Written by: Alison Mey, Marketing Intern

The sun is shining, the flowers are in full bloom, and every day seems more beautiful than the last. Summer is a great time of year filled with relaxation and family bonding. So naturally, the cottage comes to mind right away.

While we all love spending time at the cottage, we don’t love the initial clean up involved. The cottage has been closed for probably 6 months, and has built up a full sheet of dust and grime an inch thick. So it’s time to get the family to band together and battle against the mess.

But let’s keep in mind that this is the cottage life, in the middle of the beautiful wilderness. So in keeping with this mindset, we need to stay green. Here are our tips to green cottage cleaning:

Stay away from harmful chemicals

This means not using products that are hard on your skin, or on the environment. Products that include SLS, PEG, and artificial colours and fragrances are always a bad idea. These ingredients cause skin irritation and dryness. We want to enjoy our time at the cottage, not have irritations!

Buy in bulk

This is an easy one, because it’s easy on the environment, as well as on your wallet. By buying in bulk your reducing your waste, your trips to the dump, and your trips into town to buy more cleaning supplies. Now who wouldn’t want to save on time and money while saving the environment?

Buy local or online

By buying local, you are making sure that your product wasn’t made in a third-world country then flown to you. This is harmful on the environment, and often times full of harmful ingredients. In the same category, buying online can be efficient and effective. It is easy to research about the companies you are buying from when you’re buying online, making it easy to check ingredients, and company policies. Then the product is delivered right to your door, what could be easier! Both options ensure that you are buying from a reputable source that cares about the environment. Of course for buying online, you must make sure to do your research before randomly clicking on any and all sites.

Enjoy your time at the cottage, but make sure to preserve the environment that you are in. Our goal is to leave that natural landscape as pure and clean as when we first got there. By following our easy tips you can have fun at the lake, have a clean cottage, as well as staying green!

Personal care products contain a lot of ingredients to soften your skin, moisturize, and condition your hair.  So what exactly gives your shampoos, body washes and other personal care products the properties you want?  One of the most prominent ingredients that provide these properties is surfactants. They make your products mix smoothly, foam nicely, grab dirt and keep them from separating.

How do they work?

Surfactants are molecules that have two distinct sections.  One that likes water and mixes easily with water, the other that dislikes water and mixes easily with other ingredients that don’t like water.

Usually, two liquids with very different characteristics don’t mix because similar particles stay and are held together.  Personal care products contain a wide range of ingredient, some of which have very different properties. That’s where surfactants come in. Many molecules of these surfactants act to make it easier for different substances to mix by arranging its water hating end with ingredients that dislike water and its water liking end with the water liking ingredients.  That way, it acts as a bridge between water hating and water loving ingredients.  These characteristics allow surfactants to serve roles like:

Emulsifiers that arrange around different oils to form droplets that can be mixed and they will stay in suspension (mixed) more easily.

Solubilizing agents can take small quantities of liquids that don’t mix and mix them, in a similar matter as emulsifiers, with water into a clear solution

Sudsing agents work by aligning the surfactant along the surface of water and air so that the thin layer of water that surrounds the air in a bubble is more stable.  That way the suds and bubbles in soaps and shampoos last longer.

Detergents mix with dirt and grease, arranging around them so they are more soluble in water.  Water can now pull the dirt away from your clothing and carry it away.

Conditioning agents work slightly differently by having an oily portion that helps your skin feel healthy and a portion that will allow the surfactant to stay on your skin.

Surfactants: Good or Bad?

So you may ask, what effect do these chemicals have on you?  Well, it depends on the surfactant being used.  Many of the most prevalent surfactants strip the skin of its own oils.  As a result they irritate the skin and they also may be toxic to humans and the natural environment.  Their production method may introduce harmful contaminants into your household products. Whereas, some other surfactants, often derived from natural oils, are much softer on you and the environment.

Here are some examples of surfactants that you should avoid:

-Polyethylene glycols (PEG)

-Diethanolamides  (DEA)

-Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)

What Can I do?

Currently cosmetic chemists are working to create greener and safer naturally derived surfactants. However, there are still many harmful surfactants used in personal care products.  Take a look the label and review the ingredients in many of your personal care products at the Skin Deep Cosmetic Database to see how safe they are.  If a product is not on the database, then you can use their “Build Your Own Report” function to fully assess the risk of that product.

