Is your mind like concrete?

While enjoying a walk this beautiful, blue-skied morning, I passed a business with a sign out front that said this: Some minds are like concrete: all mixed up and permanently set.

The idea accurately describes so many people . . . many in politics.

If you’re reading this blog, I have a feeling your mind isn’t anything like concrete. I certainly hope my mind isn’t! I follow an organic, vegan, mostly-raw-food diet; I exercise 6 days a week; and I'm totally green, which easily puts me in the "alternative lifestyle" category. In addition, I’m always open to new ideas and actually think it’s okay to be proven wrong from time to time (whenever that happens, it reminds me that my mind isn’t concrete).

Earlier today, before my walk, I stumbled on someone else’s blog . . . someone else who just happens to share my same name. It seemed like fate that I found it as Kristyn is currently embracing “the importance of organic food, exercise and spiritual well being.” Unfortunately, Kristyn’s enlightenment comes as a result of her husband's recent cancer diagnosis.

I can’t tell you how many people I know, some personally, who turned to my so-called alternative lifestyle after receiving an identical or similar diagnosis. Something has got to change.

Did you know that most Doctors take one—just one!—nutrition course during their schooling? And most harbor very antiquated views about the relationship between diet and health. Talk about concrete thinking. And we entrust our health to these people.

I subscribe to the idea of farmacies, not pharmacies. Food is the most powerful drug there is. And so I’m sending out my best positive thoughts to the other Kristyn Miller and her husband and children . . . and, Kristyn, if you need me to send any tried-and-true vegan recipes along with those positive thoughts, just let me know! I can be reached at info at ecovixen.com.

Can Going Green Improve a Relationship?

I was just thinking about some of the ways being environmentally friendly has made my utterly fantastic marriage even better.

For me, there’s (almost) nothing sexier than my husband, Mark, wearing an organic, Made-in-the-USA t-shirt and shopping at our local Farmer’s Market with his “I’m a Man of the Cloth Bag” tote from EcoVixen.com.

Ahem. But I digress. Here’s a little (organic) food for thought:

The Top 10 Ways Going Green Improves a Relationship

10. With all the money you save at the pump driving a hybrid, you can still afford to go out on the weekends.

9. With all the money you save buying local fruits and veggies, you can still afford to go out during the week.

8. Two words: organic wine (and don’t forget making a toast with green glassware).

7. You traded your conventional, and toxic, bed for an all-natural mattress and pillows and organic sheets (in other words, you transformed your bed into the kind of healthy nest you’ll never want to leave—wink, wink).

6. Two words: soy candlelight (mood lighting often equals in-the-mood lighting).

5. Preparing healthy, organic, from-scratch meals—with all those local fruits and veggies you bought—is code for “I love you.”

4. Two words: Home Depot (this “happy husband equals happy wife” hang-out has myriad green options).

3. You removed the television from your bedroom to save electricity. Now, when you’re in bed, there are other things you can do . . . like talk.

2. Three words: sexy eco underwear (so you don’t just talk in bed).

1. You’ve got the low-flow showerhead and you’ve reduced your showers to five minutes. To save even more water, you can shower together.

Question of the blog: How has going green improved your relationship?

Want to Hear a Funny (Sort of) Story?

At the Go Green Expo (www.gogreenexpo.com) in New York City a couple of weeks ago, my first sale for EcoVixen (www.ecovixen.com) wasn’t a sale at all: Someone stole a “Karma” bag.

Now, as the name of the bag implies, this cloth shopping tote plays on the law of moral causation. On the front it says, "You don't want to return as a plastic bag, do you? Don't mess with Karma." And on the back it says, “What goes around, comes around." and "Reducing. Reusing. Recycling. Keeping Karma Happy."

And, yes, someone at an environmentally friendly expo stole it!

[If you happen to be the person who did this, know that I am not angry at all; rather, I’m sad you live a life where that behavior is normal and that the possibility of coming back as a plastic bag and living 1,000 years in a landfill appeals to you.]

Along a similar line, I was at the store today and a woman in front of me in line was wearing a nice “Save the Earth” t-shirt . . . and she walked out of the store with half a dozen plastic bags. I wanted to run after her and demand that she remove her t-shirt at once, but I didn’t think that would go over well.

For me—and, I hope, for you—green isn’t a fad, it isn’t a way to make money (or rip people off), or “pretend” to be something I’m not. Green is who I am and who I feel I’ve always been. Going green is my passion and I’m glad it’s something I seem to be sharing with more and more people. Just not a certain person carrying a “Karma” bag or a lady wearing a “Save the Earth” t-shirt.

Question of the blog: Does anything in the green movement (posers, scam artists, etc.) that annoys you?

