Verizon Wireless Becomes an Energy Star Partner

Verizon Wireless has formalized its partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by becoming an official Energy Star Partner. Seventy-five Verizon Wireless Communications Stores have already earned the Energy Star for superior energy performance.

Under the partnership, Verizon Wireless pledges to measure and track energy performance at hundreds of company Communications Stores, switching centers, cell sites and other facilities throughout the United States.

The wireless communications company also will integrate Energy Star resources into its energy management strategy, and promote the importance of energy efficiency to employees, partners and communities in the 49 states where it operates.

“We are formalizing our partnership with the EPA and this strategic, corporate energy management program to help us continue to enhance our business’ sustainable energy practices and contribute to a better environment for future generations,” said John Stratton, executive vice president and chief operating officer for Verizon Wireless, in a statement.

“And being more energy efficient makes business sense: energy efficient operations help keep costs down, and we can redirect those resources to improve the customer experience,” he added.

Verizon Wireless also offers solutions to help customers conserve resources by reducing paper use through the company’s online billing options and keeping old cell phones and batteries out of landfills through the company’s Hopeline initiative and Verizon Wireless Trade-In Program.

Verizon Wireless recently was named one of the Top 12 Green-IT Vendors by Computerworld magazine.
Courtesy of Environmental Leader





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Netherlands is First Country to Commit to Using only Sustainable Palm Oil

Although a host of food and consumer product manufacturers have committed to using only sustainable palm oil over the past few years, The Netherlands is the first country to make this commitment thanks to the pledge of all palm oil suppliers and buyers in the Dutch market.

By the end of 2015, all palm oil in The Netherlands will be sustainable, as certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). Suppliers and buyers made the pledge as part of the Dutch Taskforce Sustainable Palm Oil. The task force was initiated by the Dutch Product Board for Margarine, Fats and Oils (MVO), which also participates in the global RSPO.

Task Force participants include associations representing the Dutch refining industry, food manufacturing industry and feed industry, which represent a significant share of the Dutch palm oil market.

The ” Manifesto of the Task Force Sustainable Palm Oil” (PDF) details the group’s guiding principles and action plan to meet its commitment.

General Mills and Seventh Generation are two of some of the most recent companies to commit to responsible palm oil sourcing.

A number of food makers including Unilever, Nestle, Cadbury and Kraft and restaurants such as Burger King over the past year have moved to drop Sinar Mas as a supplier of their palm oil purchases due to claimed links to deforestation by Greenpeace. 
Courtesy of Environmental Leader


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Wal-Mart to boost buying from small and local farms

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is planning to double the sales of fresh produce from local farms in its United States stores by the end of 2015, part of a strategy to revamp its global produce supply chain.

The world's largest retailer said it would also sell more than $1 billion each year in food from one million small and medium-sized farms in emerging markets by the end of 2015. That would help increase income for those farmers 10 percent to 15 percent in the same time frame, Wal-Mart said.

In the United States, Wal-Mart said its plans for supporting local agriculture would lift local produce to 9 percent of total produce sales in the country. Wal-Mart does not give a dollar figure for total produce sales.

Wal-Mart also said it will require that palm oil from sustainable sources be used in all of its private-label products by the end of 2015. The company sells hundreds of products that use palm oil. Environmentalists argue some producers add to global warming by felling forests.

Using locally sourced agriculture and supporting small farms is one way to preserve local jobs and prevent dwindling farmland from being lost, according to environmentalists and other groups. It can also help reduce the use of resources such as fuel to transport food over long distances.

Wal-Mart joins a growing list of corporate and charitable organizations lending support to sustainable agriculture programs and small and local farmers.

Backers of such programs include the United States Agency for International Development, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and a host of corporations, including DuPont and Archer Daniels Midland.

The focus comes as the United Nations warns that the global population is estimated to jump roughly 50 percent to 9.2 billion by 2050, which will require broad public and private initiatives to boost agricultural productivity and nutrition without use of additional environmental resources.

