Content by specific author

Header photo caption: Beth Porter (left) and Kristin Brower, Green America’s development manager, pose in front of baled recycled materials at Prince George’s County Recycling Facility before they’re shipped off to processing plants.Photo courtesy of Beth Porter.

Author Beth Porter on the challenges and opportunities of the US recycling system.

Late last year, Green America’s climate and recycling director Beth Porter released her first book, Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System (Rowman & Littlefield, 2018). The book takes a comprehensive and engaging look at our recycling system in the US: what’s good, what’s not so good, and how we can pitch in to make it better. 

Green American editor-at-large Tracy Fernandez Rysavy talked to Beth about what it will take to fix what’s broken in our recycling system, and how we can maximize our recycling—and our reuse—at home.

Green American/Tracy:  You note in the book that the US recycles only 34 percent of our waste. How does that compare to other countries?

Beth Porter: It depends on what part of the world we’re talking about, because some countries have more developed waste management structures than others. Germany, Sweden, and Taiwan’s recycling rates are twice that of the US’—60, 62, and 64 percent respectively. So we could do much better.

There are a number of reasons we’re stuck and we’ve been stuck for decades now. A lot comes down to consumer confusion, not just about what to recycle, but also on communicating the why. There’s so much emphasis on the fact that we should recycle, and that’s it. People ask me, “What is the return on my investment? What are the results of complying with these rules?”

People want to know recycling is worthwhile and that it is actually good for the environment. [Proving those things] could really escalate recycling rates.

Green American/Tracy: How do you answer people who ask you these questions?

Beth Porter: Recycling is a big job creator. Roughly 600,000 people in the US work in recycling, but worldwide, that number is much higher. For one job created at a landfill, ten jobs are created in recycling, because there are more processes involved in recycling.

Most of us think of the disposal benefit: recycling helps keep stuff out of landfills and reduces the need for incinerators, which have a lot of negative impacts.

Recycling also displaces the need for extraction of new, virgin materials for products, by taking all the stuff we put in our recycling bins and using it in manufacturing and new production, so we don’t need to do so much heavy mining and deforestation. Also, lower amounts of energy are used when manufacturing facilities process recycled materials instead of new, virgin materials, because recyclables have already been through processing. 

Green American/Tracy: You mention “moral licensing” in the book, where people engage in good behavior, but then reward themselves by indulging in not-so good behavior. How can we overcome moral licensing, so we recycle and reuse more?

Beth Porter: I found studies showing that when people have local recycling programs, they tend to waste more. It’s the most responsible disposal method, but it doesn’t erase the responsibility to use fewer resources.

The moral licensing phenomenon seemed at first like human nature—like “I worked out this morning, so I’m having a piece of cake.” (And I’m certainly guilty of that!) But in Europe, it’s not as common. In southeast Asia, it’s very minimal. Consistent behavior is more important there than swinging on the pendulum of good action, bad action, good action.

Curbing moral licensing happens at an individual level. A big thing we can do is try to observe ourselves when we buy something unnecessary or pick up a single-use item—be aware and take a pause. When we take a pause, we interrupt this behavior.

Green American/Tracy: While individuals can do a lot to curb waste, companies need to act, as well. On that note, I was fascinated by your discussion of “planned obsolescence.” Can you talk more about that?

Beth Porter: Planned obsolescence is  when companies design products to have a working expiration date from the moment they’re produced. Common examples are electronics, smart phones, automobiles, even textbooks—anything we know has a shelf life or time limit that starts from the moment we produce it.

There’s a big push in the US called “the right to repair.” There are right-to-repair laws introduced in 18 states to guarantee that electronics would be able to be repaired by a wider selection of businesses than currently exists.
For example, Apple products under warranty can only be repaired by authorized Apple service stores, or you void the warranty. These practices incentivize us to buy stuff and dispose of it quickly, since we’re not able to easily repair items that are pretty much essential.

France is implementing clever policy mechanisms to attack planned obsolescence. In 2015, it passed a law demanding that French manufacturers and vendors explicitly state a product’s estimated lifespan on product labels. Manufacturers also must inform vendors how long spare parts for a product will be produced, so vendors can inform buyers. Failing to do so can result in a hefty fine. Additionally, France now directs manufacturers to provide a two-year warranty for all sales.

Ending planned obsolescence would result in a slight increase in product prices, but since you wouldn’t have to replace things so often, they’d be cheaper in the long run, and use fewer resources.

Green American/Tracy: What are the most common mistakes people make that contaminate their recycling? 

Beth Porter:  If the wrong materials accidentally get into a batch of recycling during processing, they can ruin the entire batch. So we can take steps at home to help prevent this kind of contamination.

First, wish-cycling is a colloquial term for when we throw stuff in the recycling bin and don’t know if it’s recyclable, but we hope it is. It’s a well-intentioned habit, but it can make recycling less effective and less profitable. People think, “My plastic fork, paper napkins, and batteries are made of recyclable materials, so I’ll put them in my bin, and someone will sort it out.” It’s true, someone will, but adding in things that aren’t accepted for curbside recycling slows down the system, adds extra transportation-related emissions, and increases costs for recycling facilities. Wish-cycling batteries and electronics has increased fires in trucks and in recycling facilities, too.

Plastic bags are a big one you should leave out of your bin. They are recyclable only through those special drop-off boxes at your local grocery store. If you put them in your curbside bin, they can get erroneously sorted at recycling facilities and cause contamination, because they are flimsy. But the biggest problem is they can get caught in machinery and can shut down the entire facility for the time it takes to remove them. In fact, avoid wish-cycling anything that can tangle in machinery: bows from gifts, garden hoses, string, and so on.

Instead of wish-cycling flimsy plastic, you can go to Plasticfilmrecycling.org to see all the types you can recycle at your grocery store—dry cleaning bags, zip-lock bags, films that wrap toilet paper, etc.

Broken glass is also a pretty big contaminant. Glass is infinitely recyclable, but broken glass can ruin batches of other recyclables. Worse, it’s hazardous for people hand-sorting recycling. Companies have safeguards, but it’s important to remember there’s someone on the other side of the bin. 

