More on cleaners/remedies

Back in September, we talked a lot about household cleaners and how you don't need all those chemicals. It generated quite a bit of discussion and feedback.  Here is some of it:

From Cheryl:

I make my own spray and wipe for use in my kitchen and bathroom. The recipe is so easy and it makes up about 2 litres at a time. I also supply my daughters flat with the spray, they love it !!

: 2 litres of warm water add 2 tbsp white vinegar. Shake. Add ¼ cup of liquid soap and gently mix. Add 15-20 drops of essential oil for fragrance. I use Eucalyptus oil as it smells nice and fresh. I then reuse old spray bottles and refill them with the liquid.

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From Jane: 

Following on from Francesca’s last blog, I’ve found a web shop where you can buy natural cleaning/baby products – the best thing is the bottle/container you buy includes the recipe on the side so you can refill it yourself.

There are also heaps and heaps of recipes for cleaners and beauty products here to if you are interested,

From Elizabeth:

Elizabeth is my cousin, who lives in Norway.  She has used this recipe to make home made laundry liquid.  She says it only takes about 15minutes to make and has been working really well: http://tipnut.com/10-homemade-laundry-soap-detergent-recipes/

Image source: http://www.wendylsgreengoddess.co.nz/  

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From: Francesca:

Following on from Jane's information about Wendyl Nissen, who now, after being an editor of a number of high profile woman's magazines,  makes natural products for sale, with the recipe on the side, I am currently reading her book - "A home companion - my year of living like my grandmother".  It is worth a read and has lots of useful recipes interspersed in it (and thank fully indexed at the back) for not only cleaning products but food and things like reducing the smell from your shoes.  They have all been tried and tested by Wendyl.  She notes in the book that many of the recipes online need some tweaking to get them to work well. 

Now back to smelly shoes!  As a person who does find that smelly shoes can be an issue but I resent paying so much for something like "Gran's remedy", for everyone out there that has a similar problem is is solved quickly by about 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in each offending shoe about once a week.  Sure it is a bit harder to spread in the shoe than "Gran's Remedy" but it works just as well so go and give it a try.



Image source: http://i-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/uimages/re-nest/012411-shoes.jpg
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Now that we all need piles of baking soda and white vinegar in our cupboards - does anyone know where to source it in larger quantities than what is usually available at the supermarket? 
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Have a great and sustainable weekend!

Kind Regards
Francesca

Eco your cat or dog

According to a lot of experts owing pets is not entirely sustainable in itself, unless you want to eat them, but lets face it, pets have lots of other benefits and I doubt most people reading this blog could face life without pets.    

So how can we make our pets more sustainable?

Here are a few ideas.  I am sure that you all have other ideas, so please add them to comments at the bottom of this blog post or email me directly and I will add them!

Pet Food

• What do you feed you pets?  
• Have you thought about where it comes from?  
• Is it sustainably sourced and produced?

I have started doing a bit of research into this but have a lot more to do.  Things I believe you should consider are:

1.  Where was it produced? 

Remember that in terms of sustainability, local is best.  The prroblem is that lots of the premium brands that we support and indeed see our pets doing well on, are produced overseas and shipped here.  Some local products worth looking at for cats and dogs include: Ziwipeak, K9 natural, Ultra and NZ pet foods.  I do not have any particular knowledge of any of these foods or companies, but they are all locally sourced and produced products and they seem to have growing profiles.  You need to research, review and check the AFFCO status of the products before switching to them.  It is also important to note that I have not yet checked out their green policies, so you should do that too. 

2.  Could I make a balanced diet myself and would this be ok for my pet?  

If you choose to make your own pet food, be very careful that you have sought the advice of an animal nutritionist  and/or your veterinarian in the first instance to ensure that the diet you are feeding is completely balanced.  A good starting point for learning about raw diets is: Raw essentials which was founded by an Auckland based veterinarian.  Imbalanced diets can lead to a number of serious diseases, including rickets, which used to be common place in New Zealand , even up until the early 1990's that has now virtually gone, due to improved and readily available quality commercial diets.  

I would also like to note here that you should "beware of dog roll" as many of these, although produced locally, have resulted in poisoning incidences, often due to the level of nitrites, not to mention the effects of the high fat content of dog roll (but that's another story). 

