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By Kristen Bahler

By the end of the summer, I’ll go from living the charmed life of a 30-something who has never, not once, changed a diaper, to someone who’s very existence revolves around the activity. And like many soon-to-be moms with a stack of parenting paperbacks and an embarrassingly long baby registry, I’m starting to feel pretty smug about the whole thing.

Case in point: I’ve decided to give cloth diapers a try.

My reasoning is the same as most parents seeking eco-friendly alternatives to disposable diapers: I compost, I recycle, and I try to use sustainable substitutes for my replenishable household products (paper towels, coffee filters, plastic bags). Cloth diapering just sort of … makes sense.

Plus, it could save me a lot of money.

A 2018 deep dive by the Tampa Bay Times found that the cost of disposable diapers hovers around $1,000 a year per child — a prohibitively expensive price tag for many families that is only going up. The fact that many communities have suffered widespread diaper shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic added fuel to an already heated debate about the advantages of switching to cloth.

The thing about cloth diapering is it can introduce a sh*tload (pun intended) of extra work to a new parent’s routine — work that’s unpleasant, and involves getting a lot closer to your baby’s bowel movements than you would otherwise have to.

I’ll admit: I’m not psyched to experience this first-hand. No matter how valiant my efforts, there’s a lingering possibility that after a few months (or … days) of keeping a paycheck-sucking poop machine as clean, fed and un-agitated as is within my capacity, cloth diapers will start to feel less like a doable alternative to landfill-crowding ‘sposies and more like a curse.

Will it all be worth it? Or am I in over my head? How much money can I reasonably expect to save, anyway?

To help sort through the muck, I turned to the best experts in the biz: moms who have tried cloth diapers themselves, and agreed to be brutally honest about their experiences. Here’s what they told me.

Cloth diapers for beginners

If you’re new to cloth diapering, know that the options are vast — and a bit overwhelming.

Every parent has his or her own preference when it comes to fabric, brand and closure type (the velcro vs. snap vs. pin debate is an eyeroll of its own accord), so it’s wise to experiment with a few different types before committing to a specific one.

Style-wise, cloth diapers come in four different constructions. Here’s a breakdown of each, and why some parents gravitate toward one over the others.

All-in-one (AIO) diapers

All-in-ones mimic the simplicity of disposable diapers. After every diaper change, you throw one of these bad boys — which are made of several layers of highly-absorbent material like microfleece and sewn into a waterproof cover — into your dirty diaper pile to be laundered (not thrown away). Then you slap on a clean one.

This is the easiest way to cloth diaper, and often the most expensive — AIOs can run upwards of $30 a diaper. But since many designs are stitched with closure settings meant to re-size as your baby grows, you should get a lot of use out of each one. Grovia’s O.N.E. diaper, a $23 to $28 option recommended to me by multiple moms, can last from birth all the way to potty training. Some popular AIO brands, like Thirsties and Bambino Mio, sell diaper bundles at a discounted rate.

“Even before having a baby, I never felt I had enough time, and feared I wouldn’t stick with more complicated types, so I was drawn to the AIOs,” says Jennifer Kelley, a mom to a baby girl in Albany, Oregon. “Many styles are as easy to put on as a disposable.”

Pocket diapers

Pockets are another simple cloth diapering method that requires a little more busy work than AIOs. They’re also made with waterproof covers, but the insides are less bulky (and less absorbent) and have a stitched-in pouch where a washable, maxi pad-like insert slips in.

Kristina Todini, mom to a 1-year-old in Sacramento, California, tells me she favors pocket diapers over the other styles.

Todini runs the green living blog Fork in the Road, and says she was “on a mission” to reduce her consumption of single-use items before she got pregnant.

Some of the crunchiest parents learn to sew their own diapers from old t-shirts and nursing blankets, but Todini didn’t want to overload herself with chores while “learning how to care for a baby and become a mother,” she says. So she and her husband used disposables for the first month of their daughter’s life, and then transitioned to pockets.

On Amazon, you can get a six-pack set of AlvaBaby pockets (and 12 inserts) for $30. Nora’s Nursery, one of the top-rated cloth diaper stores on Amazon, sells four-packs of pocket diapers with four bamboo inserts for $38, and seven-packs with seven bamboo inserts for $65.

Fitted diapers

Fitteds, another two-step system, come as two distinct parts: a cloth diaper and a waterproof cover. That means two separate items to buy (and wash) — though the covers can be worn through multiple diaper changes, so you don’t need an equal amount of each.

Using a diaper encased in a waterproof shell means that, if the fit is right, you’ll get the same absorbancy as a disposable diaper. And since that shell comes off before it gets tossed in the laundry, the inner layer tends to dry pretty quickly.

Cloth-eez sells a popular line of organic fitted diapers, which will run you about $12 a piece on the Green Mountain Diapers website (covers, sold separately, cost about $10).

Stephanie Miller, mom of one, uses a mix of different types of cloth diapers, but says Grovia’s “hybrid” fitteds are her favorite (currently available in a 12-pack on Amazon for $194). She lives in humid Houston, Texas, where air drying certain materials is next to impossible. With fitteds, she can dry the inners in her machine dryer while she hangs the covers outside.

Flats and prefold diapers

As the name implies, these come as a flat sheet that you fold onto your baby in the shape of a diaper. It’s the cheapest, and most complicated, way to cloth diaper, but lots of parents swear by it.

“You can Google how to do it,” says Shay Boudreaux, mom to two sons, a 5-year-old and a toddler, in Louisiana. “It probably takes 10 extra seconds.”

Pre-folds still require a waterproof cover, but like fitteds, you’ll need far more diapers than covers. Another bonus: If the whole cloth diapering thing doesn’t work out, you can use them as burp cloths instead.

As of this writing, you can buy a 12 pack of pre-folds on sites like Green Mountain Diapers and Amazon for $22 to $30 — or a bundle of 36 (with four covers included) for $94.

How many cloth diapers do I need?

Before you stock your nursery, think about how much you can reasonably spend — and how much extra laundry you’re comfortable taking on.

Most baby blogs and cloth diaper social media groups suggest starting out with at least 24 diapers, plus about 6 covers (if you’re not using AIOs), which should tide you over laundry-wise for two to three days. Older babies don’t go through as many diapers, so you can get away with buying less of each if you’re past the newborn stage. Same goes for parents who want to try out cloth diapers before giving up on disposables entirely.

Keep in mind that, depending on the type of cloth diapers you choose, and how they end up fitting your kid, you might have to size up as they grow. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, there are lots of “try it” kits you can buy (or register for!) from brands like OsoCozy, Esembly Baby and Green Mountain Diapers. Also, if you’re on a super tight budget, you can buy pre-owned diapers on Facebook groups and online communities like Diaper Junction. Or you can hit up one of the myriad nonprofit organizations that give free cloth diapers to low-income families.

Since cloth diapers can be used on multiple children, the savings compound over time. And if you take good care of them, the resale value is close to, and in some cases over, 100%.

To save money, Kelley bought some of her cloth diaper stock from diaper co-ops and resale sites like eBay, Mercari and Craigslist. She and her husband used disposable diapers for the first week of their daughter’s life, and though they “planned to use them even longer, because we anticipated being much more overwhelmed,” the transition to cloth ended up being a breeze, she says.

“It is truly not as scary as it sounds,” Kelley tells me. “You just have a couple extra loads of laundry each week.”

How to clean cloth diapers

Every parent I spoke to agreed that the most complicated part about learning how to use cloth diapers is figuring out how to wash them.

Depending on the material your diapers are made of, you might have to “prep,” or pre-wash them — sometimes multiple times — before using them for the first time.

You’ll also need to do some research on how your laundry machine will handle the slightly unorthodox task at hand (specifications for top-loading and front-loading machines vary), as well as what kind of laundry detergent to use. Experienced cloth diapering parents usually recommend a detergent with the least amount of ingredients possible. Tide’s “Ultra Power Original” detergent powder (not liquid) is a cult favorite on diapering message boards. Some cloth diapers companies, like Esemby Baby, sell their own detergent.

Pro tip: You’ll probably want to get a couple of “wet bags” to tote around your used cloth diapers when you’re out of the house, too.

“Wet bags are a crucial part of a successful clothing journey,” Miller says.

As far as drying goes, most people recommend hanging your diapers on a laundry line or drying rack whenever possible, since the heat in machine dryers will wear down any elastic and hike your energy use — which doesn’t exactly jive with many parents’ “green” intentions.

Now comes the most polarizing detail of every cloth diapering discussion: What To Do With All That Poo.

The good news is, breastfed babies have water-soluble waste, so you just throw their cloth diapers into a pile, and then into the laundry, and be done with them. But that’s not the case if you formula feed, or if your baby is old enough to eat solid food, or the thought of chucking number twos into your washing machine is just … a bridge too far.

For some parents, the solution is biodegradable, flushable liners. Others just dunk each diaper into the toilet before it hits the laundry pile. You can also buy a hose that attaches to your toilet and power washes each diaper to hell and back before tossing it in the wash. If you go this route, Jennifer Kelley in Albany, Oregon, advises investing in a hose that comes with a spray shield, or buying one separately, to protect your bathroom (and body) from splatter. (“Spraying diapers without a shield is a pain, messy, and made me seriously consider whether I wanted to keep doing it,” she says.)

Still with me? It’s worth mentioning that every mom I spoke to was unanimous on another point: This isn’t as gross as it sounds.

Todini summed it up nicely.

“Let’s face it, babyhood involves a lot of poop,” she says. “What’s dealing with cleaning the diaper over a toilet in the grand scheme of things?”

Cloth diapers vs. disposable

There’s still a lot of debate about the health benefits of cloth diapering — like whether it leads to less diaper rashes, and quicker potty training, as advocates say it does. There’s even some naysayers who question if all that extra laundry makes the practice as eco-friendly as it seems. (Much of that skepticism, though, was sown by disposable diaper companies, according to the nonprofit group Green America.)

There are also lots of parents who tried cloth diapers and gave up a few months in. Dealing with cloth can be time-consuming, after all, and a lot more trouble than it’s worth if the fit isn’t quite right, or your washing machine happens to be on the fritz.

Still, there’s no doubt that if you stick with it, cloth diapering can save you money, and the moms I spoke with have the receipts to prove it.

Boudreaux says her family spent about $220 on cloth diapers, which they used exclusively on their oldest son for the two-some years before he was potty trained. They used those same diapers on their second son before he started going to a daycare this spring that doesn’t allow cloth diapers — and over the course of three months, Boudreaux says, she and her husband have already spent $200 on disposables, even though they still use cloth diapers at night and on weekends.

Todini, for her part, did a cloth vs. disposable cost comparison for long-term diapering while she was pregnant, and says that cloth was the clear winner from the get-go. Her family spent $60 total on cloth diapers and inserts she says, plus an extra $15 to $20 a month on laundry detergent, water and electricity.

Cloth diapering isn’t for everyone, Miller tells me, but it doesn’t have to be an all-or-nothing thing.

“Disposables … provided us some time and flexibility when we needed it,” Miller says. “ I like to think of the sustainable analogy of using cloth towels over paper towels, or cloth napkins over paper napkins. We would simply do what we could when we could and try our best to keep things out of landfills.”

Sometimes, she adds, “the benefits of ease and disposability” made disposables the better choice when her family was on vacation, or her baby was in daycare. But like every mom I spoke with, she found cloth diapers to be pretty easy too.

“I will always advocate for cloth over disposables,” she says. “It’s extremely affordable and not as difficult as a lot of people seem to make it.”

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This Plastic Free July, ask your elected officials to support the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act!

Green America is proud to be one of over 400 advocacy groups supporting this ground-breaking legislation, introduced by Senator Jeff Merkley (D-OR) and Representative Alan Lowenthal (D-CA).

This legislation tackles the serious social and environmental impacts of plastics from their production to disposal. The bill contains a suite of provisions that would: 

• Force companies to take responsibility for their wasteful products, 
• Strengthen regulations on plastic facilities to protect communities, 
• Prohibit the use of toxic chemicals in covered products,
• Push to increase reusables and refillables,
• Improve recycling programs, and much more. 

Plastic production and incineration emit toxic air pollutants and millions of tons of greenhouse gases. Oil and gas industries want to ramp up plastic production in the coming decade to keep a demand in place for fossil fuels and line their pockets with more profits. 

More plastic production will fuel the climate crisis and increase pollution that severely threatens the health of fenceline communities, disproportionately impacting Black, Indigenous, and Latino communities.

The Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act seeks to tackle these problems by bringing many solutions that have helped curb waste at state and local levels to a national scale.

Contact Congress Now
 

What Would the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act Do? 

Tackles pollution in environmental justice communities

The bill focuses on environmental justice communities that have been harmed and burdened by pollution from petrochemical plants and incinerators. It would place a three-year moratorium on permits for new petrochemical plants while the health and environmental impacts of existing facilities are investigated by the EPA, and regulations on facilities are developed or strengthened. The bill requires the EPA to conduct a comprehensive study on the public health impacts of incinerators and plastic chemical "recycling" facilities. The legislation would ban the export of plastic waste to developing nations that lack waste management infrastructure and prohibits an expanded list of toxic chemicals from being used in covered products.

Holds companies accountable for their waste

Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is a major facet of the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act. The bill calls for a nationwide EPR program for certain items (including packaging) and requires companies to invest in domestic recycling and composting infrastructure, cover costs of clean-up, and promote measures to reduce waste.

Tasks federal agencies to develop solutions 

The bill would task relevant federal agencies to study effects of fishing gear polluting the environment as well as microfiber pollution and will require filtration standards for clothes washers to reduce microplastics. The EPA would be charged with developing standardized recycling and composting labels to prevent contamination. The bill tasks the EPA to establish funding for reuse and refill pilot projects to create more reusable packaging options.

Bans numerous non-recyclable plastic items 

Common single-use plastic products that pollute ecosystems, can’t be recycled, and have available alternatives will be reduced and phased out. The bill will reduce waste from items such as plastic bags, Styrofoam food and drinkware, plastic utensils, and more. The bill protects the ability of state and local governments to enact more stringent standards, requirements, and additional product bans.

Develops a nationwide container deposit system

Beverage containers of any material type could be returned to redeem a 10-cent deposit that is paid up front in the cost of the container. There are ten states with “bottle bills,” where customers redeem deposits at the point of purchase or at redemption centers. States with deposit programs such as Oregon report recycling rates of containers that surpass 80%, which is 16 times the national average.

How to Take Action 

• Tell your Senators and Representative to co-sponsor the bill through our email action. Then share with your networks!
• Call the congressional switchboard to connect to your elected officials’ offices and use the sample script below.  

Switchboard number: (202) 224-3121 

Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act – Senate Bill #984 and House Bill #2238

Script: Hello, I am a constituent of [Senator/Representative Name] and am calling to urge them to support and cosponsor the Break Free from Plastic Pollution Act [S.984 in the Senate/H.R. 2238 in the House]. I care greatly about the environment and the communities affected by plastic pollution and this bill works to reduce plastic waste and improve recovery of recyclable materials. This bill works to end the health threats of pollution from petrochemical plants on communities and tasks federal agencies to develop comprehensive plans to address plastic pollution in our waterways. This is a historic effort that will spur innovation and investments in the United States’ domestic recycling and composting infrastructure. Please support this bill for people and the planet!

Tell Congress: Break Free from Plastic Pollution

Green America’s Get A Better Bank campaign, and similar initiatives across the country, are gaining momentum! Did you know that Big Banks, like those behind your credit cards, continue to invest massively in fossil fuels, driving us toward greater climate catastrophe? They also have a long history of predatory and racist practices that have harmed people of color for generations.

Fortunately, there are better credit cards!  And people everywhere are making the switch!

Our interview with Jim Blasiak describes his motivation for helping congregants at his synagogue get a better credit card to put their money to work for communities – and to avoid supporting fossil fuels. Here's the letter congregants sent to conventional big banks explaining why they made the switch.

If you’re ready to switch not only your credit card but also your bank, get started with these 10 steps to switch to a better bank or credit union.

Green America (Q.) and Jim Blasiak (A.).

Q. I heard that your synagogue recently concluded its campaign to promote “green” credit cards.

A. That’s right. We had over two dozen congregants sign up for the Green America credit card or other alternative credit cards found on the Green America website.

Q. How do you define a “green” credit card?

A. A card that is issued by a local or regional community bank or a credit union and not by a big bank that finances fossil fuel development. One good example of a “green” credit card is the Green America credit card that is issued by TCM Bank.

Q. Why the interest in credit cards?

A. Our shul has an active Climate Action Team that is always looking for ways to promote climate solutions and address climate justice issues. We are fortunate to belong to a community that is open to dialogue and action on climate change and that our clergy have emphasized those parts of our tradition that emphasize caring for the earth and our fellow humans. At a regular team monthly meeting a little over a year ago, one of our members brought to our attention a new release of the Rainforest Action Network’s report on banking and climate change. We all went back and read it and then at subsequent meetings we talked about organizing an event to highlight and perhaps address the findings of that report. One thing that the team recognized was that talking about the intersection of environmental and financial issues was likely to stimulate discussion among a broad group of congregants.

Q. So what were the results of that discussion?

A. Well the topic is a bit complicated, and we realized that we needed to be better informed. So we first decided to organize two zoom webinars (this was during the early days of the pandemic) to bring in experts to discuss the general topic of “greening our finances.” We invited two experts: a financial advisor that specializes in socially responsible investments and Fran Teplitz, a co-director of Green America, to talk about alternative banking options. All members of our congregation and their friends were invited to attend. We also found area environmental groups to co-sponsor the event. At a second webinar, we asked Fran to return and also invited Andy Behar of “As You Sow” to discuss his organization’s shareholder activism and his organization’s helpful website and a Greenfaith representative, Sara Shor, to discuss how to best organize our community.

Q. What did the Climate Action Team learn from these webinars?

A. We had to simplify the issue in order to develop a campaign that could involve the entire congregation. It turns out that personal financial decisions are just that -- personal -- and it is tricky to advise congregants to make one investment over another. Also, the world of socially responsible investing is many flavored and team members are not qualified financial advisors, so asking congregants to change their financial plans, we decided, was beyond our current capabilities. We also considered a campaign to have congregants change their bank from a mega-bank to a community bank, but we have a limitation here in the suburban Washington, DC, market because there are not many local banking options available for walk-in banking. Also, recommending a bank to someone carries some of the same pitfalls as recommending an investment. With these lessons in mind, we landed on a first step: asking congregants to sign up for the Green America credit card or another alternative credit card. We have saved these other options for future campaigns.

Q. Why did you focus on the Green America credit card?

A. We tested it. It is issued by TCM Bank, a community bank, and members of the team tried it out first. The sign-up was seamless and quick. Members with good credit ratings got higher credit limits than what they had expected from an alternative bank. And, of course, in the process of researching the matter, we learned that the value of 0.5% of every transaction would be earned by Green America and the balance of the credit card fee (after VISA takes its relatively small cut) would benefit a community bank.

Q. How did you proceed with the campaign?

A. We first publicized the campaign during events sponsored by the Climate Action Team. We had small break-out sessions after our remote Zoom services and some members brought up the credit card campaign during those sessions. Both of these efforts yielded some sign-ups and they turned out to be important because they signaled to all of our congregants that our campaign had started and that it had the backing of our respected Climate Action Team members. The approach that worked best, however, was to ask members of the Climate Action Team to contact their fellow congregants personally and engage them on the subject. All in all, we had over two dozen congregants sign up for the Green America credit card.

Q. Did you get any resistance from your congregants in carrying out your one-on-one personal approach?

A. Not resistance, exactly but we did have to sharpen our approach. One of the first things we realized was that there were other “green” credit card options in addition to the Green America card and our congregants are a curious bunch and they wanted to explore all of those options. Many of our congregants, we discovered to our great pleasure, were already using credit cards issued by their credit unions, so they were not supporting the big banks that funded fossil fuel development. Others had interests in other environmental or social issues, and we were able to direct them to the other options that Green America provides on its website. Another thing we discovered early on was that people like the credit cards that they already have. Some cards provide points or cash rewards, others provide upgrades on airlines or higher credit limits, etc. So at the onset, we abandoned the idea that we would ask congregants to tear up their existing cards -- although some did -- and instead we asked them to use the Green America card more and their big-bank cards less. That approach seemed to work. Finally, there were some congregants who said simply that they had too many credit cards already and that they didn’t want to further complicate their finances. We, of course, had to respect that viewpoint and back away from further discussions on the credit card topic.

Q. Do you think that the credit card campaign helped bring awareness to the climate emergency more generally?

A. Absolutely. One member after hearing about our campaign said that they would sell their oil company stock. (It turns out that that was likely a good financial move given the stock movements this past year.) Others asked for advice on “green” and socially responsible investments and because of our research, we were able to direct them to options and experts, including the Green American site. Finally, I think that one thing that the credit card change has done for me -- and I hope for other congregants -- is that it has brought attention to my spending habits. Over-consumption is no doubt a major contributor to climate change and every time I take out my Green America credit card I am forced to think to myself: “Is this purchase necessary? Is the purchase consistent with my commitment to the environment?” And, even when I have to purchase something that I know is adding to my carbon footprint -- like buying a tank of gas -- I can feel a bit less guilty because I know that at least 0.5% of the cost will go to Green America.

Q. How does the credit card campaign relate to the values of your Jewish community?

A. They are in harmony. There are many relevant Jewish teachings, but the one that I try to hold onto in advocating for the environment in the face of so many challenges is from Pirke Aboth, or “The Ethics of the Fathers” written nearly 2000 years ago. It says: “You are not required to finish your work, yet neither are you permitted to desist from it.” In this context, even though encouraging several fellow congregants to change their credit cards is not going to solve climate change in and of itself, it is the progress that I can make at this time. As a bonus, because the credit card campaign provides a continuing reminder to those that signed up for an alternative card that there is a climate emergency underway, it gives them the nudge to take another positive action toward finishing their work each day.

There are many resources to help you switch to a better banking institution, here are a few so you can get started:

• Green America’s map to Get a Better Bank
• Green America’s 10 steps to break up with your Big Bank
• Bank for Good
• Mighty Deposits
• Better Banking Options
• Read Annalisa's story about how she broke up with her mega-bank

From her experience at Xerox and IBM, to her seat on Business for Social Responsibility’s board and role as practitioner advisor for Georgetown University’s Center for Social Impact Communications, Mary Fehlig has built her reputation as corporate social responsibility (CSR) expert. For 20 years, her firm, the Fehlig Group, has also been a certified Green Business Network member.

Fehlig’s extensive background has drawn many clients to her company, The Fehlig Group. For over 25 years, the Maryland-based consulting group has helped businesses identify strengths and opportunities to sustain and grow value through CSR initiatives that are anchored in company missions and values.

On May 4, 2021 Mary Fehlig was named the Women’s Business Enterprise Council “Star” for the Greater DC, Maryland, Virginia Region (WBEC Greater DMV). The WBEC Greater DMV is a nonprofit with the mission of increasing access to opportunities for Women’s Business Enterprises (WBEs), a national network of women-owned businesses certified by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC)—the WBEC Greater DMV’s parent organization. Fehlig’s Star Award celebrates her outstanding participation in chapter programs and events, support for other women in business, and innovative solutions for doing business with corporate members and other WBEs.

In congratulating her on the award, Sandra Eberhard, CEO and President of WBEC Greater DMV said, “The Fehlig Group exemplifies the possibilities that come with utilizing the WBENC Certification. Your company celebrates its women-owned status every day in the way that it operates. Your efforts as an ambassador in our territory have lent credibility to our efforts and encouraged other businesses to join our network.”

“We are proud of our WBENC certification and our partnership with WBEC Greater DMV,” said Fehlig. “Helping to advance women and minority-owned businesses is integral to our company mission of fostering environmental sustainability and social impact across the supply chain and in businesses of all sizes. Working with other WBEs is a privilege and we highly encourage women entrepreneurs to be part of this inspiring community.”

By Aimee Picchi

Amazon.com's two-day Prime Day event  is June 21-22 this year, with other major retailers like Walmart elbowing in on the action with their own sales. But the summer discounts offered by Amazon and its competitors may not match the kind of door-busting sales that are typically available before the holidays, market researchers say. 

• Amazon Prime Day 2021

The discounts offered to shoppers during the Prime Day event are typically below 10%, according to research from Adobe, which analyzed aggregate sales data at retailers including Amazon and its competitors from 2020's Prime Day. By comparison, the annual Cyber Monday weekend, which falls after Thanksgiving, typically offers discounts that are twice as deep, their analysis found. 

That may not deter shoppers from splurging on Amazon's Prime Day, given that 6 in 10 Americans told Adobe they plan to shop during Prime Day this year. Americans are opening their wallets like never before as the pandemic recedes and retailers, restaurants and other businesses reopen. Almost one-third of consumers surveyed by Adobe said they even plan to spend some of their stimulus money at the shopping event.  