Contamination can also happen when we put something with food or beverage residue into our bins. Make sure things are empty and dry. Dump out excess food (obviously, food waste is something to avoid when possible, as well). Give items a quick rinse. Then towel or shake dry.

Whenever I give that advice, people ask about water waste, which is a great question. We don’t need to scrub and spend copious amounts of water. We don’t need to make recyclables beautiful. 

Green American/Tracy: What are the keys to fixing our recycling system in the US? Is it up to governments, or can individuals do something to help?

Beth Porter: Historically, a lot of the push to increase recycling programs comes from communities. In the book, I share stories of people who got recycling started or expanded in their communities. It’s necessary to force the hand of the government at times. Obviously, our political situation right now is not ideal for environmental issues, but surprisingly, recycling can be bipartisan. There’s a bipartisan recycling caucus in Congress.

Since recycling decisions are often made at the local level, there’s a lot of influence you can have just by letting elected officials know that these issues are important to you. 

Also, share your knowledge about recycling rules. Be the friend people can text to ask if something is recyclable.

Green American/Tracy: Like you are!

Beth Porter: [laughs] Yes. My boyfriend is so patient. Any time we had a dinner party and someone heard I was working on a book on recycling, they’d have, like, 30 questions. 

Chemicals in everyday household products have been linked to serious health concerns. Getting rid of toxicants can mean a healthier life for all.

We strive to support the slow fashion movement. We create products that are timeless and the consumer will want to keep forever. We provide a lifetime warranty on all of our products. Our packaging is recyclable (all cardboard/paper based). We will never support the leather industry, also helping to protect rainforests and land from cattle raising. We are 1% for the Planet members and a portion of our sales each year goes to fight plastic pollution.

Improving our food system so it's healthier, cooler, and kinder. 

Below are listed based on the product types we carries:
1. We carries only the eco-friendly dog toys brands that are verified using recycled and plant-based biodegradable materials. We holds high standard on what brands we bring on Chopper & Otis because we want this platform to be a place where every product is eco friendly and it an outlet for all the green dog brands can be appreciated their value and effort for our dogs and our environment  All the brands are following FDA and APPA standards. Our current brands are Cycle Dog, Beco Pets, Le Sharma, P.L.A.Y. and planet dogs.

2. For our products for humans, we work with HAENOW as our tshirt provider. HAENOW is certified 100% fair trade organic cottons, printing process and factory. We also contribute to the native energy for carbon-offset on each tshirt printing.

3. Our greeting card is printed with green printer and with 100% recycled paper card and envelops. Our beanie is co-branded with beyondBeanie and made with  20% alpaca / 80% acrylic and each sale donate and help kids in Bolivia.

On the packaging, we use only the recycled currated boxes, recycled tissue paper and minimum packaging. We do not use any plastic in our processing and order fulfillment. We also provide invoice, packing slip and refund form online through our website and email to reduce the paper waste. 

It was early spring, and I had just moved into a new house—tiny, but with a great big yard for a garden. The landlord had spent years landscaping, with fruit trees, native shrubs, and perennial grasses along the fence line—I was lucky. In the middle of the yard was a 15 ft x 15 ft plot of dirt, a blank canvas for my summer. Sure, this was a rental, but I was eager to dig in the dirt and grow organic veggies in this rural town with meager grocery stores. 

It looked like the house had once been a garage, one likely built during the era of lead-based paints. So, I had no idea what was lurking in the thin, sandy soil. Aware that my crops would be pulling nutrients (and possibly toxins) from that soil, I decided to test the soil before planting. I hoped this would reveal anything to be concerned about, while guiding me on how to make the soil a more hospitable place for my garden. If you have any reason to suspect contaminants in your soil, you should get it tested.

Most of us don’t know the entire history of our homes and the land they’re built on. And, renters likely know even less. In some cases, your yard may have had uses in the past that make it unfit for growing food altogether. Or, there could have been potentially polluting industry near your home and garden in the past. 

If you have any question, it’s best to test. 

Even in my rural location, I was able to find a local agricultural extension office for the state university—which is in a city over 200 miles away. That’s to say that no matter where you live, help is nearby. I got the soil testing kit from this local office; the kit consisted of a simple plastic tube and some instructions. You can also contact the university or lab directly to have a kit mailed to you. In some cases, even a large ziplock will do for collecting soil—it depends on the lab.

While you may be able to find test kits online or at local garden and hardware stores, we suggest going through a local university to ensure the tests are conducted in professional labs. And the professional, scientific advice you’ll get back with your results can make all the difference in a healthy yard or garden. You can find the contact info for your nearest office here. 

Early spring is a great time of year to test your soil. It’s best to do it when the ground is thawed and digging won’t disturb growing plants. But really, you can a sample just about any day of the year.

When you’re testing your soil, be sure to follow the instructions, as each lab has a different process that should be followed for the best results (here’s an example from my kit). In my case, the sample really consisted of a composite of smaller soil samples from different parts of my garden. I chose several locations, dug six inches down for the sample, mixed the soils together, let them dry, and filled the tube. Many kits, including mine, include a questionnaire for the lab to better understand the past, current, and future uses of the soil. 

The questionnaire is also usually where you tell the lab what to test for. I requested the routine garden test, which looks specifically at fertility (including pH, organic matter, nitrates, phosphorous, potassium, zinc, iron, copper, and many others). A routine test is often sufficient, unless you have specific concerns about your soil. Because I was planning to grow a Climate Victory Garden, I was also curious to know the soil carbon levels, with the hopes of sequestering more carbon in my garden as time went on—so, I added that test. 

If you’re concerned about toxins in your garden, you should get your soil tested. Many labs offer inexpensive add-on tests for heavy metals like lead, cadmium, molybdenum, or chromium (these are especially recommended if you live near a mining site or if biosolids like sewage sludge may have been used on or near your property). Pesticides are tougher to test for and often much more expensive to measure, but some labs do offer these tests, so reach out to them if you have specific concerns. You may also contact the National Pesticide Information Center to find more detailed information and contact information for local experts.

