Grow your own houseplants from kitchen scraps

An avocado pit is a wondrous thing to a four year old who is just discovering seeds.  "Can we plant it?" my son's eyes were as big as the huge round shiny seed.  His youthful enthusiasm often snaps me out of my habitual thinking patterns and gives me a peek into a world infinite potential.  "Maybe" I sincerely replied.  We dried the seed and placed it in the seed-sorting tray that he made that week: washed out condiment cups from our recent carry-out order, glued to a strip of construction paper.  This tray contained all the hope and vision of a child's backyard Eden: orange, grapefruit, date, tomato, squash, pumpkin, marigold, zinnia; every seed of every piece of produce that crossed our cutting board, and every seed of every spent flower we passed on our walks and every spinning helicopter seed from every ash and maple tree that his little hands could carry.  I felt a little apprehensive at the thought of being responsible for all of their fruition!  (A secret between you and me... I do not have a green thumb!)

I hoped that seed collecting was a fulfilling project in itself for my young son, until the next week when he asked "Mommy, when are we going to grow that avocado tree?"  I wasn't surprised that he remembered, after all "I'm an elephant." he proudly and routinely proclaims.  So, I put aside my afternoon chores, (like I always readily do!) and we set off to the book store to see what we could learn about growing seeds.

As serendipity would have it, the book I found in the "green features" section, seemed like it had been written just for us!  Don't Throw It, Grow It! 68 Windowsill Plants from Kitchen Scraps written by Deborah Peterson & Millicent Selsam.  My son was not surprised, because of course, you go to the bookstore and they have exactly what you need there but I was experiencing the magic of following my child's curiosity to it's fruition.

On the way home we purchased a small bag of sphagnum moss from the local craft supply store.  At home, we dampened a handful of the moss slightly and nestled the seed inside.  Then we placed this "baby bird egg inside it's nest!" in a small ziploc bag which we then sealed and (like a real bird's egg would've been)placed in a warm dark spot (a shoebox on top of the dryer.)

Not being an elephant myself, I soon forgot about our nestled avocado seed while it set about silently germinating in my laundry room.  About six weeks later, I happened to be cleaning off the top of the clothes dryer when I found the box.  Sure enough, the seed had split open and an inch long sprout was curling upward while three inch long roots searched tenderly for soil.  We put the sprouted seed in a pot one inch larger in diameter than the seed and buried it halfway in soil, as the book instructed.  Since then our little friend has been eagerly stretching skyward (toward our overhead kitchen sink light).  Avocado plants grow rapidly, this one has already outpaced the grapefruit seedling that my husband and son planted six months earlier.

Houseplants are great for keeping indoor air clean.  I sometimes buy them from the off-season clearance rack.  Our introduction to growing our own however, has been fun and fulfilling.  Give it a try!

Caring for baby’s clothes naturally with Kleen Free enzyme cleaner…

When purchasing clothing for babies, every mother knows: buy big.  Babies grow so fast that they might only wear certain sizes for a few months before they are grown out of them.  I always buy my boys clothes in the next size up.  When wearing natural fibers such as cotton, buying a little big helps account for some shrinkage.  Also, rolling up sleeves and pant legs a little means that the garment's use is extended for you when you roll them down again after a growth spurt. 

Now, if you shop for kids clothes at American Apparel online (or in store if you live on the west coast) you might think you are buying big, only to realize when you receive your gear that they look small already without even being washed yet!  American Apparel runs almost 2 sizes small on some of their cuts, especially after washing.  I just bought my 4 year old, who wears a size 4 in most clothing, an AP size 6 that looks really small to me.   I discovered American Apparel on my recent week long research project to find out where our clothing is made and by whom and do they enjoy basic human rights?  As for American Apparel, their garments are made in downtown Los Angeles, by mostly Guatemalan immigrants, and yes.

Having to buy clothing for the kids is new to me as we've enjoyed immaculate hand-me-downs for the past 4 years.  I learned something valuable from this experience too, kids are messy!  The clothing I received was all well cared for and stain free.  My girlfriend told me that these clothes had been through at least two children already, some of them many more and yet they were all still very clean.  Because of this, I developed an erroneous observation, and very bad habit:  I never bothered to put a bib on my first child!  Now many of those shirts and pants are dotted with avocado bits, speckled with blueberry juice and mushed with banana mash.  Now, the next child to inherit them will always look like he's already had his breakfast.  Luckily the next mom can't complain because she's me, and the next baby is my second son. 

