As an Eco-friendly company, Pure Fiber promotes a healthy way of life by providing organic bed and bath linens. Pure Fiber has launched a new product line, the Bamboo massage sheet. The sheet is made from 100 % bamboo yarn and the clients will be amazed by how soft and comfortable they are. Retailers and consumers can purchase this product from Pure Fiber or through Scrips Hessco, a company specializing in wellness products.

Pure Fiber Inc has announced that it will include bamboo massage sheets composed of 100% bamboo thread to their 2008 product line. Their purpose is to pave a way into strategically offering an eco-friendly solution for individuals and spas to utilize the benefits behind an eco-friendly lifestyle.

At Pure Fiber, their mission is to produce only the purest of products from the finest materials in the world. A company providing only the most skilled craftsmanship for their line of products, their commitment is to offer consumers a wide selection of ‘green’ goods that should satisfy their every want and need. Catering to individuals as well as high-end resorts and spas their standards have always been for high energy efficiency, material innovation, and design sustainability.

Known as the fastest growing plant on earth, bamboo can easily reach maturity within 3-4 years and is readily available for harvest. With a benefit of not requiring the need for replanting, bamboo can continuously grow all year long. Since they thrive naturally, the use of harmful chemicals and pesticides is completely eliminated. Because of its high renewability, Pure Fiber has taken advantage of such benefits and has innovatively created all natural bamboo massage sheets. One of the best priced for bamboo sheet sets in the industry, and extremely competitively priced in the premium sheet line.

As a part of their product line, Pure Fiber will set out to provide not just comfortability but natural splendor to its consumers. Composed of 100% bamboo yarn, these sheets will take massage clients’ experiences to a whole new level. Some of the benefits include that these sheets are naturally hypoallergenic and odor-resistant but also offers a strong structure when used constantly and continuously. Characteristically soft when compared to the likes of silky cashmere not only will it keep clients warm and relaxed but is great for sensitive skin-types.

From a massage therapist’s point of view, the importance of their job is to satisfy a client’s needs goes hand-in-hand with everything from the products they use to the massage sheets that a client is positioned on. When a therapist has the mind-set to go-green with the environment and the world around them, possible clients will also be in on the benefits. Everything from the treatments to the relaxing oils adds to the perfect complement of Pure Fiber’s bamboo massage sheets that will practically invite people to want more. The simple yet complex task of the art of massaging provides the straightforward luxuriousness of the experience itself come to true wholesome reality.

Retailers and potential consumers can purchase these natural bamboo massage sheets from Pure Fiber directly or through Scrips Hessco, a company specializing in wellness products for healthcare practitioners. With Hessco’s 40 years of experience, Pure Fiber’s products are a sure win-win buy.

http://www.pr.com/press-release/105807

After eight years in Europe, two kids and a high-tech corporate career, Tim McNulty and Chi Park have turned over a new leaf and opened Greendesign, an “eco-goods” store, on Witherspoon Street.Not only does the store offer eco-friendly products, but much of the decor comes from American-made sustainable materials, and 90 percent of the store’s products are made in the United States. The store welcomes its customers with a mat made of grass grown through sustainable methods.

McNulty said that the store has been positively received since its opening. Patrons include tourists, University visitors and Princeton residents.

“Business is actually doing well,” McNulty said. “We’re getting a lot of traffic from people coming to see what we have.”

“The people in this area are very receptive to this idea,” he said, adding that once a day someone tells him that “this is something that Princeton needed.”

Customers have stopped by Greendesign for a variety of reasons. Cora Coyle, a housewife looking for products for her 16-month-old daughter, said she heard of the store through the Holistic Moms Network. The network, of which Park is a member, is a nonprofit group for individuals with non-traditional ideas of parenting and natural living.

“I always try to get the natural, most organic products online or wherever we can find it,” Coyle said. “But it’s hard to find a lot of this stuff, and you want to be able to see what you’re going to buy.”

Ken Vernon, a Hoboken resident, said he was drawn into the store by its eclectic display.

“As a commercial real estate appraiser, it affects what I do because investors are focusing on building efficiency,” Vernon said. “Nowadays, the hot topic is green buildings.”

Though there are no other stores exactly like it in Princeton, there are stores in town — such as the Whole Earth Center, Olive May Natural Foods and the U-Store — that are of a similar nature, said Jeffrey Domanski GS, associate manager in the Office of Sustainability.

