CHICAGO, ILLINOIS August 30, 2007 Retail News
August 30, 2007, Chicago, Ill –With emerging standards in mind as well as combining cool styles, and the company’s deep concern for the planet , Bangledox Clothing was created.
Introducing Bangledox [ban’gel-dox] Clothing® , a new Latino owned t-shirt company is helping set the standard while incorporating environmentally safe materials such as organic cottons and earth friendly inks and dyes in their clothing line, sustainable and recycled materials.
Organic clothing and green eco friendly clothing in the fashion industry have entered mainstream consumer consciousness with a slew of media attention, and for good reason. Its great for the environment and it helps draw attention to a very important topic.
After a humble start at local flea markets the company is launching its first online store to the public ; the new site which is located at www.BangledoxClothing.com.
The company was determined to roll out a new t-shirt line that they could be proud of and know that they were not harming the planet, as well as help draw attention to a very important topic.
They feel they are achieving this.
The new site will also have helpful tips on saving energy as well as other useful environmental information that its visitors can use to help do their part.
Bangledox is grounded in the concept that the clothing industry and environment can co-exist, all of their clothing is sweat-shop free and produced in U.S.
Bangledoxclothing.com launches new online store!
We’re more than just a Brand. We’re a movement. ®
Thank you.
Contact Information
Marta Soto
bangledoxclothing@hotmail.com
773 759 3815
By: Marta Martines
About the Author:
Stephen Weez
Freelance Writer
• Rather than buying a real tree thats been cut down, transported and then thrown away, purchase a large potted plant or small tree that can be used each year as your evergreen Christmas tree.
• You could always purchase an artificial tree that can be reused for many years, these range from 10 pounds to over 100 pounds. Ours actually looks real!
• If you buy a real tree, pay the Woodland Trust or a different organization to plant one in its place!
Christmas Decorations
• If you have evergreen shrubs and trees – to make sure you have an annual supply of eco-friendly Christmas decorations why not do some of your pruning just before Christmas and use the choice bits for inside? If you have not got any evergreens but have a garden ask for some of these plants as Christmas presents. They may take a few years to grow but then all you will need to do is harvest in December and be as creative as you like.
• Make a homemade wreath using branches trimmed from your garden or somebody elses.
• Purchase handmade decor made from recycled or eco-friendly materials. If possible by Fair trade as well, as they are a great way to support the disadvantaged. While some of these crafts may not be from recycled materials they provide much needed income to needy individuals.
• Ivy is good to drape around pictures, windows and the base of Christmas trees, it will hide the wires of the tree lights. There is as far as I know no substitute for electric fairy lights but as they last for years and use very little power, their impact is relatively low and they do look great.
• One of the advantages of using natural decorations is that after Christmas they do not need to go in the bin they can enter your normal garden waste on the compost heap.
Christmas tree ornaments
• Make homemade ornaments from (painted) pinecones, painted eggshells, crushed (colored) aluminum foil, paper chains, paper snowflakes, old CDs and more!
• Decorate a doll as an angel.
• Do an online search for recycled or homemade tree ornaments for numerous ideas or purchase these recycled or eco-friendly tree ornaments if you cant be bothered to make them.
Gifts
• Buy a subscription to an organisation working to make the world a better place such as the RSPB, RSPCA or Oxfam.
• If you are buying a present that uses batteries make sure the person you are buying it for has a battery charger and buy rechargeable batteries.
• Buy a homemade present, bird table, compost bin. Chocolate cakes often go down very well!
Gift wrap
• Collect extra photocopies or no longer needed papers from work for your children to draw on the back.
• Use colored pictures from your childrens colouring books.
• Use leftover pieces of fabric or wallpaper.
• Use recycled paper.
• Put the gift inside another gift such as a decorative tin, nice wooden box etc.
• Use gift wrap, gift bags and gift boxes, ribbon and bows from last Christmas or previous celebrations. Leave the tags blank on the gifts you are giving so that they can be reused.