For me, the soil collection and paperwork took me less than an hour. The two tests cost less than $50 (including shipping). A good investment in my books! Especially considering all the professional advice that came with the results. Not to mention the healthy food I’d be eating from my garden in no time.

Drop the soil and paperwork into the mail and wait for a response. Or, if you’re lucky enough to have a lab in your community, you can drop it off in person. And, incredibly, many labs will return your test results within a week. This depends on how many tests you ask for and how you receive your results—email being the fastest option.

My results listed the elements tested, the amounts found in my soil, and suggestions on how to improve. 

Next it was time to amend, heal, and build my soil for a strong gardening foundation. Some of this was easily done by simply adding lacking elements, while others will take several seasons to correct. Give yourself time to incorporate the test’s recommendations; it can take time to balance these elements before your soil is ready to be planted in. Often, labs provide contact information for follow up questions.

In the meantime, if your soil proves to be safe, you can still grow food. Some plants thrive in soils with higher or lower nutrients or pH levels than others. In fact, some food crops can even help you improve your soils—for example, legumes like beans and peas can help your soil become more nitrogen rich, if that’s the element it’s lacking. 

Soil testing is a great way to ensure you’re setting yourself up for success in the garden. Knowledge is power, and healthy soils have the incredible potential to feed your family, beautify your community, and fight climate change. 

Big companies have a history of oppressing small businesses and putting a heavy burden on low-income communities, including Black communities and Black-owned businesses. For example, Amazon’s presence in Seattle caused rising housing costs and pushed out local mom-and-pop shops. But diversity builds economic vitality, uplifts communities, and promotes productivity and resilience. For a green economy, holistic sustainability is impossible without the inclusion of all.

6 Reasons to Support Black-Owned Businesses

1. Close the Racial Wealth Gap

We can trace the origins of today’s racial wealth gap to Jim Crow-era practices like redlining and job discrimination which segregated African Americans from higher paying jobs and homeowner ownership opportunities that ultimately prevented wealth building. The 1935 Social Security Act did not afford coverage to domestic and agricultural workers, many of whom were African American, and its requirements for residency and payroll information also excluded the large number of African Americans working menial, “off the books” jobs and migrating North at the time.

Today, the median wealth for white families is about 12 times that for Black families  averaging around $140,000, and one in four black households have zero or negative net worth compared to less than one in ten white families without wealth. Even more concerning is that by 2053, the median wealth for Black families is projected to fall to zero.

Small businesses and entrepreneurs have been longtime wealth builders in our society. By supporting more Black-owned businesses, Green Americans can create more opportunities for meaningful savings, property ownership, credit building and generational wealth.

2. Strengthens Local Economies

When small businesses flourish, so do their communities. But banks often hinder that prosperity by discriminating against African American and other entrepreneurs of color seeking small business loans. A 2017 study by the National Community Reinvestment Coalition actually found that banks were twice as likely to provide business loans to white applicants than Black ones and three times as likely to have follow-up meetings with white applicants than more qualified Black ones.

If consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of the entire US economy, imagine what directing some of that spending power to Black-owned businesses across the country can do. 48 percent of small business purchases are recirculated locally compared to only 14 percent of what’s circulated by chain stores. Supporting Black-owned businesses in turn supports families, employees, and other business owners, as well as attracts community investors who provide banking services, loans, and promote financial literacy--all things that build economic strength.

3.  Fosters Job Creation

Many African American business owners fund their own businesses due to the lack of capital mentioned earlier. This means that most Black-owned businesses are sole proprietorships that don’t make enough money to pay employees. 2012 US census data showed that Black-owned businesses created 1 million jobs compared to white-owned businesses which created almost 56 million.

In 2018, the unemployment rate for African Americans fell to 6.6 percent, which was almost double that for white Americans and higher for other minority groups. Since Black-owned small businesses are likely to hire from the local community, supporting them can foster the job opportunities people need to achieve financial stability.

4. Celebrates Black Culture and Serves Communities

Many Black entrepreneurs start businesses inspired by the richness of African American culture itself--Black-owned clothing stores, hair care and make-up products, and children’s toys are just a few examples. And some Black-owned businesses are created to bring access to services specific to the community’s needs.  Sol Sips, an affordable vegan beverage company founded to bring healthier organic juices to Brooklyn’s Bushwick neighborhood, is a great example. 

These kinds of business ventures uplift communities, fostering a sense of pride in the people that live there. When you support Black-owned businesses, you get products that are valuable for the unique character they bring. Plus, you avoid spending money at other companies that may not celebrate Black culture, which brings us to another point: 

5. Holds other Companies Accountable

By now you’ve probably heard about Gucci’s highly offensive sweater design resembling blackface. While Gucci’s under fire now for all of the decision making that went into the design’s approval and eventual release, it’s not an isolated incident. Many large companies vocally support minorities and their diverse cultures but practice policies that keep systems of injustice intact. Whether it’s H&M’s unsound marketing, Starbucks’ removing people from its store, or Facebook’s hiring diversity problem, African Americans and other minorities often bear the brunt of corporate discrimination.

When you choose a Black-owned business over problematic companies, you vote with your dollar by divesting from these kind of practices and hold companies accountable. And further down the road, you empower successful minority-owned businesses to implement equitable policies.

6. Visibility and Representation in the Green Economy

The prosperity of a green economy depends on the celebration of diversity by and for all peoples. The green movement has historically and presently wrestled with a lack of diversity in its activism and representation, but Green Americans can change this.

Bringing attention to Black- and minority-owned businesses can go a long way in demonstrating that the green movement is everybody’s movement and when minority-owned businesses have a financial platform to stand on, they inspire more people to join the green economy. You can find minority-owned businesses on Greenpages.org, our database of certified members of the Green Business Network. 

When you vote with your dollar, are you voting for an inclusive economy as well as an eco-friendly one? Black-owned businesses are a vital part of the green economy. Start by Shopping minority-owned businesses through our Green Business Network.