“While [Greendesign is] not an everyday-needs store necessarily, it’s good to see there’s a place within Princeton that’s promoting these types of products,” Domanski said in an e-mail. “I hope there’s an audience for them and that the store helps educate consumers on what sustainability is about.”

McNulty views the store as a place to engage customers in a discussion about what makes a product “green,” while ultimately leaving it up to the customer to make the decision to purchase the product. “We try to educate people when they come in,” he said, about things “like buying one stainless-steel bottle instead of several water bottles.”

One section of the store is devoted to baby products and other environmentally friendly products that are safe for children. Many parents tend to gravitate toward products like these after learning of the harmful impacts of certain products and being unable to find natural alternatives, McNulty said.

His own two children have inspired many of his store’s products, he said, explaining that he and his wife want healthier products for their children.

McNulty and Park attend trade shows in New York and search for vendors online, using criteria such as the vendors’ philosophies and how and where their products were produced to decide whether to sell them at Greendesign.

http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/09/24/21503/

MHI announces they now are producing thermoformed packaging made 100% from collected and recycled water, juice and sports drink plastic bottles. Trays, clamshells, blisters and more produced with Good Earth(tm) 100% recycled PET are also Biodegradable, Compostable and Recyclable. FDA approved, this proprietary material can be used for food and non food applications.

Good Earth(tm) 100% post consumer recycled content PET is the newest addition to MHI’s proprietary family of eco friendly packaging. This material expands MHI’s existing selection of material options marketed as “Todays’s Most Practical Alternatives” for environmentally responsible packaging.

Developed and manufactured by MHI, a vertically intergrated division of CEI Incorporated, this new proprietary material offers many environmental, performance and cost benefits for those looking to use more eco friendly packaging. This carbon footprint reducing option is not only made 100% from recycled plastic bottles, it is also biodegradable and compostable in a landfill or compost environment. It can also be recycled through existing programs.
Currently, the average person discards 166 plastic bottles annually with 8 out of 10 ending up in landfills.

FDA approval, high clarity, range of colors, temperature range and good strength make it an attractive and practical alternative for a wide range of food and consumer goods packaging. Performance and physical characteristics are the same as or close to the traditional materials (PET & PVC) it can easily replace and does not have any shelf life, storage or heat sensitivity limitations.

Cost of packaging manufactured from this newest Good Earth ™ material is usually less than the traditional material it replaces and is readily available.

Also available (depending on certain factors) is a “closed loop” program where plastic bottles can be picked up and then remanufactured into 100% post consumer recycled content thermoformed packaging for the company or institution returning the bottles.

For more information call 978-745-8876 or visit www.goodearthpkg.com

http://www.pr.com/press-release/106801

The environmentally and socially responsible apparel company, hessnatur, was founded in Germany in 1976 and has a history of conscientiousness and commitment to earth and people. hessnatur will start to offer their products to customers in the United States of America via web this summer and via catalogue in the fall. For its US launch, hessnatur enlisted world-renowned fashion designer Miguel Adrover as creative director.”We are very pleased to introduce hessnatur to the US market. Americans, we truly believe, are ready to embrace a way of dressing that is kinder to the earth and the people who live on it,” said Managing Director of hessnatur, Wolf Luedge. “Miguel Adrover is a unique talent, whose dedication to environmentalism is apparent in not only his garments but in the way he lives his life. Miguel brings an exciting level of creativity and inspiration to us.”

Apparel for women and babies will be available - 100% organic clothing for babies and 100% natural for women, most of which is organic cotton, wool, linen and silk. Recognized as an organic pioneer, hessnatur initiated the world’s first organic cotton farming project in Sekem, Egypt, in 1991. hessnatur’s social and environmental work was recognized this year at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, where the company was the recipient of the Public Eye award.