Greeting cards & gift tags
• Send an e-card.
• Make a greeting card or tag from scrap paper, fabric or wallpaper.
• Make cards or tags from pieces of food box.
Packing material
• Use saved packing material such as foam or bubble wrap.
• Crush up newspaper into loose balls. This is cheap, quick and lightweight! This is our preferred method for box filler.
After the New Year
• Find out where you can recycle your real Christmas tree or Christmas cards, local councils and supermarkets are a good place to start. They will turn your trees into mulch for use in parks and public gardens.
• Use any wrapping paper that is no longer reusable for shelf liners or craft projects.
• Save boxes, gift bags, wrapping, filler, ribbons and bows for future gift wrapping or craft projects. Give them away to friends, neighbours etc if you have too many to keep.
By: Davinos Greeno
About the Author:
Davinos Greeno works for the organic directory This green directory lists 100s of Organic Food and Drink Companies and Eco Jobs and Ethical Companies
1. Before you head out on your next trip-
Make sure that all appliances at home are switched off and unplugged. Some of the appliances are called ‘energy vampires’ because of their ability to **** energy even when not in use.
2. Reduce fuel consumption and gas emissions-
Take public transportation instead of driving. It’s also great if you can avoid flying because airplanes add significantly more carbon dioxide than buses and trains. If you’re going in a group, try to fit as many people into each vehicle. Carpooling is a splendid idea for travel.
3. Carry reusable items-
So you don’t have to buy new ones continuously. Carrying water bottles, especially in places where you get free drinking water is a good option. Plastic water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to break down, so cut down on your plastic bottles and save the environment.
4. Pick out accommodations that follow a go green policy-
Many tourism spots are eco-friendly and promote environmental preservation. We need to encourage such endeavors and give them a boost in business. Just be cautious that they aren’t making false environmental claims known as Greenwashing.
5. Enjoy your vacation but consider your use of facilities-
Keep appliances switched off while not in use. Reduce takeout food as much as you can, so you don’t add to more plastic and paper disposals. Use water sparingly by taking simple steps like not having your linens washed every day.
Following these simple rules can make travel easy on you and the Earth. Happy Vacationing!
By: ajax
About the Author:
Writing article is my hobby.
Take a “Staycation”
You say “What in the world is a Staycation?” Well, very simply it is a vacation where you stay home, you do all the fun things that you don’t have time to
do while you are working or going to school, AND you’ll have fun doing it right in your home or in your local area. Staycations are very eco-friendly because you are limiting your use of precious fuel by not traveling to a destination; your home is your destination. You will also see Eco-tips mentioned throughout this article.
Okay, are you ready to have fun! Here are the steps you need to take:
As with any “traditional” vacation, you need to plan and make some decisions before you “embark” on your trip. REMEMBER—The planning and anticipation of the trip is part of the fun.
PLANNING AND PREPARATION PHASE:
Coordinate calendars
1. Decide when you will all be available
2. Who you will invite (other than immediate family); don’t forget to ask Grandma, Grandpa or that favorite aunt to join you on your Staycation. Be sure to mention that this is a staycation and fun times only…no worries or problems discussed.
3. How long will your “trip” last?
4. Choose a trip coordinator to be responsible for ascertaining from the family what activities/ideas they would most like to see happen during the staycation and this person is responsible for setting the daily planned activities (see below). TIP: In our family Mom or Grandma is the coordinator.
Planned activities for each staycation day
5. Delve into interests of each staycation member and form activities around that interest…take turns with each member…this will also get everyone thinking about each other and sharing each others interests.
6. Play tourist and go to your Chamber of Commerce or Convention and Visitors Bureau. Pick up brochures, maps, or anything that will get you thinking about “short trips” in your area. You will be surprised at the places you didn’t know about, right in your own back yard. Don’t forget to go on-line and learn about your town, city, or state and see what you can see (It doesn’t hurt to slip in a few educational items; along with the fun…nobody will know the difference if you do it correctly).
