Glue and Glitter » recycle

What does green mean?

Becky Striepe — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 11:00:25 +0000

This is something that’s been rattling around in my head for a while, and I thought it might be worth spilling it all here and seeing what you guys think. I write in a lot of places about how to be green, and I get a lot of pitches from companies who want me to review their newest green product. But what does green really mean?

Over at Feelgood Style, we talk about green beauty and fashion, and every time I get a pitch from a cosmetics company, I find myself wondering if they’re green enough. One company makes cosmetics that come in fully compostable packaging, but they use artificial “fragrance,” which can mean any number of toxic, artificial chemicals. Are they green? What about a company who’s recipe is totally free from mystery ingredients, but their packaging is plastic?

I’m even running across this as I start my fall garden! I avoided products from Scotts (even “organic” ones), because they’re a major distributor for Monsanto’s RoundUp. Not familiar with RoundUp? It’s a pesticide, and it’s terrible for the environment. You can read a bit about some of the problems with RoundUp here.

Right, so! In my effort to avoid Scotts, I picked up organic seed starter from Burpee, only to learn that 3-5% of their seeds are from Monsanto. Is 3-5% a small enough number? Am I being green by supporting Burpee’s organic line, when I’m also supporting a company that sells genetically modified seeds?

How to be Green

Some companies are making a genuine effort, while others are just greenwashing. So many companies co-opt the word “green” as a marketing gimmick, that it’s hard to suss out who’s really making an impact and who’s just trying to break into this growing niche of green consumers. It’s up to us to read the labels, do the research, and see beyond the marketing.

But I think if we really want to get at the heart of how to be green, it’s about more than what we buy. It’s what we choose not to buy and what we choose to make ourselves. I think the key to really being a green consumer is to…consume less! That can mean just opting out of the newest and shiniest thing. It can also mean using your crafty skills to reuse what we have and turn it into something new.

My friend Kelly Rand has said many times that she thinks handmade can save the world, and I think she’s really got it right. I also think that handmade can mean different things for different folks. Maybe that means planting and nurturing a food garden, instead of buying produce from halfway around the world. Maybe it’s cooking a meal, rather than ordering wasteful takeout. Or turning an old t-shirt into a reusable shopping bag.

We all have the power to make these small changes, and I think the real way to be green is to do our best to reduce our impacts however we can.

Does that make sense? I sort of feel like I’m tossing out a half-baked idea here, and I’d love to flesh it out with you guys. What does green mean to you?

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2011. | Permalink | Comment
Post tags: be green, DIY, environment, garden, green, handmade, Hippie, how to be green, recycle, recycling, repurposed, reuse, upcycling

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

5 Questions With Lolailo

Becky Striepe — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 14:00:35 +0000

Gloria Mercado-Martín of Lolailo makes lovely recycled message boards. In fact, I featured one of her wine cork boards in a Friday Roundup not too long ago.
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 7 comments
Post tags: cork, cork board, DIY, interview, organization, recycle, repurposed, upcycle, wine cork, wine cork board, wine cork crafts, wine corks

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Remake Your Swag: Logo Bag Remix

Becky Striepe — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 14:00:30 +0000

We all probably have promotional items we’ve accepted that are languishing on a shelf somewhere. Instead of letting them collect dust, you can use your crafty skills to turn them into something cute and useful!

My pal Lisa emailed recently about swag:

This summer I’ve gone to more than my fair share of special events/street festivals/conferences and picked up some free promotional item (called SWAG by the PR folks. It means Stuff We All Get) only to get it home and think, “Why did I say yes to yet another tote bag/t-shirt/whatever when I really could use a tote bag/t-shirt/whatever”? I know I have.

Instead of tossing it, I used my super special crafty powers to cover up that big ol’ logo on that free tote bag and turned it into something I want to carry around town or at least to the dog park.

She’s encouraging folks to do the same and post about it on our blogs for her Remake Your Swag party over at Condo Blues on the 22nd!