3.  What is the green policy of the pet food company?  

Some of the companies listed above might be locally produced but have a terrible green track record whereas a food produced overseas might be the opposite, so you need to research that first.  Look at their policies in terms of product sourcing, waste reduction and progress to being carbon neutral.

4.  Packaging? 

Is this recyclable?  Could it be or why isn't it?  The most common theme I have hit up against is that the packaging chosen is required to keep it fresh for longer which increases the shelf life.  Having said that, it is not only the packaging the improves shelf life but preservatives too.  A pet food with a long shelf life may have more of these - which may not always be good for a pet or the environment. 

All of this has got me thinking that perthaps these major food companies could do their research in a central point but distribute the recipes to smaller loca manufacturers?  Perhaps this is cost prohibitive.  The reality is though that big pet food companies will have to respond to what the consumer wants.  So research, pressure and iif you need/want to - change the food you feed.

Pet food is potentially a big can of worms and as a veterinarian myself, I do tend to promote the premium range pet foods, which there is no doubt pets do well on and this is what I learnt at university, but over recent years I have certainly started to look at other options especially in terms of can we get great results with our pets from products produced closer to home.  I do believe the answer is yes and I will be doing more research on this subject.

Bedding choices:

Do they need a separate bed? They could share with you because that's right folks,  the behavioural experts opinion on this has now changed and its ok to do this, as long as the rules are consistent.

This might suit some of you but to be honest, I don't want a dog in or on my bed either.  The cats I can cope with, but a dog, not so keen! 

So what other choices?

1. Use polar fleece as its a recycled material, easily washed and dried and warm and cosy.  You could use it to make a cushion, or just put a blanket on your favourite couch ot one dedicated to the pets, so the place of rest can be easily washed.  
2. Avoid bean bags as the polystryene beans can't be recycled.  Its a waste product with no end use.
3. Visit TradeMe, an ecoshop or other second hand store and purchase a chair or couch suitable for your pet.
4. Like the picture shows, cats love warm spots in the garden.  Tip a pile of fresh lawn clippings in your cats favorite garden rest spot.  The top provides a dry bed, while the grass heats and composts underneath providing a natural electric blanket. 

I am quite sure you can all come up with 100% sustainable sleeping options for your pets that don't involve spending large amounts of money.  I look forward to your ideas and feedback.

Toy choices:

Sure, your pets need toys, but often you don't need to spend much money.  String and newspaper for a kitten for example is as much fun as an y store brought toy.  Or for a dog that likes rolling a toy for a food reward, try and old plastic bottle with a whole in it, or just no lid.  Remember supervision with any toy, homemade or store brought is required at all times. 

In some cases when you might feel you do need to purchase a specific toy that you can't improvise with at home, its a case of choosing the more expensive options of a toy to ensure it has a long life. 

Dealing with waste material

Number 1's  are packed with nitrogen, so are great on your garden or lawn.  Just remember to hose in the area they have toileted to reduce the  burning of plants or lawn or train them to toilet in one area and not into a water way.

Composting their number 2's is more problematic in a temperate country like New Zealand where it is harder to achieve high temperatures for a lengthy period in compost.  The faecal coliform, E.Coli is often present in dog faces and is responsible for severe illness in humans.  Also present is parasite larva such as Toxocara canis and felis, which are responsible for the human disease visceral larva migrans.  In order to deactivate these.

This is a useful link to read about composting dog faeces.

Also Niki Bould, who is one of the sustainability champions at Otago Polytechnic told us this about how she deals with her dogs faeces: "I own a bokashi bucket (get the from the DCC customer service area) and then use the enzyme from that regular bokashi bin.  So I dug a deep hole at the bottom of my garden, put gravel at the bottom of it and then pushed a large bucket (with holes in the bottom of the bucket for drainage) into the hole I just made.  The bucket has a lid that is held in place with a stone.  Then after a few times of putting dog poo in it (a layer) I sprinkled enzymes on top.  Depending on how many dogs and how much dog poo, is the amount of time it takes to fill.  Once full, I put the contents of the bucket at the bottom of a pile of compost specifically for non-edible plants.  The contents of the bucket should be dry and non-stinky.  The first time I did it I realised I had put the hole in the ground in a place that gets very waterlogged, meaning the bucket and its contents were wet, stinky and a bit gross!  I moved it and now it works fine, an extra deep hole with a lot of gravel at the bottom is key i think."

