1% For the Planet Helps Our Environment One Purchase at a Time
January 28, 2010 by Amy
Filed under Good Causes, Recent Posts
When Patty and Peggy launched Organic Bug; one of their founding principles was to conduct business practices that nurture the delicate “relationship we all have with the Earth, each other and our own inner beings.” In keeping with that pledge- they are active members of a wonderful organization called 1% For the Planet, whose mission is very much in alignment with their ideals: businesses recognizing that industry and ecology are inherently connected.
Since 2002, 1% for the Planet has inspired members of the business community to contribute 1% of their sales to environmental organizations around the world. The group works to connect businesses directly with countless non profits to donate on a local or international scale so the funds will go to a greater good. This movement has led to over 30 million dollars supporting worthy environmental organizations. Organic Bug has chosen to donate 1% of our sales to Healthy Child Healthy World.
1% for the Planet was founded by Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, and Craig Mathews, owner of Blue Ribbon Flies who decided to combine their business savvy with their passion to protect the planet. Their launched the organization in 2002 in San Francisco, California. Twenty-one businesses, including a winery, a coffee company and a guide service signed up as members. Since that time, membership has grown to over 900 and we are proud to be among this elite roster of businesses. To learn more about how to involve your business in this fine organization- visit their site and join their Facebook Page! And know that for each purchase you make with our organization- we will donate 1%, an “Earth Tax” if you will, to a non profit dedicated to preserving the planet.
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Based on their own business models, the two men hatch a plan to encourage more businesses to donate 1% of sales to environmental groups. Yvon calls it an “Earth Tax.” Craig calls it 1% for the Planet. They go with Craig’s idea. |
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1% FTP holds an official launch event at the Patagonia store in San Francisco, California. Twenty-one businesses, including a winery, a coffee company and a guide service sign up as members. Not bad for the first day. |
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A second launch event takes place at the Fly Fishing Retailer show in Denver, Colorado, engaging an industry that understands the connection between business and the environment like few others. Several more members are, um, reeled in. |
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Membership grows steadily by word of mouth, primarily on the West Coast of the United States and in outdoor industry circles. Jack Johnson, in conjunction with his music and film companies, Brushfire Records and The Moonshine Conspiracy, becomes the 50th member of 1% FTP. |
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Jack releases In Between Dreams, displaying the 1% FTP logo on the back of the CD jacket. Yvon authors the book Let My People Go Surfing, which culminates in the story of 1% FTP. The publicity contributes to the signing up of two to three new member companies per week, closing the year at over 200. |
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1% FTP goes prime time as NBC Nightly News features the organization in its Making a Difference series. In partnership with the Charture Institute, the first official 1% FTP local chapter is launched: 1% For The Tetons, in Jackson, Wyoming. The chapter adds 50 members within months. |
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To boost consumer involvement, the 1% FTP logo and web site are overhauled, and the first major print campaign is launched. With the total company membership exceeding 700, including more than 100 European businesses, donations approach $30 million USD. More than one new member company joins every day. The 1% FTP staff also grows—to 4, not including the dog. |
1% for the Planet promotional video – members mentioned from 1% for the Planet on Vimeo.
Turning Your Dinner Party Green!
November 19, 2009 by Crystal
Filed under Lifestyle, Recent Posts, Travel
With the Holiday season just right around the corner, your busy schedules probably just got slammed with a number of dinner parties to attend. Attending dinner parties are fun but hosting dinner parties can be fun too! Whether you are having a small get together or many people over for a green celebration, planning does not have to be stressful and hopefully this article will ease your list of things to do.
So you’ve decided you’re going to have a dinner party. Next step is figuring out how you’re going to send your invitations. To go green and ease the carbon footprint on getting your attendees attention to save the date, may we suggest using social media? What a quick and easy way to contact your network of friends. Remember, just because its online doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. Send your invites a jazzed up email, they will be excited to open it making them even more excited to attend, we like to use Evite.com.
Another idea is to suggest a prize for those who arrive by alternative forms of transportation other than by car, but whatever the prize is, make it green and make it goodJ. When you decorate for your party create displays of fresh flowers and soy candles and get creative with the seasons offerings. Pinecones, lemons, leaves, and oranges are all things found in or around your house that can add to the fall season and add to the mood of a comfortable environment.
Don’t forget to invest in some ‘green wine’; no, the color of the wine is not green but you can compliment any dish by supporting an ecologically sensitive winery. Or, you can have green drinks by supporting a local micro brewery, as more and more breweries are using organic ingredients. When shopping for your dinner party, don’t forget about the after dinner coffee which you can go green by supporting fair trade. If there are leftovers, send everyone home with whatever is left, or compost your scraps for your garden. When you’re cleaning up, make sure to skip the prewash, however if you don’t have a dishwasher, use some eco friendly soap to hand wash your dishes like Seven Generations or Shaklee. You should always seek out green household cleaning products because they are good for your health and good for the environment too.
