During the last eight years, the Bush administration has levied deficit feeding tax cuts and urged Americans to spend our way out of this economic slump. Can consumers really pull us out of what is now a full-fledged recession by spending?

Economists like Boston College professor Dr. Juliet Schor say no.

“The economic crisis wasn’t caused by a decline in consumer spending,” writes Dr. Schor on her New American Dream blog. “It was triggered by the bursting of the housing bubble, Wall Street excesses, and some other factors. Consumers are cutting back now, but the decline in spending is one of a series of falling dominos—more an effect of recession than a cause.”

The answer to the world’s economic woes certainly isn’t to spend more, consume more, waste more, say Schor and a number of other experts. With unemployment rates rising, investment accounts plummeting, and the housing crisis deepening, consumers simply “can’t afford to be the engine of growth,” says Schor. And the world simply can’t afford to have the West consuming resources at current catastrophic levels.

What the US needs is a widespread value shift to thrift. During the most recent decades, thrift has been generally considered a quaint, antiquated concept—something . parents and grandparents who grew up during the Great Depression practiced but something no longer necessary.

It’s now becoming clear that citizens in developed nations must spend less—to shrink our skyrocketing personal debt so we’ll have enough to support ourselves during retirement; to save endangered, precious resources; to bring down our collective energy use and lower our carbon emissions enough to avert a horrific climate crisis.

“In the very short run, it’ll temporarily help the economy if people spend like there’s no tomorrow. But that will just create problems down the road,” says Dr. Ronald T. Wilcox, professor of economics at the University of Virginia and author of Whatever Happened to Thrift? (Yale University Press, 2008). “For example, if the Baby Boomers do not have the kinds of savings they need to finance a reasonable retirement, you’ll see a contraction in consumption that will undercut economic growth anyway. [A shift to thrift] creates a platform where you can get stable, reasonable consumption going forward.”

What is “stable, reasonable consumption?” Schor puts . it bluntly: “The usual kinds of consumer spending (cars, electronics, furniture, apparel, travel) degrade vital eco-. systems and have an economic cost. Business-as-usual puts us deeper into an economic hole, because every dollar of [Gross National Product] creates new and unacceptable damage to the planet.”

If the pressing need to limit our consumption as a country sounds like it will usher in a period of misery and sacrifice, think again. “You don’t need as much consumption [as many Americans . enjoy today] to have a healthy economy and keep people employed,” says Wilcox. “What you might get is an economy where people took a little more free time and worked a little less. And most psychologists say people would be happier about that.”

The Thrifty Life is the Good Life

Back in 2006, ten friends in San Francisco—including Green America member Shawn Rosenmoss—were having a dinner party, when the conversation turned to “the landfill problem” and how they could go beyond recycling. In a spirit of fun, friendly competition, someone in the group threw out a challenge: Could they all go for a year without buying anything new?

Well, anything besides absolute necessities like food, health and safety items, and things that would be “creepy” to get used, like underwear?

And perhaps the bigger, although unspoken question at the time was: Could they be happy doing it?

The answer to both questions was they could, and they did. Their agreement, called “the Compact,” was that they would try to get what they needed or wanted only by bartering, buying used, or finding it through luck or the generosity of others. “It’s been really empowering,” says Rachel Kesel, one of the original ten who now attends graduate school in London. “The farther away I get from being that 25-year-old who used to have excess money in her pocket and go out and buy something with it, the more I realize how easy it is not to shop.”

Saving for What ’s Important

Both Kesel and Rosenmoss stress that none of the Compacters are wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. Most of them are teachers or nonprofit workers. Rosenmoss works for the San Francisco Department of the Environment, and Kesel . started out the Compact as the owner of a dog-walking. business and a freelance writer.

Rosenmoss says that though she’s always been frugal, having grown up with Depression-era grandparents who taught her the value of thrift, taking it to the level of the Compact was a more rewarding experience than she would have imagined.

“We didn’t seek publicity, but our story kind of caught on, and everyone who interviewed us was focused on the not shopping part,” she says. “A lot of people wanted to portray us as these grim, joyless environmentalists, but we got so much out of it. We have more time for our kids and to do things that are important to us. We go to concerts, and my kids . take music lessons. We have more money to give away to charities, and that’s very important to us. The Compact is about so much more than not going shopping.”

Kesel agrees that spending less has allowed her to direct her money toward real priorities. With the money she saved by Compacting, she was able to move to London to work on a Master’s degree in conservation.

Both women also agree that spending less helps them connect more with others, as well. The original Compact caught on so well, a YahooGroups listserv they started now has over 10,000 members who are all trying to live well without buying new. In addition, Rosenmoss and Kesel say the Compact has fostered stronger in-person connections at home, too.

“We borrowed stuff more often from each other,” says Rosenmoss. “A lot of people don’t like to ask for help. It’s the American way—we’re very pull-ourselves-up-by-our-bootstraps. But we build community when I ask to borrow your Roto-Rooter, or you come over and get my giant monkey wrench. We’re not being needy, but saying, ‘I need you in my life.’”

“[Telling people you’re part of the Compact] puts your needs into a larger social context,” adds Kesel. “People start to look out for you, and if they see something you need, they let you know.”

For example, when a couple Kesel knew was cleaning out their house in preparation for a move, they invited Kesel to come over and take whatever she wanted from the pile at her convenience, instead of tossing their unwanted items.

It’s Easier Than You Think

Both women acknowledge that the Compact has its challenges. Kesel, an avid cyclist, confesses to occasionally feeling the urge to buy a new piece of outdoor equipment. In fact, she recently splurged on a new pair of cycling gloves.

“It’s cold here, so I didn’t want to wait to get them while I searched for them used. They also help the tendonitis in my arm,” she says, then pauses for a moment. “But you know what? I don’t have to rationalize that purchase. No one’s going to kick me out of the Compact! It’s really important to loosen up sometimes and not trip out over things.”

Although their year of Compacting was officially up at the end of 2007, most of the original ten are still adhering to their initial agreement—and competitiveness has given way to genuine enjoyment of the new lifestyles they’ve fostered.

Kesel attributes their willingness to continue to the fact that “compacting is way easier than you think it is.” And Rosenmoss adds that challenging yourself to find what you need used is often fun.

“We’re not strange or weird, freaky hippies—we’re very average people, and anyone can do this,” says Kesel.

Both women admit they have the same needs and spending impulses as anyone else living in the US. All they did was form a community of support to help themselves downshift.

“It doesn’t have to be grim,” says Rosenmoss. “It’s not a sacrifice, because you get so much back.”

Retirement and Resources for All

Although it may not be likely that the entire country will . embrace buying nothing new, ever, we as a nation could help solve our economic crisis, at least in part, by embracing a spirit of thrift and mindful consumption.

Schor underscores that there are opportunities for spending in the new green economy. “But they are for purchases that enhance and regenerate the planet and its people, such as buying from local food systems, hiring the unemployed to provide services (especially green ones), and supporting . nonprofits that are solving, rather than creating problems.”

The added benefit of a shift to thrift is that it would lift Americans out of debt. “Saving more and consuming less creates a platform where you can get a stable economy going forward,” says Wilcox, instead of the wild fluctuations the current US economy has been experiencing.

And perhaps, say Kesel and Rosenmoss, in the end, we’d have more free time, feel more connected, and waste less— so everyone, everywhere, could finally have enough.

Greenhouse gas emissions come from burning of fossil fuels for energy and transportation, using fossil fuels in agriculture, and destroying forests, soil, and other places that sequester carbon. If we don’t take widespread, systemic action to reduce carbon emissions, the impacts of climate change will be severe.

Here are some fast facts on climate change, coal, and automobiles.

Climate Change

• Since pre-industrial times, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by 31%. As the concentration of CO2 and other gases grows, more heat is trapped by the atmosphere and less escapes back into space. This increase in trapped heat changes the climate, causing altered weather patterns that can bring unusually intense precipitation, dry spells, and more severe storms. [source: UCS]
   
• Even if CO2 emissions stablize at 450 ppm in the next few decades, the Earth's temperature will still continue to increase, causing dangerous climate events. Some ecosystems will be permanently and irreversible damaged.
   
• Some have tried to deny that humans are responsible for climate change, because the Earth has its own natural cycle of warming and cooling. However, after extensive research throughout the world, scientists are finding that the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate; 19 of the hottest 20 years on record have occurred since 1980. [source: UCS]
   
• The largest known insect infestation in North American history is happening now, says the Canadian Forest Service. Millions of acres of Mountain Pine are dying, turning the once-lush green landscape of British Columbia to a sickly burnt orange, all because of a tiny beetle. Consistently mild winters are resulting in uncontrolled reproduction. The infestation has destroyed more trees than wildfires and logging, drastically inhibiting the forest’s future growth and worsening the Earth’s ability to balance its changing climate. [source: Washington Post]
   
• The Antarctic ice sheet is losing as much as 36 cubic miles of ice a year in a trend that scientists link to climate change. [source: Washington Post] Two of NASA’s satellites estimate that the amount of water melting from the ice sheet into the ocean is equal to the amount of water the US uses in three months. This melting is causing global sea levels to rise 0.4 millimeter a year. Antarctica holds 90% of the world’s ice. Even if its smallest sheet were to melt, the worldwide sea level would be expected to rise 20 feet. [source: NASA]

Coal

• US power plants are responsible for nearly 40% of the country's carbon dioxide emissions, and 10% of global carbon dioxide emissions.
   
• In 2004, an estimated 350 new coal-fired power plants were expected to be online by 2012 in the US, India and China. Nearly 100 of these are expected to be built in the US. The output from these power plants would dwarf any greenhouse gas emission savings from the Kyoto Protocol.
   
• Peabody Coal Company, which supplies 10% of US energy and 3% of the global energy, is seeking a permit to build its Prairie State Generating Station in Illinois. The proposed plant will be the largest coal-burning plant built in decades and will pump an additional 25,000 tons of toxic pollution into the atmosphere a year.
   
• Brayton Point Station, a coal-fired power plant owned by Dominion, topped the list of the ten dirtiest power plants in the Northeast. In 2004, Brayton Point released 5.7 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the air, making this one plant responsible for approximately 5% of the region's total carbon dioxide emissions. 

Cars

• The global passenger car fleet now exceeds 539 million vehicles, and is growing by as many as 9 million vehicles annually. The US is home to a quarter of the world’s cars but only 5% of the world’s population. Cars and light trucks account for 40% of US oil use and contribute about as much to climate change as the entire Japanese economy—the world’s fourth-largest carbon emitter. [source: WorldWatch]
   
• US cars and light trucks together consume 8.2 million barrels of oil each day. This translates to over 300 million metric tons of carbon that comes from our cars and trucks every year. [source: HybridCars.com]
   
• If fuel economy were improved by 5 mpg, American consumers would save 1.5 million barrels of oil per day and reduce carbon emissions by 55 million metric tons per day. [source: HybridCars.com]
   

To learn more than the fast facts, visit our Climate page to fight dirty energy, increase renewable energy, and take action against polluting corporations.

The Problem

Every day, biologically diverse forests are either destroyed altogether, or converted to tree plantations, releasing massive amounts of carbon from cutting down trees and disturbing the soil. Deforestation accounts for 25% of global carbon emissions caused from human activities. Once used, discarded paper products are not recovered as effectively as they could be, leading to significant loss of fiber which could have been used to make new products and could help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Paper and wood products account for over a quarter of all solid waste in US landfills, releasing methane while they decompose. In an increasingly digital world, we are still using paper at a rate that is devastating for our forests and the climate. It's estimated that in the US alone, we use 800 million pounds of paper every day.

In some cases, paper and pulp companies violate the land rights of indigenous peoples and rural communities. The tree pulp for paper comes from places around the world where egregious land violations have taken place, including Indonesia, as well as large parts of South America. Manufacturing paper products also pollutes local water sources and the air. Recycled paper protects land, is less polluting than virgin paper, and reduces negative impacts on communities.

Save Trees

Recycled paper is proven to save trees: using less tree fiber, fresh water, energy, and producing less waste than traditional virgin fiber paper. One ton of magazine paper made from virgin fiber requires fifteen trees. Those trees can remain in the ground if we widely and effectively increase our use of recycled paper. The Better Paper Project's overall goal is to see a reduction in our consumption of paper products. However, we promote the use of "better paper" when necessary, meaning high recycled content and certified by Forest Stewardship Council.

Better Paper Project is also proud to represent Green America on the Environmental Paper Network (EPN), an alliance of organizations working to address challenges and opportunities for social justice and conservation presented by the expanding forest, pulp, and paper industry.

Use our Guide to Social Investing & Better Banking to get started as a social investor, along with the resources on this page.

When you bank with megabanks, your money is going directly to greedy, predatory Wall Street. Money from big banks funds fossil fuels, sweatshops, factory farms and other destructive industries. 

Your money has power to create significant, positive change, or contribute to destruction and exploitation of the Earth and people on it.

Even $100, put in the right place, can make a difference. 

Step 1:

Get a better bank or credit card.

Step 2:

Green your investments through socially responsible investing and divesting from fossil fuels.

Step 3:

Use your shareholder power to change companies from the inside.

Step 4:

Find certified Green Business Network financial planners and advisors.

Green America is not an investment adviser nor do we provide financial planning, legal, or tax advice. Nothing in our communications or materials shall constitute or be construed as an offering of financial instruments or as investment advice or investment recommendations.

Green America is working to create a just and sustainable economy for all. Sweatshops and child labor affect those who are most vulnerable in global supply chains. Green America's labor program addresses these issues in three ways:

We Educate:

Many of the largest companies in the world engage labor abuses. Sweatshops are endemic in most industries, while child labor remains a persisting problem in agriculture, mining, and other fields. We keep consumers informed about labor violations that companies commit against their workers, and the actions they take to improve—or worsen—the situation.

Learn more about sweatshops here.

We Organize:

Our campaigns target companies on their specific labor abuses, and allow us to engage with companies to develop alternative practices that promote fair labor. When you take action with Green America, your voice joins the voices of other advocates who stand up for fair and safe working environments for all. Consumer advocacy is a powerful tool for enabling change.

We Provide Alternatives:

No one wants to buy products made with sweatshop labor, but it is hard to know what to avoid, and where to find green and fairly made products. Green America helps you keep sweatshop and child labor out of your purchases, allowing you to vote with your dollar for fair and sustainable business practices. Our resources connect consumers to green and fair businesses, and share guidelines to make thoughtful purchases that support fair labor.

Green America and our members pressure major corporate polluters to take the climate crisis seriously. We also help people and businesses reduce their carbon footprints and encourage clean, renewable energy. 

The Climate Change Problem

Greenhouse gas emissions come from the burning of fossil fuels for energy and transportation, using fossil fuels in agriculture, and the destruction of forests, soil, and other places that sequester carbon.

If we don’t take widespread, systemic action to reduce carbon emissions, the impacts of climate change will be severe – droughts in some parts of the world and flooding in others. Rising sea levels will threaten our major cities worldwide. Communities and ecosystems are already facing the devastating effects of this crisis, and black and brown communities are disproportionately affected.

The climate crisis is an enormous threat to people and the planet, but it is also presents an opportunity to create a truly green economy that works for all.

