Eco Friendly Product Guide

The Consumerist is typically a very cool, trendy website. Sometimes there are very informative stories, while other times there are collections of articles by you non-conformists out there who hate everything. However, you should never shy away from checking the site out, it has some really great information available.

One article in particular that sticks out deals with Macy’s using biodegradable packing peanuts when shipping their orders. As more companies jump on the green bandwagon, it is good to see retailers like Macy’s doing their part. With every purchase you order, it is mailed with biodegradable packing peanuts, which you can dissolve in water, and then pour in the garden, yard, neighbors yard, compost heap, or even just throw them away, they will naturally just dissolve.

It’s a good trend and needs to be recognized. Macy’s should be commended for stepping up and doing their part to help the environment.

Wolf-Gordon makes the “Organics” biodegradable wall coverings collection. This is a really neat idea. They take Kenaf grass and then combine it with a non-chemical polyester (made from all natural, biodegradable ingredients). In addition, any backing ingredients are made from recycled paper, and you have to apply the wall coverings with a biodegradable adhesive.

Nice. The Wolf-Gordon EarthSafe collection is “environmentally sensitive,” and according to the website is important to the commitment of “expanding and improving our ‘green’ product offering in an ongoing manner.”

Eco-friendly, and it will look great on your wall. The coverings typically go for about $13.85 per yard. A nice thing to think about next time you are redecorating a room in the house.

Here’s a great idea: bags for your compost bin or dog poop bags that are biodegradable. That’s right, it’s the easy way to get rid of stuff knowing that it’s all going right back to the environment.

Available through Clean Air Gardening, these Biodegradable Dog Poop Bags or Compost Pail Liner BioBags are made from corn, and are completely shelf stable! There are no chemicals added, so decomposition is a quick, natural process.

Not only will it make your neighbors happy (no more gossip about Walter’s dog pooping on Rumsfield’s lawn again in the neighborhood), but they can bring a smile to your face knowing that you have done something great for the environment. You can even take it one step farther: go next door to your new neighbors, The Klopeks (I think that’s a Slavic name), and give them the compost bags and get them started on their own compost bin as well.

The compost liner bags have 125 per package, and are $29.99, and the dog poop bags have 150 per package and are $19.99. These are great alternatives for your compost bin, and for simply picking up after your pet.

Everyone’s a winner with these bags. Go over to Clean Air Gardening and check out some of the other products they have to offer.

If you are in the catering game, this is an eco-friendly product you might want to consider — dinner plates that you can discard with a clear conscience after use.

Whether these plates end up in the garbage heap or in the compost heap, they will eventually return to the earth. It takes 30 days for them to biodegrade in a commercial composting facility and about 90 days for them to turn to compost in a domestic composter.

You can’t really argue against the manufacturer claim that this is “a far superior alternative to styrofoam and plastic, which is non-degradable, a petroleum product and causes pollution, as well as paper plates made from cutting down trees.”

No more doing the dishes

And this is definitely a product worth considering if you find yourself baulking at the dish washing budget or the act of washing dishes itself.

Each 9″ plate is made of bagasse, the proper name for sugar cane fiber. You can buy the bleached type (white) or the natural-colored plates (pale brown). For some unspecified reason, the unbleached type is slightly smaller at 8 3/4″.

You can order these plates in packs of 20 to 1000s — depending on your requirements.

Order these nifty plates from Ecowise for $11.99 per 50 Pack. Bulk discount: $8.99 per pack for 20 packs or more.