Celebrate a Greener Valentine's Day

http://www.thedailygreen.com/going-green/tips/greener-valentines-day-460213?src=nl&mag=tdg&list=dgr&kw=ist

This year, you need not get lost in a sea of stale candy hearts, red plastic packaging and wilted white flowers. Instead of a blizzard of unsatisfying consumerism, follow these suggestions to enjoy a more meaningful, and planet friendly, holiday.

The average consumer spends just over $100 on Valentine's Day, according to the National Retail Federation, with total sales approaching $14 billion. That buys nearly 214 million roses, $2.5 billion in jewelry, 180 million cards, 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolate, tons of stuffed animals and more. All those resources can really add up, especially when you consider that conventional flowers are raised with tons of toxic pesticides, the mining industry has left open scars and polluted water across the planet, logging has created barren wastelands, and chocolate harvesting has resulted in toxic, substandard working conditions.

Here are some suggestions to keep the fun in Valentine's Day, and go a little greener:

Give organic and fair trade flowers, the latter of which are now even available at Sam's Club!
Savor organic and fair trade chocolates.
Pour organic and biodynamic wines.
Consider eco-friendly jewelry.
Send an e-card or greeting on recycled paper.

Fair Trade Chocolate And Coffee

100% Fair Trade companies

These companies are 100% Fair Trade or transitioning to 100% Fair Trade - the way the industry should be- and we commend their leadership. Listings including non-100% companies, manufacturers, importers, and processors: TransFairUSA. Retailer listings: TransFair USA, Fair Trade Federation. Order on-line from company web sites or GX's Fair Trade store. Favorite company isn't listed? Can't find these products locally? Click on "Act Now!" and take action!

Fair Trade Flowers for Valentine's Day!

A Better World is Blooming

The Fair Trade Certified label on your bouquet means that flower workers, most of whom are women, can put food on their tables, send their children to school, invest in community development, and use sustainable farming methods.

http://www.transfairusa.org/content/flowers/

Top 10 Green Business Trends - State of Green Business 2008, Pt. 1

This week, GreenBiz.com launched its inaugural report, "State of Green Business 2008." In it, you will find a wealth of information on green business trends with a cross-sectoral approach. Over the next week, we will bring to you a synopsis of some of those trends. To start off, here's a list of the "Top Green Business Stories of 2007."

1. Corporate Climate Commitments - Major companies are making public commitments about their strategies to address climate change in record numbers.
2. Automotive Industry Finally Gets It - Major carmakers are bringing us more fuel-efficient and hybrid vehicles, with plans to launch plug-in hybrids soon.
3. Planes, Trains, Trucks, and Ships are Going Green Too - Other players in the transportation sector are also implementing eco-efficient tech to reduce their environmental impact.
4. Green Marketing/Greenwashing - Just as companies are increasingly catering to the "green consumer," mainstream consumers are increasingly skeptical of such claims.
5. Toxic Product Reduction - Manufacturers and retailers faced a public backlash this year concerning toxic materials in their products. As such, they are making amends to reduce or eliminate them in future production.
6. E-waste - The computing industry got serious this year about energy use and disposal problems associated with technology.
7. Big Companies Get Real about Sustainability - More Fortune 500 businesses announced plans to incorporate company-wide initiatives to engender smarter resource use.
8. Green Buildings Skyrocket - Green buildings become the norm in major urban centers across the nation.
9. Banks Pull Out of "Dirty Investments" - Shareholder activism pressure large banks to invest in clean energy production instead.
10. "Zero" is Where It's At - "Zero-waste," "zero-carbon," and "zero-emissions," are the rallying cries from the new initiatives emerging from the corporate sector.


This ambitious effort to analyze green business trends provides a much-needed perspective on the field. The overall results? Major businesses have made commendable strides towards streamlining their business strategies with an environmentally sustainable focus over the last year. However, it remains to be seen whether, in fact, these approaches are making a difference to the environment. Insufficient data exists as of yet to make conclusive claims about the efficacy of these programs in the aggregate. This leads to a mixed verdict, "Companies are getting cleaner and more efficient, but only incrementally, and many of the gains are offset by the ever-growing economy." As we look at more sector-specific trends over the next week, we will shed light on some of the factors hindering further "conscious capitalism" evolution.

Grab the whole report on GreenBiz.com

NPR: Farming the Amazon with a Machete and Mulch

Farming the Amazon with a Machete and Mulch
by Ketzel Levine


Morning Edition, February 4, 2008 · On jungle land at the mouth of the Amazon River, one resourceful female farmer has become a master of adaptation in a landscape of constant change. Her story offers an example of how individuals might face the challenges of climate change.


http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=18656632&ft=1&f=1007
LISTEN TO AUDIO

Responsible Purchasing Network

Today, we are proud to count among our members prominent educational institutions such as Yale and major corporations like Office Depot, as well as two federal agencies—the USDA Forest Service and the Department of Education—11 state agencies representing eight states, and 29 municipal agencies from around the country.

http://www.responsiblepurchasing.org/news/