In 2002, hessnatur set the standard for humane labor conditions. With the Clean Clothes Campaign and the Fair Wear Foundation, hessnatur developed an innovative system for humane production. In 2005, hessnatur was the first German company to be certified by the Fair Wear Foundation. Recently, hessnatur embarked on a partnership with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize, and his Grameen Foundation, supporting its stellar work in fighting poverty. hessnatur is introducing organic manufacturing processes to the Grameen Knitwear Project, and is paying a bonus above fair purchase price for the goods, with the funds going directly to the Grameen Foundation.

http://www.earthtimes.org

http://www.organic-market.info/bio-markt/en_inhalte/inh_index.htm?link=Meldungen&catID=0&docID=645

By now, everybody knows the pitfalls of using disposable plastic bags. Happily, that means manufacturers are dreaming up better-looking (and much more environmentally friendly) alternatives for toting groceries, toys and books. Here’s a sampling:

Made from 100 percent recycled materials, the Great A&P Tea Co.’s bags feature imagery depicting seashells, fruit and animals. And they’re easy on the wallet, too: costing 99 cents at Long Island Pathmark, Waldbaum’s and A&P grocery stores. (Pictured at left.)

Dubbed the new “it bag” by Teen Vogue, this Earth-friendly Baggu tote will help reduce your carbon footprint. Available in a variety of colors and made from sturdy ripstop fabric that will carry up to 25 pounds. Sold for $8 each or $22 for a pack of three at baggubag.com. (Pictured  below)

Lightweight and waterproof, the Envirosax bag comes in a variety of unusual designs and colors, each sized just right for toting vacation souvenirs or beach gear. Costs $8.50 each or $37.95 for a pack of five at envirosax.com.

In Asia, they were used as rice and feed bags for transporting various goods. In New York, recycled totes by Gecko Traders can carry your groceries, beach gear or anything else. These durable bags are made by a fully certified Fair Trade Co-op in Cambodia. Plus, no two bags look exactly alike. The recycled totes have even been vetted by Treehugger.com, a blog dedicated to green living. They cost $35.95 at reusablebags.com (Pictured at left.)Made with 100 percent organic cotton and water-based inks, the oversize Beleaf tote can fashionably carry you through a weekend’s worth of errands but withstand the weight of bulky grocery items, too. It’s $36 at beleaf.com.

Read more about eco-friendly decorating, green celebrities and ways to reduce your carbon footprint on Newsday’s section on “green living,” newsday.com/green.

http://weblogs.newsday.com/features/home/cheap_thrills_blog/2008/04/green_shopping_the_best_of_the.html

Of all the things to obsess about, toilet paper has never been at the top of my list. Or the bottom.

Then I met Jeff Wells, a pleasant, earnest ornithologist who lives in Maine and was visiting Philly. Wells and a few environmental groups say I should buy paper products made from recycled paper - not trees.

Now, Wells obsesses about birds, billions of which breed in Canada’s boreal forest, which he also obsesses about because he’s a scientist with the International Boreal Conservation Campaign.

The boreal stretches nearly from Alaska to the Atlantic; it absorbs tons of carbon dioxide and it’s a major summer nesting ground for birds that winter in backyards like mine.

But the boreal forest is being logged at the rate of 2.5 million acres a year, Wells says. Some is for lumber, sure. But also for paper. Toilet paper.

Paper giant Kimberly-Clark says all the leading consumer tissue brands in North America contain primarily virgin fiber.

In a longstanding dispute, the company says it mainly uses leftover tree pulp, but environmentalists insist that entire trees are being given over to toilet tissue.

The company said about 11 percent of its virgin pulp comes from the boreal - which is then reforested.

Still, environmentalists wonder why we are, in effect, flushing virgin wood pulp of any sort down the toilet when at the same time we’re sending nearly half of all the perfectly good paper left over from home and office use to landfills.

“It’s one of those things that just doesn’t make sense in today’s world,” Wells said.

At least half a dozen companies now make TP from recycled paper. I took a field trip to area grocery stores to investigate.

OK, then, talk about obsessed. In one paper goods aisle, there were 18 kinds of toilet paper - including one aimed specifically at children.

Every store also had at least one eco brand. I bought seven. Back home, I piled my loot onto the dining room table and took stock.

The eco-packages had pictures of trees and cute slogans: “Soft on Nature, Soft on You.”

And in case anyone should miss the “100 percent recycled” label, they had names such as Nature’s Balance, Earth First, Sunrise, Earth Friendly and Seventh Generation.

All were white, so I guess that matters to most people. (The eco brands touted a chlorine-free bleaching process.)

Many were embossed with flowers or butterflies, which seemed silly until I learned the designs hold the paper together after it has been air-fluffed to make it softer.