"We expect Prime Day this year will surpass the 2020 Cyber Monday levels" of spending, Jason Woosley, vice president, commerce product and platform, at Adobe Experience Cloud, told CBS MoneyWatch. "It's a huge lift happening in the middle of June."

The best categories to score deals are expected to be in toys and electronics, with last year's Prime Day showing discounts of about 8% and 7%, respectively, Adobe's data found. Sporting goods had the smallest discount, at 1.2%. 

"There's just not a lot of discounting," Woosley said. "For a retailer, it's tolerable — they can generate buzz without sacrificing too much."

Why is Prime Day in June this year?

When Amazon first started Prime Day in 2015, it scheduled the event in July — a schedule it stuck to until the pandemic hit last year. Because of the disruption, Amazon pushed back Prime Day in 2020 to October. But this year, it has moved the event a month earlier than normal. 

One reason, marketing experts said, could be to avoid sharing the global spotlight with the 2021 Olympics, which kicks off in Japan on July 23, but some experts point out that pushing the event to June places the sale in the second quarter — a typically slow time for retailers. On top of that, Amazon is facing tough comparisons with the year-earlier period, when many consumers switched to online purchases due to lockdowns and fears about brick-and-mortar shopping as the pandemic spread. 

And don't underestimate the appeal of a final Prime Day blockbuster in June for Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, who formerly passes the chief executive's torch to successor Andy Jassy on July 5, 27 years to the day Bezos first incorporated the Amazon.com business concept.

Will the pandemic impact prices?

It's possible that the semiconductor shortage could impact the pricing and availability of some products that need chips, such as TVs, said Nathan Burrows, senior deals editor at the New York Times' product-recommendation site, Wirecutter. Goodies like game consoles, which have been in short supply this past year amid rising demand and supplier shortages, are likely to sell at full price or close to it, he said. 

Rising inflation on everyday household items could also have an impact on Prime Day, leading to smaller discounts than previous years, Burrows added. Prices for everything from grocery items to appliances are on the rise, according to recent data. 

"All of this means that shoppers have more reason than ever to be skeptical of supposed deals," Burrows said. 

What other retailers will offer sales? 

But while "legitimate sales" may be hard to find during Prime Day, consumers will likely have more stores to comparison shop this year, according to Burrows.

Walmart, for one, is running a rival sale called "Deals for Days," which started a day earlier than Prime Day and ends a day later — from June 20 to 23. The retailer said it will offer deals on electronics like the iHome Nova Auto Empty Mopping Robot for $299.00, down from its regular price of $599.00.

Best Buy, meanwhile, has already been running its "The Bigger Deal" sale, which ends June 22. Target, for its part, is offering a "Deal Days" event from June 20 to 22. Additional retailers may also edge in on the competition with their own sales, so experts advise consumers to comparison shop. 

Price comparison tools like CamelCamelCamel can be helpful in figuring out if you are really getting a good price.

What will be the best Prime Day deals?

It's likely that Amazon will continue with its tradition of offering steep discounts on its own electronics, such as Kindle e-book readers and Echo smart speakers, Burrows said. 

Other products to keep an eye on are kitchen appliances like instant pots or coffee makers, personal care appliances like electric toothbrushes, baby gear such as car seats and strollers, and vacuums and headphones, among other types of products, according to Wirecutter. 

Amazon already offered some pre-Prime Day sales, such as $50 off the Apple Watch Series 6 GPS model in 40mm size and $150 off Shark's AI Robot Vacuum (RV2001). 

Before buying, do your research, said Adobe's Woosley. "Don't just assume it's the best deal because it's put in front of you," he said.

Washington, D.C.//June 15, 2021 – A new bill in Congress allowing Americans to buy Clean Energy Victory Bonds for as little as $25 in order to support the expansion of solar, wind, battery storage, infrastructure, energy efficiency technologies, and related tax incentives for individuals and businesses, is earning the praise of Green America, the American Sustainable Business Council (ASBC), the National Wildlife Federation, and several other groups. The legislation introduced by Reps. Zoe Lofgren and Doris Matsui (H.R. 3886) and Sen. Jeff Merkley calls for the government to issue up to $50 billion per year in Clean Energy Victory Bonds.

Clean Energy Victory Bonds would provide a way for all Americans to safely invest in and benefit from this transition. The legislation also allocates significant federal investment into economically disadvantaged communities to advance a more equitable clean energy economy.

“Americans from all walks of life want the US to adopt renewable energy to create good paying jobs, while addressing the climate crisis,” said Todd Larsen, Green America’s executive co-director for consumer and corporate engagement. “In World War II, Victory Bonds offered Americans a way to support the war effort. Now, Clean Energy Victory Bonds will offer all Americans a safe investment, open to anyone with $25, to support a rapid adoption of the solar, wind, and battery storage technologies that will create cleaner air for us all now and help protect future generations from climate impacts.”  

“Green businesses, whose operations support social justice and environmental sustainability, have long advocated for a clean energy economy. The Clean Energy Victory Bond offers a sound, viable way to generate financing, with a focus on equity, to advance clean energy and energy efficiency,” said Fran Teplitz, director, Green America’s Green Business Network.

“Clean Energy Victory Bonds will provide a much-needed economic boost to our businesses and economy,” said David Levine, co-founder and president, American Sustainable Business Council. “Coming out of COVID-19, this bill provides a reliable and highly-accessible financing mechanism that allows the private sector and all Americans to provide the needed dollars for building a more just and sustainable economy.”

“Climate change is bearing down on us with increasing intensity, with particularly severe consequences for wildlife and already vulnerable communities,” said Shannon Heyck-Williams, director of climate and energy policy at the National Wildlife Federation. “This smart proposal from Representatives Lofgren and Matsui and Senator Merkley gives people the opportunity to directly support the climate-safe future we all need. And by dedicating forty percent of proceeds to new clean energy projects in disadvantaged communities, the bill will help communities that are burdened by pollution and high energy bills by expanding access to climate solutions and opportunities.”

“Clean Energy Victory Bonds provide an opportunity for Americans to participate in the financial benefits of their communities’ conversion to clean renewable energy,” said Ron Gonen, CEO, Closed Loop Partners.

“Self-Help welcomes the reintroduction of the Clean Energy Victory Bond bill, adding capital to finance the transition away from fossil fuels. Of particular note, the bill focuses capital to underserved communities where the transition away from fossil fuels can have the greatest impact and the lack of capital access is most acute," stated Melissa Malkin-Weber, sustainability director, Self Help Credit Union & Ventures Fund.

“The Clean Energy Victory Bond bill is an excellent example of common sense and shows what is possible when we work together. The funds raised by the bonds will create competitive-paying jobs in clean energy at a time when good jobs are solely needed. Clean energy is also a good way to protect the health and safety of Americans by reducing local air and water pollution. And consumers who avail of clean energy will not be subject to the volatile price increases in fossil fuels as seen during the February 2021 Texas snowstorm. This bill is a true win-win,” said Timothy R. Yee, president of Green Retirement, Inc.

“Faith- and values-based investors join in welcoming this safe and reliable financing mechanism open to anyone with $25 to invest in building a just and resilient economy," said Christina Herman, Climate & Environmental Program director at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. "We need to ensure an equitable transition to a clean energy economy in the U.S., and Clean Energy Victory Bonds can help supply the capital needed to shift from dirty to clean energy, especially needed in low-income and communities of color."

“Where the benefits and profits of the clean energy industry have historically been claimed overwhelmingly by America's wealthiest, Clean Energy Victory Bonds would help democratize participation in the low-carbon transition, allowing investors large and small to make low-risk investments in a more sustainable future. In alluding to the Victory Bonds of World War II, Clean Energy Victory Bonds will convey both urgency and optimism regarding American participation in the global battle against climate change,” said Cheryl I. Smith, Ph.D., CFA, chief economist and head of Fixed Income Management, Trillium Asset Management.

With the US and countries around the world experiencing their hottest years on record and growing natural disasters causing billions of dollars of damage in the US alone, support among the American public for a transition to renewable energy technologies is strong. Eighty percent of Americans support a move to solar and wind, and over two-thirds of the public want the US Government to do more. The cost of solar and wind power decreased dramatically in the past two decades, providing the opportunity to scale these technologies up to meet 100 percent of US electricity by 2035. Now, the US needs to increase investment in solar and wind to meet the ambitious timelines for adoption that will help keep global temperature increases under two degrees Celsius.

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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, investors, and consumers to solve today’s social and environmental problems. http://www.GreenAmerica.org 

ABOUT AMERICAN SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS COUNCIL 

The American Sustainable Business Council partners with business organizations and companies to advocate for solutions and policies that support an equitable, sustainable, stakeholder economy. ASBC is a multi-issue, business organization advocating on behalf of all sectors, sizes, and geographies of industry. ASBC and its association members collectively represent over 250,000 businesses across our networks. ASBC is coalition-focused in our approach to solving the pervasive and systemic issues of climate and energy, infrastructure, circular economy, and creating an inclusive just stakeholder economy. ASBC is changing the rules by which business is done so it is better for all people and the environment.

ABOUT NATIONAL WILDLIFE FEDERATION

The National Wildlife Federation unites all Americans to ensure wildlife thrive in a rapidly changing world. We believe America’s experience with cherished landscapes and wildlife has helped define and shape our national character and identity for generations. To hunters, anglers, and other outdoor enthusiasts, this conservation ethic represents a sacred duty and obligation to protect and build upon our conservation heritage for the sake of wildlife, ourselves, our neighbors, and—most of all—for future generations.

June 12th is the International Day Against Child Labor. On this day, as a large group of civil society organizations working on human rights in the cocoa sector across the world, we urgently call on chocolate & cocoa companies and governments to start living up to decades-old promises. The cocoa sector must come with ambitious plans to develop transparent and accountable solutions for current and future generations of children in cocoa communities.

This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the chocolate industry’s promise to end child labor in the cocoa sector of Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, a commitment they made under the 2001 Harkin-Engel Protocol and renewed again with the 2010 Framework of Action. Furthermore, it is the International Year for the Elimination of Child Labor. 

This year should have been a landmark in the fight against child labor in cocoa. Instead, the cocoa sector as a whole has been conspicuously quiet on this topic. 

Child labor is still a reality on West African cocoa farms, and there is strong evidence that forced labor continues in the sector as well. Recent reports – such as Ghana’s GLSS 7 survey and the study of the University of Chicago commissioned by the United States government – show that close to 1.5 million children are engaged in hazardous or age-inappropriate work on cocoa farms in Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire. The vast majority of these child laborers are exposed to the worst forms of child labor, such as carrying heavy loads, working with dangerous tools and increasing exposure to harmful agrochemicals.

After two decades of rhetoric, voluntary initiatives, and pilot projects, it is clearer than ever that ambitious, sector-wide action is needed, coupled with binding regulations, to address both child labor and the poverty that lies at its root.

These solutions must include regulations for mandatory human rights due diligence for companies operating in all major cocoa consuming countries, including avenues for legal remedy in those companies’ home countries. We note with interest the developments around regulations in the EU, although the announced delays are concerning. We also observe that the United States - the world’s number one cocoa consuming country - is particularly lagging in regulatory developments on this issue.

The industry, however, cannot use a lack of regulation as an excuse not to shoulder their own responsibility. As such, every chocolate and cocoa company should have a system in place that monitors and remediates child labor in all of their value chains with a child labor risk. The impact of these systems must be communicated publicly and transparently in a way that enables meaningful participation and access to remedy for workers and their representatives. 

In parallel, effective partnerships between producer and consumer countries are needed to work on the necessary enabling environment. These must be developed in a much more inclusive manner than previous attempts, bringing in civil society organizations, independent trade unions, local communities and farmer representatives. Adequate resources must be provided to enable these local actors to participate as equals in the development and implementation of solutions. 

Child labor can only be effectively tackled if its root causes are also adequately addressed. As such, the cocoa sector must ensure that child labor approaches are deeply embedded into realistic and ambitious strategies to achieve a living income for all cocoa households. Such strategies must include the payment of fair and just remuneration at the farm gate; prices need to be sufficient to provide a living income. There are clear calculations available for Living Income Reference Prices, which are not even close to being met.

In all, this process must deliver time bound and measurable action plans that are ambitious enough to cover the full scope of the challenge ahead.

It is time that the cocoa sector lived up to its promises and started to deliver on a sector wide and ambitious plan to tackle child labor and poverty. The industry’s collective silence this year is shameful and inappropriate.

