After our soymilk maker met an early demise (a very early demise) I stopped making it. I guess I figured you can't make soymilk without a machine. Much in the same way I figured out how to cook rice on the stove after our rice cooker broke. Oh, and it turns out you can also make bread without a bread machine. Isn't that crazy? And they all turn out great. A saucepan can't break, but rice-cookers and appliances of their ilk are so cheaply made, they break all the time. What a waste.
Anyway, today I made some and it turned out great. Here is how you do it:
Soak 1 cup dried soybeans in 3 cups water overnight in a large bowl.
put 1/3 of them (after soaking) in a blender with 3 cups BOILING hot water. Don't let it sit, take it right from the whistling kettle or rolling boil in a pan and dump it in the blender.
Blend 1-2 minutes.
strain out (you need a fine-mesh strain or muslin bag) into a small sauce pan.
Repeat this process 3 times until all of the soybeans are used. You can strain-as-you-go with the stuff from the blender. Put this saucepan inside another larger saucepan with water in it and boil it (so you don't burn the milk). Cook like this for about 30 minutes unlidded. stir occasionally.
Add malted barley or brown rice syrup. Add a pinch of salt. You can fortify with calcium carbonate or B12 if desired. Put in fridge. Makes about 10 cups soymilk.
Yummy! And cheap as heck. One cup dried soybeans costs like 30 cents or something.
Also, you can take the strained-out soybean chunks and make a thing called okara. It has a million uses. For example, mixing it with nutritional yeast and spices you can form it into patties and fry it and it makes a really yummy burger. You can also use it to fortify breads, soups, etc.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Sunday, May 27, 2007
To be, or not to be...vegan
This post is being currently edited by my friend "C" who is a big lameo and professes not to care what other people think, but actually does (ha ha, its ok, you know i love you anyway). i guess she doesn't want people to know that she says the "f-word" in real life. even though we all know she likes to rip the arms off of minotaurs and beat them to death with their own severed appendages.
i will re-publish this conversation about veganism after she's done censoring it in a manner akin to Stalin.
i will re-publish this conversation about veganism after she's done censoring it in a manner akin to Stalin.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.
Our goals after a week or so...what's working? what isn't? what's hard? what's easy?
Reduce waste: we have made very, very little waste since we started this. About 1/2, or not even half, a 13 gallon can. Most of our trash has come from packaging from things we bought before we started this. And disposable diapers. But I have already purchased 2 cloth pull-ups for elsie to wear at night, so there won't be any more of that. Easy to do: buy in bulk, only buying recyclable or reusable packaging, using cloth bags to shop, composting, not buying single-serving items (well, we did buy some ice cream bars last night. i realized after the fact about the packaging. some habits die hard!), stopping junk mail, using cloth toilet paper. no, really! its ok! i swear, its not gross. it has reduced our TP consumption a lot. We only went though one small roll last week. It has made me more aware of our TP consumption overall.
Using less electricity: this is pretty easy, too. turning stuff off when not in use, unplugging stuff when not in use, switching to wind or other renewable power, line drying clothes (6 months of this saves 700 lbs of carbon from going into the air!), compact flourescent bulbs. we haven't tried the no-fridge thing (since its summer now).
Driving car less. Yes, but its hard. I shopped one day. Another day we planned to bus to meet friends at a city garden. Well, a wheel fell off our stroller (so we have to fix it! can't buy another one.) then we missed the bus. And i didn't know how to do it with a stroller with 3 wheels. So we drove. Other than that, we have been walking. Jay has been driving to work this week because of working long hours, but that wont be the case next week. It is hard not to drive. I need to work on the bus habit. I enjoy walking (especially when the weather is nice). When you aren't in the habit, the bus is daunting.
Food: Ok, so the 1000 mile limit isn't all that realistic. We can get some staples like olive oil and rice from California, I think. We were at the co-op and there were these bulk organic cracker things. They were made in PA. What to do? I bought them. I bought apples instead of mangos (dried) though. So we will try to buy local, whenever possible. And organic. Mostly everything we ate this week was organic.
Not buying stuff, especially not new stuff. Ok, so I bought those cloth diapers, but of course if I didn't buy those, i would have been buying more disposable ones to use and throw away, and these wont get thrown away. So, yeah. Also, Jay bought a router for our cable internet. We talked about it, and he had been planning on buying this for a long time, so our laptop (that a friend just long-term loaned us) can be on the internet at our house. That's it. I bought a pair of shoes and a shirt at a garage sale (total: $3.50). Our cousin bought Elsie a train table at a school fundraiser garage sale because it was $40. We need to get rid of stuff to make room for it.
Here is an article about "the compact": the pact to not buy anything new for a year
Water: yes we have been taking short showers. We dont shower every day (no, we aren't stink hippies). The yellow leave it mellow is working out ok. It starts getting stinky at some point and gets flushed. One thing I am going to start trying is reclaiming greywater. Taking old bathwater, water after washing dishes, and water after washing laundry, and using this to water flowers and in the garden. Someone gave me this idea, and i thought it was great. why not use the kid's bathwater to quench the irises?
That's about it. Thinking about choices more. Thinking about habits, trying to do things more consciously. Asking "do i need that?" and usually answering "no".
Reduce waste: we have made very, very little waste since we started this. About 1/2, or not even half, a 13 gallon can. Most of our trash has come from packaging from things we bought before we started this. And disposable diapers. But I have already purchased 2 cloth pull-ups for elsie to wear at night, so there won't be any more of that. Easy to do: buy in bulk, only buying recyclable or reusable packaging, using cloth bags to shop, composting, not buying single-serving items (well, we did buy some ice cream bars last night. i realized after the fact about the packaging. some habits die hard!), stopping junk mail, using cloth toilet paper. no, really! its ok! i swear, its not gross. it has reduced our TP consumption a lot. We only went though one small roll last week. It has made me more aware of our TP consumption overall.
Using less electricity: this is pretty easy, too. turning stuff off when not in use, unplugging stuff when not in use, switching to wind or other renewable power, line drying clothes (6 months of this saves 700 lbs of carbon from going into the air!), compact flourescent bulbs. we haven't tried the no-fridge thing (since its summer now).
Driving car less. Yes, but its hard. I shopped one day. Another day we planned to bus to meet friends at a city garden. Well, a wheel fell off our stroller (so we have to fix it! can't buy another one.) then we missed the bus. And i didn't know how to do it with a stroller with 3 wheels. So we drove. Other than that, we have been walking. Jay has been driving to work this week because of working long hours, but that wont be the case next week. It is hard not to drive. I need to work on the bus habit. I enjoy walking (especially when the weather is nice). When you aren't in the habit, the bus is daunting.
Food: Ok, so the 1000 mile limit isn't all that realistic. We can get some staples like olive oil and rice from California, I think. We were at the co-op and there were these bulk organic cracker things. They were made in PA. What to do? I bought them. I bought apples instead of mangos (dried) though. So we will try to buy local, whenever possible. And organic. Mostly everything we ate this week was organic.
Not buying stuff, especially not new stuff. Ok, so I bought those cloth diapers, but of course if I didn't buy those, i would have been buying more disposable ones to use and throw away, and these wont get thrown away. So, yeah. Also, Jay bought a router for our cable internet. We talked about it, and he had been planning on buying this for a long time, so our laptop (that a friend just long-term loaned us) can be on the internet at our house. That's it. I bought a pair of shoes and a shirt at a garage sale (total: $3.50). Our cousin bought Elsie a train table at a school fundraiser garage sale because it was $40. We need to get rid of stuff to make room for it.
Here is an article about "the compact": the pact to not buy anything new for a year
Water: yes we have been taking short showers. We dont shower every day (no, we aren't stink hippies). The yellow leave it mellow is working out ok. It starts getting stinky at some point and gets flushed. One thing I am going to start trying is reclaiming greywater. Taking old bathwater, water after washing dishes, and water after washing laundry, and using this to water flowers and in the garden. Someone gave me this idea, and i thought it was great. why not use the kid's bathwater to quench the irises?
That's about it. Thinking about choices more. Thinking about habits, trying to do things more consciously. Asking "do i need that?" and usually answering "no".
Time is money
This will be my last rant-n-rave for awhile here. So many ads and things claim their product is "eco-friendly". I was at home depot a few weeks back (I know! we aren't going there again. we needed sand for a sandbox) and a sign there said "Improve your home. And the environment." Ok, look. You can't IMPROVE the environment by buying anything. Ever. All you can do is make things less bad for the environment. No car is environmentally friendly. Some are just less horrible than others. I think we like to think our hybrid vehicles are "good" for the planet. But we need to remember that they aren't. They are bad. Just not as bad as a Hummer.