Traditional toilet tissue ranges from half a cent to 4.5 cents per square foot. The eco-brands were actually less: half a cent to 2.3 cents per square foot.

Seventh Generation contends on its packaging that if every household in the United States replaced just one four-pack of virgin fiber TP with recycled, it would save the equivalent of nearly a million trees.

The toilet paper awaited me. I tried them all.

I’m happy to report I have not had to seek medical attention for abrasions from scratchy paper - because it was fine.

Allen Hershkowitz is a proponent of recycled toilet tissue and a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Now, he is obsessed. He has timed himself in the bathroom and says it takes less than five seconds to use up a piece of tissue.

And for that, he asks, we’re using trees?

Recently, he went to a swank French spa to give a speech. The TP was brownish, stiff. But, “the president of France goes there,” he said, “and everybody survives.”

Still, I recently had a bad cold, my nose raw from all the tissues, and I wasn’t even using recycled.

I told the spokeswoman at Seventh Generation, and she laughed. In cold and flu season, even they “concede to softer brands,” she wryly noted.

So maybe I’ll just go with the virgin pulp for my delicate nose. And I’ll take eco-paper for, uh, the other end.

No more trees for me.

GreenSpace:

For more about recycled paper and trees, go to: http://go.philly.com/greenspace

GreenSpace: Pointers for Paper Products

What’s in recycled: Environmental groups advocate paper products made from 100 percent recycled materials. Look for a high percentage of “post-consumer” material, made of paper recycled from homes and offices. Regular “recycled” can contain leftover paper from industrial processes.

Paper recycling update: Last week, the American Forest and Paper Association announced that in 2007, an all-time high of 56 percent of the paper used in the country was recovered for recycling. It totaled 54.3 million tons - more than 360 pounds for every person in the country. The group set a goal of 60 percent by 2012, which still leaves 40 percent more to go.

Historical note: Yo! Philadelphia is a cradle of paper progress. In 1690, William Rittenhouse and William Bradford founded the first North American paper mill along the Wissahickon Creek, making paper from old cloth rags. (Wood wasn’t used in the United States until the early 1900s.) Scott Paper Co., founded by two brothers in 1879 in Philadelphia, marketed the first rolls of toilet paper, and today Kimberly-Clark employees still make Scott products at the plant in Chester.

What’s ahead: Major manufacturers are making changes. Kimberly-Clark is test-marketing Scott Naturals. The line includes facial tissues from 20 percent post-consumer recycled fiber, TP from 40 percent, and paper towels from 80 percent.

By Sandy Bauers

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/sandy_bauers/20080407_GreenSpace__On_a_roll__Dead_trees_go_down_the_toilet.html

“Good Green Fun” is the theme of the latest marketing campaign at Toys “R” Us Inc., designed to promote a new line of toys the Wayne, N.J.-based retailer calls “eco-friendly.”

Wooden building blocks and pull toys, and dolls made with organic cotton will be labeled with a green “R” logo bearing the words “Recycle, Renew, Reuse, Re-think.” The retailer also is selling bio-degradable gift cards.

Toys “R” Us said the products will be available, grouped in special “green” sections of its stores, by Earth Day, April 22.

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. also unveiled its green products Monday, but the nation’s largest retailer is focusing on clothing and home and garden products rather than toys. Wal-Mart is promoting T-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles, mulch from recycled tire rubber and natural cleaning products.

The spate of toy recalls last summer and fall, some of which involved high lead levels in painted and plastic toys, created a demand for natural, or chemical-free toys. A growing number of toy makers have rushed to fill that niche. Toy manufacturers also are looking at the profitable trend in organic foods and reasoning that parents who spend more for organic baby food will spend more for organic cotton dolls and natural wood trains.

The Toys “R” Us eco-friendly line represents a dramatic departure from most of the brightly colored plastic toys sold in Toys “R” Us stores. The wooden toys use natural, unpainted wood, and the toys are packaged in beige and earth-tone boxes. The packaging will be made out of materials that are at least 70 percent recycled.

Jim Silver, editor in chief of Toy Wishes magazine, called the eco-friendly line a smart move, although he said the toys probably will appeal to only a small segment of the toy-buying population.

