la vie en rose

Saturday afternoon J and I went to the Green Festival downtown. There were lots of people there and lots of really neat booths to look at. Some of our favorites were:

A reusable bag that fits in your purse - I got one and it unfolds from something smaller than a computer mouse into a standard plastic bag size. And if you're reading this and throwing away all the plastic bags that you get from the stores, shame on you. Go get some reusable bags. They're only 99 cents at most grocery stores. No excuses.
Baskets & boxes made from chopsticks - so cool looking.
Recycled paper that you can plant & it grows flowers - guess what our Christmas cards are going to be this year!
Eco-friendly cleaning products - did you know how much regular cleaning products hurt the environment and us? We've started using plant-based cleaners and my asthma has definitely improved. I used to wheeze as I cleaned the bathroom, but I don't anymore. Yeah for healthy lungs!
The most comfortable bed I've ever laid on - really.
A company that uses fair trade & sustainable shea butter grow naturally - promotes jobs for women in Africa as well as soft hands for women in America. The coconut hand cream smelled lovely.
The coolest diapers - they're not cloth, but they don't end up in landfills either! Plastic diapers may be convenient, but they are so irresponsible. And all the washing involved with cloth diapers isn't exactly eco-friendly, either. Have you ever thought about the chemicals that leech into our water system from the landfills? Now think about a dirty diaper, sitting in a landfill...You may have a super cute baby, but I don't want its poo in my water glass.
Paper made from elephant poo - we just thought this was funny. But if our world keeps on the track that its on, poo may be the only thing left to make paper from.
Kathy's Climate Kits - her cute little daughters walked around in the kit boxes to promote them. These kits are an awesome idea to get started on reducing your ecological footprint at home.

On the National Geographic channel there was a show called "The Human Footprint." Did you know that if everyone in the world used resources like Americans do, we'd run out of some of them in just a couple years, many others within our lifetimes? Non-renewable resources like metals and oil, not to mention our gratuitous use of trees and water. Just because it's in a landfill and out of our homes doesn't mean that we should give up responsibility for our wastefulness. Read this and you'll see what I mean. Remember, we are supposed to be "wise stewards" over all that we have been given: our bodies, our children, our finances, and our planet.