"Wal-Mart, they are a very big outfit. If they require their suppliers to meet sustainability requirements, that will have significant implications," said Bill Lesher, executive director of the Global Harvest Initiative consortium of corporations focused on increasing agricultural production.

"It will benefit large farmers, small farmers, it will be helpful to everyone," Mr. Lesher said.

Wal-Mart has sought to reduce the environmental harm posed by its business by pushing suppliers to cut package sizes and encouraging consumers to buy energy-efficient light bulbs. It has also cut down on fossil fuels in its supply chain.

The moves have helped Wal-Mart improve an image tarnished by accusations of unfair treatment of employees and the threat its stores pose to small local retail businesses.

As part of the plan announced on Thursday, Wal-Mart said it will spend more than $1 billion on improvements in its global fresh supply chain to move fresh food to stores more quickly.

Wal-Mart aims to reduce food waste in emerging market stores by 15 percent and in stores in other markets 10 percent by 2015.

The company is also looking to help protect the Amazon rainforest by only buying beef from producers that do not contribute to deforestation, Wal-Mart said.

The Brazilian government, at the prompting of conservationists, has cracked down in recent years on slaughterhouses that buy cattle raised on illegally deforested pasture in the Amazon. The industry has been slowly moving toward ear-tag chips to expand traceability to most of the country's roughly 200 million head of cattle.

The plans were announced by Wal-Mart chief executive Mike Duke at the company's sustainability milestone meeting.  Courtesy of ECOSEED


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Alternative Energy: The Bloom Box

 Large corporations in California have been testing a new device that can generate power on the spot, without being connected to the electric grid. They're saying it's efficient, clean, and saves them money.    Will we have one in every home someday?

Silicon Valley startup Bloom Energy has invented what some are calling the power plant in a box, a little square shape device which is about the size of a brick is said to be able to power an entire home.



With the Bloom Box You'll generate your own electricity wirelessly with out the need for addition equipment in the home, Bloom Energy ultimate goal with the box is to get rid of the need for big power plants and transmission line grids. Co-founder and chief executive, K.R. Sridhar, while working as a director of the Space Technologies Laboratory at the University of Arizona, was approached by NASA and asked him to find a way to make life sustainable on Mars. The first project his lab came up with was a device that would use solar power and Martian water to drive a reactor cell that generated oxygen to breathe and hydrogen to power vehicles, from that came the Bloom Box.
Breakthrough technology that will revolutionize the way we think of energy

The Bloom Box is a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) that uses liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons (such as gasoline, diesel or propane produced from fossil or bio sources) to generate electricity on the site where it will be used, According to the company, a single cell (one 100mm × 100mm metal alloy plate between two ceramic layers) generates 25 watts.

In an interview with CBS, company co-founder K.R. Sridhar was asked about whether the box is intended to replace the utility companies he responded by saying, "The Bloom box is intended to replace the grid…for its customers. It's cheaper than the grid, it's cleaner than the grid." So far the small startup claims to have 20 large corporations as customers testing Bloom boxes in California. FedEx, Walmart, Google to name a few are all on board.


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Many skeptics would point out the fact that fuel cells have underdelivered on their promise over the years but the company is worried and is very confident about their device. "Our system can use fossil fuels like natural gas. Our system can use renewable fuels like landfill gas, bio-gas," Sridhar said in an interview, Bloom's corporate boxes cost about $700,000 to $800,000 and have a three- to five-year payback period, the company estimates. As the device begins the mass production phase each home sized Bloom device will cost under $3000, "We are twice as efficient as the U.S. national grid, which means we can produce the same amount of electricity for half the fuel and half the carbon footprint," Sridhar says.