My second son is now the fourth and sometimes the sixth child to wear this round of hand-me-downs and I'm getting better at taking care of the clothing that I inherit as well as the clothing that I buy new.  Trust me, once you've spent a week researching the ethics of a company, waiting for calls back from their P.R. rep, explaining to your husband why they cost so much more, checking ebay and craigslist for used versions and finally deciding on sizes and colors before ordering online... you begin to take better care of your "investments."

Children's clothing is transient.  Your baby may wear a garment for about 3 months, then it will be "new" again to a succession of other children until it has become unwearable by someone's standards and gets thrown out.  This could literally be 10 or more kids!  This past year I passed on my baby's very elaborate newborn organic layette, it's already finding it's third home and in excellent condition. 

So, I'll tell you my secret: enzyme cleaner.  I use Kleen-Free Enzyme cleaner in a spray bottle on every spill and spot they get.  This stuff is a must in any house with kids or pets.  It comes in various size bottles but the gallon is the most economical as it is highly concentrated.  It takes me almost 9 months to get through a gallon using it for everyday cleaning and laundry.  It's an enzyme the "eats" protein.  They sell it for lice, bedbugs and other tiny-crawly things, but we use it for food stains and all household cleaning.  The gallon is about $70 with shipping and worth every penny. 

My eco-tip for the day is: Take good care of your children's clothing as these garments will have a long and adventerous life with many children in many homes when your little ones have outgrown them.  After all, re-use is one of the 3 R's!

Butting In For Child Safety (spreading the word on BPA)

It was a classic "eve-moment" in the baby isle of the grocery store.  An unsuspecting mother-to-be, heavy with child, anticipation and protective instinct holds a sippy cup in her had with intent to purchase in preparedness for her unborn...

"Excuse me," I always begin, knowing that my interjection could punture her trusting world view "have you heard about the recent research on plastics containing BPA?  Those sippy cups you're holding were the poster-product of the recall suggestion. (They were Nuby brand.)"  Experience has prepared me for a range of responses at this point.  While most mothers are happy to hear information pertaining to the direct safety of thier child, another common response annoyance at my interuptive, know-it-all attitude. 

"No, I haven't.  What's BPA?" Relieved to have a receptive audience, I begin my discourse on the harmful affects of Bisphenol-A, along with suggestions of BPA free products that can be found in the same isle.  On this occasion, the encounter ended with me escorting this pregnant woman across the store to the sporting goods isle to show her the Thermos brand stainless steel sippy cups called Foogo (read product review).

There are many informative and detailed blogs about BPA.  The summary is that BPA is an estrogen disruptor.  It's use is banned in Europe and Canada but it is still currently being used in the US.  BPA is found in #7 plastics (polycarbonate), canned food and some plastic toys.  Polycarbonate water bottles including the popluar Nalgene bottles made prior to year 2008 contain BPA.   Some baby bottles and formula can liners contain BPA.  Actually, the liners of most canned foods contain BPA.

Vitamix containers made prior to 2008 contain BPA, although the company has begun selling new containers that are BPA free (called the Tritan) and are available for sale through the company's website for about $150. 

As in the case of BPA, I wonder how many other toxins will be finally exposed in the media as being harmful to humans after we have been exposed to them for many years already.  For this reason, I feel compelled to interupt pregnant mothers during the joyful project of making a shower registry, to let them know that there is sometimes a safer alternative. 

My eco tip for the day is: Speak out.  I happen to know a little bit of useful information.  You might also know things that can help others make safer decisions for their children and planet. It's important to remember that information is power.  We can empower ourselves and each other by being open and communicating about the world we have found ourselves in.  So much seems out of our control. Who, exactly is putting toxic chemicals in our children's food, food containers and toys?  Talk to strangers about how we can improve our world.  Start small, like I did that day, with a useful tip to help someone protect their loved ones.  Eventually, the light of truth will make our world transparent!  We can help it along!