As you can see these are quick and easy steps to use when you’re plan for your green celebration. We aren’t asking you to make drastic changes in the way you plan but as you can see by changing a little, you can and will reduce your holiday dinner party carbon footprint. All of these things are easy on your wallet; health and the environment too. Have fun and stay green this holiday season!
Green Living Online Resource Review: Focus Organic
November 9, 2009 by Amy
Filed under Buzz, Recent Posts
We strive to make Feed Your Eco a valuable resource for anyone searching for ideas and information on healthy and eco-friendly living; but we also want to acknowledge the many voices on the blogosphere that contribute to this movement. There are numerous online resources and blogs that making a real change by inspiring their readers to make simple and necessary changes that will have a lasting and positive impact on the environment.
This month, I came across Focus Organic, an open blogging community that is ideal for green living advocates who wish to share their ideas- but do not necessarily have the time to start and maintain their own blog. I love that the site encourages their readers share their knowledge and perspectives by submitting their blog entries (all posts are reviewed)- and the result is a wonderful range of ideas and tips that is not limited to just 1-2 authors.
The primary intent of this blog is to help educate people on the facts about organic products…but the site also covers a range of topics that promote a more sustainable lifestyle. I like how they categorize posts according to our daily routine: cleaning, food, money, transportation, well being, fashion, etc. They also help by reviewing and recommending innovative products and suggest best practices to help incorporate “green living” into your day to day routine.
When you visit the site, be sure to check out their link page- I have bookmarked this page myself as a wonderful list of many online eco resources that are broken into helpful categories. The list they have compiled in an excellent place to start when researching on how to incorporate green living your life. Be sure to check them out and let us know what you think (tell them Organic Bug sent ya!).
International Day of Climate Action
October 24, 2009 by Crystal
Filed under Good Causes, Recent Posts
Last Thursday, October 16, was the largest coordinated climate communication of all time, thanks to Blog Action Day. Through the power of social media, bloggers from across the world increased the total awareness of the number 350 by showing their support for environmental action, setting up October 24 (today!) to be quite possibly the “largest widespread day of environmental action in the history of the planet”! Articles, messages, pictures, tweets and feeds were all a part of the viral wave creating over 4500 events in over 170 countries. How amazing!
In just two months, leaders of the free world will gather in Copenhagen to come up with a new agreement to reduce carbon emissions that cause global warming. Since bloggers used their social networks to increase awareness now many understand that this may be the last and only chance to show support of reversing climate change and unleashing the green economy in full effect and the best way to do it, is to get involved.
It’s not enough to only make conscious consumer choices, we need to expect more and demand more, and therefore, we must do more. 350.org is a grassroots environmental campaign started by Bill Mckibben in hopes to raise awareness through social media and then follow up the support of 350 by mobilizing direct action from places all over the world (follow 350 on Twitter). Through the efforts of social media, people have created events large and small ranging from get-togethers at the base of Mount Everest to pushing the extreme opposite meeting place to the reefs of Maldives. You too can become involved; find out if there are events going on in the streets of your community.
There are a few things you can do today to be a part of the grassroots campaign to reverse the impacts of climate change. Spread the word! Use different platforms of social media to talk about 350 and what the impacts of climate change mean to you and your future. Another way to get people to talk about it is to host a get together, but remember to include the number 350 somewhere to be a part of the global wave and show your support. Check out 350.org’s photo stream from inspiring pictures from all over the world.
Get creative and take pictures of you and your people showing your support for 350 and don’t forget to upload them to 350.org so you can become a part of the global gallery of images and stories that will be saved and used to be a part of the movement that changes the course of climates history and future. Activists will be uploading events and pictures to 350.org which will be available to view in real time on a giant screen in New York City’s Time Square. New Zealand provides the first pictures of International Climate Day, check them out and hear what they have to say.
Last week Blog Action Day demonstrated the power that bloggers across the web can have on raising awareness about an important issue, however this week and today, we are taking just being heard, to another level. Social media alone can’t stop global warming but your efforts to demonstrate your support and your cause can. Today, you have a chance to mobilize direct action.
Where will you be?
Share the “In every corner of the globe…” video! Tweet it, Facebook it, email it, put it on your ipod, and even take your laptop to the streets. This video was made to convey the importance of 350 and inspire people around the globe to join events.
Here are a few more resources we thought you might find helpful:
5 Ways To Organize For A Meaningful International Day Of Climate Action On October
Blog Action Day, 2009
October 15, 2009 by Crystal
Filed under Buzz, Good Causes, Recent Posts
I’ve taken a little bit of a different approach to this year’s Blog Action Day than other bloggers I’ve read. They all have amazing points and I encourage you to read as many as you can! I wanted a very positive post and talk about something very simple, but often forgotten, love.