Green America visited Tree Folk Farm in Denton, TX. Andrea & Matthew Gorham use their one acre farm to create wholesome foods through sound ecological methods. Through regenerative practices such as cover cropping, hand weeding, and no-till, the duo provides a wide variety of mushrooms, fruits, & vegetables for local farmers markets.

We do not believe in an outside office that utilizes energy and employees having to travel.  We allow our employees to work from home on their schedule.  We are extremely flexible and believe family comes first.  We are small right now, but as we continue to grow we will not rent an outside office as we believe in making a positive environmental footprint and allowing new employees to enjoy the benefits of a work at home environment.

Representative Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) recently introduced their much-anticipated framework for a Green New Deal.  The accompanying resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives calls for massive investment in a green economy that would radically reduce climate emissions and enhance social justice nationwide. 

“Even the solutions that we have considered big and bold are nowhere near the scale of the actual problem that climate change presents to us, to our country, to the world," Ocasio-Cortez said on NPR of why this deal is so important. Senator Markey compared the Green New Deal to John F. Kennedy’s speech announcing the goal of going to the moon within 10 years, which inspired the country to achieve what many previously thought impossible.

For the past two years, addressing climate emissions has been off the table in the House and Senate and the executive branch has actively worked to weaken the regulations that would lower greenhouse gas emissions and other forms of pollution. The simple fact that the Green New Deal puts climate change and social justice issues front and center and challenges us to shift to clean energy and a huge reduction in fossil fuels in 10 years is hugely important. And unlike climate solutions proposed in prior Congresses, the Green New Deal goes beyond putting a price on carbon and calls for crucial restructuring of the entire US economy. This bold vision is especially crucial as more and more Americans register their concerns about the impacts of global warming and growing inequality, and as scientific research calls for a rapid transition to climate solutions. Overall, the Green New Deal is proposing the solutions we need, at the speed and scale we need, to meet the twelve-year window scientists have given to put into place solutions that will avoid the worst of the climate crisis.

What Does the Green New Deal Call For?

The Green New Deal is clearly meant to be aspirational, and so it should be measured by the breadth and depth of its goals. Overall, those goals are inspiring, both in terms of the major transformation of the energy, transportation, farming and manufacturing sectors, and also for the fact that this transformation needs to benefit struggling Americans, by creating high-paying jobs and by protecting vulnerable communities. Some of the major environmental goals are:

• meeting 100 percent of the power demand in the US through clean, renewable, and zero-emission energy sources;
• upgrading all existing buildings in the US and building new buildings to achieve maximum energy efficiency, water efficiency, safety, affordability, comfort, and durability;
• spurring massive growth in clean manufacturing in the US and removing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing and industry as much as is technologically feasible;
• working collaboratively with farmers and ranchers in the US to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector as much as is technologically feasible (which includes supporting family farms, soil health, and healthy foods for all);
• overhauling transportation systems in the US to eliminate pollution and greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector as much as is technologically feasible, including zero emission vehicle infrastructure and manufacturing, and increased public transportation and high-speed rail.

The Green New Deal also contains a strong social justice platform that recognizes the need to include all Americans in the benefits of a green economy by creating spurring economic development, high-paying union jobs and training, involving communities in decision making, and building community ownership—particularly in communities that most impacted by pollution and climate change. It expressly protects the rights of indigenous peoples who have been egregiously impacted by fossil fuels. It also calls for high-quality health care, housing, jobs, and access to clean air and water for all.

Green America has long called for a green economy that combines environmental sustainability and social justice together and it is inspiring to see a major effort in Congress that is calling for a truly green economy for all.

Concerns with the Green New Deal

The overall goals of the Green New Deal are laudable and long overdue. In order to achieve its robust vision, Green America recommends the following measures to help guarantee the success of a transition to a truly green economy: 

• The resolution should  call for a halt to fossil fuel leasing or the phase out of fossil fuel extraction, in keeping with  the call of 600 environmental groups, including Green America to ensure that the Green New Deal rapidly ends our reliance on fossil fuels;
• The phrase “as much as is technologically feasible” should be bolstered and clarified throughout the resolution, so that it does not slow down the progress or impede the goals of the Green New Deal;
• Nuclear, natural gas, and coal-fired power plants should be clearly excluded from the allowable energy mix (even if they can be made to have zero carbon emissions);
• New refrigerant technologies should be supported since refrigeration is a major contributor to climate change, and according to Project Drawdown, reducing emissions from refrigerant technologies could yield the biggest climate impacts;
• The resolution should clarify that carbon sequestration needs to be achieved through agricultural means only, including crops and re-forestation, and call specifically for a move to regenerative agriculture with a reduction in pesticides that will restore soil health, sequester enough carbon to actually reverse climate emissions, and prevent the catastrophic extinction of pollinators and other insects and species worldwide.
• Waste reduction, reuse of materials, and effective recycling for responsible materials management that are urgently needed to reduce our climate and environmental footprint should be included as part of the solutions we need.

Take Action

The Green New Deal is creating an important opening and new momentum for advancing bold solutions to the climate crisis and creating a truly green economy from which all Americans will benefit. In order to fulfill its promise, Green America recommends the specific changes outlined above.

Green America is encouraging our members to call their Representatives and encourage them to support a truly Green Deal. Here’s a message you can leave on voicemail or send through email:

“I support the vision of a New Green Deal – and want to ensure that it will transition the U.S. from fossil fuels to truly renewable sources of energy like solar and wind, electric vehicles, and will not allow for fossil fuels and nuclear energy to be considered part of the solution. The current resolution sketches out a bold agenda which we can and must continue to strengthen, such as including the need to lower emissions from refrigerants and ending the extraction of fossil fuels. I applaud the fact that the Green New Deal works to create high paying jobs and healthcare for all, aims to protect vulnerable and indigenous communities, and I urge that communities of color, indigenous communities, and other economically marginalized communities are included in further legislative drafting and hearings.”