By Joan Verdon

http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080405/NEWS/804050311/1051/NEWS&title=Toys__R__Us_unveils__green__toys__Wal_Mart_focuses_on_eco_friendly_clothing__home_goods

As summer approaches, businesses like Shelley’s Bridal Boutique Inc. in West Dundee that are part of the $70 billion wedding industry can count on more than the grass turning green.

Shelley Murray, founder and owner of the shop, gives her customers the environmentally-friendly option of purchasing pre-worn fabric that is re-sewn into a one-of-a-kind gown. The process, she says, shows off each bride’s unique taste and creates the equivalent of a couture gown wholly made from recycled material.

“Brides can purchase a couple of sample gowns, rather than having to buy new parts. The samples sewn together can be the interior and the outer shell of the dress,” Murray said.

Murray also offers dresses that incorporate or are made from “peace silk,” a type of silk that is produced using an unconventional method. Traditional silk-making requires killing silk pupae or worms before they emerge from their cocoons. Peace silk production allows the pupae to grow and emerge as adult moths, after which time the silk is produced from cocoons found in the wild.

Murray’s environmentally-conscious gowns range from $2,600 to $5,000.

A growing number of the estimated 2.3 million brides and grooms each year are seeking ways to make their big day environmentally friendly. From recycled gowns to propane-fueled limousines, businesses that provide wedding venues, services and products are turning up solutions to satisfy these “green” customers.

Chicago resident and bride-to-be Barbara Burke is looking for a venue for her 200 guests that is earth-friendly. “I’m hoping for an outdoor location for the wedding and reception,” she said. “It is one of the best ways to reduce energy use.” Burke explained that by having her event outside, she can rely on the sun to light her ceremony and candles to light the reception tent.

Business partners Usurla Guyer and Stacey Senechalle are part of the trend. In 2006, the team opened White Chicago LLC, a bridal boutique in the River North neighborhood that sells “once worn” and sample designer gowns. All of the boutique’s gowns are on the verge of being recycled – each dress was either worn by one previous bride, or created as a sample garment for a manufacturer or retailer.

“The whole idea is to save money, save time, and save the earth, all at the same time,” said Guyer. White Chicago limits its selections to gowns originally priced at $1500 or higher. The shop sells the gowns at a discount ranging from 30 percent to 70 percent.

“Going green is so hot right now. Everybody wants to do their part to help save the earth,” Senechalle said. “Just in the last few months, I’ve noticed a huge increase in the number of people looking for environmentally-friendly dresses.” Senechalle estimates that 25 percent of the brides who visit her shop do so because of environmental awareness.

Bridal Expo Inc., a trade show that frequents the Chicago and Milwaukee metropolitan areas, is also promoting green weddings by showcasing some wedding vendors that have provided their customers with green options.

“Since you’ll probably spend more on your wedding than any other single expenditure except your car or home, it’s a great opportunity to support local, organic, recycled, and recyclable goods,” said Bill Brennan, CEO of Bridal Expo, in a 2007 press release.

Frank Deangelo, owner of Executive Coach Limousine, a division of Executive Image Limousine Inc. in Villa Park, announced last July that he would convert his fleet of limousines to liquid propane gas, a gas that he says will reduce vehicle emissions by 98 percent. Deangelo has converted three of his 20 limousines thus far and hopes to complete the conversion process by the end of 2008.

The U.S. Department of Energy acknowledges that propane gas can significantly reduce vehicle emission in comparison to traditional gas alternatives, but it does not give a percentage as to how much.

Deangelo said the cost of each limo conversion is between $2,500 and $5,000 depending on the size of the vehicle.

“The cost of gas was definitely something to consider,” he added, “but we also feel like we have a responsibility to go green.”

As of yet, going green hasn’t directly transformed into greenbacks for Deangelo. “We do market it and talk about it. People think it’s cool but it hasn’t really converted into business yet.”

But he’s willing to wait. “This is all fairly new. We gotta give it a couple of years before we can make that determination. Most of our weddings don’t happen until between April and November, so we still gotta give this time.”

Some wedding Web sites are providing expectant brides and grooms with links to eco-friendly planning options and some Web sites are even wholly devoted to these practices.

“The Web sites are really helpful,” said Burke. “Some allow you to search by green vendors.”

Some future thoughts for green-leaning brides and grooms:  organic flower pieces, wedding invitations on recycled paper, and an all-organic dinner menu.

http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=80779

DUBLIN — There is something missing from this otherwise typical bustling cityscape. There are taxis and buses. There are hip bars and pollution. Every other person is talking into a cellphone. But there are no plastic shopping bags, the ubiquitous symbol of urban life.