At Green Cricket, one component of our product evaluation system is an evaluation of its ingredients. We use the Skin Deep Cosmetic Database, along with other tools to ensure that our products have the qualities you need while being safe for you and the world around you.

Cottaging is one of the great pleasures in life, but as more and more of us head north to enjoy the great outdoors, the stress on the lakes can be more than they can bear. Here are a just a few tips on how you can minimize the impact of your cottage on the lake that you love.

1) Always choose biodegradable – Although there are no universal standards around what biodegradable means, in a nutshell it says that a product will break down into substances that are naturally occurring in a short period of time once it is used. For things like soaps, shampoos and cleaners that you’ll be using up at the cottage, this is critically important. Conventional products can literally take years to break down, which is very harmful to everything in the lake.

2) Think of your septic system – Bacteria are necessary for the effective functioning of your septic – they do the majority of the work breaking down your waste. You can imagine the problems created when you put things like antibacterial soap or toxic chemicals into your septic system which kill off all of the good bacteria. Choosing green products make a big difference when your wastewater goes directly into the environment.

3) USE your septic system – The lake is great for swimming, but it’s not a bathtub. The load of soap and shampoo that gets added directly to the lake has many implications for the plant and animal life. It makes a big difference if your wastewater runs through your septic system first before heading into the lake – 95% of the breakdown has already occurred.

You may be just one person, but there sure are a lot of you. Every year there are more and more people on the lake, and many of our lakes are being pushed to the brink. Fishing is on the decline and swimming is being threatened. We need to be much more careful with the products that we put in the lake. If you must bathe in it, be sure that you use products that have natural ingredients, are biodegradable and phosphate-free to minimize the damage.

4) Remind your renters – many long-time cottagers know these tricks, but renters can also have a big impact on the lake when they come up for their vacation. Why not leave them a note, or put it in your contracts that they need to respect the environment while they visit so that it will still be great next year.

Visit www.greencricket.ca for more information on green camping & cottaging, and green living in general. We’ve also got a full line of green products for your home & cottage.

Have a great Summer!

Easter, like many other holidays, has become more and more commercial over the years. Gone are the days where time was spent with family enjoying each others company over a big meal. There are, however, many ways to enjoy an eco-friendly Easter. With a little bit of research and some creativity, there are many options to choose from!

Colouring eggs

An age old tradition that kids love! Before you go out and buy a traditional decorating kit, try and use natural dyes. You’d be surprised by your colour options and impressed with the end results. To create the dye, boil the ingredient in water for about 15 minutes. Remember, the longer you boil it, the darker the dye will appear. As for the eggs, boil them in water with a spoonful of vinegar and then let them cool.

Your ingredients could be any of the following:

• Grape juice (for violet or purple)
• Red cabbage or canned blueberries (for blue)
• Spinach (for green)
• Carrot tops, yellow onion skins or paprika (for orange)
• Coffee (for brown)
• Red beets or cranberries (for pink)
• Red onion skins or Pomegranate juice (for red)
• Orange or lemon peels, ground tumeric or cumin (for yellow)

Purchasing eggs

And what about the eggs themselves? You want to ensure that they came from hens that were raised without any unnecessary antibiotics. Eggs from pasture-raised chickens are healthier than those that are factory-farmed particularly when they have access to the outdoors each day, and those that eat organic feed.

Baskets

Why go to a dollar store to buy a plastic basket that might not even survive the day?
Make your own – it’s far more fun! Dig out those leftover rolls of wallpaper that have been hiding in your basement since the 80’s, cut them into strips and then weave the strips together. They will be sturdy enough to last until next year, and the kids will enjoy the arts and crafts!

Treats for the basket

Finally, when it comes to the goodies you place in your baskets, the choices are endless! Who said only chocolate could be included? What about organic dried fruit, mini muffins made from organic ingredients or reduced-sugar organic cookies?

If you do want to include traditional treats, try and purchase fair-trade and/or organic chocolates if possible. If you decide to include gifts or toys in the basket instead, try to buy second hand, local or natural products (i.e. wood). Or better yet, cater to the aspiring gardener and put together a seed starter kit with some child-friendly garden tools and a few packs of seeds. It’s a great way to teach them how to plant and care for their own garden, and gets them out in the backyard enjoying nature!

Celebrate spring

Children love to be outdoors, no matter what time of year. Embrace this, dress for the weather and head on out for hike on your local trails! Be sure to keep your eyes open and point out things that are starting to bloom, and watch for birds and other animals that have come out of winter hibernation.

