Matt Is One of the Best People I Know

He works in downtown Boston on a fairly popular street in the financial district for a mortgage company. That’s all wonderful but it isn’t what makes him great. Over the weekend he told us about a guy who is homeless that lives in the alley behind his building. Every day Matt shares one cigarette with the man and they chat about work, life and how he ended up in the situation he is in.

A former contractor, Karl has been living on the streets for a while now. After very tough times in the market forced him out of his union job, he was unable to maintain paying his bills and sadly ended up where he is.

According to Matt though this has not done anything to damage the guy’s disposition! He is always ready to share a laugh, a smile and directions with lost tourists.

Now Matt, is the kind of guy who just loves the world, will talk to anyone and it is like his mission in life to bring a smile to everyone else’s face! He and Karl struck up conversations months ago but I just found out about him this past weekend when Matt started pulling a whole bunch of clothes together.

I asked if he was getting rid of stuff for Goodwill and he said no, that he was putting a bag of stuff together because Karl had indicated that if Matt was ever planning to get rid of stuff he would be more than willing to take it off his hands, seeing as though they are about the same size.

Tears almost sprung to my eyes. How sweet is that! I have a sneaking suspicion he will do the same come the fall and donate a bunch of warmer clothes to him.

We were talking this morning about the spelling of Karl’s name (which sadly he’s not sure is a C or a K so I’m taking liberties here admittedly) and if Matt happened to know how long he had been homeless when something he said struck a chord.

“Its kind of sad that people like him are just ignored and feared.”

My response was to say that people are just people and that everyone has something in their life, whether they put it right out there or not is inconsequential, we all have issues it is just that some of us are better able to hide them from the rest of the world.

Then Matt said something that really hit home. He indicated that most people are just one bad month away from being in the exact same place as Karl. Sadly, it could not be truer. As a guy who works directly with the financial information of hundreds of people on a weekly basis, no one knows better than Matt how serious that statement really is.

Because we happen to be so fortunate in our lives that we have clothes that fit us, a roof to sleep under and shower to get clean in, it is important that we do whatever we can to help those who are not as well off. Matt started his mission with nothing more than a full bag of clean clothes he was tired of wearing and it has already made a difference in Karl’s life. He wants to do more good deeds and random acts of kindness now!

How can we join him?

Eco Fashion Friday Featured Designer Jonano

We gals love to feel enveloped in something luxurious, even women like me who tend to wear sweats and hoodies most of the time! There is something about pulling an all natural, fine fabric from our closet for those special occasions that can give us a feeling of total heart rush. Jonano is a company that recognizes how a lady likes to feel pampered every once in a while and they sent me one of their gorgeous silk and linen scarves to try out.

The weave is tight enough that even the sheerness of the fabric does not threaten the strength of the item. The fabric is soft and it drapes beautifully. I tried wearing it in a couple of ways -- over my head to protect my hair from the rain as well as around my neck. Here in the northeast United States it is vital to have a warm scarf all winter long. I was not disappointed, my neck was toasty warm but I didn’t need a super bulky item to ensure it.

As a supporter of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, Bonnie Siefers created this scarf for the Daffodil Collection. 10% of all the proceeds go to support the cause. Nice!

I know that many of you might be thinking ‘but creating silk kills the silkworms’ and typically that would be true, however, Jonano uses peace silk in their garments which ensures the silkworm is unharmed in the creation of the fabric. Instead of creating one continuous silk thread by not allowing the creature to emerge from its cocoon as a moth, the moth emerges and the cocoon is then harvested to be spun into fiber instead.

The price for this scarf is somewhat beyond the reach of many women at a suggested retail of $69 but it is a well made item that will be a versatile piece meaning it will potentially get a lot of wear. The one thing I was put off by was that the fabric shed. I tried it on first with a white button down shirt, then the green shirt seen in the photo above, and the scarf left behind tons of pilled fibers. Sadly because I was asked to return the item to the company after testing it out I was unable to wash or dry clean it to see if it would eliminate the issue.

