You can't really have a conversation about environmental vehicles without talking about the hybrids. When they first came out they were a tax writeoff, they are allowed in HOV lanes with only one occupant and they are seen as a status symbol in many socially conscious circles. Being and auto mechanic, I was initially intrigued by this new technology, but hesitant to spend the money, instead purchasing a subcompact - and I couldn't be happier!
My 2004 Kia Rio manual transmission base model gets better mileage than most of the hybrids out there today. I get 300-350 miles before I put 8-9 gallons in the tank doing about a 80/20 highway/city mix. I drive about 5000 miles per year now, but used to drive more, and over the years spend about $50.00 per year doing all the work myself. I also have a 1997 Honda CR-V that only comes out in the snow or when I really need to move something large or heavy. I put about 500-1000 miles per year on that vehicle depending on the winter and how many large items I need to pick up. That vehicle gets about 23-25 MPG, but it varies with how much the 4x4 engages and how much weight I carry in it. Even if I had more money, I wouldn't change my cars. My beat up 12 year old mini-SUV still gets the job done and you can't find a car out there to top my Rio in total cost and I don't like to be wasteful.
But why not buy a hybrid? Check out this study which did a comparison of they Toyota Yaris and Prius and found the same thing I did - the Yaris wins. Another good, inexpensive fuel sipper is the Chevrolet Aveo or the Honda Fit. With the average hybrid, you are already starting about $10,000-15,000 or more in the red versus a gasoline subcompact. Then you can get anywhere from the high 40's to the low 20's in gas mileage with a hybrid. Yes, the low 20's - at 21 MPG the Lexus 600h L, GMC Yukon and Chevrolet Tahoe actually get LOWER gas mileage than my ancient CR-V! At 24 MPG the Lexus GS450h comes in a tie. At 39 MPG in real world average with a mix of my husband and I at the wheel, my Rio leaves all but the Toyota Prius and the Honda Civic Hybrid in the dust. By saving only a few miles per gallon, you never catch up. I have done 2 calculators putting my personal specs versus the hybrid and found both times that I come out losing thousands over the lifetime of the vehicle. Even factoring in a resale value (much better with the hybrid) it would take 15 years according to this calculator for the average person to break even on the hybrid (Prius vs custom setting for my Rio) - since I am a technician doing my own work it would take me a staggering 32 years by the calculator to push into the black. Even at 32 years the Prius would save me only $55 and only after I managed to sell it for $11,713.09. If it went to the scrapyard, I would literally never manage to catch up. The additional costs of taking the Prius to the shop yearly would exceed my yearly fuel savings and push me further and further into the red each year.
But who cares - the money is going to good use, right? It's going to protect the environment and even if it only a small amount of carbon, it's still some. While I can't argue with that, I can argue that with an initial $12,500 savings (don't forget the interest, which would bump that up even more) and a little more each year, I could do a whole lot more. Surely an on demand water heater ($600), 95% efficiency furnace ($1000 if you can install yourself), energy star refrigerator ($600), energy star combo washer/dryer ($700), energy star windows ($1000 for my house self installed) and a rain water collection system ($200) would save more energy. And there's still a ton of money left over - maybe forget the efficiency and use solar panels instead because for the same amount of money I could save over the course of 10 years buying a gasoline subcompact over a Prius I could put solar panels on my roof and say goodbye to the electric company. Then I could go about switching my furnace and stove to electric and save a whole lot more than a few miles per gallon.
Maybe someday a technology will come out that will free us entirely from the oil dependence that sickens our planet and empties our pockets. I don't think that technology is here yet, and I don't think even were it to be developed that the oil companies would let it out without a fight. I've even heard some conspiracy theories about a water driven car that was designed, worked, and destroyed by the upper 2%, but I have not had the time to really research it. When I do, I'll be sure to write an entry either supporting or debunking it. But until such a time as a solidly good cost saving technology is developed and made affordable, I will continue exploring more effective (and cost effective) means of environmental preservation.
Friday, October 10, 2008
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Complete the Circle - Recycle and Buy Recycled Products
With the growing popularity of curbside recycling programs in many urban and suburban areas, many people choose to recycle at least some of their recycleable waste. If you are not familiar with recycling at all or don't know the proper procedure for sorting your recyclables, check out this site. If you are already recycling, do you buy recycled too? Buying recycled is more important that many people realize because many people don't give much thought to what happens to the waste after it goes out for collection. You know, of course, that the truck comes by and picks it up just as with the weekly trash collection. You also probably know that it goes to a recycling center to be pushed through machines, chopped, sorted, processed and prepared for sale to companies looking for recycled fiber, metal, plastic and glass. But the most important step, the one that turns the recycled waste into usable new products is so far removed from the consumer it really has little apparent impact on their lives.
As with any other product, the waste you recycle is sold to consumers with motivation to purchase the product. Basic supply and demand dictates that the more of us that recycle, the lower the price of the processed product made of that recycled material, so every person that sets out a tub of bottles and cans or a box of paper is actually helping to make recycled products more accessible to everyone, but the other side of economics is there needs to be someone wanting to purchase that product in order to complete the cycle and keep the recycling centers in business. Unless we opened up a plant, most people would have no interest in the product produced directly from the recycling center. The bits of glass, plastic, metal and paper are useless until they are taken by yet another company and put through yet another process to become again something useful which in all hopes will be recycled again and so on. The other company in question may wish to manufacture toilet paper, paper towels, stationary, bottles or the many other products that went into the recycling bin in the first place. In reality, they are in a way collecting a product you have used up, taking the used product, freshening it up and then, the very important but often neglected part, selling it back to you.
While at first this may frustrate some people, after all, most states have done away with the can and bottle deposit, though when you could get paid to recycle, you also had to cart your own recycling to the recycling center, when you really think about it what difference does it make that you may be buying back something you gave away in a different form. You would buy it again if you tossed it in the landfill anyway. The only real difference between buying post-recycled products and buying virgin products is whether or not your recycling that you set outside each week will go to good use. Obviously it is more financially sound for the consumer to reuse as many products as possible, and that is how the overflow plastic bags from the store become my lunch pails and I ended up with cloth tissues, feminine products and towels and use glass or ceramic plates, but there are some things that just can't be reused, like toilet paper, paper towels and used paper. It is important to look for a high percentage of post-consumer recycled product (what we put out in our bins or take to a recycling center) because the other, often unlisted type of recycled product is pre-consumer, meaning it is industry waste reused by the same company. For example, this may be a product that was damaged or the end or corner of a roll that was cut off. While it is important for manufacturers to waste as little as possible, pre-consumer recycling is not anymore used than a remnant of fabric purchased at a fabric store. If a percentage of post-consumer recycled material is not listed on the package or advertising, it is probably that the company is using little if any post-consumer product. If there is no percent at all the company could be using as little as 1% recycled product, likely all pre-consumer scraps from the factory.