We Have Solutions for Climate Change

Fortunately, we have existing solutions to address the climate crisis.

Green America works with its members and allies to:

• End US reliance on dirty energy, including coal and fracked gas.
• Support clean energy development, including solar and wind.
• Target major sources of potent and dangerous greenhouse gases used in refrigerators and push for climate-safe alternatives. 
• Shift agricultural systems to regenerative agriculture that actually absorbs carbon into the soil.
• Protect forests and reduce our reliance on trees for paper.
• Ensure climate justice as we transition to clean energy.

Learn more about climate change, and help us scale up climate solutions in food, energy, and finance. The actions we choose next will define us for generations to come.  

Green America and our members work to shift the United States towards sustainable food systems that are safe for workers, healthy for families, free of forced labor, and puts carbon back into the soil.

The choices we make around food are essential to our health and wellbeing, and that of our planet.  

The Problems in Our Food Systems 

Agriculture is the most polluting industry in the world because of the prevalent use of chemical and petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers.  

These harmful chemicals  

• Deplete the soil 
• Pollute water supplies 
• Kill pollinators 
• Lower nutritional content 
• Degrade the health of surrounding communities 
• Harm the health of workers 

Better Food Systems 

Fortunately, there are better farming methods available.  

Green America works with its members and allies to  

• Support and expand regenerative agriculture which sequesters carbon, improves soil health, reduces chemical use, encourages pollinators, and nourishes communities 
• Keep child labor out of chocolate 
• Demand corporations address concerns with industrial dairy operations 
• Grow Climate Victory Gardens of all sizes to help combat the climate crisis and provide nutritious food

We all eat. Learn more about transforming our food systems for our own health and the health of pollinators and the planet. Join us in putting carbon back into the soil, improving biodiversity, and producing more nutritious food, profitably! 

For over a decade Green America has been a leading voice in promoting clean energy technologies in the US, and encouraging consumer, business, and investor support.  Our current work is focused on increasing financing for clean energy in the US, and making it possible for all investors to support the rapid scale up of solar and wind to become the predominant sources of electric power.

Supporting Solar and Wind

In the early 2000s, Green America's Solar Catalyst Project mapped out the future of solar power in the United States and illustrated how rapid declines in the cost of solar panel manufacturing would lead to solar power growing rapidly worldwide. Green America built on this work by supporting tax incentives at the national level to expand the marketplace for solar and wind power. Those programs, the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) and Production Tax Credit (PTC), have proven effective in ramping up solar and wind power nationwide. With the costs of wind and solar power falling rapidly, solar and wind are now growing more rapidly than other sources of electric power worldwide.

Clean Energy Victory Bonds

Green America developed the idea for Clean Energy Victory Bonds (CEVBs) in the US and continues to promote them.  At the national level, CEVBs would be treasury bonds dedicated to supporting clean energy and energy efficiency programs that will lead to the rapid scale-up these technologies. CEVBs would offer all Americans a safe and affordable way to invest in a clean energy future. Green America is also working to establish CEVBs at the state level. As we work to enact CEVBs, we promote investments that are currently available from banks, credit unions, and mutual funds, that support clean energy now. 

Over the past 250 years, greenhouse gas emissions to the atmosphere have increased substantially. This increase is largely attributable to the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil (including gasoline), and natural gas since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), and methane (CH4) warm the atmosphere by trapping heat that would normally be radiated back to space. The planet also produces these gases, and they are a part of naturally occurring cycles, but human activities have produced far more greenhouse gases than the natural cycles can handle, unbalancing the system and leading to atmospheric warming and other climate change-related outcomes (1). The science is clear: the climate crisis we face is caused by human activity and dirty energy and we must curb our use of fossil fuels if we hope to slow it.

Electricity Production

In the United States, electricity production is responsible for about 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions, with other major sources being industry, transportation, and agriculture. About a third of this electricity comes from coal-fired power plants and a third from natural gas power plants, with the rest being made up by nuclear, hydropower, and renewables (2). Coal and natural gas emit the vast majority of greenhouse gases from the electricity sector. 

Coal-fired plants are closing down throughout the U.S. as coal becomes less profitable due to state and federal regulations, an aging fleet, and competition from other sectors such as natural gas, wind, and solar. In the meantime, other sectors are picking up pace. While it's true that natural gas is a cleaner source of energy than coal and liquid petroleum, it still contributes to greenhouse gas emissions during electricity production, transport, and extraction (3). It is critical to the future of the planet that society moves away from all carbon-producing sources of energy and invests heavily in renewables such as wind, solar, geothermal, and second-generation biofuels.

(1) Climate Change: Basic Information." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.
(2) "Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.
(3) "Power Plant Closures - IER." IER. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2016.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— June 7, 2016 —General Mills. Post. Hershey’s. Unilever. Pepsi. Those are just some of the top food corporations that have been persuaded since January 2014 by Green America’s GMO Inside campaign and its supporters to remove genetically engineered (GE) ingredients from their products, and offer organic options and products made without genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

“We are now at the tipping point and with this major momentum the shift to non-GMO food is only going to gain more speed,” said Todd Larsen, executive co-Director of Green America. “These 10 victories demonstrate the important role consumers play in shaping our food supply. As more and more consumers demand healthy, sustainable food made without GMOs, we expect more companies to follow suit and produce goods without GMOs. The victories to date are part of a larger trend towards simpler ingredients and transparency in GMO product labeling.”

Green America’s GMO Inside campaign cited these 10 major victors in less than two and a half years:

1. Cheerios (General Mills)(January 2014): Removes GMOs from original Cheerios.
2. Grape-Nuts (Post) (January 2014): Removes GMOs from Grape-Nuts, and obtains Non-GMO Project verification.
3. Chobani (March 2014): Commits to working towards non-GMO & organic feed for dairy cows.
4. Hershey’s (February 2015): Removes GE ingredients from Kisses and milk chocolate bars.
5. Hellmann’s (Unilever) (May 2015): Offers non-GMO mayonnaise options.
6. Similac (Abbott Laboratories) (May 2015): Introduces non-GMO infant formula.
7. Campbell’s (July 2015): Releases several organic and non-GMO products including organic soups and goldfish crackers made with organic wheat.
8. Sabra Hummus (Partially owned by Pepsi) (May 2016): Removes GMOs from many hummus varieties.
9. Enfamil (Mead Johnson Nutrition) (May 2016): Introduces non-GMO infant formula.
10. Gerber Good Start (Nestle) (May 2016): Introduces non-GMO infant formula.

“Non-GMO and organic foods, which were once found only in natural food stores, are now mainstream, sold in major supermarkets nationwide,” say Ken Roseboro, editor and publisher of The Organic & Non-GMO Report. “Major food companies are seeing the tremendous consumer demand for such products and introducing non-GMO and organic products to meet the demand. This shows that more and more consumers want simple, natural and organic foods without GMOs, pesticides, and unnatural ingredients that are hard to pronounce. These are not fads, they are trends.”

“We are seeing a key shift in consumer demand for more organic and non-GMO products” says Tracy Miedema, vice president at Presence Marketing. “Since 2012, sales of non-GMO products have increased from $12.9 billion to $21.2 billion, and food companies are working to ensure that their products are non-GMO.”

“With sales of non-GMO and organic food growing faster than all other food categories, any food companies that fail to listen to our campaigns and to their own customers are going to lose out in the market,” said John Roulac, GMO Inside co-chair and Nutiva CEO.

In addition to growing demand for non-GMO foods, consumers overwhelmingly want to know which products contain GMOs. In response, more and more multinational food companies have committed to label products that contain GMOs. Campbell’s was the first major packaged food company to voluntarily label GMOs and end opposition to on-package GMO labels.

Faced with consumer demand, and a soon to be enacted Vermont GMO labeling law, Kellogg’s, Mars, General Mills, Con Agra and Del Monte have committed to label products made with GMOs. Dannon also recently committed to a broad sustainability and transparency agenda, which includes labeling GMOs, non-GMO ingredients, and non-GMO feed.

The GMO Inside campaign works with over 260,000 consumers to take action at home and online to call attention to genetically engineered foods, and provides information about organic and non-GMO alternatives. Learn more at www.gmoinside.org, and take part in the GMO Inside community on Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:Alex Frank, (703) 276-3264 or afrank@hastingsgroup.com.

“Major Momentum Building Fast” for Non Genetically Engineered Food as 10 Top Companies Respond to Growing Pressure Demand to Curb GMOs

WASHINGTON, DC – June 7, 2016 – General Mills. Post.  Hershey’s.  Unilever. Pepsi. Those are just some of the top food corporations that have been persuaded since January 2014 by Green America’s GMO Inside campaign and its supporters to remove genetically engineered (GE) ingredients from their products, and offer organic options and products made without genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

“We are now at the tipping point and with this major momentum the shift to non-GMO food is only going to gain more speed,” said Todd Larsen, executive co-Director of Green America. “These 10 victories demonstrate the important role consumers play in shaping our food supply. As more and more consumers demand healthy, sustainable food made without GMOs, we expect more companies to follow suit and produce goods without GMOs. Th
e victories to date are part of a larger trend towards simpler ingredients and transparency in GMO product labeling.”

Green America’s GMO Inside campaign cited these 10 major victors in less than two and a half years:

1. Cheerios (General Mills): (January 2014): Removes GMOs from original Cheerios.
2. Grape-Nuts (Post) (January 2014): Removes GMOs from Grape-Nuts, and obtains Non-GMO Project verification.
3. Chobani (March 2014): Commits to working towards non-GMO & organic feed for dairy cows.
4. Hershey’s (February 2015): Removes GE ingredients from Kisses and milk chocolate bars.
5. Hellmann’s (Unilever) (May 2015): Offers non-GMO mayonnaise options.
6. Similac (Abbott Laboratories) (May 2015): Introduces non-GMO infant formula.
7. Campbell’s (July 2015): Releases several organic and non-GMO products including organic soups and goldfish crackers made with organic wheat.
8. Sabra Hummus (Partially owned by Pepsi) (May 2016): Removes GMOs from many hummus varieties.
9. Enfamil (Mead Johnson Nutrition) (May 2016): Introduces non-GMO infant formula.
10. Gerber Good Start (Nestle) (May 2016): Introduces non-GMO infant formula.

“Non-GMO and organic foods, which were once found only in natural food stores, are now mainstream, sold i
n major supermarkets nationwide,” say Ken Roseboro, editor and publisher of The Organic & Non-GMO Report. “Major food companies are seeing the tremendous consumer demand for such products and introducing non-GMO and organic products to meet the demand. This shows that more and more consumers want simple, natural and organic foods without GMOs, pesticides, and unnatural ingredients that are hard to pronounce. These are not fads, they are trends.”

 “We are seeing a key shift in consumer demand for more organic and non-GMO products” says Tracy Miedema, vice president at Presence Marketing.  “Since 2012, sales of non-GMO products have increased from $12.9 billion to $21.2 billion, and food companies are working to ensure that their products are non-GMO.” 

“With sales of non-GMO and organic food growing faster than all other food categories, any food companies that fail to listen to our campaigns and to their own customers are going to lose out in the market,” said John Roulac, GMO Inside co-chair and Nutiva CEO.

In addition to growing demand for non-GMO foods, consumers overwhelmingly want to know which products contain GMOs. In response, more and more multinational food companies have committed to label products that contain GMOs. Campbell’s was the first major packaged food company to voluntarily label GMOs and end opposition to on-package GMO labels.

Faced with consumer demand, and a soon to be enacted Vermont GMO labeling law, Kellogg’s, Mars, General Mills, Con Agra and Del Monte have committed to label products made with GMOs. Dannon also recently committed to a broad sustainability and transparency agenda, which includes labeling GMOs, non-GMO ingredients, and non-GMO feed.

The GMO Inside campaign works with over 260,000 consumers to take action at home and online to call attention to genetically engineered foods, and provides information about organic and non-GMO alternatives. Learn more at www.gmoinside.org, and take part in the GMO Inside community on Facebook and Twitter.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Alex Frank, (703) 276-3264 or afrank@hastingsgroup.com.

Around the world, an estimated 276 million workers are employed and living below international poverty line. That is, workers subsisting on less than $2.15 per day. In the United States, approximately 6.3 million workers are deemed “working poor” in 2020 by Burean of Labor Statistic.  

Wage justice is a wage system that respects human dignity and community well-being. It means that workers have the right to advocate and receive fair compensation for their work that enables them to go beyond meeting basic needs to support a decent life for themselves and their family.  

Tell Specialized to #PayYourWorkers

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Green America's GMO Inside campaign is excited to announce that Similac, Gerber Good Start, and Enfamil have all released non-GMO offerings of their infant formula.

GMO Inside mobilized tens of thousands of consumers nationwide to call on all the major formula manufacturers to offer non-GMO formula.

What do Crazy Horse Malt Liquor, Cherokee brand jeans, and Washington Redskins jackets have in common? All of these products are marketed through the use of Native American images—and all of their parent companies have been asked to stop using these images.

Companies often attach these images to their products because they feel people associate certain characteristics with Native Americans—such as bravery; strength; wisdom; or even an aggressive, war-like attitude—and they want consumers to associate these same qualities with their products or teams. The use of these images, say Gary Brouse, a program director at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and a member of the American Indian Coalition on Institutional Accountability, “glosses over the depth and diversity of American Indian cultures. Basically, our history and traditions are being trivialized for marketing purposes.”

Many Native American groups are raising awareness about the impact of the use of these images by companies and sports teams, and they’re working toward a greater public understanding of their diverse tribal cultures. Here are the reasons why American Indian groups are troubled by the commercial use of their likenesses, and how you can help support their efforts to end this practice.

The Trouble With Words

“Many of the terms used to refer to Indian people actually came from non-indigenous people,” says Brouse. “Words like ‘redskin,’ ‘squaw,’ and ‘brave’ were all used in a derogatory way—it’s like using the ‘n-word’ to refer to African Americans.”

The word “redskin,” for instance, originally referred to the skin that was cut from Native Americans’ heads to claim bounty payments for having scalped them. “Some businesses—like the Washington Redskins football team—claim that they’re making these offensive words respectable, but to try to erase the history behind them is dangerous,” says Brouse. “We need to remember where we came from, and remember all the harm that was done to our people.

Adds Susan White, who directs the Oneida Nation's trust fund, ,“You very rarely see Native Americans in the media, and when you do, it’s often a one-sided portrayal. My son, who is 12, recently told me that he only sees Native Americans in the media fairly portrayed on the History or Discovery Channels, so he feels like we don’t even exist anymore for much of the world.” White directs the Oneida funds under socially responsible investing principles, which include dialoguing with companies that market offensive Indian images.

To help stop the stereotypes, refuse to use troublesome words and images yourself, and explain to people, sports teams, and companies who do use them why they’re problematic. For online resources, visit the Web sites of the American Indian Sports Team Mascots or the American Indian Movement (AIM)’s National Coalition on Racism in Sports and Media. If you’d like to invite a speaker to your community, contact AIM about their Speakers Bureau.

Boycotts for Crazy Horse's Legacy

Many Native Americans are particularly disturbed by the appropriation of the name “Crazy Horse” for marketing commercial items—and they’re using consumer dialogue and boycotts as a way to protect the revered Lakota Sioux leader’s legacy.