If you’re feeling more adventurous, head out to a local farm to see what spring brings, including some baby animals! Or if you want to stay closer to home, weather permitting, pack up a picnic and head to a local park to enjoy the spring air.

Having family over?

• Buy local flowers to decorate
• Prune some branches off of early blooming shrubs in your yard, and put them in a vase
• Have an early dinner then go for a walk to enjoy spring and all of the things that are starting to bloom
• Turn down the heat in your house before company arrives. The extra bodies will make the up the difference in the drop of the thermostat!
• Encourage guests to carpool, reducing emissions and ensuring you have a designated driver if the need arises

Easter dinner

Start your menu planning early! Try and minimize the number of meat dishes you serve and focus on seasonal vegetables like parsnips or fancier dishes like cabbage rolls.  Try and choose organic vegetables where possible or those that haven’t been shipped for thousand of kilometres from overseas.

While entertaining, avoid using disposable plates and paper napkins – it’s a great excuse to bring out the fine china and cloth napkins! If you do choose to go disposable, check your local health food store for biodegradable dish options.

By incorporating some of these ideas into your Easter celebrations, you could have a huge impact on minimizing your eco-footprint this year. Hope some of these suggestions help, and enjoy your time spent with family!

Written by Katrina Dudar

Green Apps

Facebook, your cellphone, your Playbook or ipad. What do these items have in common? Apps. Every one of these has access to apps. Whether you’re playing games, finding out the weather or traffic, or looking for a specific film or restaurant there is an app for it.

The Green community is no different. There is a myriad of apps covering a variety of topics ranging from green products, travel, food and general green tips and information. Websites like Tech Crunch

http://techcrunch.com/2010/08/10/top-ten-green-apps/  go into detail on a number of the apps and how to purchase them and what they do.

After consulting a few sites , here are 8 green apps in a few categories that I found interesting:

 Shopping:

GoodGuide-while shopping you can scan the barcode and find out the environmental impact of 70,000 participating products

Locavore-covers eating locally and provides recipes for the foods you purchase from your area

Travel:

Hootroot-it’s similar to google maps but shows the carbon footprint of your travels

Carticipate-an application for finding ride sharing

Green Gas Saver-tracks your driving tendencies and informs you of ways to save gas through better use of speed, acceleration and turning

PedNav-you type in your plans for the day and PedNav creates the best itinerary for walking to your locations

General:

Get Green-supplies tips and suggestions on what you can do to improve your environmental lifestyle

Green Genie-this is a plastics directory for recycling. Different plastics are recycled in different areas and this app lets you know what can be recycled

These are just 8 out of the multitude of apps out there. By using your search engine hundreds more are at your fingertips in seconds, able to provide information about any environmental area you are interested in.  

Teachers, Honoured Guests and Fellow Classmates - It’s speech time! If you or your kids are having trouble coming up with a speech topic, Green Cricket is here to help with 8 suggestions on green topics that are not only interesting but also raise awareness about the environment.

1.       Clean but not very green - what is really in the soap we use? We all know that soap helps us get clean when we have a bath, shower or wash our hands, but what chemicals are in soap and are they safe for us? SLS and SLES are 2 to be concerned about.  Here are some links to get you started:

http://chemistry.about.com/od/cleanerchemistry/a/how-soap-cleans.htm http://www.kitchendoctor.com/essays/soap.php

http://www.natural-health-information-centre.com/sodium-lauryl-sulfate.html

2.       Hot air? What alternative energy sources really work? Whether you are talking about electric, hybrid or hydrogen power for vehicles or wind, solar and tidal energy for power generation, alternative energy is being used to lower our reliance on fossil fuels. Which of these sources is the most cost effective? Which produces the most power? Do these alternative sources have impacts on the environment?

http://www.planetfriendly.net/energy.html

http://netpilot.ca/aes/

http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/transportation/hybrid-cars/

3.       Common scents and health risks. You may have seen the signs- Scent Free Zone,  please refrain from wearing scented products due to allergy reasons. Why are scented products a problem? Is there a need for fragrance free products? Check out some of these links to find out more:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-500165_162-57349626/can-scented-products-make-you-sick/?tag=facebook

http://www.chrc-ccdp.ca/pdf/legal_sensitivity_en.pdf

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/queen-of-green/2011/06/companies-wont-disclose-parfum-ingredients/