The primary motivator for a company to purchase recycled material is to sell more of their product to consumers. This is why you often see adverts or product labeling indicating "X% Recycled Y, Z% post-consumer" - it tells the consumer that the company is environmentally friendly and attracts environmentally conscious consumers. Virgin products are in general easier and less costly to manufacture (though with changes in the market and recycling methods, this is not always true) and sometimes even cut the supplier out entirely depending on the size of the company and their other holdings. I'm not saying there isn't a single company out there that is environmentally conscious in their own right, but even they need to make a profit or they will go out of business. Ultimately, this would force the recycling centers out of business since there is no demand for their product, and we would be right back where we started, dumping 100% of our inorganic garbage in a landfill. This is why the actions of the individual residential consumer are of critical importance. If you recycle, but buy virgin products, it leaves the circle incomplete and risks the purpose and future of recycling.
Even if you are already convinced that you should buy recycled, how can you do it without breaking the bank? Recycled products are certainly a little more expensive and can be a little more work to find, but again I would suggest buying in bulk and looking for sales and savings deals. Of all the recyclable materials, paper products are the easiest to find as a consumer and are replacements for products you use regularly around the home. I always preferred Scott toilet paper, so I switched to Seventh Generation 1000 sheet rolls. I also buy their paper towels by the case here (I generally use washable rags, but their are certain messes - think dog related - where you just can't do that). You can also get a case combo for 48 rolls of toilet paper and 30 rolls of paper towels here if you finish your cases at about the same time, but since I use very few paper towels, that doesn't work well for me. Buying by the case makes the expense managable since I only have to buy once or twice a year depending on the product, and I can plan it for a time when I'll have the extra money and again it's one less thing to worry about. Any kind of stationary comes in a recycled format, and with modern processes you often can't even tell the difference between recycled and virgin in look or texture (unless you want to) and many cleaning products. Recycled plastic can be made into plastic lumber (as for patio furniture or fences), clothing fibers for clothing, plastic toys, bottles, and much more. Your recycled glass often ends up as part of a roadway, however many home improvement projects may now contain recycled glass (such as tile or countertops). Cans are generally made into cans again which end up back on the store shelves, though some is used in construction as well. Some recycled glass and metal becomes part of home decoration like recycled sculpture, fixtures like towel racks and toilet paper holders, bird feeders and more. If you do not have a lot of disposable income to spend on home improvement or expensive decoration, it is unlikely that you will be in the market for products made out recycled glass, but if your area does not use it for road construction it would be a good thing to write your local officials about.
Recycling items like batteries, waste oil and electronics is arguably the most important recycling of all. Though these items are not generally collected curbside, many of them are illegal to dump because they are toxic and dangerous to humans and all other life. If you work on your own car, ask your parts store or local Jiffy Lube, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, Pep Boys or other automotive facility if they will accept your waste. You will be surprised at how many will. Then when you take your car for the end of job test drive, test drive it over to a legal recycling point for your waste. As for electronics like cell phones, computers, printers, printer cartridges, and the like, check online for local charities or ask a local repair shop if they would like your item. If it is still in working condition, sell it or give it away. You could even get a tax writeoff if you itemize deductions (I don't so it doesn't help me a whole lot).
I should note in conclusion, that while you can get items like paper plates, plastic trash bags, disposable silverware, etc in recycled, it is better to use compostable, sustainable products like sugarcane and corn place settings and bidegradable, compostable plastic trash bags. Recycling consumes a lot of energy from the trucks that pick the material up to the recycling plant itself to the shipment of the processed material. By using biodegradable, sustainable products, the use of environment damaging products can be avoided altogether and the recycled material can be redirected to those items that cannot be manufactured in a lower impact way. Synthetic fibers can be bad in a number of ways. While it is great to shop recycled for products like shoes that need the added durability of plastic and don't spend a lot of time against your skin, you should strongly consider skipping the synthetic clothing in general and instead using renewable resources like organic cotton that are better for your skin, health and the environment. Buying a reusable water bottle and purchasing larger containers of drinks or making your own from fresh ingredients (like squeezed lemonade or orange juice) is a great way to avoid some waste aluminum and plastic and is better for you anyway. Bulk buy products often (but not always) come with less packaging, again preventing waste.
As with any other product, the waste you recycle is sold to consumers with motivation to purchase the product. Basic supply and demand dictates that the more of us that recycle, the lower the price of the processed product made of that recycled material, so every person that sets out a tub of bottles and cans or a box of paper is actually helping to make recycled products more accessible to everyone, but the other side of economics is there needs to be someone wanting to purchase that product in order to complete the cycle and keep the recycling centers in business. Unless we opened up a plant, most people would have no interest in the product produced directly from the recycling center. The bits of glass, plastic, metal and paper are useless until they are taken by yet another company and put through yet another process to become again something useful which in all hopes will be recycled again and so on. The other company in question may wish to manufacture toilet paper, paper towels, stationary, bottles or the many other products that went into the recycling bin in the first place. In reality, they are in a way collecting a product you have used up, taking the used product, freshening it up and then, the very important but often neglected part, selling it back to you.
While at first this may frustrate some people, after all, most states have done away with the can and bottle deposit, though when you could get paid to recycle, you also had to cart your own recycling to the recycling center, when you really think about it what difference does it make that you may be buying back something you gave away in a different form. You would buy it again if you tossed it in the landfill anyway. The only real difference between buying post-recycled products and buying virgin products is whether or not your recycling that you set outside each week will go to good use. Obviously it is more financially sound for the consumer to reuse as many products as possible, and that is how the overflow plastic bags from the store become my lunch pails and I ended up with cloth tissues, feminine products and towels and use glass or ceramic plates, but there are some things that just can't be reused, like toilet paper, paper towels and used paper. It is important to look for a high percentage of post-consumer recycled product (what we put out in our bins or take to a recycling center) because the other, often unlisted type of recycled product is pre-consumer, meaning it is industry waste reused by the same company. For example, this may be a product that was damaged or the end or corner of a roll that was cut off. While it is important for manufacturers to waste as little as possible, pre-consumer recycling is not anymore used than a remnant of fabric purchased at a fabric store. If a percentage of post-consumer recycled material is not listed on the package or advertising, it is probably that the company is using little if any post-consumer product. If there is no percent at all the company could be using as little as 1% recycled product, likely all pre-consumer scraps from the factory.
The primary motivator for a company to purchase recycled material is to sell more of their product to consumers. This is why you often see adverts or product labeling indicating "X% Recycled Y, Z% post-consumer" - it tells the consumer that the company is environmentally friendly and attracts environmentally conscious consumers. Virgin products are in general easier and less costly to manufacture (though with changes in the market and recycling methods, this is not always true) and sometimes even cut the supplier out entirely depending on the size of the company and their other holdings. I'm not saying there isn't a single company out there that is environmentally conscious in their own right, but even they need to make a profit or they will go out of business. Ultimately, this would force the recycling centers out of business since there is no demand for their product, and we would be right back where we started, dumping 100% of our inorganic garbage in a landfill. This is why the actions of the individual residential consumer are of critical importance. If you recycle, but buy virgin products, it leaves the circle incomplete and risks the purpose and future of recycling.
