Answers for the Socially Responsible Shopper: Bio-Degradable

Plastic is Evil.

That, at least, is the message we get when, as impressionable 6-year-olds, we are shown a variation on the following tramatizing image:

Thank you to Save Our Seabirds

In addition to shocking images of animal's being mauled by plastic, young minds are taught that plastic takes about a thousand years to decompose in land fills, where 93% of it ends up (Please see "How Long Does Our Garbage Last" for more details).  These delightful nougats of information, and others like them, turn plastic into a menacing predator with its sights set on world domination.

To try and skirt the bad taste plastic has left in the mouths of consumers, major corporations have begun using bio-degradable packaging in their products, and then stamping it all over with "green" messaging. 

What does "Bio-Degradable" mean? It is any substance made of plant or animal origins, which can be broken down by living organisms. This is great for the environment because it means the waste won't sit in a landfill for the next 1,000 years.  Natural processes can get rid of the materials!  Love, Peace, Hope for everyone!

Thanks to the Huffington Post

Unfortunately, if bio-degradable materials end up inside large plastic bags, it has no access to those organisms and therefore will not break down until the plastic does.  Soooo, approximately July 2, 3010 for the garbage you took out this morning.

Answers for the Socially Responsible Shopper: Fair Trade

So, you want to save the environment (and bring World Peace) one organic, fair trade t-shirt at a time.  Good for you! But if you're spending $25 bucks on a t-shirt, instead of the 5 for $5 Wal-Mart variety, then you want to know that your extra dollars are DEFINITELY bringing World Peace.

Sustainable Salad Servers from One World Projects

The profits from "socially responsible" products are mostly used as advertised (to build schools/supply medical aid/pay fair wages/etc.), but sometimes they just get funneled off to pay for fancy marketing campaigns and PR ("Greenwashing").

A recent study found that 60% of consumers fail to purchase green products because they can't find what they want or are unaware of where to find those products while only 11% think green products are too expensive ("Capturing the Green Consumer" See Below).  You want to make the right choice, but you just haven't heard the right information.

That thought inspired the first installment of our new series:

"What does that mean?  Answers for the Socially Responsible Shopper"  

First up: Fair Trade

Fair Trade labels are based on a set of standards that require companies to pay producers their fair share of the profits from their goods and forbids social injustices, like child labor, in the production process.  For agricultural products, fair trade wages must also cover the cost of environmentally sustainable practice.

Return to Afghanistan

Sometimes when you depart a country you have a feeling that you will return; Afghanistan was not one of them when I left my first visit a year and a half ago. It is a nation deeply troubled, immersed in war, torn apart by forces from without as well within, deeply divided by religious and tribal ideologies, and racked by poverty. It was for these reasons that I had doubts of ever setting foot on its soil again, and it is precisely for these reasons that we are returning.

Something To Talk About: Green Mobile Phones and Accessories

The International Herald Tribune reported an interesting trend at the Mobile Congress in Barcelona earlier this month: "green" cell phones made of recycled and biodegradable materials that require less energy than regular cell phones.

Until now, there have been few environmentally-friendly cell phone options available to consumers. This seems, however, to be quickly changing! Nokia, the Finland-based manufacturer that made one of every 3 cell phones sold last year, introduced "green" features on a number of its mobile products, including sensors that detect natural light to allow the phone to save energy, and chargers that beep when they are fully charged, cuing the owner to unplug them from the wall socket.

Afghan Teddy Bears Have Arrived!

What a great start to the weekend...

For those of you who have been following our blog, our first teddy bear shipment has finally arrived from Afghanistan. These bears are a part of Teddies For Two, the share-a-bear program that allows customers to buy two handmade teddy bears for just $28 - one bear is shipped to you, the customer, while the second bear is donated to a child living in a refugee camp or orphanage in Afghanistan. In many cases, your donated bear may be the first toy this child ever receives! (Wholesale customers, please contact us for pricing).

Looking On The Green Side: U.S Stimulus Would Cut Climate Emissions

A new Greenpeace report published this week reminds us that each cloud has a silver lining: Taxpayers' wallets will be hurting after the economic stimulus, but the proposed plan will cut carbon dioxide emissions by 13 million tonnes per year. That's the greenhouse-gas equivalent of turning off the electricity in 7.9 million U.S. homes or taking 13 million cars off the roads! "The fact that the federal government could spend so much money to slow global warming means we've really turned the page as a country," said Kert Davies of Greenpeace.

Please click below or paste this link into your browser to read the entire article: http://www.reuters.com/article/environmentnews/idUSTRE5146EI20090205?feedType=RSS&feedname=environmentNews

Teddy Bear Project in Afghanistan

Happy New Year!

Last year, One World Projects began participating in a teddy bear distribution project in Afghanistan. For each teddy bear that we sell, another is donated to a child living in an orphanage or refugee camp in Afghanistan. Below is an update about our latest donation of bears, which were delivered this holiday season to four different Afghan orphanages by Wazhma Sadat, one of our Afghan artisan partners. What she found touched our heart, as we know it will touch yours.

When Wazhma gave teddy bears to some of the children, it was the first toy they had ever received! This is Shazia (photo on left) just after receiving her bear. Shazia's father was killed in a bomb blast two months before she was born and her mother remarried, abandoning Shazia and her two siblings as she couldn't afford to raise her first husband's children. Shazia now lives with an uncle (her father's brother) and spends most of her time at the orphanage. Her smile at receiving her first toy makes all our efforts in Afghanistan worthwhile.