Remember when collecting dog faeces, when out on a walk, that you should choose an alternative to plastic to collect your dogs faeces.  Even the plastic bags they say are biodegradable can take 500 years to do so and this is just too long.  Consider carrying a small bucket with a lid and trowel.  It can then be tipped into your special doggy do compost or bokashi bucket at home perhaps.  Another thing you could do is carry a paper bag to collect you doggy dog in.  If you dog produces poo that a paper bag won't handle, then pick it up with old newspaper first then place this in the paper bag.  This is far more biodegradable than the biodegradable plastic bags!  Lobby the local council to provide doggy doo composting at local dog parks and dog recreation areas too.

For cats litter trays, choose recycled and biodegradable material for the trays.  There are plenty  of options made from paper and also wood shavings that cats like and they work well.  Once spent, remove the faecal material and tip it straight in your compost bin.  Cat faeces need to be dealt with in the same manner as dog faeces, because they harbour the same risks.  

Grooming

Did you know that pet hair can just go straight in your compost bin?   So every time you groom your cat or dog, collect up the fur and throw it in your compost bin.  If you take your pet to the groomers, ask them what they are doing with the dog hair.  Let them know it is absolutely fine to be composted.

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I hope there are some useful ideas there.  I look forward to hearing more and updating this post as we do more investigation.

Have a great day greening up your pet!

Kind Regards
Francesca

Its all too much!

Is reading these blog postings, doing more research and looking around evaluating things starting to make you think its all too much?

I know just how you feel and  I am feeling that way right now actually! 

I went to the Christchurch A and P show today and found myself looking at everything with a sustainable mind set. 

One example, was that I was about to get stuck in to a person selling a product similar to an Aqua Laser mop on sustainability.  All the marketing was around how eco this option is - and perhaps on the face of it it is (washing your floors with nothing but stream) but what about the factory its made in - how much waste is being produced, how long does the product last..............anyway, I walked away (feel like a cop out now).  I also wanted to push him on his statement "it kills all the fleas from your pets in the carpet too" as I somehow doubt it kills the pupae but again I walked away.   

Sometimes it all seems too big and everything we do seems so small.  It was easier for me today to walk away and I am sure you will understand the feeling that it would just be much easier to duck our heads and just ride it out....................................or would it, when we think of the realities of what is happening and the future?


Even if we can't save the world did you know that getting back to basics is really good for your own health and well being and if we save the world at the same time all the better.  And when the opportunity presents itself to challenge or ask questions - take the opportunity.  If we make one person start thinking sustainably and asking questions, it was worth the effort.  I will take my own advice next time!!
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Jane shared this quote from Buddha when we had some discussion about it all feeling like its too much and I thought you should all see it too:

"The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, not to worry about the future, or to anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly."

Very sage advice.

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Oh and if anyone is thinking about getting a steam mop, here is an excerpt from the consumer website:
Have a great and sustainable weekend.

"Only 1 of our tested steam mops was better than a cheap and traditional sponge mop.  

Steam mops are heavily advertised on TV as a chemical-free and “sanitary” way to clean floors.  But with prices as high as $300 they’re an expensive alternative to the conventional sponge mop, bucket and a bit of elbow grease." For more click here to join consumer.

Something "light" hearted for this week

This is British Hydro's new commercial.

Don't forget that these do contain a small amount of mercury so please recycle carefully.  See an earlier post for more details. 

Have a great and sustainable weekend.

Sustainable Gifts - for Christmas and other special occasions

Christmas is only a few weeks away and no doubt you are all thinking about buying presents for your friends and family.  Perhaps you are more organised than me and have started already.
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CHALLENGE FOR YOU ALL

The School of Veterinary Nursing staff have set themselves a challenge of a Sustainable secret Santa this year for their end of year Christmas lunch.   I would like to extend that challenge to all our school staff, polytechnic staff, students and other blog readers to do the same, not just for the work Christmas do, but for all your Christmas gifts.  

Instead of buying "bargains" at the malls and big box stores that may not be wanted and  may not have a decent life span or be recyclable, how about setting yourself a sustainable challenge - purchase only goods that are sustainable to the best of your knowledge.