My next idea I've been thinking about lately is this: to live, one needs to work. I don't mean like drive to an office and do a job. I mean "work" as in, make food, clean clothes, repair dwelling, get water. That kind of thing. Many of us go to a job, and then buy convenience items because we "don't have time" to do things the "hard way". For example, people who have young children and work use disposable diapers. They don't have time to wash cloth diapers, dry them, fold them, etc. (it takes like no time, but that's not the point). They don't have time to cook from scratch, so they buy a $3.49 loaf of organic bread. They don't have time to take the bus, so they own a car and spend money on it to drive to work. When you don't have a job, you can save a lot more money (and you know, a penny saved is a penny earned). Of course you need some money. I'm just looking at the facts that our generation works more hours than any other generation in history. Almost all families have two income-earners. We also have more "convenience"-items than any other generation. And we have less free-time. Our kids are more scheduled.
So...less time, more stuff, more disposable stuff, more stuff with planned-obsolescence so we have to buy it again and again, more work, less family time, more time in a car, more stress, more choices that are bad for the environment...
I wonder if more frugal, simple-living could eliminate the need for a second income (unless you make like six-figures or something, in which case you probably aren't too interested in simple-living). Like, I was thinking about working 2 or 3 days a week substitute teaching starting next fall. Its like $150 a day! That would come in real handy! But wait, if I am working, then I need to pay somebody to watch my kids. So that's like $60 or $80 a day right there that i don't earn. Then I need to keep owning my car. That's $400+ a month that i could save if we get rid of it. Then I am not meal-planning and cooking from scratch and we are spending more on food, so that's money not saved. Then I'm too tired to hang up my laundry, so I use a lot of energy and money drying my clothes in the dryer. Then I buy a lot of over-packaged convenience foods from Trader Joe's that cost a lot so I don't have to cook. And on and on. So, like, am I actually going to come out ahead if i work part time? It doesn't really seem like it. If I am baking my own bread right now, cloth diapering, not buying new stuff, working on going without the car, etc.
What if we did even MORE of our own work? Who has time to, for instance, make your own clothes? Do their own repairs? Make their own soap? Who has time to not have plumbing, but draw their own water and live off the grid? Who has time to take the bus, walk, or ride a bike everywhere? Who has time to grow their own food? Make pasta from scratch? Eat dried, bulk beans instead of buying them canned? Who has time to even hand-wash their clothes in a basin? Who has the time to not own appliances of "convenience" such as a microwave, salad tosser, washing machine, dryer, or vacuum, etc.? A person who doesn't have a "real" job has the time to do these things. And doing these things would probably save you $20,000 a year or more. Enough to be, well, a full-time job! This is the kind of work people used to do to live. The kind of work you need to do to maintain a life...before there was such thing as a "job" or "office" to go to...
I'm just thinking out loud. I'm not saying we should do these things. It just strikes me how we buy things to make our life more "convenient." But if we didn't work so much, we wouldn't need to try to "save time", so we wouldn't need to buy things, so we wouldn't have to work to buy them...
How many hours do you need to work to buy a dryer? Or for the electricity to run it? How many hours of work do you need to do to buy a big TV? Or a microwave? Or a fancy laptop? Or a Blackberry(TM)? Or a car, and the gas and maintenance it needs to run? Or somebody to fix your roof? Or a new hot-water heater? Or new clothes for your job? New shoes? A new lawnmower?
I don't know...it just seems like less work and more free-time and less stuff is all intertwined.
My next idea I've been thinking about lately is this: to live, one needs to work. I don't mean like drive to an office and do a job. I mean "work" as in, make food, clean clothes, repair dwelling, get water. That kind of thing. Many of us go to a job, and then buy convenience items because we "don't have time" to do things the "hard way". For example, people who have young children and work use disposable diapers. They don't have time to wash cloth diapers, dry them, fold them, etc. (it takes like no time, but that's not the point). They don't have time to cook from scratch, so they buy a $3.49 loaf of organic bread. They don't have time to take the bus, so they own a car and spend money on it to drive to work. When you don't have a job, you can save a lot more money (and you know, a penny saved is a penny earned). Of course you need some money. I'm just looking at the facts that our generation works more hours than any other generation in history. Almost all families have two income-earners. We also have more "convenience"-items than any other generation. And we have less free-time. Our kids are more scheduled.
So...less time, more stuff, more disposable stuff, more stuff with planned-obsolescence so we have to buy it again and again, more work, less family time, more time in a car, more stress, more choices that are bad for the environment...