4.       The dirt on recycling-it’s not working. We all know that recycling is important to save our environment. Is the program doing what it’s supposed to?

http://www.scienceclarified.com/Qu-Ro/Recycling.html

http://www.itworldcanada.com/news/canadian-it-pros-face-recycling-challenge/135914

http://www.environmentalindicators.com/htdocs/execsum.htm

5.       Going green at home. What sorts of things can the everyday person do at home to be green? There are tonnes of quick and easy ideas as well as some bigger ones. Lowering the thermostat a degree or two in winter can save energy. Switching to energy efficient lightbulbs also conserves energy. Installing a living wall helps provide healthier air to breathe. Learning about the ingredients of products you buy and where they come from is another way to go green at home.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/interactives/cp-fluorescent-bulb/

http://www.greenovergrey.com/living-walls/overview.php

http://www.saskenergy.com/saving_energy/tips.asp

6.       Carbon footprints and food-the 100 mile diet. How does our food get to us? Transport trucks drive from Florida to bring us oranges, bananas are shipped by boats from overseas. This increases our carbon footprint which we would all like to reduce. The 100 mile diet is one way to reduce that Footprint. It’s another name for eating local.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/time-to-lead/global-food/part-4-is-the-100-mile-diet-a-pipe-dream/article1813387/

http://www.ecolife.com/health-food/eating-local/100-mile-diet.html

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/what-you-can-do/reduce-your-carbon-footprint/

7.       Walk, drive or take the bus-costs and benefits. Places to go, people to see. How do we choose to get there? Distance, cost, time, convenience, impact on the environment? All of these are considerations when we need to get somewhere. What is the best choice?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sustainable_transport

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/programs/environment-commuteroptions-menu-519.htm

8.       Green Buildings. What defines a building as green?  What technology is out there to reduce energy use?  What are the benefits of a green roof or living wall? What is LEED? Windows, insulation, furnaces and water heaters-can these help? An overlooked part of Green buildings are the products used inside them-are they environmentally friendly and safe for the user?

http://www.cagbc.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&Template=/Templates/EnglishHome.cfm

http://www.greenovergrey.com/living-walls/overview.php

 http://vancouver.ca/sustainability/building_green.htm

Well, it’s that time of year where everyone’s focus turns to finding that perfect gift. Whether it be for a loved one, co-worker or child in your life, the desire to go green has picked up enormous momentum, and this has spilled over into everything we do, including shopping! With so many options and so many claims of green labels, it can be a bit overwhelming as you head to the stores. However, here are a few suggestions to help you in your search:

1 - The gift of time. Ever thought about offering to be someone’s babysitter so parents can enjoy a night out? How about helping with other chores - dog walking, snow shoveling or even visiting!

2 - Personal basket of home-cooked meals. Why not make some of your specialties and package them up in a reusable box or basket? Everyone loves a homemade lasagna, baked pie or jams and jellies!

3 - Gently used gift exchange. Pre-establish with friends and family a theme (ie. books) and have each person select an item from their own collection that they’d be willing to part with.

4 - Rain barrel for the avid gardener. Not only saves the water, but saves the home owner money as well – it’s a win win situation!

5 - Books promoting outdoor activities and/or sustainable living. Could include hiking on local trails, camping, bird watching or greening a garden with water efficient plants.

6 - Organic personal products. Because so much of what we use becomes a part of us via our skin, introduce someone to the benefits and pleasures of natural ingredients.

7 - Solar or “people” powered gadgets - whether it’s a phone charger or crank flashlight, the impact made by reducing energy use is worth the gesture!

8 - Charitable gift in someone’s honour. Whether it be to a local charity that supports environmental initiatives or an international organization that encourages sustainable living on a global scale, this is an ideal option for the person who has everything.

9 - Fair trade, organically grown coffee for that coffee lover on the list!

10 - Basket of environmentally friendly (and appropriately certified!) household products. This is a great way to introduce friends and family to the benefits of unbleached, recycled paper towels or the idea of beeswax candles!

Finding the right green gift for someone can be a challenge, but by doing even a small amount of research, you not only do your part for the planet, but your thoughtfully selected gift might just be the most unique thing they receive all season!