Loving our planet means many things to many people. It could be cleaning up trash in our oceans at a meet-up, clean-up group, it could be setting up recycling bins in your homes or offices, it could be educating students and consumers about alternative energy, or it could just be taking in a deep breath of fresh airwhile spending time with nature and appreciating every step, every tree, every smell, every feeling.
When you love something you want to give your all to it. If you’ve ever been in love with someone, you know the feeling I’m talking about. What if we started loving the planet as much as we love one another, and start proving our love? What if we walked a little more lightly, a little more consciously, a little more graciously, on our beautiful mother nature?
On Blog Action Day, I want to tell the world to open our hearts to the environment and look at ways we can show some love. There are many organizations to get involved with, petitions to sign, people to educate, laws to learn and know about, and probably many things that you could easily incorporate into your own life. Take that step, ask questions, research online, and try to do something nice for our environment.
Cheers to today and to our beautiful planet, the one I love and hope you will too!
Leonardo DeCaprio’s “The 11th Hour” Documentary
September 24, 2009 by Peggy
Filed under Buzz, Recent Posts
Spreading the word about hope and viable solutions for a sustainable future is right up my alley so when I saw Leonardo DeCarpio’s documentary, The 11th Hour, is now out on DVD I had to tell the world! Check out the trailer below then go to Netflix and order it up today!
Featuring over fifty of the world’s most prominent thinkers and activists including physicist Stephen Hawking, Nobel Prize winner Wangari Maathai and reformer Mikhail Gorbachev, this captivating film documents the severity of a planet in crisis. Deforestation, global warming, mass species extinction, depletion of oceanic habitats~all signs that point to a not-so-rosy future for humanity (aka: you, your kids and grandkids)!
The 11th Hour is dramatic in its forecasting of what the onset of global warming and other catastrophic environmental events mean to us as citizens of the planet. It calls for restorative action through a reshaping of human activity, reminding us that we already possess some of the most important tools to effect real change~our right to vote and our purchasing power. The opportunity to make ecology a top priority is right at our fingertips!
You will experience the enthusiasm of prominent scientists and environmental advocates as they paint a portrait of a radically new and exciting future in which humanity seeks to mimic nature and coexist in a healthy and sustainable environment.
Directed by sisters Leila Conners Petersen and Nadia Conners, the film was made as a call to action. And they didn’t stop there! The duo established a website called 11th Hour Action, where you can interact with other members and learn what people are doing to reshape the future.
Make Sure Earth Day Lives Past April
May 1, 2009 by Amy
Filed under News + Opinion, Recent Posts
Earth Day 2009 has come and gone, but it does not mean we stop caring. We are off to a great beginning, and hope that we each continue to take action. There are so many simple acts we can do that will make a difference, and it begins in your home. Here are some ideas on how you can begin advocating more for the enviroment beginning today:
Conserve water_
Did you know that only 3% of the earth’s water is freshwater? In addition, water-related energy consumes a large amount of energy. Here are some tips to protect this precious and critical resource and save yourself money:
1. Choose to water your lawn in the evenings when the air is cooler (never in mid day) to minimize evaporation._. Let grass grow longer and plant native or drought-tolerant garden plants. Recycle your dishwater (never waste it by pouring water down the drain if there’s another use for it), and use it to water your plants or garden.
2. Avoid letting faucets run. Don’t let the water run when brushing your teeth, shaving, etc. Instead of letting the water run while cleaning your veggies rinse them in a pot with water._
3. Run the dishwasher only when it is full.
4. Limit your shower time. Did you know that just a one or two minute reduction can save you 700 gallons? Better yet, install a low-flow showerhead (a minimal expense) to reduce the amount of water used.
Enviro Tote Large Recycled Cotton Canvas Shopping Bags at Organic Bug.
Use Reusable Shopping Bags. Our landfills are overwhelmed with plastic grocery bags. In fact, several states are considering bills that will require the consumer to pay for these bags. If you only buy a few products at the store, consider skipping the shopping bag. When grocery shopping, invest in a few reusable shopping bags (another minimal expense) and carry your items home in those.
Drive Smart. If alternative transportation is not an option for you and you must drive, drive slower and make sure your tires are properly inflated. Taking this step will save you money on fuel and tires, and lowers emissions. Take it a step further and look into carpooling options in your area.
Unplug Your Appliances When Not in Use. Large Appliances such as the Microwave and TV continue to suck up energy when they are left plugged in, even when they are not in use! This is called “standby power”. You will see a drop in your power bill and conserve more energy by unplugging your appliances in your kitchen, living room, bedroom and more. Plug your appliances into power surge protector strips (with multiple electrical outlets) and turn the power off at the strip when you do not use these items.
Be An Example. Encourage neighbors, friends, and family to do their part as well. Let them know how much money they can save each year by following some of the tips above. Teach your children how to be good stewards to the earth.
