The Environmental Cost of Clothing

Every once in a while my aunt mails me a box filled with snacks and treats to get me through long nights of studying. This week I opened up a package to find a long sleeve, purple t-shirt with a tag proclaiming that it is part of an eco-friendly collection. The composition of the top is 96% viscose and 4% elasthane. I wanted to know more about how these materials are better for the environment, and during my browsing I found a website called treehugger with the article "Is Viscose the Way to a Greener Future?" by Jenna Watson. Watson discusses a study in which the environmental impact of a cotton t-shirt and viscose blouse are compared. My initial thoughts were that the viscose must be made from a more eco-friendly manufacturer or fabric, but it turns out the problem with cotton lies with the consumer. The author makes the argument that clothes are made being made cheaply with the idea that the consumer will buy a new wardrobe next season. Clothing made from materials such as viscose and other synthetic materials, according to Watson, last longer, leaving the customer with a wardrobe that can last through many washes. Another hang-up with cotton is its demanding care instructions. Because cotton requires hot water, tumble dying and hot ironing, according to the tag, its cost on the environment is much higher than synthetics that can be washed cold, hung to dry, and rarely need ironing.

Watson mentions that more recent generations have gotten away from hand-me-downs and second hand clothing. I can relate to this because my sister, four years younger than myself, refused to wear my old clothes. She wanted new clothes as often as she could get them, and being the baby of the family, she often got them. A few months ago, however, I saw a commercial on t.v. for a place called Plato's Closet. The concept behind this place is to get broke college students into new, designer name clothes for cheap. The catch: the clothes are "gently used." The customer can either pay for the "new" clothes, trade some of their own clothes for "new" ones, or just get cash for handing over their clothes. This seems like a great alternative to spending a pretty penny on new clothes each season. We may not be able to help having to wash our clothes, but this store and the article above demonstrate we can definitely find new ways to care for the environment through our purchases. If you would like to read the article for yourself, you can find it at: http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/01/is_viscose_the.php#ch06.

News on Earth Hour

I participated in Earth Hour tonight. I turned out all the lights in my room and even convinced my roommates to do the same. We decided to light candles to do whatever it was we wanted to for the hour. As I was trying to explain to my friend, it is not about how much energy was saved during the hour. The purpose of this event is to raise awareness about global warming, and show that you support new legislation and public action against the harmful effects of our current lifestyles. I find it amazing that this all started in Sydney, Australia, and has now been adopted by millions of people, businesses, and governments all over the world. It actually brought a tear to my eye to watch the following clip on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qr8QXWzT9U&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eearthhourus%2Eorg%2Fvideo%2Ephp&feature=player_embedded
It is very motivating to see all the before and after pictures both on youtube and on the Earth Hour website. All of these people care about changing this course we are on, and it really moved me. I feel that my motivation for doing better for this planet is completely renewed.

The World Wildlife Fund, the organizer of the event, got support from bigger corporate sponsors such as Coca-Cola, E-Surance, HP, and Wells Fargo. Some national landmarks that made a statement this evening include the Las Vegas Strip, the Gateway Arch of St. Louis, the Empire State Building, and the Golden Gate Bridge. The Pyramids of Giza, the Eiffel Tower, and Notre Dame Cathedral also sacrificed light for an hour in their respective cities around the world. I look forward to watching the news tomorrow to see what other impacts this event has made tonight.

So, have you hear about Earth Hour? If you haven't it is probably not because you don't read or watch enough news. The event hasn't really be publicized very well. Even my mom, who reads the Austin newspaper every morning and reads news off the Internet, has not heard of the event. Basically, the idea is that people all over the globe are encouraged to turn their lights and electricity using devices off at 8:30 p.m. tomorrow for a whole hour. The goal is to get 1 billion people to turn their lights out globally in an effort to bring about awareness of global warming. I encourage you to join me tomorrow night, and ask your friends and family to do the same. The website is http://www.earthhour.org/home/ and you can find all kinds of information about movement. I think most people can easily do this for just 60 minutes. Please participate!

Social Influence

One of my roommates asked me the other day how I came to join the green movement. She told me I am one of only a few people our age that she knows who is really trying to make a difference. I was surprised to hear her say this because I know many people who are interested in doing better for the environment. This led me to believe that social influences weigh heavily on whether a person participates and their degree of participation in the movement. Growing up, my roommate’s family did not do anything especially eco-friendly. According to her, the only reason her parents made her turn her light of in her bedroom when leaving it was to save money on the electric bill. This was dramatically different from my childhood. Since I can remember my family has recycled paper, plastic, and aluminum. We were also told to conserve energy even though we lived in government housing, all bills paid. We were scolded for taking long showers or forgetting to turn off lights or the t.v. despite the fact that we did not pay a water or electric bill.