Overall I am impressed with the humanitarian efforts to support breast cancer research as well as the ethical treatments of the silkworms used to create this item and I am awarding a Three Leaf Rating to this chic scarf! (an array of cool fashion is available online, I highly suggest checking out the website for more!)

Thanks for proving that couture can be Green, Jonano! ♥love♥

Eco Fashion Friday Featured Organization Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling

Alright girls, let us all be honest. In our lifetimes, since that tender age when we first put on our very first bra, how many of these necessary undergarments have we purchased and wore once but found them so uncomfortable we could never wear them again, outgrew the style or size, or worse, flat out simply never wore? Ten? More? What did we do with all of these rejects?

Well now thanks to Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling program, those of us who have freed ourselves from the constraints of the uncomfortable-for-us bra can now donate those garments to women in need!

The company was founded by Elaine Birks-Mitchell and her husband Johnny and is based out of Queen Creek, Arizona, a small town in Maricopa County located in the southwest area of the state. These amazing people receive bras from people all over the world and they redistribute them to deserving women in desperate situations.

Many of their articles go to shelters (many local) where the women are most concerned with accommodating for their own safety and security but a little thing as simple as a bra can help these women to feel more comfortable and confident again.

They only have four rules -- 1. wash it, 2. fill out a recycled bra form (found on the homepage), 3. box it up in something sturdy and 4. ship it to their facility. They will take any style, any size (a strong need for larger sizes is indicated on the website) and are interested in specialty bras as well (post surgery, etc). All the parts must be in good working order.

If you are a gal, or know a gal, who has one or two unused bras hanging around they can be sent on out to:

Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling
Attention: Elaine Birks-Mitchell
23844 S. Power Rd, Ste 102-433
Queen Creek, AZ 85142

Or if you are in the state of Arizona please review the drop off locations available for collection of the garments.

For such a wonderfully humanitarian organization I am granting Bosom Buddy Bra Recycling a Four Leaf Rating!

This is exactly what the Green movement is all about, doing all we can to help where and when we can. Keep up the great work Bosom Buddy and expect to see donations from a whole slew of Green Leaf Reviewer’s readers! ♥love♥

Oxfam Is A Renowned Organization Partnered with Great Music

Recently while attending a concert for one of my favorite performers, Jason Mraz, I came across a gal hanging out at a very small round table with no one around talking to her. The bright lime color sprinkled about the area she was in attracted my attention immediately so I figured why not go and see what she was up to.

That was the moment I met Clara Herrero, an Outreach Training Program Assistant with Oxfam America. Clara is a volunteer based out of the Boston branch of Oxfam and she was totally excited to chat with my Mom and me about exactly what they were doing there and why.

Turns out this organization has been around since the first European activists took action against Famine back in 1942. The organization grew, expanded, began a United States branch in 1970 in Washington DC which relocated to Boston in 1973. Fast for a World Harvest is a campaign that began in 1974 and to this day is still one of the largest anti hunger campaigns in the United States and it helped to spawn Oxfam America; a separate entity from the originating organization in Great Brittan.

The focus of the mission of the organization as a whole is to battle against poverty and injustice toward all humans and they have grown to house locations in over 100 countries worldwide.

Oxfam has partnered with a slew of musicians such as Crowded House, O.A.R., Mraz, Coldplay and R.E.M. (among many others) to promote the campaign Rock the World. The organization volunteers reach out to concert goers to spread the word and I for one was so excited to have been able to chat with Clara! She provided me with information on what they are doing to help women specifically as well as how the poorest countries are the most at risk from climate change.

In addition to their official website these folks are all over social media:

They have a blog
Facebook page
MySpace account
Follow them on Twitter
Watch their videos on YouTube
Check out photos on Flickr

For those of you who will be heading out to a concert this summer please look for the Oxfam table and chat with the very friendly volunteers about their mission and goals. Then when you get back home, I strongly encourage everyone to check them out in one or all of the above locations. Why not consider donating time or money to this worthwhile organization today?

