Happy green St. Patrick's Day!

Today is St. Patrick's Day, which I guess is the greenest holiday of all, except maybe Earth Day and Arbor Day...

Did you know that even though in the U.S it's customary to wear green on St. Patrick's Day, in Ireland the color was long considered to be unlucky? I read on National Geographic an interesting explanation of Bridget Haggerty, author of The Traditional Irish Wedding and the Irish Culture and Customs Web site, who said that Irish folklore holds that green is the favorite color of the Good People (the proper name for faeries). They are likely to steal people, especially children, who wear too much of the color.

Well, this is just folklore (in any case check out for the Good People :-), but this is definitely a green day, and it can be even greener than just wearing green and drinking a pint of Guinness out of a green glass.

How exactly? it can definitely start with your beer, as Colin Dunn explains on Planet Green, but doesn't have to stop there, and can continue to the party, the food and even the (green) clothes you're wearing as our friends at Celebrate Green recommend on their blog. And don't forget to check out the great advice of green LA girl on how to celebrate in green.

Have a great and green celebration!
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Story of Stuff - now the audiobook! (and there's a giveaway)

Who doesn't know the Story of Stuff? More than 10 million people have seen so far this 20-minute animation of the consumerist society, narrated by Annie Leonard. But there's more!

Yes, Annie Leonard just released a new audiobook under the same name (or in it's full name: The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities, and Our Health- and a Vision for Change) and it's as eye-opening and mind-bothering as the film.

This new audiobook is documenting the journey. The journey of stuff. Unlike the journey of Jeff Garlin in 'My Footprint', this journey is not funny. Sometimes it's even sad when you understand what we're doing to ourselves and the planet we're living on. But the fact that the truth hurts is no excuse to avoid it and listening to Annie Leonard, revealing the facts about the way we produce, consume and through away stuff is a good way to start facing reality and of course changing it.

It wasn't easy sometimes to listen to the Story of Stuff. When you see it animated in the film, the animation helps you cope with the facts, but without the animation all you're left with is just the facts. Still, Annie Leonard makes a good job in keeping the story interesting, especially by combining her fascinating stories from her own experiences around the globe, which helps you to identify with her and better understand the issues she is talking about.

If you thought the film was interesting, I believe you will find this audiobook as interesting if not more. It's definitely a part of the journey of stuff you don't want to miss.

Here's a description of the new audiobook (from the publisher's website):

We have a problem with Stuff. With just 5 percent of the world’s population, we’re consuming 30 percent of the world’s resources and creating 30 percent of the world’s waste. If everyone consumed at U.S. rates, we would need three to five planets! This alarming fact drove Annie Leonard to create the Internet film sensation The Story of Stuff, which has been viewed over 10 million times. Now, in a landmark book in the tradition of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, Leonard tracks the life of the Stuff we use every day—how it is produced, distributed, and consumed, and where it goes when we throw it out.

Leonard’s message is startlingly clear: we have too much Stuff, and too much of it is toxic. Outlining the five stages of our consumption-driven economy—from extraction through production, distribution, consumption, and disposal—she vividly illuminates its frightening repercussions. Leonard reveals the true story behind our possessions, and how we, as consumers, are compromising our health, safety, and quality of life. Meanwhile, all this Stuff isn’t even making us happier!

The drive for a “growth at all costs” economy fuels a system in crisis, but Annie Leonard shows us that this is not the way things have to be. Expansive, galvanizing, and sobering yet optimistic, The Story of Stuff transforms how we think about our lives and our relationship to the planet.

Hear an excerpt from the audiobook:

And don't miss Annie Leonard's hilarious talk with Stephen Colbert:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
Annie Leonard
www.colbertnation.com
Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor Health Care reform

Disclosure: We received a copy of this audiobook from the publisher (Simon and Simon Audio).

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away a copy of this audiobook, courtesy of the publisher, Simon & Simon audio!

How you can win? Very simple. All you have to do is to retweet this post on twitter with the hashtag #storyofstuff at the end of your tweet. We will have a raffle on Friday, March 19, 5:00PM EST between all the readers that will retweet by then. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

Chemerical: An interview with the film's director, Andrew Nisker

Andrew Nisker is a talented film maker. Fortunately he uses his talent to make films on environmental issues, bringing to our attention some of the problems we tend to ignore.