Garment Industry Practices

From the day my oldest son was born 4 years ago, I had not ever needed to purchase clothing for him.  He was the lucky (for me) recipient of clean, cute, brand name hand-me-downs from my friend's two boys.  We were being green and saving green!  Then one day, I decided that I would like to start picking out and purchasing his clothes myself.  "Okay," my husband said "just make sure that what you buy was not made by children."  

Child labor, sweatshops and other human rights issues has always been in the back of my mind when shopping for clothing especially, however I felt uneducated on the subject and not confident enough to make that promise to my husband.   So, I began searching websites and calling companies to find out what policies they inforce to protect their workers basic human rights and how closely they monitor the factories where their garments are made.  

This will be an extensive and ongoing post, but I'm happy to provide compassionate shoppers with the information I've gathered in my quest for an acessable, affordable, fairly traded wardrobe.

Clothing and goods that are truly "Fair Trade" are becoming more widely available in eco-friendly shops and online.  My goal, however was to find out as much as possible about the brands that we are all familiar with and that can be easily bought at a local store.  By contacting major brand companies and voicing my concerns for their garment factory workers, I also hoped to raise the awareness that their customers do care and that the demand for fairly traded goods to become the norm is on the rise. 

My first stop was at Gap Inc. (the parent company of Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy and Piper Lime.)  I chose to begin my search here because Gap Inc. was the poster-child for child labor and sweatshop practices after media reports exposed them to the public some years ago.  However, what I found out at GapInc.com is that the company currently has the most transparent factory monitering reports available to the public (on the internet) since 2004.  Does this mean that all of the Gap factories are compliant with the companies statement of ethics?  Well, it's a start.  As a blogger, I'd like give my summary of the company's 2006 social responsibility report. 

I learned that most clothing companies do not own the factories where their garments are made.  The actual factories are independant contractors and so who we think of as the clothing "manufacturer" is really just responsible for designing the garments, contracting out the construction of them, then distribution, sales and marketing, of course.  Some clothing companies, like Gap Inc., have a team of people responsible for monitering relationships with factories and enforcing (by threat of terminating the working relationship) basic human rights standards.  Some clothing companies just work with whatever factory will save them the most money and don't maintain relationships with the contractors at all. (Nike brand has been accused of such.)

  From what I have found, any company that is conscious enough to make attempts at enforcing basic human rights policies for the employees of their contracting facilities is going to have a public statement about it somewhere on their website.  I have foud this to be true for Columbia, Patogonia, Tommy Hilfiger,  MEC and others.  I have also found brands such as Carhardt who actually own some of their factories and also have what they call "union made" garments.  In this case it is the union overseeing the rights of the workers.  (More on this in future blogs.) 

Getting back to the Gap report, on page 30 there is a comprehensive list of a factory's potential violations as well as a chart revealing which countries have the highest rate of which occurences.   If using the Gap report as a snapshot of common factory practices in the country of occurence for all clothing companies, one can begin to make more educated shopping choices based on personal values.  For example: North Africa had the highest percentage of reported cases of workers proven to be under 14 years of age (a.k.a. child labor) although the actual percentage was fairly low, as in <10%. China was reported to have <1% of violations in this catagory. However, in the more vague catagory of "not in full compliance with local child labor laws" China, India, North Africa, South America and even Europe all recieved violations, but still relativly low at <10%.   The highest percentage of violations regarding the potential use of child labor was in the catagory of "poor age documentation" with China, India and Northeast Asia recieving the highest percentage of violations at up to <25%, and Africa, Europe and South America recieving violaions in this catagory on <10% of inspections.

Gap Inc. reported that no instances of violaitons concerning child labor were found in any of their factories in Mexico, Central America, the Carribean, Persian Gulf, the United States or Canada (per thier 2006 social responsibilty report.)

Based on this report and in attempts to keep my agreement with my husband about not supporting child labor,  I have been reading the labels on each piece of clothing I buy to check the country of origin.  I now feel more comfotable buying clothing "made in Guatamala" as opposed to the more common "made in China" option.  I've also discovered clothing brands made in the USA (American Apparel for instance.)  More on domestically made fashion in my next blog!

Gap Inc.'s 2006 social responsibility report can be found here: http://www.gapinc.com/public/documents/CSR_Report_05_06.pdf