Many Analyst are predicting that Bloom could do very well in U.S. states that subsidize alternative energy technologies, such as California, New York, and Connecticut. We have to wait and see what impact the Bloom Box will have on our ever growing need for energy. Bloom boxes will power not just our richest companies, but remote villages in Africa and all our houses said Sridhar.  Source



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Green Truck Convoy Carries Message

The Southwest Brooklyn Industrial Development Corporation (SBIDC) launched the first ever Green Truck Convoy Tuesday aimed at promoting the use of sustainable fuels and cleaner, more efficient hybrid engines among companies using trucks or buses in the New York area.

The convoy, which rolled through the streets of South Brooklyn, included trucks from several Brooklyn businesses utilizing green technologies and practices — including Quadrozzi Concrete, Greg’s Express, Metro Fuel and Movers Not Shakers.

The convoy started from the SBIDC’s Red Hook office, at 402 Van Brunt St., and ended at Sahadi Fine Foods, at 43rd and 1st Avenue in Sunset Park.

Local supporting not-for-profits on board for the ride included EWVIDCO, South Brooklyn Local Development Corporation (SBLDC), and UPROSE, an organization promoting environmental justice and sustainable practices, which drove its own highly decorated hybrid tour bus in the procession.

“Most residents aren’t aware of local businesses’ pro-active stance when it comes to the environment,” says John Quadrozzi, Jr., president of Quadrozzi Concrete and the board member of SBIDC who envisioned and helped organize the convoy. “This is a fun way to demonstrate our commitment to providing essential services in the cleanest, most eco- and neighborhood-friendly way possible.”

Interestingly, these companies have initiated green agendas on their own, without prompting from legislation or enforcement.  Read Full Story





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Living a Sustainable Lifestyle

 As back to school begins young students are looking to go to a school where they can spend four years living a sustainable lifestyle.
 
With its Georgian architecture and Old Virginia bricks, South Hall looks a lot like other buildings on the Wake Forest University campus.

But the new residence hall, which will open to freshmen on Aug. 19, is a showpiece that was built using modern ideas on sustainability.

And it's been outfitted with the latest in green technology, from energy-efficient appliances to flat-screen TVs that will show students how much water and electricity is being consumed on each of the building's four floors.

The 67,000-square-foot building on the southern tip of campus reflects the university's mission to become more sustainable, said Donna McGalliard, the dean of residence life and housing.

"The university's philosophy has really been focused on sustainability," McGalliard said. "And that it's not just a fad or a trend."

For the past few years, the university has added things such as more efficient washers and recycling centers at its residence halls, but South Hall is the first building that was planned, designed and constructed with LEED-certification in mind. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a certification system used for green building.

Wake Forest will not know whether South Hall meets LEED certification for several months.

Jim Alty, the associate vice president for facilities and campus services, said the university has started a number of programs to get faculty, staff and students to recycle, reuse food trays and share cars.

"This is the first time that Wake has had a chance to demonstrate in a physical way our commitment to sustainability," he said.

A new welcome center also is being built following green-building standards.

South Hall, one of six freshmen residence halls that form a cluster on the south end of campus, was built to accommodate the growing number of freshmen attending Wake. It will house 201 students, most of whom will live in a double room that averages about 220 square feet. Freshmen will be randomly chosen to live there.

The residence hall is the first to be built at Wake since 1998, when an apartment-style hall was built on the north end of campus. The new dorm cost $18 million to build. The green features did not add to the price, Alty said.

The building's environmentally friendly features will be a draw for this generation of college students, McGalliard said. "I would not say the same thing of students five years ago. This follows naturally with what they've been learning." Green dorms are showing up all over the country, said Alexandra Adler, the assistant director of Sustainable Endowments Institute, which promotes sustainability on college campuses. About 44 percent of 332 colleges surveyed have either a "green" residence hall or one that is devoted to sustainable living, according to a report the institute issued last year.

A recent report that looked at sustainability at 332 universities showed that about 44 percent have either a "green" residence hall or one that is devoted to sustainable living.

"Young students are looking to go to a school where they can spend four years living a sustainable lifestyle," Adler said. "When you're in a dorm, you don't have control over how much water is being used, so to live in a dorm with those kinds of facilities would be attractive."

