In an effort to reduce plastic packaging and overall waste, I’ve been trying several different new eco-friendly laundry detergents in order to weigh performance, cost, and waste reduction between different brands and types of detergents. I’m using three different types of detergent: Method For these tests, I’m using our own front-loading High Efficency (HE) washing machine, one that uses less …
Eliminating Waste in Packaging – Laundry, Dishwasher & Hand Soaps
There have been so many cool new innovations recently in packaging reduction and the re-imagining of how to deliver products to consumers, most notably in the cleaning and detergents category. Many have led the way into more environmentally friendly cleaners, like Method, Vaska, and Seventh Generation; and building on that is a new generation of cleaning products that come without …
Local Wool Products & Community – Echoview Fiber Mill
At 17,000 square feet, the Echoview Fiber Mill, which opened in April of 2012, is an unexpected find in quiet Weaverville, NC. It took two years to build, a process that was made a bit longer due to the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification process. The building attained the first Gold LEED certification for a manufacturing mill …
How to Celebrate Earth Day 2019 With Shopping, Giving, and Learning
Earth Day is Sunday, April 22nd this year, how will you celebrate our planet? Here at The Chic Ecologist, we have compiled a Best-of for your Giving, Shopping and Trivia needs. Let us know what you think! Gifts for the Earth This year, the Earth Day Network has focused it’s efforts on ending plastic pollution. Personally, I think this is …
Upcycling Plastic Ocean Trash into Fashion
A while back I wrote an article about a collaboration between Adidas and Parley to create a shoe out of abandoned fishing nets appropriately named the Adidas Recycled Ocean Waste Shoe. I was happy to see that this turned out to be more than just a concept and that you can actually purchase Adidas shoes made from recycled plastic. Even …
Natural Kapok Fiber Body Pillows
I was recently offered a body pillow set from Tree Hugger Pillows to review, and the timing couldn’t be better. With my wife 5 months pregnant, a body pillow is a comfort she couldn’t resist. This got me thinking though- what makes a pillow eco-friendly? It’s all about the fill. Even though I hadn’t heard of it until recently, Kapok …
5 Eco Friendly Denim Brands Pushing Fashion and Sustainability
What makes denim eco-friendly? Since the definition can be very broad, we want to be as transparent with our choices as possible. This is how we determine how eco-friendly and sustainable: Materials Cotton can be very intensive to produce, and some alternative fibers are finding their way into denim. The various materials used have a direct environmental impact through farming …
Eco Friendly Home Insulation – From Farm to Walls
Most of us are aware that adding insulation to our home’s walls, roof, and attic essential in reducing energy usage and associated costs. But, the insulation materials we choose can also have a direct impact on the environment as well as on our home’s indoor air quality. There is much more to insulation than its R-value (how efficient the material …
Environmentally and Socially Responsible Banking – How Do Banks Spend Your Money?
Perhaps unbeknownst to many checking and savings account holders, large and often controversial projects around the world are funded by banks. There has been a renewed surge of interest and concern about financial investments by banks, financial institutions, and Wall Street, driven in some part by media coverage of the Dakota Access Pipeline project (DAPL). Colleges, Cities, and States divesting …
Is Your Hamburger Destroying the Amazon?
Beef is not the most environmentally friendly food, as meats go- but things potentially just got a whole lot worse in August of 2016. This is when the US opened up beef imports from Brazil following an earlier import ban after concerns over Mad Cow Disease in 2012. The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil has been taking a big hit- since …