It's the nuts ! the washing nuts!

A washing detergent that grows on trees…literally - soapnuts are an environmentally friendly sustainably produced (naturally subdried), bio-degradable and compostable way of cleaning your laundry.
Grown wild in India for centuries, these nuts (sapindus mukorossi) have been used for many purposes including removing tarnish from jewellery and treating all sorts of ailments from contaminated soil to migraines to epilepsy. They are most widely recognised as being an effective and environmentally friendly natural detergen.
While the nuts will wash your laundry effectively they won't give it that fresh clean smell so many washing powder mnufacturers spend millions on , you can however add a few drops of any essential oilsl whether it be lavender, rosemary or thyme or a combination of all of the above.

How do they work ?

The nuts contain the active natural washing ingredient saponin. Similar to soap, when the shells of the soapnut come in contact with water the saponin is released and suds are produced - these are excellent for cleaning laundry and leaving it beautifully soft.
They are especially good for colours: because they don’t contain any whiteners or brighteners your colours will stay coloured for longer. Just pop 6-8 shells into a cotton bag (provided when you purchase them) and place in your washing machine. You can reuse the same nuts three or four times.


Soapnuts vs washing powder/liquid

• Soapnuts grow on trees and so do not require chemicals or big machines
• Washing powder releases toxic chemicals into the magical drainholes that unfortunately don't magically dissappear but end up in oceans and lakes and eventually into our food cycle
• Washing nuts are compostable
• Pricewise, a bag of nuts (!) will cost you anywhere from 12 to 20 euros and will last up to 6 months depending on frequency of usage. Washing liquid/powder will cost you a lot more.
• Soapnuts can not be eaten along with cashew nuts, neither can washing powder.
• There are however different recipes for soapnuts.

Soapnuts are gaining in popularity all over the world. People are understanding the risks associated with using normal detergent, not only their impact during production but also postusage when the chemicals go into our main waterstream. Soapnuts offer an environmentally friendly and economically viable alternative and are set to become more and more popular. Expect to see big brand names incorporate washing nuts in their latest expensive detergent in an over designed container with the latest pouring technology, you heard it here first !!


All the best,


Julien
An ant amongst many..




 

Wrapping paper overload...

Best wishes to all!

As you are taking a slight pause in between your festivities, we would like to take this opportunity to send our best wishes to you. We would like to thank you for reading our posts this year and hope you will continue to do so in 2012! Greensoul.info is a collaborative website and has already benefitted from the input of many greensoulers.

Remember, if there is anything you find interesting, do not hesitate to forward it and we will gladly spread the information to all our readers.

Communication is key to helping change the world, even if it is one ant at a time.

For this festive post, we thought it would be a good idea to show ways of recycling/reusing wrapping paper if you haven’t already thrown it away!  This can be done through simple origami, beautiful paper fortune cookies or why not create a rose wreath that could be ideal for Christmas next year.

2012 is nearly upon us and I hope that amongst your new year’s resolutions you may decide to take, taking green steps and spreading the word about the benefits of living more sustainably will be one of them.

Hopefully some relaxing activities for you to do (links below), in the meantime:

Enjoy the end of year, and best green wishes from all of us at Greensoul,

Greensoul Collective

Julien Delannoy

Founder

Link for simple origami :

http://www.origami-instructions.com/simple-origami.html

Link for beautiful paper fortune cookies

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/how-to/how-to-make-paper-fortune-cookies-063840

Link for rose wreath

http://www.ehow.com/how_12061758_recycled-paper-rose-wreath.html

Your toxic house

Everybody is more or less aware of external pollutants, the thick black smoke coming out of old exhausts, the greyish fog cloud over big cities..etc..

However, the inside of a building can be as polluted and in most cases between 5 to 10 times more polluted than outside. Interiors, where we spend more than 80% of our time contain toxic elements in the carpet or wooden flooring, within the walls and ceilings and the cleaning materials we use can be pretty nasty too. You have to think that any material within a building can under certain conditions emit or form particulates which could then be inhaled and possibly lead to health risks (carpets, fabrics, ceiling tiles, printers...)

VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds are a known interior pollutant. Some VOCs are carcinogen, suspected carcinogen or known irritants at typical levels. Building materials and cleaning products are the most common sources of VOCs. The paint on your walls could be toxic, the cleaning liquid you use on the bathroom or kitchen too…

Formaldehyde, one of the big nasty players in terms of VOCs is considered carcinogen and also found in a wide range of building materials and furnishings and this is why levels indoors are much higher than outside. The construction industry is slowly making efforts to eliminate formaldehyde from its materials and with things such as Sick Building Syndrome and Building related illness (Legionnaire’s Disease,…) as well as allergic or asthma numbers growing  it really needs to. It is estimated that indoor air pollution is costing the american industry alone tens of billions of dollars every year.

So with all this being a bit daunting,I hear you ask,what can I do !!!???

There are simple steps you can take to ensure a higher quality of indoor air without having to demolish your house or office:

• Ventilate your indoors regularly

• Use cleaning products that are kind to the environment and therefore kind to you

• When you next choose a new paint,fabric,mattress…question the environmental qualities,what does it contain ? What effect will it have seeing I will be surrounded by it most of the time ?