Remember also - it isn't how much you spend but the thought and effort that goes into a gift that counts.
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Think and support:

• Local - try visiting some local craft or farmers markets.  The Otago Farmers market is one such example.  But these are now widespread throughout the country.
• Homemade - nothing like some homemade sweets, biscuits, preserves or relishes (made with sustainable ingredients of course) from the home chef or for the sewing or knitting enthusiast - what about making small personalised gifts like aprons, cushions, socks, hats  (again using sustainably sourced fabrics/wool if you can) or make a book up of your own favourite recipes to give to a friend. 
• Natural - when purchasing cosmetics and moisturisers select those with sort ingredient lists, preferably made locally
• Time giving - A voucher for time is an awesome gift.   Offer time to clean a car, babysit, weed a garden
• Something living - seeds, seedlings or a more mature plant.  You can purchase ladybirds which make a great gift as natural pest control for gardens or tiger worms for the home compost bin.   You can purchase heirloom seeds from the Koanga Institute and I believe they are also available from Blueskin Bay Nursery in Waitati.
• Robust, long lasting, sustainable and recyclable - Avoid cheap plastic stuff for kids presents.   If you can buy locally sourced and made timber toys for kids - these last for many generations (my kids love playing with the ones I had as a child, they will still last more generations) and can still be recycled at the end of their life.  Kilmarnock Toys in Christchurch is an example of place to source these. 
• Second Hand - check out TradeMe for example.
• Products which have no or recyclable packaging
• Wrapping - Use recycled gift wrap and cards or old newspapers, brown paper make great gift wrap with personalised drawings or cut outs attached for example, or paint a picture and use that as gift wrap

Share your other ideas here of sustainable gift ideas for your loved ones!

Looking forward to your feedback, ideas and links!


Kind Regards
Francesca

Think packaging.......................

A couple of weeks a go on Fair Go, they were talking about the Packaging awards .  As part of the article they showed examples of the best and worst packaging there is.  You can view the Fair Go clip here. It is well worth watching. 

The website for the packaging awards which shows lots of examples of best and worst packaging is: http://www.unpackit.org.nz/

Do you think about what you buy in terms of the packaging and making choices based on the packaging?  Often there is an alternative in less packaging or packaging that can be recycled. 

 



Is there an opportunity to refill containers, rather than recycle them and get another container?  Remember that the first principles are always to reduce, then reuse.  Recycling is the third 'R'.  

Sometimes products that we recycle may not in fact be remade into another product that is actually able to be recycled, so we may recycle the packaging but  the next product it is made into is of lower quality and unable to be recycled. 

Jane Craker from the School of Veterinary Nursing made this comment regarding packaging and I agree: "Manufacturers need to be more accountable for their packaging choices, I would like to see them have to pay towards the cost of getting rid of it, that would soon get them thinking."

Polystyrene is unable to be recycled so stop and think before purchasing meat on polystyrene trays.  Ask you local supermarket not to use them or alternatively shop at your local butcher.

Did you know that the wax coated paper cups you get your takeaway coffees in can be composted? Make sure these cups do not go to landfill, but pop them in your compost or green waste bin.  




And since I work in a female dominated environment, I couldn't let this post go without adding this link to 'Moontime'

Share your ideas with us about how you reduce your weekly waste by reducing the packaging you purchase with products.  We look forward to hearing all your ideas.

Have a great and sustainable weekend
Francesca

Since its election year - what about sustainability policy from the 4 main parties?

I was going to follow up this week on the feeback that has been coming in from last weeks blog and some other things that have come uo from it regarding packaging but since I've been on leave from work this week I haven't had a chance to sort it all out, so I thought I'd just think politics!

Before heading to the links below, I would encourage you to become familiar with the concept of strong sustainability where the environment encircles everything with social and economy inside as opposed to the model where all 3 circles meet somewhere in the middle. 

I am not a hugely political person, but but with the general election coming up, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to encourage people (including myself) to review the main parties sustainability policies, so I did some hunting to get you started.  if this lights a flame or you feel this will be a main decider for you in terms of which way you vote, I suggest contacting the political parties directly for more information:

• National Party - if you visit their main policy page there is nothing that I can see specifically relating to sustainability and the environment, except right down the bottom in a section titled "other initiatives" and this includes a link to the page titled: Environment – Practical solutions, better protection  - this is a one page document about what National have done. 
• Labour Party - I struggled to find details of their current policy or 2011 election manifesto, but you can download their 2008 policy here.  It is 561 pages .  Click to page 201 for the environment section. 
• Green Party - The Green Party policy can be accessed at this link. 
• Maori Party - Again I had some difficulty finding current policy.  This is a link to the 2008 election policies and there is reference to the environment.  The link to specific policies did not seem to work, but you may have better luck. 