For my mom, it was all for the sake of not being wasteful. When I moved into a dorm after leaving home, I am ashamed to say that I let those values slip away from me. Showers were never long enough and it did not matter to me if I let my computer run all day long.
Spending my Spring break with my family reminds me that I am not really as committed to this lifestyle as I would like to be. I realize that I could take my goals a step further by adopting some of the things my mom does for the environment. For example, the town she lives outside of does not pick up recyclables, and so she drives them to a collection site in the city on the weekends. And instead of using the energy to dry all of her laundry, she dries jeans, linens, and other bulky items on a clothes line. The bathroom situation at my parent’s home is quite different than the average household. When they moved out of city limits, they discovered septic tanks were the only option. Researching about the limitations of the tank and its sensitive bacteria caused her to change a few of her product purchases. For one, she buys toilet paper made from recycled paper. The down side to this is the thinness of the tissue, but on the other side, the bacteria can break it up easily and the company does recycle paper that would otherwise be sitting in a landfill. Bleach and other harmful cleaners with chlorine also had to be given up. Although a struggle at first, my mom feels good now knowing that all bathroom cleaners, laundry detergent, and dishwashing liquids she uses are plant based and biodegradable. For her it took loosing public sewage access to stop using harsh chemicals in her cleaners, but I am hoping to suck up the extra expense and start buying more eco-friendly products next time I visit the grocery store.

A Week Away From Home

I have been on Spring break since Monday. Getting a break from school is great but I always worry when leaving all my possessions for a week. I had to fight the urge to leave a light on in my apartment. Growing up, every time my family left on trips for days at a time we left a light on in the living room. I suppose the purpose was to make people think we were home, hopefully preventing break-ins. It seems like such a waste to me to leave lights on for days at a time. After I graduated and moved out of the house, my mother found a timer to plug a lamp into to save energy. The gadget turns the lamp on everyday during a certain time period for as long as you wish. Although the light is only appreciated by the cats when we are away, this little device gives my mom piece of mind while saving some energy during the day and preserving the light bulb as well.
I decided against leaving a light on because the guilt of all the wasted energy would have eaten at me over the week. Another thing I did to save energy while not at home was to unplug all small appliances. As I have mentioned in a previous entry, I have been trying to unplug things like the toaster and blender after using them. This has proven harder to remember than I thought it would be, unfortunately. But for a whole week lamps, alarm clocks, computers, and air fresheners will all be unplugged as well as the toaster and blender. Also, the temperature in both the refrigerator and the thermostat were adjusted. It took some convincing my roommates to raise the temperature a few degrees in the frig but I finally got their permission. My logic is no one will be there to open and close the frig, letting cool air out, and no one is leaving meat there for a whole week. Other products don’t need to be kept quite as cool, right? Hopefully we won’t return to any spoiled foods.

A Few Energy Saving Tips

For the whole past week I have been keeping a list of small things I did to conserve energy. I realize how small the impact is, but these are some things I do to that make myself feel good:
-I did a couple loads of laundry, both in cold water. I started doing this with my color loads to preserve the colors of the fabrics, but I decided that it would not hurt to wash all loads cold.
-I recently started unplugging small appliances after using them. For example, the toaster and blowdrier this week. Other items I try to keep unplugged are the blender, my cell phone charger, and lamps. It is amazing to think that these things all draw energy from the electrical socket when not in use!
-We also change the thermostat setting when leaving the house for the day. Currently the temperature outside is in the 50's, and so setting the temperature to 60 from 65 degrees is a small difference that is quickly adjusted when we return home.
-And as always, I try to take the bus to campus. This week I managed to drive my car to campus only twice. I find that when I am managing my time better, I am more comfortable taking the bus. Hopefully I can keep this up .

My Carbon Footprint

Have you seen the commercials for the online car insurance company staring the cartoon woman with purple hair? I thought the futuristic outer space theme and paperless system was simply a great advertising scheme, but recently a friend told me to take a peek at their website. I was so excited to find the E-surance website full of information about greener living. The website has lots of consumer information about their partnerships and contributions towards a greener America. It is quite impressive for a company to take such bold step in this green movement. I am particularly excited to have calculated my carbon footprint with their online survey. I discovered that with my current habits my carbon footprint is 11.1 tons per year (yes, i know that is ridiculous!) and my Earth Conservation Plan, or ECP, is 307. The average carbon footprint for a resident of College Station (mostly just a college town) is 16.7 tons per year per person, 15.4 for the average American. The plan allows you to measure the improvements you make in your scores as you change your habits to be greener. I encourage you to calculate your own and see how you compare. The only issue I have with this approximation is the fact that it is geared towards households rather than individuals. And so the score I gave above is actually the combined score for my two roommates and I. Have a try at it yourself!

Air purifiers

How much energy do you suppose air purifiers use? They are designed to run all day and night. I went home for the weekend and realized my mom has three in the house. She seems to think that the clean air is better for us. I do not know if these gadgets are any better than breathing fresh air from outdoor, but the weather is often too hot for most of the year to open the windows. I suggested to her that she try getting some house plants that would remove toxins from the air. And so we decided to look up what plant species would be effective at doing so. The website www.beyondjane.com listed several plants that will grow indoors. Among the list were gerber daisies, snake plant, rubber plant, and golden pothos, all of which I have seen at home improvement stores such as Lowes. The website also gives a brief explanation of plant care or the specific toxins each removes from the air. Do some research of your own if you are interested, and start saving some energy.