7. Produce a planned activities calendar and post it in your staycation home (see below for Planned Activities Ideas). This will let every staycation member know what’s going to happen during the staycation. Remember no stress…if someone wants to suggest changes or has some other fun things to add to the schedule…that’s what you want to see…PARTICIPATION!
8. Plan downtime in the activities calendar. This is time when everyone can do their own thing; like hide it their rooms, go on-line, nap, or just plain do nothing. Every vacation needs a certain amount of downtime. TIP: Remember to schedule this time, but if someone is not feeling well, don’t stress just let them have a bit more time. They will come around when they feel they are missing out on some laughs. Also remember it is like a vacation, so get up late and stay up late.
9. Planned Activities are fun to create specifically geared toward your staycation members. Here are some ideas that have been successful:
a. Visit museums, aquariums, historical sites, or any places of interest in your area. Most of these places are free, fun, and educational. Don’t forget even libraries can be fun places to visit. No matter how small your town is you can ALWAYS find something to see that is interesting.
b. Visit any national parks, state parks, town parks or even school ball fields. Getting outside is the best way to have fun and be healthy at the same time. It’s a great place to have a picnic, play ball, swim, hike, walk, and fish or just plain read a book under a tree. Eco-tip: Remember to not pollute; whatever you take with you, bring home with you and dispose of probably.
c. Visit your own backyard. You can have a bunch of fun right in your own backyard. Have a cook-out, invite people over (remember to have every member of the staycation invite a friend), cook ‘smores, tell ghost stories, do star-gazing astronomy, arrange a scavenger hunt, run a drive-in (outdoor) movie (you can put blankets on the grass, bring your biggest TV/DVD outdoors, rent a family-friendly movie or pay-per-view event, serve popcorn and let the fun begin.
d. Plant a tree in your yard, have a dedication ceremony, invite the neighborhood (maybe they’ll get the idea and will want help the environment by planting their own tree). This is a big Eco-Tip!
e. Hold game night, every night. You can play cards, board games, build jigsaw puzzles, charades, interactive electronic games, movie night, scavenger hunts or you could go to a local arcade or movie theatre. This is one that you try to get everyone to participate in, the more the merrier. TIP: Some families do this kind of activity at least once a week; even when it isn’t a staycation.
f. Run a Talent Night, if your family is so inclined to be performers or possess any special talents. This is a great way to have a lot of laughs (Remember to laugh with someone not at someone, haha!).
g. Join an organization as a family and donate your time and effort to helping the “cause”. With this staycation article you are already well on your way to becoming environmentally eco-friendly so why not join the eco-friendly movement as a family by going to www.ecofriendlymovement.com you can join and learn all the ways your family can begin to SAVE THE PLANET. Another Big Eco-tip!
h. Get out the old family photos and remember the good times. Tell stories about people, events, remember people you have lost, remember the “good times”, somebody draw a big tree and start your family tree. Also remember to take plenty of candid and planned digital pictures of your current staycation. You are, after all making new memories.
You could also take this opportunity to do some scrapbooking, depending on the interest level from the staycation members; this could be a lot of fun. Some staycationers have even gone to cemeteries to trace genealogies, AND they had fun doing it.
Eco-tip: Remember save paper and take digital photos and create computer generated photo albums.
i. Do a Spa Day for the girls (or anyone who wants to join in).
You could go to a local spa or plan spa treatments for at home; like manicures, pedicures, or back rubs. Eco-tip: Remember you can make all natural organic products (see the free bonus books on the webpage www.ecofriendlymovement.com)
j. Do a Sports Day for the boys (or anyone who wants to join in). The boys could go to a driving range, batting cage, rent a sports DVD, etc.
k. Do some Arts & Crafts finish those projects you have had forever or just start new projects with the entire family. Even if you are not crafty try painting or even coloring, its fun.