Greenline Community Ventures LLC (Greenline) is an employee and minority-owned, impact-focused investment management firm that specializes in delivering patient, flexible capital to disadvantaged businesses and communities that are underserved by traditional capital providers.  We use our extensive financial and community development experience to invest in businesses that generate a positive and sustainable economic, social and/or environmental impact in low-income communities (LICs) and/or for economically disadvantaged groups across the United States. Over the past 16 years, we have invested over $1.9 billion in underserved businesses and projects located in rural and urban LICs in 31 different states generating more than an estimated 30,000 jobs – with an emphasis towards maximizing job quality, labor force fit and availability to LIC residents, minorities and women. 

100% of borrowers are located in low-income communities (minimum of 80% or less than AMI, poverty rate greater than 20%) with the vast majority of borrowers located in highly-distressed communities (minimum of 60% or less of AMI, poverty rate greater than 30%).We target borrowers that have a positive economic and/or social impact in its community, include job creation/retention, job quality (healthcare, living wages), job accessibility (to low-income persons and minorities), environmentally sustainable methods, and women or minority-ownership.

Post-recession trends of bank consolidation, risk aversion and increased cost of doing business have exacerbated the difficulties for small businesses to access traditional loans and financial services.  This struggle is further compounded for women, veteran, and minority business owners. Greenline's serves to fill this gap by providing below market loans to small businesses that are creating wealth and quality jobs.100% of Greenline's lending activities are directed at low-income census tracts throughout the United States. Greenline also has a focus on minority or women owned businesses, projects that generate living wage jobs or provide meaningful employee benefits, and businesses with positive environmental impacts. As a certified B Corporation, GIIRS rated gold entity and Impact Reporting & Investment Standard user Greenline has been formally acknowledge for its commitment to social and environmental ethics, transparency, and accountability. 

Written by Food Tank

In the film, One Hundred Thousand Beating Hearts, filmmaker Peter Byck takes viewers to Bluffton, Georgia to hear from Will Harris of White Oak Pastures about his journey from industrial to re-generational farmer. This is the second film in Byck’s Carbon Nation: Soil Carbon Cowboy series; it continues to highlight farmers and ranchers who are pioneering regenerative grazing practices and soil health.

Harris opens the film reflecting on his journey, “When I was a full-time commodity cowboy, all I thought about was how many pounds of beef I could squeeze out of this farm at the lowest possible price, with no real focus except pounds of beef and how cheap I could do it. Today I never ever think about how many pounds we consume. What I think about all day every day is how can I make this land up.”

Harris, who was born and bred at White Oaks, has transitioned his family’s farm from one focused on industrialized beef production to a farm that focuses on sustainability, animal welfare, and humane agricultural and environmental stewardship.

“The first thing I gave up was confinement feed and hormone implants and antibiotics,” he told Modern Farmer in an interview. “I thought that that’s all I had to do. Then I realized pesticides and chemical fertilizers were wrong, so I stopped using them. And then I realized that we needed to be butchering animals on the farm and not moving them, so we built an abattoir, and I thought we were done. But then I realized we were still running a monoculture– a meat monoculture and a plant monoculture– and to my mind, when you’ve got a monoculture, that’s a sign of a factory farm.”

To transition White Oak Pastures back to its heritage, Harris de-commoditized, de-industrialized, and de-centralized his farming practices, creating a living ecosystem that he takes pride in managing every day.

“Today we don’t feed animals; we feed the microbes in the soil. The microbes feed the soil, and the soils feed the plants and the plants feed the animals, and they breed, and they grow, and we turn them into meat and sell it for money which is like the blood that pumps through our bodies to keep it all going,” says Harris in the film. “It’s really a beautiful system. What’s most beautiful is that in every generation the animals are healthier and healthier, happier and happier.”

According to Harris, “There’s about a hundred thousand beating hearts on this farm on any given day,” that, while may not be enough to feed the world, are certainly enough to nourish his community. “In rebuilding the soil, we are rebuilding a farmer middle class,” says Harris, another area in which he is passionate about supporting.

More on Food Tank

Food Tank: https://foodtank.com/news/2016/10/one-hundred-thousand-beating-hearts-f…

Twitter:          @FoodTank

Instagram:     @foodtank

Sustainable building, ecofriendly furniture and decoration, to protect the environment.

Living sustainably doesn’t have to be expensive. The staff at Green America is pretty savvy when it comes to being green on a budget, so we’ve rounded up a few of our best tips to save money. 

I love shopping at consignment and thrift stores. It’s like built-in recycling because you’re buying used clothes, and you get them at really affordable prices. ” —Amanda Heerwig, foundations & business relations manager

“A lot of people don’t realize that electric appliances use energy even when they’re turned off, and this energy use can add up to $100- $200 to your electric bill per year. To avoid this ‘phantom load,’ use power strips to plug in most of your electric devices, so you can turn several all the way off all at once.” —Sytonia Reid, associate editor

“I enjoy going to garage sales to get clothes for my kids, but if there’s something specific we need—like a black concert outfit (required for band) or a classic white tank for layering—I’ll often shop at ThredUp.com. It’s an online store for secondhand clothing that carries several recognized brands. You can sell your old items on ThredUp, too.”—Tracy Fernandez Rysavy, editor-in-chief

“I like to use a mixture of vinegar and baking soda for cleaning just about anything. It’s cheaper than the cleaning products you would buy in most stores.”—Davina Etwaroo, executive assistant  

“I commute by foot and use the time to listen to Audible and make calls. The area I live in now is very walkable and convenient to most of the places I go.” —J, accountant

“Growing your own produce can save you grocery money and help cool the planet, too, if done with regenerative practices. We can teach you how to transform an average garden into one capable of pulling carbon out of the atmosphere, and we hope you'll register your garden. You can also join the climate victory gardens Facebook group to share photos, stories, and tips.”—Jes Walton, food campaigns manager

“I like to ride my bike to the Metro, which saves me money because bike parking is free. We also replaced the light bulbs in our home with LEDs, which reduced our electric bill.”—Todd Larsen, executive co-director