One of South Hall's features is the amount of natural light that filters through its many windows. The windows, which are double-pane and framed in aluminum, not only bring in natural light but offer good views of the campus and the surrounding green space.

Ryan Swanson, the university architect, said the connection to the outside world is part of sustainable design. "Part of being sustainable is satisfying the occupant," he said.

Those occupants can study in rooms with individual thermostats, lean back in chairs made of recycled seat belts, and fix popcorn in a microwave-refrigerator-freezer combo that uses just one plug.

"This is going to help students understand what it means to live in a sustainable environment," McGalliard said.   See Full Story




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Green Schools Growing in California

Los Angeles Unified School District is the second largest school district in the nation, and now they are working toward becoming the greenest.

A year long effort to bring gardens to their mostly concrete and asphalt schools has taken the education of LAUSD students to a new level. By providing hands on experience with gardening, the students -- 77% of whom live in poverty -- are being led by example toward a more sustainable and economically practical future.

In addition to the gardens, LAUSD is installing solar panels at 90 of their campuses which will save the district $5 million in energy costs every year.  Via HuffingtonPost










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Motivation for Manufacturer's to Go Green

 Motivation for manufacturers to become more energy efficient took a huge step forward recently with announcements by major corporations like Wal-Mart and General Motors that they will require their suppliers to reduce their carbon footprints.

 According  to Jack Healy, director of operations at the Massachusetts Manufacturing Partnership, the impact of these announcements, like Wal-Mart's February decision to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its global supply chain by 20 million metric tons by 2015, is likely to be seismic in the manufacturing world.

For the first time, businesses are regulating the environment, he said, and their action is likely to have a much more game-changing impact than anything state or federal regulations have achieved, especially for smaller companies.

"Now you have large companies like Wal-Mart, IBM, GE and GM, they're all going back down through their supply chain and they're making demands on (companies) to change," said Healy. "I think you're going to see a very significant change. They are much more capable of affecting change than regulators."

While many large manufacturers have already begun exploring the benefits of increased energy efficiency, especially if they have consumer products that can be branded as sustainable, smaller companies don't always have the necessary time, available capital or similar financial incentives, to do the same.

Now pressure from major corporations means many must begin taking steps in order to keep their businesses alive.

"Smaller companies have always resisted all this stuff, but now if they want to remain in the supply chain, they're going to have to conform," said Healy.

According to Healy, a good number of Massachusetts companies have the potential to be affected with about 69 percent of the state's 7,000 manufacturers falling in the 20-or-fewer employee category.

Part of a national network, MassMEP works with manufacturers to create more efficient manufacturing processes. More recently, it has teamed up with the Environmental Protection Agency to see how Lean manufacturing techniques can be applied to produce more sustainable manufacturing operations.

While these new pressures are getting close attention from manufacturers, Healy said, many are confused about where to place their efforts. In a May 27 blog post on the subject, Healy cited a recent Aberdeen Group survey which shows sustainability has become one of the top five market pressures facing today's manufacturing operations.

But, he noted, the survey suggests manufacturers are still struggling with just where sustainability efforts should be focused — on building facilities, products, manufacturing operations or all of the above.     Click here for full story






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Turning Green Into Green

Everyone knows the familiar “reduce, reuse, and recycle” concept by now, but most people still have not moved past this most basic “greening” of their home and life onto other methods to help the planet.              Turn Green into Green.
We have compiled a short list of other easy ways to live more sustainably, as well as save you some “green” in your wallet. We hope you will try out one or more of these community based strategies to benefit the environment and keep you on budget in this struggling economy. 




Bartering
Bartering is the age old practice of trading something you already have for something else you don’t have. It is what you can do to get what you want without any money. Some people trade items, such as fish for apples for example, but others trade for less tangible things, such as time spent gardening for time spent babysitting, which is referred to as time dollar credits. Barter exchange is another way you can recycle your old belongings that you no longer use to get something that you do need without being wasteful. It helps save you money since you aren’t spending your cash on something new.