Apologies if I have left any of the parties out that you might affiliate too.  I have chosen to stick to the 4 main parties that are likely to gain the majority of seats in the next parliament as they are the ones who will have the say into New Zealand's environmental and sustainability policy. 

If you can access or supply me with better links to policies I will happily update the links too.

The purpose of this article is purely to draw your attention to the policies of the 4 main parties, in reference to sustainability, so that you can make your own decision on where to cast your vote if this topic is of major concern to you.  This may even stimulate you to ask your local representatives to answer some questions. 

Have a great and sustainable weekend.

Kind Regards
Francesca Matthews
Otago Polytechnic School of Veterinary Nursing Sustanability Champion 

Why do you buy bottled water?

Watch this video: http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/ 

Ask yourself why do you buy it?

• Lazy?
• Forgetful?
• Really think it tastes better?
• Like to line the pockets of the companies that make it?
• Another reason?

Do you feel better because you only buy a few and refill them?

That in itself has its own issues as the plastics used for these bottles are designed to be used only once.  When they are re-used toxins from the plastics can leach into the water as the plastic gets older.  This is made worse when the water sits in the bottle in the sun. 

What should you do?
Get yourself a reusable bottle, keep it in your bag and keep it full.  You should choose a food grade plastic bottle, that is BPA free and designed to be reused or consider a stainless steel bottle.  Recently some groups have come out saying that we can't even be sure that the plastic bottles designed to be reused don't start leaching toxins - I will leave you to do your own reading on this and make your own decision.

There is piles of good information at this link regarding bottled water to enable you do do further reading if you are not yet convinced

Reduce waste, save money and even get the same taste:

• Try chilling water from your tap prior to drinking
• If your tap water is chlorinated, have a jug or open bottle in the fridge - over a couple of hours the chlorine will evaporate off and the water will taste just fine.
• If you really think that your tap water tastes bad - spend the money on a filter and get it installed at home.
• With some of the money you save, get yourself a funky looking water bottle that is reusable.  Be the envy of your friends and feel good about yourself.  You can find some cool designs here: http://www.safebottles.co.nz/

Challenge yourself, your family, your work mates and anyone else you meet in life to stop purchasing water in bottles unless there is a truely genuine reason (in New Zealand that would be rare - even after the CHCH EQ, as long as you had power and water coming from the tap you could make safe water by boiling). 
Challenge those who produce and market bottled water to invest in sustainable practices such as developing and producing portable filters for example rather than fulling the planet up with empty bottles (and all the waste products produced making those bottles in the first place) or provide drink stations where you pay a few cents to refill your bottle with chilled drinking water perhaps..............I am sure there are many more ideas - add your ideas in the comments field below.
Put pressure on the celebrities who have a share in businesses that bottle water or market bottled water..................challenge them to use their celebrity status to change practices and do something good for the environment. 
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Educating the people you purchase from

Apologies for posting this late!  I was away at a School of Veterinary Nursing planning day last week and time ran out!!  We had a great talk from Nicola Bould, who is a sustainability educator at Otago Polytechnic, during our planning days which has injected a huge amount of motivation into the team - so watch this space!!

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Please note: This posting is in no way meant to be offensive to, or to pick on the company I have been corresponding with.  This posting is designed to help educate people and companies on the answers that they need to be asking and seeking answers too and the changes the may need to make to improve their sustainablilty.  The end result should be a more sustainable company now and in the future and a more sustainable future for everyone. 

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What I am learning, as I start asking these questions to the companies that supply products within the School of Veterinary Nursing (and believe me this is a slow and ongoing project) is that everyone has a "Green" answer, but that it always appears light and when you dig deeper the staff marketing the products can't answer the questions and when they do, the answers are equally vague and light.  Without wanting to point the finger at any of these companies and using them as an example here is an example diaglogue I am in the process of having now..........

First correspondance from me:

"Hi
I am investigating >>>>>(product details removed)>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>we are using in our clinical facility at Otago Polytechnic.　 One of the Polytechnics KPIs is sustainability and as part of that we are looking at everything we do and use within the School of Veterinary Nursing and assessing what we are using and whether there are alternatives that better meet out KPI’s.

I note that >>>>>>>>>>>  meets our needs in terms of efficacy, but the questions I want to ask are along these lines................