Signatories:

• ABVV/FGTB HORVAL – Belgium
• Action against Child Exploitation (ACE) – Japan
• Be Slavery Free – Australia
• Child Labor Coalition - United States
• Conservation Alliance International – Ghana
• COOP Ecam - Côte d'Ivoire
• COOPASA - Côte d'Ivoire
• EcoCare Ghana – Ghana
• Fair Trade Advocacy Office – Belgium
• Fair World Project - United States
• Fairtrade – Global
• Forum Fairer Handel e.V. – Germany
• Freedom United – Global
• Global Media Foundation – Ghana
• Green America - United States
• Inades Formation - Côte d'Ivoire
• Indigenous Women Empowerment Network – Ghana
• INKOTA-netzwerk – Germany
• International Rights Advocates - United States
• ISCC – Germany
• Mighty Earth - United States
• ONG GAYA - Côte d'Ivoire
• Oxfam – Global
• Public Eye – Switzerland
• Rainforest Alliance – Global
• Réseau des Jeunes Entrepreneurs de Côte d'Ivoire (REJECI) – Côte d'Ivoire
• Réseau Ivoirien du Commerce Équitable – Côte d'Ivoire
• SchokoFair-Stoppt Kinderarbeit! – Germany
• SEND GHANA – Ghana
• Solidaridad – Netherlands
• Solidaridad West Africa – Ghana
• Südwind – Austria
• SÜDWIND-Institute – Germany
• The Human Trafficking Legal Center - United States
• Tropenbos Ghana – Ghana
• VOICE Network – Global
• World Fair Trade Organization – Global

If you’re currently thinking of buying a commercial landscaping franchise, there’s one thing you have to consider carefully: environmental impact. Not all landscaping practices are sustainable, even if the business as a whole promotes nature.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has some guidelines on “green landscaping.” They’ve laid out sustainability considerations for landscapers and landscape owners alike. So as you figure out your lawn care startup costs, factor in landscaping equipment with zero-emission. That’s one of the most important sustainability considerations recommended by EPA.

Making your business green won’t just let you meet EPA’s standards. It’ll also strengthen your corporate social responsibility, which involves caring for the environment. Remember, being a small business doesn’t mean your carbon footprint is light. If a thousand small businesses leave light carbon footprints, that’ll accumulate into one heavy carbon footprint. So by taking the extra step of adopting sustainable practices, you extract yourself from the problem and contribute to earth-saving efforts.

That said, here’s how your commercial landscaping services can become more eco-friendly:

1. Follow EPA’s Recommendation

Before starting your business, see if you can make these sustainability considerations recommended by EPA:

• Integrated pest management
• The use of reclaimed and recycled materials
• The use of low embodied energy materials
• The use of penetrable surfaces for stormwater management
• The use of native and climate-appropriate plants
• The use of energy-efficient lighting
• The use of low- to zero-emission equipment

Following these recommendations makes your services identifiable as green landscaping. To further mark your green identity in the industry, EPA has more resources and guidelines on its website. Pay it a visit and take note of the practices and products you should use.

2. Avoid Gas-powered Lawnmowers

Using gas-powered lawnmowers will instantly rid you of your green business identity. That’s because gas-powered lawnmowers emit thousands of times more greenhouse gases per hour of operating than electric lawnmowers. Such emissions are equivalent to that of a 100-mile drive.

But if you’re switching to electric lawnmowers, choose ones that are powered by a renewable energy source to stay consistent with your sustainability practices. Electric lawnmowers don’t consume gas and emit greenhouse gases. They maintain air cleanliness and ensure the health of your lawn care personnel.

3. Avoid Harmful Lawn Chemicals

Many landscaping professionals and landscape owners traditionally use pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic fertilizers. But these substances may do more harm than good. Herbicides may speed up the killing of weeds, but they can kill harmless bugs and animals in the process. Pesticides, meanwhile, have tons of hazardous side effects, including groundwater contamination. They’ll create contaminated runoff, which can go into streams and lakes and harm aquatic life.

Synthetic fertilizers are also dangerous because producing them emits greenhouse gases. Plus, when used, the nitrogen that the plants didn’t absorb turns into nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that’s 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. It can also contaminate wells and affect the water supply.

Organic fertilizers and homemade pesticides and herbicides are the best alternatives to harmful lawn chemicals. They may not produce results as fast as chemicals do, but they have better long-term effects. Your clients will surely prefer investing for the long term than spending repeatedly for short-term results.

4. Use Green Marketing Strategies

Green marketing strategies will boost your good reputation. But be careful with what you claim as well; people have to see that you’re a truly green business, not another business that’s simply greenwashing.

Don’t stop at using eco-friendly landscaping equipment. Try to go paperless in your transactions as well. If that isn’t a practical option, at least print on recycled paper. Most printing vendors offer the option to print brochures and other promotional material on recycled paper that’s almost as cheap as new paper.

But better yet, focus your marketing on the internet so that you can skip the prints. Internet marketing is cheaper than using print or direct mail ads anyway. Besides, consumers find businesses via Google or social media now. Even if you’re a B2B business, your clients are more likely to use the internet to scout vendors than to look for print ads.

5. Get a Green Business Certification

Lastly, obtain credibility for your green landscaping practices from the Green Business Bureau or Green America. Your certification can act as your insignia, which your clients will appreciate and value. And from then on, be consistent with your eco-friendly practices. Share your story and commitment to your website and social media too.

The more you spread the word about green landscaping, you more you can encourage companies and owners to follow your example. Deviating from traditional practices may be a little challenging for businesses, but if we want to save the planet, we must put up with the minimal inconvenience.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 2, 2021) – Today, Walmart investors voted on the first-ever shareholder resolution on refrigerants and their related climate impacts. The initial count indicates 5.5 percent of investors voted in favor of the proposal filed by Rhode Island Treasurer Seth Magaziner, urging Walmart to disclose how it will limit its impact on climate change by increasing the scale, pace, and rigor of its plans to significantly scale back hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) used in its operations.

The 5.5 percent outcome is particularly significant, since the first-year resolution only needed to meet the threshold of 5 percent support to be considered in a second year. This puts considerable pressure on Walmart to listen to concerned shareholders and take action on HFCs. Walmart had advised its investors to vote against the resolution to report on its HFC emissions and it is notable that the Walton family holds nearly half of Walmart’s shares.

Walmart uses highly potent HFCs, which are greenhouse gases with thousands of times the warming power of carbon dioxide. HFCs are rapidly leaking out of Walmart facilities and make up 48 percent of the company’s direct climate-damaging emissions. Walmart emits over three million metric tons of HFCs, equating to more than half a million cars on the road each year. Several competitors of Walmart, including Aldi and Target, are far ahead in adopting climate-friendly refrigerants in their stores.

“Today’s shareholder vote shows that a growing number of investors are concerned that Walmart’s 2040 target for phasing down HFC climate super-pollutants is out of step with global and domestic policy,” said Beth Porter, Climate Campaigns Director for Green America. “The resolution received enough support to be re-introduced next year, and in the meantime, investors and consumers will continue pressuring Walmart to cut its HFC emissions on a more rapid timeline.”

“Today’s vote is a pivotal step in investors calling on Walmart to address its largest source of direct climate emissions,” said Christina Starr, Senior Policy Analyst for the Environmental Investigation Agency. “As more and more investors care about meaningful climate action, pressure will mount on supermarkets like Walmart to address refrigerant leaks and stop using super-polluting HFCs quickly.”

Green America and the Environmental Investigation Agency are running campaigns to mobilize consumer pressure to get Walmart to address its HFC leaks and adopt ultra-low-Global Warming Potential (GWP) alternatives rapidly. The company took a voluntary pledge in 2010 to begin phasing out HFCs, but its emissions have steadily increased since then.

In September 2020, after years of mounting public pressure through advocacy campaigns and growing regulatory progress on refrigerants, Walmart finally announced a goal to transition to “low-impact” refrigerants by 2040 but has provided no details of how it will meet this target nor specifics on what refrigerants it plans to adopt. The best practice for lowering climate impacts is to use “ultra-low GWP” refrigerant options with a GWP less than 5 instead of “low-GWP”, which can still have hundreds of times the warming potential of CO₂.

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

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

ABOUT EIA

The Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) is an independent non-profit campaigning organization dedicated to identifying, investigating, and implementing solutions to protect endangered wildlife, forests, and the global climate. EIA Climate campaign is working to eliminate powerful greenhouse gases and improve energy efficiency in the cooling sector, and expose related illicit trade to campaign for new policies, improved governance, and more effective enforcement. www.eia-global.org.

For those who have spent the past year staying safe at home, the chance to get outside is more alluring than ever. While we continue to practice covid-19 precautions even as vaccinations roll out, the good news is you can get out and stay safe at the same time. We put together this list of natural sunscreen, bug spray, and hand sanitizer to help prepare for play days in the sun that draw near. For more skin-safe, green products for this summer, head to GreenPages.org.

Browse Green Pages

Green: The greenest option is to forgo chemicals altogether if you can. The organic bug spray from Brittanie’s Thyme{GBN} ($10) is made with white vinegar and a blend of essential oils. It repels over 50 species of mosquitoes and other insects. 

Brittanie's Thyme

Not that: Though the EPA does not warn of any major threats DEET poses to health, the ingredient is linked to skin irritation when left on for too long, according to the National Pesticides Information Center. It has also been tested in studies that found toxic effects from ingestion or skin application with >30 percent concentrations of DEET as the active ingredient. Cyfluthrin and permethrin are other chemicals commonly found in bug sprays and have been linked to neurotoxicity according to the National Library of Medicine. Aerosol versions release compressed gases and volatile organic compounds that can be avoided by buying a spritz version. 

Green: All Good {GBN} Sport Sunscreen Lotion ($13) contains zinc oxide, a mineral that cannot be absorbed into the skin, reflects UV rays, and is not associated with coral bleaching. Because it is not absorbed into skin, it is considered a physical barrier form of sun protection, a true sun "block," rather than a chemical barrier, which is more common today.

All Good

Not That: Some conventional chemical sunscreens contain toxic ingredients that are proven to adversely affect human and environmental health. For example, oxybenzone is a common ingredient found in 40 percent of sunscreens according to the Environmental Working Group (EWG) and is also linked to estrogen disruption and cause skin irritation. 

Green: Max Green Alchemy’s {GBN} hand sanitizer spray ($16) is 80 percent alcohol-based antiseptic with glycerin, hydrogen peroxide, and purified water—a formula approved by the World Health Organization (WHO).

Max Green Alchemy

Not That: Hand sanitizers made with harsh chemicals like fragrance can cause skin irritation and may contain retinyl palmitate which is associated with cancer risks and reproductive toxicity. Bath and Body Works hand sanitizer products received the lowest scores on the EWG’s 2020 Skin Deep database for these reasons. 

Starting a garden can seem like a daunting prospect, but like anything, you start with just one step. We asked Climate Victory Gardeners to share what they wish they knew when they started to inspire your journey—their answers are surprisingly simple.

On Taking Care of Soil:

“It’s all about the soil, not just the soil, but the life in the soil. So we’re always cultivating the life in the soil because there’s an ecosystem below ground that supports the ecosystem above ground.”    —Nicky Schauder, Permaculture Gardens {GBN} 

"I wish I had known that keeping the soil covered with dead stuff, especially tree leaves or grass clippings, would feed the earthworms who would drag the material underground to feed the myriad other soil creatures: mites, bacteria, fungi, and more. My organic layer was only four inches deep when I started. Now, 28 years later, it’s more than a foot deep!"    —Ah-li Monahan, Climate Victory Gardener 

"I wish I would have known that the whole city was built on sand. The city of Gary is built on the sand. I wish I would have known what I was dealing with before."    —Aja Yasir, Climate Victory Gardener

"I wish I had understood just how important good soil is! For the last two years, 80 percent of my garden budget is being spent on compost, soil conditioner, beneficial nematodes, etc. It’s making ALL the difference!"    —Holly Chesley Annibale, Climate Victory Gardener

On Listening to Nature:

“I started gardening a while back, so I only learned about the need to preserve heirloom vegetables and plant native plants over the years. It would have saved me from false starts if I had known that at the beginning.”         —Chuck Quigley, Climate Victory Gardener 

"I wish I’d known how important it is to track the sun in your garden spot at different times of the year, not just in the day one plants the garden. Also, gauge how the trees grow around your garden area. I had a perfect spot for my greenhouse. Five years later, it’s in the shadow of my neighbors’ growing trees."         —Kim Kuncl Arellano, Climate Victory Gardener

"I wish I would have taken the personal limitation of [having or not having] a green thumb out of the equation. Food is incredibly easy to grow. And you just have to be patient. The seeds knows what it needs to do without us who over-complicate things."        —Jessika Greendeer, Little Sky’s Farm

On Letting Go of Stress:

“I wish I knew how therapeutic it was. It was surprisingly relieving to be able to work outside and look up at the sun and down at the green grass or the green vegetables that are growing and to touch dirt. It was really good for me mental health-wise.”        —Antoinette Lewis, Lewis Farms 

“Have faith in the process. Just plant the seed, give it some water and sun, and watch it grow and see what happens. And then correct yourself the next year.”                —Linda Black Elk, ethnobotanist
 

As the last of the snow thaws in western Michigan, cherry trees herald the return of spring with a bold display of pink and white blossoms. Some see this spectacle as a unique photo opportunity, but Gabrielle Cerberville sees a seasonal vegan treat. 

