In my family, Thanksgiving was always the most stressful of holidays.  Would there be enough food? Would so-and-so come?  Would the house be clean enough?  Rarely among those concerns was, how sustainable is this holiday?  Well, times they are a changing and this Thanksgiving we’ll have a local turkey, relatives arriving via carpools and organic wine.  You can join the green Thanksgiving festivities with these easy tips.

The Food
Really, Thanksgiving is all about the food, but you don’t have to skimp on the stuffing to make this Thanksgiving more sustainable than last. Most families will not be convinced to give up the turkey this Thanksgiving. If you can go vegetarian or turkey free, more power to you; if not here are some alternatives:

• Make a shopping list before you go out.  Trying to think on the fly will cause unnecessary purchases.  Making the list well in advance will allow you to look for the best local options, rather than making frantic last minute decisions.  Try to minimize car mileage by planning your route precisely.
• Buy local and/or organic.  Thanksgiving is all about using your local resources to make delicious food.  Get your turkey from you local farmer’s market or local producers. You can look for a turkey provider near you, here.

It’s not just about the turkey!

• Take the 100-Mile Thanksgiving Challenge, and keep all your Thanksgiving foods close to home. If you’re in Albany, Seattle, Washington, Kansas City, Flagstaff, or Montgomery, The Daily Green has prepared 100 Mile Challenge recipes to use.
• Drink green.  Only buy wines with real cork stoppers, rather than plastic.  Trees are not cut down for cork, and it is a crucial part of the forestry industry.  Look for organic wines and liquors, and freshen tap water with a filter and some lemons.
• As the food coma starts to set in, think about your leftovers before you take that oh so alluring nap.
• Avoid plastic wrap. Most plastic wraps contain PVC which quickly winds up in landfills and has been linked to harmful environmental consequences.  Use aluminum foil or, even better, send family home with glass or ceramic storage containers that they can return to you after.  (The really conscientious may bring their own reusable leftover container, just in case…)
• Keep your hands dry!  A new study from the University of Bonn in Germany found that your dishwasher uses less soap, half the energy and 1/6 of the water you might during hand washing.  Air dry the dishes rather than heat drying them.
• Donate your fat.   If you’re in Texas, call up Plano and see if they’re still collecting turkey fat and turning it into biofuel.
• Donate leftover food to a shelter or food bank.

The Family
Thanksgiving is also about getting connected with family. For some, it’s the one time in the year where everyone is in the same room. Go green together!

• Know your guests.  Does Aunt Susan only eat white meat?  Is Danny a vegetarian?   Knowing who’s coming and what they’re expecting will help you shop efficiently and maximize your green options for each person.
• Pick a location that’s easy for everyone to get to.  The less air travel the better, and if you do fly consider carbon-reducing efforts to make up for it.
• Carpool.  Pick each other up on the way.
• Try to avoid sitting around the television on Thanksgiving Day.   Many towns have live parades, and your childrens’ school friends might be playing in football games in the area.  If you have diehard fans in the mix, make sure they’re all watching the same television, and aren’t scattered throughout the house.  Take the football out of the closet and see if anyone’s apt to want to throw the ball around, or organize an informal game of touch.

The Decorations
Home made decorations can be both fun and green.

• Send online invitations or organic ones.
• Thanksgiving is an earthy time. Use your creativity with sticks, stones, leaves, flowers and branches from your backyard or neighborhood.
• If you can’t get sticks or don’t want to get crafty, look for organic floral arrangements at your local farmers market or online.
• Use non-toxic cleaners to get that mom-level-clean before she actually shows up.

The body wash and shampoo aisle is overwhelming. There are literally thousands of different soaps and shampoos “specially formulated” for your hair by people who have never seen your hair. Here are a few things to watch out for when buying soaps:

• soap companies can put “natural” on just about anything
• “fragrance” means a conglomeration of chemicals
• avoid anything that has palm oil, as it is extremely unsustainably harvested

A great resource when purchasing health & beauty products is the good guide. They have a rating system that helps you tease out the good from the bad throughout the grocery store. Here’s what they say about soaps. You can also look for local soap producers, and see if you can support their business and get clean, chemical free soap.

If you’re interested in making your own soap from scratch, it’s a pretty complicated process. Especially bar soaps, which easily turn into messy, slimy little balls. You’ll also need several ingredients you probably don’t have lying around the house, such as lye and tallow. If you have the time, and the patience however, home made soaps leave your skin feeling really soft, and they also make great green gifts.

Half way recipes (in which you take a pure form of soap and spruce it up) can be fun and easy to do at home (more…)

It’s apple picking season, and with that comes canning and preserving.   My grandmother used to make some of the best apple jelly, and lots of it.  She lived in Canada, where I am originally from; nearly every package we ever received from her contained a jar of her apple jelly.  That was one of the things we looked forward to in her care packages.  Grandmother has since left this earth, and one of the things I desire to learn how to do is to make her apple jelly, so future generations do not lose yet another one of these dying arts.

Confronted by the many pounds of apples waiting to be processed and eaten, I found myself in need of an alternative to the cheesecloth grandmother used to squeeze out the juice.  A friend recommended this Finnish-made, Mehu-Lissa 10 Liter Stainless Steel Steamer Juicer, a device that can save hours of work and produce faster results than hand-squeezing ever would.