“Crazy Horse abhorred alcohol, which was brought to this continent by Europeans,” explains White, “so Crazy Horse Malt Liquor is an especially offensive product to the Lakota Sioux and Crazy Horse’s descendants.”

The Crazy Horse Defense Project (CHDP), which works to end the use of the Crazy Horse name on commercial products, was successful in getting SBC Holdings (formerly The Stroh Brewing Co.) to stop bottling Crazy Horse Malt Liquor. In addition to cutting SBC’s ties to this product, the company president issued a formal apology and presented gifts to the Lakota Sioux in a ceremony at the Rosebud Sioux reservation in South Dakota.

In contrast, the Hornell Brewing Co. still manufactures Crazy Horse Malt Liquor, despite requests that they stop using Crazy Horse’s name. The CHDP is bringing a lawsuit against Hornell to force the name change, with a trial date set for this October. CHDP is also calling for a boycott of Crazy Horse Malt Liquor, as well as AriZona Iced Tea, which is produced by Hornell’s parent company, Ferolito, Vultaggio & Sons.

Liz Claiborne also manufactures a line of CRaZY HORSE clothing that is sold in JC Penney stores, and Crazy Horse’s descendants have also asked these companies to stop using their ancestor’s name. The descendants and ICCR were involved in dialogue with Liz Claiborne for two years about this issue, but talks have since broken down. Now, the Crazy Horse Estate has asked consumers to boycott the brand.

Fostering Positive Responses

The good news is that communities and businesses across the country are moving away from the commercial use of Native American images. For example, White reports that community activism in Wisconsin, where the Oneida reservation is located, has led several schools to drop offensive Native American mascots. Here are some ways you can help support this movement:

1. Write letters of support to companies that have stopped using Native American images. The CHDP encourages consumers to send letters of thanks to BP for honoring CHDP requests to change an oil field’s name from “Crazy Horse” to “Thunder Horse,” as well as to SBC Holdings for halting the bottling of Crazy Horse Malt Liquor. If a business or sports team in your area has recently switched from a Native American name or mascot to a more neutral one, be sure to tell them you appreciate it. You can even write a letter to your local newspaper

2. Write letters to and participate in boycotts of companies using Native American images. Join in national efforts, such as the Crazy Horse Malt Liquor and AriZona Iced Tea boycott called by the CHDP. If one of your local sports teams uses a Native American mascot, support any organized boycott of their games and souvenirs, or write to the team’s management and your local newspaper to bring the issue to their attention.

3. Support shareholder initiatives to change companies’ use of Native American images. Several mutual funds and shareholder organizations are using their investor clout to conduct dialogues with companies around their use of Native American names or likenesses. For instance, Calvert funds participated in the Liz Claiborne/JC Penney dialogues (and divested from the companies when they refused to budge), and Walden Asset Management helped convince BP to change its oil field’s name. You can invest in a fund that participates in shareholder advocacy on these issues, and learn more about ongoing shareholder activities in this area from ICCR’s Equality Issues group and Green America’s Shareholder Action Network.

4. Direct your money to businesses that support Native American communities. “Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are becoming an effective way for tribes to spur development in their communities,” says Elsie Meeks, director of the First Nations Oweesta Corporation. “Most Native communities never had much small business ownership, so CDFIs are loaning people the money they need to start businesses to provide revenue to their communities.”

If you’ve got $5,000 to $100,000 that you’d like to invest, at a rate of up to three percent, you can loan it to a Native American CDFI and know that your money is helping someone start a grocery store, tire repair shop, arts and crafts store, or other business that will help keep money circulating locally. The Oweesta Corp., which provides financing and resources to encourage tribes to start new CDFIs, can supply a list of these institutions. If you don’t have that much money to invest, consider joining NativeEnergy’s WindBuilders program. WindBuilders helps tribes build wind turbines on reservations to generate environmental savings and community revenue, while helping you offset your household or office global warming emissions.

5. Be extra sensitive about the use of Native American images and objects. “Many images—for instance, eagle feathers that a teacher might hang in a classroom in a well-meaning effort to celebrate Native American culture—have sacred significance for us, so to see them used without the proper context is sacrilegious,” explains Brouse. If you’re thinking about displaying a Native American object or symbol, consider the meaning that it might have for Native Americans, and treat it accordingly. A little research can help you gauge the appropriateness of displaying something.

Finally, White urges anyone who’s interested in learning more about Native American culture to seek out local tribes in his or her area. You can contact your local Bureau of Indian Affairs to find out which tribes are represented in your region, and then check the Web for more information, since many tribes have Web sites. White encourages people to get involved with local tribes’ culture, noting that while some ceremonies are sacred and not open to the public, others, such as pow-wows, will welcome visitors. “As someone who’s concerned about the lack of awareness of Native American culture, I appreciate hearing from people who are interested in learning more about the tribe,” she says.

GMO Inside is excited to announce that Similac, Gerber Good Start, and Enfamil have all released non-GMO offerings of their infant formula.

GMO Inside mobilized tens of thousands of consumers nationwide to call on all the major formula manufacturers to offer non-GMO formula.

by Anna Meyer, Food Campaigns Associate

The organic sector is one of the fastest growing segments of the food industry with over $30 billion in annual sales. Consumers are increasingly willing to pay a premium price for food that is grown in a more sustainable manner and produced without artificial ingredients. This is good news, since a shift towards organic production is essential for building a sustainable food future. But as organic food continues to grow in popularity, are federal organic standards really fostering a food system that’s better for people and the planet?

The organic movement versus the USDA organic certification? The organic movement was born out of a desire to shift away from industrialized farming and to be more connected with the land and communities. Industrial agriculture took off in the 1920s but really gained momentum in the 1970s thanks to USDA Secretary Earl Butz’ mantra of “get big, or get out.” The modern US organic movement is often linked with the publishing of Rachel Carson’s landmark book, Silent Spring, which brought to light the many dangers of chemical intensive industrialized agriculture. Ultimately, this resulted in a government certification managed through the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Since the introduction of the certification, in 2002, the USDA has received much criticism calling into question the integrity of the standard. The major differences between the movement and the standard lie in the attention to issues of social justice and in the exceptions made to allow for large-scale organic farming and additives. The movement aimed to build a standard that not only addresses the environmental impacts of industrial agriculture but the social aspects as well.

What does USDA Organic get right? A lot! The USDA Organic standard regulates the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and additives, just to name a few.

Under the organic standards you cannot use synthetic fertilizers. This is hugely important as synthetic fertilizers continue our dependence on fossil fuels and are responsible for the pollution of waterways and mass die offs of oceanic life. Organics also regulates the use of pesticides. While there are some pesticides allowed under the organic standard, the most common and hazardous ones, such as glypohsate, 2,4-d and dicamba, are prohibited. The regulation of pesticide use is key to maintaining pollinator health, ensuring biodiversity, and protecting the health of on-farm workers and neighboring communities. Organic certification prohibits the use of artificial additives and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). If you are purchasing something organic it is guaranteed non-GMO. The main difference between USDA Organic and Non-GMO Project Verified is that organic verifies the process and the Non-GMO project tests for the presence of GMOs. The standard also encourages more sustainable practices such as cover cropping, crop rotation, and composting. All of these are extremely essential to building back the health of the soil. Healthy soil can provide a number of ecosystem services, such as sequestering carbon out of the atmosphere, which is essential in mitigating climate change. Improved soil quality also leads to stronger plants that are more resistant to shifts in weather and are better able to handle attacks from pests. With regards to animal production the organic standard regulate how much time animals can spend confined indoor and the use of antibiotics and artificial growth hormones. For example, organic requires that dairy cows spend the vast majority of their time being grass-fed and when they are fed supplementary feed it must be non-GMO. Both antibiotics and artificial growth hormones are prohibited under the organic standard. This is just a glimpse as to all the things that organic regulates and monitors, the list goes on and on. You can check out an exhaustive breakdown of the standard here.

What are the main drawbacks with USDA Organic?

While USDA organic does get a lot of things right and is ultimately helping to decrease the negative impacts of industrial agriculture, there are areas where it is found lacking. One major downside with the less stringent standards of the USDA’s Organic certification is that it has made room for industrial organic farming. Though the intention of the organic movement was for smaller scale farms, current organic production oftentimes happens in large-scale monocultures or industrial animal operations. There is a world of difference between smaller scale farmers selling at farmer markets and large scale farms producing for grocery store private labels. When you bring agricultural production to that scale there will always be impacts on the environment, simply by shifting the biodiversity of a region as well as the impacts of any concentrated amount of inputs and waste. In industrial animal operations there is a high tendency to give low daily doses of antibiotics to all the animals in order to promote growth and prevent diseases, unsanitary living conditions and a poor diet make animals industrial operations more prone to disease. Organic aims to tackle this by prohibiting the use of antibiotics altogether. While decreasing the use of subtherapeutic antibiotics is a good thing, the down side is that farmers are unable to treat genuinely sick animals that could benefit from antibiotics; this becomes an animal welfare issue. Should a farmer choose to treat their sick animal, they will then have to be removed from the organic supply chain and sold to conventional production. Some dairy farmers are hesitant to get organic certification because of the inability to treat their sick cows and keep them in the organic supply chain. The other major downside to organic is that the transition process from conventional is timely and expensive. The required three-year transition period is intended to protect the integrity of the certification. During the transition period farmers are forced to pay the extra expenses for organic, and are not yet receiving the premium price for their product. It is imperative that the government focus more funding through the farm bill to organic programs and transition.

So is Organic better? It most definitely is! While USDA Organic is by no means perfect it is the best option currently on the market. Any increase in organic is drastically decreasing the negative impacts of agriculture on people and the environment. While we do need to continue to push towards an even more sustainable system of agriculture moving as much of our production to organic is a necessary step to mitigating climate change, protecting biodiversity, and protecting farm communities. Ultimately, what we need is a shift in the entire agricultural production system with the intention of undoing the post WWII era thinking of “get big, or get out.” Still the very best way to know how your food is produced is to buy from local farmers with whom you have had a chance discuss farming practices, just because a farmer isn’t certified doesn’t mean that they aren’t using organic practices. In fact lots of small-scale farmers are going beyond organic and are focused on agroecological methods of farming such as increased diversification, intensive composting, cover cropping, and a particular attention to carbon sequestration. Regenerative agriculture aims to rebuild soil health and farm ecosystems in attempt to reverse the damage done by industrial agriculture over the last hundred of years. These practices are essential for preserving biodiversity and soil, as well as for preparing for climate change. Healthy soil can serve as one of the largest collectors of carbon, helping to mitigate climate change. Stronger more diverse farms are more able to handle the impacts of climate change and ensure that we have a sustainable food future.   Follow updates on sustainable agriculture and Green America's work on food issues on Facebook and by visiting GreenAmerica.org/food.    

Most consumers in the United States are now aware of genetically engineered foods, but far fewer realize that, beginning formally in 1988, biotech scientists have been working on the next frontier: genetically engineered trees. While the biotech industry claims GE trees could be a natural solution to deforestation, it’s far more likely that a shift to GE monoculture forests, heavily dependent on chemical inputs, would further pollute our soil, air and waterways, and exacerbate the problems of climate change.

Not All Forests Are Created Equal

Natural forests are more than a collection of trees. They are rich, biodiverse habitats for millions of species of plants, animals, and microorganisms that are essential to life. Forests protect soil and waterways from pollution, and even protect humans from heart and respiratory diseases. Perhaps most miraculously, the earth’s forests also store 289 gigatons of carbon in biomass, making forests one of the greatest contributors to slowing the rate of climate change.

Enter genetically engineered trees. The biotech industry is in the process of developing GE trees for a number of aims, including lower lignin content to ease processing. Lignin, a structural component of wood, must be removed from wood pulp before it can be used to make paper. GE trees with lower lignin content stand to save the paper industry a great deal of money by cutting out the expensive removal process. GE trees also promise faster growth, ease of converting wood into biofuels, protection from pests and resistance to herbicides. These developments would surely increase the profits of biotech companies, but at what cost to the planet and future generations?

Genetically Engineered Trees Threaten the Health of an Already Fragile Planet 

The risks of GE trees are grave. From current GE trees evaluations and experiments as well as studies assessing the environmental impact of GE trees, several large issues were identified. Lower lignin content trees decompose faster and release more carbon dioxide than non - GE trees, greatly contributing to climate change. Additionally, GE trees require repeated and wide dousing of chemicals to eliminate pests and weeds, which furthers an industrial and chemically- driven approach to agriculture. This approach causes pollution to soil, waterways and air as well as heavy emissions of greenhouse gases. The development of GE trees will likely bring about massive, single-crop plantations, which can hardly replace natural forests. Monoculture plantations have already devastated natural forests around the world, leaving former inhabitants—mainly indigenous communities—without a home, among many other things, as detailed in Center for Food Safety’s 2016 Report on Genetically Engineered Trees. Native species contamination is also a risk, as pollen and twigs are likely to blow from GE plantations to natural forests where they can mate with native trees, impacting the way that those species function in their environment. Due to the interconnected nature of an ecosystem, when one factor changes it can set off a chain reaction, permanently changing our environment in unpredictable and often harmful ways.

A Way Forward for Trees, People, and the Paper Industry

Despite these risks, the biotech industry is spending millions in research and development of GE trees. Why? Because beyond being essential to life on Earth, trees are an extremely valuable resource, used for paper, lumber, and even fuel. The paper industry, however, would be wise to take a look at what sustainable businesses across the country are doing to meet demand for paper, while still protecting forests. Banana leaves, hemp, agricultural waste, recycled content, and even elephant poop are worthwhile explorations for the paper industry to pursue that can take the place of trees as the major victim of paper production. It’s not the trees that need to change, but rather the actions of those who interact with them. Natural forests need to be protected, and commercial forests must be managed sustainably.

Organizations such as the Forest Stewardship Council exemplify the standards of proper forest management in a competitive and economically beneficial manner. Until the risks of GE trees to our forests, climate, and future can be eliminated, funds for GE tree development and field trials should be reallocated to proper forest management and research on new and different conventional breeding techniques With the immeasurable importance that forests and their ecosystems play in our natural world, each solution must be evaluated extensively to ensure a holistically beneficial approach for our communities, our forests, and our climate.

To learn more about forests, follow Green America's Better Paper Project on twitter @BetterPaperProj!  

Green America and our GMO Inside campaign are excited to announce that Similac (owned by Abbott), Gerber Good Start, and Enfamil have all released non-GMO offerings of their infant formula.

GMO Inside mobilized tens of thousands of consumers nationwide to call on all the major formula manufacturers to offer non-GMO formula.

Just in time for International Hummus Day, GMO Inside is happy to report that Sabra Hummus is going non-GMO.

Green America's GMO Inside campaign mobilized tens of thousands of consumers to urge Sabra to join its competitors in dropping GMOs.