“I’m in love with Beeswrap, reusable food wrap made from organic cotton and beeswax that you can use in place of plastic wrap. I feel better about wrapping up my leftovers in Beeswrap than in plastic wrap [see photo above], and it’s also a lot lighter than a plastic or glass container when I’m carrying my lunch to work. Since cotton and beeswax are compostable, all you do when its year or so of useful life is up is throw it in your compost bin!” —Dana Christianson, membership marketing director

“Dressing for the weather and season in your home is something I like to do. In the winter, you can keep the thermostat low and wear sweaters. In the summer, keep it high and wear shorts, tanks, and thin shirts. Or go without clothes.” —Shireen Karimi, director of digital communications 

One Love Organics Is Award-Winning Skin Care Made With Organic Ingredients

During the weekends in 1998, Suzanne LeRoux frequented a yoga studio near her law school5!M. One Saturday, the studio was holding an essential oils class, and so on a whim, she went. What she thought was just going to be a class she’d enjoy and soon forget turned out to be a pivotal lesson for her mental and physical well-being.

Inspired by what she learned about the health benefits of aromatherapy, LeRoux started using essential oils to relieve stress while studying. When that helped, she began blending essential oils into her skin care routine and stopped using conventional beauty products. For years, LeRoux had struggled with acne, but her skin changed dramatically when she switched from a standard facial routine to a more natural regimen.

LeRoux finished law school and became a practicing lawyer, but she soon realized that she had found her passion in skin care. After work and on the weekends, she learned more about and practiced making holistic, plant-based cosmetics. Then, when LeRoux took a break from her law practice to spend time with her children in 2005, she further refined techniques and finalized formulas she had been developing. Two years later, when LeRoux and her family were ready for her to go back to full-time work, she found it was her hobby that was calling her, not her law office.

Through 2008 and 2009, LeRoux continued to experiment in her home kitchen in Georgia, giving her products away to friends and family, and using their feedback to make changes.

She also spoke with industry experts about whether pursuing holistic skin care full-time was a realistic idea, and was told that her vision for an independent, organic, plant-based cosmetics company was not feasible. At the time, small-scale skin care companies were uncommon, and plant-based skin care was a new concept.

“Everyone was saying natural organics was a trend; it was a fad; it would be in and out in two years. They told us not to invest anything,” LeRoux recalls.

LeRoux did not shy away from her bold idea, though. She knew organic, plant-based skin care worked better than petroleum- and paraben-based products. She had seen the results herself, so she decided to pursue her business concept. By September of 2010, she’d found a licensed facility in Georgia and officially launched One Love Organics.

As demand for her products rose, LeRoux’s business took off. Since its beginnings, the company has moved four times to increasingly larger facilities, ultimately purchasing a manufacturing space of its own. It has won several green beauty awards, including two from Glamour Magazine in 2016—one for best cleanser for the company’s Vitamin B Cleansing Oil, and one for best body product for its Vitamin C Body Polish.

“We just thought this was something that I would do: I’d hand-make cosmetics and send them out, and maybe one day I could replace my law income and do what I like to do,” LeRoux says. “The growth of the company and where it is now was a huge surprise to both me and my husband.”

Today, One Love Organics features dozens of original, plant-based, organic products at competitive prices. The company’s team has grown from one to nine people, including her husband, who joined as the chief financial officer in 2014. Since the start, the products have been free of parabens, silicon, and synthetic perfumes and dyes. Most are vegan, all are plant-based, and all are GMO-free. The company and its facilities are certified cruelty-free and ECOCERT organic, a European organic certification.

LeRoux is still involved in every step of the process—from customer service to production to final products and packaging. She even still formulates every new product that One Love Organics releases. And she still enjoys what she does.

“I used to love shopping for beauty products, but as you get older, you hear about parabens and animal testing and unfair trade practices and all kinds of stuff that made shopping not as fun anymore,” LeRoux explains. “I just wanted to take those worries away and make shopping for beauty products fun again.”

See attached

Coming soon.

Arcadia Power Is Connecting People In All 50 States to Green Energy

When Kiran Bhatraju was in third grade, long before Arcadia Power formed, he took a field trip to a coal mine in Eastern Kentucky. There, for the first time, he started to understand where energy came from and the dangers miners faced working underground. Growing up in the heart of coal country, Bhatraju viewed coal as more than just an industry; it was a way of life. It influenced politics and culture in the area, and it drove the economy. As he got older and continued to see the environmental harm and job hazards of the coal industry, he thought, “There’s got to be better ways to produce energy.”

After graduating college in 2009, Bhatraju worked on Capitol Hill for his congressman from Louisville, KY. There, he learned about the “complex, convoluted way” energy is generated and delivered in the US. The US has a 50-state fragmented energy market, so every state has a different system for distributing energy to consumers. He also observed industry trends: solar and wind energy were getting cheaper, and they reduced pollution and global-warming emissions associated with fossil fuels. Yet at the federal level, Bhatraju felt that nothing was changing to bring about a green-energy future. These observations spurred his first big idea: he’d create a software platform to make clean-energy choices convenient. Arcadia Power would make it easy for the average person to access green energy, so they could save money and help the environment.

“It just felt like giving users a way to connect to clean energy was going to be a more effective use of my time [than working in Washington]. ... Starting a company felt like a way that I could drive change and make a difference faster,” Bhatraju says.

While he had a strong idea, he had no background in entrepreneurship or software development. To bring his vision to life, he educated himself in accounting, financial models, and customer relations, and became an expert in energy markets and clean-energy purchasing. With a small team, he launched Arcadia Power in 2014.

Arcadia Power makes clean energy simple: customers across the US can use the company’s website to connect their utility accounts with Arcadia and enroll in its clean-energy programs, which Bhatraju says takes about a minute and is free. From there, Arcadia Power ensures your electricity usage supports solar and wind energy, or even community solar projects, for no added cost.

In addition, if Arcadia Power’s Price Alerts program is available in your area, you can have the company constantly search for the lowest green energy options, sending you price alerts when it finds a way for you to save money.