I wonder if more frugal, simple-living could eliminate the need for a second income (unless you make like six-figures or something, in which case you probably aren't too interested in simple-living). Like, I was thinking about working 2 or 3 days a week substitute teaching starting next fall. Its like $150 a day! That would come in real handy! But wait, if I am working, then I need to pay somebody to watch my kids. So that's like $60 or $80 a day right there that i don't earn. Then I need to keep owning my car. That's $400+ a month that i could save if we get rid of it. Then I am not meal-planning and cooking from scratch and we are spending more on food, so that's money not saved. Then I'm too tired to hang up my laundry, so I use a lot of energy and money drying my clothes in the dryer. Then I buy a lot of over-packaged convenience foods from Trader Joe's that cost a lot so I don't have to cook. And on and on. So, like, am I actually going to come out ahead if i work part time? It doesn't really seem like it. If I am baking my own bread right now, cloth diapering, not buying new stuff, working on going without the car, etc.
What if we did even MORE of our own work? Who has time to, for instance, make your own clothes? Do their own repairs? Make their own soap? Who has time to not have plumbing, but draw their own water and live off the grid? Who has time to take the bus, walk, or ride a bike everywhere? Who has time to grow their own food? Make pasta from scratch? Eat dried, bulk beans instead of buying them canned? Who has time to even hand-wash their clothes in a basin? Who has the time to not own appliances of "convenience" such as a microwave, salad tosser, washing machine, dryer, or vacuum, etc.? A person who doesn't have a "real" job has the time to do these things. And doing these things would probably save you $20,000 a year or more. Enough to be, well, a full-time job! This is the kind of work people used to do to live. The kind of work you need to do to maintain a life...before there was such thing as a "job" or "office" to go to...
I'm just thinking out loud. I'm not saying we should do these things. It just strikes me how we buy things to make our life more "convenient." But if we didn't work so much, we wouldn't need to try to "save time", so we wouldn't need to buy things, so we wouldn't have to work to buy them...
How many hours do you need to work to buy a dryer? Or for the electricity to run it? How many hours of work do you need to do to buy a big TV? Or a microwave? Or a fancy laptop? Or a Blackberry(TM)? Or a car, and the gas and maintenance it needs to run? Or somebody to fix your roof? Or a new hot-water heater? Or new clothes for your job? New shoes? A new lawnmower?
I don't know...it just seems like less work and more free-time and less stuff is all intertwined.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
New American Dream
I just wanted to post this website that a friend sent me that really sums up a lot of these ideas.
Its www.newdream.org I have spent a lot of time looking around it, there is so much on there! The only thing I thought was kind of lame was the junk-mail reducing thing. They want you to pay $41 to do it. I paid $2 to remove both jay and i from the DMA (direct marketing ass'n) and i called a 1800 number (for info on that, see the entry "simple ways"). That's it. That is supposed to stop like 80% or more of your junk mail. So don't pay $41. Pay $2 and do it yourself. Otherwise, the website is awesome.
Its www.newdream.org I have spent a lot of time looking around it, there is so much on there! The only thing I thought was kind of lame was the junk-mail reducing thing. They want you to pay $41 to do it. I paid $2 to remove both jay and i from the DMA (direct marketing ass'n) and i called a 1800 number (for info on that, see the entry "simple ways"). That's it. That is supposed to stop like 80% or more of your junk mail. So don't pay $41. Pay $2 and do it yourself. Otherwise, the website is awesome.
10 things to never buy again
I think part of the difficulty I face with my goals is a total 180-degree shift in thinking required when it comes to convenience. It has never before in the history of man been easy or convenient to transport oneself 10 miles. Until the early 1900's, the only way to get there was by foot, by horse, or by boat. Only in the last 70 years or so could anyone even dream that going 60 miles is a short trip that is no big deal. Heck, some people do it every day for their commute.
My point is this: When we examine the things we aren't willing to give up or change its often because we feel a sense of entitlement. Like, well, I have to have my (insert thing of convenience here). Thinking about the course of history, has anyone at any time in any location ever had the kinds of choices and privileges that we have? Of course not. I think that we will be forced to give up many of these things as we see cheap oil become a thing of the distant past. So, if we will be forced to give up our convenience items (an easy drive to wherever, a piece of fruit in the middle of winter from a far away country, a coffee from Starbucks each day, a cheap flight somewhere) why not try to give them up now, and find another more sustainable alternative? Humans have the nasty habit of waiting until AFTER they have smashed into a brick wall to make some tough decisions. It is a lot less painful to change course before the smash happens.