Even if you are already convinced that you should buy recycled, how can you do it without breaking the bank? Recycled products are certainly a little more expensive and can be a little more work to find, but again I would suggest buying in bulk and looking for sales and savings deals. Of all the recyclable materials, paper products are the easiest to find as a consumer and are replacements for products you use regularly around the home. I always preferred Scott toilet paper, so I switched to Seventh Generation 1000 sheet rolls. I also buy their paper towels by the case here (I generally use washable rags, but their are certain messes - think dog related - where you just can't do that). You can also get a case combo for 48 rolls of toilet paper and 30 rolls of paper towels here if you finish your cases at about the same time, but since I use very few paper towels, that doesn't work well for me. Buying by the case makes the expense managable since I only have to buy once or twice a year depending on the product, and I can plan it for a time when I'll have the extra money and again it's one less thing to worry about. Any kind of stationary comes in a recycled format, and with modern processes you often can't even tell the difference between recycled and virgin in look or texture (unless you want to) and many cleaning products. Recycled plastic can be made into plastic lumber (as for patio furniture or fences), clothing fibers for clothing, plastic toys, bottles, and much more. Your recycled glass often ends up as part of a roadway, however many home improvement projects may now contain recycled glass (such as tile or countertops). Cans are generally made into cans again which end up back on the store shelves, though some is used in construction as well. Some recycled glass and metal becomes part of home decoration like recycled sculpture, fixtures like towel racks and toilet paper holders, bird feeders and more. If you do not have a lot of disposable income to spend on home improvement or expensive decoration, it is unlikely that you will be in the market for products made out recycled glass, but if your area does not use it for road construction it would be a good thing to write your local officials about.
Recycling items like batteries, waste oil and electronics is arguably the most important recycling of all. Though these items are not generally collected curbside, many of them are illegal to dump because they are toxic and dangerous to humans and all other life. If you work on your own car, ask your parts store or local Jiffy Lube, Valvoline Instant Oil Change, Pep Boys or other automotive facility if they will accept your waste. You will be surprised at how many will. Then when you take your car for the end of job test drive, test drive it over to a legal recycling point for your waste. As for electronics like cell phones, computers, printers, printer cartridges, and the like, check online for local charities or ask a local repair shop if they would like your item. If it is still in working condition, sell it or give it away. You could even get a tax writeoff if you itemize deductions (I don't so it doesn't help me a whole lot).
I should note in conclusion, that while you can get items like paper plates, plastic trash bags, disposable silverware, etc in recycled, it is better to use compostable, sustainable products like sugarcane and corn place settings and bidegradable, compostable plastic trash bags. Recycling consumes a lot of energy from the trucks that pick the material up to the recycling plant itself to the shipment of the processed material. By using biodegradable, sustainable products, the use of environment damaging products can be avoided altogether and the recycled material can be redirected to those items that cannot be manufactured in a lower impact way. Synthetic fibers can be bad in a number of ways. While it is great to shop recycled for products like shoes that need the added durability of plastic and don't spend a lot of time against your skin, you should strongly consider skipping the synthetic clothing in general and instead using renewable resources like organic cotton that are better for your skin, health and the environment. Buying a reusable water bottle and purchasing larger containers of drinks or making your own from fresh ingredients (like squeezed lemonade or orange juice) is a great way to avoid some waste aluminum and plastic and is better for you anyway. Bulk buy products often (but not always) come with less packaging, again preventing waste.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Fresh and Soft Clothes, Naturally (ditch the detergent without smelling up the room)
If you go to any grocery store, Wal Mart or other such supercenter, you will find a whole aisle of laundry products in all shapes, sizes and scents. There is chemical detergent, chemical liquid fabric softener, chemical bleach and chemical disposable dryer sheets. Washing machines are not perfect, and they invariably leave these detergents and fragerences behind where they can irritate your nose and skin. The rest goes right down the drain, heading off into the water table where it eventually arrives at the bays, rivers and reservoirs. As with many other things, the amount produced from a single household is not significant, however when you add up the waste produced by every household in the locality, region, or country it is a huge mess - and another easily avoidable one.
By going to the natural foods market or the internet rather than the local supercenter or grocery store to choose your product, you will find many options not available through the most common laundry product vendors. These products may just be natural, low environmental, hypo-allergenic versions of the same products you find in the store or they may be unique products that take a bit of getting used to, but in the end are really the best products for you and the planet.
The Best - reusable, compostable and natural
My personal favorite of all the natural laundry soaps is not a manufactured product at all. Soap nuts come from soapberry trees and are 100% natural and sustainable because it does not damage the tree for the nuts to be removed. The nuts have a sticky coating that contains saporin, a natural soap that is also used in Ayurvedic medicine for various illnesses including eczema and psoraisis. That is what first attracted me - my husband has eczema and is sensitive to many detergents. I'm not going to say that changing to soap nuts cured him, but he has improved due to the replacement of an irritant with a healing agent. The soap nuts look just like those in the photo - about the size of an acorn and covered with a thick, black, sticky coating, they give off an odor that goes away once the coating dissolves in water. You place 2-4 nuts in a cotton bag depending on whether you wash in cold or hot water and if you use cold water, the nuts will last for 3-4 washes. As the nuts dissolve, you can see the suds in the water and your clothes come out fresh, clean and odorless without the residue of manufactured soaps. When the nuts are spent, simply toss them into your yard or compost where they will decompose like any other nut and enrich the soil.
If you're anything like me, you need more than soap sometimes. Oxy-clean was one of my favorites since I am very sensitive to bleach products, but even oxy-clean has chemical additives. There is a natural solution that is just as effective without the chemicals. Personally, I like Bio-Kleen's citrus oxygen bleach, which can be ordered by the case here on the subscribe and save program for a substantial discount. For stain removal, I again prefer Bio-Kleen because they have powerful, concentrated products and less packaging means less waste and lower price. Bac-out (shown here in the gallon jug, although it is also available in smaller bottles or a 5 gallon tub for those that use a whole lot) uses enzymes to destroy stains and fight bacteria. It can be used for cleaning many other things around the house as well, eliminating the need for a lot of cleaning products you may otherwise purchase separately.
But what about softeners? Liquid fabric softener has the same obvious drawbacks as manufactured soaps, but I also always used dryer sheets. Although they don't seem like much of a problem, aside from being yet another piece of refuse that ends up in the landfill, they can be a fire hazard in your laundry room if you do not carefully dispose of them after each load. Even worse, the chemicals used in many dryer sheets appear on the EPA's hazardous waste list! They probably wouldn't sell too many if they put that on the box. There is another option that many people have never heard about. These dryer balls last a long time and can just be left in the dryer between loads so they are always there. Although there are many low cost dryer balls available, I like Nellie's Dryer Balls because they are a well-made, long lasting product, which to me makes them worth the extra $5-10. Dryer balls alone work great for the spring, summer and fall, but if you have a cold, dry winter climate, you probably have trouble with static. This reusable static eliminator takes care of that and lasts for 500 loads (figuring about 2 loads per week that's 5 years).
