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| In This Issue |
| Vinegar and Baking Soda? |
| Reduce, Reuse! |
| Sugar Shack! |
| Recommended Reading & Link |
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RGG Events |
St. Patrick's Day - On Monday March 17th, RGG will celebrate this green day by giving away one free standard CFL to anyone wearing green. (organic included!)
Earth Day - Reserves these dates! Saturday, April 19th The Concord Food Coop on Main St. will be hosting a big Earth Day Event from 10-2 pm.
Vendors and free samples will abound. RGG will continue the celebration all week with Earth Day specials. So come on down!
A Workshop by Heidi, certified Master Gardener, Master Herbalist, and Historic Landscape Curator. To welcome in spring, RGG will be hosting a workshop by Heidi Herzberber, producer of the patented organic products Heidi's Plant Pep™ and Heidi's Moth Tamer®. Major topics in the workshop will be companion planting and the importance of soil ph. Besides these topics, this is a great opportunity to discuss organic gardening, seed planting, and more. Are you thinking about putting away those winter clothes? Try Heidi's Moth Tamer: an organic mix of herbs and cedar to safely keep away those pests from your winter treasures. Plant Pep is an organic plant fertilizer that is brewed like a cup of tea . Please join us Thursday March 20th at 5:30pm at Real Green Goods. Please RSVP at 224-9700, if possible, as space will be limited.
RGG Events |
New at RGG!
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Easter - are available in a variety of colors and sizes, woven fair trade in Ghana from elephant grass. Little chicks and bunnies from recycled sweaters made in New England fit perfectly inside.
Loveybums - Organic cotton and wool diapers made here in New England. Disposable diapers make up the third most common items in landfills, behind paper products and food containers. Note: this is an in-store product only
Charlie's Laundry "Soap"
- a vegetable-based biodegradable environmentally friendly laundry powder that really cleans. One small 3 pound bag does 80 loads, which means huge money savings.
Learn More!
Energy saving Smart Strips - Did you know that your computer system may be using 260 watts per hour just sitting idle?
Learn More!
Self-powered flashlight/radios- The new Freeplay™ Companion is a very compact combination radio/flashlight/cellphone charger all-in-one. Energy-Savings Gadgets
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| Green Tip |
Tire Pressure You can
improve your gas mileage by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Under-inflated tires can cut fuel economy by 2% per pound. If your tires should be at 32 psi and they're actually at 27 psi, you've reduced your mileage (and wasted money) by 10%. Properly inflated tires are safer and last longer too. Go to Tips for some more gasoline-saving tips. |
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Dear Jonathan,
March can be a busy month in our neck of the woods. After the fifth snowiest winter in history, we are sure to have a bang up Mud Season! Other events that follow, such as Sap Season, St. Patrick's Day, the Vernal Equinox, International Earth Day, and Easter, help to usher in the sense of renewal and rejuvenation that comes with this time of year. And for most, it is also the time for spring cleaning.
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Vinegar and Baking Soda?
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Many customers ask us about cleaning and laundry products. As Americans we have become accustomed to an entire grocery isle devoted to hundreds of cleaning products for every situation imaginable. In truth, we have been  sucked into the germ phobia hysteria, spending hundreds of dollars on chemicals that have not even been tested, some actually harmful, only to come back to the time-tested cleaning basics of vinegar and baking soda. "Come on, does it REALLY work as well?" Unfortunately for Tide, Proctor and Gamble, Fantastik, Lysol, and Ajax, the cleaning duo really does work AND saves money too. For those other hard to clean items, try one of the many citrus based eco-safe products available. Using chlorine is the worst chemical for you and the environment, so omitting its use is strongly recommended.
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Reduce, Reuse!
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Our cleaning products at RGG have been carefully selected for their safe ingredients, eco-friendliness, lack of fragrance, and organic base. For more cleaning tips go to: The Daily Green.
Remember as part of the Reduce and Reuse mantra, try to reduce or eliminate the use of paper towels for cleaning. Instead, try reusing old clothing that is not fit for giving away (another money saving tip!) If you are cleaning out your medicine cabinets, do NOT throw your medicines down the toilet as has been the advice for decades. Water testing has revealed trace amounts of drugs seeping back into tap water, including estrogen. There is a take back program for your unused pills at Take Back or return them to your local pharmacy. Using a Reverse Osmosis filter is the only way to filter your water from pharmaceutical chemicals.
Lastly, remember to clean out your bird houses. March is also when new houses should be put out. Birds are returning sooner than before and with snow still on the ground, a newly hung house would be much appreciated. RGG has locally made reclaimed wooden bird houses. |
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Sugar Shack!
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In spite of Mud Season, Sap Season can bring a sweet smile to anyone's face. There are only a few weekends to enjoy this truly local old time pleasure, so try to find a sugar  shack near you and smell the sweet air and taste hot syrup on some ice cream or snow. Sugaring has declined dramatically in the last decade. Last year's crop was 60% lower than in previous years. This is a great opportunity to connect with the environment and local traditions and enjoy the magic of our liquid gold. To find a sugar shack near you: Sugar Shacks |
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Recommended Reading & Link
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"Stirring It Up" by local New Hampshire resident Gary Hirshberg, president and "CE-YO" of Stonyfield Farm, the world's largest manufacturer of organic yogurt, is an inspirational book for anyone interested in helping to save the environment by consciously reducing our consumptive habits. As good as it sounds to be "recycling", the truth is that The act of recycling actually means that we have already failed to reduce or reuse! This hopeful book is available in hardback at Gibson's Bookstore on Main Street here in Concord.
Stop junk mail: Ecocycle link
In 2005 in the U.S., more than $56 billion was spent on the production and distribution of 41.5 billion pieces of mail advertisements and 100 million trees were destroyed during the process, according to the Worldwatch Institute. The production and disposal of junk mail consumes more energy than 3 million cars, according to Center for a New American Dream. Each of us will spend an average of eight months of our lives dealing with junk mail. Here's how to stop junk mail now: Take Action!Although we are frequently asked if we have a catalog, we have proudly taken the "No Catalog Pledge" at RGG.
Magazine Features RGG:Check us out in the current issue of the Paula Dean Magazine for our bamboo cutting boards and salad hands.
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The Word is Out!
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The word is out that endocrine disrupters like BPA can leach from plastic water bottles. As a result, Stainless Steel Water Bottles are one of our biggest sellers.
So what exactly is stainless steel? In the words of Klean Kanteen, one of our suppliers of stainless steel bottles, "Stainless steel is an iron-containing alloy made from some of the basic elements found on earth: iron ore, chromium, silicon, nickel, carbon, nitrogen, and manganese. Properties of the final alloy are tailored by varying amounts of these elements. Klean Kanteens are constructed from high quality sanitary grade stainless steel which has a low nickel content. Stainless steel has excellent resistance to stain or rust due to its chromium content making it a material of choice among the food processing, dairy and brewery industries. Stainless steel is easy to clean, durable, inert and sanitary." And those plastic caps? "We chose polypropylene #5 because it has no known leaching characteristics". The Klean Kanteen is made responsibly in China.
RGG does not sell any aluminum water bottles. Aluminum, although light weight, has to be lined with something to make sure the contents are safe for drinking. Usually it is lined with baked on epoxy which can be toxic or ceramic which can crack. "
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| Thank you for reading and for caring about the environment. And, as we say at Real Green Goods.
Have a Green Day!™
Sincerely,
All of us from Real Green Goods |
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