So when I think "but I won't be able to easily get over to my friend's house if I don't drive"--well, maybe I shouldn't be able to get there so easily. Maybe I have only been reliant on a false easyness-- one that has been subsidized by the environment of future generations.
Maybe I should have to curtail my activities, or at least take longer to get there. Maybe we shouldn't be living 40 miles from our jobs. Or eating mangos. I should be forced to pay more money for shade-grown, fair-traded, organic coffee. And I should do it now (and I do, ok?!!?)
We need to look at the things we need and the things we "need" and ask ourselves: can I do without? Am I willing to pay a very large sum of money for this if I'm not? Because that is the real cost of it. If you aren't willing to pay $10 for a piece of beef, then you shouldn't eat it. Because that is the piece of beef with the environmental damage, greenhouse gas emissions, loss of antibiotics for actual diseases, illnesses with e. coli treated, and so forth, built into it. Am I willing to pay $10 a gallon for gas to drive over to my friend's house? (Depends on which friend, right?)
Some habits are hard to change. Some are easy. Such as: Never buying anything listed on the list below ever again. Do you have a "right" to use paper towels? Of course not. 150 years ago no such thing could have even been dreamed of. So let's all do a 180 and ask ourselves if we can give up some conveniences. We aren't entitled to them, we're just used to them.
1. Styrofoam cups
Styrofoam is forever. It's not biodegradable.
Alternative: Buy recyclable and compostable paper cups.
Best option: Invest in some reusable mugs that you can take with you.
My point is this: When we examine the things we aren't willing to give up or change its often because we feel a sense of entitlement. Like, well, I have to have my (insert thing of convenience here). Thinking about the course of history, has anyone at any time in any location ever had the kinds of choices and privileges that we have? Of course not. I think that we will be forced to give up many of these things as we see cheap oil become a thing of the distant past. So, if we will be forced to give up our convenience items (an easy drive to wherever, a piece of fruit in the middle of winter from a far away country, a coffee from Starbucks each day, a cheap flight somewhere) why not try to give them up now, and find another more sustainable alternative? Humans have the nasty habit of waiting until AFTER they have smashed into a brick wall to make some tough decisions. It is a lot less painful to change course before the smash happens.
So when I think "but I won't be able to easily get over to my friend's house if I don't drive"--well, maybe I shouldn't be able to get there so easily. Maybe I have only been reliant on a false easyness-- one that has been subsidized by the environment of future generations.
Maybe I should have to curtail my activities, or at least take longer to get there. Maybe we shouldn't be living 40 miles from our jobs. Or eating mangos. I should be forced to pay more money for shade-grown, fair-traded, organic coffee. And I should do it now (and I do, ok?!!?)
We need to look at the things we need and the things we "need" and ask ourselves: can I do without? Am I willing to pay a very large sum of money for this if I'm not? Because that is the real cost of it. If you aren't willing to pay $10 for a piece of beef, then you shouldn't eat it. Because that is the piece of beef with the environmental damage, greenhouse gas emissions, loss of antibiotics for actual diseases, illnesses with e. coli treated, and so forth, built into it. Am I willing to pay $10 a gallon for gas to drive over to my friend's house? (Depends on which friend, right?
Some habits are hard to change. Some are easy. Such as: Never buying anything listed on the list below ever again. Do you have a "right" to use paper towels? Of course not. 150 years ago no such thing could have even been dreamed of. So let's all do a 180 and ask ourselves if we can give up some conveniences. We aren't entitled to them, we're just used to them.
1. Styrofoam cups
Styrofoam is forever. It's not biodegradable.
Alternative: Buy recyclable and compostable paper cups.
Best option: Invest in some reusable mugs that you can take with you.
2. Paper towels
Paper towels waste forest resources, landfill space, and your money.
Alternative: When you do buy paper towels, look for recycled, non-bleached products. Search the National Green Pages™ for recycled paper products.
Best option: Buy dishtowels or rags to wash and reuse.
3. Bleached coffee filters
Dioxins, chemicals formed during the chlorine bleaching process, contaminate groundwater and air and are linked to cancer in humans and animals.
Alternative: Look for unbleached paper filters.
Best Option: Use reusable filters such as washable cloth filters.
4. Overpackaged foods and other products
Excess packaging wastes resources and costs you much more. Around thirty three percent of trash in the average American household comes from packaging.
Alternative: Buy products with minimal or reusable packaging.
Best Option: Buy in bulk and use your own containers when shopping.