Cerberville is a graduate student at Western Michigan University on the weekdays and a forager on the weekends. Foraging is the process of finding, identifying, and collecting edible flora and other food resources in the wild. It requires a proficiency in recognizing plant species to determine what discoveries are suitable to eat and what are inedible. 

Foraging Together While Apart

Cerberville is one of several foragers that have grown a community on TikTok, where she shares quick videos about hunting morels, brewing lemonade from sumac berries, and making ramp salt. In one of her videos, she picks a handful of petals from pink cherry blossoms and turns them into a traditional Japanese candy called kohakuto, taking viewers with her from harvesting, to cooking, and eating.

Cerberville started the account under the username @chaoticforager in the spring of 2020 and has since grown a following of 270 thousand and growing. Initially, the account acted as a fun video journal, but soon followers started asking about how to find wild food themselves.

@chaoticforager

Cherry blossom kohakutou! @thecoldestwater #thecoldestwater #foraging #foragingtiktok #ad #learnontiktok #veganrecipes #vegancandy #wildfood #flowers

♬ Rivendell - Howard Shore

“I think foraging connects you to a place and time in a way that few other things do,” says Cerberville. “I wanted other people to experience the joy of walking outside and being surrounded by familiar plant and fungal friends. I also think that the foraging community often looks very white and very male, and as a queer Latina woman I wanted to show more representation.”

At the start of the coronavirus pandemic, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization warned that protectionist measures by national governments could lead to food shortages worldwide. While many people turned to gardening to supplement their food supply and keep busy during the first rounds of lockdown, some turned to wild food. In a July 2020 Civil Eats survey, ten foraging educators and advocates observed between a 25 percent and 500 percent increase in traffic to their websites and classes.

The newfound excitement for foraging is a reason for celebration as more people reconnect with their natural environment. And as more people venture outdoors, harvesting sustainably must be emphasized to avoid overextraction.

Connecting with the Earth

Linda Black Elk is a lifelong forager and teaches foraging and other lessons in food as the food sovereignty coordinator at the United Tribes Technical College in Bismarck, North Dakota. Her experience is informed by learnings from her grandmother, a descendant of several Indigenous tribes in the eastern US, her mother, whose central and east Asian perspectives have taught her about plants as medicine, and her husband and children from the Cheyenne River Reservation and the Standing Rock Reservation. Harvesting sustainably is important to Black Elk because Indigenous peoples have a deep and storied relationship with the land.

“It’s not just a fun hobby to us. This is literally our life,” says Black Elk. “This is the stuff that sustains us and has sustained our ancestors. We look at this stuff as the food that feeds us spiritually as well as physically. So, if people are going to go out there, all we ask is that they do it in a respectful way.”

Black Elk says that before anyone gets started in foraging, they should build a relationship with the natural world. She uses stinging nettles as an analogy for maintaining friendships with other people.

“You have to harvest them in a way that is respectful, otherwise they’re going to sting you pretty badly,” she says. “Once you start thinking of plants as your relatives, as your friends and your allies, you really gain a new respect for them, and it just wouldn’t occur to you to overharvest.”

Black Elk recommends learning only five plants at first and learning them well enough to identify by season. Otherwise, newbie foragers can overwhelm themselves and make mistakes that could hurt themselves and the plants.

Yet, foraging is more than just finding delicious things to eat. Casual foragers can learn the survival skills to handle persistent issues like food insecurity in the US. Cerberville started foraging more often during college when money was tight and the Black Elk family gets up to 40 to 50 percent of their food from wild sources, gardening and by trading with others.

Black Elk is most excited for potential foragers to build a stronger relationship with the natural world. Understanding the interconnectedness of plants, animals, and humans is a large part of the practice.

“My grandmother said to me once that you’re not home if you don’t know the plants,” says Black Elk. “Getting to know them and really feeling at home, feeling connected to a place, is really important.” 

How To Forage Sustainably

Abundance does not equal sustainability. Just because there is a lot of something, does not mean it should be gathered. It is best to pick a little so that the plant can repopulate next year. A rule of thumb is to harvest no more than 25 percent, but it is often better to do much less—as more foragers and animals eat from the same plant, the less likely it is for the plant to come back next year. 

Know what dish you are preparing before foraging. Having this information beforehand will prevent accidental overharvesting or gathering the wrong parts of the plant. 

Collaborate with foraging friends. Sharing and trading with others reduces waste and the likelihood of overharvesting from the same foraging spots. 

Study which invasive plants are edible. Invasive plants can be picked in abundance because they have no trouble repopulating and often choke out native plant species. 

Study the plants you intend to forage—understand how they repopulate, the purpose of each part of the plant in its lifecycle and in your recipes, and its natural history. The deeper your knowledge, the less likely you will be to gather more than you intended. 

Eco-friendly lawns are patches of green space that have the potential to promote clean air, carbon sequestration, and serve as pollinator havens, but only when we abstain from unsustainable products and practices. As you nurture your backyard, watch out for these everyday climate culprits.

1. Lawnmowers 

Lawnmowers are mini tractors packing powerful polluting potential. A gas-powered lawn mower emits 11 times more pollution in an hour than driving a new car for the same amount of time, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). According to reports from the EPA, running a gas-powered mower for just an hour would be equal to driving a Toyota Camry for five hours. For a leaf blower, an hour of use is equal to a 15-hour drive. That's because many gas-powered models of these machines run on dirty two-stroke engines. 

Swap it:

Whenever possible, it’s best to use people-power over mechanization because of greenhouse gas emissions, and this goes for other machines like aerators, weed whackers, leaf blowers, and the like. Try a low-maintenance push mower for around $100. Plug in electric mowers can be found for under $200—or share the cost and use of a more decked-out style with a neighbor.

An even better option is to let your backyard grow into a Climate Victory Garden or meadow.

2. Peat 

Peat is partially decomposed organic plant material clumped together in spongy form. Peat is the earliest stage of coal formation and when burned it releases energy, which technically makes it a fossil fuel. Peat is a common component in store-bought soil mixes, for use in gardens and with potted plants.

“Peat bogs are one of the largest carbon sinks we have on this planet and harvesting peat moss from century-old bogs releases carbon back into the atmosphere. Recapturing that released carbon, even with re-seeding efforts, won’t happen in our lifetime,” says Charis Smith, Green America’s climate and agriculture networks program manager. 

Swap it: 

While some gardeners and indoor plant enthusiasts struggle to quit peat because of how well it absorbs water, Smith notes that peat does not do anything critical for plant life. Instead, use alternatives like coconut coir and recycled paper fibers.

Compost also builds soil organic matter which vastly improves soil’s ability to retain water. Read about six popular composting options, and then get started with how, and what, to compost.

3. Fire Pits 

You can have a cozy fire to gather around without the problems of burning wood, which releases carbon into atmosphere and it can have severely negative health effects. Burning wood releases pollution in the forms of CO2, carbon monoxide, particulate matter, and toxic volatile organic compounds. Older adults, and those with heart or lung diseases can be particularly sensitive to that pollution, according to the EPA. 

The EPA recommends natural gas or propane burners, but those are not truly green, as the drilling and infrastructure to extract them creates methane emissions, which is 28 times more potent of a greenhouse gas than CO2. 

Swap it: 

Educated consumers have increased demand for eco-friendly burning options, which have lead to alternatives made from compressed sawdust waste, compressed cardboard, and even coffee grounds. These options are dryer than wood and burn hotter and longer. They are greener than burning a log in that they are reducing landfill waste, but the wood-based options still emit the same air pollutants as burning a log. Be sure to check that the alternative fuel you buy is recommended for fire pits, as some are only recommended for wood-burning or multi-fuel stoves.

4. Artificial Grass 

For anyone with friends or family still clinging to their artificial turf, this is the summer to help them go green. Sellers of artificial turf often laud its eco-benefits like the elimination of over-watering, fertilizers, and pesticides, but these would not be in a healthy yard anyway. Turfs are made out of plastic like polypropylene, which is non-biodegradable. That means, at the end of its “life,” turf will end up in a landfill. Turf may seem desirable for people in hot climates, but it can get hot, too—30-50 degrees hotter than air temperature, so it might feel more like hot concrete or beach sand under your toes. Artificial grass used at the 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada was even measured to be too hot for athletic use, even with shoes. 

Artificial turfs rob insects and pollinators of a natural ecosystem and perhaps most concerning, there is no room for soil underneath layers of plastic to breathe. That means there are few, if any, living insects, bacteria, and other organisms maintaining the soil’s structure, meaning there’s also no carbon sequestration. As long as people, animals, and other living things need to eat, soil will be the foundation for our livelihood, and it must be protected. 

Swap it:

See baby steps, big steps, and giant steps you can take to create a more sustainable outdoor space at your home in Lawn vs. Garden: How To Stand Up To Your HOA For A Healthier Yard. 

5. Impermeable Surfaces

Impervious surfaces like sidewalks, patios, paved roads, rooftops, and even some very compacted soils can pose serious problems for the environment. These tough surfaces prevent rainwater from soaking into the ground and slowly flowing into local waterways. Instead, water flows rapidly into storm drains and streams, often bringing sediment and pollutants like fertilizers and oil with it into aquatic ecosystems. Heavier storms, which are increasing as a result of the climate crisis, can cause dangerous levels of flooding in communities with poor stormwater management. 

Flooding and erosion of stream banks can damage hundreds of miles of habitat. A sudden increase in volume mixed with pollutants can drive down water quality and displace organisms in the water. The EPA reports that polluted runoff is one of the greatest threats to clean water across the country. 

Swap it:

Use porous surfaces like gravel and explore installing a rain garden or rain barrel to help stormwater flow. If you’re doing a patio or driveway, ask your contractor about permeable pavers, which have a similar look to paved surfaces but let water reach the ground below. Also, make sure your gutter spouts are directed to grass or gravel instead of impervious surfaces. 

If you're ready to get rid of your lawn entirely, or even just partially, consider turning your lawn into a meadow or a Climate Victory Garden!

Whether it is a beach, mountain trail, campsite, or local park, being in a green space has the power to nurture human health. Spending at least 120 minutes per week in nature can lower risks for cardiovascular disease, mental distress, and myopia among children according to an article published in the 2019 issue of Nature. Simply, living near green spaces reduces the risk for mortality, according to a 2019 Lancet Planetary Health study. But for those who live in urban and industrialized environments, finding these spaces isn’t easy. 

Green Spaces for Environmental Justice 

Parks serving majority low-income households are four times more crowded than parks in wealthy neighborhoods, according to a 2020 study by the Trust for Public Land. Communities of color are three times as likely to live in nature-deprived areas as white Americans, according to a 2020 study by the Center for American Progress and Hispanic Access Foundation. In pursuit of greater access to urban green spaces, groups across the country are leading transformative green space projects that will allow everyone to reap the benefits of being in nature. 

“The environmental justice, systemic racism, and socioeconomic issues that come with this work are so big that the way we feel that we’re most effective is to work with one community group at a time and address those pressing needs,” says Cindy Chang, executive director of the nonprofit organization Groundwork Denver. 

Founded in 2002, the organization specializes in neighborhood-based projects that improve Denver’s urban environment. One of its most recent is the creation of Platte Farm Open Space. Completed in August 2020, the 5.5 acre park is a brownfield-to-green space remediation project featuring native plants, walking trails, and playgrounds.