I’m so glad she’s organizing this! I actually had a swag-related project that I’d been putting off, and this was just the motivation I needed to get to it.
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 5 comments
Post tags: Condo Blues, DIY, handmade, project, recycle, Remake Your Swag, reuse, SWAG

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

5 Questions With Recupefashion

Becky Striepe — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:00:45 +0000

Nathalie Brault is a fellow Eco Etsian, a knitter of reclaimed yarn, a seamstress and a jeweler. She’s also an avid collector of vintage materials and my very first 5 questions interviewee! Welcome, Nathalie!
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments
Post tags: crafting, interview, knitting, Nathalie Brault, recycle, reuse, upcycle, yarn

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #4

Becky Striepe — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 14:28:38 +0000

The Stash Bust is drawing to a close, ya’ll…how did you hold up? I have to confess that I hit the thrift stores last weekend for fabric. It’s festival season, and my stash was getting so low! Other than that one slip, I held up all month! How about you guys?

Since the Bust is almost over, I though it would be fun this time around to pick out some posts I really dug this month. Here are five of my faves!
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: April Stash Bust, Friday Roundup, Inspiration Friday, recycle, repurpose, reuse, Roundups

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #3

Becky Striepe — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 14:30:43 +0000

The Stash Bust is winding down a bit. How’s it been going for you guys? Have you given in and hit the craft store? I’ve been holding out so far, and it’s been fun working with what I have.

As promised, here’s another roundup of awesome Stash Bust projects for ya!
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: April Stash Bust, Crafty Pals, Earth Day, Earth Month, Friday Roundup, Inspiration Friday, projects, recycle, repurposed, Roundups, Stash Bust, upcycle

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #2

Becky Striepe — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:30:15 +0000

The April Stash Bust is getting better by the day, and awesome projects are rolling in! Here are some of my faves:
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 4 comments
Post tags: April Stash Bust, Friday Roundup, Inspiration Friday, recycle, reuse, reuse inspiration, Roundups, Stash Bust, upcycle

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Reuse Inspiration: Recycled Bottle Planters

Becky Striepe — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 14:00:55 +0000

Americans use 2.5 million plastic bottles per hour. Yes, per HOUR. That adds up to more plastic bottles than I can comprehend. Recycling helps, but it’s not a perfect solution by any means. Instead, why not turn those bottles into something new?
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 6 comments
Post tags: container gardening, plants, plastic, plastic bottles, recycle, upcycle

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #1

Becky Striepe — Fri, 09 Apr 2010 14:00:56 +0000

The April Stash Bust is in full swing, y’all! If you’re not participating, it isn’t too late. Awesome posts and projects have been rolling in, and as promised I’m rounding them up for ya. Ready? Bust it:
(. . .)
Click here to read on!

© Becky for Glue and Glitter, 2010. | Permalink | 3 comments
Post tags: April Stash Bust, Friday Roundup, Inspiration Friday, recycle, reuse, Roundups, upcycle, upcycling

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Crafty Reuse: Paper Made from Dryer Lint

Becky Striepe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 15:30:09 +0000

How awesome is this! Not only does Ashley over at Instructables show you how to make dryer lint paper, she includes directions on how to make DIY paper-making supplies! There’s some good discussion going on in the comments, including what to do if you don’t own a blender and how to make colored paper instead of plain ol’ grey, so head on over to Instructables for lots more good info!

I haven’t made paper since I was in summer camp back in elementary school. If you don’t have dryer lint handy, you can still use the deckle and mold from Ashley’s tutorial to make paper from other things: junk mail, newspaper…based on this post on making paper, it sounds like pretty much any paper products that would otherwise find their way into the recycle bin would work!

[via CRAFT:]

Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh

Glue and Glitter » recycle

What does green mean?

How to be Green

Related Posts:

5 Questions With Lolailo

Remake Your Swag: Logo Bag Remix

We all probably have promotional items we’ve accepted that are languishing on a shelf somewhere. Instead of letting them collect dust, you can use your crafty skills to turn them into something cute and useful!

5 Questions With Recupefashion

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #4

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #3

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #2

Reuse Inspiration: Recycled Bottle Planters

Friday Roundup: April Stash Bust #1

Crafty Reuse: Paper Made from Dryer Lint

Related Posts: