One Bottle, One Filter

I'm lucky to live in a place with great water. That's why I've never had any qualms about drinking from the tap. Despite this, I was definitely a plastic water bottle junkie for way too long. But because of the great tap water we have, it's been easy for me to ween myself off. I know that not everyone has this pleasure, so when I came across this water filter comparison chart I wanted to pass it along. It compares ten filters on price, replacement cost, total cost based on capacity, and on which different chemicals it removes from the water.

With a SIGG (or any other reusable, BPA free bottle) and a filtered water system, you can be greener in their hydration no matter where you live.

Wrap it Up, Yo

I'm proud of myself. I've been consistently going to the gym for a whole two months now. Sure, this is barely an accomplishment for some, but after about a year of excuses this is big. Now that I'm finally in the habit of going, I've realized how bad I need a holder for my iPod. It's starting to get scratched on the back and its really bothering me. Plus, I might sell my current iPod to my sister so that I can get an iPhone. And if I do get one, there is no way I am letting that precious little piece of electronic goodness get scratched or dented or even fingerprinted. In my hunt for something Guffly for my iPod to chill in, I found the Mediapocket. This little guy is made in San Francisco by designer Josh Jakus from reclaimed, factory excess wool. It fits most smart phones and iPods, except the really chubby BlackBerry and Palms. The Mediapocket is only $19 and can be found on the Josh Jakus website.

Gufflify your Kid with Xeko

Today Jordan and I went to the River Days Festival in Detroit to represent a game called Xeko (pronounced zee-ko). I don't know why I haven't written about this before (well maybe because I am not an 10 year old kid) but this game based on sustainability and biodiversity is definitely Guffly. Xeko is a 2-player trading card game that is played similar to Pokemon. A player gets a starter deck and builds upon it in order to get the best "Xeko-system." The point is to build a deck that balances resources and species.

The game is designed for kids 8 years old and above. It's competitive and fun, but it also teaches them the value of this fantastic Earth of ours and the little critters that live on it. The cards and packaging are made of recycled or recyclable materials, and they use soy-based inks. Likewise, the company donates 4% of game net sales to Conservation International. The starter sets range from $20-32, while booster packs range from $4-10. The game prices range between editions or "missions", which include Costa Rica, Madagascar, and Indonesia.

If you know a kid who would love this, you can visit Xeko for information on where to find a retailer near you. You can also purchase this game online at Xeko Shop where they offer free shipping in the US.

Drink and be Merry...and Guffly, too

I've been thinking about having a fiesta for 4th of July this year and of course I want it to be a Guffly experience for all. In addition to tasty organic food and drinks, I've been thinking about other little green touches to make it that much better. I found these bamboo drinking straws, and they might just be in my purchasing future. These straws are Guffly because they are reusable and keep regular plastic disposable straws out of landfills. Plus, in the event you do throw it away, they are made of a natural material that is biodegradable.

The straws pictured here can be found at Global Exchange. They come in a set of twelve and are produced by a company named Kopnoi, a fair trade business located in Laos. The set is $16.95 plus another $5.95 for shipping costs.

After you use the straws, you should cover them in water with vinegar, boil them for 20 minutes then lay them out to dry. Sure, this isn't as simple as throwing away a plastic straw, but I think it's a small price to pay for having your party guests impressed by your fancy drink serving skills.

Get Local with GenGreen

A few weeks ago at the Green Festival I signed up for GenGreen, and thought you might want to as well. GenGreen is a website that lists information on green related resources by state and city. So, they make it easy to find information that is relevant to you. GenGreen has listings for green events, businesses, organizations, cooperatives, transportation, jobs, recycling centers, as well as other individuals. Though the listings for the Detroit area are sparse, using GenGreen I found out about the 8th Annual Ann Arbor Green Festival that I'll definitely hit up on June 13th.

GenGreen will also be launching a Green Marketplace later on this year. From what I read it seems like it will be like Greenzer or Evo, but with an emphasis on local options.

Better Brushing

The thought of a dirty toothbrush makes my stomach hurt. I guess that is why like to buy a new one every two months, instead of three as the dentist recommends. Though this is a good idea hygienically, this isn't so guffly of me. So, I was pretty excited when I heard of Recycline at the Green Festival in Chicago. Recycline makes eco-friendly choices for the home, included the Preserve Toothbrush which is made from recycled plastic containers, like yogurt cups. The company also makes a Preserve Triple Razor as well as tableware and kitchen products. Each item is made in the US with 100% recycled materials, and the toothbrush and razor handles are completely recyclable. You can even send these items back to them when you are done, and the company will recycle them for you. In addition to their greenness, Preserve is guffly because they make things simple. For $13.00 you can sign up for a four toothbrush prescription on their website and select how often you want your brushes sent. Now, you won't even have to think about changing your brush, let alone actually remembering to pick one up the next time you're at the store. Just wait for it to come to you. And if your not down with online toothbrush ordering, you can find their products in Whole Foods and Target.