His creative approach makes these materials more accessible and makes sure we give at least some attention to stuff we usually just don't pay attention to. In his last film 'Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home', it was all about garbage. His new film, Chemerical, is getting inside the house and looks into the chemicals we use and is an invitation to a parallel world, free of toxics.

Chemerical (or in its full name - Chemerical: Redefining Clean for a New Generation!) is challenging a part of our life that looks as natural as breathing or eating. We tend to see chemicals as part of modern life, progress and a tool that is a must to enable the quality of life we're used to. We rarely think about alternatives and why should we? we're assured that it's safe and that greener alternatives are more expensive and don't offer the same quality.

Well, Nisker's new film show us how wrong we are. Like with Garbage we have here a family challenge and a journey that begins with a lot of skepticism and ends with much more optimism and enthusiasm.

Here's the film's trailer:

I really enjoyed this film and I was hoping Nisker will agree to answer couple of questions about it (just like we did with Garbage) and he did.

Firstly, here's more about the film:

Filmmaker Andrew Nisker puts a new spin on the story of how we treat our planet in his latest film Chemerical. He asks a family to purge their home of everyday chemicals and adopt a chemical free lifestyle. Chemerical then takes the audience on an eye-opening journey through the lifecycle of everyday chemicals the family uses.

Chemerical digs deep to explore the consequences of living in a chemical laden nation by raising the following questions: What are the chemicals doing to us and the environment? Do we need the chemicals we use on a daily basis? What would happen if an average family kicked the chemical habit for three months? Would their health improve? What effect will living a chemical free lifestyle have on the environment?

Sparking awareness through an interesting and inspiring dialogue of an issue that affects the lives of everyone; Chemerical will seek to catalyze a change in behavior. Focusing on the lives and foibles of a family that subsists on a chemical dependent lifestyle, the film will relate and share their story as a basis for connecting the dots between our consumer choices and community environmental concerns.

And now to the interview with Andrew Nisker:

What made you focus your film on chemicals at home?

The inspiration for Chemerical came from research I did during the production of Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home. In that film, I had a family keep their waste for three months to connect the dots between the pollution we create at home and to show how their lifestyle affects the environment.

One of the areas we explored, for Garbage!, were the effects that cleaning products have on our water and the environment. Through that analysis we discovered that waste water and air quality in the family home are affected by cleaning and personal care products. I thought this subject alone was worthy of further examination and I came up with the idea to have another family rid their home of all toxic cleaners and personal care products and figure out how to live without them or make their own.”

What impact would you like this movie to have? What you will consider as a success?

I want all of us to start to question the products we use. Read labels and become more educated about things we "trust" just because we are familiar with the brand.

To have people connect our health and the status of environment with the way we clean our homes and bodies, would make a huge difference on the toxic load we are all facing. On our website www.chemicalnation.com, we encourage everyone who sees the film to let us know how many toxic products they have removed from their homes. Wouldn't it be amazing if that number grew into the millions and we could quantify the impact of the film that way.

Getting rid of toxins in our homes, schools and places we like to play is a very important step in creating a healthy society.

Your last film, Garbage! The Revolution Starts at Home, was on the challenge another urban family, the McDonalds, took on itself. Which family had a more difficult time - the McDonalds or the Goodes?

The Goodes. Garbage is something you can see piling up. It's tangible. Toxins, which bio accumulate in your tissues and organs are not only hard to measure for an average family, people generally believe they are harmless because they don't feel sick. That is the underlying problem with this issue, once you start to feel the effects of these toxins, it's often to late. Then all of sudden, your doctor will say, "now that you have Cancer, I think you should remove these toxic products from you home during your treatment".

Often, it's human nature to not react to anything unless it's a crisis. The Goodes, were slow going because they felt fine. That was until they got rid of eveything and realized how toxic they really were.

If chemicals are so bad for us and if the alternatives can be equally satisfying and even cheaper - how come we don't see more families getting rid of their toxic cleaners, personal care products and cosmetics?

Because they have not seen Chemerical yet! LOL.

Seriously, people generally do what they are sold. Until non toxic cleaners are marketed the way toxic cleaners are sold, it will be an uphill battle. The information is there, people just have to start asking questions. Like I said earlier, why would somebody even think to question their shampoo that they have been using for twenty years? I didn't and it was only until I made Garbage! that I started to ask questions about my lifestyle and the impact it was having on the my health and the environment. Using tools that you can find at the cosmeticsdatabase.com is great place to start.