1. What happens to it when it goes down the drain – are the components non-toxic? Or are they broken down into non-toxic components?

2. What is the companies green/sustainability policy/progress towards zero waste?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind Regards
Francesca

Reply:
Hi Francesca,
Thank you for your e-mail regarding the >>>>>>>>>>>> enquiry into the toxicity and sustainability policy. I could not answer all the questions so e-mailed our parent company in the UK. They have answered,　 the reply is below. If you would like to know more or have any more questions please contact us again.

I do hope that these answers are what you wanted to hear. Could you please reply and let me know if you are happy with the way the >>>>>>>>>>>>> company is directed and that it suits your needs in the future.

Kind regards
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

And this is the information sent through from the parent company:

For part 1 of the questions, over the years >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> has been the subject of many tests and trials with the various water authorities and the National River Authority. Some that spring to mind are the Animal Sanctuary in the North East, The Shelter in Plymouth (can’t remember the name except the Manager Tony was instrumental in gaining us ground with the ABDCH?) and a large new kennel centre in the midlands. Each of these were put to stringent trials for water runoff to septic tanks etc. when they were installing new waste water facilities.

In each of the examples >>>>>>>>>>>>> was found to be non toxic going to drains as the residual % of the components after dilution and washing / rinsing was negligible. In addition the >>>>>>> will break down to sodium chloride (salt) in a short period of time causing no harmful effects to the environment. The only part of the formula that caused any concern at that time was the use of EDTA but in the end that was considered to be (a) as a component, too small of % part to warrant concern and (b) was changed to a more environmentally friendly component in 2004 following a Europe wide concern over the use of EDTA (even washing up liquids and similar household items used EDTA) and more suitable alternatives were found.

With reference to part 2:
We are committed to being green and as such are approved by the RSPCA. We use recycled packaging, bottles etc etc so our whole ethos is ‘Green’.

　

Kind Regards

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

My thoughts:

So you can see from this correspondance that initially the NZ supplier hadn't really thought much about this or perhaps been schooled on it by the parent company but certainly seems keen and interested in this subject and ensuring the product meets the needs of a sustainable practitioner.

Win 1 - we have now, through a simple correspondance awakened the interest in the topic with regards to the product by the supplier

Win 2 - we have been given some information that we didn't have before to help us prove our use of the product is acceptable.

Hopefully a win 3: the UK manufacturer is now thinking that they need to formalise that information and present it in a meaningful manner.

But its also raised a whole heap of questions and this is where it is hard to get real meaningful answers.  In the reply from the UK parent company, they have justified the 'green-ness' of the product by saying they use recycled plastic bottles.  Yes this is great but this doesn't denote green and sustainable procedures.  There are so many more questions.  　

I am no expert at this at all so I don't propose to know all the questions or many of the answers, but my job here is to be thought provokoing and get you, the reader and also the companies I am corresponding with really thinking.

So this was my reply:

Hi >>>>>>>>>>>>

Many thanks for this. It definitely does begin to answer our questions and we don’t have any intentions of changing at this stage. It is great to see components have been changed as concerned were raised.　

However, in order to be really open and transparent about what we are doing, it would be great if we could get some copies of the trial work showing its safety. I am not doubting the word but we are increasingly being asked to prove and document what we say/use. My other thing that I would say now is that it is important that those involved with >>>>>>>>, understand the opportunity now to investigate answers to these questions is a real opportunity to leap forward as a product rather than wait and see what others do and be a market leader.

It would be great to get details of the "green" ethos. For example – it is really great that the bottles are recycled packaging but details on how this is sourced and the "green-ness of the making the recycled plastic into new bottles" for example because there is of course an energy cost (I am guessing this is still a good thing to do – I am just trying to illustrate some of the questions to ask – not just accept that its recycled so it must be better. The plastic vs paper debate is a classic one of this), details on how people are encouraged to recycle the packaging themselves – initiatives to encourage people to keep reusing the packaging like sending it back to be refilled for example (this may or may not work out the best but we are wanting to see evidence of looking at this as an option), also details of the sourcing of the components of >>>>>> and whether each of these components are green and also socially sustainable too. How much waste are each of these companies producing and how much is >>>>>>>> producing to make the end product. So you can see that I am wanting to go the level deeper – so we can see that the base components are sourced sustainably.　