“The demand for clean energy is there. The customers may not fully understand the grid or how it operates, but they know that they would like to support pollution-free power,” Bhatraju says. “It’s our job to take out all the complexity and make it simple for the user.”

Arcadia Power already has over 150,000 customers in all 50 states. It’s the collective buying power of this large group that allows Arcadia Power to secure exclusively low prices from clean-energy suppliers, which pay the company a fee for connecting them with more customers.

The company has supported the generation of over 465 GWh of clean energy, preventing over 260,000 tons of CO2 emissions. This year, the company closed a $25 million round of investments, and it has committed to bring120 Megawatts of new solar projects to its members. Bhatraju says that amounts to more than 40 solar farms, or 600 acres, that will be exclusive to Arcadia Power members.

Bhatraju calls Arcadia Power a “platform for change.” After all, it’s working to make green energy usage more efficient, re-envisioning how customers use energy at home, and advocating for environmental action all at once.

“If we’re going to be successful as a movement, we have to make energy access a priority. That means every one of the 130 million people that pay a power bill each month needs to have easy access to clean energy,” he says. “It’s good business for us, and it’s the right thing to do to expand clean-energy options to anyone—rich or poor, homeowner or renter.”

As a Green Business Network Member, you can vote for your representatives to the Green America Board. This year, there is one seat up for election, and we want to hear from you.

Green America's democratically elected Board of Directors represents all of our various stakeholders—our individual members, our business members, and Green America's worker members. Your participation is vital to our ongoing work to grow the green economy.

Browse your candidates' personal statements below and cast your vote by February 11. The winner will be announced in an upcoming issue of Connections.

Cast Your Vote

Thanks to our Skip the Slip campaign to address the toxicity, resource use, and waste of paper receipts, the first-ever bill to tackle paper receipts was introduced in California on January 8, 2019.

This new bill in the California Assembly would make the state the first in the U.S. to mandate that retailers must offer digital receipts as the default to customers starting January 1, 2022. Customers will still be able to request a paper receipt in lieu of a digital receipt. Reflecting the focus of Green America’s “Skip the Slip” campaign, the bill, introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), will help protect consumers and workers from the toxins that often coat paper-based receipts, while also creating substantial environmental benefits.

Green America Lauds Landmark State Bill Introduced to Mandate Digital Receipts as Default Alternative to Wasteful, BPA- and BPS-Coated Paper Receipts.

SACRAMENTO, CA – January 8, 2019 – A new bill in the California Assembly would make the state the first in the U.S. to mandate that retailers must offer digital receipts as the default to customers starting January 1, 2022. Customers will still be able to request a paper receipt in lieu of a digital receipt. Reflecting the focus of Green America’s “Skip the Slip” campaign, the bill, introduced by Assemblymember Phil Ting (D-San Francisco), will help protect consumers and workers from the toxins that often coat paper-based receipts, while also creating substantial environmental benefits.

“We applaud Assemblymember Ting for introducing legislation that will protect the health of California workers and consumers, while protecting the environment,” said Green America’s climate and recycling director Beth Porter. “Over time, this legislation would prevent millions of trees from being logged for paper receipts, which fewer and fewer consumers want, and which often go straight to landfills. This bill will make California a leader in addressing the impacts of paper-based receipts.”

“Retailers who have adopted digital receipts are already seeing benefits in terms of reduced costs and greater connection to their customers,” said Green America’s executive co-director Todd Larsen.  “Assemblymember Ting’s bill will benefit retailers, workers, and consumers in California, and it will be an important step forward in addressing the increasing impacts of paper-based receipts.”

*Green America’s “Skip the Slip” report documented the following national impacts annually of paper-based receipts,

• Use 10 million trees
• Consume 21 billion gallons of water
• Generate 686 million pounds of waste and 12 billion pounds of CO2

In addition, research from Ecology Center estimates 93 percent of paper receipts are coated with Bisphenol-A (BPA) or Bisphenol-S (BPS), known endocrine-disruptors. These toxins are absorbed when people touch receipts and are linked to serious health problems, including numerous types of cancer, diabetes, and reproductive issues. The environmental and health impacts of paper-based receipts highlight the need for retailers to adopt digital receipts.

Skip the Slip highlights cost-effective digital and non-toxic solutions for retailers to protect their employees and customers, and reduce their impacts on the environment, while reducing fraud and increasing sales. There are major companies that have successfully adopted many of these solutions, including Best Buy, Apple, Lidl Grocery, and Trader Joe's.

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA

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

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

ASSEMBLYMEMBER CONTACT: Nannette Miranda, Office of Assemblymember Phil Ting: 916-319-2019.

*For updated impacts and explained methodology, please see our Jan 2019 revised report here.

Jeff Daniels

Reporter

Our worldwide addiction to plastic is clogging up the oceans, harming wildlife, and resulting in overburdened landfills and lots of litter. That's why we scoured GreenPages.org for the most useful products to help you get single-use plastic out of your life. 

Rina recommends:

Pack tomorrow’s snacks in ChicoBag’s Snack Time rePete bag rather than a disposable plastic baggie. Composed primarily of recycled plastic bottles, this snack-time super hero offers a stain- and water-resistant liner and can be tossed in the washing machine after use.

Give your gift a festive finish with VZWraps reusable fabric gift bags. Sewn in Philadelphia, PA, these vibrant vessels eliminate the use of plastic ribbons, as well as throwaway paper. VZWraps come in a variety of patterns, from turquoise elephants to multi-colored aliens.

Plant-based from box to bristles, Brush with Bamboo offers its Adult and Kid’s Toothbrushes made from 100 percent organic bamboo. These eco-friendly brushes feature soft bristles and a pesticide-free bamboo handle.

Filled in a plastic-free “Eco Tube” and sealed with a matching “Eco Cap,” Organic Essence lip balm is all-natural and features compostable paper packaging. The shea butter-based moisturizer is available in six different flavors, including grapefruit and almond.