Want to See a Pretty Picture?

You may know that, recently, my cloth bag company, EcoVixen (http://www.ecovixen.com/), teamed up with positive apparel company, KarmaThreads (http://www.karmathreads.com/), to produce the “Karma” bag. It’s made of 80 percent recycled cotton and 20 percent recycled plastic bottles and has a cheerful yet very cheeky design. The response has been overwhelming and we’re almost sold out with our first print run. It's a victory for everyone who is fashion-conscious and environmentally friendly!

Just yesterday, KarmaThread's added several pretty pictures of the "Karma" bag to the company's website. See the bag for yourself (it's guaranteed to make you smile): http://www.karmathreads.com/shop/karma_bag.html

Question of the blog: What’s most important to you when you buy a cloth bag?

Should You Hold a Green Grudge?

Airing Dirty Laundry Alert: I ran into my parents the other day at the grocery store and, as I talked with them at their car, I glanced in the back seat and saw . . . plastic bags. My heart sank for a second and then I got mad. Well, I got pissed.

You all know by now that I run EcoVixen (www.ecovixen.com) and that I’ve been passionate about using cloth bags for the past 18 years, since I was still a young kid living with my parents. To give them credit, they do typically use cloth bags—my Dad is a proud “Man of the Cloth Bag”—but I was still surprised to see so much plastic. And I was hurt.

In my pissed-off state, I wasn’t exactly nice to them. In the days since, I can’t stop thinking about the interaction. Should I have been upset? Or should I have just bit my tongue and looked the other way?

Here’s what I’ve come up with—if your passion is something personal (like photography) it can stay personal, but if your passion extends beyond you (e.g. those of us who care about the environment know everybody has to step up and do their part because it impacts all of us) then you should be able to say something to encourage others to see the light—in the case of the environment, I guess we want them to see the green light.

Here’s what I’ve also come up with—you should always be nice as you try to enlighten and encourage others, especially to those you love.

Question of the blog: Do you agree it’s fair for those of us with a green conscious to impose that conscious on those without it?

Are You Spending Your Refunded Green on Some Green?

It’s Tax Day (I hope I’m not the first to tell you) and, as I do annually, I’m sending Uncle Sam a big check today. At least, this year, I have a refund to look forward to sometime over the next few months.

A refund? The idea seems so foreign to me. Money back? How exciting. A check with my name on it? You have my undivided attention.

I’ve been hearing people talk about all the elaborate ways they are going to spend their refunds. Travel and big screen TVs seem to be the two most popular choices. Of course, there’s also the group that talks about investments and savings accounts, but let’s not listen to them . . . this is practically found money, and we all know that found money can be spent without any guilt.

Okay, there might be some guilt, but only if you don’t spend your refunded green in a green way. That’s right: I’m suggesting we all spend our refunds on environmentally friendly items, and here are my Top 5 Favorite Green Things:

1. An organic mattress. Do you know what you’re sleeping next to for eight hours a night? No, I’m not talking about your cat, I’m talking about all the toxins in your conventional mattress. It’s enough to make you sick—literally and figuratively. When Mark and I upgraded our mattress, we both started to sleep more soundly, knowing we'd done something good for the earth and very good for us.

My favorite source for an organic mattress: The Clean Bedroom (http://www.thecleanbedroom.com/).

2. A Toyota Prius. Okay, okay, I know the typical refund won’t pay for a Prius but it will certainly cover part or all of the down payment. We got a Prius a few months ago and it’s such a great investment . . . plus, I love driving by a gas station and watching those SUV drivers spending all kinds of cash at the pump.

My favorite source for a Toyota Prius: Where else? Toyota (http://www.toyota.com/).

3. An all-organic wardrobe. The average cotton t-shirt contains 1/3 pound of pesticides. Yes, you read that correctly. Do you really want that next to your skin? I don’t think so! This is especially true for your underwear, which gets just as close as things can get to some rather important bits and pieces. And who wants pesticides there?

My favorite source(s) for organic clothing: Karma Threads (http://www.karmathreads.com/) just unveiled two fantastic organic tees and, of course, I’m still a sucker for the designs offered by I’m Organic (http://www.imorganic.com/).

My favorite source for organic undies: Gaiam (http://www.gaiam.com/).

4. An all-organic pantry. Fresh, local, and organic fruits and vegetables are available at a premium this time of year. Instead of passing them up in favor of cheap produce from a world away, use your refund and splurge on that bunch of organic Kale, organic carrots, and everything else that looks good. And then fill up the rest of your cart with organic staples for your pantry. I started a raw-until-dinner program last year and love it; I feel and look great and attribute a lot of that to fresh, organic fare and organic staples. Give it a try!

