My husband and I are probably not your typical attendees at a Green Festival -- at least so far. We tend to be fairly conservative and don't really believe that "the earth has a fever" or in buying carbon credits or social justice. However, we do believe that there is much more we all can do and lots we can learn about taking better care of this earth we have been given. We hope that more conservatives who are interested in becoming 'greener' will come to these festivals, just ignore the things you don't care for and find out about new products and new ideas.
We had lots of great conversations and good information with vendors we met at the green festival. We told some of them about our Jeremiah Ridge project and received a great deal of positive responses about our plans. We are continuing our research on some of these companies and look forward to continued conversations.
We stopped by the booth for Bethesda Green, an organization in Bethesda, Maryland promoting a local model for sustainable living. We met the enthusiastic Dave Feldman, the Executive Director, who shared information about their project and encouraged us to use some of those same principles in the Chilton County area of Alabama. Bethesda Green had a Green Business Incubator that helps to creat and grow green companies by providing shared office space, resources and services to increase the likelihood of the greeen entrepreneur's chance of success.
We also re-acquainted ourselves with Barry Chenkin of AquaBarrel rain barrels. We have used their products and believe in them. What do we like about their rain barrel products? Their products are of high quality and they are MADE IN THE USA! They also provide lots of great information on setting up and maintaining your rain barrel system. We are planning to use their products again in a number of places around the Jeremiah Ridge project. We have become one of their affiliates and have a few links on the pages of our website. If you are interested in great quality rain barrels and good service, click on one of the Aquabarrel links on our site for more information.
I also found out that you can recycle small electronics and inkjet cartridges through the United States Postal Service and mail them free of charge with envelopes they provide. Who knew!?! Their "Mail Back” program helps consumers make more environmentally friendly choices, making it easier for customers to discard used or obsolete small electronics in an environmentally responsible way. Customers use free envelopes found in 1,500 Post Offices to mail back inkjet cartridges, PDAs, Blackberries, digital cameras, iPods and MP3 players – without having to pay for postage. The postage is paid for by Clover Technologies Group, a company that recycles, remanufactures and remarkets inkjet cartridges, laser cartridges and small electronics. If the electronic item or cartridges cannot be refurbished and resold, its component parts are reused to refurbish other items, or the parts are broken down further and the materials are recycled. Clover Technologies Group has a “zero waste to landfill” policy: it does everything it can to avoid contributing any materials to the nation’s landfills. We like that Clover Technologies is a company based in the United States. Click on USPS Recyling List to find out the locations where this service is available near you.
I found an sustainable penetrating oil finish called Penofin Verde at the Festival. The oil finish has no petroleum distillates, has no odor and the VOC is less than 1 g/liter. That sounds really good to me and hope that the product will also be high quality and apply well. I picked up a few of their samples and am looking forward to finding a few small projects to try them on. I am a big do-it-yourself-er and was looking for some good-quality products to use on my DIY projects and for stain projects as we begin building the structures. They say that it is safe to use around children and animals and can be applied to decks, siding, fencing, furniture, floors, countertops, cabinets, all exterior and interior wood applications. I will include something on my blog later and let everyone know my opinion of this product.
I am also doing a little research on two organic mattress companies from the Green Festival. SavvyRest is based in Charlottesville, Virginia and was developed by a yoga practitioner. The mattresses are made wih organic cotton, organic "savvy" wool and natural latex. It seems that you can buy your mattress in many combinations and couples can choose a different firmness for each side. They can also make a custom mattress for a lower or higher bed, antique beds, day beds, ect. The second company I am researching is CozyPure based in Norfolk, Virginia. Their mattresses are also made with the organic cotton, organic wool and natural latex. They are designed to be supported by slats. The company also offers a daybed frame and platform frames that are made from sustainable american woods, wool pillows, cotton towels and sheets and lots more. If anyone has experience with either one of these companies, I would love to hear your comments.
TWO PERSONAL FAVORITES -- I really loved two products that I am enjoying right now.
The Canus Goat's Milk Soap has a delicious fragrance and a rich moisturizer. The company orginated in Montreal, Canada and they opened an American headquarters in Waterbury, Vermont. They also make body butters, body wash and body lotion. You can find their products at stores like CVS, Walgreens and Drugstore.com. I think I am going to need to try out their line of dog product for our our springer spaniel [Tucker]. They have a bar soap and shampoos that look like they would be great for his typical springer spaniel skin condition.
Kallari Chocolate - is one of the best dark chocolate bars I have tasted! There were a number of booths selling chocolate from sustainble sources and being a great [especially dark] chocolate lover, I did try several of them. Once I tried the Kallari 75% Cacao, I had to have some to follow me home. The chocolate is produced by a coalition of 850 indigenous Kichwa families in the Napo region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. It is the only farmer cooperative in the world that harvest, markets and enjoys ALL the profits from its own line of organic chocolate. It is available at a couple of online store and at Whole Food markets. You can find more information about the chocolate on their website -- I can just tell you it is HEAVENLY!
Are you familiar with any of the products I have reviewed? Do you have any questions about the products? Please take the time to comment -- if I don't know the answer, I will do some research and find the answer for you.