Eco Fashion Friday Feature on OneCause

A few days ago my sister, who many of you know is a Director of a preschool in Tucson, Arizona, sent out an email regarding a website she and her parents have been frequenting lately called OneCause. Her email gave some basic detail -- the site is a click through portal that leads to hundreds of merchants that her parents already shop at -- and I was intrigued.

The site costs nothing to join and it could not be easier to register, just providing a small amount of information gains access. Then each time you shop at the affiliated merchants just use the OneCause website to access their pages and voila!

You may be wondering why I have chosen to feature these folks on an Eco Fashion Friday. I have done so because many of the affiliated merchants are environmentally based and socially conscious clothing manufacturers. Fantastic!

By going through OneCause for your shopping needs, a percentage of the total is donated to the school or cause of your choice (varies by merchant). With just under 800 merchants on board it is almost impossible to count or list all of the fashion conscious choices but, with companies like Gaiam (who donates 3%) or Little Earth (4%) on board, it is easy to see how this Boston based company has already helped foster over $200 million in donations across 30,000 well deserving places in the ten short years it has been up and running.

My sister’s school, Adventure School in Tucson, could greatly benefit from this socially conscious shopping experience! I have registered with the site and chose Adventure School as the cause I want to contribute to. Next time I am shopping online I simply open the OneCause website, find my desired shop and go to it like normal.

Here is a good example:

I am traveling in November and likely will use Travelocity to book everything, keeping the process simplified. This particular company donates 1%. On a potential $1000 vacation that is a donation of $10 to the school. Over time those dollars really add up!

I hope that everyone will sign up and begin using OneCause as their primary portal into the online merchants they love. When selecting a school I do understand there are many choices but if you do not have children of your own in a currently supported school I strongly encourage everyone to select Adventure School in Tucson, AZ as your school to support.

Thanks everyone now get out and find those Green and environmentally responsible selections through this socially conscious manner!

Eco Fashion Friday Featured Designer Zulugrass Jewelry

Recently I was introduced to an amazing product, Zulugrass jewelry, a part of the Leakey Collection. I was immediately impressed with the product as well as the company model and I figured it was high time for an accessory feature on Eco Fashion Friday!

The Leakey Collection offers employment to over 1200 Kenyan women and men, which helps to further support upwards of 10,000 people, so the utmost care is paid to the current lifestyle of the Massai peoples (they call the shots on if a work location is placed in the area). The company supports the communities as 5% of each purchase is given back in the forms of education, health and infrastructure.

The company also utilizes environmentally sustainable materials. The primary being naturally dyed, sun dried beads made out of local grass. Cool! Coordinating Czech glass accent beads give extra sparkle. They are water and sun-fade resistant, stretchy (one size fits all) and come in upwards of 150 different colors. Oh yeah, and the company boasts the elastic will wear up to six years worry free. Nice.

I tried two together, wrapped them around my wrist and put them to the test wearing them in the shower, rain and sun and they still look marvelous! I will likely wear them all summer, casually draped around my ankle.

The jewelry is showcased in shops and boutiques in over twenty countries internationally as well as in their online store and retails for around $3 - $11 per strand. Due to the humanitarian and philanthropic efforts, and considering each strand has upwards of 180, hand strung, Zulugrass and 40 plus glass beads, the cost is well within reason.

I am hard pressed to find anything not fantastic about this company or the jewelry as it is a simple, inexpensive design that is universal (dress up or down) and the efforts to support formerly failing communities go above and beyond amazing. With that said I am granting the Zulugrass jewelry line the prestigious Five Leaf Rating!