 The following guest blog post is from Sandra McCardell, President, Current-C Energy Systems, Inc. Albuquerque NM. The Clean Energy Victory Bond campaign is a Green America project advocating for this new solution to climate change. When I was born (in the 1950’s), my grandmother gave me the gift of a United States Savings Bond –what would have been called a “Victory Bond” or a “Liberty Bond” if I had been born 10 years earlier, when WWII was still being fought. It was an investment, I always felt, in the future she wanted me to have. Well, I don’t have any grandchildren (yet – a really subtle hint to my children!) but if I did, I too would want to invest in the future I want them to have. That future would be one where they enjoy rushing rivers, silent winter landscapes, the canals of Venice, mountain passes, coral reefs, whispering pines, a fresh tomato straight from the garden.  It would not be one where they struggle with asthma, where deserts and famine expand, where islands, peoples, and species disappear.  It would be a world where solar farms and dairy-based bio-digesters are seen from the air, not a pall of particulates.  It would be a world where energy is clean, and the US is a world leader in developing and deploying that energy. It would also be a world where all of us can invest in a clean energy future, can feel that we are doing our part to bring Victory, no matter where we live or whether or not local regulations permit wind turbines. We in New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment, salute our own Senator Udall for introducing an amendment to the Senate Energy Bill (S.2012) to advance Clean Energy Victory Bonds (CEVB).  It is a bi-partisan effort, with a vote of 50 – 47 the first time it was introduced last month (just short of the 60 votes required) – a result that is almost unheard of in Washington DC these days!  In the House, Representatives Matsui and Lofgren are working to advance a similar bill, and there too sponsorship is increasing. (Read more here.) It’s a future I believe in, and to which I am committed. For my unborn grandchildren – and for my children and for myself.  If they were available I would invest in those Clean Energy Victory Bonds NOW, because they:

• Help create 1 million clean energy jobs nationwide
• Enhance US security by decreasing reliance on foreign oil
• Provide a safe investment to all Americans starting at $25, because they would be Treasury bonds backed by the full faith and credit of the US government
• Build US businesses, including here in New Mexico, that manufacture and install clean energy & energy efficiency technologies
• Maintain the US’ competitive advantage in clean energy technologies
• Provide a “revenue neutral” way for the US Government to support clean energy and energy efficiency, since all programs supported by the bonds will be repaid
• Build the clean energy economy without raising taxes

Once they become available, CEVBs will also provide a good and easy way we can act in the present, to bring that good future closer for all of us. Or at least we will be able to act as soon as Congress allows them to be created! Join me. Invest in our shared future.  Contact your Congress-people and tell them this is a good idea as part of the many climate change solutions, no matter which side of the fence they sit on.  Then, (as soon as you can) buy some CEVBs – for yourself, for your children, for your grandchildren – and for people you will never meet who also share this complicated and beautiful world.

Buying books, new or used, can be hard to resist. When a favorite author has a new book out, the temptation to purchase it at the store on the day of its release instead of putting yourself on a waiting list at the local library can be fierce. Then there’s that seductive box of dusty paper-backs going for ten cents apiece at a neighborhood garage sale. And how many of us can resist the siren call of those three little words: “Used Book Fair?”

So you succumb to temptation, buy a book new or used, read and enjoy it, and then ... it’s just sitting there. It takes up space on your already bulging shelves or, if your book addiction is really bad, joins the pile spilling over your nightstand and onto the floor. How can you stop the insanity and take back the floor and shelf space in your home? How can you responsibly dispose of your used books?

There are a number of creative ways to share the wealth when it comes to books. From running a community book swap to joining a growing movement for simply setting them free, you can get your books into other people’s hands—allowing you to save resources, de-clutter your life, and share your love of the written word with others. Some of our options might even help you make new friends.

Sell Books for Cash

If you want to make back a portion of the cash you’ve spent on books, selling your used copies is always an option. Most cities and larger towns have used book-stores, and many of those establishments will pay you cash for at least some of your paperbacks and hardcovers. Of course, you might perpetuate your addiction by simply trading your books for other used books in the store.

To find a used bookstore near you, consult your local yellow pages under “Book Dealers—Used and Rare.”

If you have an older book, especially one by a well-known author, check the copyright page for the words “First Edition.” First editions of classics—and books many feel are destined to become classics—can be worth quite a bit of money. Elisa Fernandez Austin of Pensacola, Florida, once bought an interesting-looking hardcover at a local garage sale. To her surprise, the book turned out to be a first edition that a local rare book dealer told her was worth $500.

To find out approximately how much any first editions in your collection might be worth, you can compare prices at www.bookfinder.com or ask several rare book dealers for their opinions. You can also (ahem) purchase a rare book price guide at your local bookstore or see if your local library carries one.

Another option is to sell your used books online. The popular site eBay.com will allow you to place your books up for online auction—either individually or as a lot. If you’d rather put a fixed price on your books instead of auctioning them, you can sell them individually on Half.com. (Editor's Note: Since acquired by eBay).

Donate to Those in Need

If making money from your used books isn’t your first priority, consider donating them. Local schools, senior centers, hospitals, battered women’s shelters, and charities like GoodWill are often thrilled to take your used books off your hands. Almost all public libraries accept used books to add to their collection or for used book fair fundraisers.

There are also many organizations that distribute used books—particularly text-books and children’s books—worldwide to people in need. The Brother’s Brother Foundation Book and Education Program accepts used children’s books and textbooks on all topics and distributes them to schools and people in need in 23 countries. Contact them before sending books by calling 412/321-3160. The International Book Bank accepts books of all kinds and distributes them to nonprofits overseas. Contact them at 410/636-6895.

Swap Them Out

A great way to build community among your neighbors or co-workers is to hold a book swap. A book swap is basically an event where you and your friends or colleagues bring the books you don’t want and trade with each other. It’s a great time to relax, talk about books, and get rid of the unwanted portions of your book collection.

If you’re at a loss as to how to organize your event, The Literacy Trust, a UK-based nonprofit, offers tips, resources, and success stories at their Website. Though their Swap-a-Book campaign is aimed at encouraging book swaps in the workplace, you can set up something similar in your home for friends and neighbors.

Book swaps are a great way to strengthen connections with others, says Lisa Young of the Literacy Trust. “Swapping books or recommendations improves existing friendships and can lead to new ones, and swapping between senior and junior staff can lead to a more relaxed, inclusive company culture,” she says.

The Literacy Trust offers these ideas for making your book swap an event to remember:

• Invite an author or storyteller in at lunchtime to entertain workers.
• Hold a traditional Scottish ceilidh (dancing optional) where everyone brings a favorite poem, short story, or book excerpt to read aloud.
• Have a “vote for your favorite author/book” space on a notice board.
• Pair up volunteers for the book swap at random. Have partners trade books and meet up a month later to discuss them.
• Explore the possibility of setting up a regular after-hours book club.

Here at Green America, we liked the swap idea so much, we held one ourselves. First, we compiled a list of everyone’s three favorite summer reads and passed it out during the swap. We also put out some snacks, and as we browsed and traded books, we ate and chatted about the reading list. “I loved that list,” says executive director Alisa Gravitz. “It was a fun way to learn about new books, and it also allowed me to see a new side of my friends and colleagues."

Set Them Free

One innovative way to get rid of your used books is to simply set them free in a public place. No, this isn’t a polite euphemism for random waste dumping. What it is is a new practice aimed at sharing your love of the written word with the world—literally.

BookCrossing.com, a self-described “reading group that knows no boundaries,” encourages people to leave books they love in public places for others to read and enjoy. In exchange, they get to track their favorite book’s whereabouts, as well as other people’s responses to it, via the BookCrossing Web site. How it works is this: participants register a book they love with the Web site, which assigns them a BookCrossing ID number. Then, they either download a pre-printed label from the site or handwrite their own and place it inside the book. They then leave the book in a conspicious public place until serendipity strikes and someone picks it up. The recipient will find a note on the label encouraging him/her to visit BookCrossing.com and write a brief online journal reporting the book’s ID number and location, as well as any thoughts about the text itself.

Of course, BookCrossing encourages everyone who finds a book bearing one of
its labels to later re-release the book into the wild for someone else to find, read, and journal about.

“BookCrossing.com gives people a way to share their books without feeling as if they’re losing something,” co-founder Ron Hornbaker told Book magazine. “I think of it as a way of letting something go as a means of keeping it.”

Authors Need Love Too

While swapping books or buying them used might be the best option for your
pocketbook, don’t feel guilty about purchasing the occasional new book. Remember, it’s sales of new books that provide many struggling writers with their bread and butter and allow small, innovative publishers to stay afloat. Art for art’s sake is a great ideal, but it’s economic backing from customers that allows authors to keep producing and publishers to keep printing and distributing their books.

When you do buy a new book, follow these simple steps to make your purchases
as responsible as possible:

• Buy from small, independent bookstores in your local area. You’ll support your local economy and help that charming neighborhood shop stay open. If they don’t have the book you’re looking for, they’ll be able to order it for you.
• If you want to shop online, purchase from an independent retailer like Powellsbooks.com or 100Fires.com. By entering your zip code, you’ll ensure that your purchases come from the participating independent store nearest you.
• If you’re concerned about saving trees, try reading an e-book. E-publishing has taken off in recent months, with many small and major publishers putting bestselling titles in all genres into electronic form. Major online bookstores like Powellsbooks.com offer instantly downloadable e-books in different formats for your PC, laptop, Palm Pilot, or GemStar eBook reader. If you prefer hard copies, encourage publishers to print their books on recycled paper.

  No matter how you choose to pass along your used books, it’s likely that you’ll benefit from the process. So, what are you waiting for? Free your shelves today.

WASHINGTON, DC—APRIL 18, 2016—This tax day, millions of Americans will gain a little tax benefit and a measure of peace of mind by making an extra contribution to their retirement plan. But many Americans are increasingly worried about the financial risk of owning fossil fuel companies in their 401(k) plans. Over 20,000 people recently signed an online petition calling on American firms to offer fossil free 401(k) options.

A growing coalition of progressive leaders – led by Divest Invest Individual, Environmental Action, Fossil Free Funds, and HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor, with support from Green America, Roots Action, and The Other 98% – warns investors that 401(k) plans which rely on fossil fuel investments threaten the future of our planet and could jeopardize the long-term returns that retirees expect. American workers have more than $4.4 trillion invested in 401(k)s and similar retirement plans.

“Coal, oil, and gas are increasingly risky investments, particularly for people on fixed incomes,” said Vanessa Green, Director of Divest Invest Individual, a campaign engaging accredited and retail investors in fossil fuel divestment and sustainable reinvestment. “The demand for lower risk fossil free options is there,” Green continued. “In just three weeks, tens of thousands of employees in big corporations, small businesses, educational and other institutions responded to the call for those options from employers.”

But the largest 401(k) plans offer few to no options for employees desiring a socially responsible portfolio free of oil, gas and coal producers. An analysis by Fossil Free Funds, an online tool that measures the climate risk of mutual funds, found only one option in the 100 largest public company 401(k)s that is both a socially responsible investment and free of the top 200 coal and oil/gas reserve holders.

As Peabody Coal files for bankruptcy and ExxonMobil spends more on its dividends than its current cash flow, the financial risks associated with fossil fuel investments increases. “If your 401(k) portfolio invests in fossil fuel producers, then your retirement nest egg could suffer higher risk and potentially lower returns,” says R. Paul Herman, CEO of HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Investor, which rates 15,000 stocks, bonds and mutual funds, and advises investors and 401(k)s on how to realize higher impact portfolios. “401(k) fiduciaries need to focus on the forward-looking risks of the funds their firm is offering, and seek to add funds with cleaner energy solutions for the 21st century.”

For smaller, high-growth firms, like stok, a consulting firm that focuses on strategy, performance, and sustainability in the built environment, employees and owners are already benefiting from fossil free and socially responsible mutual fund choices that align with their corporate mission. "Investing in fossil free portfolios is putting my money where my mouth is," said Kristen Magnuson, a stok employee. "It represents my optimism about our ability to achieve a clean energy future."

Gundersen Health System, which operates a large network of hospitals and medical clinics across 19 counties in Wisconsin, Iowa, and Minnesota and sets the industry’s green standard, recognizes a responsibility for community health inside and outside their walls. "We have frozen all our investments in organizations that produce fossil fuels and offer our employees a retirement option with companies with socially responsible characteristics," said Mark Platt, Senior Vice President of Business Services. "We’ve made a commitment to renewable sources of energy that are both sustainable and lower the level of harmful emissions."

U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez recently issued new guidelines in October 2015 for economically-targeted investments (ETIs), which include considering environmental risks and opportunities, in retirement plans, and said, "Investing in the best interests of a retirement plan and in the growth of a community can go hand in hand.”

A number of high-profile institutions and individuals have committed to divest from fossil fuels, including Rockefeller Brothers Fund, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, CalPERS and CalSTRS, 
Norway’s KLP pension fund, and others managing a combined $3.4 trillion in assets. 

“Coal companies are going bankrupt and coal CEOs are going to jail. Oil prices have flatlined, and Exxon is under investigation,” said Drew Hudson, Director of Environmental Action. "You don’t have to be a Rockefeller to see the writing on the wall—fossil fuels are over and American retirees shouldn’t be left holding the bag.”

“A growing number of Americans want to be part of climate solutions and want to shift their support away from the fossil fuel industry. Employers can do their part by offering their employees the option of investing in socially responsible mutual funds that screen out fossil fuels and support a sustainable economy,” said Fran Teplitz, Executive Co-Director for Business, Investing & Policy with Green America.

“Climate risk in our pensions and retirement plans can't be ignored as we justly transition to a climate-safe economy,” said Joe Uehlein, Executive Director of the Labor Network for Sustainability, a group engaging unions and others from the labor movement in climate issues and educating the environmental movement about jobs issues.

“Climate change caused primarily by use of fossil fuels will impact my children and my grandchildren and generations beyond them,” said petition signer R. Warren Langley, who is also a former president of the Pacific Stock Exchange. “We must empower people today to take any action they can to change what past generations have ignored. Being able to ‘vote’ with your investment choices is the best way to let us all make a difference.”

“Many investors are only now becoming aware that they can match their investments with their desire to protect the environment,” said petition signer Kelly Guncheon, an investment adviser in Minnesota serving clients seeking to go fossil-free. “Often the 401(k) plan is your only portfolio. Engaging environmentally aware employees with an option to invest their 401(k) money in fossil-free portfolios is enormously satisfying.”

“A fossil-free financial portfolio is important to me for value and values. It protects the value of my investments by reducing risk in a carbon-constrained world and it aligns my investments with my values by not supporting companies moving the world toward climate catastrophe,” said petition signer Ron Roman, a professor at San Jose State University.
  
“Fossil fuels are overvalued when you look at the big picture. As prudent fiduciaries, we invest in long-term solutions because we aim to be part of the solution, not part of the problem,” said petition signer Ben Bingham, author of Making Money Matter, and an investment adviser.

The petition was supported by all coalition partners during the final weeks of tax season, from March 28 through April 11. It has gathered over 20,700 signatures which will be delivered to the companies offering the 100 largest retirement plans in the U.S. Organizers intend to follow up with petition signers interested in garnering support for fossil free and sustainable retirement options at their places of work.

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Fossil Free Funds - Fossil fuel investments carry real financial risks. With Fossil Free Funds, you can look up mutual funds and see their exposure to various fossil fuel companies. Brought to you by As You Sow, with financial data provided by Morningstar. For more information, visit www.fossilfreefunds.org.
 
