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lizzle 
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: New Zealand
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 Topic: how green are you?
Posted: 09 January 2008 at 5:39pm |
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our crappy car radio could only get talk-back as we went over the ranges and they were discussing a woman who was a cleaner. anyway, she contracted leukemia which she thinks was caused by the cleaning fluids she worked with over the years and it lead to a discussion about how green as individuals we really are. so how gren are you?
makeup? skincare, shampoo and conditioner?, cleaning products, car usage, etc? what are you prepared to change and what would you not change in a milliion years?
as for me, have decided after we finish the products we have now, am going to try more natural cleaning products, same with skincare and makeup. We try not to use the ca too much - money more than green - we recycle and am planning to get a compost bin - interestingkly enough though, most real estates don't let you have one in rentals. we use cloth nappies as well.
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nikkitheknitter
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Westie
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 6:21pm |
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I was horrified at myself (being all self-righteous and "I'm so eco friendly (or atleast aspiring)") as there was a composting toilet at the bach we stayed at last week. Was very excited for the first 2 days and by the 3rd day was seriously dreading going into the smelly loo.
Damn it. I can't do without a flush toilet! What a hypocrite!
Anyway, no claims to being an eco queen - just try and think about what I'm doing... cloth nappies, wipes, composting (still planning on getting a worm farm. Just need to do it already!), recycling, changing skin products and shampoos to organic/natural products.
Want to start growing a few more veges myself.
eek. Most of the stuff is for me! Not for the environment!
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caliandjack
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Location: West Auckland
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 7:26pm |
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I hardly wear make up and only really use soap and moisturiser for skin care.
Unfortunately cost usually wins over green.
We have started our own vege patch though, and been eating salads every night from the proceeds, we have a compost bin for all the vege peelings, egg shells etc.
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kebakat
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Palmy North
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 7:47pm |
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I'm greener than many of my friends but not that green.
We use cloth nappies and wipes. I use cloth liners. Use ecostore washing powder etc.
Have a compost. Recycle. And have started using reuseable shopping bags
Vege garden. We are gonna get meat from my parents mostly from now on too.
Edited by kebakat
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aimeejoy
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Joined: 01 January 1900
Location: Dannevirke
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 8:41pm |
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Hmmm, I think we do pretty well actually...
cloth nappies and wipes
recycle (usually only have one supermarket bag of rubbish a week)
reusable shopping bags
compost bin
vege garden
i dont buy anything over-packaged and now make most sutff from scratch anyway
i dont wear makeup
deodrant stone and baking soda instead of shampoo/cond
all our washing and cleaning products are eco ones now
i had got really good with only using the car once or twice a week, but too preggy now to walk. Just got a double buggy tho so will be back into that soon.
we have totally cut back out power usage too (now on low user!)
try to only buy NZ made stuff, but that is hard!
I know theres other stuff but cant remember at the mo... All this stuff only happened last year, and at the time it was a big change, but now its just how we live and second nature. Need some new goals for this year now...
I do draw the line at loo paper tho, nobody is going to convince me to use cloth wipes for that!
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Aimee
Hannah 22/10/05
Greer 11/02/08
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FionaS
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Joined: 17 April 2007
Location: Auckland
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 8:55pm |
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Not very eco-friendly here but try.
Use cloth nappies
Compost
Use reusable shopping bags
Use cinderella eco-friendly cleaner
Use eco-store washing powder & baby bath
Try to conserve electricity
Make a lot of foods from scratch to try to cut back on preservatives etc
Sadly we seem to throw out a lot of cans each week.
Would LOVE to have my own vege garden but have to wait until we move house and have space. As for shampoo and conditioner...I am very reluctant to stop using those as I adore clean hair.
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Mummy to Gabrielle and Ashley
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3boys
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Location: Waitakere
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 9:17pm |
We have composting toilets at my work 
We do cloth nappies and wipes, vege garden, worm farm and compost, recycle, keep power down, just got a water saving toilet, do cold washes mostly in machine, try to keep car journeys to a minimum, walking school bus. At xmas I went eco this year and got people oxfam unwrapped gifts and a small NZ made gift - no wrapping paper just the kids artwork from school and kindy. I only went retail for the kids major santa gift.
I just invested in a breadmaker to make bread and try to bake as opposed to buy, I also try to support our local markets, but it all still feels minimal as we are a two car family and I hate that. I wish we could get buy without one, but with three kids....
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yummymummy
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Location: Auckland
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 9:22pm |
Not very green here but trying:
We use re-usable shopping bags
We have cloth wipes (but use disposable ones too)
We recycle
We take short showers rather than baths
We do our washing in big batches to save on water
We always pack the dishwasher before we do a cycle and we only ever do a short one
I don't wear much make-up (but that's me being lazy)
Try to buy NZ made and NZ produce where we can
That's pretty much all I can think of 
I also plan to have a fruit & veggie garden once we sort out the outside part of the house - we are getting a new garage. I'm never going near worm farms though  - don't think I'll ever be that green
Will never give up lovely moisturizers and fragrances. Can not part with my car. Would always love to travel overseas. Oh and Pumpkin Patch - can't give up that addiction either 
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lizzle
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Location: New Zealand
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 9:51pm |
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i figure with pumpkin patch it is long lasting - durable so therefore less likely to be thrown out - very green!