Watch this cool video on how these brushes are made:

Green Tube

The first television channel dedicated to eco-related topics will be launching June 4th at 6pm. Planet Green, the latest venture within the Discovery Networks family of media, will feature 24 hours of content relevant to the eco-concious lifestyle. Although I usually don't have much time for television, I'll be sure to check this out when I do. Here are a couple of shows that will be featured on the channel that I think look pretty interesting:

Wa$ted!
"This eye-opening half-hour reality series makes shrinking your ecological footprint appealing and virtually effortless. What's an ecological footprint? It's a way of describing the scope of the damage that each household does to the planet. Annabelle Gurwitch and her charming co-host Holter Graham are out..."

Greenovate
"Saving over 40% on energy bills while also increasing property value by 25% sounds impossible, but Greenovate shows viewers just how to make this lofty dream a reality in their own households."

G Word
"Being green is no longer just for granola-loving hippies. It's a lifestyle, an attitude, a state-of-mind, and it's shaking up the pop-culture landscape. Forget what you think you know about what being green means and get ready for G Word..."

Big Ol' Green Party

Don't freak out, dear friends, we haven't posted anything new in the last few days because we went to the Green Festival in Chicago this weekend. It was an exhausting but great experience. The festival was this past Saturday and Sunday at Navy Pier. There was some great speakers and over 350 vendors there - anything from green clothing shops, to green restaurants, green builders, and everything in between. Plus, the 31,000 people who attended are a testament to the fact the guffly lifestyle is alive and kicking.

The Festival travels throughout the year, and the next ones will be in Washington, DC and San Francisco in November. Watch this video about the Green Festival to learn more:



One of my personal favorites of the Green Festival was Majora Carter's speech called Green the Ghetto. I've admired her for some time now, and was super excited to hear her speak about Sustainable South Bronx (SSBx), the organization she founded. SSBx is a non-profit that provides "environmental justice through innovative, economically sustainable projects that are informed by community needs." Check out the website for more info on the fantastic work SSBx does.

Re-Jean Your Wardrobe

Those of you who love your jeans, and invest a lot of time in finding the perfect pair, can probably understand the disappointment I felt when both my denim jacket and my favorite pair of jeans got crazy holes in them this past week. Okay, it didn't happen overnight, but now the holes are certainly past the point of public wearability, at least for me. No lie, my whole arm can fit through the massive elbow hole in my jacket and there is now an inappropriate amount of thigh chub that can be seen when I wear the jeans. Not good.

There's a way to give life back to these precious items. Of course I could sew a patch in myself, which is a smart, guffly kind of option indeed. But because I am not much of a seamstress, or tailor, or whatever the title would be, I'm thinking about sending my stuff to Denim Therapy. This company takes your worn jeans, evaluates the material attributes (like thread weight, fade, wash, grain, pattern, weave, and wear), fixes the problem with closely matched materials, and sends them back to you like new. You'll be happy, you're jeans will be happy, and you're save the earth some resources by not running out a buying a replacement.

The service sounds expensive, but it's pretty reasonably priced. Their site notes that the estimated repair cost is $7/inch, but an estimate will be offered upon their inspection of the garment. You will have to pay for shipping charges as well, so if you're far from Cincinnati you might want to go with the neighborhood dry cleaner's classic old-man patch.

Trashy.

Last night I talked with one of my most favorite people, my Aunt Kelley. Other than being totally awesome in general, she has been eating organic food, using organic products, and been an all-around guffly individual for some time now. She asked me if I knew anything about eco-friendly trash bags. This got me thinking. A lot of green people are using reusable bags for groceries and shopping, are recycling what they can, but are still throwing out their trash in icky, regular old plastic trash bags. I'm not sure why I hadn't thought about this before. Turns out there are some pretty simple options. Check 'em out:


1. BioBags - 100% Biodegradable and Compostable. "BioBags are GMO free, certified for use in organic agriculture and certified for restricted use of metals in our vegetable-based inks and dyes. Their products meet the ASTM D6400-99 requirements, which is the gold standard for compostable plastic. BioBags are shelf stable, just like paper towels, yet biodegrade quickly when exposed to nature's elements and micro-organisms, leaving no harmful residues behind." These bags can be found at Drugstore.com, $6.19 for 12 count 13-gallon bags.