Other Eco-friendly Options (if you're not ready to go all the way yet)
While the aforementioned options are undeniably the best way to go, there are other options for people that aren't ready to go all the way, or find some of the other options don't work for them. These are eco-friendly, organic detergents, fabric softeners (liquid or sheet) and stain removers. Buying concentrated is the best for both your cost and the environment, so again I suggest Bio-Kleen as my first choice product. Available as powder, cold water liquid, all temperature liquid or free and clear liquid, there is a product to meet every need. Seventh Generation, Natural Value, Nellies, Laundress and many other natural product manufacturers also make similar products, though they will not always be concentrated and you will have to buy them more often and thus either pay more for shipping or use more fuel going to and from the store and discard more waste. Seventh Generation also makes liquid fabric softener (as do many other natural products manufacturers) and Laundress makes these dryer sheets and stain remover bars.
Whatever you decide to use, by choosing a natural product you will be taking better care of your skin, your health and the environment. You also might even save a few dollars by ditching the dryer sheets or fabric softener and buying in bulk.
By going to the natural foods market or the internet rather than the local supercenter or grocery store to choose your product, you will find many options not available through the most common laundry product vendors. These products may just be natural, low environmental, hypo-allergenic versions of the same products you find in the store or they may be unique products that take a bit of getting used to, but in the end are really the best products for you and the planet.
The Best - reusable, compostable and natural
My personal favorite of all the natural laundry soaps is not a manufactured product at all. Soap nuts come from soapberry trees and are 100% natural and sustainable because it does not damage the tree for the nuts to be removed. The nuts have a sticky coating that contains saporin, a natural soap that is also used in Ayurvedic medicine for various illnesses including eczema and psoraisis. That is what first attracted me - my husband has eczema and is sensitive to many detergents. I'm not going to say that changing to soap nuts cured him, but he has improved due to the replacement of an irritant with a healing agent. The soap nuts look just like those in the photo - about the size of an acorn and covered with a thick, black, sticky coating, they give off an odor that goes away once the coating dissolves in water. You place 2-4 nuts in a cotton bag depending on whether you wash in cold or hot water and if you use cold water, the nuts will last for 3-4 washes. As the nuts dissolve, you can see the suds in the water and your clothes come out fresh, clean and odorless without the residue of manufactured soaps. When the nuts are spent, simply toss them into your yard or compost where they will decompose like any other nut and enrich the soil.
If you're anything like me, you need more than soap sometimes. Oxy-clean was one of my favorites since I am very sensitive to bleach products, but even oxy-clean has chemical additives. There is a natural solution that is just as effective without the chemicals. Personally, I like Bio-Kleen's citrus oxygen bleach, which can be ordered by the case here on the subscribe and save program for a substantial discount. For stain removal, I again prefer Bio-Kleen because they have powerful, concentrated products and less packaging means less waste and lower price. Bac-out (shown here in the gallon jug, although it is also available in smaller bottles or a 5 gallon tub for those that use a whole lot) uses enzymes to destroy stains and fight bacteria. It can be used for cleaning many other things around the house as well, eliminating the need for a lot of cleaning products you may otherwise purchase separately.
But what about softeners? Liquid fabric softener has the same obvious drawbacks as manufactured soaps, but I also always used dryer sheets. Although they don't seem like much of a problem, aside from being yet another piece of refuse that ends up in the landfill, they can be a fire hazard in your laundry room if you do not carefully dispose of them after each load. Even worse, the chemicals used in many dryer sheets appear on the EPA's hazardous waste list! They probably wouldn't sell too many if they put that on the box. There is another option that many people have never heard about. These dryer balls last a long time and can just be left in the dryer between loads so they are always there. Although there are many low cost dryer balls available, I like Nellie's Dryer Balls because they are a well-made, long lasting product, which to me makes them worth the extra $5-10. Dryer balls alone work great for the spring, summer and fall, but if you have a cold, dry winter climate, you probably have trouble with static. This reusable static eliminator takes care of that and lasts for 500 loads (figuring about 2 loads per week that's 5 years).
Other Eco-friendly Options (if you're not ready to go all the way yet)
While the aforementioned options are undeniably the best way to go, there are other options for people that aren't ready to go all the way, or find some of the other options don't work for them. These are eco-friendly, organic detergents, fabric softeners (liquid or sheet) and stain removers. Buying concentrated is the best for both your cost and the environment, so again I suggest Bio-Kleen as my first choice product. Available as powder, cold water liquid, all temperature liquid or free and clear liquid, there is a product to meet every need. Seventh Generation, Natural Value, Nellies, Laundress and many other natural product manufacturers also make similar products, though they will not always be concentrated and you will have to buy them more often and thus either pay more for shipping or use more fuel going to and from the store and discard more waste. Seventh Generation also makes liquid fabric softener (as do many other natural products manufacturers) and Laundress makes these dryer sheets and stain remover bars.
Whatever you decide to use, by choosing a natural product you will be taking better care of your skin, your health and the environment. You also might even save a few dollars by ditching the dryer sheets or fabric softener and buying in bulk.
Friday, October 3, 2008
6 Good Reasons To Use Cloth Diapers
1. You want to protect your baby from chemicals.
There is a huge market for organic foods for baby because of the concern of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones used in food production. There is also a growing market for organic clothing, bedding and furniture for baby. But what about diapers - the very thing that is against the most sensitive part of your baby for the first few years of their life? If you read my article on menstrual products then you already know about the chemicals used in the bleaching natural fibers and the synthetic blended fibers and plastics used in menstrual products. Diapers are no different but have the added negative effect of being worn all day every day and some additional chemicals depending on the type of diaper you are using to improve absorbancy and to feel cold when wet or change color or other features that have emerged in the past few decades. What we don't know is the long term effects of exposure to these additional chemicals. Many things that were once thought safe are now known to be harmful, and there are a lot of problems increasing in incidence that we just don't have a reason for yet. Take dioxin for example. We do have studies directly linking dioxin exposure to endometriosis, which aside from being painful can cause infertility, in other primates, but not humans. We also have an unexplained increase in incidence of endometriosis in the past 50-100 years. The saddest part is that we pay a premium for the presumed privledge of exposing our infants to chemicals that when it comes down to it we just don't know what effects they will have. I've always thought better safe than sorry - if I've washed cloth diapers and the disposables are not harmful, I've lost nothing, but if I use them and they are harmful, there's no turning back the clock.
2. You want your baby to be comfortable.
Plastic may hold back odors and wetness, but it doesn't breathe. No matter what you do with plastic and chemical powders, you will never get the breathability of plain old natural, renewable cotton. The plastic wrapped fibers hold the wet next to your baby's body, increasing the odor and the risk of discomfort, diaper rash and even infection in the most extreme cases, which then requires more medication that your baby otherwise would not have needed. Even the chemicals in the stay dry diapers will only absorb so much before they overflow. And how well do you really want odor, wetness and chemicals held against your baby's sensitive skin? Which would you rather have, a damaged couch or an injured baby? And I'm sure you don't need a color changing diaper to know when your baby is ready for a change - parents have been figuring it out on their own for millenia. I'm sure you know, too, that a happy baby is much easier on tired new parents than a fussy, uncomfortable one, so why not invest a little time and keep your baby a lot happier.