In 2002, Ireland passed a tax on plastic bags; customers who want them must now pay 33 cents per bag at the register. There was an advertising awareness campaign. And then something happened that was bigger than the sum of these parts.

Within weeks, plastic bag use dropped 94 percent. Within a year, nearly everyone had bought reusable cloth bags, keeping them in offices and in the backs of cars. Plastic bags were not outlawed, but carrying them became socially unacceptable — on a par with wearing a fur coat or not cleaning up after one’s dog.

“When my roommate brings one in the flat it annoys the hell out of me,” said Edel Egan, a photographer, carrying groceries last week in a red backpack.

Drowning in a sea of plastic bags, countries from China to Australia, cities from San Francisco to New York have in the past year adopted a flurry of laws and regulations to address the problem, so far with mixed success. The New York City Council, for example, in the face of stiff resistance from business interests, passed a measure requiring only that stores that hand out plastic bags take them back for recycling.

But in the parking lot of a Superquinn Market, Ireland’s largest grocery chain, it is clear that the country is well into the post-plastic-bag era. “I used to get half a dozen with every shop. Now I’d never ever buy one,” said Cathal McKeown, 40, a civil servant carrying two large black cloth bags bearing the bright green Superquinn motto. “If I forgot these, I’d just take the cart of groceries and put them loose in the boot of the car, rather than buy a bag.”

Gerry McCartney, 50, a data processor, has also switched to cloth. “The tax is not so much, but it completely changed a very bad habit,” he said. “Now you never see plastic.”

In January almost 42 billion plastic bags were used worldwide, according to reusablebags.com; the figure increases by more than half a million bags every minute. A vast majority are not reused, ending up as waste — in landfills or as litter. Because plastic bags are light and compressible, they constitute only 2 percent of landfill, but since most are not biodegradable, they will remain there.

In a few countries, including Germany, grocers have long charged a nominal fee for plastic bags, and cloth carrier bags are common. But they are the exception.

In the past few months, several countries have announced plans to eliminate the bags. Bangladesh and some African nations have sought to ban them because they clog fragile sewerage systems, creating a health hazard. Starting this summer, China will prohibit sellers from handing out free plastic shopping bags, but the price they should charge is not specified, and there is little capacity for enforcement. Australia says it wants to end free plastic bags by the end of the year, but has not decided how.

Efforts to tax plastic bags have failed in many places because of heated opposition from manufacturers as well as from merchants, who have said a tax would be bad for business. In Britain, Los Angeles and San Francisco, proposed taxes failed to gain political approval, though San Francisco passed a ban last year. Some countries, like Italy, have settled for voluntary participation.

But there were no plastic bag makers in Ireland (most bags here came from China), and a forceful environment minister gave reluctant shopkeepers little wiggle room, making it illegal for them to pay for the bags on behalf of customers. The government collects the tax, which finances environmental enforcement and cleanup programs.

Furthermore, the environment minister told shopkeepers that if they changed from plastic to paper, he would tax those bags, too.

While paper bags, which degrade, are in some ways better for the environment, studies suggest that more greenhouse gases are released in their manufacture and transportation than in the production of plastic bags.

Today, Ireland’s retailers are great promoters of taxing the bags. “I spent many months arguing against this tax with the minister; I thought customers wouldn’t accept it,” said Senator Feargal Quinn, founder of the Superquinn chain. “But I have become a big, big enthusiast.”

Mr. Quinn is also president of EuroCommerce, a group representing six million European retailers. In that capacity, he has encouraged a plastic bag tax in other countries. But members are not buying it. “They say: ‘Oh, no, no. It wouldn’t work. It wouldn’t be acceptable in our country,’ ” Mr. Quinn said.

As nations fail to act decisively, some environmentally conscious chains have moved in with their own policies. Whole Foods Market announced in January that its stores would no longer offer disposable plastic bags, using recycled paper or cloth instead, and many chains are starting to charge customers for plastic bags.

But such ad hoc efforts are unlikely to have the impact of a national tax. Mr. Quinn said that when his Superquinn stores tried a decade ago to charge 1 cent for plastic bags, customers rebelled. He found himself standing at the cash register buying bags for customers with change from his own pocket to prevent them from going elsewhere.