2. Nature Value Eco Safe Bags - biodegrade in 12 to 14 months. They are made from 10-20% post consumer recycled materials, are certified Kosher, and the box they come is also made from recycled materials. You can find their various products on Lets Go Green where they are very reasonably priced in comparison; only $2.99 for 15 count 13-gallon bags.

The Goodness of Crocs

This past weekend, Jordan and I went to the Green Street Fair in Plymouth, MI where we learned some new stuff and met some great people. Amongst the many small independent vendors (which was great) were some of the larger corporations, including the beloved shoe company, crocs. Though I'm not a participant in the crocs craze myself, I was pleased to hear about a great initiative the company is taking part in, called SolesUnited.

It's pretty simple. A crocs owner can take a pair of crocs that are on their way to croc-heaven and mail them in to a crocs recycling center or drop them off at a participating retail location. These old crocs will be ground up into tiny pieces and made into new, SolesUnited recycled shoes. These new recycled shoes are sent to approved non-profit organizations all over the world. This year, SolesUnited anticipates donating a total of 2 million pairs of shoes to Armenia, Cambodia, Chad, Darfur, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Malawi, Mali, Moldova, Philippines, Romania, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.

Watch this info for more information on this guffly initiative:

Greenzer Goes Live

Last week, Greenzer's public beta site went live. Greenzer, like Evo, lists thousands of green products from several retailers and puts them in one place. After finding the product you want, you can click to be linked to the retailers website, where you can make a purchase. The site seems to have a limited amount of retailers so far, but they seem committed to making the shopping experience richer over time. What is great about both sites is the rating systems they use to score each product. These allow for simple understanding of how guffly the products are. Pretty cool.

Guster is Green

I've liked the band Guster for awhile now, but it was only today that I learned the they make a point to be more eco-friendly on their tours. Watch the fantastic video below from the Sundance Channel for info on Guster's guffly practices and some concert footage, too.




I knew they were extra special.

Why You Should Love Peace Love Earth

My usual random internet searching led me to find this great green jewelery company called Peace Love Earth. If you like letting the world know about your values or if you don't want to be like everyone else who has the same silver Tiffany's heart necklace, then these necklaces and bracelets are for you. The designer, Anna Mkhitarian, who also designs clothing and accessories, fuses her love of fashion with her passion for peacefulness, positive change, and her care for the environment.

The sterling silver designs are made with recycled, pure .925 sterling silver. The super cute pendant shown here is hand-polished, and other items in the store are hand-made in Los Angeles. I'm digging this pendant, but they also have more subtle designs, if that suits your fancy. The prices range from $60-275, which varies based upon how many charms go into each piece.

Peace Love Earth = adorable, sustainable jewelery with a great message.

Jewelery that Turns You Green

No, not cheapo jewelery that turns your skin green after wearing it. I'm talking about fine jewelery with an eco-conscious and people-friendly purpose.

There's been a lot of engagements and weddings going on around me lately. So, as with most things I don't feel like thinking about, there's been this constant stream of wedding and engagement info going on around me that I otherwise wouldn't have noticed. It always happens that way, right? I've seen TV segments on how to be a "green bride" and how to have a "green wedding," and lately I've even found some guffly engagement and wedding rings.

I found a store called greenKarat, an ecommerce jeweler of jewelery made in more ecologically responsible manner. The company has a strong philosophy and also goes deep on the issues surrounding gold and gems, like conflict diamonds and the impact of mechanized mining processes. Additionally, they go beyond taking issue with conventional practices and actually deliver alternatives. Each piece of jewelery they sell is evaluated on 8 characteristics:

1. Eco Metal: is it made of ecologically mined gold or platinum?
2. Eco Alloy: is the alloy a recycled metal?
3. Eco Findings: are the small parts of the jewelery comprised of recycled gold or platinum?
4. Eco Gems: are the gems ecologically mined?
5. Eco Other: are the other components of ecological origin?
6. Non-Eco: are there items used that are not ecologically responsible?
7. Eco Refinery: did the precious metal on the piece come from an ecologically certified refinery?
8. Eco Bench: did the jewelery maker use eco-friendly procedures in the workplace?

