Fresh Finds

How to Green Your Lip Service

Every month, I cringe when I get my cell phone bill (ahem, I mean, when I get the e-mail alerting me to the fact that my cell phone bill has been electronically delivered to my bank in very eco-friendly paperless fashion). It's not that my bills are astronomically high as much as it reminds me that I'm subsidizing an industry that's exposing me to hazardous chemicals and the earth to mounds of e-waste.

To claim the eco higher ground, I will say that I've been using the same phone, and keeping e-waste out of landfills, for about three years now--a dinosaur, I know--but could I climb up on my high horse and say I'd give it up entirely? Probably not. But I can switch to an eco-friendly provider. Credo Mobile, a division of the socially conscious telecommunications company Working Assets, allows cell phone customers to donate one percent of any bill to the environmental (or social or civil-rights) nonprofit of their choosing, and it's currently the only provider that allows you to do this. Greenpeace, American Rivers, Sierra Club and the Organic Farming Research Foundation have all received money from Credo.

I did a quick, unscientific side-by-side comparison of my current plan on AT&T and a similar plan from Credo, which has only been around in its current form since last October. From what I could tell, you aren't losing much in terms of extras. AT&T allows for rollover minutes and free roaming, while Credo doesn't, but Credo operates off Sprint's mobile network, which gets marginally better online reviews for call clarity and coverage area. The plans start at about $30 per month for 200 anytime minutes with unlimited nights and weekends, and Credo has a decent phone selection, too. Opt for the Samsung phone; Samsung got props in Greenpeace's latest "Guide to Green Electronics" for removing brain-damaging brominated flame retardants (BFRs) in phones, and they'll be launching a PVC-free line of mobile phones in April. The LG phones are a good second, but the company is still in the process of phasing out PVC and BFRs so some products may still contain them. Finally, Credo sells solar-powered chargers to go with every phone and recycles the phones when they die--I doubt other service providers are so responsible.

To learn more about Credo Mobile, see www.credomobile.com.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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Paper vs. Plastic or Democrat vs. Republican?

Political volunteers were canvassing the Union Square Farmers Market in full force last Saturday, and I was really bummed I didn't have one of Freddy & Ma's fetching organic cotton "Vote Totes" slung over my shoulder.

The totes, designed by a pair of New York Upper East Siders, are a little slanted in terms of individual candidates--you can "Vote Hillary" or "Vote Obama" and that's it--but they're very even-handed when it comes to parties. Whether voting democratic, republican or even free-spirited independent, you can always vote reusable. In politics as in life, there's always room for a third-party candidate.

Bags are $25/each and can be purchased online at freddyandma.com.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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1-800-Green-RVing

Leonardo DiCaprio would probably prefer to be remembered for his enviro documentary, 11th Hour, but to me, he'll always be Arnie Grape, standing on the side of a rural dirt road clapping gleefully as a convoy of Airstream trailers comes rumbling through town, in the movie What's Eating Gilbert Grape? I, too, love RVs. Gas-guzzling, greenhouse-gas-emitting eco scourges that they are, I can't help but marvel at their innate functionality. How great would my life be if, at the push of a button, my tiny Manhattan apartment could unfold into extra furniture, cook tops and additional storage space?

And wouldn't you know it...RVs, just like all the products in America it seems, are getting a green makeover. This is good news considering that the fuel economy of RVs ranges from a pitiful 6 mpg to 13 mpg. Montreal-based Verdier (www.verdier.ca) has redesigned the iconic Volkswagen Westfalia minibus, favored by our peace-loving, granola-munching brethren of the sixties, into a modern-day RV, complete with a hybrid gas-electric engine to power it on the road and solar panels on the roof to power all the cool whizbangs you need to operate while parked. Not only that, it comes outfitted with all the other features of a standard RV: doors that unfold into storage shelves, storage units that fold out into cooking ranges, couches that turn into beds and passenger seats that turn into stairs that lead up to said beds.

However, this Fresh Find doesn't come cheap--or quickly, for that matter. According to an article in "The Durango (CO) Herald," the first prototype will be touring the U.S. this summer, and soon after that, they'll go into production with an initial run of 1,000, 150 of which have already been sold (you can reserve yours now through Verdier). Speaking of price, the RVs are retailing for around $89,000--a little steep for Arnie's and my blood but definitely worthy of a little eco lust.

For more information, see www.verdier.ca.

© The Green Guide, 2008

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