Also manufacturing creates lots of waste – documented stuff about what is being done to reduce the waste – targeting zero waste and carbon neutrality for example. Is the power source that is used to produce the product from a renewable source for example, is all old equipment including electronic equipment fully recycled. Then the other side is the social ethos – are the employees of the company treated fairly etc. Also thinking about how you encourage the end product user to be sustainable in its use. Where it is not possible to reduce waste any further or carbon use, what offsets are in place – for example planting trees. The list of questions goes on.　

I appreciate these are all hard questions – and answers might not be currently available - we are asking these questions of lots of companies and many are struggling to answer them, however we believe these are questions we should now be asking for answers for and we are educating our students to ask these questions. It is essential now for companies to look seriously at this. It is no longer ok to just say "we are green because we use recycled packaging". We need to know about the whole package – which means the company need to know the whole package too.　 　　

If you click on the link in my signature to our sustainability blog, you can see some of the things we are talking about (the blog is just a weekly tip designed to start getting our students engaged and is only part of the package) – I have only recently started the blog, so lots of the stuff we have talked about and done are not on there yet. There is also a post about sustainability and a link to a video called "How stuff works" – this is a great eye opener and in some ways helps to visualise the consumer/throw away society and start thinking about different ways. One of the concepts that has really got me on board is that "rubbish doesn’t go away – it becomes someone else’s problem".

Many thanks and I look forward to any further information that can be provided.　

Kind Regards
Francesca

So as you can see there are lots of questions to ask to get the company thinking.  If we can achieve that and the company itself starting to make inroads into documenting what they are doing and the safety and green-ness of the company and its products, we have a win-win situation.  Lets see how they reply! 

Certainly in the short term it is hard to imagine that the consumer society is going to change, so as a sustainable practitioner, once you have identified that you really have a need for a specific product you need to be asking the hard questions to the person who is marketing the product.  This then gives the person marketing the product and therefore the company an education to some degree in improving their sustainability over time.
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To finish, a quote I borrowed from the recent NZVNJ, that originated from Mahatma Gandhi

“Be the change you want to see in the world”.

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Have a great and sustainable week!

Francesca

Please note: This posting is in no way meant to be offensive to or to pick on the company I have been corresponding with.  This posting is designed to help educate people and companies on the answers that they need to be asking and seeking answers too and the changes the may need to make to improve their sustainablilty.  The end result should be a more sustainable company now and in the future and a more sustainable future for everyone. 

Earth in hands - Image source

Rubbish pile - Image source

Ideas and feedback generated from last weeks blog post on cleaners

Within the School of Veterinary Nursing there was quite a bit of email traffic generated by last weeks blog post and I thought it was worthwhile sharing.........


Helen got a home made washing powder recipe from her friend Emma:

Emma had to say about the recipe above:

I use 4 cakes of Sunlight (1 box) and 1 container of washing crystals and make a large batch this fills 2 icecream containers. I usually put in a few drops eucalyptus or lavender oil.

Also when I pour it into containers to cool and (sort of) set I sort of whisk it a couple of times as it cools or it seems to separate a bit.

This does not have any bleaching agents so will not take stains out you need to treat these before washing!

But is very biodegradeable and lasts for ages you only need a small scoop for a full load. I use a scoop form a commercial power I saved.

Also I noticed Lily is less itchy when I use this vs commercial powder.

Probably once every 10 white loads I will use commercial powder just to really whiten them up

And apparently you can catch the waste water from the washing machine, where you ahve used this home made washing powder and water your garden with it and Emma says the garden does just fine. 
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Helen also raised the point "Does the Eco brand actually ahve any backing that it is better than any other or is it just good marketing?"


And this is probably a good point - it certainly has less stuff in it than other brands - the ingredient list is far shorter and the list of ingredients looks less chemical, but is it any better?


I'll leave you to make your own mind up and do your own comparisons.  Here is the link to the secostore website regarding how environmentally firendly it is. 


Jennifer H mentioned that she had done some of her own research and found that Surf was the one to use.  It is also part of Unilever which have got a well published sustaoinability charter and seem to be really openly committed, though I couldn;t find anything on the website relating specifically to surf and its sustainability.  Here is the link - you can have a look and make your own mind up.  Of course with this brand over say ecostore you have to consider miles the products are travelling and supporting the local economy and compare the cost/benefits. 


