Soda Cup + Chicken Caddy = Ultimate Convenience??

If you thought inventions like the Candwich and crispycones were the ultimate convenience foods, think again. This "all-in-one" creation has been around since 2008 but we here at JustSaying only got wind of it today so... Eww. Read more here.

Seven Principles of a Climate-Friendly Diet

Just stumbled upon this great article from Anna Lappe summarizing methods for a climate-friendly diet expanded upon in her latest book Diet for a Hot Planet: The Climate Crisis at the End of Your Fork. Following in the footsteps of food luminaries like Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle, Lappe suggests:

1.) Reach for Real Food
2.) Put Plants on Your Plate
3.) Don't Panic, Go Organic
4.) Lean Towards Local
5.) Finish Your Peas, The Ice Caps Are Melting
6.) Send Packaging Packing
7.) Got to Get Ourselves Back to the Kitchen! 

Luvin' LUSH

My super-hip gal pal gave me a glorious, fresh, organic, vegan, handmade bath bomb in my birthday gift-bag last week and was surprised to learn that I had not yet heard about the company that created it: LUSH Cosmetics. Naturally, I visited one of their U.S. stores to learn about their ethics, products and get a little holiday shopping done.

Here's what I found out and why I am adding LUSH products to my list of holiday gift suggestions:

The aforementioned bath bomb/ball is one of many made in their Vancouver factory with a mold made from recycled plastic.

In fact, all the bins and totes in that factory are made with recycled content and products are packaged with recycled paper, not bubble wrap. Not to mention they use electricity cautiously and wisely and encourage their employees to bike to work.

No virgin materials are used for packaging. Their liquid and cream products are packaged in 100% recycled plastic bottles and pots.

The shampoo bar (that my sis/research partner bought from the Annapolis store during our visit) is an awesometastical way to reduce one's carbon footprint because: "Solid products last longer and weigh less than bottled liquids which take more energy to transport... One truckload of LUSH solid shampoo bars is enough for about 800,000 washes. It would take 15 truckloads of liquid shampoo to do the same job.If 1 in 5 people in the US switched from liquid shampoo to solid, about 22 million plastic bottles would be saved from the landfill. On top of this, 6 million tonnes of preserved shampoo would be prevented from entering the environment."

Absolutely no animal testing. LUSH  specializes in making effective, 100% vegetarian products (more than 70% vegan actually) with minimal preservatives.

Although I tend to preach against over-consumption and consumerism, truth be told - giving thoughtful gifts and experiencing new skin and haircare products may be two of this blogger's guiltiest pleasures. Find LUSH's fun holiday products here. If you can't find what your looking for, here are a few other skin and haircare brands JustSaying highly recommends: Aveda, Burt's Bees, The Body Shop, Jurlique (especially the Biodynamic Beauty line) and Skin Preparations.

Really?!

Treehugger put up a slide show of absurd over-packaging that is rather entertaining (find it here) and reminded me of something ridiculous that I came across at Target the other day: Glass Mug Jars. Really?! I can't believe that people actually buy that which can be found in any recycling bin. Ugh.

transparency

Rachel Leven wrote a great investigative post for Slate, Green Eggs and Plastic, regarding the reasoning behind the use of plastic in the organic food market. From the article:

...And the ultimate question: Why does organic food involve so much plastic packaging? Doesn't that defeat the purpose? Yes, it does...

...Enter the plastic. Thanks to the USDA's seal, hippies and Luddites were no longer the major consumers of organic food. The game had changed. Organic shoppers of the mid-millennium now cared less about the sustainability and ethical concerns surrounding organics. Instead, they were concerned with the quality, healthfulness, and (unproven) nutritional benefit. Organics also entered the market as luxury (read: expensive) items, which meant consumers expected more convenience. In this environment, the biggest advantage of plastic cartons was literally clear. See-through packaging revolutionized the egg industry by eliminating the tiring task of opening the carton's lid to check the eggs for quality. The result was comforting and easy transparency, promising a superior product. The plastic carton itself is neither better nor worse for the egg...

Obviously the organic trade isn't the only agricultural sector utilizing plastic packaging and there are plenty of perks to doing so - like guarding against bugs, oxygen, and extending shelf life therefore enabling mass consumption - but at some point branding comes into play and that is why I say: Question everything, folks. Are beautifully packaged "organic" eggs from across the country in any way better than those from the local farmer who can't afford the organic certification label? Probably not. Think globally. Act locally.