The park is located in the city’s northern Globeville neighborhood—an area where 24 percent of families were living in poverty in 2017 according to the Piton Foundation. 
A brownfield is defined by the EPA as a previously developed land not currently in use that may potentially be contaminated. In this case, in the 1880s, the mining company Asarco moved in and opened a plant which contaminated the land with chemicals. In 1983, Colorado filed a Natural Resources Damages suit under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as the federal Superfund law, that designates sites that are hazardous to human and environmental health. Now that it has been remediated, replete with clean soil, prairie grass, and a retention pond to help with frequent flooding in the area, the park is promoting both human and environmental health. 

Healthy Parks, Healthier People 

Platte Farm Open Space is a project promoting both sustainability and justice as nature begins to thrive again in the area. 

The same is true for the Browns Mill Food Forest in Atlanta; with seven acres of land, it boasts the largest food forest in the country. Food forests are gardens designed to mimic nature by including a wide variety of edible plants that grow in a layered design. Through partnerships with the city of Atlanta and nonprofits the Conservation Fund and Trees Atlanta, the project started in 2016 in pursuit of the mayor office’s goal of having 85 percent of residents being within a half mile of fresh affordable food by 2022. Browns Mill, the neighborhood where the park is located is USDA-identified food desert and its surrounding forest was at risk for development. 

To meet community needs, Atlanta’s office of resilience, which handles environmental issues, and Conservation Fund created a steering committee which included residents, high school volunteers, and local organizations like Trees Atlanta which provides community education through park tours and Park Pride, which leads the community garden within the food forest. 

“One of the biggest concerns we heard from the community was about displacement. At the earliest phase, we wanted to acknowledge the possibility that having something like a food forest could raise rents, or increase property values,” says Shelby Buso, chief sustainability officer for Atlanta’s office of resilience. “By selecting a site where most of the houses were owner occupied, the hope was that if property values rise, those that actually live there would receive that benefit.” 

The land where Browns Mill Food Forest is located was once a family farm and with Atlanta being aptly called the “city in the forest,” organizers are intentionally using the space for both growing food and local environmental education. 

“It’s wonderful to have a site that has a connection to an agrarian legacy, and we want to continue it. The forest is a seven-layer permaculture design that includes a canopy level, mushrooms, shrubs, vines, perennial plants, herbs, soil amendments, and many layers within each level,” says J. Olu Baiyewu, urban agriculture director at Atlanta’s office of resilience. 

The park also has an on-site composting system for gardeners and a community collection program where families can bring fresh food scraps to be made into compost that further enriches Browns Mill Food Forest. 

An Urban Parks Movement 

With such projects, cities like Denver and Atlanta are helping citizens create new connections to the natural world, but there’s still much work to be done around the country. Almost 80 percent Americans live in urban areas, according to City Park Alliance (CPA), and the nonprofit is advocating for the growth of more parks to meet the health needs of both communities and the planet. 

CPA aims to harness the power of public officials, research institutions, design professionals, and recreational experts by creating a network of civic leaders working together to create park access, explains Catherine Nagel, CPA’s executive director. During the summer, the organization will host a virtual conference and workshop series focusing on collaborative models for park creation. 

“Parks and recreation departments have stepped into the role of emergency service providers using green spaces for hospital sites, vaccinations, and food distribution,” says Nagel. “When it comes to the planet, the potential for urban parks to fight climate change is enormous because they provide flexible and multi-functional infrastructure that cities can rely on.”

Jessika Greendeer says the key to farming is getting along with her coworkers. She’s not talking about people. She means the animals, the living soils, and the plants that coexist on the land she works. As a farmer, she doesn’t see herself as in charge of the land, just as a steward of it. The way she manages her farm—regenerative agriculture—is gaining popularity, but for Greendeer and other Native Americans, its practices are traditional.

Greendeer, who is a Ho-Chunk Nation tribal member from Baraboo, Wisconsin, currently works as a farm manager and seed-keeper on the Native-led Dream of Wild Health Farm in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and grows in her micro-farm in Hudson, Wisconsin, named “Little Sky’s Farm.” Though Greendeer uses the word “regenerative” when describing her farming practices, she and other Native growers are using it as a buzzword while practicing farming from an Indigenous perspective. That perspective comes from a history of not using heavy equipment and the humans in the system recognize they are stewards, not controllers, of the land. 

The regenerative agriculture movement has been growing quickly for about a decade as scientists realized soil health is critical to climate change mitigation. But climate change has been largely perpetuated by the wasteful emissions of white Westerners, with the US historically creating the most emissions in the world, despite making up only about four percent of the world’s population. 

Decolonizing Regenerative Agriculture Means Including All Beings 

In the same way white people came to North America and seized control of the land, forcing Indigenous people to assimilate or die, colonization also affected agriculture practices. 

The opposite of regenerative agriculture is conventional agriculture—which involves fields of only one crop, spraying pesticides, and separating animals into crowded feed lots. These conditions became the norm with the industrialization of agriculture—which happened in waves, the first when humankind shifted from hunter-gatherers to agricultural society, the second during the mechanization of agriculture, and the third during the “green revolution” of the 1950s and 60s when chemical pesticides and fertilizers were introduced. 

Every revolution, including the fourth and current wave of regenerative agriculture, has left out Indigenous communities, according to A-dae Romero-Briones (Cochiti/Kiowa), the director of programs for Native agriculture and food systems at the First Nations Development Institute. 

Decolonizing regenerative agriculture means recognizing and restoring Indigenous food practices, which focus on the health of the entire ecosystem, instead of using regenerative practices to mitigate negative outcomes of conventional agriculture.

“We’re expecting so much of our producers, but we’re forgetting that our producers are a part of the system. Nature shows us that the more stress an animal or a being experiences in a system, the less ability they have to fight off those external pressures whether it be disease, or in this case when we’re talking about humans; depression, suicide, foreclosure, or bankruptcy,” says Kelsey Ducheneaux-Scott (Itazipco Lakota of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe), who is a regenerative rancher and the director of programs at the Intertribal Agriculture Council. “These are all things that most producers in our industry currently are facing and that’s an indication of the system not being healthy.”

Romero-Briones explains that agriculture was used to suppress and “civilize” Native people, because Indigenous people had their own way of stewarding their lands. These practices included stewarding bison for Native Nations in the Great Plains, and planting seeds along commonly traveled routes for other nomadic tribes, to be able to harvest upon returning months or years later. There is also a great reliance and reverence for versatile and hardy species of corn, beans, and squash. But at some point, the systems blended, which she explains as “syncretism,” an amalgamation of two different things that become more than the sum of their parts.

“There’s so many Indigenous people who are both practicing Indigenous identity and agriculture, but creating these whole new ways of existing, growing, and producing foods. That’s really quite dynamic,” says Romero-Briones. “And that’s the idea behind whatever I’m hoping ‘regenerative agriculture’ will become.”

Food Sovereignty and the Pandemic

Sovereignty means having your own power to govern—Native Americans have been advocating for sovereignty of their own people since it was taken from them by colonists and the US government. 

Food sovereignty is another goal of many Native Americans. While Native people fed themselves for thousands of years before the US was colonized, because of genocide, displacement, and continued lack of financial support, Native foodways have been suppressed. This means Native people living on reservations or in urban communities too often experience food insecurity or food apartheid. 

True regenerative farming enhances food sovereignty because it gives back to the same communities it uses resources from, according to Ducheneaux-Scott, who owns DX Beef, located on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. 

At the start of the US covid-19 outbreak, even when there had been no reported cases of covid-19 in South Dakota, grocery store shelves on the reservation were already empty because of reliance on grocery store goods being shipped largely from the coasts. Other grocers, off the reservation, still had food on the shelves at that time, Ducheneaux-Scott says.

For food sovereignty to exist on the reservation in South Dakota, Ducheneaux-Scott says, it will take farmers who want to educate as well as customers who want to learn, or who already know, the benefits of buying local regenerative food.

“I can exploit that I have a Native-owned, female-owned food business and I can be exporting 100 percent of my product to the cities and be making three times what current beef prices locally are, because there’s demand from that informed consumer group,” says Ducheneaux-Scott. “But is that really being regenerative and giving back to my local community whose resources I am using in order to derive this profit or is it exploiting it just the same as our conventional row crop production?” 

For that reason, she sells 90 percent of DX Beef products on the reservation, but says customers are often forced to buy what has the longest shelf life because access to local and fresh foods is limited. 

“I feel like as a regenerative operator, I’m contributing to enhancing access to local healthy, quality food to the humans of the system that I work to serve.”

Building Resources from the Ground, Up

In Portland, Oregon, Roberta Eaglehorse-Ortiz (Oglala Lakota/Yomba Shoshone) saw an offer to use a small outdoor space owned by the Portland Food Bank and developed the idea of a garden teeming with traditional and medicinal plants. Though she had no gardening experience, as a doula and lactation specialist who had directed the Oregon Inter-Tribal Breastfeeding Coalition, she was eager to build resources for Indigenous families in the area. Portland is home to over 50,000 Native American people due to Oregon reservation lands being “terminated” by Congress in the 1950s.

Since its start in 2015, the Wombyn’s Wellness Garden is thriving with a wide variety of different plants and with the help of community volunteers and students from Oregon State University. Breastfeeding support for Native communities is also related to the movement for food sovereignty. 

“Our first food is breast milk for all human babies. That’s what we need,” says Eaglehorse-Ortiz. “We also have to nourish the families to grow healthy babies to have healthy recovery. And what better foods is that then traditional foods, Native foods? So that’s what guided me there. And then the seeds just started coming.”

Passing on Seeds and Practices

Seeds are particularly important to Indigenous people as a symbol of life. A-dae Romero-Briones explains that seeds are revered—because entire civilizations depended on a single crop, like corn, for many Native nations on the North and South American continents. 

In commercial agriculture, seeds are a commodity that can be manipulated, and they have greater value when made infertile, she explains. 

“[Commercial seed] has the most value when it’s infertile and can be completely controlled by man,” says Romero-Briones. “That should be the prime example of the two different perspectives on food. You can’t commodify this [seed], the giver of life. But in [industrial] agriculture, everything is commodified, which sucks the life out of the whole system.”

Eaglehorse-Ortiz and Greendeer also have inherited or been gifted seeds, and those seeds serve as a connection to past generations. 

“What motivates me is not only reconnecting with my ancestral seeds, but also helping other people do the same. Everything that I do grow, I've been gifted, or I have a relationship with it,” says Greendeer. “It’s not just a winter squash, it’s this tribal squash with this type of story. It’s not just an item, but it’s more, it’s something that we can all get deeply connected to.”

"You can’t commodify this [seed], the giver of life. But in [industrial] agriculture, everything is commodified, which sucks the life out of the whole system." —A-dae Romero-Briones, First Nations Development Institute

Apply Decolonizing to Your Life: 

Learn about whose land you’re on. If you’re a US reader, most likely you’re on the land of one or more tribes who stewarded the soil, plants, and animals before they were violently pushed out by colonists and settlers. Learn about whose land you’re on at native-land.ca.

Support Native growers. After identifying whose land you’re on, find Native communities that are likely still there tending to the Earth. Support local Indigenous growers by seeking them out or buying from them at the farmer’s market. You can also find a national map of Native producers in the American Indian Foods Program.

Learn about your own food history. Greendeer emphasizes that with so many commercial crops, we are all likely to be removed from the seeds that nourished our ancestors. She recommends doing some research on what your grandmother’s grandmother may have eaten and to find those seeds and grow them. “Make sure future generations can be nourished by the same food,” she says.

In 2018, Dewayne Johnson, a groundskeeper for a school district in the San Francisco Bay Area, filed a lawsuit against Monsanto, claiming that exposure to the common weed killer caused him to develop non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The jury ruled in Johnson’s favor in the first of many trials filed against Monsanto for failing to inform the public of carcinogens in Roundup, costing the company more than $11 billion in settlements.

These lawsuits are a symptom of the bigger controversies of conventional agriculture, which relies on synthetic fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. Compared to natural alternatives, synthetic versions are often formulated in a lab to be super-potent concentrations. Glyphosate, the synthetic weed- and pest-killing component in Roundup, is credited as the cause of cancer in Monsanto’s costly litigations. 

Synthetic herbicides are one of several chemical additives sprayed on crop fields, gardens, and green public spaces across the nation. These chemicals are used in tandem with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides—and such strong concoctions have considerable consequences for the environment and human health.

The Toxic Reality of Synthetics

Nitrogen is a foundational nutrient that plants need and is the most abundant element in Earth’s atmosphere. Yet nitrogen in the soil, known as nitrate, has become scarce because of industrial agriculture practices. Replenishing nitrate was a constant challenge for farmers until the invention of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer at the turn of the 20th century, which provides nutrients to the plants almost immediately. 