So…In summary:

a) Buy local. This minimizes the need for items to be shipped, thus reducing emissions.

b) Reduce packaging. Consider wrapping items in reused material, cloth gift bags or even sections of the comics from the newspaper!

c) Offer your services rather than a material gift.

d) Shop online as much as you can to reduce the need to travel to stores and shopping malls. Be sure to research, however, where the items are shipped from.

Happy shopping and have yourself a green Christmas! ……….From all the Green Cricket Staff

[written by Guest Blogger: Katrina Dudar]

Bio for Katrina:
As an avid environmentalist, Katrina is honoured to be contributing to
this wonderful space as a guest! Currently working at an environmental
education charity for children, Katrina spends her days trying to find
fun and innovative ways to inspire children to care about our planet and
to do small things everyday to make a positive difference. Some might
think this sounds challenging, but when you take the time to think about
just how impressionable young children are, her job instantly becomes
easier! As a mom to a youngster who has had his fair share of health
issues, she is happily forced to invest a significant amount of time
staying informed about emerging environmental issues and searching for
ways to minimize her own footprint while encouraging others around her
to do the same.

So … What’s Wrong with Plastic?

First it’s important to understand that not all plastics are created equal.  Some plastics contain harmful chemicals that can leach out into our bodies, with a host of negative side effects.  Understanding which plastics are safe, and for what uses, is no small feat.

Here’s a little rhyme I heard to keep in mind when shopping.  5 and 4, 1 and 2 – all the rest are bad for you.  So check for the number inside the little recycling triangle on the bottom of your stuff and avoid the 3’s, 6’s and 7’s.   Just to be on the safe side, you’ll likely want to go easy on the 1’s as well.

What’s the problem?  Well, plastics contain a whole host of toxic substances that are put in there to make them strong, clear and flexible.  From phthalates, to BisPhenol A, to antimony, these chemicals are accumulating in the environment and in our bodies, causing reproductive challenges and cancers to name but a few issues.  And no one knows for sure how much is okay, which makes it very difficult to regulate and protect the public.

One of the best guides that I’ve seen to plastics is on the healthy child website http://healthychild.org/5steps/5_steps_5/?gclid=CIjg5df6s5wCFSMSagodPRuwnQ

This guide walks you through each of the various types, gives you some examples, and tells you about the challenges.

So what can you do with your lunches?

1. Avoid plastic – there are other options available, including stainless steel and glass.  Where its feasible, consider switching out.

2. Use only the “safe ones”.  Since an all stainless steel lunch can weigh several pounds, it may not be a great choice for the little ones, but particularly for your food containers, choose the safe options only.

3. Never, never, EVER heat food in plastics.  Heating increases the rate of leaching, and puts it directly into your body.

4. Be extra careful with babies.  Glass bottles are not much more expensive, and are a much safer option.

5. Limit use of cling wraps and baggies – these plastics can be less stable, not to mention less environmentally friendly.

It sounds daunting, but a little knowledge can help you significantly reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals in plastic.

It was primarily a symbolic gesture. Way back in 1979, in the midst of an energy crisis, Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House. They were used to heat water for some White House staffers.

“A generation from now,” said Mr. Carter, “this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken, or it can be a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people, harnessing the power of the sun to enrich our lives as we move away from our crippling dependence on foreign oil.”

Ronald Reagan had the panels taken down.

Excerpted from the February 13, 2010 op-ed in the New York Times.

Here are a few facts that are staggering in relation to this issue:

Canada is America’s largest supplier of oil.

America reached its peak oil production in 1970 and has been in steady decline ever since.

America’s consumption of oil reached its peaked during the energy crisis of 1979 at over 21,000 barrels per day.  It exceeded this level beginning in 2006.  The current economic recession has had a big impact on consumption, now hovering just over 19,000 barrels per day.

The US ranks 7th in energy consumption per capita after Canada and a number of small countries.

Three of the five members in my immediate family smoke. My Dad, after a breast cancer scare, quit. He’s been a non-smoker for almost three years now! Yay! At eleven years old, I took my first puff on a cigarette. And fainted. Clearly, the thrill was lost on me.

Which brings me to my rant of the month. It is estimated that 4.3 trillion cigarette butts are littered each year. It takes 12 years for the filters to decompose.

It is estimated that one in five New Yorkers smoke. My guess, from random observations, is that it is probably one in four. By comparison, the San Francisco Bay area has far fewer smokers. My guess is one in ten. I have pondered the reasons for this difference, and conclude that New Yorkers think it is part of the style image, and Californians weigh in on the healthy living side of things.

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