When stocking up on fresh fruits and vegetables during your next grocery run, bring along an ECOBAGS Organic Cloth Bulk and Produce Bag, so you are not left using the store-provided, flimsy plastic produce bags. This ECOBAG is made of 100 percent certified organic cotton and features a secure drawstring closure. 

Jenna recommends:

Keep your favorite single-serve morning coffee plastic-free and guilt-free by investing in a Stainless Steel Reusable Coffee Pod Fill Life Without Plastic’s pod with your favorite coffee, tea, or cocoa and pop it in your Keurig or other single-serving coffee maker. 

Whether you’re going camping or just having lunch at the office, To-Go Ware’s Carry Around Bamboo Utensil Set is the perfect plastic-free utensil option. The set includes a pouch made of recycled bottles, which easily holds a fork, knife, spoon, and chopsticks and can conveniently be clipped to a lunch bag or purse.

Skip the single-use plastic bag at checkout when grocery or retail shopping. With Marketplace: Handwork of India’s fair trade and 100 percent cotton Umang Bag, you’re not only supporting the environment, but you’re also helping to provide dignified job training for women in India. 

Klean Kanteen can help you combat your habit of picking up plastic straws with its 5-Piece Straw Set. Made with stainless steel and food-grade silicone, these straws are a perfect accessory to any reusable water bottle or coffee  thermos we know you already have. Split this set with a friend, and pledge to go plastic-straw-free together! 

Typical period care and packaging amounts to excessive single-use plastic waste. Stay comfortable but cut back on plastic by investing in one (or several) MAIA Bikini by LUNAPADS: leak-proof cotton underwear with additional organic cotton inserts to create customizable absorbency to fit your flow. 

This Christmas, Mariah Byrne was set on buying a hammock for a college friend. Preferably, she’d find just the right one from an environmentally conscious outdoor retailer.

She checked REI. Too expensive. She looked at Patagonia. Also beyond her budget as a graduate student.

So resist as she might, Byrne, 26, settled for a much cheaper option on Amazon that also came with free shipping.

“That for me is the toughest part: balancing wanting to be socially-conscious with being realistic about my budget," Byrne said.

Byrne’s conundrum is one shared by shoppers wanting to support eco-friendly, social-justice oriented or politically-savvy brands without breaking the bank. Especially around the holidays, retailers make a point of promoting themselves as companies you can feel good about supporting. Maybe they’re sourcing products from recycled materials; maybe they’re donating a share of Black Friday sales to charity. Maybe they’re teaming up with nonprofits and taking a stance on a charged social issue.

It’s an appealing pitch, especially to shoppers who increasingly wish to support companies that share their ideals or values.

But practically speaking, higher-income shoppers are often the ones who can afford to weigh those options in the first place.

“The climate has caused people to want to care, and I think that has caused people to be more aware,” said Alexis Desalva, a retail expert at Mintel. But still, “the price is always going to be the motivating factor. I don’t think that’s going away.”

Among older shoppers, it may be an added perk if, for example, a holiday gift was cruelty-free or fair trade, said Steven Barr, consumer markets expert at PwC.

“For prior generations, it was more 'oh, well, it’s kind of a bonus to make me feel good about a purchase I was already going to make," Barr said. “Now it’s the primary driver.”

[How to get holiday shoppers into the mall — and keep them there]

That means retailers cannot win customers over with their products alone. They also must convince shoppers that by making a purchase, they’re supporting some greater good. Madewell, for example, encourages customers to “shop for a cause” through its “Do Well”campaign. Fifty percent of the retail price from “Do Well” products go to charities including Girls Inc. and the Human Rights Campaign.

To cut down on plastic waste, Everlane announced its ReNew collection just before the holidays. The outwear line is made of recycled plastic bottles and kicked off a company pledge for no new plastic in its supply chain by 2021.

And through its holiday Believe campaign, Macy’s aims to raise one million dollars for Make-A-Wish. For every shopper who writes a letter to Santa through the Macy’s website, the retailer will donate $1.

Then there are the companies whose entire platforms revolve around promoting a greener and socially just economy. The national nonprofit organization Green America, for example, curates lists of “Grinch Gifts to Avoid This Holiday," “11 Great Green Gifts Under $100,″ and children’s gifts from green, family-owned and fair-trade businesses.

“Every dollar you spend is a dollar voting for the kind of world you want to see,” said Eleanor Greene, editor for Green America.

[How Hanukkah gets lost in the holiday retail rush]

In St. Louis, Byrne scoured local bookstores in search of a copy of “It’s Kind of a Funny Story” for her brother. Out of luck, Byrne decided to buy him a print from one of her favorite artists, rather than order the book online. (Byrne’s dad, on the other hand, was more insistent about the exact gift he wanted: a sports water bottle from Target. He was unmoved by Byrne’s request to buy a different water bottle from a company with an ethically sourced supply chain.)

Celia Strainge is making a point of supporting local small businesses this Christmas. Strainge said she used to do most of her holiday shopping on Amazon but grew worried about reports surrounding company pay and worker treatment. (Amazon chief executive Jeffrey P. Bezos owns The Washington Post.)

For ideas, Strainge has been following the Instagram account of comedian Aisling Bea, who’s been posting her recommendations for socially conscious brands and holiday gifts. So far, the haul has included companies that sell second-hand clothes, a beer company that partners with charities to end food waste, and earrings made by women who survived sex trafficking.

Beth Porter is Green America’s Climate & Recycling Director, as well as the author of Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System who joins Jonathan to talk all things recycling; what is is, how it works, if plastic straws are as dangerous we’ve been told, how oil prices effect recycled plastic demands, and more.

Listen to the Podcast here:https://player.fm/series/series-2323839/whats-really-going-on-with-recy…

Find Beth’s work at https://www.bethrecycles.com/

She’s on Twitter https://twitter.com/bethrecycles and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bethrecycles/

Buy her book Reduce, Reuse, Reimagine: Sorting Out the Recycling System here:

https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781538105399/Reduce-Reuse-Reimagine-Sorting-Ou…

Beth also heads up Green America's Climate and Recycling Program: https://www.greenamerica.org/climate