After five years of the plastic bag tax, Ireland has changed the image of cloth bags, a feat advocates hope to achieve in the United States. Vincent Cobb, the president of reusablebags.com, who founded the company four years ago to promote the issue, said: “Using cloth bags has been seen as an extreme act of a crazed environmentalist. We want it to be seen as something a smart, progressive person would carry.”

Some things worked to Ireland’s advantage. Almost all markets are part of chains that are highly computerized, with cash registers that already collect a national sales tax, so adding the bag tax involved a minimum of reprogramming, and there was little room for evasion.

The country also has a young, flexible population that has proved to be a good testing ground for innovation, from cellphone services to nonsmoking laws. Despite these favorable conditions, Ireland still ended up raising the bag tax 50 percent, after officials noted that consumption was rising slightly.

Ireland has moved on with the tax concept, proposing similar taxes on customers for A.T.M. receipts and chewing gum. (The sidewalks of Dublin are dotted with old wads.) The gum tax has been avoided for the time being because the chewing gum giant Wrigley agreed to create a public cleanup fund as an alternative. This year, the government plans to ban conventional light bulbs, making only low-energy, long-life fluorescent bulbs available.

By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/02/world/europe/02bags.html?_r=3&hp=&pagewanted=all&oref=slogin&oref=slogin&oref=slogin

The bag was a must-have item: sleek, stylish, in tune with the latest fashion, just the thing for spring. It also turned out to be sturdy and big enough to hold about $20 worth of groceries. At 99 cents, the bag was a bargain. OAS_AD(’Right3′);

No, this carryall isn’t the latest accessory from Fashion Week, but a reusable grocery bag. It’s only the first to come home with us, but I suspect it won’t be the last.

We were making our once-monthly trip to Whole Foods Market; the light-Kermit-green bag was on a spindle at the checkout. Buy a bag; save the Earth (and save 10 cents). Plus, get a carabiner on a key fob. Makes sense to me. Whole Foods seems like the progressive kind of place that could get its customers to switch to reusable bags.

These days, it’s got plenty of company.

Over at Wal-Mart, stuffed between the Britney tabloids and the Brangelina magazines, are totes that proclaim “Paper or Plastic? Neither!” Every mainstream grocery store I’ve visited has reusable bags for sale, with a discount per bag to the customer who uses them instead of killing trees or dinosaurs.

So how difficult is it to go green, anyway? Not too, apparently.

It starts with a mind-set. Before we include Whole Foods or ShopRite or Pathmark among our destinations, we have to remind ourselves to take the bags. If we’re taking a drive, we try to figure in the best route at the best time to save gas, money and our nerves.

While the coffee is brewing, we wash our mugs instead of hauling out paper cups. If we choose to grab a bottle of Poland Spring, we refill it at least once from the filter on the tap. And we do have our eyes peeled for refillable water bottles of the right shape and size. (My problem is remembering to bring my bottle home from the gym. Misplacing those things can get far more expensive than buying water at Costco.)

I’ve been sneaking compact fluorescent lights into fixtures at home wherever and whenever I can. With twisty-curly ones that fit in the same space as incandescent bulbs, and which produce the same light as 100-watt soft-whites, the conversion is painless, mostly. I haven’t seen any three-way bulbs; our bulbs take a little while to yield full brightness in our chilly unheated basement, and they don’t last a full seven years in vibrating ceiling fans. (Even though the fans got a bad rap on “Trading Spaces,” they help keep rooms comfortable with less heat or air conditioning. Old-school green.)

I shave in the shower during that one indulgent minute while I let the hot water massage my bum shoulder. I wet the toothbrush, scrub my pearly whites with faucet off, then sip before rinsing. (Alas, in an unenlightened policy, my municipal water utility charges a minimum that does not encourage excessive conservation.) And you may already know the one about yellow and mellow.

Corporate America is discovering greenbacks in green goods. Giant Clorox is now hawking Green Works cleaning products, joining Simple Green and Bon Ami and a host of others in the marketplace. (Treehugger.com mused about what Clorox’s purchase of the Burt’s Bees company might mean.)

Doing these things and using eco-friendly products won’t win any one person a Nobel Prize, but we’ll all share a far greater reward.

By Bill Zapic

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