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.

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.

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.

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!

Less Baggage is Better

Just as dating is much better with no baggage, shopping is too. So, I was happy to read over at A Greeniac's World (a blog you should indeed check out when you have the chance) that Ikea is creating less plastic bag waste. It turns out that Ikea is going all the way by completely eliminating plastic bags in their stores. Instead, customers can purchase a reusable bag for $0.59 or choose to not use a bag at all. By eliminating the plastic bag option in its US stores, Ikea is saving the world 70 million wasteful plastic bags a year. Check out the entire article here.

What The Filter?

The other day I was working out in the health club that I'm a member of. I noticed that a woman working out near me was drinking water from a bottle that looked different. So I approached her and asked what was up with the bottle. She told me that the bottle was Eco-friendly, and contained a built-in filter to ensure fresh water on every fill-up.

I was intrigued. Could filtered water bottles be the first Guffly product? When I got home I rushed onto the Internet to learn more about it. I found a company called Pure Water 2Go, that sells multiple styles of filtered water bottles. I learned that the company sells one 16oz. filtered water bottle for $7.95. Each bottle can filter 80 gallons of water, allowing itself to be reused many times. Assuming that the national average cost of bottled water is $1.15, and you drink one 16oz. bottle a day; then you would spend $8.00/week or $419.75/year on water. Needless to say, it is much more cost-effective to go with the reusable filtered bottle.

Filtered water bottles are also great for the Eco-conscious consumer because it allows them to greatly reduce the amount of plastic bottle waste they create in landfills. Using the numbers from the above paragraph, drinking one 160z. bottle/day will create 365 bottles/year accumulated in a landfill by you alone. That's 1825 bottles after five years; and 3650 after ten years. According to MSNBC, it generally takes about 1,000 years for a plastic bottle to degrade in a landfill. Can you believe that? I'll let you do the math on that.

Simply put, if I can reduce that much landfill waste by buying an $8.00 bottle--I'm in. It's easy to purchase, fairly inexpensive, easy to integrate into my life, and positive for the environment. So for that I find filtered water bottles worthy of being called Guffly.

What do you think?


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