From my perusing many reviews and my friend’s recommendation, it appears this is a product going on my wish list. It not only produces fruit juices, but can cook (more…)

What today falls into the niche of “DIY” (do it yourself), is in fact the longest human tradition there is.  It’s funny that today we need people to teach us how to do it ourselves, that we can’t fathom making things we find essential.  Do it yourself-ism is a quiet, but effective way of protesting the consumerism that has gripped us.  By taking the few extra minutes to make your own shampoo, deodorant, shirt or whatever it is, you’re turning your back on big companies and bringing your health and well-being back into your own hands.  It may not seem like a big deal when you do, because it isn’t, it’s what we’re made to do.

Take, for example, deodorant.  Many people consider it a daily necessity (and perhaps more people should).  Rather than going to the store, look for a few things in your cabinets: (more…)

By now all of you know of my interest in farming, and writing for The Alternate Consumer has been a fun way to expand my knowledge of farm and garden products available to us. The farming possibilities available in urban and suburban settings continue to amaze me — from the fact that people in Chicago (and New York) are allowed to keep chickens — to the urban beekeeper, these urban wannabee farmers are letting nothing stop them from growing their own food. These are the people that inspire my husband and me to do what we can from our suburban locale to fulfill our dream of being farmers.

Natural England, a conservation group in England, has been in the business of conserving bees since Great Britain’s bee population, along with the rest of the worldwide bee population, took a hard hit a couple of years ago. They are currently (more…)

I’ve often heard people say they do their best thinking in the shower, and although I can’t say I’m one who does heavy brain work amidst the suds I did take a minute the other day to read the back of my shampoo bottle.

What I saw surprised me.  Water, sodium laureth sulfate, glycol distearate, sodium lauryl sulfate, cocamidopropylbetaine, cocamide MEA, zinc carbonate, behentrimonium chloride, fragrance, magnesium sulfate, sodium benzoate, zinc chloride, sodium citrate, benzyl alcohol, sodium chloride, sodium hydroxide, blue 1, red 4.

I’m not sure I want all those things that close to one of my most vital organs, or possibly getting into my eyes, nose or mouth.  Of the twenty-two ingredients that are in most shampoos, only about three of them actually clean.  Others, like cocadamide MAE are suspected carcinogens.  Americans spend almost $11 million each year on shampoos that contain these toxic and useless ingredients.

As a college student I’m not generally keen on paying for more than I’m getting (and nineteen to one just doesn’t cut it) so I went to the trusty internet to investigate a solution, and found several recipes for homemade shampoo.  After some testing and several washes my hair was happy and I had a good working concoction. (more…)

Knitters, happily take note:  Natural Star, a New Zealand-based professional knitter can provide the beanie pattern (above) to fit Newborns through to 5 year olds, ($5 US).  No time for needles?  Find a head-topper ready-made in fine Merino wool, raspberry or navy, ($22).  Or pluck various sweet organic woollies for the wee set — mittens, booties, and sweaters via etsy @ NaturalStar.

We’ve seen too many unfortunate deaths of the everyday t-shirt.  (Many in the form of “memory” quilts-gone-wrong.)

All the more reason to love this purplish-gray, feet-friendly, 100 percent recycled rug, crafted from discarded, hand-cut tees. Super soft and available in an array of sizes suitable for any room (21”x30” to 5’x8’), the rugs, by Talking Squid start at a respectable $48.

For $5 off of a $30 purchase, become a fan of TalkingSquid on Facebook and use code “Face5” when ordering through etsy.

Love the idea but not the rug? Check out this DIY project that will turn your old tees into something just as chic, but wearable. A delicate, sinewy necklace.

Flipping through a magazine the other day, I came across an article on Wall Hooks – there were about six different designs featured, and to my surprise, not one of them was sourced from eco-conscious materials.  So I thought I’d dig up a few cool-looking babies for our viewing pleasure.

For that homey, rustic look and feel, (above) — a one-of-a-kind Vintage Wood Wall Hanger with antique door knobs in beautiful sage green, by Jennifer Goode ($28.95) @ Etsy.  (How reasonably-priced.  Seems like just the materials could cost that much.)

On the other hand, creating your own version seems like a fairly simple, Do-It-Yourself project.  Above is a great example of an upcycled concoction gone bad, from Oddee (although I’m a bit hung up on it — it’s  weirdly charming, yes?)

For the mod squad, this sleek bamboo Hookaboo Multi Hook (above) in Natural by Umbra may be more your cup of tea. (more…)

I confess, I’m not only a pedal pusher, but also a pillow pusher.  Always looking for a change in scenery on the home-front, an easy, inexpensive trick is to invest in some decorative pillow talk.

If you’re blessed with the knack to Do-It-Yourself, repurpose an un-used table cloth, skirt, scarf or whatever material you happen to have lying around.  Cover your tired throw pillows, stitch those straight seams, and voila — happy new accessories for your bed or couch.

Not sew handy?  Visit etsy for handmade pillows from recycled material or eco friendly bamboo, hemp, or organic cotton. Here are a few folksy/modern styles, inspired by Early (more…)