Seth Watkins of Pinhook Farms raises beef cattle in Iowa using regenerative farming practices. He spent years as an industrial livestock farmer before transitioning to methods more in sync with nature. 

“When you’re trying to increase yield, nitrogen is pretty cheap insurance, and there’s no question when you dump it on, you’re going to raise a bunch of crop,” Watkins says. “I think that the problem with it is that it makes us almost overlook the negative. What we don’t take into consideration is the number of impacts it has.” 

“The nurse just looked at me and said, ‘Mr. Watkins, we see that you farm for a living—where do you get your water?’”
—Seth Watkins, Pinhook Farms

Those negative impacts have considerable consequences for environmental and human health. Nitrate-rich fertilizers that leach into groundwater result in nutrient pollution that cause massive algal growth in waterways. Once the algae die, its decomposition consumes oxygen, thereby suffocating and killing other aquatic life. Additionally, synthetic fertilizers release nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas that is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Nitrate that finds its way into human drinking water by leaching into groundwater or running off into reservoirs can have significant negative health effects. 

Watkins understands this firsthand. His son Spencer was born in 2001 with a rare syndrome called 49XY, which results in cognitive and physical disabilities. Though 49XY is not heritable, when Watkins and his wife went through genetic testing, they were told that Spencer’s birth defect may have been a fluke. When their daughter Tatum was born a few years later with an abdominal wall defect, doctors knew something wasn’t right.

“The team was reviewing our records, and they’re saying, ‘you guys have done everything right, you’re a healthy family,’” Watkins recalls. “This shouldn’t happen twice. The nurse just looked at me, and said, ‘Mr. Watkins, we see that you farm for a living—where do you get your water?’”

Watkins’ drinking water came from a public municipality. He found out that it contained elevated levels of nitrate, which is related to health complications in babies. The water also contained atrazine, a chemical component in herbicide, which can cause developmental defects in fetuses when the mother is exposed. Watkins didn’t use these chemicals on his own farm, but they were in his water, nonetheless.

“I can’t change the farming practices that led to this, but now we know better,” says Watkins. “Tatum’s doing great, and Spencer and I are going to get a chicken tractor next week. He’s going to raise some chickens and sell some eggs, and Tatum is an incredibly talented young woman that wants to study medicine.”

Regenerating Relationships with the Earth

In the 1940s, the organic food movement started as a counter to the increased reliance on synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. At the turn of the 21st century, a regenerative movement started in response to the development of genetically engineered crops designed to work in tandem with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. 

Antoinette Lewis grows and sells produce from her suburban home in the Chicago suburbs, which she calls Lewis Farms, and educates others about the benefits of farming. She felt a pull to start growing her own food when she learned about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and the problems with synthetic fertilizers and pesticides. Initially, Lewis would regrow kitchen scraps like lettuce and spring onions, and participated in her apartment’s community garden and at her mother’s house. Eventually she saved up to buy a home on 1.8 acres to be able to farm at the scale she wanted. 

Lewis did not have a background in agriculture when she started, and as an African American person, she had her Southern grandparents in her ear telling her not to return to farming. Yet as an Army veteran, Lewis found gardening therapeutic and preferred growing food she knew was genetically unaltered and free of synthetics. 

Lewis and Watkins are both part of Green America’s Soil and Climate Alliance, a network that brings together farmers, food companies, retailers, soil scientists, NGOs, policy experts, and investors to scale equitable solutions for soil health, biodiversity, water, climate, and rural prosperity.

“Synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are poisoning the planet and our bodies,” Lewis says. “They work together in tearing things down in a way where you need the other one.”

Lewis incorporates organic and regenerative practices into her farm, with her focus on managing the land without harsh chemicals to prioritize the health of microbes in the soil. She also works with local nonprofits to introduce people to growing food with limited space. Lewis believes that one of the solutions to climate change is having more urban farmers in the general population.

 “It takes a change in mindset, especially from my demographic being from up north with grandparents who feel like they escaped the South,” Lewis says. “That created a mentality where farming isn’t really an option—and I’m trying to change that. Because while there’s a palpable connection to slavery that a lot of Black people have relayed to me, you don’t have to relate it to that.”

Growing Healthy Roots

Studies show that gardening improves mental health by reducing depression and anxiety alongside improving physical health by consuming nutritious produce and exercising. Lewis and Watkins agree that when home gardeners avoid synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers, they are growing food that is healthier for people and the environment. 

Synthetic fertilizers and weed and pest killers are found in more places than the food system—they are sold in stores to be sprayed on lawns, school grounds, and more—but we can take back control by growing our own food without toxic chemicals or purchasing foods that are certified organic. 

Creating a home garden without synthetics and with regenerative practices such as keeping the soil covered, cultivating diverse plants, and using compost as fertilizer can combat climate change. Called Climate Victory Gardens, these gardens prioritize soil health and the essential microbes within sequester carbon to cool the atmosphere.

Watkins is working to bring the regenerative solutions to scale on Pinhook Farms. Against industry norms, Watkins timed his farm to function in tune with the seasons for the betterment of the cows and the health of the land.

“I just wanted to do right by the cows,” Watkins says. “My productivity actually increased, and my costs greatly decreased. That’s the beauty of letting mother nature take the lead. Mother knows best.”

Natural Pest Control For Your Garden

Despite best efforts to cultivate a balanced ecosystem, pests are a natural part of the environment and may find their way into your garden or organic, regenerative farm. Organic pesticides derived from plants and bacteria can help in such situations. Be mindful of pollinators and know which moths, beetles, and wasps are beneficial.

Neem oil is made from the neem tree and its active ingredient, azadirachtin, makes insects lose interest in reproducing. It works gradually, so spray when you spot the first adult bug. Most neem oil is sold as a concentrate, so read the label for dilution measurements and safety instructions.

Insecticidal soaps contain fatty acids that dehydrate soft-bodied bugs like caterpillars and aphids. Insecticidal soaps only kill pests when sprayed directly. Avoid spraying beneficial critters like bees and spiders (which may be hunting down some of your pests). You can make your own with a tablespoon of dishwashing soap in a quart of water or you can purchase a concentrate from a gardening store. 

Diatomaceous earth is a fine dust made from the fossils of tiny aquatic organisms whose skeletons were made of naturally occurring silica. Use on plant leaves or powder a layer around the base of your plants to discourage slugs. The dust works best in dry conditions, so be sure to reapply after a rain. Be sure to read the label for safety instructions. 

Find more tips about Climate Victory Gardens and learn all about organic fertilizers and other natural pesticides

We’re all yearning to get outside. After a year indoors, the sun coming out as hundreds of millions American receive covid-19 vaccines holds promise of reuniting with loved ones and feels unbelievably hopeful. We are getting outside, too. 

In the past year, gardening became a national pastime. Green America saw Climate Victory Gardens swell to 9,170 across the country—which is no wonder, since gardeners spent 42 percent more time in the dirt last year, according to a November survey from Axios. National Parks Service reported that 15 parks set visitation records in 2020 and hiking and nature walking soothed our souls in state and local parks too. 

Being outside, whether that’s sitting on a bench in a public park or foraging for wild edibles in the forest, has healing power. Year after year, studies show that being around nature in any form can improve mental health and even physical health by lowering blood pressure and stress hormones. This summer, we want to celebrate everyone embracing that healing for themselves and for the Earth. 

We can start by getting personal—there are so many ways we can learn more about the Earth and take care of it better, without going very far past our front doors. If you have a yard, start by checking if there’s anything you can do to make it work better for the earth—swap out elements that might be climate hazards in 5 Steps to a More Sustainable Backyard.

Order Your Copy of Green American Magazine

If you’ve started to think about starting or expanding gardening but have felt overwhelmed. Every journey begins with one step—you can get inspired by reading what gardeners, farmers, and foragers wish they knew when they started. Maybe you’ve tried gardening, or even just letting your lawn get wild, and gotten pushback from a homeowners’ association or your neighbors. Readers ask us about this from time to time so we got answers from two seriously impressive Climate Victory Gardeners who fought for their gardens, in Lawn vs. Garden: Stand Up to Your HOA for a Healthier Yard. 

Not all of us can afford or want our own green space to care for, but we can all appreciate a park picnic or stroll in the shade. For urban populations, a necessary escape to a park may not be right down the street, especially in Black and Brown communities. Environmental justice advocates are working to bring parks to parts of cities that need them most in Access to Green Space is an Environmental Justice Issue.

People in urban areas and rural ones have both turned to foraging edibles in nature. The practice has a foundation that goes deep in human history to the first gatherers, all the way to today. Modern foragers are picking up the practice thanks to experts like the ones in Forage to Fork: Eat Local with Wild Foods. 

Growing food can be the most gratifying connection with the Earth, when something starts from seed, grows out of the dirt, and ends up nourishing ourselves and our families. Toxic, synthetic pesticides and fertilizers became popular for their ability to increase yields and shrink losses, but at a cost to the health of the soil and the organisms who come in contact with the chemicals. Farmers in The Toxic Problem with Pesticides and Fertilizers turned to regenerative practices and found their soil, crops, animals, and selves were happier because of it.

Regenerative agriculture has gained popularity in recent years, but its roots are very old. The practices farmers are taking on to mitigate the climate crisis are the same that Indigenous growers have been using for millennia to steward the Earth. In Native Growers Decolonize Regenerative Agriculture, Native American growers from across Turtle Island (North America) share their perspectives on what regenerative means to them and where they hope the movement will go, and how they are working towards food sovereignty for Native peoples in their own communities. 

What ties these stories together is that what’s natural is healing—as people move closer to respecting and restoring natural ecosystems, the health of the people, plants, and planet improves. What’s healthy isn’t always what’s easy, but Climate Victory Gardener Aja Yasir has had her share of fighting for what’s green and the fight was worth it. When she goes to her garden, she feels empowered and works toward healing. 

“I [can] go into my garden. I could look at all these flowers. I can be amongst all this fruit, all these vegetables. I can just touch the soil, I can gather rainwater, and I just felt so at peace.” 

Let’s join Aja in creating that healing and finding that peace for ourselves and for the Earth.

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The increased national attention to racial justice movements following the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor in the summer of 2020 sparked a flurry of pledges from companies promising to do better on racial justice issues. Now, shareholders are increasingly asking for reports on how racism affects company proceedings—and making sure last year’s pledges weren’t empty promises. 

When a person owns stock directly in a company, rather than through a mutual fund, they have specific shareholder rights. Shareholders are entitled to vote on issues brought up at a company’s annual meeting, or they can submit resolutions to propose issues to vote on. Over the past few decades, groups like union pension funds, endowments held by universities, religious organizations, nonprofits, foundations, and other socially responsible investing groups have become more involved in putting together and filing resolutions. 

According to the 2021 Proxy Preview report, 46 shareholder resolutions have been filed in the 2021 proxy season asking companies to address a human rights issue in their operations. Of those 46 proposals, 18 of them are new resolutions asking for reports on how racism affects a company’s operations and how they plan to address these problems. 

Changing Company Cultures

Olivia Knight, the racial justice initiative manager for As You Sow {GBN}, an organization that educates and advocates on shareholder issues and that files resolutions, says that resolutions have been filed to make sure that companies are following up on their promises for racial justice measures. It has filed resolutions with four companies on this matter. 

“These companies did come out last summer and make all of these very broad promises, all these sweeping statements about how equitable and transparent they are, and how they want to do better on issues of racial justice,” Knight says. “Honestly, most of them have not been following up with their promises.” 
Resolutions are making a variety of requests to ensure that companies are keeping their promises. As You Sow filed resolutions with Charles Schwab, Monster Beverage, Abbott Laboratories, and Foot Locker to ask each company to prepare racial equity audits to analyze each company’s “adverse impacts on nonwhite stakeholders and communities of color,” according to the text of the resolutions. 

Knight says that, simply put, the resolutions are asking companies to report what measures they have taken to make their operations more racially equitable and to disclose data around hiring, promotion, and retention rates with regards to employee demographic data. 

“We’re hoping to see more education in these companies around anti-racism and around building a more equitable framework, but to do so, you really need to start off with disclosure and transparency,” Knight says. 

Addressing Long-Term Problems

Trillium Asset Management {GBN} has filed two resolutions with Johnson & Johnson, one of which asks for a racial equity audit. Johnson & Johnson’s influence in pharmaceuticals and consumer health, combined with the racial disparity that is already present in healthcare, is the driving force behind this resolution, according to Susan Baker, the director of shareholder advocacy for Trillium Asset Management. 