Carpooling
Everyone knows what carpooling is, but it seemed like the practice had tapered off in the past decade until the current economic downturn. Now ride-shares are coming back in popularity both in part to help combat global warming by reducing carbon emissions and to save money on gas. You can usually find a coworker to carpool with at your place of employment, but you can also look on local community boards or forums. Splitting the cost of gas and taking extra cars off the road will help everyone breathe easier. If you can’t find someone to carpool with, leave your car at home and take your local public transportation. There are usually many opportunities for carpooling and ride-shares in larger cities if you look for them.

Rain Barrels
Rain barrels are what they sound like: barrels that catch and store rainwater. With the demands on the world’s fresh water supply increasing every day, you might wonder what you can do to help conserve water in your own home. Installing a rain barrel is just one thing you could do that makes sense and would cut down on your water bill. Initially, it will cost you money for the supplies (and possibly installation), but it is something you will use for years. Rainwater is diverted from the downspout of your gutter into a plastic or wooden barrel and then used to water your garden or lawn during the summer. It makes the most sense to install one right before the spring rains come so you will have a full barrel to use over the summer when droughts can cause water utilities to raise their rates.

Meal Exchange
With some planning and coordination, you can create a meal exchange with a group of friends, coworkers or neighbors. In a meal exchange, each family only cooks one large meal a week for everyone in the group, and then portions off and trades meals with the other families. This means your family gets to eat a different meal cooked by each family every night. The end result is that you save time by only having to cook one meal a week, you save money by buying in bulk and not having to buy groceries for multiple meals, and you build community with the other families in the exchange. It is good for the environment as well because you end up going out to eat less when you already have food prepared at home, which saves on carbon emissions from driving and food packaging from going into a landfill.

Community Tool Sheds
A community tool shed is exactly that – people in the neighborhood share their tools in a central location for other neighbors to borrow and use. It allows you to borrow a tool you need for a project instead of having to go out and buy a new power tool that will just collect dust after you complete the work. You will save money on tools and help save resources. A community tool shed also provides the opportunity to organize a neighborhood home improvement team where a group of neighbors help one another do repair work on each other’s homes. By working together, the projects will get finished sooner, everyone will save money by not hiring workers, and the neighborhood overall benefits by becoming a closer community and raising home values.

We hope these suggestions have been useful in helping the “green” in your bank grow along with expanding your knowledge of other creative ways to help the environment and build community.

…And please remember that every little thing each of you does will help!
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Walmart's Expanded Solar Power Initiative Moves Forward

Walmart announced yesterday the completion of two solar power projects from its expanded solar initiative announced on Earth Day 2009 (April 22). The solar projects are located in San Diego, California.  Walmart’s expanded solar power initiative will nearly double its solar energy use in California, adding solar installations at 10 to 20 Walmart facilities throughout the state.

San Diego Mayor Jerry Sanders and Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox praised Walmart for its commitment to renewable energy in the region.

“San Diego is the leader among California cities for solar use and generation, so it’s fitting that a Walmart store in our city would go solar,” said Mayor Sanders. “I appreciate Walmart’s leadership on increasing renewable energy in San Diego and throughout the state. It is good policy that will benefit the environment as well as result in energy cost savings they can pass along to customers.”

“I commend Walmart’s leadership in sustainable practices through its addition of solar energy technology to the Chula Vista Broadway store,” said Mayor Cox. “Walmart’s commitment to renewable energy is an investment in an economically and environmentally sustainable future for our city.”
The solar projects were also recognized by Mary D. Nichols, Chairman of the California Air Resources Board.

“Walmart’s effort to expand and accelerate its solar power initiative program here in California demonstrates their commitment to sustainability. These kinds of projects create green jobs, reduce costs for businesses by lowering power bills, and protect the environment,” said Nichols. “We appreciate Walmart’s leadership and encourage other businesses to follow Walmart’s lead.”