Eco-tip: Use items you already have around the house…reuse items for crafts.
l. Take a walk, run, or jog family-style. Have an “adventure”, depending on the age of your children it is great fun to make-pretend on your adventure. Eco-tip: While you are walking pick up trash along the street!
10. Theme Staycations are loads of fun. You can plan for the entire length of your vacation as a theme or just a Theme Day. Here are some theme staycations that could fit into your plans:
Outdoor Adventure-Try this one whether your family has camped outside or not. It involves sleeping, cooking, and eating outside. This activity is great fun for all ages.
Tropical Island-You don’t even need to be near the beach. Dress in island wear; shorts, flowered Hawaiian shirts, flip-flops, drink tropical concoctions, and lay around reading books. Remember to make the food island appropriate-usually grilled.
Sports Theme-This can be themed with your local team colors, your favorite NFL, NBA, MLB, NASCAR, or whatever sport. You can dress for your team, decorate for your team, and have a tailgate party (even in your driveway). TIP: If you are into NASCAR, you can have matchbox races.
Food preparation menu
Develop meal and snack menus for each day of the vacation.
(Remember no dieting, splurge on foods that make your family happy, comfort foods are great). When it comes time to prepare the foods, it’s Mom’s vacation too, so all pitch-in to help, take turns cooking, and most of all prepare easy clean-up meals. Don’t forget grilling, grilling, grilling is fun and easy clean-up.
Make reservations at local restaurants. This is your chance to try out that local place down the street that you go by everyday and “just haven’t had time to stop to try out”. You can also do take out meals, anything that is fun and makes it an easy part of the staycation.
Make grocery list and food shop in advance of staycation. Except for some pick-up items like milk or bread, have all the food purchased well ahead of the start of your Staycation. Eco-tip: Bring reusable grocery shopping bags.
STAYCATION DATE ARRIVES:
#1 Have FUN, FUN, & MORE FUN with the family, tell jokes, laugh a lot, and be silly.
#2 Play music all day and create a fun atmosphere.
#3 Follow the planned activities calendar as closely as possible (but do no
stress over it).
#4 Take loads of digital pictures-candid and staged.
#5 Eat too much food and diet after the vacation.
#6 Send postcards, letter, or emails to friends telling them about how much fun you are having on your staycation (you may inspire them to go on Staycation). Always use recycled paper.
#7 Remember both during this Staycation and in your daily life to reuse, recycle, reduce, and to limit your footprint on the planet. Visit www.ecofriendlymovement.com so you can begin your eco-friendly quest like so many other families have done.
By: Carol Stone
About the Author:
Carol is a naturally breed Eco-ist. Her journey into Eco-friendly started as a child watching her father reuse,recycle,reduce his footprint on the planet, long before it was fashionable. She is the co-owner of a grassroots organization at Eco Friendly Movement
Eco-friendly invites: You can use recycled paper to print out invites. Make sure the paper hasn’t been through any bleaching process. Try using cotton or even hemp to create a unique invite. Soy based inks are good choices for printing purposes.
Your wedding dress: You could get a wedding gown made of organic silk, cotton, hemp etc. Try to avoid using materials manufactured out of acetate or polyester. These send out static electricity, consume a lot of energy and cause out-gassing as well.
Wedding ring material: Most people prefer gold as the metal of choice in their wedding ring. However, silver represents a better choice. A lot of unethical practices happen in gold mining. By not buying such rings you are showing your solidarity against such practices. Try to avoid using diamonds and use some other gemstone instead. However, if a diamond is a must make sure it is certified to ensure there are no blood-diamonds involved. You could also use a vintage, heirloom ring as you will be reusing it.
The wedding menu: Try using organic produce as much as possible when deciding the menu for your wedding day. Make sure no artificial flavors or sweeteners are being added. Use fair trade coffee varieties and use glassware which has been recycled. If you are having the wedding ceremony in a countryside setting getting organic produce can be tedious. So try getting produce from the local farms to have an au-naturale wedding!
