Earthworm Cleaning Products Series Drain and Septic Treatments

In our continuing series on Earthworm cleaning products which I received from Clean Earth Brands to review and Leaf Rate, today I will be talking about two products -- the flagship product Drain Cleaner and a non-liquid based Septic Treatment.

All the drains in our bathroom tend to be slow so I decided to test out the Drain Cleaner in the tub, sink and toilet. Following the packaging directions I shook and poured a few ounces down each drain. The toilet received about half a bottle and a flush, as instructed.

The directions indicate that slow drains should be treated with 6-8 ounces 3-5 nights in a row. I used it for three nights in the tub and sink and overall I have actually noticed a difference! Especially when taking a shower because we utilize a drain trap that catches hair but it tends to slow the flow of water.

I will not say it has been fixed 100% but it certainly is faster so I believe I will continue to use it the next two nights and see if that finishes off any clogs that might be trapped. As with the other products I have already reviewed the ingredients contain preservatives but this one also contains fragrance. Again, I would like to be clear as to the birth place of this fragrance -- is it natural?

Overall I am pleased with the performance and encouraged that this is another product comprised of 80% water as well as natural enzymes and surfactants as this makes me so much more confident about using it in any capacity let alone pouring it directly down the drain and I am granting the Drain Cleaner a Three and a Half Leaf Rating! ♥love♥

As far as the Septic Treatment goes I unfortunately will not be able to grant a Leaf Rating as we do not have this type of system so I can not test it out. Matt has given the two boxes I received to a friend at work and asked him to make some mental notes as to the viability of the product so I should be able to report back on this one with some feedback soon.

In the meantime, I can share some of the information directly from the box. They claim the product is 100% biodegradable and made using sustainable ingredients; it is petroleum, phosphate acid and chlorine free. Additionally it will not release odors, vapors or heat while it cleans and it is even good for greywater treatment systems. They recommend using a whole box once per month.

In completing some additional research I discovered that most septic systems are not recommended to have any additives as the system itself should already have sufficient enzymes to enable breakdown of solids. I am not sure as to the validity of either claim considering I do not have this system so I suggest doing your own research prior to purchasing, like all products.

We will return with the rest of the Earthworm series beginning on Sunday November 8, 2009!

CVS Joins the Growing Trend with Earth Essentials Sugarcane Dishware

These CVS Earth Essentials plates and bowls are not the first I have seen created from sugarcane and because it is such a lowered impact on the planet to use this type of disposable dishware, as opposed to paper or plastic, I hope they are not the last.

With cookouts and parties, as I have said before, comes the disposable dishware option. Most people use these due to the sheer convenience of knowing they do not have to wash dishes at the end of the party. The good news about these disposables is that they are created from the rapidly renewing resources of sugarcane.

At only about $2.50 per pack (15 nine inch plates or 20 seven inch bowls) the cost is reasonable and right in line with other brands that may or may not be eco-conscious. They are sturdy too, with a fairly deep well on the plate and a nice wide double ridge rim on the bowls these plates will stand up to just about anything put on them.

I did not see these items available for purchase online, only in store, so their availability may vary from area to area. They are water and oil resistant but can not be washed and reused as the underside is not coated. As I have said before, the items are still disposable so it is not the best choice for day to day use, but if a commercial composting facility is available in your area they will break down quickly and with less of an overall impact. Otherwise they must be tossed in the trash like a standard paper plate.

Overall even though the availability of types and sizes is a bit limited I am happy to know that when shopping for this type of convenience item there is a more beneficial option out there so I am granting the CVS Earth Essentials dishware line a Three Leaf Rating!

Day two of being impressed by this exclusive line CVS! ♥love♥

Coming up tomorrow, the final installment: CVS Earth Essentials line bathroom tissue and paper towels

Going Green with Solo Brand - Bare

I know what you are all thinking - ‘how can a company that makes disposable products possibly be considered Green?’ and if you saw my leaf rating tag at the top of the post you might be even more curious. Well read on to learn about the entirely new, environmentally responsible side called Solo Bare™!

We have likely all had experiences with the Solo brand; their plastic cups have practically become synonymous with the word ‘party’ in the past 73 years since the company’s inception. Their cups are instantly recognizable for their shape and color. They can be rinsed and reused, or even recycled, but more often than not they are simply tossed into a garbage bag and thrown away. The centuries it will take for this plastic to degrade times the number of parties Americans throw every year equals a huge landfill problem.

But most party goers want something convenient and easy, something they can simply be done with at the end of a night full of laughter and fun.

Enter Solo Bare™ (Bringing Alternative Resources for the Environment).

With plates made from sugar cane and bamboo in the Bare dinnerware line, and cups created from either plant based materials or 25% post-consumer recycled content in the Bare drinkware line, Solo just put a new twist on the old stand by!

The compostable** sugar cane plates come in three sizes for all party needs and are square with high edges so food will not spill out. They are free of chlorine, ink and dye and are cut resistant as well as microwave safe.

The renewable plates created from bamboo fiber are a khaki color, round, and also have a deep well for food. They are also microwave safe and take advantage of a fiber sourced from a rapidly renewable resource which can sustain a new crop in approximately 5 years as opposed to tree based paper which can take upwards of 40 to fully mature.

Solo Bare, 14 oz cups are created from plant based materials, (likely corn starch in the US) and are either compostable or recyclable. The larger 18 oz clear drink cups are made utilizing 25% post consumer recycled content and are also recyclable.

Now it would be imperative to recycle the 18 oz cups as they are PET based plastic and without a commercial composting facility available it would also be difficult to ensure suggested disposal of the sugar cane plates or 14oz cups, so this is my only reservation. Party goers and hosts would need to be diligent in practicing proper recycling disposal of these items.

