Way back when, I wrote ’bout the fugly “gifts” my mother gives me at birthdays and holidays. The worst offense were these socks:

which I decided to take apart and make something useful out of. Today, while procrastinating, I started doing just that.

Below: Frightened detached doll faces.

So I got knitting and now I have a crucial question: Which flower works best?

Vote on the fate of the blue booties! Poll closes at midnight on Monday, July 28, 2008.

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After the Green Apartment Living workshop on Wednesday, Mia — the Co-opportunity person who organized the event — said she was psyched a good number of guys attended. Apparently, only women attended the previous workshop!

Traci says one dude gasped after Summer said she gardens in bikini so she can get a tan.

I’ve always thought that green LA girl had a pretty even number of male and female readers — but now I’m curious to find out how girl-centric the readership is:

Poll will close midnight on Monday, July 21.

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How flexie a shampooer are you? I ask because in my green care exploration, I found out that organic certified hair products are — different.

From my research, I’ve only found two organic certified hair care lines: Dr. Bronners and Terressentials. However, both those lines don’t offer “normal” shampoos and conditioners.

Dr. Bronners recommends using soap as shampoo — then using a “Hair Rinse” instead of a conditioner. Difference between a hair rinse and a conditioner? The former requires a cup and mixing:

Just stir 1- 2 capfuls of this rinse into a cup of water, close eyes and slowly pour while massaging into hair. Keep hand combing hair until hair feels entirely sleek (~30 seconds). Rinse out well. Repeat if necessary in extra hard water conditions or with longer hair.

Terressentials also offers a “Hair Rinse” — but as a shampoo substitute. Difference between a hair rinse and a shampoo: The former requires you to put your hair through a lengthy “detox protocol” that recommends two to three washings for the first four days or so. Considering the fact that I don’t even shampoo every day, this “detox” seems rather onerous….

Using a bar soap as shampoo’s not unique to organic certified products. Many fans of Lush, for ex, swear by the soap-as-shampoo dealio. These hair rinses — defined either as a shampoo or conditioner depending on the company — are in a class of their own however. I’m wondering how many of you’ve tried these shampoo / conditioner alternatives — and how many of you would be willing to try them in the future:

If you’ve tried either of those products, please share your experience with the rest of us! I’m also curious about the popularity of bar shampoos (or bar soaps used as bar shampoos):

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So about those cotton tote bags. Own one? Many of you do — cuz I gave ‘em to ya! Tell me this: Is your cotton tote bag 1) organic and 2) made in the US?

Because according newest companies selling tote bags made in the US, getting organic cotton isn’t cheap. Want both US-made AND organic? Then get ready to pay $40+, they say. Want a bag for under $20? Then you gotta pick between US-made OR organic, not both, according to them.

The bag companies I’ve been hearing from, however, are making more design-and-longetivity oriented stylish bags, not just the basic tote.

Take Savior Bags (meaning “save your bags”; above left), for example. This company makes what they call the “most durable natural product” possible — a roomy cotton tote (with what feel like synthetic handles and metal rings) designed to hold its bucket shape without collapsing. Cost: $19.95. According to the owners, an organic version would cost $45 — a price point they don’t think the US market will bear.

Pretty Green (right) says the same thing. This local, Sherman Oaks-based husband-and-wife team company created cute, durable bags with water resistant lining and cushioned handles, made locally and fairly right in L.A. Cost $15, with 1% of sales going to Water Partners International. The owners say that an organic cotton version would cost $40 a bag — but still plan to have an organic bag out by this summer.

Mind you — we’re not even talking about US grown and milled cotton. We’re simply talking about US sewn / assembled. Pretty Green says its lining is made with US-grown cotton, but doesn’t think its outside fabric is. I’m not certain of the details of Savior Bags’ cotton, but my guess is that the stuff wasn’t grown and milled in the US.

I want to point out, though, that you CAN get a no frills, organic cotton tote made in the US for just $9.99 at Amoeba Music. It’s a nice, sturdy bag, though perhaps a bit plain jane. Part of the reason why the bags I’m talking ’bout here are more expensive is because Savior Bags are designed for maximum durability, while Pretty Green bags are more stylish than the regular grocery tote.

Still, I wonder why these tote bag companies think $20’s the max the US market can handle for stylish totes, when American Apparel’s selling conventional cotton tote bags at $34 a pop.

I’m not saying any of these companies are “bad” or are greenwashing. I’m just trying to sort out some of these ideas. Let’s keep in mind that Anya Hindmarch’s “I’m Not a Plastic Bag” totes — which were neither organic nor fair trade — sold like hotcakes at $10 a pop.

And it’s not as if non-US-made, non-organic totes are much cheaper. Take EarthTotes (right), for example. Started by two SoCal moms, this company’s totes are made with conventional cotton AND made in China — albeit by a company that is part of the International Labor Organization. Cost for “The Jumbo Tote” that’s about the same size as, but not as sturdy as, the Savior Bags: $14.

