A few weeks ago my mom and I set out to find me a new winter coat. I had donated 2 coats to charity at the end of last winter in an effort to force myself to buy a new coat before it got cold this fall. Thinking that it’d be easy enough to find a reasonably priced, attractive and eco-friendly garment at Macy’s, my mom and I set out to the mall with high hopes of finding something quickly and with little effort.

The mall was a bad idea (isn’t it always…) - the coats were all overpriced ($400 - $700 for “brand name” wool overcoats manufactured in countries like Bangladesh and China), unflattering and ugly, and poorly made. After trying on 2 or 3, I knew my new coat wasn’t at Macy’s, but I noticed something else as well… the coats all smelled like formaldehyde! Yeah - no. My mom and I were out of there as soon as we both realized what the smell was, and we both realized the need to stop supporting companies that don’t manufacture sustainable goods.

From our horrible experience at Macy’s, my mom and I headed over to REI - I had wanted an overcoat but decided to go with a ski coat instead. My new North Face jacket was designed in a LEED-Certified building that’s powered by 100% renewable energy, and sold by a cooperatively-owned company that takes environmental concerns into consideration when buying products and working with vendors. In an effort to help others out there who may be looking for outwear and winter gear, I’ve compiled a list of eco-committed companies who make great coats that DON’T smell like formaldehyde when they’re unpacked and tried on.

Patagonia - Patagonia’s commitment to the environment is evident when you visit their home page - instead of having an environmental policy that’s buried in the “About Us” section of the site, Patagonia advertises their environmental policies in the site’s navigation bar, and directs users to learn more about how their company is “leading the examined life.”

Patagonia has developed an online tool that I’ve been searching for, but had yet to find until I checked out the company’s environmental policies. Dubbed the “Footprint Chronicles,” Patagonia has built an interactive site where you can track the environmental impact of Patagonia products - from design through delivery. I have always wanted to know the carbon footprint of bumper stickers and t-shirts, and while I can’t track the exact carbon footprint of a “Visualize Whirled Peas” bumper sticker, I can track the movement of Patagonia t-shirts and know that each one produces 3.5 pounds of CO_2. In addition to tracking their products as they move across the world, Patagonia includes commentary on each of the products they track, and points out the positive and negative impacts generated by each item.

In researching all kinds of companies and looking over their eco-policies, I would have to say that Patagonia ranks pretty high in terms of their commitment and actions related to reducing their environmental impact. Look for shoes, clothing, outwear, and backpacks on their site and feel confident that Patagonia is looking out for the Earth and spending their profits wisely.

REI - OK, before I get started with REI, let me just disclose that I am a partial owner of the company, and have been since about 1990. REI is a cooperatively run company, and members are invited to vote on the Board of Directors (who are responsible for the overall direction of the affairs and the performance of REI), examine the company’s financial statements, and share in company profits in the form of annual dividends.

With that said, I can honestly say I feel good about the fact that I’ve held an REI membership for so long - the company is committed to environmental stewardship and gives serious thought to how they manufacture, source, package, distribute and sell their products. REI has developed a strategic focus in planning for the future, and in doing so has identified 5 environmental-+ priorities in which they want to create change: greenhouse gas emissions and energy use, green building, paper sourcing, reducing waste and recycling, and responsible product stewardship. You can read the company’s Environmental Stewardship Report to learn exactly how REI is cutting their greenhouse gas emissions, reducing their reliance on paper, eliminating waste, building greener retail facilities, and designing ecoSensitive gear.

In terms of immediate benefits to consumers, REI has started the ecoSensitive Label - clothing and gear made using eco-friendly fabrics and materials that include bamboo, organic cotton, organic wool, Polylactic acid (PLA) - a biodegradable and recyclable polymer, recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) - an easily reclaimed and re-purposed recyclable type of plastic, as well as post-industrial recycled polyester from Polartec.

The North Face - A dedicated ski gear company, The North Face is named after the coldest side of a mountain, and sells clothing designed to keep people warm in the coldest of places. As with much of what the company does, The North Face approaches sustainability as a journey, and has been developing and tweaking their technologies over time to create the most sustainable products possible.