There are of course many other washing products like Down to Earth which claim to be ecofriendly too - sorry there is no link.  I have struggled to find one.  I didn find on my hunting the website for Reckit and Benckiser which cary a huge number of brands, including things like Frend and Finish.  You can read about their environmental committment here.  I would encourage you when reading this promotional stuff on websites to go back and review that video clip that I posted a couple of posts back - "How Stuff Works" .  The thing that sticks in my mind is for every product that emerges, on average there is about 70 x the waste produced.  Scary stuff. 


I think this all highlights that first and foremost we should look at using less process products and less of everything in general.  Then if we need something else we look at what it is, how it is produced, what the companies sustianability policy is and is it safe.  Remember lots of the commercial products are filled with long lists of stuff - names which you can hardly read.  Unlike the homemade washing powder recipe above. 
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Moving on from washing powder Helen also commented:

"I love that vinegar is back… just like grandma said. She also uses baking soda for deodorant, is 90 and doesn’t seem to smell much… (2 good reasons to use it, it would seem. Like my robust clinical trial???)"

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One the veterinary front Jennifer H suggested the use of a UV light for sanitising surfaces in the veterinary clinic surgery once they have been cleaned and after having Helen Milner down from VetSpecs last week, we are now investigating implementing there noscrub surgical hand wash system, which avoids the litres and litres of water running dopwn the sink. 

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On Chlorines, Jennifer H mentioned:

"Chlorines are strong oxidisers and toxic in high amounts (like most chemicals). But it biodegrades by gassing off. I seem to recall learning about it a few years back and the chlorine gas is a minimal risk as chlorine (sodium chloride) is found naturally in very high concentrations in our oceans. You get what you pay for with bleach. The Janola brand has up to 5% sodium hypochlorite but as it is stored, the percentage goes right down so it needs to be kept fresh. The cheap brands only have as little as 3% and they also degrade with age. "

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Vinegar as a rinse aid in the dishwasher and clove oil for mould

Several staff cxommented that Vinegar is a very good rinse aid, so why don't you all give that a try instead of purchasing rinse aid.

From Caro: I use white vinegar in the dishwasher instead of the conditioner this leaves dishes lovely and clean.　

1/4tsp of clove oil to 1litre of water is a great way of killing mould it still doesn’t bleach the mould so you have to clean the mould off first and then the clove oil helps prevent it coming back (asthmatic children) reacted strongly to other cleaning products.

From Jeanette: I used white vinegar on my bench after the sustainability tip – looks fab!
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Baking Soda
Lara says "Baking soda is a great, non toxic substitute for scrubby cleaners, and salt on half a lemon will take nasty stains out of counters and kills off a lot of bacteria.
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Bulk Cleaners
Jennifer H also mentioned "we discovered this week that you can get bulk cleaners at Piko Wholefoods on Stanmore rd. just bring your own refillable container!" - this is great for those of you in CHCH.  THere are sure to be similar options elsewhere too.

Remember when purchasing bulk cleaners like this, still ask the same questions about whats in them, where they are from and so on!! 
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What is biodegradable?

In the school teaching facility we are using Safe4 which is very like Trigene (a halogonated tertiary amine) and it is sold on being safe to animals and the environment and being biodegradable.  We are still trying to get more information to quaitify this, now that we are thinking at a doifferent level, and not believing everything we read!

It has raised the interesting questions...

1.  What is the definition of biodegradable?  We know they now market biodegradable plastic pbags but from the reading I have done this could be 500 years of biodegrading which really isn't acceptable. 

2.  Before it biodegrades - are any of the products including those in the breakdown process toxic?

So far, we have not had responses about this product to answer our more indepth questions, so we will let you know when we do.  We are also hoping to be speaking to a veterinarian with sustianbility interests next week about what she uses in her clinic.

We are also investigating other options.  However our biggest issue is we need to be using a product that is proven against parvovirus and ringworm in particular to ensure we are meeting hospital level standards in our facility. 

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So thats it from me this week..thanks to all the contributors.............some solutions provided and some questions generated.................I would be keen to know if anyone has a good natural cleaner for showers - glass doors and acrylic.  I now have a citrus clearner which certainly caused my hands or breathing no grief so that has got to say something, but maybe vinegar or baking sode in diswashing Liq do a similar job? 


Have a great and sustainable weekend!  During the next week, the challenge is to challenge someone who is selling you a product on its "sustainability credentials" and then before you buy it, ask the question "Do I really need it?"..................Remember "Less is more"


Cheers
Francesca