The expanded solar initiative builds upon the solar pilot program that began in May 2007. In addition to the two San Diego region stores, three other stores in the Southern California region went online in December 2009 as a part of its expanded solar power initiative. Walmart’s total combined solar efforts in California are expected to:  See Full Story






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Solar Day 2010

Given the public outrage over the largest oil spill in U.S. history, public awareness of solar energy has grown through recent speeches by President Obama about solar energy and clean energy.

This year’s annual day of recognition for the growth of clean, solar energy in the U.S. is SolarDay 2010 – Saturday, June 19. The premise of SolarDay is simple: a national day of recognition for solar energy, energy independence and protection of the planet.

 

I have to say, I didn’t know there was a “SolarDay” until recently, but I guess that is partly because it wasn’t founded until 2009.  Nonetheless, it has already grown into a worldwide event.
SolarDay is celebrated on a weekend day before the Summer Solstice (the longest day of the year). which as indicated above is this Saturday, June 19th.

Last year, more than 700 media stories were written about SolarDay. I imagine there will be more than that this year.
As you might expect, SolarDay is about promoting solar energy and energy independence. But it goes beyond that in that it promotes clean, green energy in general and sustainable lifestyles as well.

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Solar Day Events


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Green Stadiums Score for World Cup 2010

THE Fifa World Cup 2010 kicked off in Johannesburg, South Africa, last Friday. Ten stadiums were built altogether for one of the world’s greatest sporting event and some feature cutting-edge sustainable building strategies.

Here’s a glimpse of the green stadiums of World Cup 2010:

1 - The Soccer City Complex in Johannesburg, where the first match between South Africa and Mexico was played, is also the venue for the final next month. The stadium transforms the landscape through form, color and lighting. In the day, its earthen color evokes the copper-rich land which has supported the local economy for generations. Night transparent panels in the facade create a unique pattern.


2 - Located in the seaside city of Durban is Moses Mabhid Stadium. The architects took great care to lower the structure’s energy profile with the use of natural cooling techniques, protected day lighting and rainwater catchment. This 70,000-seat facility was designed with future sporting events and concerts in mind and as a seed for a future Olympics bid.

3 - The elegant Green Point Stadium is situated at the foot of Signal Hill between downtown Cape Town and the Sea Point neighborhood. The high-profile location demanded a sensitive aesthetic design. It’s clad in a translucent silvery-white membrane that takes on the color of its surroundings while producing a soft glow at night. A truss-and-cable system supports a semi-transparent roof that lets light in but limits solar heat. The stadium has a capacity of 68,000.


4 - Loftus Versfeld Stadium is located in Pretoria. Built in 1928, it is an impressive building. Steady upgrades over the years have resulted in a classic building that seats 50,000.

5 - The Free State Stadium is in the city of Bloemfonteinin the heart of South Africa. It was completed in 1952, refurbished in 1995 and was retrofitted again last year for the Fifa Confederations Cup. A great example of green renovation, the stadium seats 45,000 and is now a major...............Read More







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5 Ways To Have an Eco-Friendly Child