5. Teak and mahogany
Every year, 27 million acres of tropical rainforest (an area the size of Ohio) are destroyed. Rainforests cover 6% of Earth’s surface and are home to over half of the world’s wild plant, animal, and insect species. The Amazon rainforest produces 40 percent of the world’s oxygen.
Alternative: Look for Forest Stewardship Council certified wood.
Best Option: Reuse wood, and buy furniture and other products made from used or salvaged wood.
6.Chemical pesticides and herbicides
American households use 80 million pounds of pesticides each year. The EPA found at least one pesticide in almost every water and fish sample from streams and in more than one-half of shallow wells sampled in agricultural and urban areas. These chemicals pose threats to animals and people, especially children.
Alternatives: Buy organic pest controllers such as diatomaceous earth.
Best Option: Plant native plants and practice integrated pest management. Plant flowers and herbs that act as natural pesticides.
7. Conventional household cleaners
Household products can contain hazardous ingredients such as organic solvents and petroleum-based chemicals that can release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into your indoor environment, positing a particular danger for children. The average American household has three to ten of hazardous matter in the home. Don't use bleach in your home.
Alternative: Look for nontoxic, vegetable-based, biodegradeable cleaners.
Best Option: Try making your own green cleaner using vinegar, water, and castile soap.
8. Higher octane gas than you need
Only one car in ten manufactured since 1982 requires high-octane gasoline. High-octane gas releases more hazardous pollutants into the air, and may be bad for your car.
Alternative: Buy the lowest-octane gas your car requires as listed in your owner's manual
Best option: Make your next car purchase a hybrid. Or ditch the car and take public transportation, ride a bike, or walk.
9. Toys made with PVC plastic
70% of PVC is used in construction, but it is also found in everyday plastics, including some children’s toys. Vinyl chloride, the chemical used to make PVC, is a known human carcinogen. Also, additives, such as lead and cadmium, are sometimes added to PVC to keep it from breaking down; these additives can be particularly dangerous in children’s toys. PVC is also the least recycled plastic.
Alternative: Avoid plastics that are labeled as “PVC” or “#3.” Look for #1 and #2 plastics, which are easier to recycle and don’t produce as many toxins. Use sustainable construction materials.
Best option: Take action to tell manufacturers to stop using PVC plastics, especially in children’s toys.
10. Plastic forks and spoons
Disposable plastic utensils are not biodegradeable and not recyclable in most areas.
Alternative: Use compostable food service items. Companies such as Biocorp make cutlery from plant materials such as corn starch and cellulose.
Best option: Carry your own utensils and food containers.
Pregnant women, women of child-bearing ages, and children should be very careful when choosing fish due to high levels of environmental toxins including mercury found in many fish. Check out our Safe Seafood Tip Sheet to see what the environmental and health risks posed by different fish.
12. Rayon. Developed and manufactured by DuPont as the world's first synthetic fiber, it is made by from liquefied wood pulp. Unfortunately, turning wood into rayon is wasteful and dirty, because lots of water and chemicals are needed to extract usable fibers from trees. Only about a third of the pulp obtained from a tree will end up in finished rayon thread. The resulting fabrics usually require dry cleaning, which is an environmental concern as well as an added expense and inconvenience.
Much of the our rayon sold comes from developing countries, such as Indonesia, where environmental and labor laws are weak and poorly enforced. There is mounting evidence that rayon clothing manufacturing contributes to significant forest destruction and pollution in other countries.
13. Beauty/Body Care with Phthalates and Parabens. Phthalates are a group of industrial chemicals linked to birth defects that are used in many cosmetic products, from nail polish to deodorant. Parabens are preservatives used in many cosmetics that have been linked to breast cancer though more research is needed. Phthalates are not listed on product labels and can only be detected in laboratory tests. To be safe, choose products from companies that have signed on to the Compact for Safe Cosmetics.
14. Cling Wrap. Many people don't realize that cling wrap may be made with PVC. #3 PVC (polyvinyl chloride) leaches toxins when heated or microwaved and it is an environmental problem throughout its lifecycle.
15. High VOC Paints and Finishes. Volatile organic compounds or VOCs can cause health problems from dizziness to lung and kidney damage and are infamous for polluting both indoor and outdoor air. VOCs are found in products including paints as well as finishes used for wood, such a stains or varnishes. There are now a wide array of low or no-VOC paints on the market. Look for paints certified by Green Seal (http://www.greenseal.org/).
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