With LEED-Certified headquarters in Quebec, and renewable energy powering their North American operations, The North Face has identified 4 key areas where they are committed to focusing their eco-energies: the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions; the design of innovative and sustainable products; the elimination of waste in operations; and the encouragement of employees and customers to “Live the Brand” (I am not sure what this means, but I am guessing it is related to volunteering and giving back to the community/the environment in the name of North Face).

While I found plenty of information about the technologies The North Face uses in designing their products, the R&D section of their site didn’t specifically call out any environmental benefits realized by these practices. From looking over the corporate website, I get the impression that they don’t have anyone updating the environmental policies being put into place by the company - their page on sustainability was last updated in May, and while I know that my coat has tags explaining the various eco-policies used in its design, there was nothing like that on the site. If you’re looking for the warmest gear around, check out North Face products and don’t be shy about asking sales people or telephone representatives to explain the eco-benefits of your purchase.

Marmot - Founded in 1974 by UCSC grad students working in Alaska, Marmot is a premiere manufacturer of clothing, outerwear, tents, sleeping bags, backpacks and other outdoor gear for men, women and children. With a Code of Ethics to outline their sustainability practices, Marmot has built eco-practices into the foundation of how the company does business. The Marmot Code of Ethics applies to “every employee, executive officer, agent, representative, consultant, and intern of Marmot Mountain LLC, and…directs the conduct between any employee and our customers, distributors, competitors, vendors, and contractors.”

In defining their goal of reducing their negative impact on the environment and creating a company that will be sustainable for years to come, Marmot has declared a corporate ethic that seems to guide how the company makes business decisions, designs products and selects vendors and partners with whom they will work. You can also read about the small steps the company (and their employees) is taking to clean up the planet and do their part for the environment.

Many products produced by Marmot (and the other companies listed here) are made from GORE-TEX fabrics; if you want to learn more about the environmental stewardship of GORE-TEX Fabrics, you check out the W.L. Gore & Associates Environmental Statement.

You can find other gear companies that are doing their part below:

Keen Footwear - Learn about how Keen is rethinking their product design on their Hybrid.Think page.

Columbia Sportswear - Find out how Columbia gives back to environmental organizations.

Timberland - Read about New Hampshire-based Timberland’s Environmental Stewardship.

Mountain Hardware - Learn how Mountain Hardware is funding eco-organizations.

Merrell - See which eco-based companies Merrell has been supporting.

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When you consider how you live your life, what principles you hold dear to your heart, and the intersection of your actions and beliefs, does everything add up? There are many of us out there who are truely committed to sustainability, yet still struggle to incorporate the concepts into our everyday lives - and that’s OK. As I mentioned in a previous post, there are plenty of eco-sins that I’m constantly trying to overcome, but I still haven’t broken all of my bad habits. And while I feel guilty when I continue to commit actions that impact the Earth negatively, I also understand that my ability to achieve a wholly sustainable lifestyle is tied both to shifts in my thoughts and actions, and also to shifts in how society as a whole thinks and acts.

To better explain this concept, I went in search of organizations that actively promote sustainability. The Sustainability Institute (an organization focused on understanding the root causes of unsustainable behaviors in complex systems, and shifting society toward sustainability) has developed a philosophy that I think defines and explains this concept clearly:

“…unsustainability does not arise out of ignorance, irrationality or greed. It is largely the collective consequence of rational, well-intended decisions made by people caught up in systems - ranging from families and communities to corporations, governments and economies - that make it difficult or impossible to act in ways that are fully responsible to all those affected in the present and to future generations.”

The EPA has basic information about sustainability available on their website, though I must admit that I no longer fully trust the organization’s integrity and commitment to creating and disseminating unbiased scientific information. I loath to make such a statement, and hope that my feelings of mistrust toward the civil servants who work at the EPA will end once this administration is removed from power.

In determining whether my current lifestyle is sustainable, I decided I needed to first ask myself what it means to live sustainably, and from there determine if my lifestyle choices fit the model.

Here are the questions I have been pondering - I haven’t answered all of them for myself yet, but plan to write more about this as I figure out what sustainability means to me. Take some time and ask yourself the same set of questions, let me know if I have missed anything in my list, and feel free to share your definition of what it means to live a sustainable life.

