Method’s modern design packaging as well as green features are apparently different from conventional cleaners.

Recently, Method has added a line of very environmentally-friendly laundry detergent. So, let’s find out how green Method Laundry Detergent is!

- It requires 1/4th the dose of the leading national brand.
- The ingredients are 95% natural and renewable – biodegradable and non-toxic.
- The bottle uses over 36% less plastic and requires 33% less energy and oil to produce than widely available 2x detergent.
- 50% of the bottle comes from recycled plastics.
- It is Cradle to Cradle certified laundry detergent.

Method Laundry Detergent is h.e. (high-efficiency) and standard compatible. Find the nearest location to buy Method products and make sure to print a $2 off coupon before you go shopping!

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EcoWabi is now relocated to France. I went to a big supermarket, equivalent to Wal-Mart in the U.S., on the first weekend in France.

I was in aisles of daily items like shampoos, toothpastes, paper products, milks, cereals, cookies and etc. The surprising things were the prices (they seemed more expensive than Chicago) and the sizes of packaging (they were smaller). Smaller contents for higher prices… The first thing that came to my mind was that I have to be selective about what I buy from now on…

From this fact, I especially felt guilty about my daily habit of using toiletries in the U.S. I might have been using too much shampoo every night. I might have been using excess toilet papers at a time… And, I think I was using more than I need of everything…

Since this shopping trip, I took a look at my habit again and simply started to use less to save money (and it’s green!) for my future European life.

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EcoWabi offers a green wrapping workshop for this Christmas! It will take place in Lincoln Square in Chicago on Saturday December 12th. Seiko will demonstrate how to wrap your Christmas gifts greenly – and later you try it for yourself! Learn great tips on how to wrap boxes and make paper bags. The keys are to be creative and use minimum taping with the help of Origami technique!

Contact us for more details and how to sign up for the workshop. It’ll be fun and you’ll amaze how green wrapping can make a difference on your Christmas gifts this year!

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Halloween is coming up this Saturday. I hope you prepared for a greener Halloween this year? Here are some post-Halloween tips.

• Separate the Halloween decoration and party waste and recycle correctly.
• Recycle candy wrapping papers: is it paper or plastic?
• Keep the decorations that you can reuse next year. (I always wonder why stores are filled with the same/very similar Halloween decorations and costumes every year, and at the end of the season, all the products are gone. That means, consumers are buying the same stuff every year? Do we really have to buy them every year?)
• Donate, exchange with your friend or resell costumes next year.

Happy Halloween!

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The perfect weather for bicycling is ending, but that doesn’t mean accidents involving bicyclists are declining. According to the City of Chicago booklet, About 1,000 American bicyclists die in crashes each year. And around three-fourths die from head injuries. The fact is, most of these head injuries can be prevented with bike helmets!

So, do you know safety standards of bike helmets? Look on the inside of it. Do you see a green or blue Snell stickers or ASTM F1447 certification label? They indicate that the product is tested to protect the user from serious head injury while wearing the helmet by The Snell Foundation, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) or the U.S. Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC).

Expensive helmet doesn’t mean it’s safer. You are probably just paying for better ventilation, lighter weight and better-looking design. The tips of getting a safe helmet is to try it before buying it to see if it’s a good fit and have safety standard labels.

Check the CPSC website for helmet safety.

Extra: Bicycle helmets are made for one single severe impact only such as a fall onto the pavement. Even if there is no visible signs of damage, if you had an accident, you must replace it.

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It has been the biggest news of the day for Chicagoans. CTA is proposing a plan to increase the fare from $2.25 per ride to $3.00. If this plan goes through, Chicago will have the highest metro ticket, in addition to the nation’s highest sales tax, 10.25%.

I did some research on how much metro fares used to be in some major cities (I found a travel book from 1997.) This fare table is based on the shortest-ride basic subway fee.

With a 50% price increase since 1997, Chicago already has the highest fare. The bump to $3.00 per ride would be an additional 33% increase. For how long will Chicago riders be asked to compensate a fundamental funding deficit? How much will we end up paying to go to work in 10 years?

I’ve found this very interesting post comparing the US system with the European model: The Transport Politics: how to fix transit financing. It points out that beyond some differences in operating expenses, it is a stable revenue that allows a transport agency to establish a stable funding program (on both continents Fares and Taxes represent the primary revenue sources).

p.s. I personally haven’t ridden CTA for over a year except to go to the airport. I bike more and go out less…

Filed under: Transportation | 2 Comments →

Winter, the dry season is coming. Your body start to itch and your face gets stiff. You might be thinking about where you put the moisturizer from last year.

PAO (Period After Opening) symbol on skincare and cosmetic products identifies the useful lifetime after its package has been opened for the first time. The number on the symbol tells how many months the product should last after opening the seal.

Although PAO symbol is mandatory in Europe, it’s not in the United States. However, a lot of domestic brands use it, OR expiration dates are typed on the bottom of the products.

So, let’s check PAO before using last-year moisturizer and keep a healthy skin.

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EcoWabi is proud to launch a new green web design! What’s green about the website? As you can see, we chose to have a black background to save energy to display and tried to make each page as simple as possible for quicker loading time. We hope you like it!

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There are many elements to green cooking from checking your fridge before you go grocery shopping to avoid wasting food in the end to not rinsing the dishes before putting them in the dishwasher…

So, here are more tips on eco cooking!

Before Cooking

• Buy local food to eliminate CO2 emissions due to food travel.
• Plan each night’s meal in advance and have enough time to defrost.
• Plan to make extra amount of food to avoid cooking each meal.

While Cooking

• Choose the right size of burner for the pot or pan to cook.
• Cut potatoes into smaller pieces when you make mashed potatoes.
• Put a lid on a pan to speed up the cooking time and save energy – a perfect tip for pasta!
• Try not to open the oven door during cooking to avoid releasing heat.
• Boil only the water that you need to make a cup of tea or coffee.

About Your Refrigerator

• Cool down hot foods before putting them in the fridge.
• Cover food containers up. Liquid causes moisture to evaporate more quickly, which consumes more energy.
• Make sure that the refrigerator door is tightly closed.
• Fill up your freezer to keep its temperature down to save energy (I use empty milk packs)

For Dish Washing

• Scrape instead of using water to rinse dirty dishes.
• Air dry dishes instead of using dishwasher’s drying cycle.

More cooking tips? Click here!

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The government’s Car Allowance Rebate System (CARS) program has ended on August 24th. It took about 77,000 cars off the roads and owner got to replace them by more fuel efficient vehicles.

Having a greener car is a good first move, but reviewing your daily driving techniques will save more gas and money in the long run.

Driving

• Avoid aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and breaking) lowers your gas mileage by 33% at highway speeds and by 5% around town. (Source: FuelEconomy.gov)
• Remove unnecessary items in your car (especially heavy ones) and reduce your MPG by up to 2%! (Source: FuelEconomy.gov)
• Turn off the engine at drive-through! It is more fuel efficient to restart the engine than idling over 30 seconds.
• Close windows while driving.
• When possible, avoid streets with many stop signs and rush hour that require extra stop-and-go driving.
• Use overdrive gears to save gas and reduce engine wear.

More driving tips? Click here!

Walking
October is International Walk To School Month. Even if you are not a student or have no school age children, it is a good month to start a habit of taking your car less and walk to do an errand once a week. Adapt it to your situation to celebrate this great program!

Extra
Several factors can affect MPG significantly (e.g. how&where you drive and vehicle condition& maintenance), but Green Vehicle Guide is a good resource to decide which car is more fuel efficient for your next purchase.

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