3. You have more important things to buy for your child than a pile of disposable diapers.
If your family is anything like mine, you have to make financial choices every day. For every purchase you make, there is another purchase you don't make. In the long run, cloth diapers will save you over a thousand dollars per child, and I know several parents that kept their cloth diapers and used them for future children - they didn't spend a penny on diapers for them. Imagine what you could do for your child with an extra few hundred dollars. You could do something meaningful for them, something that would bring your family together rather than throwing it in the trash bit by bit.
4. You will never run out of diapers in the middle of the night (or the day before a paycheck).
What happens when the worst happens. Your hot water heater blows, the sewer line collapses, the car breaks down, the refrigerator dies or any of the many other urgent problems a household can have happens. You have to fix the house now, and just like that you have $7.53 left in your bank account. You have enough food in the cupboard to last you until your next paycheck, though maybe not the best food in the world. You can drink water and your fuel tanks will make it till Friday, but you can't live without diapers. This is the advantage to having almost everything in the house renewable, especially if you are economically challenged like I am. The security of knowing you will never be trying to fashion an old towel and some toilet paper into a diaper for a few days is comforting, even if the emergency never happens.
5. You want to leave your baby a clean, healthy planet to live on.
Plastic diapers fill the landfills and since the aren't biodegradable your childrens' children's diapers will join the remnants of theirs in the landfill years later if we don't stop. Maybe it's not in your backyard yet, but with 6 billion people on the planet and an ever growing population, it's only a matter of time before it gets there. There are some things we can't prevent - every society will have waste, but this is a major pollutor that could easily be stopped by switching to a natural, reusable, renewable product that is better for our children anyway.
6. You will be supporting environmentally conscious companies, work at home parents, and/or small businesses with minimal environmental impact.
While disposable diapers are made by big, greedy, polluting corporations using toxic chemicals and underpaid workers in the manufacturing process, cloth diaper manufacturers are usually the polar opposite. Usually a group of work at home parents or a small, family friendly workspace and using only natural fabrics and just enough power to run a sewing machine, these companies or sole proprioterships pay fair wages and produce little or no waste (and certainly no toxic waste). Most manufacturers of cloth diapers are also careful to select only fabrics manufactured in a natural, chemical free, sustainable way because they understand how important it is to you to keep your baby's environment chemical free and preserve the earth for their future. These individuals and small companies are also dedicated to producing a quality product, and there are some like Wallypop that price their products to be accessable for lower income families. Sarah (the owner of Wallypop) even notes that her purpose in business is not to make as much profit as possible, it is to make sure that single income families still get quality products, and she hit the mark! This is just one of the many manufacturers out there of cloth diapers, and I'd suggest that you try a few and find out what works best with your family. It would be a good idea to also get some wet bags and a diaper pail to keep down on the smell until you get a chance to wash them, and if you don't want to wash them, you can try this hand powered washing machine which takes care of small loads with less wear and tear to the fabric too. Be sure to use environmentally friendly, natural cleaning products that will not cause skin irritation for your baby. I will be doing a whole article on them coming up.
There is a huge market for organic foods for baby because of the concern of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones used in food production. There is also a growing market for organic clothing, bedding and furniture for baby. But what about diapers - the very thing that is against the most sensitive part of your baby for the first few years of their life? If you read my article on menstrual products then you already know about the chemicals used in the bleaching natural fibers and the synthetic blended fibers and plastics used in menstrual products. Diapers are no different but have the added negative effect of being worn all day every day and some additional chemicals depending on the type of diaper you are using to improve absorbancy and to feel cold when wet or change color or other features that have emerged in the past few decades. What we don't know is the long term effects of exposure to these additional chemicals. Many things that were once thought safe are now known to be harmful, and there are a lot of problems increasing in incidence that we just don't have a reason for yet. Take dioxin for example. We do have studies directly linking dioxin exposure to endometriosis, which aside from being painful can cause infertility, in other primates, but not humans. We also have an unexplained increase in incidence of endometriosis in the past 50-100 years. The saddest part is that we pay a premium for the presumed privledge of exposing our infants to chemicals that when it comes down to it we just don't know what effects they will have. I've always thought better safe than sorry - if I've washed cloth diapers and the disposables are not harmful, I've lost nothing, but if I use them and they are harmful, there's no turning back the clock.
2. You want your baby to be comfortable.
Plastic may hold back odors and wetness, but it doesn't breathe. No matter what you do with plastic and chemical powders, you will never get the breathability of plain old natural, renewable cotton. The plastic wrapped fibers hold the wet next to your baby's body, increasing the odor and the risk of discomfort, diaper rash and even infection in the most extreme cases, which then requires more medication that your baby otherwise would not have needed. Even the chemicals in the stay dry diapers will only absorb so much before they overflow. And how well do you really want odor, wetness and chemicals held against your baby's sensitive skin? Which would you rather have, a damaged couch or an injured baby? And I'm sure you don't need a color changing diaper to know when your baby is ready for a change - parents have been figuring it out on their own for millenia. I'm sure you know, too, that a happy baby is much easier on tired new parents than a fussy, uncomfortable one, so why not invest a little time and keep your baby a lot happier.
3. You have more important things to buy for your child than a pile of disposable diapers.
If your family is anything like mine, you have to make financial choices every day. For every purchase you make, there is another purchase you don't make. In the long run, cloth diapers will save you over a thousand dollars per child, and I know several parents that kept their cloth diapers and used them for future children - they didn't spend a penny on diapers for them. Imagine what you could do for your child with an extra few hundred dollars. You could do something meaningful for them, something that would bring your family together rather than throwing it in the trash bit by bit.
4. You will never run out of diapers in the middle of the night (or the day before a paycheck).
What happens when the worst happens. Your hot water heater blows, the sewer line collapses, the car breaks down, the refrigerator dies or any of the many other urgent problems a household can have happens. You have to fix the house now, and just like that you have $7.53 left in your bank account. You have enough food in the cupboard to last you until your next paycheck, though maybe not the best food in the world. You can drink water and your fuel tanks will make it till Friday, but you can't live without diapers. This is the advantage to having almost everything in the house renewable, especially if you are economically challenged like I am. The security of knowing you will never be trying to fashion an old towel and some toilet paper into a diaper for a few days is comforting, even if the emergency never happens.
5. You want to leave your baby a clean, healthy planet to live on.
Plastic diapers fill the landfills and since the aren't biodegradable your childrens' children's diapers will join the remnants of theirs in the landfill years later if we don't stop. Maybe it's not in your backyard yet, but with 6 billion people on the planet and an ever growing population, it's only a matter of time before it gets there. There are some things we can't prevent - every society will have waste, but this is a major pollutor that could easily be stopped by switching to a natural, reusable, renewable product that is better for our children anyway.
6. You will be supporting environmentally conscious companies, work at home parents, and/or small businesses with minimal environmental impact.