My favorite sources for organic goodies: Trader Joe’s (http://www.traderjoes.com/), Whole Foods (http://www.wholefoods.com/), and—especially—all local health food stores that need our support!

5. Cloth bags. You know my real passion is cloth bags, which is why I started my own cloth bag company earlier this year. My suggestion for the best way to spend your refund is to purchase enough cloth bags so that you never have to use another paper or plastic bag again . . . and, with any leftover refund, you might want to buy several cloth bags for friends and family members as well.

My favorite source for cloth bags: You have to ask? EcoVixen (http://www.ecovixen.com/). [There are other bags, of course, but PLEASE make sure you buy bags with a green pedigree, made in the United States.]

Question of the blog: How are you spending your refund?

Have You Got The “It” Cloth Bag?

iVillage Inc. (www.iVillage.com), a division of NBC Universal, recently named EcoVixen’s “Dick & George” bag as a “Top 10 Eco Bag.” The bag was chosen for its witty saying and masculine appeal.

You might know that EcoVixen (www.EcoVixen.com) is my baby, and this acknowledgement is really thrilling. I launched the company earlier this year and to already be part of such a high-profile list is a testament to the bag’s design and its message.

I created the “Dick & George” bag for my husband after noticing there were no cloth bags for men in the market. Men who are fashion-conscious and eco-friendly have a hard time carrying a bag that’s overtly female, as many of the cloth bags are. But they didn’t have a choice—until now.

The “Dick & George” bag—whose name is a tongue-in-cheek reference to our current VP and President—is an oversized black bag that says “I’m a Man of the Cloth Bag” on one side and “Not Paper. Not Plastic.” on the other.

It’s also made in the United States. It was really important to me that this bag have a green pedigree. The cloth bags you see that cost 99 cents aren’t made in the United States and typically aren’t made of environmentally friendly fabrics. When I decided to do this, I committed to do it the right way, and to be as green as possible.

The Environmental Protection Agency reports that billions of plastic bags end up in landfills every year and that each one takes 1,000 years to biodegrade. I’m beyond happy my contribution to the green movement seems to have struck a chord!

Question of the blog: Do you think plastic bags should be banned?

Do You Buy Green Travel Souvenirs?

I’ve been a travel writer for the past seven years, writing for AAA (www.aaa.com), TripAdvisor (www.tripadvisor.com), Sherman's Travel (www.shermanstravel.com), Grand Circle Travel (www.grandcircletravel.com), and many other travel companies.

Yesterday, I was talking with a colleague from Hideaways (www.hideaways.com)—a luxury travel club—about what I consider to be the greatest green travel souvenir: cloth bags. If you’ve read the past postings of this blog, you’ll know I own a cloth bag company called EcoVixen (www.ecovixen.com). As much as I’d love to think that someone would buy ten of my bags to shop with, I know that’s not realistic. Even I carry bags that aren’t my own—it’s part of the fun.

Whenever I travel, I pick up a cloth bag as a souvenir. It’s the most useful souvenir there is as I typically use it to carry back all the extra stuff I seem to accumulate on a trip (like the little soaps and lotions the hotels provide). Once I’m home, I continue to use the bags whenever and wherever I shop. Each time, they are a fun reminder of my trip while they help me to be environmentally friendly.

Not bad for a travel souvenir!

Question of the blog: What kind of green souvenirs do you buy?

Is Anything Ever Perfect?

I’m a perfectionist, which is really difficult to be. I’m hard on everyone but most especially myself. I have the highest standards and, when they’re not met, I can be terribly disappointed . . . and not all that fun to be around.

Recently, I picked up my latest shipment of eco-friendly cloth bags for my company, EcoVixen (http://www.ecovixen.com/), and the copy on one side of one design is fuzzy. I thought, for sure, that the company who prints and sews the bags for me would apologize profusely and redo the bags.

I was wrong.

They claim the bags meet their high standards and that, in essence, I am too much of a perfectionist. Huh? I want my contribution to the green movement to be right—if “right” means “perfect” well then that's what I want. But they won’t budge and won’t take the bags back, which leaves me in a terrible predicament.

I’ve decided to sell the bags as 1/3-off seconds; this cuts into my already-small profit margin, of course, but I can’t stand behind the bags as first-quality products. I’m actually shocked at my bag company’s reaction and may not ever work with them in the future, at least not in terms of printing.

Here’s the twist to this story: I’ve suffered two losses in the last two weeks and am trying to keep this entire thing in perspective. Is anything ever perfect? And is it worth trying to attain perfection at every turn? Is good enough actually good enough?

Question of the blog: What’s your take on perfection?