Divest Invest Individual - A dynamic movement of individual investors who are personally divesting from fossil fuels and leveraging their financial assets to build the new infrastructure, products, and services we need for a sustainable, equitable, clean energy economy. We join and support the growing movement among universities, municipalities, pension funds and religious denominations who recognize that this is an unprecedented opportunity to invest for both financial performance and public good. For more information, visit http://divestinvest.org/individual/.

HIP Investor - Founded in 2006, HIP (Human Impact + Profit) Inc. rates more than 18,000 investments (nearly 5,000 companies, 12,000 muni bond issuers, 1000s of mutual funds) on their future risk, return potential and net benefit to society.  HIP also advises investors, wealth managers, fund managers and 401(k) retirement plans on how portfolios can pursue "doing good" and "doing well" at the same time.  HIP-weighted portfolios can frequently lead to stronger, more resilient, higher-impact portfolios.  Find out how your 401(k) can become more sustainable and fossil-free at www.HIPinvestor.com

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Please contact Todd Larsen by email 
or by phone at 202-872-530

If you own stock, you have a voice in how companies are run. As a stockholder, you can be a shareholder activist for social and environmental issues you care about that are affected by the companies in which you invest. Take any or all of these steps to improve corporate conduct:

1. Vote your proxies

If you own direct company stock in a publicly traded company, not stock through a pooled investment like a mutual fund, you will receive an invitation to the company’s annual meeting of shareholders and a proxy ballot for voting your shares. To make sure that corporate managers know that shareholders want improvements in social and environmental performance, not just increased profits, it's important to vote your proxies.

Proxy ballots arrive together with the proxy statement, which is a booklet that presents the details of the proposals that shareholders will vote on. Proxy voting is the primary forum where management seeks affirmation of what it is doing, and where shareowners weigh in on important issues. You can vote at the in-person meeting or you may use postal or electronic means.

Some organizations such as As You Sow are now using a proxy voting app. Votes are recommended for board elections and shareholder resolutions in hundreds of companies; you can follow all the recommended votes, or review them individually to decide how to vote. Learn more

2. Write letters and work with others

If you’re unhappy with corporate behavior, request a conversation with management about your concern. Letters from individual investors and consumers calling for specific changes to corporate conduct and or policy can be very useful. In a letter, shareholders identify their concerns and let management know that the company’s behavior and impacts are being monitored.

As a consumer, you can bolster current shareholder campaigns by writing letters to company management, communicating your concerns. When consumers and citizens join shareholder activists to pursue corporate reform, the combined pressure can achieve far more than either group would separately.

If conversations go nowhere, or if a company refuses to discuss issues with shareholders at all, concerned investors (mostly institutional investors) will introduce shareholder resolutions. Please see our Key Shareholder Resolutions to Vote list. Resolutions are different from letters sent to management because they have the opportunity to be voted upon by all the company's investors. Do vote your proxies!

Green America is proud to co-sponsor the annual Proxy Preview, produced by As You Sow, the Sustainable Investments Institute, and Proxy Impact. This booklet encapsulates recent shareholder trends and describes upcoming shareholder resolutions on social, environmental, and corporate governance issues. Hundreds of social and environmental resolutions are filed each year, ensuring that many of the concerns raised by consumers, civil society organizations, and others are heard by corporate management.

3. Attend an annual meeting

As a shareholder, you have the right to present your views on current shareholder resolutions at the companies' annual meetings. When you receive your proxy statement by mail, you also should receive information detailing the location, date, and time of the company's annual meeting, along with instructions for how to attend. Be sure to ask your broker or adviser for this information if you don't receive your proxy statement at home, or call the company's investor relations department for information if it's not mailed to you.

Before you go, be sure to double-check the rules for your meeting (in your proxy statement or by calling investor relations), because every meeting is different.

Your presence can make a difference. Other shareholders in attendance may change their votes based on the speakers at a meeting, and large turnouts for resolutions can attract the attention of corporate management, other shareholders, and the media.

4. Loan your shares to others

If you own shares in a company and can't attend its annual meeting, you can let someone else go in your place and speak up on the issues that are important to you. If someone you know would like to attend an annual meeting as an advocate, you can plan with that person directly.

You'll need to send a letter that gives permission for him or her to attend the meeting in your place (two sentences giving your name, the person's name, and the date and place of the meeting is sufficient), plus proof of your share ownership. This is usually a photocopy of a statement from your broker or online stock-trading account showing that you own shares and purchased them within the required time frame. If you work with a financial planner, s/he should be able to fax you the necessary proof of ownership. The person who's attending in your place will need to bring these documents to the meeting, along with a valid photo ID. You can either send your proxy ballot by mail prior to the meeting or give it to him or her to deliver.

5. Divest

If dialogues and shareholder resolutions don’t work to persuade a corporation to adopt a social or environmental policy, shareholder activists may turn to divestment—or selling off their shares—as a means of getting their message across. Divestment demonstrates to a corporation that socially or environmentally irresponsible actions and policies are going to negatively affect the company's bottom line. As an individual investor, you don't have to wait for a shareholder action organization to conduct a divestment campaign if you're uncomfortable with a company or mutual fund in your portfolio. If you haven't seen change for the better, you can choose to divest a company's stock on your own. Be sure to write to management and tell them why you've divested.

In the 1980s, activists convinced companies to divest from business in South Africa to put pressure on that government to abolish apartheid. The campaign was hugely successful and gave rise to modern divestment movements. In recent years, university students in the US and internationally have demanded their schools divest from fossil fuels in a variety of ongoing campaigns, resulting in at least 265 schools committed to divesting all or part of their endowments as of 2024, according to the Global Fossil Fuel Divestment Database managed by Stand.earth. Cities and countries have also committed to divesting government funds from fossil fuels companies. In 2016, divestment was used by protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline, who asked individuals and cities to remove their investments from the 17 national and international banks giving loans to the building company.

6. Hold mutual funds accountable for their voting practices

Mutual funds are legally required to disclose their voting records. Since the managers of most mutual funds vote in line with corporate management, they seldom support social or environmental resolutions.

You can check the websites of your funds to see their voting records. You can also encourage fund managers to vote for social and environmental resolutions by:

• Keeping track of social resolutions voted on by your mutual fund managers. Let investor relations know how you feel about their votes. If fund managers have voted against a resolution you supported, tell investor relations you're disappointed, and explain why.
• If you know of a social resolution at a company that's about to come up for a vote—and your fund is invested in that company—contact the investor relations department before the vote. Recommend that fund managers support the social resolution, and explain why.
• If your fund is unresponsive to your concerns and continues to vote against social resolutions, consider switching to funds that vote in ways that support your values—and be sure to let the fund's investor relations department know why you're leaving that fund.

7. Encourage your pension funds to get involved

If you have money invested in a public, labor, or private pension fund (you’d know if you have one), encourage your fund managers to get involved with shareholder activism. Write letters or call and ask them to disclose how they are voting their proxies. When you're not pleased with their votes, be sure to let them know.

Gather support of coworkers or others who are invested in the same fund and approach fund managers together, asking them to support social and environmental resolutions.

Next: Shareholder Resources

Green America is not an investment adviser, nor do we provide financial planning, legal, or tax advice. Nothing in our communications or materials shall constitute or be construed as an offering of financial instruments or as investment advice or investment recommendations. 

Back to Shareholder Main Page

Next: Find Financial Advice

Our Better Paper Project has assisted over 200 publications to switch to recycled paper, saving trees and water and reducing waste and greenhouse gas emissions.

WASHINGTON, DC – April 5, 2016 – In its latest campaign to move the magazine industry to recycled paper, the nonprofit Green America today launched “Practice What You Print, Smithsonian” to encourage Smithsonian Magazine to move to recycled-content paper in order to save trees and reduce landfill waste.

This builds on the organization’s 2014 success in a previous campaign, which persuaded National Geographic to begin printing on recycled-content paper. Consumers interested in encouraging Smithsonian to follow National Geographic’s lead and switch to recycled paper can sign the “Practice What You Print” petition:http://greenam.org/1XcptSZ

Green America is urging a transition to better paper, starting with 30 percent recycled-content paper by 2017. For the remainder of its fiber needs, Smithsonian is being asked to use only virgin paper fiber from sustainably-managed Forest Stewardship Council certified forests. More on the goals of the campaign can be found here: http://www.greenamerica.org/Smithsonian-Practice-What-You-Print/about.cfm.

“Americans expect Smithsonian to be an environmental leader, and they are surprised to learn that a major educational institution is a laggard when it comes to using recycled paper,” said Beth Porter, director of Green America's Better Paper Project. “With a switch to readily available 30 percent recycled-content paper, Smithsonian could prevent two million pounds of greenhouse gas pollution every year by driving less virgin-fiber paper production and keeping recyclable paper out of landfills.”

Smithsonian requires almost 65,000 trees for its 19 million magazine copies every year. By incorporating just 30% of recycled paper into its production, Smithsonian would:

• Lower its annual wood use by the equivalent of more than 19,000 trees.
• Reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by two million pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
• Lower its annual water consumption by about 14 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
• Keep 354 tons of solid waste from going to the landfill each year, reducing methane emissions. (When paper ends up in a landfill the decomposition of that paper produces methane, which has over 20 times the heat trapping power of carbon dioxide, according to the EPA.)

Additionally, a transition at Smithsonian Magazine to recycled paper would initiate the conversation within Time, Inc, to move more of its publications to recycled paper. Smithsonian Magazine acquires its paper through a partnership with Time, Inc. Time publishes 90 magazines, producing hundreds of millions of copies every month, all using virgin fiber paper.

“The Smithsonian Institution has made symbolic commitments to sustainability, but when it comes to producing its magazines, the organization is falling short.” said Elizabeth Jardim, director of consumer advocacy at Green America. "Hundreds of magazines already print on recycled paper, and readers are increasingly concerned about sustainability. Publishers who claim to be concerned about sustainability can and should be printing on recycled paper."

Environmental impact estimates were made using the Environmental Paper Network Paper Calculator Version 3.2.1. For more information visit www.papercalculator.org.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is the nation's leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides economic strategies and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org

Green America’s Better Paper Project has 15 years of experience guiding publishers to more sustainable paper choices for magazines. This goal of increasing the demand for recycled paper offers huge relief to endangered forest areas, curbs the publishing industry's climate change impacts, and lessens pollution of nearby communities through new paper production. www.BetterPaper.org

MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin, (703) 276-3255, or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com.

A recent expose by Fortune followed cocoa farmers in West Africa to unveil how dependent the cocoa industry remains on child labor and impoverished communities. 

Green consumers and the Fair Trade movement have advocated to end child labor and uplift cocoa farmers with fair trade infrastructure. But after 15 years of the $100 billion chocolate industry reporting to work on the issues and making commitments, children are still slaves to chocolate.

Forget about school for these children; they’re used as free labor and put in danger through intense physical labor tasks and harvesting jobs with machetes. Of the 5.5 million children estimated to be in forced labor around the world, numbers of how many are cocoa laborers range from the tens to the hundreds of thousands.

The chocolate industry has used child labor for over a century. Over 70% of cocoa comes from West Africa, and most of it is harvested in Ghana and the Ivory Coast. While Nestle made 100 billion in sales last year, the two countries that the entire chocolate industry relies on have a combined GDP of $73 billion.

Despite the efforts of the Fair Trade movement to drive major corporations to share their massive profits with the farmers they depend on, the average farmer in each country lives well below the international poverty line. Enter the world of cocoa farmers and discover the grueling conditions and financial inequities for the people who produce the world’s supply.

Green America has played a major role in pushing big chocolate companies to change their ethics. Our coalitional campaign against Hershey brought together tens of thousands of voices against child labor, and Hershey made a major commitment to ethically certify 100% of their cocoa by 2020, using third-party certifiers Rainforest Alliance, Utz, and Fair Trade USA.

Our campaigns director Liz Jardim went to Ghana last year for a summit on the ongoing challenges in the cocoa industry, and we will continue to be vigilant about corporate commitments translating into reality.

Find out how chocolate companies stack up with Green America’s 2016 Chocolate Scorecard and look out for fair trade chocolate options the next time you shop.

Photo credit: ICCFO © CC BY SA-4.0

The SVN Spring Conference‘s goal is to create highly interactive, inspiring experiences that lead to valuable new insights, relationships and action. Now in its 29th year, the SVN Conference is a unique space where social entrepreneurs can address real challenges of leading mission-driven organizations, and where long-time SVN members and first-time attendees can connect.

Speakers include Tom Chi (Founder and CEO, Factory X), Matthew Griffin (Co-Founder and CEO, Combat Flip Flops), Kara Goldin (CEO, Hint Inc.), and Kat Taylor (Co-CEO, Beneficial State Bank). See the full list of presenters.

Registration rates are $980 for SVN Members, $1,180 for SVN Affiliates, $1,380 for Non-Members, and $580 for family of SVN members. All SVN members are invited, so make sure to renew your membership or apply for a new membership soon to attend the Spring conference.

Register here for the SVN Spring Conference.

More and more companies are listening to consumers and labeling foods made with genetically modified and genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs). In 2016, ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Mars, and General Mills joined Campbell’s in pledging to label their products that contain GMOs. These victories are a huge win for consumers who have demanded transparency in our food system. Since 2012, Green America, with the support of hundreds of thousands of consumers, has been pushing companies to label genetically modified ingredients so consumers can more easily identify non-GMO foods that are best for people and planet.

The Long Fight for GMO Labeling

The labeling of GMOs has been one of the most contentious issues within food policy. The debate over GMO labeling has been raging in Congress, at the state level, in board rooms, and in grocery stores across America.

In 2014, Vermont passed a law which would require foods made with genetically engineered ingredients to be labeled. The law requires that foods for human consumption that are available for retail sale that contain genetically modified ingredients shall be labeled as “partially produced with genetic engineering” or “may be partially produced with genetic engineering” or “produced with genetic engineering.” Foods that carry one of these labels will not be able to mislead consumers by claiming to be “natural” foods.

However, the Vermont law does have some labeling exceptions. Foods that are comprised of ingredients derived from animals that are fed GMOs do not need to be labeled. That means that things like eggs and milk will not be labeled as “produced with genetic engineering”, even if the animals that produced the products were fed GMOs such as corn and soy, as is the case in many factory farm operations. Consistent with non-GMO project standards, anything with less than 0.9% GMO also does not have to be labeled. Additionally, food offered for immediate consumption and food served in restaurants does not need to be labeled. Neither will alcoholic beverages or foods that use genetically engineered processing aids or enzymes.

The Vermont labeling law is set to go into effect July 1, 2016, and failure to comply could result in significant fines. For months big food and biotechnology companies have attempted to block the implementation of mandatory GMO labeling and preempt states from passing labeling laws through legislation and legal action.

In July 2015, the House of Representatives passed the Safe and Affordable Food Act, commonly referred to as the DARK Act. The DARK Act (Denying Americans the Right to Know) will prevent Americans from knowing if our food contains GMOs. Additionally, the DARK Act would overturn democratically-passed laws to label GMO foods in Vermont, prevent labeling in other states, and block the government from ever implementing mandatory, nationwide GMO food labeling.

Recently, a version of the DARK Act was introduced by Senate Agriculture Chairman Pat Roberts (R-KS). It would have preempted all state GMO labeling laws, and left consumers with nothing but “voluntary” labeling, so that each food company using GMOs could choose whether or not to disclose that to the public.