Food: What do you eat? Where are the foods and beverages you consume grown, manufactured, processed and packaged? Where do your food dollars land once spent? Is your food money removed from the local economy and sent to some faceless corporation, or does it benefit others in your community? How is the food you eat produced? Have you ever met any of the people responsible for growing or making your food? How often do you eat out? Do you use reusable mugs for coffee and other drinks? Are fossil fuels used to make,? process, package, distribute what you eat?? How much waste is produced as a result of your food purchases? Do the foods you consume nourish you or simply feed you? Do the foods you eat contribute to your overall mental and physical health?

Housing: How do you live - alone or with others? Do you live in a new building or an old building? Is your building energy efficient? What kind of energy powers your home? How much energy do you use on a monthly/yearly basis? Do you have excess electronics in your home that increase your energy bills? Do you use any reusable resources to power your home? Do you have more space than you need in your home? Do you take measures to ensure you are not wasting excess energy in your home? What products and chemicals are used in the upkeep and maintenance of your home? Do you use eco-friendly products in your home when possible? Do you have a yard? If so, how is it maintained? Do you have grass that needs to be mowed and fertilized? Do you have a garden? Do you use chemicals to maintain your outdoor space? Do you use water to feed the grass and other plants? When working on your home or outdoor space, do you consider the environment and select materials accordingly?

Transportation: How do you get around? Do you walk, bike, take public transportation, drive, carpool, fly? How often and how far do you travel when you leave home? Do you own a car? If so, what kind of gas mileage do you get, how efficiently does your vehicle burn fuel? If you own an older car, does it meet emissions standards? Where do you go and why do you go there? Do you ever carpool? How far do you live from the places you visit the most often? Are there car trips you take that are unnecessary? Do you walk when you need to go someplace within a mile of your home? Have you taken steps to reduce your reliance on petroleum as a fuel?

Consumer Behaviors: What do you buy and why? Do you need all that you purchase? Do you reuse what you can and purchase new things only when you need to do so? Do you throw away things because they’re broken, worn, stained or old? Do you buy goods from environmentally-conscious companies? Do you consider the ecological footprint of your purchases, including the materials used and externalities created? Do you buy eco-friendly products? Do you consider the impact of your consumerism on the environment before you make any purchase? Where, and under what conditions, are the products you purchased manufactured? How far do those products have to travel to reach you? Are your consumer dollars used for corporate profits or are the people who make the products being paid a fair wage (or both, if possible)?

Waste: Do you recycle what you can? Do you compost your organic waste? Do you take the time to sort and process through all of your waste products in order to send as little as possible to landfills? Have you gone paperless in areas where it’s possible? Do you encourage recycling at work or other places you frequent and have an impact on policy? Do you pick up trash on the street? Do you refrain from throwing out recyclables until you can find a recycling container? Do you package food in reusable containers instead of one-use packaging? Do you use things until they can no longer be used? Do you make it easy and convenient to recycle at home? Do you have a dedicated space where you store recycling materials and do you have recycling tagged as a dedicated task assigned to someone each week? Do you resist the urge to print?

Family: Do you encourage your children to reduce, reuse and recycle? Do you feed, clothe and gift your children with organic and eco-friendly goods? Do you explain why it is so important for people to tread lightly on the Earth? Do you encourage eco-practices in your childrens’ classroom? Do you set a good example and practice what you preach to your children (and not just when they are watching)? Do you ever say no to buying things your children want because of the negative ecological impact those purchases have? Do you stick to your eco-principles when it comes to birthday parties, Christmas, and other “special events” and holidays?

These questions are by no means exhaustive - rather, they are meant to get you (and me) thinking about the everyday practices of sustainability, and help us define what we all need to do in order to live sustainable lifestyles. I certainly don’t have the answers to all of these questions, and I fear that some of my favorite things in life (chocolate, coffee) are generally not considered sustainable goods (in my defense, I buy mostly organic, fair trade chocolate). Living sustainably isn’t necessarily going to be easy though - it will require sacrifices and compromises. In an era of uncertainty and impending environmental degradation however, it’s time we all stood together and started making the hard choices and doing what’s not fun and what’s not easy.

Party’s Over Folks, It’s Time To Get Real!

If you’re interested in learning more, check out the Wikipedia entry for sustainability - there’s all kinds of information about the various types of sustainability, as well as links to scientific references, articles and websites.