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Katherine
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 9:58pm |
On this topic, I am reading a GREAT book called Eco Chic: The Savvy Shopper's Guide to Ethical Fashion, by Matilda Lee. It's all about the fashion industry and how our clothes are made, right from the ground up -- how synthetic fabrics are, at heart, crude oil that won't degrade in a landfill for 200+ years; how jeans are treated with chemicals to keep them from fading yet the worker in China applying the chemical develops lesions on their lungs from breathing it in; how pesticides that keep cotton crops safe also kill all the livestock within a five-mile radius; how slave labour still exists... It's blowing my mind.
What blows my mind even more is that cotton is apparently known as "the dirtiest crop in the world" as far as its environmental impact. The way it's grown, harvested, processed, milled, dyed, etc. is amazingly bad for the environment. So unless you're wearing organic cotton dyed with vegetable dyes and buying it from ethical clothing suppliers, your personal total carbon emissions that come from your clothing alone add up to about 10% of your total carbon emissions -- about 1 tonne per year just from your clothes. And that's per person!!!
So when you think about being green, don't forget your clothing!
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meow
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 10:13pm |
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So making your clothes (like I do) is just as bad then! You can't win!!
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Katherine
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 10:17pm |
I know! I thought I was being so virtuous trying to make Em's summer dresses (because I'm a hopeless clothing sewer all I can do is sundresses, LOL). But the fabric is just as bad whether you're buying cheapie chain store stuff, higher-end clothing, or making your own. Now I understand the articles I've read saying that disposable nappies and cloth nappies have a similar environmental impact -- I never really understood how fabric was made, but it's pretty scary. After I'm done with the book I'm hoping to see what ethical clothing suppliers I can find in New Zealand -- I wonder if there even are any?
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nikkitheknitter
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 10:31pm |
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Karen Walker does an organic cotton range (which I am sure probably has an ethically grown clause to it for workers) or there seems to be more alternatives to cotton out there, like bamboo. Baby Factory have brought out a range of bamboo singlets etc I think.
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 11:11pm |
* Cloth Nappies and Cloth Wipes (however I do you disposible wipes when out)
* Vege Garden
* Eco Store products in the laundry (i'm going to start using the ater from the machine on the garden as well soon)
* Compost
* Recycle anything that can be recycled in Palmy
* I send things that can't be recycled to Andrew's preschool to be reused
* I turn things off at the machine or wall not on standby
* I try to walk to most things
* Reusable shopping bags
I think I am doing well but I know I could do better.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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MelanieAndBree
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 11:32pm |
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To be honest im not very green.
I dont use cloth nappies.
I use my car too much.
But we recycle but then doesnt everyone? You get those bins so why not?
And i use those bags at the supermarket cause i go to PacknSlave.
um.. dunno. Like i said yeah im not green at all lol
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Melanie.
Mum to Briahna Robyn, 3yrs
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mummy_becks
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Posted: 09 January 2008 at 11:54pm |
 MellnBriahna wrote:
But we recycle but then doesnt everyone? You get those bins so why not? |
We don't get those bins down there, we have to sort ours into bags seperately.
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I was a puree feeder, forward facing, cot sleeping, pram pushing kind of Mum... and my kids survived!
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MyMinis
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Posted: 10 January 2008 at 7:44am |
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we use a mix of cloth/ disposables and a mix of cloth/ disposable wipes.
over ehre we ahve to watch our water so having cloth nappies can be a real curse at times water aint cheap not used to payng for it.
we use earth dish liquid and multipurpose cleaner its cheap, biodegradable and saves alot of chemicals going down teh drains.
we use a sabco microfibre mop taht only needs water so I only use chemicals on my floor once a week now (my whole house is woodfloor)
we recycle as much as we can.
we would grow our own veges but digging into teh ground is anotehr story haha it like concrete atm.
we're also thinking of switching to LPG for our car ratehr tahn petrol it cheaper and better on the air.
we keep all our sunshades down to prevent over use of aircon on hot days and only use when the house is to hot for the kids.
and i never use a drier, but we hardly get rain so no need for one
we not green but we do try as much as we can, i do concieously think about it all the time.
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nikkitheknitter
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Posted: 10 January 2008 at 7:51am |
Katherine - Karen Walker and Starfish sustainability efforts
Dunno if I can afford to fork out $350 for a pair of jeans though
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lizzle
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Posted: 10 January 2008 at 8:01am |
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i think my greeny use of clothing will be limited to making sure i realy need the things I buy, nd that they are durable and will last, rather than having to replaced in a few months.
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3boys
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Posted: 10 January 2008 at 9:01am |
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There is a thing called my sisters wardrobe wgere there a organisef parties and everyone takes their old clothes and swaps them. Read about it in a green mag.
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how green are you?