While disposable diapers are made by big, greedy, polluting corporations using toxic chemicals and underpaid workers in the manufacturing process, cloth diaper manufacturers are usually the polar opposite. Usually a group of work at home parents or a small, family friendly workspace and using only natural fabrics and just enough power to run a sewing machine, these companies or sole proprioterships pay fair wages and produce little or no waste (and certainly no toxic waste). Most manufacturers of cloth diapers are also careful to select only fabrics manufactured in a natural, chemical free, sustainable way because they understand how important it is to you to keep your baby's environment chemical free and preserve the earth for their future. These individuals and small companies are also dedicated to producing a quality product, and there are some like Wallypop that price their products to be accessable for lower income families. Sarah (the owner of Wallypop) even notes that her purpose in business is not to make as much profit as possible, it is to make sure that single income families still get quality products, and she hit the mark! This is just one of the many manufacturers out there of cloth diapers, and I'd suggest that you try a few and find out what works best with your family. It would be a good idea to also get some wet bags and a diaper pail to keep down on the smell until you get a chance to wash them, and if you don't want to wash them, you can try this hand powered washing machine which takes care of small loads with less wear and tear to the fabric too. Be sure to use environmentally friendly, natural cleaning products that will not cause skin irritation for your baby. I will be doing a whole article on them coming up.
City Composting (that won't get you run out of town by an angry mob)
Composting brings up images in the minds of most people of an ugly, stinky pile of refuse rotting in the corner of the yard. I guess if you have 1/2 acre or more and sufficient established tree or shrub cover, that's not a problem. If you happen to be like most urban (or even many suburban) people, this may conjure up images of angry, torch and shovel weilding neighbors banging your door down in the middle of the night. All right - maybe not the torches and shovels - but certainly nasty association letters if you are subject to such and unpleasant looks and snide comments if you are not. Since most people generally want to get along with those around them, this is not the kind of attention you want, not to mention if you're anything like me you take pride in the beauty of your land, however little you may have, and don't want a huge rotting eyesore, not even in the corner. You may not know there are other options - options that will blend in and may even add to the attractiveness of your land while generating some nutrient rich, free topsoil for your spring planting. Certainly the refuse pile is the most well known type of compost, but here are some options for the single family home with a small yard, duplex or townhome, and even apartment or condo. There are many different types and sizes of composting container, ranging from large outdoor bins to mug sized cigarette butt composts. There are compostable trash can liners of all sizes, and even compostable dog waste bags so you can dispose of your best friend's feces in an environmentally friendly manner. As long as you are careful not to throw inappropriate items (such as fat, bones and meat) into the compost, they are virtually odorless when closed. When I discovered just how easy it is I was amazed that everyone doesn't have a compost! OUTDOOR BINS There are three basic types of outdoor bin composts - stationary, tumblers and vermicompost. They come in different colors and styles to blend into your landscaping, but if you live in a cooler climate, you would do well to get a black one in order to make the most of the available solar heat even during the winter. The stationary bin is the most basic kind and requires the least amount of effort on your part. They look like a barrel or refuse bin depending on the kind you choose and come in a range of sizes. Be sure to pick one that will hold about the right amount of compostable material for your family size (for the stationary bins and tumblers go a size up if you feel you will be in between). They cost anywhere from $80-400, but they are really all the same. My personal favorite is The Outside Gourmet - for just $95 it looks like a quality refuse bin and would look nice right next to the others. I suggest you get some compost accelerator to get things going, and if you do not have balanced items to toss in, continue to purchase it. At about $3-4 per pound, it is easy to afford. Tumblers are also relatively simple to use and are mounted on legs so you can rotate the bin to mix your compost. This is nice, since nobody likes to stick something in a bin of rotting organic matter to mix it up. They are a little more expensive than the stationary bin, but if you can afford it they are worth the extra money. They are designed for different size spaces with some rotating vertically and others horizontally. The horizontal ones are great if you have a short space like a deck or porch you want to use to hide it. One of the ones that really broke the mold is the Composphere - at $146 this cute little ball rolls around to mix the compost and then rolls under anything. It looks like anything but a compost. The final kind of outdoor compost I will cover is vermicompost (there are some open styles that don't really work for the urban composter). This is the most complex type of compost because it utilizes worms to aid the breakdown of the organic matter rather than enzymes alone. I cannot reasonably cover all the research necessary to start a vermicompost here, but the article above does a fantastic job of teaching what you will need to know to start off. I'd also recommend getting a book to learn about how to care for your worms. The type of worm I see recommended the most is the red wiggler. These miniature earthworms are more likely than other worms to make their home in your compost provided you provide them with their basic necessities and have voracious appetites. The goal of a vermicompost is to encourage a large number of worms to consume your refuse and the castings then become your dirt. Worm castings are excellent nutrition for plants, and the worms that make it out to your garden will aerate the soil, naturally improving plant growth. Vermicompost bins are comparable in price to the stationary bins and I like this expandable one here. That being said, vermicompost does take a lot of extra work and is not for the short of time, so I had to pass this one by. So it's easy to have a clean compost, even with a small yard, but who really wants to deal with going outside every time you want to scrape your plate, clean your refrigerator, or if you are a smoker, empty your ashtray. It was so much easier when you could just hover over the garbage can and you didn't have to get dressed and put on shoes after your midnight snack. You still don't! With a miniature compost pail with compostable liner, you can fill a smaller version of your kitchen trash can and empty it at predetermined intervals or whenever it is full, just like your trash can. COMPOST PAILS There are as many styles of compost pail as there are kitchen, and it is important to note that you cannot use a compost pail alone. For standalone indoor composts, go down to the indoor compost section. A compost pail is designed to collect your compostable refuse in a compostable bag until you are ready to take it outside. Ranging in price from $10-80 these pails are designed to look like mugs, canisters, and buckets. For the environmentally conscious smoker, there is even a cigarette recycler. If you like the plain look, and want to save some money, go for the plain $20 pail, but if you have a little more to spend and want a compost pail that blends into your kitchen, try one of these fancy ones that look like any other kitchen storage (just be sure your guests don't mistake them for your canister set and try to put compost in their coffee!). Regardless of the type of pail you choose, you will need to purchase some compostable liners unless you want to clean it after every use. For the small investment, these liners will save you a lot of time. Outdoor composts are all fine and good for those of us that have a yard, but what about people who live in townhomes with no private yard, apartments or condos? There is a solution for you too - an indoor compost! But who wants a rotting pile of leftovers in their kitchen? Since the bins are designed for exactly that use, though, you will never notice it and people will wonder how you have the best flowerboxes in the neighborhood come spring! INDOOR BINS Indoor bins come in all shapes and sizes, and some are very high tech. The best of the indoor bins will even handle refuse often referred to as non-compostable such as meat and dairy. This indoor compost (or the pet safe version of the same one) does all the work for you - all you have to do is put in the refuse. It even kills harmful bacteria to make sure it is completely safe for your family and because it works with a sealed chamber the only odor you will ever get is the smell of fresh, clean dirt when you remove the finished product. Unfortunately this exotic composter carries an exotic price tag, ranging around $400. For those of us that don't have that kind of money to drop on a composter, there are some lower tech, lower price options that are just as effective, albeit not as much of a conversation piece. This cost effective $70 kitchen composter uses anaerobic fermentation to make the compost right in your kitchen without the odor of outdoor composting methods and only takes up about a square foot of space so you can fit it anywhere. This small compost is designed for food refuse so it is perfect for a home without a private yard.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Reusable Menstrual Products - Think they're gross? Think again!