Lots of eco-initiatives and orgs still have no qualms just buying the cheapest tote bags possible for distribution (especially if it’s for free distribution). Most of the free totes given away at L.A.-area eco-events are synthetic, petroleum based crap. Even the City of L.A.’s Zero Waste Plan people opted for conventional cotton bags made in China.

And of course, I get lots more tote bag emails from companies touting their new “eco-friendly” tote bags. I’ll ask how their bags are eco, and they’ll reply they’re eco cuz they’re reusable. Nevermind the pound of chemical pesticides that goes into growing the cotton for every conventional cotton tote bag and the many labor and trade issues that arise both from taking advantage of cheap international labor to NOT supporting our more local economies. Those concerns are not so important, they say. At least we’re moving in the right direction. We’re reusable and that means we’re eco, they say.

Some will go so far as to say that to get Americans to reuse, we need to make reusable bags as cheaply as possible (I often get the same argument from reusable cotton napkin makers). It’s the typical the ends justifies the means argument.

Is a tote made with US-grown organic cotton that’s milled in the US, sewn by local US workers and printed locally wit non-toxic, eco-friendly dyes delivered to me by bicycle too much to ask for? :P

So here’s a survey for you. Assuming you MUST buy a tote bag, which bag are you most likely to buy — taking style, cost, materials and place of production into consideration?

Lastly, I also want to point out that your organic cotton bag NOT made in the US could still very well be ethically made. Some of you may have organic cotton totes made under fair labor conditions — probably in in India, Pakistan, China, or another country where employing people under fair labor conditions is still cheaper than paying US minimum wage…..

[crossposted on BlogHer]

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Did watching Bambi make you an environmentalist? Or as New Scientist asks, “Did Bambi’s big eyes make you see green?”

According to the New Scientist, “David Whitley of the University of Cambridge’s Faculty of Education says that we owe our environmental awareness to Disney films.”

How much did Disney influence you to grow up into — the kind of person who reads blogs like green LA girl?

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I love the smell of cucumber in the morning. Actually, I rarely take showers in the morning, so the fresh cucumber scent Pattern Body Wash is one I’ve come to love early evening-ish, post-jog. Proudly vegan with no parabens or other petrochemicals, Pattern lathers up easily and leaves you feeling clean and cool as, you know, a cucumber — unless you got the black pepper, citrus, or eucalyptus version, in which case you’ll feel a different scent of clean and cool.

These scents are, however, listed as “fragrance” in the ingredients list — a nebulous term that could contain all sorts of weird stuff. Pattern does note that their fragrances are “naturally derived” — and Pattern’s evident enviro-commitment makes me liable to think they don’t contain anything crazily bad. However, many eco-companies with naturally-derived fragrance actually name the ingredients that make up that fragrance. For example, my usual soap — Dr. Bronner’s Lemon Organic Bar Soap — has a fresh lemony scent derived from good old organic lemon oil.

My soap also ranks a “low risk” 1 (out of 10, 10 being the most dangerous) on Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep cosmetic database. Pattern isn’t in the database yet, but I looked up the ingredients — to find that six of them are in the “medium risk” range: peg-150 distrearat and disodium EDTA have 3s,
tocopheryl acetate and
phenoxyethanol have 4s, and cocamidopropyl betaine and peg-40 castor oil have 5s.

Now that’s not so bad a record. After all, Avalon Organics soaps and body washes have scores ranging between 3 to 6; I use Avalon’s facial cleansing gel, which scores a 4. Still, even for body wash lovers who shun bar soap, both Aubrey Organics and California Baby offer a number of shower gels in the “low risk” range. Erin of Make Her Up says her whole fam loves California Baby bubble bath. Mie of Kokochi has photographic proof that her kid loves the bubbles California Baby makes — as does Magi at Kaffee Katsch.

Of course, Pattern’s scent or feel could be generally superior or more likable to shower takers. Megan of A Girl Must Shop!, Henna of Canadian Beauty, Beauty and Fashion Tech, and Specialkalle of Face Candy all have declared they love Pattern — without doing the anal comparative analysis I’m trying to do.

Unfortunately, while I can pop into Whole Foods or Co-opportunity to pick up those two, Pattern’s only available online — at $20 per 8.1 fl. oz. bottle. While Pattern works great, smells delish, and is more eco-friendly than most body washes out there, I’m just unlikely to order personal care products over the ‘net when I have Whole Foods and Co-opportunity in walking distance with products that are just as eco-friendly. How about you? Have you ever ordered lotion or body wash online?

[crossposted on BlogHer]

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Will you be taking public transit to Public Displays of Affection? Summer and I have plans to go to the Sustainable Business Council fashion event, but plans could change –

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I just have one lone pink townie, and I’m wondering if I should get her a friend –

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Though my plants never do so well, I do at least technically have a balcony garden. Do you grow any of your own food?

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Doest thou tofu? I mean, really tofu — not tofurkey, not soy-infused ice cream, not veggie burger with a bit of tofu.

How often do you eat real, good old fashioned tofu?

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