Decorations: Avoid using floral foam. It is composed of phenol and formaldehyde which are poisonous to the environment. Use fresh flowers which are organically produced. Try not to use paraffin wax candles. Instead use beeswax or soy varieties as they are more eco-friendly. If these are too expensive for you then try opting for candles which are free of fragrances.
Wedding cake: You could try contacting an organic baker who specializes in creating organic wedding cakes. If you are the do-it-yourself type you could bake your own cake in the oven! Make sure you use only ingredients procured through fair trade means.
Wedding spot: The place chosen for your wedding can also make a difference to the environment. Try and encourage native suppliers to provide for your wedding. You could have a carpooling system to save on emissions. An antique and vintage touch could be added by traveling to the venue in a horse drawn carriage. Plus it saves on carbon dioxide emissions!
Your honeymoon: Try to select an eco-friendly spa or resort as your honeymoon venue. If you are on a tight budget then you could even travel to a locale near your house!
By: Scott Miscall
About the Author:
Modernecohomes.com, offers a wide range of eco-friendly furniture and certified organic products. To stay up to date with the latest eco-friendly news, please visit this great eco-friendly blog.
These are small, simple things that each of us can choose to do, but sometimes the move towards a more sustainable and eco friendly way of life is out of our control. It is time to convince the manufacturers and suppliers of everyday gadgets and gizmos that they too should be adopting a greener approach to their industry. This will give the consumer the power to choose to purchase from an ethically minded business, bolstering the correct attitude towards green consumerism.
Of course, some would say that we should be doing without certain products altogether if the thought of climate change is so worrying. The truth of the fact is it is difficult to change the attitudes of the masses by being puritanical. If the lads and lassies still want their gadgets, then let them play, but give them opportunity to buy eco friendly versions of energy hungry ‘toys’. Solar power, wind power, wind-up power and kinetic charging are all ways that everyday products we have can become Eco Friendly.
One of the more exciting products to have had a trial is the kinetic mobile phone charger developed by Orange. Through a contraption that has internal weights and pullies that is strapped to your arm, a charge is generated while you dance, walk or run. Initially tested on the grooving masses at Glastonbury, it is hoped that this technology will be a success and become available to the general public. Imagine never needing to find a plug for your charger again, and the possibilities of getting super fit because you need to make a phone call!
A favourite of festival goers, campers, and those who like to escape the confines of city life, wind-up radios and torches have been on the scene for many years now. The dynamo system was originally designed to power radios in South Africa, to enable poor communities to have access to radio even without access to batteries. This technology is also ideal for emergency situations where sources of power are not available; and for equipping places that are visited infrequently, such as holiday homes or log cabins.
When it comes to solar power, it’s shocking how long we’ve been living with the technology and probably barely noticed. The common calculator has been using the sun to charge its energy cells for years. The technology has progressed to the point where a company has manufactured a solar charger for laptop computers, compact enough to carry wherever you go just to make sure you never miss another email! Solar energy is also being used in garden trinkets, such as outdoor fairy lights and garden lanterns.
Harnessing the energy of the wind is generally considered for use on a large scale, along with tidal power. Of course, if thousands of units of energy are needed to power all the energy consumption of a house, a turbine is needed, but smaller options are available to power a gadget ******. Compact 24 volt wind generators are available to charge a leisure battery, the energy from which can be used just like the juice that comes from a household socket. The generators are incredibly popular on boats and caravans as a reliable and transportable source of energy; and there is no reason why harnessing renewable power shouldn’t be used in the home too.
By: Shaun Parker
About the Author:
Shaun Parker is a leading gadget expert with many years of experience in reporting on Eco friendly gadgets. Find out more about eco friendly gadgets at Pocket Lint, suppliers of solar, wind and energy saving gadgets.