I remember the first time I read about reusable menstrual products like those found at www.lunapads.com www.gladrags.com www.pandoraspads.com and many other places online. "Eeew - gross!!" I said. I simply could not imagine taking a bloody pad, tucking it into a waterproof liner and putting it back in my purse. Or even worse - taking a cup or sponge and rinsing it out and putting it right back in. I was convinced it could not be clean or healthy. I could not have been more wrong.
Years earlier I had tried an Instead disposable menstrual cup, but it was horribly uncomfortable and spilled on the way out. I tossed the rest of the box and went back to my trusty tampons. It was not until very recently that I found out my "trusty" tampons aren't so trustworthy. Dispite what is implied by the white medical look of tampons, they are not sterile. Even the seemingly natural cardboard applicator tampons have chemicals like dioxin, which has a half life of 11 years in the human body, so if I absorb the dioxin of a single tampon today, 11 years from now half of that dioxin will still be in my body - now THAT'S gross! Sure, the levels won't kill you, but nobody really knows how much dioxin they are getting from all sources and we do know that it can cause a whole host of medical issues in high doses, so why expose yourself to more than you need to? Tampon manufacturers would rather expose you to the byproducts of the chemical bleaching process than have their tampons look like natural fibers. That is, if they even are - many tampons are made of a lot of synthetic fibers that can scratch the vagina and open tiny wounds that increase the risk for infections, including Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS).
So what to do for internal protection. I was never a pad person since they always ended up chafing my skin and leaving a nasty rash up to a week later. They also had a bad odor, and I am sensitive to scented products and they are subject to the same chemical bleaching products and covered in non-breathable plastic that makes me sweat. I was not going to all pads and Instead cups don't fit. Luckily Instead is not the only option. I found things like the Moon Cup http://www.mooncup.co.uk/ (great for women that are not so large "down there"), the Diva cup, the lady cup http://www.ladycup.eu/ and the Keeper cup (and their version of the Moon Cup) http://www.keeper.com/ and many more. Check out http://menstrualcups.org/ for information from many women that have used these products and find out what is right for you. These cups can last for up to 10 years and cost $20-40 USD, so imagine the savings for your pocket, too! But maybe the cups aren't right for you for whatever reason. Maybe, like me, you are right on the cusp between the two sizes because of age, or maybe you are planning on having a baby soon and don't want to buy a cup until after when you will need the larger size. What to do in the interim if you're ready to dump your disposables? I decided to buy some silk sea sponges. When they come, they seem hard and uncomfortable, but once damp they are softer than any tampon on the face of the planet and you can trim them to the perfect size for you. They are easy to clean (just rinse them out like a kitchen sponge and reinsert) and are natural and renewable. I suggest buying 4 sponges to start so if you have to use a public restroom you have extras. You can tuck a used sponge into a reusable pad carry bag to clean at home.
I did eventually decide I needed some better pads though, and so I finally took the plunge and got some cotton pads. I have since been amazed at the difference in feeling and odor and my entire opinion of pads has changed. When I got my first pantyliner (from Gladrags) I was immediately shocked with how soft it was. These pads wrap around your panties and close with a snap, and once in I could barely even feel it - a far cry from the disposables that make me feel sorry for infants everywhere trapped in diapers. They even make different absorbancies - some companies make 3 (liner, day and night) and others have many different sizes and styles (liner, mini, maxi, long, wide, heavy/night and postpartum). I got some Gladrags, but the day pads are too big for my light cycle and I had to continue in search of a cloth pad that was soft, but smaller. I found my match in Lunapads mini pad and liner. They are a perfect fit, and you can adjust the absorbancy from maxi pad to pantyliner by adding layers of some of the softest fabric I have ever touched, then because the liners attach on the top rather than fitting under the pad, you can change only the liner and go on with your day. I thought I would do no better until I saw that Lunapads also makes a line of menstrual underwear called Lunapanties with built in liners and the ability to add additional ones. These are quite plainly the most comfortable external menstrual product I have used in my life. They feel like regular underwear. There are many other brands out there, and I encourage anyone willing to try a few.
Still thinking it's gross? Well - I guess gross is relative. If you think it's disgusting to wash out a cotton pad or sponge in the sink or empty a cup of blood into the toilet and you think you can't take it, I ask you to think of how many cycles you've had in your life so far. About how many soiled pads and tampons do you throw out during the course of that cycle? Now imagine all those pads with their non-biodegradable synthetic fibers and plastics and all the packaging and applicators that came with those pads in a heap in your backyard. Maybe they're not in your backyard personally, but they and all the other products from all the other women using disposables are in someone's backyard, or maybe floating in a bay, ocean or river somewhere. Wherever they ended up, they are still on this Earth contributing to the mountains of trash we call landfills. That's really gross, a whole lot more gross than throwing a blood stained cloth in the wash (something you would not think twice about if you got cut and bled on your favorite blouse).
But they cost too much, some people say when they first see the staggering prices of these products. Well - up front these may seem like expensive solutions, and you can easily spend $100-200 getting all the reusable products you will need for your cycle, however once you buy them, that's it for the next 5-10 years. Even if you buy discount products and sale products, you will still spend more than that in the course of 5 years, and if you take good care of your products, they may even last longer.
I should also note that many pad manufacturers also make pads for during pregnancy and after childbirth. The soft, skin-friendly fabrics are great for soothing already irritated skin (not to mention promoting healing and preventing secondary infection - there is a reason we don't use airtight bandages) and the adjustable absorbancy is great for heavy bleeding and incontinence.
Still not convinced? There's probably nothing I can say that will open your mind, but I leave you with one final, albeit less ideal, solution. Seventh Generation, Natracare and other such Earth-friendly companies offer a line of organic cotton disposable menstrual products. These are biodegradable, renewable and non-toxic, though they still end up in landfills and still require packaging and manufacturing energy and shipping and all the other nasties that go hand in hand with anything disposable. Still, if you must dispose, now you can do so in an environmentally conscious way.
Years earlier I had tried an Instead disposable menstrual cup, but it was horribly uncomfortable and spilled on the way out. I tossed the rest of the box and went back to my trusty tampons. It was not until very recently that I found out my "trusty" tampons aren't so trustworthy. Dispite what is implied by the white medical look of tampons, they are not sterile. Even the seemingly natural cardboard applicator tampons have chemicals like dioxin, which has a half life of 11 years in the human body, so if I absorb the dioxin of a single tampon today, 11 years from now half of that dioxin will still be in my body - now THAT'S gross! Sure, the levels won't kill you, but nobody really knows how much dioxin they are getting from all sources and we do know that it can cause a whole host of medical issues in high doses, so why expose yourself to more than you need to? Tampon manufacturers would rather expose you to the byproducts of the chemical bleaching process than have their tampons look like natural fibers. That is, if they even are - many tampons are made of a lot of synthetic fibers that can scratch the vagina and open tiny wounds that increase the risk for infections, including Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS).