• If you happen to have mold somewhere then get a professional to look at it asap

• Plants are can clean the indoor air

A NASA study has found that plants can be huge benefit to interiors, purifying the air by absorbing the toxic components and alleviating stress.  These are easy-to-find plants such as the Boston Fern (Nephrolepis exaltata) which is a very good overall depolluting plant. The spider plant (Chlorophytum) as well as the Peace lily (Spathiphyllum) are the other very easy-to-find very effective plants that will help clean and purify your indoors on a regular basis. This website has a very clear listing of all beneficial plants

So, the construction industry has a lot to answer for and needs to make rapid change in their process.

If you happen to be a designer,builder or architect, then please take this into account for every single project. You are responsible for specifying materials and therefore should know the ins and outs and long term effects of every single one of them.
We are talking about people’s well-being here and the possibility of diminishing the risks of cancer which is a great responsibility to have and improving everybody's life quality.

The deadly toothbrush slip

The toothbrush as we know it today was not invented until 1938. However, early forms of the toothbrush have been in existence since 3000 BC. Ancient civilizations used a "chew stick," which was a thin twig with a frayed end. These 'chew sticks' were rubbed against the teeth.

The bristle toothbrush, similar to the type used today, was not invented until 1498 in China. The bristles were actually the stiff, coarse hairs taken from the back of a hog's neck and attached to handles made of bone or bamboo.

Boar bristles were used until 1938, when nylon bristles were introduced by Dupont de Nemours, who are now one of the biggest companies around. The first nylon toothbrush was called Doctor West's Miracle Toothbrush. Later, Americans were influenced by the disciplined hygiene habits of soldiers from World War II. They became increasingly concerned with the practice of good oral hygiene and quickly adopted the nylon toothbrush. Nowadays, the toothbrush industry is huge and you are bound to see every couple of months a new special toothbrush with extra grip surface to prevent the dreaded deadly toothbrush slip and bristles to wash behind your ears.

         With doctors recommending you change your toothbrush every two months and taking into consideration the amount of unnecessary plastic not mentioning the adhesive, colouring,packaging and different manufacturing processes required to make the modern toothbrush, it is an understatement to say that the toothbrush is one of the most polluting or resource intensive items in most households.

           What can I do to change this , I hear you say…. Well there are a few companies out there promoting the sustainable toothbrush.

Ecodent have gone one step in the right direction with using replaceable heads although we feel their handles are still too much and they only use nylon fibres which is energy intensive, but at least they are better than conventional toothbrushes.

www.eco-dent.com

In first position has to be Monte Bianco,the Monte Bianco basically consists of a reusable handle, and a replaceable head, thereby ensuring that the plastic (and therefore oil) used in manufacture is kept to a minimum. Replacement heads are even available that use natural fibres, instead of plastic, for the bristles, reducing oil use even further. The heads come in packs of three, and each package is in itself much smaller than your average toothbrush packet, so energy used in packaging and transportation is also significantly less.

We have been unable to find a website for the manufacturers, but toothbrushes, and replacement heads, are available from Survana in the UK, Internatural Alternative Health  and American Apparel in the US, Ecoshop in Australia or Amazon internationally. We also found some in our local natural health shop here in France so have a look in yours.

We hope you have found this article interesting and hopefully you will think of it every time you wash your teeth!!

Brush sustainably!

Enjoy!

A greener way to travel...

Air travel is now the fastest-growing contributor to global warming. If you absolutely have to take the plane, carbon offsetting is now a possible option on certain companies when booking flights. Offsets allow you to compensate for taking high CO2 emitters such as planes by giving financial support to projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short or long-term. These are normally minimal compared to how much you spend on tickets. The most common project type you contribute to is renewable energy, such as wind farms, solar energy, or hydroelectric dams. In 2008, about $705 million of carbon offsets were purchased, representing about 123.4 million metric tons of CO₂e reductions. This does go some way to helping lessen the impact on the environment but also helps support the renewable energy companies which are all seeing their budgets severely cut following the recession.

Now that you’ve landed and you’re about to have your dream holiday, what else can you do ?

There are very simple actions you can take, which can become part of your daily holiday routine.

•  Put your garbage in bins : Even if you are in a country where everybody throws their garbage on the ground or through the windows of the bus, doesn’t mean you have to follow suit ! 
• Buy local produce : This is the best way you can help support the local economy and make sure your money doesn’t go to multinationals. If you go to a supermarket, check where the items come from, if it comes from far away, don’t buy it, buy the local version instead and try and go to small markets as much as possible. Example : Evian water (French) on sale in Ecuador…  You can also find out what the local speciality is in every country and try it ! 
• Buy as close to the source of the product as possible : If buying souvenirs, make sure you buy as directly as you can from the local artist or creator. 
• Talk to people : Don’t bury your head in your guide book, ask for their recommendations !
• Avoid tourist traps/big tour operators : Where you are sure to be taken advantage of and can’t guarantee the money goes back to the local people. Recently, while in Peru, we learnt that the train that takes tourists to the closest point to the Macchu Picchu was in fact owned by an ex-president of Peru and that all the profits went straight to his pocket and nothing to his country. Whether this is true or not, there are alternate ways to get there, using local transport. 
• Don't waste water – some countries suffer from water shortages, and saving water can also help avoid damage to natural habitats.