Thanks to the hard work of Green Americans, as well as allies across the country, on March 16^th, 2016 this bill faced bi-partisan rejection and was defeated on the floor of the Senate by a vote of 49-48.

What Can Consumers Expect to See on Food Packaging?

Without a uniform, national approach to common sense GMO labeling, many major food companies have taken it upon themselves to clearly and conspicuously label products that contain GMOs.

Campbell’s has lead the way, calling for mandatory clear on-package GMO label, while at the same time breaking with the Grocery Manufacturers Association, which has been fighting GMO labeling.

Following suit, General Mills, Kellogg’s, Mars, and ConAgra announced they will label their products nationwide in order to be in compliance with Vermont’s law.  These companies claim that the costs associated with nationwide labeling won’t be passed on to consumers.

This means that consumers around the country could soon be seeing the words “partially produced with genetic engineering”; “may be produced with genetic engineering”; or “produced with genetic engineering” somewhere on food packaging or near ingredient labels. These labels will comply with the requirements of the Vermont law, and make it easier for consumers to know if the foods they are purchasing have GMO ingredients.  Nestle is pursuing voluntary disclosure of non-GMO ingredients. It has announced it plans to work with the verification firm SGS to label foods that contain no GMOs.

While these companies have made commitments to label GMOs, many major manufacturers such as PepsiCo, Coke, Mondelez, J.M. Smucker’s, and Kraft are still keeping American’s in the DARK about what is in our food.  Beyond looking for companies to voluntarily labeled products, consumers have two main options for avoiding GMOs at the grocery store including Non-GMO Project Verified and USDA Certified Organic.

Next Steps

Even as the industry prepares to meet the requirements of the Vermont law, companies like General Mills, ConAgra, and Kellogg are holding out hope that Congress will find a compromise and establish a federal standard for labeling foods produced with genetic engineering.

Many are calling for a national GMO labeling scheme that relies primarily on electronic QR codes, websites, and call-in numbers to inform consumers about products that contain GMOs.  However, these programs could potentially discriminate against low income and rural Americans, minorities, and the elderly.  If the national standard does not include clear on-package labels, Campbell’s and Mars are the only major companies that have pledged to continue to provide Americans with the right to know what is in their food.

Overwhelmingly, Americans want to know what they are eating.  In fact, 90% of Americans want foods made with GMOs to be labeled. Thanks to the actions of hundreds of thousands of individuals across the country over the past few years, big food companies are now listening to what consumers want and starting to label their products.

However, until Vermont and other state labeling laws come into effect, or the federal government institutes clear and conspicuous GMO labeling we must keep up the fight.

Green America and our GMO Inside campaign will continue to follow this issue, and posts updates on our Facebook page as these labels start to show up on the shelves.

Help us keep up the pressure and ensure that American’s aren’t kept in the dark about what is in our food. Transparency is key planetary and bodily health, starting with non-GMO foods.

More and more companies are listening to consumers, and labeling foods made with genetically modified and genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs). In just the last few days ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Mars, and General Mills joined Campbell's in pledging to label their products that contain GMOs.

More and more companies are listening to consumers, and labeling foods made with genetically modified and genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs). In just the last few days ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Mars, and General Mills joined Campbell's in pledging to label their products that contain GMOs.

Green America's GMO Inside campaign continues to encourage Mars to drop GMOs from its candies and pet foods.  Tens of thousands of consumers have joined our call to action.

More and more companies are listening to consumers, and labeling foods made with genetically modified and genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs). In just the last few days ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Mars, and General Mills joined Campbell's in pledging to label their products that contain GMOs.

Green America's GMO Inside campaign successfully mobilized tens of thousands of people to urge General Mills to drop GMOs from Cheerios and label GMOs.  We continue to encourage General Mills to drop GMOs from all its products, starting with Honey Nut Cheerios.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— March 24, 2016 —A coalition of environmental, social justice, and animal welfare groups announced a campaign today calling on Olive Garden and its parent company, Darden Restaurant Inc. (DRI), the nation’s largest full-service restaurant employer, to do more to protect animals, the environ-ment and workers by substantially improving their food sourcing and labor practices.

"As the leading casual-dining operator with $6.7 billion in sales and more than 1,500 restaurants worldwide, including Olive Garden, Darden has a unique opportunity and responsibility to use its considerable purchasing power to support a healthier, fairer and more sustainable food system,” said the coalition in a collective statement. “It is clear there is a major gulf between the company’s rhetoric on strong animal and social welfare, workers’ rights and environmental protection, and the actual impacts of its food sourcing and labor management practices. We ask Darden to adopt better labor practices and greener menus that support the well-being of its customers, its workers, farmers, animals and our environment.”

The “Good Food Now!” campaign is a partnership of Friends of the Earth, Restaurant Opportunities Center- United, the Food Chain Workers Alliance, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee, Green America and the Animal Welfare Institute. More than 50 organizations have signed onto a letter calling for Darden to improve its labor practices and make a commitment to source 20 percent of its purchases under environmental, health, labor and animal welfare criteria aligned with the Good Food Purchasing Policy, including reducing meat and dairy purchases by 20 percent; sourcing meat from producers that adhere to verifiable, higher-than-industry animal welfare standards; and increas-ing local and organic options. More details of the campaign’s goals are outlined here.

The organizations are focusing on Olive Garden because the chain accounts for a majority of the sales generated by Darden Restaurants, which also owns Bahama Breeze, Longhorn Steakhouse, Seasons 52 and other popular restaurants.

“This historic campaign is the first of its kind to bring environmental, worker justice, animal welfare and public health concerns under one umbrella.” said Kari Hamerschlag, senior program manager with Friends of the Earth. “We urge Olive Garden and Darden to meet the growing demand for better meat raised without routine antibiotics and to reduce its carbon and water footprint by putting more plant-based foods on the menu.”

"Consumers are increasingly concerned about where their food comes from and how it was made, and restaurants are no exception," said Elizabeth Jardim, director of consumer advocacy at Green America. "Olive Garden needs to meet consumer demand by sourcing more ingredients from local, organic farmers and paying all workers, including those in its supply chain, fairly."

“Olive Garden and Darden have the power to raise millions of workers and their families out of poverty,” said Jose Oliva, co-director of the Food Chain Workers Alliance. “As the largest restaurant employer with a workforce of more than 150,000, we are urging Darden to raises wages and provide sick leave for its many frontline employees.”

The groups are asking their supporters to take action today by calling Olive Garden’s parent company Darden to demand “Good Food Now!” by calling 1-800-331-2729 and spread the campaign on social media using #GoodFoodNow.

The organizations previously contacted Darden in October and November 2015, asking for a meeting to discuss the campaign’s requests. However, in a written response issued in December, Darden failed to grant the meeting or acknowledge many of the key issues raised by the organizations. Core members of the campaign issued a detailed response outlining the specifics on how the restaurant company could fulfill its rhetoric on social and environmental responsibility contained in the company’s 2014 social responsibility report.

For more information on the campaign, visit Good-food-now.com

Additional coalition member statements:

"As the world's largest full service restaurant and the world's largest employer of tipped workers, Darden could be a leader in advocating for a fair wage for all workers, but instead spends millions lobbying to keep the minimum wage for tipped workers at $2.13", said Saru Jayaraman, co-founder and co-director of ROC United. "As a result we subsidize many Olive Garden and Darden workers wages with our tips, and spend billions on taxpayer-funded public assistance to support their workers' survival."

“Darden claims to be committed to ‘people, planet and plate’ but the reality of its impact on workers, the environment and the food system have fallen short,” said Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director with the Center for Biological Diversity. “We’re asking Olive Garden and all Darden restaurants to take concrete steps to reduce the environmental impact of its menu like serving smaller meat portions, adding plant-based options and increasing organic foods.”

“As a major player in the restaurant industry, Oliver Garden and its parent company Darden can spearhead reforms that not only improve the working conditions for their employees, but make waves across the entire industry through leading by example,” said Phillip Hamilton, associate for UUSC’s Economic Justice program.

“Darden claims it values and respects animals, but has shown little public commitment to improving animal welfare throughout its supply chain.” said Michelle Pawliger, farm animal policy associate at the Animal Welfare Institute. “We are asking Darden to become a leader in the restaurant arena and source its meat and dairy from producers that adhere to verifiable higher welfare standards.”

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Please contact Todd Larsen by email 
or by phone at 202-872-5307.

 Green America and our allies are ramping up our Good Food Now campaign targeting Olive Garden. Help us make Olive Garden’s phones ring off the hook, and tell the restaurant to pay fair wages and serve Good Food Now!

Here's how you can help:

1. Call Olive Garden Call Olive Garden's customer service line between 10:00am ET and 4:00pm PT (7:00am PT - 1:00pm PT), Monday through Friday. Call 800-331-2729. 

2. Comment Choose one of the scripts below to voice your concerns to Olive Garden about its unfair and unsustainable practices. Or create your own!

3. Share Share information about this campaign on social media. We've created several images and tweets you can share with your Facebook and Twitter followers here (scroll to the bottom of the page). You can also leave a comment for  Olive Garden on its Facebook wall.

Sample Scripts for Calling Olive Garden:

1. If you are concerned about Environmental Sustainability and Health: Hi, my name is _______, and I’m calling from __city, state__. I am concerned about the health of my family and the environment, therefore I am calling to request that Olive Garden offer more vegetables and more plant-based protein options on your menu. For example, I’d love spaghetti with veggie meatballs or ______. (Insert your favorite plant-based meal here). This would help save water, reduce your carbon footprint and provide more options for people who want to eat out and still get a tasty, healthy and nutritious meal. Sustainability is important to me, and more restaurants need to pay attention to the impact of their menus on people and the planet.

2. If you are concerned about Workers and your Local Economy: Hi, my name is_______, and I’m calling from__city, state__. I’m calling because I recently read reports that link your restaurants to poverty wages and horrible conditions for workers, including forced and child labor. It’s important to me that the restaurants I eat at value their workforce and protect the people who produce their food. I hope Olive Garden will commit to paying fair wages to your servers and to ending exploitation in your supply chain. Additionally, Olive Garden should purchase more ingredients from local farmers. By paying workers fairly and sourcing locally, you can help families, provide fresher food to your customers, and in some cases lower your carbon footprint by reducing the distance you transport ingredients. Thank you.

3. If you are concerned about Animal Welfare and Sustainability: Hi, my name is_______, and I’m calling from__city, state__. I’m calling because I am really concerned about the treatment of animals and would like to see Olive Garden take a stand against factory farms. To do this, Olive Garden must source meat from suppliers who do not routinely use antibiotics on animals. At the same time, Olive Garden should choose suppliers who treat animals and farmers well, which is why I’d like to see organic meat and dairy on your menu, that come from smaller, local, independently-verified higher welfare farms, as well as more entree options without meat and dairy.

Why is this campaign targeting Olive Garden?

Olive Garden’s parent company, Darden, is the nation's largest casual restaurant company, with $6.7 billion in sales. That translates to a lot of food, roughly 320 million meals per year—but unfortunately, most of it is not healthy for people, the planet, or animals.

An AP investigation found that Darden is sourcing from suppliers who use slave labor in Thailand, and many of the 150,000 workers who cook and serve in Darden’s restaurants, including Olive Garden, are paid poverty wages, as low as $2.13/hour. Olive Garden also serves unhealthy, unsustainable meals. Many of its dishes include factory-farmed meat and dairy products that pollute the environment and are produced with routine antibiotics, hormones, and other harmful chemicals.

This past fall, Green America and 50 of our allies sent a letter to Olive Garden raising our concerns about the company’s unsustainable sourcing and unfair treatment of workers, but the company has failed to make progress. Instead, it consistently puts shareholder profits over fair wages for employees and food that is good for people, animals, and the planet. Sign our petition>>

Learn more about the Good Food Now! Campaign>>

Green America joined with allies nationwide to oppose the Jordan Cove Liquified Natural Gas Export Terminal that was proposed for coastal Oregon. Green America opposed Jordan Cove because the facility would likely become the largest greenhouse gas emitting project in Oregon within the next decade. The project would have released an estimated 2.1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and equivalents. Oregon has set aggressive goals for limiting greenhouse gas emissions, and Jordan Cove would have undermined them.

Jordan Cove would have increased fracking, causing an increase in the release of methane emissions and endangering local communities.

Jordan Cove would have endangered the local community.  The facility's proposed use of propane and ethylene, two highly flammable gases, would have created a risk for explosion and that the 40 foot impermeable barriers around the proposed plant could have actually retained vapor leaks contributing to an increased hazard in the event of an explosion. A similar LNG plant caused an explosion in Washington State shortly before Jordan Cove's application was made to FERC.

In 2016, FERC denied a permit to Jordan Cove: a victory for the surrounding community, and for the planet.

WASHINGTON, D.C.— March 10, 2016 —Small businesses in Colorado, Indiana and Tennessee that promote green do-it-yourself (DIY) products and services were announced today as the winners of Green America’s quarterly “People & Planet Award.” The three winners of $5,000 prizes are: Colorado Yurt Company of Montrose, CO; Garden Tower Project of Bloomington, IN; and The Real Milk Paint Company of Hohenwald, TN. The three winners were selected by the public during a month-long online voting period.

The Award recognizes innovative U.S. small businesses that integrate environmental and social considerations into their strategies and operations.

Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director, said: “The ‘do-it-yourself’ concept is already important to consumers who wish to live “greener,” and these businesses take the concept to a new level. When we choose DIY products, particularly ones that promote sustainability and minimize environmental impact, we benefit both people and the planet.”

The winning companies are:

• Colorado Yurt Company, Montrose, CO. Colorado Yurt Company’s dwellings are crafted by hand and customized for each use. The dwellings come in kits and use far fewer natural resources than a traditional stick-built structure, and leave a very light footprint on the earth.

• Garden Tower Project, Bloomington, IN. Garden Tower Project’s mission is to transform gardening, urban agriculture and food sustainability around the globe. The Garden Tower 2™ is a self-contained vertical garden/eco-system which grows food, easily and naturally. 

• The Real Milk Paint Company, Hohenwald, TN. The Real Milk Paint Co. is committed to making the safest paints and finishes in the industry. Disposing of unused Real Milk Paint in the garden or yard is recommended. It will actually fertilize and nourish the soil.

Dan Kiger, president of the Colorado Yurt Company said, "Our company will use the People & Planet Award to bring affordable, energy code-compliant yurts to our customers and encourage sustainability throughout our supply chain – such as through our partnership with the manufacturer of recycled denim insulation we provide with our yurts. The People and Planet Award generously supports Colorado Yurt’s mission to bring low-impact, leave-no-trace, do-it-yourself structures to our customers."

Kristi Armes, Business Manager at the Garden Tower Project said, "We are currently experimenting with sugar cane based bio-plastics for the future production of the GT2 (Garden Tower 2). If we are successful, we will be able to take the already revolutionary GT2 and reinvent the way gardening products are manufactured. Growing 50 plants in just four square feet in a truly sustainably manufactured system would be incredible. We will be using part of the award to help further our R&D efforts towards making fresh food available to anyone, anywhere utilizing a system which is actually net positive to the environment. The remainder of the award will be used to fund local food initiatives in our community.”