There is also the hope that, after this proxy season, racial justice resolutions will continue. 

Ivy Jack, the head of equity research for NorthStar Asset Management {GBN}, has been working in the field of socially responsible investing for about five years; before that, she worked on traditional Wall Street. The issues of race and diversity in the workplace aren’t new issues—but she does hope that the current public interest in the issue is sustained. 

“At NorthStar, we believe that diverse representation is just the first step. Ultimately, companies need to understand how systemic racism shows up in everyday work culture,” Jack says. “This is a huge undertaking, akin to running a marathon; interestingly, some corporations have signed up to run this marathon without really understanding what’s required.”

So far, Amazon, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, and Johnson & Johnson have all appealed to the Securities and Exchange Commission to have resolutions filed by shareholders omitted, saying that the proposals were either too vague or asking for initiatives that have already been put in place. The SEC has so far disagreed with these arguments. 

Out of the 46 racial equity resolutions filed this year, there has been one vote, five withdrawals, and 14 outstanding Securities and Exchange Commission challenges as of mid-February.

What Companies Should Do 

Many Green Americans will be wondering—“how can you tell if a company is doing enough? What does a truly antiracist company look like? How do we want companies to react to these shareholder resolutions?” 

Some corporate reports have teeth, but some don’t—we know they’re PR pieces. The same will go for racial justice reporting. —Fran Teplitz, Green America

 These are crucial questions about real change and shareholders can play a role in getting the answers. Fran Teplitz, Green America’s executive co-director for business, investing, and policy, explains that to start, transparency is often the goal. 

“Over the decades in the green movement, we went from no sustainability reporting to tons of it, but that doesn’t mean there’s more sustainability at every company,” Teplitz says. “Some corporate reports have teeth, but some don’t—we know they’re PR pieces. The same will go for racial justice reporting.”

She also points out that the wording of the resolutions is broad—while some may ask for Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) data, others (like those in this article) ask for racial justice impacts or reports on racism within the companies. 

“The immediate benchmark in the resolutions isn’t to end racism, it’s to show us data, reports and plans that can help lead to fundamental change,” Teplitz says. “Shareholder action is an important form of pressure and signaling of what needs to change in society, and often works best when it reflects broader social movement, as we are seeing today for racial justice.” 

If You Own Stocks

Vote your proxies: Investors can expect to see these resolutions reflected on their proxy statements in the coming year at companies where resolutions have been filed. Companies may see the benefit to making requested changes or developing reports, even if only a small percent of shareholders vote in support. Check if companies where you own stock have social or environmental resolutions on the ballot.

Call your mutual funds: Individuals with their money in mutual funds can call fund managers or check online to see how these funds vote on sustainable investing resolutions. Most mutual funds vote as directed by corporate management, which too often opposes social and environmental resolutions. It is therefore important to contact your mutual fund company to say how you want it to vote. 

Keep up the momentum: Jack says that, while it’s important to recognize the good that can come from these resolutions, it’s even more important to give credit to the activists and communities that first started pushing for change. 

“Corporations are taking a stand because they're being pushed,” Jack says. “Change happens at the margins, but oftentimes, the people who get credited with the change are the people in power.”

Green Eco Dream is an online store that has been created with the idea to make sustainable shopping easy and widely available. Single-use plastic and excessive use of harmful chemicals in everyday production are taking a toll on our environment and our health in general. That is why we created a one-stop shop where you can find all you need for your household, laundry, personal care or when you are on the go. All the products in our store are consciously curated, ethically produced and sourced, fair trade and made with Earth-friendly ingredients. The way we ship your packages also matters! That is why we provide 100% plastic-free and compostable packaging.

We are all together on this mission to reduce impact on our Planet and spread the awareness about issues our Planet is facing! Let's make better choices together!

"This is a start of a beautiful friendship!"

We're all yearning to get outside. After a year indoors, the sun coming out as hundreds of millions of Americans receive the COVID-19 vaccines hold promise of reuniting with loved ones and feeling unbelievably hopeful.

Hours: Full-time (4 days, 32 hours/week)
Start Date: Immediately. Applications accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.
Job Location: Remote location reporting to our Washington, DC office.
Salary: $43,000-$48,000
Benefits: generous paid leave, medical, dental, disability, vacation, sick days, paid holidays, 4-day work week.
Supervisors: Editor in Chief and Green Business Network Membership & Marketing Manager

Green America, founded in 1982, is a national non-profit organization dedicated to creating a socially just and environmentally sustainable society by harnessing economic power – the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace. Our key program areas include clean energy and climate action, regenerative agriculture, fair labor, responsible finance, and green living.  We carry out our work in three strategic and overlapping hubs: 1) Consumer & Corporate Engagement Programs, 2) Green Business Network, and 3) Center for Sustainability Solutions focused on large supply chains.

Our unique approach involves working with consumers, investors and businesses.  The Green Business Network® (GBN) works directly with socially and environmentally responsible businesses to help them emerge and thrive. Our workplace reflects our goal of creating a more cooperative, environmentally sound economy. 

The primary responsibility of the Associate Editor role is to assist the Editor in Chief and the Communications Team to report, write, copy edit, and fact-check our publications (Green American, and Your Green Life), online content, and other materials. 

The primary responsibility of the Green Business Communication Specialist role is to assist the Green Business Network team in maintaining and growing the network; telling the stories of the members of the Green Business Network by writing blogs, articles and other social media content and by soliciting guest blogs from business members; ensuring green-certified members receive a timely response and quick access to and support for creating their profiles at GreenPages.org. The position is a great opportunity to learn more about small- to medium-sized eco-businesses and how they work to deepen their actions in environmental and social responsibility. 

Associate Editor Responsibilities - 50%

1.  Editorial and Writing: Work with Editor and the Communications Teams to create content for our publications and communications. 

• Write features and columns for our publications.
• Find/choose photos for print and web.
• Write blog posts and green living content for web as assigned.
• Work as part of a team with the editorial team on the copyediting, proofreading, and photo permissions for each publication.
• Assist in the fact-checking and proofreading processes for each publication as needed.
• Assist with preliminary research and outlining of each publication. 

Green Business Communications Associate Responsibilities – 50%

1.  Digital Marketing and Content Creation: 

• Working with Membership & Marketing Manager and the Communication Team, post regular updates to GBN’s Facebook and Twitter pages and engage with members and prospective members.
• Run paid social media promotions to direct traffic to the GBN website/blog. Report out on performance metrics and make adjustments as needed to ensure maximum reach and engagement.
• Research and write blog posts about emerging issues related to green business and social entrepreneurship.
• Conduct interviews with Green Business Network members to tell the green economy story in our ongoing business spotlight series.
• Assist with the production of mass email communications to members.

2.  Member Services and GreenPages.org Support:

• Working with Membership & Marketing Manager, execute member communications strategy (emails, phone calls) to encourage certified members to build out their Member Profiles on GreenPages.org.
• Assist members as needed with Member Dashboard and GreenPages.org functions, including how to add a listing description, choose categories, populate keywords, add logos, add photos, etc.
• Work independently to populate Member Profile data (including keywords) as necessary.
• Provide additional support for Membership & Marketing Manager as needed.

Other Responsibilities

All Green America positions also include:

• Participate in Cross Departmental Teams: The success of our organizational work includes the voluntary participation of staff members from all levels of the organization in cross departmental teams addressing a range of issues to strengthen our impact and planning, as time and other work commitments allow
• Participate in all staff meetings and departmental meetings as needed.

Qualifications

• Excellent communication skills
• One year+ interviewing, writing, and editing experience
• Excellent proofreader, familiarity with AP style is a plus
• Experience using a CMS (we use Drupal 9) is a plus
• Experience using a CRM (we use Salesforce) is a plus
• Experience using an email marketing platform (we use Act-On) is a plus
• Basic to moderate HTML skills
• Passion for green-economy work

To apply: please send resume, cover letter, and 2-3 writing samples for a general audience, not academic papers, to CommsAssociate@greenamerica.org. Applications submitted through third-party jobs sites (Indeed, etc.) will not be reviewed.

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Green America is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without discrimination regarding: actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, related medical conditions, breastfeeding, or reproductive health disorders), age (18 years of age or older), marital status (including domestic partnership and parenthood), personal appearance, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, family responsibilities, genetic information, disability, matriculation, political affiliation, citizenship status, credit information or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. Harassment on the basis of a protected characteristic is included as a form of discrimination and is strictly prohibited.

Green America’s Get A Better Bank campaign, and similar initiatives across the country, are gaining momentum! Did you know that Big Banks continue to invest massively in fossil fuels, driving us toward greater climate catastrophe? They also have a long history of predatory and racist practices that have harmed people of color for generations.

Fortunately, there are better banking choices!  And people everywhere are making the switch! Our interview with Annalisa B. describes her motivation for supporting green financing in order to put her money to work for communities – and to avoid supporting fossil fuels. As you’ll read, it doesn’t hurt to reward yourself with chocolate chips as you move through the steps of switching to a better bank or credit union.

Fran: First off, tell me a little about yourself, where you live, what you do for a living.

Annalisa: Hello, Fran! I’m a teacher at a music nonprofit in New Haven, Connecticut. We teach free string instrument lessons to kids from all over New Haven, and we also provide instruments and transportation. I teach ages 6-18, so my students run the gamut from bright-eyed children to bright-minded teens!

Fran: How did you embark on the quest for a green bank? What motivated you and what didn’t you like about the bank you were using?

Annalisa: I have a friend who’s always ahead of me on environmental issues - the sort of friend you listen to because they’re on the right side of history! She posted BankForGood.org in a group chat, and I decided to check it out. They made it as smooth as possible to put my money where it could support my ethical and financial goals instead of undermining them with business as usual.

It can be hard to switch when you do actually like your bank. That’s how I felt about Ally Bank. It served my immediate needs well. But, long term, a big commercial bank doesn’t serve the needs of local communities or the environment, so I felt accomplished when I put my money into a bank that can support the “big picture” future of the planet.

Fran: How did you learn about Big Banks financing of the climate crisis?

Annalisa: I first learned about the concept of “divestment” - moving money to places where it supports your values - from stories of college students who pressured their universities to divest from fossil fuels.  I was also inspired by the movement in the 1960s-90s to disinvest in South Africa in protest of the Apartheid system.

Fran: What do you like about your new bank? How did the bank switching process go overall?

Annalisa: I like that signing up for Amalgamated Bank was quick and easy online, and that they do everything I need them to do. They have a mobile app with account balances and internal and external transfers, and they work with all of the other financial apps like Mint, PayPal, Venmo, Betterment, etc. I also really appreciate that they offer unlimited savings accounts so that I can organize my money within my savings (gotta keep that Emergency Fund separate!).

Switching did require some extra attention. The automated systems for connecting banks to apps struggled to connect with Amalgamated. I had to use a work-around process to verify that it was actually my account. Ultimately it worked.

Fran: Did you find it worth a bit of time to align your banking with your values?

Annalisa: I did! Sometimes modern conveniences for some are built on profits that take advantage of others, or that don’t serve the long-term needs of the planet. It was totally worth it to me to put in the administrative time - probably 10 hours overall - and know that I was investing that time in a move I was proud of.  Also, when I support a small bank, I support their ability to create apps or experiences with all the bells and whistles of a big bank, but without the ethical downsides.

Fran: You mentioned to me that you had the opportunity to inform the customer service reps at your initial bank about Big Banks’ bankrolling of the fossil fuel industry and your reasons for leaving a conventional bank – did you also communicate that in writing to bank management?

Annalisa: Yes! Green America made it easy for me to send a breakup letter to Ally by using your template.

Fran: What advice or recommendation do you have for folks still using a conventional Big Bank?

Annalisa: Since I’m a teacher, I love reward systems. Set yourself up for success with a bag of chocolate chips! Every time you take one step closer to switching banks - signing up for reminders at BankForGood, opening a new account, closing an old account, calling customer service - reward yourself with a treat. Both your taste buds and the earth will thank you!

Or, find a teammate. There’s nothing like having a friend, family member, or community member to check in with, complain with, and be accountable to.

Lastly, you can do it! And you’ll feel good once you do.

There are many resources to help you switch to green financing and a better banking institution, here are a few so you can get started:

• Green America’s map to Get a Better Bank
• Green America’s 10 steps to break up with your Big Bank
• Bank for Good
• Mighty Deposits
• Better Banking Options
• Read Jim's story about how he broke up with his mega-bank