So what to do for internal protection. I was never a pad person since they always ended up chafing my skin and leaving a nasty rash up to a week later. They also had a bad odor, and I am sensitive to scented products and they are subject to the same chemical bleaching products and covered in non-breathable plastic that makes me sweat. I was not going to all pads and Instead cups don't fit. Luckily Instead is not the only option. I found things like the Moon Cup http://www.mooncup.co.uk/ (great for women that are not so large "down there"), the Diva cup, the lady cup http://www.ladycup.eu/ and the Keeper cup (and their version of the Moon Cup) http://www.keeper.com/ and many more. Check out http://menstrualcups.org/ for information from many women that have used these products and find out what is right for you. These cups can last for up to 10 years and cost $20-40 USD, so imagine the savings for your pocket, too! But maybe the cups aren't right for you for whatever reason. Maybe, like me, you are right on the cusp between the two sizes because of age, or maybe you are planning on having a baby soon and don't want to buy a cup until after when you will need the larger size. What to do in the interim if you're ready to dump your disposables? I decided to buy some silk sea sponges. When they come, they seem hard and uncomfortable, but once damp they are softer than any tampon on the face of the planet and you can trim them to the perfect size for you. They are easy to clean (just rinse them out like a kitchen sponge and reinsert) and are natural and renewable. I suggest buying 4 sponges to start so if you have to use a public restroom you have extras. You can tuck a used sponge into a reusable pad carry bag to clean at home.
I did eventually decide I needed some better pads though, and so I finally took the plunge and got some cotton pads. I have since been amazed at the difference in feeling and odor and my entire opinion of pads has changed. When I got my first pantyliner (from Gladrags) I was immediately shocked with how soft it was. These pads wrap around your panties and close with a snap, and once in I could barely even feel it - a far cry from the disposables that make me feel sorry for infants everywhere trapped in diapers. They even make different absorbancies - some companies make 3 (liner, day and night) and others have many different sizes and styles (liner, mini, maxi, long, wide, heavy/night and postpartum). I got some Gladrags, but the day pads are too big for my light cycle and I had to continue in search of a cloth pad that was soft, but smaller. I found my match in Lunapads mini pad and liner. They are a perfect fit, and you can adjust the absorbancy from maxi pad to pantyliner by adding layers of some of the softest fabric I have ever touched, then because the liners attach on the top rather than fitting under the pad, you can change only the liner and go on with your day. I thought I would do no better until I saw that Lunapads also makes a line of menstrual underwear called Lunapanties with built in liners and the ability to add additional ones. These are quite plainly the most comfortable external menstrual product I have used in my life. They feel like regular underwear. There are many other brands out there, and I encourage anyone willing to try a few.
Still thinking it's gross? Well - I guess gross is relative. If you think it's disgusting to wash out a cotton pad or sponge in the sink or empty a cup of blood into the toilet and you think you can't take it, I ask you to think of how many cycles you've had in your life so far. About how many soiled pads and tampons do you throw out during the course of that cycle? Now imagine all those pads with their non-biodegradable synthetic fibers and plastics and all the packaging and applicators that came with those pads in a heap in your backyard. Maybe they're not in your backyard personally, but they and all the other products from all the other women using disposables are in someone's backyard, or maybe floating in a bay, ocean or river somewhere. Wherever they ended up, they are still on this Earth contributing to the mountains of trash we call landfills. That's really gross, a whole lot more gross than throwing a blood stained cloth in the wash (something you would not think twice about if you got cut and bled on your favorite blouse).
But they cost too much, some people say when they first see the staggering prices of these products. Well - up front these may seem like expensive solutions, and you can easily spend $100-200 getting all the reusable products you will need for your cycle, however once you buy them, that's it for the next 5-10 years. Even if you buy discount products and sale products, you will still spend more than that in the course of 5 years, and if you take good care of your products, they may even last longer.
I should also note that many pad manufacturers also make pads for during pregnancy and after childbirth. The soft, skin-friendly fabrics are great for soothing already irritated skin (not to mention promoting healing and preventing secondary infection - there is a reason we don't use airtight bandages) and the adjustable absorbancy is great for heavy bleeding and incontinence.
Still not convinced? There's probably nothing I can say that will open your mind, but I leave you with one final, albeit less ideal, solution. Seventh Generation, Natracare and other such Earth-friendly companies offer a line of organic cotton disposable menstrual products. These are biodegradable, renewable and non-toxic, though they still end up in landfills and still require packaging and manufacturing energy and shipping and all the other nasties that go hand in hand with anything disposable. Still, if you must dispose, now you can do so in an environmentally conscious way.
These aren't your parents' light bulbs!
I know this is a very over discussed topic, but CFLs have come a LONG way. When I first went to CFLs in response to the ever increasing price of electricity, I had to change several light fixtures and switches in my house in order to accept the lights. There were no 3 way CFLs, dimmer CFLs, CFL bug lights or CFL flood lights. All CFLs were the spiral design and they came in 40, 60 and 100 watt light output equivalents. If you were lucky, you might be able to find a daylight style light but that was all the selection you got. Imagine my surprise when just 4 years later as I shopped to replace a burned out CFL I found the huge selection now available. There are bug lights for outside. There are triple tube lights (three arches next to each other) and A shape (look like a tungsten bulb) if you don't like the look of the mini twists. There are chandelier lights, cylinder lights and globe lights for your fancy fixtures, 3 way lights and dimmer lights for your special switches, and even reflector (flood) lights for inside and outside. And they aren't even that expensive! If you've ever purchase specialty lights of the regular high-consumption variety you will be surprised to find this long-lived energy-saving alternative to be quite cost effective. But do they really work? Do they really last as long as the package says and do they really save money? And most importantly are they safe? As a long term user of this type of bulb, I say yes. I remember 4 years ago when my husband first showed me the package of funny looking twists on sale in Home Depot and I asked him the same questions. If they last for 7 years, why is the warranty only for 2, I asked, and what if they explode in my face? Don't they take time to warm up - that's so annoying! And how much energy do we really use in lights anyway? What's $50 over the course of 7 years IF they last that long anyway? Well, I moved once since buying many of them and none of them exploded even with the stress of the move. Not saying you don't have to be careful with them and how you dispose of them, but I am now convinced that they are as safe as the next piece of technology. After 4 years I have all but 2 of the bulbs. One I used outside and it did take time to warm up (I've now replaced it with a bug light that is designed for outside and it works perfectly), and the other was in a high traffic area and it's light output diminshed over time. For having every single bulb in my house converted to CFL, 2 bulbs in 4 years isn't bad. I should also note that you need to be careful to watch how many lumens the light puts out. In many rooms a 40 watt CFL will work just as well as a 60 watt standard light. If you like bright lights, this won't be a problem, but if they bother you, watch out! Just imagine how much less energy we would use as a nation if everyone switched! If we used those savings to eliminate plants dependant on harmful fuels, think of how much greater an effect that would have on the climate.
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