After 9 months of writing for the Green Buy Guide, it dawned on me today that I’ve never actually defined what it means to be green! All this time I have been posting articles about green goods, green politics and lving a greener life with the assumption that there’s a single definition of what it means to be green, and that everyone reading knows what it is! The irony, of course, is that I don’t even really know what it means to be green - I have a pretty good idea, but when it comes to really promoting green living, I should probably be better informed.

Because of my lack of knowledge in this area, I’ve taken some time to research existing green standards and certifications, and hopefully shine a little light on what it really means when a company calls itself green.

Furniture & Home Furnishings

Green furniture manufacturers can apply for, and be awarded certifications by global not-for-profit organizations concerned with establishing standards for environmentally sustainable furniture production. The Forest Stewardship Council is an independent, non-governmental, not for profit organization established to promote the responsible management of the world?s forests. According to their website:

FSC provides standard setting, trademark assurance and accreditation services for companies and organizations interested in responsible forestry. Products carrying the FSC label are independently certified to assure consumers that they come from forests that are managed to meet the social, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations.

The FSC is supported by all of the top environmental organizations from around the world, has certified businesses in 46 countries, and ensures the companies they certify comply with the highest social and environmental standards on the market. If a company wants to achieve FSC certification, they must conform with the 10 principles and 56 guiding criteria established by the organization. Once a company is certified, they can use the organization’s logos and branding in promoting their products, and sell their goods on the global markets (FSC certification removes all barriers to trading through the WTO).

Appliances, Electronics & Computers

If you’re in search of energy efficient household and business products, look for those that bear the ENERGY STAR label. A joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy, the ENERGY STAR label can be found on 35 product categories including computers, appliances, home construction and electronics. While complying with ENERGY STAR standards is voluntary, the program has proven to be highly successful among both manufacturers and consumers.

In order to promote ENERGY STAR standards, the EPA has allotted funds to remove cost-prohibitive barriers to producing and building energy efficient products and buildings. By lowering the initial costs incurred in the development of green technologies, the ENERGY STAR program enhances the market for energy efficient products and reduces the risks involved in developing efficient products.

Building & Construction

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization committed to expanding sustainable building practices, and to advance structures that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. Comprised of 15,000 organizations from the building industry, the USGBC has developed the LEED Rating System to encourage sustainable building and design practices in commercial, governmental and residential construction. Although the LEED Rating System is a voluntary program, federal, state and local governments have started incorporating LEED standards in their new construction and working with LEED certified builders.

Within the building industry, there are organizations who have developed their own sets of green standards. While the development of green standards by industry groups is honorable, there could be conflicts of interest involved if the regulatory body is comprised of those being regulated.? One organization that has created their own standards is The Sustainable Furnishings Council, a non-profit industry association founded to promote sustainable practices among furniture manufacturers, and retailers. Comprised of 250 industry organizations, the Council is launching a public advertising and in-store tagging program for consumers to identify retailers and products which exceed their threshold of sustainability standards.

General Household Products

Green Seal is a non-profit organization that provides science-based environmental certification standards for cleaning products, paints and coatings, lodging properties and other household goods.? To gain certification from Green Seal, a product, service or property must be evaluated at every stage of its production - from the extraction of materials used in production, to the manufacture of the goods, and through the disposal and recycling of waste produced during manufacturing. The federal government’s green procurement program is closely aligned with Green Seal, and works with the organization in identifying and selecting environmentally preferable products.

A Note About Organic

The Organic Label is a whole different kind of green certification that really desearves its own article. I will write about the ins and outs of organic certification and labeling in a future post. If you’re interested in learning more about how the US Department of Agriculture certifies farms, crops, and foods, you can visit their website here.

In researching green standards, certifications and the organizations that oversee the programs, I’ve come to realize that we are still a long way from having a universal definition of what it means to be green. While the EPA is responsible for protecting the environment, they aren’t involved in the wholesale regulation of green goods, services and companies. I’m interested in learning more about this issue, so drop me a line if you are aware of certifications I may have missed or standards that I haven’t listed here.

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Ever since my parents moved to New England and purchased an antique colonial (built in 1739), they’ve spent their time, energy and money repairing, updating, and rebuilding this little piece of history. We all love the house (more so since the major renovations were completed in 2005), and my parents have worked hard to maintain the historical integrity of the structure while still adding their own touches and updating the space to suit their needs.