Dwayne Siever, owner of The Real Milk Paint Company said, "We will use the award to make more how-to videos and expand Real Milk Paint into the general marketplace. Milk paint is one of the most versatile paints out there, and because it is water-based, you can freeze it for future use. Also you can dispose of it on your garden or grass when you are finished, because it is non-toxic and its lime content will actually benefit your plants.”

The next round of Green America’s quarterly award will be given to three green small businesses that focus on organic products and services.

The businesses that the public vote on are determined by public nominations and an expert panel of judges: Gigi Abbadie, Aveda; Justin Conway, Calvert Foundation; Tess O’Brien, Clean Power Perks, Jennifer Snyder, Clif Bar; Erlene Howard, Collective Resource, Inc., Jenny Burns, Honest Tea; Jonathan Reinbold, Organic Valley; Martin Wolf, Seventh Generation; and Andrew Korfhage and Fran Teplitz, both of Green America.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

MEDIA INQUIRIES

Please contact Todd Larsen by email 
or by phone at 202-872-5307.

More and more companies are listening to consumers, and labeling foods made with genetically modified and genetically engineered ingredients (GMOs). In just the last few days ConAgra, Kellogg’s, Mars, and General Mills joined Campbell's in pledging to label their products that contain GMOs.

In another big win against GMOs, Hellmann's, a Unilever company, announced two new non-GMO product lines, following pressure from Green America's GMO Inside campaign.

Hellmann’s announced a new organic mayonnaise and Hellmann’s “Carefully Crafted” egg-free dressing and sandwich spread. Both products are made with non-GMO ingredients. The announcement of Hellmann's non-GMO mayo and spread follows the introduction of Hellman’s non-GMO olive oil mayonnaise last year. Parent company Unilever is the world's third largest food and consumer products company.

Hellmann’s USDA certified organic mayonnaise is made with all organic ingredients including organic/non-GMO and cage-free eggs. Hellmann’s “Carefully Crafted” sandwich spread is an egg-free, and cholesterol-free spread made with non-GMO ingredients.

“As the third largest food and consumer goods company in the world, Unilever has a responsibility to operate in a way that is environmentally sustainable and healthy for consumers,” said Michael Stein, Food Campaigns Manager for Green America. “By offering organic and non-GMO Hellmann’s products, Unilever has made an important step towards this end and is listening to the demands of the 21st century consumer.”

Green America's Non-GMO Campaign

GMO Inside, a campaign led by Green America, began educating consumers in 2014 about GMOs in mayonnaise. Because Hellmann’s is such an iconic mayonnaise brand, thousands of consumers reached out to Hellmann’s to ask the company to go non-GMO. In response, Hellmann’s began offering a non-GMO mayonnaise made with olive oil in May 2015. Unilever’s latest announcement follows Campbell's announcement of more non-GMO and organic products last year and call for mandatory labeling in January 2016.

Momentum in the food industry's response to consumer demand for healthier food is growing rapidly. In addition to Hellmann's and Campbell's, GMO Inside has also been successful in moving General Mills to offer non-GMO original Cheerios, Similac to offer non-GMO infant formula, and Hershey to switch to non-GMO sugar for some of its candy products.

“Consumer demand for organic and non-GMO products has been skyrocketing,” said John Roulac, CEO of Nutiva and co-chair of the GMO Inside Campaign. “As more people are becoming concerned with the ingredients in the food they eat and how it is made, it will be important for other companies to follow Unilever’s lead and offer organic and non-GMO options.”

Guest post by Cheryl Hahn, Owner, CozyPure(R), certified member of Green America’s Green Business Network

NATURE’S ABSOLUTE BEST MATTRESS MATERIAL

In 1931, the world’s first latex mattress was introduced as an alternative to horsehair, kapok and cotton batting. The features were appealing. It didn’t have to be flipped, it stayed fresh, it stayed responsive, supportive, and it kept its shape. The many benefits of a latex mattress made it a huge success with consumers up through the 1960’s.

Most manufacturers that make mattresses with real natural latex rubber also use organic cotton and wool in the cover, another natural resource that’s better for you and better for the environment.

PROVEN TO PROVIDE HEALTHIER SLEEP

In 1954, Dr. Theo Lammers from the Institute of Hygiene at Gutenburg University proved latex foam contains exceptionally high anti-bacterial properties, making it the hygienic ideal for mattresses, superior to all other materials. The study showed that latex mattresses are unsurpassed in comfort and support, it showed exceptional durability, it stays cool, and is the healthiest choice due to its high anti-bacterial and allergy-free properties.

IDEAL FOR ASTHMA AND RESPIRATORY DISORDERS

Further work in 1956 by Doctors Fuchs and Gronemeyer at the Asthma Clinic concluded, “the advantages of latex foam mattresses have been outlined by health and surgical authorities and the bacteriostatic (capable of killing bacteria), as well as fungus, and mite resistant properties of latex material found by Dr. Lammers is confirmed.”

Throughout the decades, the cost of this premium material made it more expensive for manufacturers to produce and consumers often didn’t want to buy this higher priced option. In order to offer lower-cost mattresses, latex was soon overshadowed by beds made with lower-quality materials such as synthetic batting and petroleum-based flexible-plastic foams placed over innerspring coils.

BOUNCING BACK

I’m Cheryl Hahn, the founder of CozyPure, an organic bedding company based in Norfolk, Virginia. In 1991, our flagship mail order catalog, Tomorrow’s World, was one of the first companies to offer a selection of natural latex mattresses made with organic cotton and wool. Back then, over 20 years ago, we reintroduced this “tried-and-true” mattress from the 1950’s to consumers across America. I admit it was difficult because it entailed a LOT of education on our part. Our passion to offer only the best healthy, green products provided the dedication to push forward and inform folks about the amazing benefits.

Fast forward two decades and consumers are beginning to understand the value equation of their purchase and realize that investing in a quality latex mattress will pay for itself many times over the lifetime of use it provides. Unfortunately, this spur of interest also made manufacturers take notice, with clever and often deceptive marketing which can fool consumers who don’t have all the facts.

GET THE FACTS

Buyer beware. The popularity of latex mattresses comes with a price to the consumer. Most “natural” latex really only contain a percentage of natural material. Many “so-called” latex mattresses often contain only a small layer of latex surrounded by foam. Large amounts of unregulated chemicals can be found in almost all synthetic foams (including soy-foam and memory foam).

Polyurethane foams are derived from oil (not very earth-friendly) and the basic ingredients include polyols, isocyanates, blowing agents, and other additives including flame retardants. According to a recent EPA report released in August of 2015, most of these newer chemicals still have limited data with cause of concern about carcinogenic effects.

Although PBDEs have finally been phased out due to documented health hazards, new alternative chemicals are now being used in their place during the manufacture of flexible polyurethane foam. In addition, many fabrics are coated with both stain-resistant chemicals and flame retardant chemicals.

Even materials such as “organic cotton” are being advertised on certain mattresses when in fact the fabric is blended with synthetic polyester. In this era of popularity for latex mattresses and “green”, it’s imperative for the consumer to do thorough research so they can be 100% sure they are getting the product they think they are purchasing.

HOW IS NATURAL LATEX RUBBER MADE?

Rubber tapping is the process by which rubber is harvested. An incision is made in the bark of a rubber tree, which cuts through the bark so the latex drips into a collecting cup. The work is done at night or in the early morning before the day’s temperature rises, so the latex will drip longer before coagulating and sealing the cut. Rubber tapping does not hurt the trees and it’s a great way for the indigenous people to make a living using their natural resources.

Each rubber tree weeps about one tablespoon of latex daily and a Queen size six-inch core needs the daily output of 2500 trees, spread over 12 acres of rubber plantation, providing a living to eight rubber tappers. Interestingly, these rubber trees account for the removal of 143 metric tons of carbon dioxide from the environment every year.

Don’t let the “creaminess” fool you. Our natural latex rubber is made from the milk of the Hevea Brasiliensis (rubber tree), so some folks think it will be too soft (like milk). Actually, natural latex rubber is the firmest, heaviest and most durable component you can use inside a mattress. Once the rubber tree milk sap is harvested and baked, this solid, thick core can last for decades offering you support and comfort -WITHOUT the chemicals.

Latex allergies? No worries. The allergic proteins in latex are completely removed when made into a soft natural rubber foam. Plus, it’s encased and covered inside organic cotton so there’s never direct contact.

Natural latex rubber is proven to be the very best component used in mattresses and offers a healthier sleeping environment. It’s naturally dust mite resistant; it’s breathable so you don’t sleep hot; it’s resiliency is known to last for decades; it’s responsive support offers comfort and proper alignment.

Not only is natural rubber an excellent choice for better sleep, it’s also made from a renewable, sustainable resource so it’s wonderful for our dear Mother Earth. Conventional mattresses that use polyurethane foam, including memory foam, is derived from petroleum. Here at CozyPure(R), we get our 100% natural latex rubber direct from the beautiful island of Sri Lanka, known for the finest rubber plantations in the world. No synthetic latex. No poly foams. No fillers. No lies.

Most manufacturers that make mattresses with real natural latex rubber also use organic cotton and wool in the cover, another natural resource that’s better for you and better for the environment.

TEMPERATURE REGULATING WOOL HELPS KEEPS YOU DRY

Wool provides a temperature-controlled sleep environment that’s perfect for your body. No matter the season, wool is able to maintain the perfect body temperature. In the winter, wool produces warmth without overheating and has the ability to keep you comfortable, and in the summer you don’t overheat because of its moisture-wicking process.

The average sleeper loses a pint of moisture every night and wool is able to absorb this moisture without feeling damp. The cells of wool fibers are able to quickly and efficiently absorb and evaporate moisture. Due to the natural crinkled structure, wool has an enormous capacity to store air. This property allows your skin to breathe as you sleep surrounded by natural, dry warmth – without the clammy feeling associated with synthetic materials. You’ll wake up well-rested and refreshed. It’s the perfect ingredient for your mattress and comforter.

CALMS THE HEART FOR DEEPER SLEEP

Studies show that the heart rate is significantly lower when sleeping with wool. Feathers, down, polyester and other synthetic fibers had no effect on (and sometimes increased) the sleeper’s heart rate. A lowered heart rate induces a deep, relaxed sleep.

NO DUST-MITES, MOLD OR MILDEW

People with allergies are able to use wool products because it is resistant to bacteria, mold and mildew which can trigger allergic reactions. Wool is also dust-mite resistant because it evaporates moisture rapidly and dust mites can’t thrive in a dry environment. Our wool is not chemically acid-washed, and it’s also completely covered in organic cotton, so even people with wool allergies can enjoy sleeping with a CozyPure(R) mattress and comforter.

NATURALLY FLAME RESISTANT

Using only wool, we passed Federal Regulation PART 1633 – Standard for the Flammability (Open Flame) of Mattresses – so we don’t need to add any FR barrier or chemicals.

Because healthy bedding materials are becoming more popular, many manufacturers are now adding wool as a marketing tool – but that doesn’t mean the wool is the actual fire barrier. In most cases you’ll find they add wool under the fire barrier just so they can “claim wool” simply to sell their mattress.

CERTIFIED ORGANIC COTTON

Most consumers are unaware of the abundant textiles available to manufacture “green goods” and the opportunity to market products deceptively, otherwise known as “greenwashing.” A perfect example is mattress ticking, the fabric used on the outside of a mattress.

Many mattresses offered today are marketed with “organic cotton” or “bamboo” fabric, however they neglect to tell you the content breakdown. For example, mattress knits are comprised of three components: the face (top side), the fill (inside), the back (bottom). The majority of “organic cotton” knits feature organic cotton only on the top side. That is, the inside and bottom of the knit is made from polyester. These fabrics are advertised misleadingly to the consumer as “organic cotton” even though only 33% of the fabric is really organic.

Adding synthetics defeats the purpose of creating a natural sleep system that breathes. Man-made synthetic materials can trap heat and moisture which won’t allow breathability of the fabric. Also be sure there are no chemical finishes such as formaldehyde, which is often used on wrinkle-resistant sheets.

THE PERFECT COMBINATION

By using only three of nature’s finest ingredients – natural rubber milk, pure wool and organic cotton – we as manufacturers can offer people comfortable, healthy sleep without harmful chemicals. The materials are wonderful for folks who have allergies or suffer from comfort issues. The fact that everything is renewable and sustainable makes a natural latex mattress the perfect combination for both people and planet.

Eat well. Sleep well. Be well.
Cheryl Hahn, Owner
CozyPure ® organic mattresses and bedding

Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH) authored an amendment to the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015 that would finally close this slave-labor loophole. The loophole allowed US companies to import products/materials made with slave labor if those products/materials could not be made in the US. The US Senate voted 75-20 to pass the bill, including the Wyden-Brown amendment.

Green America and its members joined with allies in the labor rights and human rights communities to encourage the Senate to close this egregious loophole. 

Valentine’s Day often involves getting treats for a sweetie, but sometimes those sweets come with hidden ingredients—genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Most of America’s favorite Valentine’s Day sweets are chockfull of ingredients that are highly likely to be genetically engineered-- such as sugar, soy lecithin, corn starch, and corn syrup and partially hydrogenated soybean oil. GMOs have never been proven safe for consumption. GMOs are designed to work hand-in-hand with pesticides, and a growing body of studies expose the health effects of exposure to and consumption of these toxic chemicals. In fact, about 55 percent of U.S. sugar is produced from GM (genetically modified) sugar beets, and almost 100% of U.S. sugar beets have been modified to tolerate the herbicide glyphosate, the active ingredient in Monsanto’s Roundup. This means that liberal amounts of Roundup can be applied to GM sugar beets without killing the crop, which leads to greater amounts of these chemicals in our environment—and our food. Luckily, things are starting to change. Hershey Co. decided earlier this year to stop buying beet sugar because it comes from GM sugar beets. In response to tens of thousands of Facebook posts, emails, and telephone calls from consumers who took part in GMO Inside’s campaign calling on Hershey’s to move to non-GMO ingredients, the U.S. chocolate giant confirmed that as part of its commitment to simpler ingredients, its milk chocolate bar and Hershey’s kisses transitioned to non-GMO ingredients at the end of 2015. As a large company with massive purchasing power, Hershey’s has the ability to move the non-GMO supply chain forward, breaking down barriers for other companies to gain access to non-GMO ingredients. Until candy companies break up with GMOs there are dozens of producers that offer organic and non-GMO sweets you and your valentine will love. Here’s How to Break Up with GMOs on Valentine’s Day: Unless your Valentine’s Day sweets are certified organic or non-GMO verified it is highly likely that they contain GMO ingredients. Non-GMO verification ensures a product does not contain GMOs and organic certification means a product was produced without synthetic additives like pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and dyes, and must not be processed using industrial solvents, irradiation, or genetic engineering (GMOs). Choose organic chocolate or non-GMO verified treats to show your loved ones you really care. For an even sweeter treat, look for fair trade products that ensure workers are treated fairly. Green America’s Chocolate Scorecard can help you find whatever your heart fancies, when it comes to non-GMO and fair trade sweets. To learn even more, check out Mamavation’s article about what’s really inside popular Valentine’s chocolates. This Valentine’s Day say no to GMOs, and show someone that you care for them by giving them quality chocolate and candy without GMOs or artificial ingredients. From all of us at GMO Inside and Green America, Happy Valentine’s Day! We need your support to continue our work against GMOs Sign Up to get more informed about GMOs in our food supply ABOUT GMO INSIDE AND GREEN AMERICA GMO Inside is a campaign dedicated to helping all Americans know which foods have GMOs inside, and the non-GMO verified and organic certified alternatives to genetically engineered foods. We believe that everyone has a right to know what’s in their food and to choose foods that are proven safe for themselves, their families, and the environment. Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses, investors, and individuals to solve today’s social and environmental problems (http://www.greenamerica.org/).  

image: Imperial War Museum

During WWII, the British Ministry of Information released a pamphlet titled “Make Do and Mend.” It provided tips on how to be both frugal and stylish in times of harsh rationing. Readers were advised to create pretty “decorative patches” to cover holes in warn garments, unpick old sweaters to reknit into new styles, turn men’s clothes into women’s, as well as darn, alter, and protect against the “moth menace.”

