Fruit of the Loom(state)

Would you pay $200 for a pair of jeans?

What if they were made of 100% certified organic cotton , were a model of sustainability and came with a certificate guaranteeing fair-trade practices?

Yeah... me either.

$200 is $200, especially these days. When people are struggling to pay their mortgages and worried about being laid off, buying a pair of eco-friendly jeans for $200 might seem... well... a little frivolous.

And that right there ladies and gentlemen is a problem the Green Movement is only just now starting to address. When so many eco-friendly and organic products are out of reach for an increasing number of Americans living on a budget, the Green Movement can have a disturbing tinge of exclusivity. It's not enough to tell people not to buy from the chains or the commercially-grown products, there has to be affordable alternatives. I would love to do all my shopping at Whole Foods, but my paycheck just doesn't stretch that far.

The good news is that a few visionaries are trying to make organic more affordable.

Designer Rogan Gregory has been a passionate advocate of green-living for years. His Loomstate line with Scott Mackinlay Hahn was one of the first fashion labels to feature organic materials, and he famously started Edun with Bono's wife. This month he introduced a cheaper version of his Loomstate line at Target but with the same dedication towards being environmentally friendly and the same quality.

The collection features super-soft tees, cute separates, a plaid bikini and boardshorts for guys. And at $14.99-$44.99, there's something for everyone's budget.

The Makings of a Simon & Garfunkel Song

So one of my Green goals this year was to get a garden going. This is something of a challenge for me, though, and not because I live in an apartment building downtown. My problem stems from the fact that apparently I did not inherit my dad's green thumb. In fact, my apartment is the place where plants go to die. And it's not that I'm neglectful. I do all the appropriate things... water, provide sunlight, etc... but somehow my plants slowly wither away while I watch in dismay. I have seriously considered just throwing in the towel and buying plastic plants which only need a good dusting every once in awhile. But nothing compares to having real plants in a home.

Which brings me back to my dilemma of starting a garden. Not having enough space outside, I've decided to take advantage of my two south-facing windows which receive tons of sunshine and have fairly broad windowsills. My cat Dudley loves to sit in the windows while pretending to be King of All He Surveys, but he'll just have to learn to share (memo to self... google which plants are poisonous for curious cats to nibble).

Knowing my limitations, I've decided to attempt two small gardening projects, an herb garden and container gardening for vegetables. Project Herb Garden began today.

The Charleston Horticultural Society held its annual Plantasia plant sale over at the Galliard this morning so I hoofed it on over to check out the selection. I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted and soon found a table of nothing but herbs. There were three different kinds of basil, two types of lavender, sage, rosemary, lemon verbena, mint, oregano, various versions of thyme and a host of other herbs. It took less than thirty seconds for me to be totally overwhelmed until one of the docents helpfully pointed out which ones would work best with my conditions... indoors, south-facing window, proven tract-record as a killer of plants.

With her assistance, this is what I picked out today- oregano, sweet basil, French thyme, "blue lady" rosemary, cilantro and lavender. All of these herbs need plenty of sunshine and regular watering. I was advised to re-pot them in slightly bigger containers at some point.

My haul today cost $24, but, with luck, these plants will continue to grow and provide me with lots of fresh herbs for many future meals.

That is, if I don't kill them first. I'll keep you posted.

Repeat After Me

There are three basic tenants of the Green Movement... Recycle, Reuse and Reduce. Everyone should memorize and repeat them in your head like a kind of environmental mantra.

Of course, the Recycling part of the equation is the one that people are the most familar with since programs have been around for over twenty years. And it goes without saying that at this point, recycling really should be a routine part of life, just like brushing your teeth and throwing out the (greatly reduced since you're recycling) garbage. The other two aspects of the Green Movement are a little less well known.

"Reuse" is actually a pretty simple concept. It's basically all about increasing the life of an object. Rather than buying new, the goal of "reuse" is to maintain and repair what you have. Here's a disturbing statistic to ponder. Only 2% of clothes thrown away every year are actually worn out. The other 98%? Tossed because we're tired of them or want something newer. "Reuse" is about purchasing durable goods, buying & selling in the used marketplace, borrowing, renting and maintaining/repairing products we already own. And the best part is that when we do these things we help to reduce the strain on valuable resources such as fuel, forests and water supplies. We create less air and water pollution and promote waste production. Admittedly, none of that sounds sexy, but, trust me, it is when it comes to doing our part.

Which brings us to the third part of the Green equation.

"Reduce" refers to lessening that thing known as our carbon footprint. Specifically it can mean reducing the gas we require by doing things like checking tire pressure in our cars, carpooling, walking or riding a bicycle to the store. We can reduce our utilities by turning down the water heater, shutting off the water when we brush our teeth, using a powerstrip, unplugging electronics when they're not in use and gradually replacing our lightbulbs with compact fluorescent lightbulbs. Most of these things sound minor, but it all adds up.

So here's your first green challenge. Pick one of the tenants... Recycle, Reuse, Reduce... and begin applying it to your life. It's okay to start with something small. For example, instead of throwing away your Ziploc sandwich bags when you brownbag it to work, wash them out and reuse them. Or pull that bike out of the garage and take it for a spin the next time you have some errands to run. Let me know what you pick and how you're doing.

I'm Not Leonardo DiCaprio

I have a confession to make.

My credentials for writing an environmental blog are embarassingly slight. I don't have an Oscar for my award-winning documentary about the plight of the Earth. I don't drive a Prius. Solar panels aren't a part of my home decor. All of my weekly garbage doesn't fit into a car's glove box like Ed Begley, jr. (who's my hero, by the way) once thrillingly demonstrated. I do, however, have a mother who's a recycling fiend from way back. She's also quite thrifty. True story... Mom once drove 700 miles from Boston to Michigan with a trunkful of soda cans, thinking she could get the $.10 refund instead of the $.05. Of course she couldn't, and so she drove all those cans back to Massachusetts. The first time I saw that episode on "Seinfeld" where Kramer does pretty much the same exact thing, I almost blew Pepsi out of my nose from laughing so hard.

But, I digress.

The fact is that like most people, I was very happy living life as a conspicuous consumer. I knew about recycling, but sometimes throwing stuff out was way more convenient that sorting my paper from my plastic. But then in 2005, I moved to Charleston, South Carolina and became Green almost by accident. In fact, it happened so organically and naturally, it took me awhile to figure out what had happened.

Not having a car, I was riding my bike everywhere and learning the bus routes. I started carrying a canvas bag to the grocery store because the plastic ones would practically cut off all circulation in my fingers on the walk home. Following in my dad's footsteps, I practiced cooling my apartment the natural way in the summer by creating cross ventilation, leaving windows opens at night and closing the blinds during the day to block out the sun. It's a point of pride with me that last year, I survived a typically hot, humid Lowcountry summer without turning on my air conditioning apart from the week I had guests staying with me.

In between shopping at the Farmer's Market on Saturday mornings, gradually replacing my lightbulbs with CFLs and switching to organic products, I was startled to realize that somehow, I was living a more or less Green lifestyle without even trying. And the thing is, I was kind of digging it. It felt good doing my part for the environment and, what's more, I sort of started wanting to do more.

So, that's what this blog is about. Finding practical, easy ways to be Green that won't break the bank. You don't have to be Leonardo DiCaprio to make a difference. But if you are, how 'bout giving me a call :)