When planning the original renovations (which included the construction of a small addition, the complete remodeling of the kitchen, the replacement of 7 out of 10 corners of the house (!), new windows, the re-clapboarding of most of the exterior, and a new floor plan for half of the first floor), my mom and dad hired 2 amazing contractors who specialize in working on old houses.

The contractors - Robin and Bill - spent months ripping out rotted posts, fitting level windows into less-than-level walls, designing a functional staircase for the most frustrating space possible, figuring out how unsupported walls were still standing, building new bathrooms, and generally fixing every problem you could possibly imagine (boulders beneath the kitchen floor, rotted-out walls, antiquated everything). And while Robin and Bill did the heavy lifting (and hammering and building and installing), my parents did what they could to cut costs, speed up construction, and reduce the waste generated in the renovations.

One of my parents’ main concerns during the construction was in reducing construction waste, recycling what could be salvaged, and reusing materials whenever possible. Construction jobs generally generate lots and lots of trash (everything from old appliances to lumber tends to get tossed in dumpsters), but my parents were committed to making their project as green as possible. And they seemed to have succeeded in that regard - according to their contractors, the waste generated during the renovations of my parent’s house was about 50% less than the waste generated on their typical jobs.

One way that my mom and dad reduced their output was by reusing fixtures, doors, moldings and floorboards that were already stashed away somewhere in the house. Instead of buying new doors, they used doors that had lived in the attic for over 100 years. Instead of pouring a concrete walk, they built a path using bricks a friend had been planning on trashing. My dad cut down old doors and built a cover for their 50 X 55 inch fireplace, while my mom crafted a pot rack out of a discarded metal wheel she found on the side of the road.

My parents also visited salvage yards (specifically Antique Salvage Inc. in Exeter, New Hampshire) and bought columns for their front porch, floor joists, and a sink for their potting bench. The floorboards in their front hallway were the original attic boards, and are amazing foot-wide boards that you simply cannot buy. When the front porch was built, my mom had a massive stone (dug out during construction) hauled to the front of the house, and installed as a step up to the porch. My parents reused anything they could, and were able to incorporate their green principles into the structure of their home.

If you’re contemplating a home renovation, you may not have the same stock of stuff my parents had when they were working on their project (when you are married for 39 years, and you buy a 269 year-old home, you just have a lot of everything), but you can take baby steps to reduce your footprint in the process.

1. Consider buying light fixtures, doors, garden accessories, and lumber from architectural salvage yards. These businesses are repositories of all kinds of interesting, difficult to find, and antique building materials that are generally less expensive and more environmentally-friendly than buying similar new materials.

2. Think of your town or city’s transfer station (or dump) as a place to drop-off and potentially pick-up stuff. My parents rescued several plants that had been left at the dump - perfectly good plants that would have otherwise died, and which now thrive in their yard. You can sometimes find discarded bricks, lumber and other building materials at dumps too - just check with your city’s rules regarding removing materials from the dump.

3. While installing new windows and doors isn’t cheap, your investment will be repaid in lower energy costs and a cozier home once the weather turns cold. Make sure you replace windows and exterior door with energy efficient upgrades. My parents went with Marvin Windows for their home (specifically because they fit the architectural style of their house), but Pella and Anderson Windows also make energy efficient models.

4. Don’t just throw away appliances, building materials and fixtures that are ripped out during construction. While my mom got a beautiful new sink for her kitchen, she held on to the old sink and installed it in her art studio. You can breathe new life into light fixtures, doors, floorboards and other items by using them differently elsewhere in your home.

5. If you need specific items to finish a project, don’t just head to the store and buy something new. Post your need on a bulletin board like CraigsList, scour the classifieds in your local newspaper and in building publications (such as This Old House), and don’t be ashamed to grab discarded items off of curbs on trash day! One man’s trash is truly another man’s treasure, and people throw out all kinds of perfectly clean, usable items. Yard sales, flea markets and antique stores can be good places to find items you need to finish your renovations, so consider getting up early on the weekends before simply heading out to buy stuff at Target.

For too long we’ve been a society that’s ready to junk what’s old and replace it with newly minted products that aren’t made using sustainable practices. It’s time to change our habits and start redefining our definition of garbage. Home renovations are expensive to begin with, but you can cut costs and cut your waste if you take some of the above practices into consideration when you think about updating your home.

All photos courtesey of Ann & Charlie Bacon.