Times have changed. We’ve lost those skills—seven out of ten young adults don’t know how to sew on a button. Often, clothes end up in the discard pile because they need a simple mend.

If you are one of the seven, Martha Stewart has an extended list of how-to tutorials on marthastewart.com under “Homekeeping Solutions.” The site has tips on sewing on a button, patching a hole, fixing a hem, even darning a sock.

iFixIt.com has repair manuals for almost every item in your closet.

Alternatively, your neighborhood dry cleaner is also usually a tailor who can do repairs at affordable prices.

Here are some online salvage and repair services that can help preserve the life of your favorite pieces of clothing:

• Cashmere: Stella Neptune—Sells iron-on cashmere patches in unique shapes and styles for self-mending.
• Denim: Denim Therapy— Ship them your favorite jeans, and they will repair and reconstruct.
• Knits and Sweaters: Alterknit New York—Mail them your treasured knits or sweater to have moth holes, burn holes, and tears repaired by reknitting. Other types of damage like snags, runs, and breaks in seams are also repaired.
• Leather Coats and Jackets: Leather CARE Specialists—will repair, re-dye, and restore all jackets.
• Shoes: NuShoe—are masters at handcrafted shoe or boot renewal; they also rebuild shoes.

Think your garment is beyond repair but you are loath to part with it? What about a refit? These designers and brands that will help you reshape existing pieces into new treasures:

• Deborah Lindquist (also in Special Occasions) will take your cashmere sweater and design a unique, reincarnated, bespoke sweater for you, your child or a beloved pet.
• Shannon South (also in Handbags) runs Remade USA, a custom service that repurposes individual vintage leather jackets into handbags.
• Project Repat will help you wrap yourself in your T-shirt memories. Send them your collection of T-shirts, and they’ll send back a quilt or blanket.

image: Magnifeco book cover

Kate Black has lived and worked in the major fashion centers of the world and written over 1,000 articles about designers and ethical fashion from her global perspective. She is the founder and editor-in-chief of Magnifeco.com, the digital source for eco-fashion and sustainable living. Kate is also the founder of EcoSessions, a global platform bringing together designers, industry, and consumers to discuss sustainable change.

Adapted with permission from Magnifeco,Your Head-to-Toe Guide to Ethical
Fashion and Non-toxic Beauty, by Kate Black (New Society Publishers, Gabriola
Island 2015).

Fall 2015.

(m) Designates a certified member of Green America’s Green Business Network®

Campbell's will offer organic/non-GMO Goldfish crackers and soups for kids and will voluntarily label products with GMOs. Additionally, Campbell's supports mandatory federal labeling on products containing GMOs.

Green America worked collaboratively with Campbell's to help facilitate the company's removal of GMOs and addition of organic ingredients to key products.

Approximately $6 trillion in assets, 60,000 individuals, and 800 institutions have pledged to divest from fossil fuels.

This divestment movement, which started in 2011, is strong and growing substantially.

Statistics from GoFossilFree.org. Graph by Green America.

WASHINGTON— December 10, 2015—Small businesses in New York, Oregon and Chicago that promote vegan products and services were announced today as the winners of Green America’s quarterly “People & Planet Award.” The Award recognizes innovative U.S. small businesses that integrate environmental and social considerations into their strategies and operations. The winners of the $5,000 prizes are: Neuaura of New York City; Coconut Bliss of Eugene, OR; and Vegan Street of Chicago, IL. The three winners were selected by the public during a month-long online voting period.

Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director for Business, Investing & Policy, said: “Fortunately, the benefits of veganism are beginning to be understood more broadly. When we choose to avoid animal products there are positive impacts for health, the environment, climate change, and for spreading compassion. Veganism is a lifestyle, not just a diet, and there are now more resources and options, from food to clothing, for people to choose from for themselves and their families.”

The winning companies are:

• Neuaura, New York City. http://www.greenamerica.org/green-business-people-and-planet-award/Fall2015/neuaura.cfm. Neuaura is a vegan footwear company that provides animal-free shoes in the latest styles. The company searches for suppliers and manufacturers who provide high quality non-animal materials, and also practice sustainable manufacturing.

• Coconut Bliss, Eugene, OR. http://www.greenamerica.org/green-business-people-and-planet-award/Fall2015/Luna-Larry-Coconut-Bliss.cfm. Coconut Bliss is dedicated to the vision of creating the highest quality, organic, non‐dairy ice cream on the planet, while cultivating positive and lasting relationships with business partners and customers worldwide. A commitment to vegan, organic, fair trade and GMO-free ingredients is key to Coconut Bliss’ success.  

• Vegan Street, Chicago, IL. http://www.greenamerica.org/green-business-people-and-planet-award/Fall2015/Vegan-Street.cfm. Vegan Street is a website designed to build vegan culture and community, posting original essays, recipes, vegan living tips, book and product reviews, interviews with change-makers and much more, including its popular Vegan Street Memes.

Arti Upadhyay, owner of Neuaura said: “We are so excited about winning.  We will put this money towards weather-proof, vegan-friendly winter boots that are made of sustainable materials. We want to continue providing a viable alternative to the popular Ugg boots where sheep have to go through a great deal of pain and suffering and in the end give up their lives to make these boots. This style is by far our most popular style and we would like to add more style options and improve it by making it weather-proof and more sustainable.”

Elizabeth Reilly, communications manager for Coconut Bliss said: “We are humbled by the support of our customers and fans. We set out to make the best non-dairy ice cream on the planet, and to do so without compromising our core values of transparency, integrity and respect for our customers, employees, business partners and the Earth. Winning the Green America People & Planet Award reinforces our mission, and lets us know we’re doing business the right way. Thank you to Green America for this incredible opportunity!”

John Beske, owner of Vegan Street said: “We are very excited to receive the Green America People and Planet Award. For the last 2 1/2 years, Vegan Street has been creating a large variety of web content all designed to make it easier to transition to and maintain a vegan diet and lifestyle, as well as the larger purpose of building and promoting vegan culture and community. This award will support that work. It also warms our hearts to know that every three months there are three new businesses that are similarly aided by the Green America People and Planet award.”

The next round of Green America’s quarterly award will be given to three green small businesses that focus on DIY products and services.

The businesses that the public vote on are determined by public nominations and an expert panel of judges: Gigi Abbadie, Aveda; Justin Conway, Calvert Foundation; Tess O’Brien, Clean Power Perks, Jennifer Snyder, Clif Bar; Erlene Howard, Collective Resource, Inc., Jenny Burns, Honest Tea; Jonathan Reinbold, Organic Valley; Martin Wolf, Seventh Generation; and Andrew Korfhage and Fran Teplitz, both of Green America.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies, organizing power and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

MEDIA CONTACT: Max Karlin, (703) 276-3255 or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com.

WASHINGTON— November 20, 2015—One week before the “Black Friday,” Green America, the DC-based consumer advocacy organization, is launching a campaign calling on Disney and Hasbro to improve conditions for the overseas workers that make their products. In particular, the Green America campaign calls for these companies to create a safe work environment for workers and pay higher wages that would allow workers to cover their needs without relying on excessive overtime.

The campaign petition can be found at greenamerica.org/go/toys/ and calls on Hasbro and Disney to:

• Create a safe work environment, including free and easy access to safety equipment, health screenings/exams, and clear and unlocked fire escapes;
• Train workers adequately and inform them of short- and long-term health risks, as well as how to reduce these risks
• Pay livable wages and cease illegal, excessive overtime;
• Pay workers for all mandatory job-related activities; and
• Allow workers to elect enterprise level union representatives.

Major toy manufacturers, including Hasbro and Disney, make their toys in factories in China where workers regularly work 11 hours per day for as little as $1 to $2 an hour and often do not have adequate safety protections. This is a key finding of a new in-depth investigative report, “The Other Side of Fairy Tales,” available online as of 8 p.m. ET today at http://chinalaborwatch.org,  from the human rights group, China Labor Watch (CLW).

“Toy companies demand the lowest possible production prices to increase profit margins, and in the end it’s the workers who suffer, literally risking their lives to make Disney and Hasbro toys,” said Elizabeth O’Connell, director of consumer advocacy at Green America. “With the heaviest toy-buying season upon us, its imperative consumers choose toys that we were made without exploiting workers while also putting pressure on toy brands—telling companies they can no longer get away with abusive practices.”

CLW investigators worked undercover at five major toy factories in China and found sweatshop abuses in factories making products for Hasbro, Disney, Mattel, Mattel-owned Fisher-Price, McDonald’s, Jakks Pacific, NSI Toys, Battat, and MGA Entertainment. This investigation follows in-depth investigations conducted regularly since 2000, which also exposed Hasbro and Disney. The 2015 findings indicate that despite the industry knowing about widespread labor abuse, conditions for toy workers are not improving, and in some cases they are getting worse. As two of the most profitable toy manufacturers, Hasbro and Disney can no longer shirk their responsibilities to the people who make their products.

Consumers looking for toys made by workers who were treated well, and made without deadly toxins, can go to Green America’s www.SafeGreenToys.org to find options.

Investigators found a large number of violations at both Hasbro and Disney Facilities, including:

• 11 hour work days, 6 days per week in hot factories with few breaks;
• Workers rarely received protective equipment, despite handling harsh chemicals. Workers complained of nausea, headaches and dizziness;
• Safety training was perfunctory and often lasted for just an hour, far short of the Chinese legal requirement of 24 hours;
• Workers lived in crowded dorms, sleeping 8 to 16 a room, with few bathrooms, often no hot water, and poor fire safety;
• Despite working upwards of 66 hours/week, most workers still earned just $350-$480 USD a month, far short of a living wage; and
• Factories cheat workers out of earnings. The Hasbro supplier required workers to start work before the official shift time and counted Saturday shifts as regular hours, to avoid overtime pay. If workers at the Disney supplier were even 1 minute late, their pay would be docked by half a day.

The labor abuses listed above are a result of brand companies like Hasbro and Disney demanding the lowest possible production price, in order to maximize profits. Hasbro, maker of My Little Pony, Play-Doh and Candyland, reported profits of $415 million in 2014. Disney, known for its Star Wars and Frozen toys, reported over $7.5 billion in profits in 2014.  CLW estimated it would take a Hasbro worker more than 2,400 years to earn Hasbro’s CEO’s annual salary, and a Disney worker would need to work for more than 7,000 years to earn what Disney’s CEO Bob Iger earns in one year. 

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA
Green America is the nation’s leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America (formerly Co-op America) provides the economic strategies and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org.

MEDIA CONTACT:  Max Karlin, (202) 997-3035, or mkarlin@hastingsgroup.com.

The Gingerbread Latte gets all the attention this time of year, but it really shouldn’t. There are so many other warm, soothing, and energizing drinks to be had this time of year that are not full of GMOs. We highly recommend this Yerba Mate Latte. It is best to be enjoyed by a fire, surrounded by good friends, and along with some tasty biscotti, but it also a delicious early morning get up and go option. Yerba Mate contains some of the same stimulants found in coffee, tea, and cocoa.

Use organic, non-GMO ingredients whenever possible.

Yerba Mate Latte Recipe

Ingredients:

• 8 ounce Guayaki Yerba Mate
• 4 ounce of steamed organic milk of choice
• Sweetener (organic sugar, organic raw honey, or maple syrup)
• A dash of cinnamon

Preparation:

Brew an 8 ounce cup of Guayaki Yerba Mate. Add a touch of sweetener to taste. Add 4 ounces of your milk of choice or favorite dairy alternative. Top off with a bit of milk foam and a dash of cinnamon.

This post is sponsored by Guayaki Yerba Matte. Thank you for supporting the brands that support us. GMO Inside is a non-profit campaign and we are thankful for the brands that support our work to change the food system.

American Apparel, one of the most widely known Made in the USA companies, filed for bankruptcy this month.

Known for commitments to sweatshop-free clothing since the company’s founding, American Apparel’s troubles may seem to signify challenges with keeping those commitments. Other companies embrace cost savings when they source from overseas factories with poor labor practices, while American Apparel has maintained factories based in the Los Angeles area and employed local workers.

But retailers in similar spaces have struggled with ever-changing trends in fashion, which seem to be more of the central cause to American Apparel’s downfall. The trend of “fast fashion,” where the latest looks are more important than logos and brands, has challenged The Gap, J. Crew, and Abercrombie & Fitch. American Apparel now joins their ranks as another struggling clothing retailer.

However, there are signs of further evolution in the marketplace as growing numbers of consumers embrace owning fewer items of higher quality, rather than the disposability of brands like H&M. Many U.S. clothing brands produce exceedingly cheap clothing via sourcing from factories in Bangladesh where workers earn low wages and work in dangerous conditions.

Green businesses like Eileen Fisher and Maggie’s Organics continue to lead the way in the building eco-clothing revolution, but there are many challenges to bringing eco-fashion to scale.

Founder and President Bena Burda of Maggie’s Organics states that “between 2008 and 2012, for example, the U.S. Department of Labor investigated over 1,500 employers in the garment industry in the US and found labor law violations in 93 percent of cases. Most of the workers involved were immigrants from Asia and Latin America. Ask not only ‘where’ but ‘who’ makes a brand’s U.S. clothing. Look for a brand that has direct relationships with their makers, and is not afraid to tell you about them.”

Maggie’s Organics offers shoppers a comprehensive guide to their green practices at Behind the Label, breaking down the details on their certified organic and Fair Trade apparel supply chain. Visitors can click on any product to learn about the farmers and cooperatives behind it. Maggie’s has supported U.S. textile workers for over 20 years.

American Apparel has mapped out a survival plan to emerge from bankruptcy. So far there’s no indication that the company will alter its Made in USA brand, leaving hope that the future of American Apparel will stay tied to ethical fashion.

However, court papers on the bankruptcy filing showed that an immigration raid in 2009 caused the company to lose 1,500 manufacturing workers and endure significant setbacks. When “Made in USA” means made by undocumented workers who are in danger of losing their livelihoods, the U.S. still has a long way to go to achieve truly ethical and locally produced clothing brands on a large scale.

The company also suffered in its public image due to the unethical behavior of disgraced former CEO Dov Charney, who was sued by a former employee over allegations of sexual assault.

Image credit: Ecouterre