fair-trade gems to create wearable works of art, if you’re considering jewelry for your special someone. The national Ideal Bite also offers additional information on organic flowers.

New American Dream’s Conscious Consumer Marketplace can also help you find environmentally and socially responsible Valentine’s Day gifts, such as flowers, chocolate, and jewelry. TreeHugger has also compiled a Valentine’s Day Gift Guide.

Finally, consider an electronic card instead of a paper one. For example, the National Wildlife Federation has Valentine’s Day e-cards available.