Keep up this amazing work promoting awesomeness, Leakey Collection, I am happy to be a part of it ♥love♥

AngelFood Ministries is Helping Neighbors

Last night was the second Bennetts Brook Green Group meeting and although there were fewer members present this month there was still fantastic conversation going around with relation to many different environmentally related topics. We started the night discussing the progress of our entertainment center and some of the snags Matt has encountered with using the pallet wood (update soon; the snags are not what one might think). Melissa talked about her recently renovated basement and the benefits of researching prior to purchasing potentially unneeded materials. We discussed my Mom’s amazing efforts to reduce her electric bill through unplugging and other simple methods and then discussed benefits and drawbacks of certain types of de-icing materials. Sue provided some wonderful information with regard to the drawbacks of sugar and then she shared details of a program a friend, who was interested in saving some money, had passed on to her called AngelFood Ministries.

The mission of AngelFood is to provide brand name, wholesome foods to all people at a reduced cost. The ministry operates out of Grace Church in Hudson, Massachusetts and food orders can be placed either in person or online. The most exciting part of the program is that, according to their website, it is open to anyone not just church congregants. For thirty dollars a box of food can be ordered and it is enough to feed a single person for up to a month or a family of four for about a week. There is no application process and no income verification but orders must be picked up in person at the church.

The food provided is not day old or dented cans but restaurant grade meats and fresh produce. Also, there is no limit to the number of units or special orders that can be purchased however an initial purchase is required prior to ability to purchase special orders containing meats such as steak, chicken and pork products. When picking up the food the purchaser must bring their own bag or box.

In tough economic times it is a wonderful affirmation to see caring and compassion stretching to such a humanitarian cause as ensuring people are fed for a little bit less financial outgo.

For those in Massachusetts who are interested in checking out the program I encourage reading through the website, visiting Grace Church at 353 River Road in Hudson or calling the AngelFood information line at (978) 562-8550 x109 (answering machine).

Brew Ha Ha!

Over the past six months I have done an extensive level of research into artists, products and companies that dub themselves eco-friendly. Many of the discoveries I have made were through the sharing of links from family, friends and bloggy friends and all of the shared information both surprised and delighted me. One of the companies that my favorite Vegan With a Purpose, Ginger shared with me was for a beer brewery based out of Fort Collins, Colorado. Could this be true? Could I have finally achieved the perfect storm of awesomeness where consumption of finely brewed beer could be an environmentally friendly activity? I pulled up their website and began the research into this unique concept immediately.

New Belgium impressed me right off the bat as the photo on their homepage shows the outside of their building and about twenty five bicycles parked in the parking lot instead of cars. They brew eight styles year round, four seasonal and one on a limited release. Right on the homepage they proclaim sustainability as a core value and they truly mean it. The company: utilizes recycled bike rims for stools in their bar, use a heat exchanger to recycle the steam created from boiling to assist in boiling the next brew, use both active and passive solar for lighting, upcycled beetle kill pine trees to line their walls, employ evaporative coolers in place of air conditioning units, they create electricity through wind power and via collection of their own methane (created during wastewater treatment), provide an employee ownership program and participate in countless philanthropic events. Talk about a fantastic company model! After discovering this wondrous company I looked for the beer in some of my local package stores but to no avail.

It occurred to me that was not necessarily a bad thing because it got me thinking if there was such a company in Colorado, ready to serve a feast of barley, malt and hopps, perhaps a similar brew house existed right here in my own state.

Of course the first company that came to mind was Samuel “Sam” Adams, brewed by The Boston Beer Company right here in Massachusetts, but because they have grown into a household name and ship both nationally and internationally they have expanded operations to their additional brewery in Cincinnati, Ohio as well. They are fervently committed to many charitable organizations (notably the Boys and Girls Clubs, Boston Urban Gardens, Cam Neely Foundation, the Dennis Leary Firefighter Foundation and Share Our Strength) and additional philanthropic pursuits. It made me happy to see such a large company (there are seventeen brews in their standard rotation, some seasonal) giving back to their local and national communities.