Using these guidelines, greenKarat gives each of its pieces a rating called a Green Assay Record. This allows the customer to view the characteristics of his or her jewelery, and understand how green it is. While they understand that each piece isn't ecologically perfect, because the system isn't yet perfect, greenKarat does pledge to be open and honest with customers about what goes into each piece of jewelery. Plus, the primary metal is every greenKarat design is recycled from another piece of jewelery.

greenKarat also has a section on their site called myKarat that allows customers to recycle their gold for store credit, to reuse their gold to make rings, or to donate their gold to benefit the environment. And with gold at premium value lately, now is the perfect time to start exchanging.

Look At That Package

I found a really helpful blog article over at "Moving at the Speed of Life" about eco-friendly packaging that I thought you might like. It's probably no surprise to you that the extra packaging that comes along with the goods we consume is taking an unnecessary toll. In fact, the EPA estimates that 1/3 of landfill waste comes from product packaging. If that doesn't scream "opportunity for improvement," I don't know what does. Though the amount of packaging that comes with the stuff we buy is not really in our direct control, we do have a great amount of control over how we recycle and reuse these things. The article goes deep on some packaging reduction initiatives being done by Dial and Deer Park bottled water. Other companies, like Method, are also known for their minimalism. Likewise, brands like Ecoist take reusing to a new (and quite fashionable) level. Know of any other brands that have cut down on the packaging they use, or have found an alternative use for excess packaging? Please let us know!

My Baby Tree

Happy Erf Day!

I hope you all are enjoying today in the most earth-pleasing ways possible. On this day, 17 years ago, I received a tiny baby tree to plant in honor of earth day. I remember bringing this little plant home from school in a plastic bag and asking my parents where I should put it. I planted the little thing outside of my parents house with the help of my dad, it must have been only a foot or two tall at the time. To his and my mom's surprise, that little tree made it through that summer and winter (which was not at all my doing, because I think I forgot about it for at least 5 years). Today, my tree is bigger than my parent's house. It feels really cheesy, but when I take a moment to look at it I get a sense of satisfaction.

Eat Better

I found this guide, "Organic Foods and More: 30 Days to a Greener Diet," on The Daily Green. I like this list of simple ways to eat better because you can incorporate just a few of the tips and still be more sustainable and healthier than you were before. Instead of cramping all these tips into one month, I suggest you take one or two of the tips and just work on those those for a week or two. Then, as you progress and get used to your new habits, you can take on a few more of the tips.
The tip I'm going to start with is "Get Real with Sweeteners." When I'm at a coffee shop I usually go for the natural sweeteners, if they're available. However, not all coffee shops give you that option. So, I usually end up using 4 or 5 Splenda packets in my coffee or tea. Gross, right? Part of the reason for this is my calorie-phobia. But, I think I can commit to switching my 4 packets of Splenda for one (ok, probably two) packets of natural sugar. My plan is to keep a few on hand in case the shop I'm at doesn't have any, and to do a 100% switch to natural sugar at home.

Which tip will you work on?

Decor Freak

The thought of my big move, though still a few months in the distance, is one of the reasons why I haven't gone completely crazy lately. There's just something about starting fresh - especially when starting fresh means new, organic and natural decor for your new place.

I found some beautiful bedding at Amenity. This duvet cover is made of organically grown and processed cotton, and is printed with non-toxic, water-based dyes. Likewise, its printed and sewn in the US. The queen size duvet is $330. This isn't bad by comparison. If you look for duvets of the same size at Macy's or other department stores, you'll find that their prices range from $100-400, depending on the brand and quality. The store also offers free shipping on orders over $100, and allows returns if you contact them within 14 days of receiving your item.

Recycle Your Janky Cell Phone

My poor cell phone is on its last leg. It functions 100%, but the screen gets all weird and fuzzy sometimes and it doesn't flip open with ease as it once did. It's a sad, sad situation for all parties involved. I'm preparing for this unfortunate event by looking for electronics recycling companies. I found this article by Earth2Tech on 5 great places to send your dearly departed or obsolete gadgets.

I'm most interested in SecondRotation and BuyMyTronics.com, because I wouldn't mind getting a little money for my phone. I went through the steps at BuyMyTronics.com, which included giving information on my phone model and its condition. Their calculator estimates that I could receive $49 for my phone. Plus, they give an option to donate the money to a charity of your choice. At SecondRotation, their calculator estimated my phone's value at $41. You have to mail your gadget in yourself, of course, but both sites can send payment through Paypal for a quick, simple turnaround.

Pretty Guffly stuff.