If you still feel like you should be doing more, then one way is to actively give something back to local communities by volunteering. There are a few websites which can help you find organisations/individuals who need help. Some require you to stay a minimum amount of time but most are happy for you to come and help out for a week.

Not only are you giving something to the country you are visiting, but it is also a great way to get off the beaten path of the usual tourist and really get to know a local community or local area much better than if you were simply passing through. Eco-tourism is getting more and more fashionable and we are starting to see big tour operators offering a working day or two in the local community as part of a deal. Although this sounds good, I would question where the money actually goes. I feel it is much better to get in contact with the communities/organisations directly through these websites.

www.workaway.info – Various volunteering opportunities from working on a farm, construction, working with animals or in schools, most are free, just your time in exchange for food and accommodation, some charge a minimal fee.

www.wwoof.org  - World wide opportunities on organic farms, learning about sustainability and organic farming – No exchange of money, you give your time and work five days a week and in exchange they give you food and accommodation.
www.helpx.net - Various volunteering opportunities again. most are free, others charge a small fee

And if you can, explore the country by bicycle, surely the greenest way ! ;-)

Stay fresh, Stay clean , Stay natural !

Common deodorants including big brand names contain aluminium and a number of other chemicals whose effect on the human body are not entirely known, and according to some could be linked with breast cancer.

Every morning, you will apply deodorant or worse, antiperspirants to your armpits.  Aluminium is what gives antiperspirants their wetness-fighting ability, and they're highly effective. Commercial deodorants can contain up to 25 percent aluminum salts by weight. The problem is nobody really knows what effect aluminum chlorohydrate or aluminum zirconium has on the human body or the numerous other aluminium salts, parabens or triclosan found in all deodorants. Also, something to take into consideration is that these aluminium salts will be washed away into sewers and then eventually back into nature after your shower.

Also consider what chemicals, coloring, chemical scents were used in the process of making these deodorants before this arrives on the shopping aisle and what effect this has had on the environment and will have when you wash it away everyday.

Natural deodorants contain 100% all natural mineral salts, nothing else ! All of these deodorants are hypoallergenic, contain no aluminium chlorohydrate, are paraben free, alcohol-free, non-sticky, and won´t leave a white stain on your clothes like other deodorants can. I know some of you might be sceptic about the effectiveness, so I´ve taken it upon myself to test one of these in the rugged environment of South America J. There are many different types of salt crystal salt deodorant available and I guess since they all contain the same ingredients, they should all have the same effect. Some are lightly scented too. I´ve been using the Salt of the Earth Natural deodorant and I have to say it works wonders. I´ve been doing a lot of physical work, so sweating buckets and it´s been very effective in these type of situations.

www.crystalspring.co.uk

Here are some other untested products which might be of interest too :

Another crystal salt brand -  
www.thecrystal.com

Oil of sage is the main active ingredient for this range - 
 www.global.burtsbees.com

A well-regarded line of non-aluminum products featuring zinc ricinoleate and natural ingredients - www.tomsofmaine.com

Please also take into consideration where these are produced according to where you are in the world !

Stay fresh, Stay clean , Stay natural !

Seedbombs and sunflowers- It must be guerilla gardening !

The earliest record of the term guerrilla gardening being used was by Liz Christy and her Green Guerrilla group in 1973 in the Bowery Houston area of New York. They transformed a derelict private lot into a garden. Since then, it has grown and grown and there are now several thousand guerilla gardeners all around the world. 

Greensoul is delighted to have interviewed Richard Reynolds, the unofficial patron of guerilla gardening in the UK for a quick insight into his guerilla world whose activities also include planting sunflowers in various urban corners of the world…as well as seed bombs...

I hope you enjoy the interview and that it makes you get those hands dirty ! ;-)

• What inspired you to become a guerilla gardener ?

Not having a garden and seeing the opportunity to create one in the neglected flower beds near where I lived. I'm a keen gardener and missed having a garden. I was unaware of guerrilla gardening as a concept, it just seemed like the obvious thing to do and call it.

• How difficult or easy is it to become a guerilla gardener ?

It's very easy. "The illicit cultivation of someone else's land" is how most of us define it. So sowing seeds outside your garden is guerrilla gardening.

• What does the future hold for guerilla gardening ?

More people doing it (population pressure, urbanisation, degradation of land will make the issue of having space to grow things greater and resolving the issue via some assertive guerrilla action is more likely). Also, as the idea spreads and is generally well received more people feel it's something they can do.

• What advice would you give greensoulers out there who want to lead a more green, sustainable life ?

Do it, don't just talk about it. The biggest barrier is a fear of the change. What I discovered by just doing the garden rather than wishing I had one or wishing someone else would sort out the mess, what a lot of other unexpected benefits - I got to know my neighbours better for a start.

http://www.guerrillagardening.org/