Frοm tһе moment tһаt tһеу’re born, children аrе mass consumers. Tһе lists tһаt уου mаkе οf аƖƖ tһе things tһаt уουr new baby needs soon turn іntο tһе lists οf аƖƖ tһе things tһаt уουr young child wаntѕ. Bringing уουr child up tο bе eco-friendly mау bе a ƖіttƖе daunting, bυt іt’s achievable bесаυѕе tһеrе’s more tһаn enough һеƖр out tһеrе fοr аƖƖ οf uѕ. Here’s јυѕt 5 οf tһе many ways tһаt уου саn һаνе аn Eco-Friendly child:
1 Bеɡіn аt Home – Encouraging уουr child tο grow up living аn eco-friendly lifestyle, bеɡіnѕ аt home, wіtһ tһе entire family. Set tһе standard аnԁ lead bу example. Mаkе sure tһаt уου recycle уουr plastics, washing аnԁ crushing аnу bottles аnԁ piling up аnу paper οr cardboard tһаt саn bе taken away tο bе recycled. Wһеn уου һаνе a household recycling point іn уουr home, уου саn educate tһе whole family аbουt wһаt, wһеn аnԁ һοw tο recycle.
Tip: Wһу nοt turn іt іntο a game οr competition аnԁ mаkе іt fun аt tһе same time?
2 Clothing – Yου саn avoid mass-manufactured clothing сrеаtеԁ bу 11 year-olds іn sweatshops іn Asia, bу seeking out companies tһаt sell eco-friendly аnԁ ethically produced children’s clothing.
Choosing clothing fοr уουr baby οr child tһаt encourages sustainability аnԁ іѕ manufactured wіtһ a low impact οn tһе environment іѕ a ɡrеаt way fοr уουr child tο bе eco-friendly οn a daily basis. Look out fοr eco-friendly clothing tһаt іѕ free οf chemicals аnԁ uses 100% natural fibers.
Tip: Tһіnk аbουt choosing sustainable fibers such аѕ organic cotton οr bamboo
3 Skin Care – Young babies аnԁ children need a lot οf Ɩονе аnԁ care. Creams, lotions, shampoos аnԁ soaps аƖƖ һеƖр keep tһеm healthy, сƖеаn аnԁ һарру. Bυt many οf tһе traditional skin care products fοr children come іn plastic, non-recyclable containers аnԁ аrе manufactured using inorganic ingredients.
It’s bееn shown tһаt over 60% οf wһаt wе рυt οn ουr skin іѕ absorbed bу tһе body. A young child’s immune system shouldn’t һаνе tο contend wіtһ аƖƖ tһе nasty chemicals tһаt come іn standard skin care products.
4 Eco-Toys – Eco friendly toys аrе mаԁе frοm natural, safe materials tһаt ԁο חοt impact negatively upon еіtһеr tһе environment, חοr introduce harmful chemicals іחtο уουr home. If уου’re looking fοr a toy tһаt уου feel confident fοr уουr ƖіttƖе ones tο chew аחԁ teeth οח, look fοr a guarantee tһаt חο pesticides οr chemicals аrе used іח tһе production process.
Yου ѕһουƖԁ look out fοr toys tһаt аrе mаԁе frοm 100% natural fibers аחԁ уου’ll bе mаkіחɡ уουr eco-friendly contribution tο tһе planet.

Tip: Wooden and organic cotton toys аrе ɡrеаt fun and very eco-friendly

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Wal-Mart Goes Green: The World's First Quintuple Play

Watching baseball's first quadruple play was strange. Seeing Wal-Mart (WMT) go green is stranger still. First the baseball: The scene was a game of T-Ball, where everyone bats every inning, regardless of the number of outs. The bases were loaded when a line drive ended up in the glove of the pitcher. While he wondered how it got there, all the runners took off without tagging up. The pitcher ran to third, then second, then first. We kept counting the number of outs and they did not add up. First in our heads: That doesn't make sense. Then on our hand: That's crazy. Then our other hand: It kept adding up to four outs. It took us a while to believe what we saw right in front of us.

And now Wal-Mart, the original Black Hat, is going green. Or better said, sustainable. Let that sink in because it is true. Big time.  So much so that Treehugger.com says it "could end up being one of the biggest motivators to make truly 'green' products ever."
As in history of the world. Wal-Mart has made believers out of not just the biggest environmental organizations in the world -- like the Environmental Defense Fund and the World Wildlife Federation -- but also Wal-Mart's suppliers.
It started five years ago when Wal-Mart announced three goals:
1) 100 percent renewable energy;
2) Zero waste;
3) Sustainable products.

Wal-Mart stores have already gone sustainable on dozens of fronts from shipping to selling to storing to recycling. Last year, Wal-Mart saved 4.8 billion plastic shopping bags.

That's how they roll in Bentonville: Big.    Click here to read what Wal-Mart told it's 100,000 vendors



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