As Green As You Can Be

More and more clothing manufacturers are recognizing the need for a more sustainable farming practice.  The “new” farming practice uses up to 73 percent fewer chemical inputs than conventional cotton and that directly benefits the local environment.

Sustainable Cotton encompasses biologically-based, IPM, and organic farming practices in the production, manufacturing and use of cotton. The Sustainable Cotton Project’s grower programs help move farmers through the changeover from chemically-dependent to more biological sound approaches. Composted manures and cover crops replace synthetic fertilizers; innovative weeding strategies are used instead of herbicides; beneficial insects and trap crops control insect pests; and alternatives to toxic defoliants prepare plants for harvest.

The ultimate goal of “sustainable cotton” is to move sustainable production, manufacturing and use practices throughout the cotton value chain in order to create a healthy and profitable industry for growers, their communities, manufacturers, retailers and users of all cotton products.

Another good thing about the organic clothing, unlike organic foods, is that the price isn’t much different than non-organic clothing.  Here are a few examples of shirts that I found online.  A $10 t-shirt is a pretty good deal where I come from, and if it helps me be as green as I can be, all the better!

Organic Arthur T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 12.98	Organic Horizon T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 11.98	Organic Logo T-Shirt, Long Sleeve, Men’s Price: 12.98
Organic Ice Axe T-Shirt, Long Sleeve, Men’s Price: 12.98	Organic Stance T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 9.98	Organic Boot T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 9.98
Organic Vision T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 9.98	Organic Moose T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 12.98	Hawksbill Turtle 2 Organic T-Shirt, Women’s Price: 14.98
Pra Piping Plover Organic T-Shirt, Women’s Price: 14.98	Henslow Sparrow Organic T-Shirt, Women’s Price: 14.98	Organic Acadia T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 12.98
Organic Joshua Tree T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 12.98	Organic Yellowstone T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 12.98	Organic Long Trail T-Shirt, Men’s Price: 11.98

The absolute best thing you can do to reduce the amount of garbage you send to the landfill is composting. We have been recycling for years but just started composting last week. When we started the recycling program, it cut our trash volume by two thirds at least! Now that we have a compost bin, our trash collector only picks up very small bag of non recyclable/non compostable items. And it was so easy!

Composting, for me anyway, has always been the “final frontier” in green living. It was always too complicated or too gross to deal with. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Its easy as having a separate, small trashcan with a lid next to your regular trashcan. We put everything organic in there, banana peels, food scraps, paper towels, even coffee grinds and filters. Don’t put meat scraps or dairy items in there, you will invite bugs and or a really bad smell. Neither of these things are welcome in my house so we avoid them.

We used an old “Rubbermaid” storage bin with a tight fitting lid and some holes poked in it. You want some ventilation, but make the holes small enough so that a lot of bugs cant get in there. You don’t want flies in your compost bin, they will lay eggs and nobody wants to deal with maggots. I don’t anyway. We punched a screwdriver through the plastic bin to make the holes.

In my opinion, too much emphasis is placed on the “layering” of the proper composting materials. I think this might even be why some people might be apprehensive about starting. Its really no big deal, if you start with the “proper” layering, it may break down a little faster, but its not a race, and its not anything to stress over either.

That being said, I think its best to keep the correct approximate ratio of different materials in your bin. We compost lawn and tree clippings, food waste and paper towels, you wouldn’t want too much of any one of those things in there because that will really slow things down. It will all break down, but it may take a while.

Chances are, you will have more grass clippings than food waste at any given time, If you are wondering what to do with it, just put a pile of clippings next to your compost bin and put some in every time you put in some food waste.

Some people have a compost pile or a very open container made with pallets or wood. There are a few reasons why we didn’t go that way. The first reason is that we live in a development where the neighbors would certainly have something to say about a pile of rotting waste in the yard. Another reason is the bugs like I mentioned before.

Animals can also be curious about your pile of waste, raccoons are notoriously curious and will make a pretty big mess if given the chance. Open piles also don’t breakdown as fast as a closed bin because they don’t get as hot and when it rains, all the good nutrient rich stuff gets washed away from the top of the pile. Our little compost bin is tucked neatly under our deck no mess, no smell, no worries. I don’t know why we didn’t do this sooner. Now if I could get our town to allow us to stop the trash pickup all together we could save a ton.

The only things that we throw away now are meat and dairy food waste and items that our recycler doesn’t want. That really isnt too much. So I’m feeling even better about our impact on the environment. We can afford a huge solar array or a wind farm (yet) but we can do something, and the feeling you get when you are as green as you can be, makes it all worthwhile.