But with such a progressive concept, especially where the bamboo plates are concerned, I am impressed with this giant leap forward from such a well known company as Solo and am granting a Four Leaf Rating to the entire line!

Keep the innovation for new and eco-forward™ concepts flowing Solo and you will remain the number one purveyor of party products for a long time to come!
♥love♥

Visit the Bare by Solo website for coupons and to find a retailer who carries the product in your area as well as to read about the Keep America Beautiful campaign which Solo is a big part of sponsoring and taking action with. Hooray!


** all composting of materials must be done in commercial facilities. Bio-plastics will degrade in approximately 90 days in this type of environment as opposed to upwards of 500 years for petroleum based plastics sitting in a landfill.

GreenSol Offers up its Water in a Plant Based Bio Plastic Water Bottle

Oh yes, you read that correctly! There is a brand new movement in the plastics industry and its initials are PLA -- plant based, poly lactic acid, plastics. GreenSol is leading the charge in producing a more ecologically responsible choice for their water bottles and I was lucky enough to get my hands on one.

Bottled by Nature’s Bottles in Pacifica, CA and filled with natural spring water from Private Spring Water, GreenSol is certainly attempting to live up to their tag line: “Saving the Earth One Bottle At A Time”.

The bottle is made from 100% renewable and sustainable resources (PLA is created from corn starch), consists of no petroleum, is said to biodegrade in a maximum of 90 days when placed in a commercial composting facility, only utilizes 35% of the average fossil fuels and emits approximately 75% less greenhouse gas during manufacture. If composting is not an option the bottles can always be recycled the old fashioned way.

When this bottle of water was shipped to me it was done so in minimal corrugated cardboard packaging (which it was requested I reuse of course!) and protected by corn based packing peanuts. I was informed that the product is made available for larger events and recycling bins are also provided to expedite the renewal of the material.

Major named companies are getting on board with GreenSol from Quaker to Microsoft, REI to Walmart. I can see why. I opened up the water and immediately noticed…well…nothing. There was no after taste like I sometimes experience with standard plastic bottles, it felt just as sturdy and .

One concern is that the cap is not PLA but a PET based. Nature’s Bottles does address this on their website and indicates they are looking into various solutions for a safe and stable alternative. The label however is PLA but another concern is that the glue used to affix it is not mentioned online as being plant based.

With such a focus on turning the table on the “disposable” mindset through use of natural products that will quickly biodegrade to house their water I am granting GreenSol a Four and a Half Leaf Rating!

Very, very impressive! I will feel comfortable re-using this water bottle to fill with my tap water for as long as it lasts.
♥love♥

An Eco Friendly Pillow from EcoTex (?)

My title for this blog was created prior to my researching for this article and now I am slightly mystified so let me share the current situation and hopefully someone can shed some light.

Yesterday Matt and I went to one of the big box stores to pick up a few items for our new home as we desired to spend a little less money but acquire everything we needed in one location. (This is our tradeoff, less gas driving around to many stores but not shopping at local places). One of the items on our list -- pillows. Ours are so old I barely remember purchasing them and so it was time to change.

Perusing the aisles and squishing a whole bunch wrapped in plastic can be a mind boggling experience as there are so many to choose from. I saw standard, queen & king sized, medium or firm squishiness and prices all over the map depending if the item in question was a brand name, memory foam, hybrid (foam / poly fill), feather fill or store brand. We settled on a couple standard sized, standard squish ones in a low to mid price range. The felt like the right choice for us and we pushed the cart on.

Rounding the corner of the next aisle however opened up another row of pillows. My eyes immediately went right to this pillow


Reading the package I learned this pillow is filled with fiber made from recycled water bottles, the plastic packaging will begin to biodegrade in about three months and that the cotton cover is bleached using 100% hydrogen peroxide. Best of all the price was exactly the same as the others we had selected so we put the originals back and purchased the EcoTex pillow instead, feeling great bout our choice.

Until today.

I always like to link back to the company website (especially when doing a Leaf Rating Review) so since there was none listed on the package, I Googled EcoTex. The top selection was this website:
http://www.ecotex.com/
Upon reading through it definitely is not the correct location so I went back to Google and began searching for anything to get the right website. When nothing produced the desired results, I grabbed the pillow and read through the tag hoping for something.

The parent company that makes the pillow I have is named Springs Global so I looked them up. Not only could I not find an actual website for these folks but I must have visited over twenty websites and found nothing related to a pillow named EcoTex other than this Natures Sleep pillow which is not only completely different looking but is not even close to the same description.

As a total last resort I went to the big box store’s website and searched for this product in every possible manner but to no avail. Is this package from the alleged company EcoTex is nothing more than a clever way to get people to purchase the product or does the company really exist and creates recycled water bottle fill and biodegradable bags? I suddenly became very aware of the fact that it is quite possible I was duped by some form of greenwashing. This does not please me as I am a careful consumer who enjoys reporting back on as much great stuff as possible for all of you readers who enjoy learning. In this case the learning was in the doing.

I would love nothing more than to be completely incorrect and have to print a retraction to my allegations of greenwashing by a company that does not exist so please if you belong to this company, recognize the photo of my pillow package or simply know the website I could not locate in all my searching please let me know immediately!

Unfortunately I will be unable to grant the Leaf Rating I wanted to grant as I am unsure as to the validity of the claims made by this product.

Today’s motto? Essentially, live and learn:

Study, learn and purchase armed with as much knowledge as possible but be aware that sometimes even then the final result might still be undesirable.