Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Join Paws for the Planet (Change 131)

I've signed up to join Paws for the Planet (http://pawsfortheplanet.ca).  This joint venture between Purina and Evergreen, plants one plant for every sign-up.  Here is the text of the email I received.  I hope you'll sign up too.

With your help, Purina will contribute up to $75,000 to protect green spaces.
Dear XXXXXX,
Would you and your pet like to make a commitment to help protect green spaces?
Purina® has re-united with Evergreen on the "Paws For The Planet" program in a continued effort to enhance and restore green spaces across Canada. With your help, Purina® will fund a $50,000 sponsorship to Evergeen to help protect green spaces.
To help make Canada greener and be a more eco-friendly pet owner, make a pledge to Paws For The Planet by clicking here. For every sign up, Purina® will make a donation to Evergreen to plant a Tree, Shrub or Wildflower across Canada. (Every sign-up counts and will help us donate an additional $25,000 to Evergreen.) Now that's green!
Visit PawsForThePlanet.ca for eco-friendly pet tips and more information about this program.

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Recycle my running shoes (Change 130)

Spring and Fall cleaning doesn't happen very often around my house.  Truthfully, I have a hard enough time keeping up with the regular daily cleaning, let alone the thorough cleaning that should probably be done at least once a year.

However, every spring an fall, I faithfully pull out my kids clothes, have them try on those that I think will fit for the coming season, and give-away those that won't.  I've always had a problem with shoes, though. 

Shoes that are in decent shape, I've passed on.  Those that are worse for wear, I throw out.  But I've always felt guilty about it.  Adding to the landfill, just because my kids have worn through a perfectly good pair of shoes just doesn't feel right.  Now I can finally do something about it.

Enter Nike's Re-use A  Shoe Program.  (http://www.nikereuseashoe.com/get-involved).  They take running shoes that are past their prime, grind them down and create athletic surfaces for organizations around the world.  Check out this link here in Ottawa!  http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/story/2011/04/26/ottawa-university-football-field345.html

The only problem with this program is that there isn't a drop off location in Eastern Canada.  I have to go to the US, or ship the shoes to Tennessee.   Those of you living in Vancouver have a drop off location - lucky you!

My parents are making a trip to New England next month, so I'm going to ask them to take my bag of old shoes with them, and drop them off at a retail location. 

It's inconvenient at best, but I like this idea better than sending my shoes to the landfill.   If enough of us Canucks write to Nike/Converse, maybe they will think about putting a location in the Eastern Canada area.  For now, I'm packing shoes and keeping my fingers crossed that my parents will help out.

Monday, September 12, 2011

Use eco-friendly and body-friendly hair conditioner (Change 129)

To go along with the eco-friendly shampoo, I'm now using eco-friendly conditioner.  I found that the eco-friendly shampoo I am using is drying my hair out.  (I guess all the yucky chemical additives of my other shampoo was what made my hair nice, soft and shiny.  The commercials really are true!) 

I'm using the conditioner every other wash, and it seems to be alleviating the dryness.  I never used to have to use it, so I don't like purchasing another bottle, creating more waste, and using more precious resources so my hair looks nice.  On the other hand, I am a bit vain, and don't enjoy looking like I could double for a scarecrow on a bad hair day!  :)

When my current bottle of shampoo is finished, I'm going to try another brand to see if I still have the dryness problems.  Any favourites among my readers that you could recommend?

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Thank you!

A big thank you to all my readers, both silent and active.  I couldn't have continued this without your support!  I will still continue to blog about my family's eco-changes.  Stayed tuned for another year of green challenges!  :) 

On that note, I have a favour to ask my readers.  I am looking for suggestions of eco-friendly things to try, that are a) something you have tried yourself, but haven't seen me blog about yet and b) are not on Vanessa's list.   Thank you in advance for all of your ideas - I can't wait to try them out!