The next local brew master I thought of is the Harpoon Brewery who provide their beers internationally but brew in their two New England locations Boston, Massachusetts and Windsor, Vermont. This company creates just six standard beers, four seasonal and three limited edition brews but their community reach extends far further than their thirteen beers would indicate. Their own humanitarian branch is called Harpoon Helps and this division donates through beer, merchandise, monetary contribution and time of volunteers to a myriad of organizations and events throughout New England (such as soup kitchens, Greater Boston Food Bank and American Red Cross) and have just expanded their reach to include the Spread Holiday Cheer event in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Washington DC and Albany, New York as well.

Both Sam Adams and Harpoon display a commitment to their communities, as well as the people who live in them through their humanitarian and charitable efforts, but I will definitely enjoy spending some time researching smaller local brew houses doing their part to provide yummy libations without sacrificing an environmentally friendly approach, just like New Belgium Brewing.

Due to their true commitment to all things Earth and environment it is my proud honor, without ever sampling the wares, to bestow a Five Green Leaf rating to New Belgium Brewing. Hooray to them for thinking both locally and globally! Spread the word to your beer brewing friends how easy it is to be green.

One Voice, Singing in the Darkness

Those of you who are Barry Manilow fans will recognize the title of this blog as a line from one of his songs however I use it as it completely embodies just what we as environmentally aware individuals are doing to come together collectively -- sing loudly on our own so all our voices end up joining together as one in the end. There are many musicians who, through their recognizable names and faces, are fighting for humanitarian or environmental efforts so we all have a chance to survive on this planet. These are two of my favorites who not only spread their message but also live it everyday. Who are your favorite eco-musicians?

One of my all-time favorite musicians is Jason Mraz. The reasons for this are not strictly linked to his beautiful music or lyrics but to his strong planetary and humanitarian efforts as well; he genuinely seems to care greatly about the state of our planet. Not only do I support his art from a musical standpoint but I am an avid reader of his blog as well. Over the past year that he has been writing, he has shared information on his: diet change to raw foodist, carrying of a Sigg to replace plastic water bottles, support of local artists, tour in bio-diesel busses, concern that he is not very eco-friendly due to his flight paths, support of humanitarian causes and many others. One of his most recent efforts is teaming up with Bruce Parry and Brett Dennen to record a song (Long Road to Forgiveness) for Survival International. Truly inspirational.



A local act, The Grownup Noise caught my attention when a close friend told me of them and their plan to convert their 1980’s, diesel van into one that runs on vegetable oil, in an effort to save the environment as well as some cash on their summer tour. Cool! I met up with their bassist, Adam, at their kick off show in Boston and through shared information, links and photos, compiled a fantastic three part story of the entire process from installation right up through wrapping up the tour. To follow the journey please visit these three links -- Part I: The Band Gets a Van, Boston Based Band The Grownup Noise Kick Off the Veggie Van Tour and The Grownup Noise Part II: Touring, With a Side of Fries.

The inspiration for this post comes from the song by Barry Manilow, referenced above, so for those who are unfamiliar with it, here are the lyrics. It is a story about one individual starting the movement of joining together for a common purpose. We do not have to be celebrities to have a huge impact, all it takes is one effort in one town by one person and eventually all of those "ones" will add up to tons!

One Voice
Just One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is One Voice,
Singing so they hear what's on your mind,
And when you look around you'll find
There's more than

One Voice,
Singing in the darkness,
Joining with your
One Voice,
Each and every note another octave,
Hands are joined and fears unlocked,
If only

One Voice
Would start it on its own,
We need just
One Voice facing the unknown,
And then that
One Voice would never be alone,
It takes that
One Voice.

It takes that
One Voice.
Just

One Voice
Singing in the darkness,
All it takes is
One Voice,
Shout it out and let it ring.

Just One Voice,
It takes that
One Voice,
And everyone will sing!