(Nisker on the left with Alain Menard of the Green Beaver Co.)

In your film, the Goode family is focusing mainly on moving to creating their own cleaning products and even cosmetics - do you think that this option is more viable for families comparing with buying greener options like the Green Beaver products?

It depends on how much effort and time families want to spend on these issues. I think the hardest thing for most families will be to find replacements for their personal care products. Not because they are "hard to find", but because they feel different.

No matter what, changing the way we feel is often very hard to get used to when it comes to smelling different, feeling a different clean; it's all very personal. Either way, going toxic free means a whole host of choices when it comes to personal care but once you figure that out, you will never go back to the toxic stuff.

As for price point, what you save today you pay for tomorrow with higher health care costs. Why short change your health? Besides, making your own hair jell or toothpaste is much cheaper then buying it made in the store.

What's your take on big companies like Clorox that begin to market green lines of products such as GreenWorks?

I applaud them. They were the first big company to step up and say "hey, we need to start changing the way people clean". But we have to remember that these products are by no means perfect.

As Collin Dunn reported on Treehugger.com ..: " They say their alkyl polyglucoside comes from coconut oil and their ethanol and glycerine from corn oil; while that's better than using petroleum-derived alternatives, there are still major issues with rainforest habitat destruction relating to harvesting coconut oil and all sorts of issues with corn-based ethanol."

Last year, in a recession, the green cleaning products sector grew 35%. This is trend that isn't going away and companies that jump on the bandwangon, that have an enormous amount of shelf space in stores across the nation are leading the way in educating consumers about their choices more then I ever will. Although not perfect, atleast these products raise awareness and are good entry point for people to start green cleaning. Hopefully, the formula will keep improving and people will in process will discover a less toxic way to clean.

Do you think taking action on personal basis is enough when it comes to chemicals or we need more regulation to make a real change?

Regulation is paramount BUT why wait? Do something about it now and vote with your pocketbook. For the sake of your family's health, get rid of those toxins. Yes, if every family went toxic free we wouldn't have to wait for regulators. The factories who create these toxins would shut down and our overall health would improve. The revolution starts at home.

I guess you came to this film with prior knowledge about this issue. Still, what did you learn during the process the shocked you the most?

1) How easy it is to find non toxic alternatives to our toxic products.

2) The lack of regulations that protect consumers. This website is the perfect place to get more information about our fight for better regulations. http://www.ewg.org/home 3) The power of advertising. How we have been marketed "solutions" that create more problems. Using advertising in a positive way, we decided to package this film as the anti-brand.

We created the Chemerical brand, which is a combination of the words chemical, America, and miracle. We thought this film would be an opportunity for people to re-think the way they clean their homes, and it would be our opportunity to re-brand the way we all clean. After all, the way we clean and learn to clean has been shaped by how everything is marketed, which started in the 1940s. The creation of the soap opera brought an avalanche of cleaning ads into the home, targeted at housewives.

We have animations in the film, and what we’ve done is gone back to the old cartoon ads, that used to pitch cleaning products in the home, and we’ve given them a fresh look. We’ve created a new Chemerical family with a new pitch person, and we’re re-defining clean for a new generation through the film. These ads are a tongue-in-cheek ode to the way we clean.

What lessons from the film do you personally implement?

All. I avoid products that don't have ingredient labels on them for starters. I always choose non toxic alternatives when it comes to my personal care products, house cleaners and cosmetics my family uses. Most importantly I share what I have learned with others :)

What is going to be your next project (I have a feeling that it's going to be something with food..)?

Yes, you got it. Garbage! and Chemerical have focused mainly on how our everyday behaviors effect both our outdoor and indoor environments. Now it's time to focus on what we put in our bodies. There have been a tremendous amount of FOOD films made in the past few years, but I haven't seen anything like what I want to do. All I can say is if you liked Garbage! and Chemerical you will love the new film.

Thanks, Andrew!

You can read more about Chemerical at the film's website - http://www.chemicalnation.com/, where you can also order a copy online.

Yours,

Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting sustainable reading!

Green printing tip no. 37: What are the best paper calculators available online?

We are back today with a new tip on our weekly series of green printing tips, where we bring you information on green printing in collaboration with Greg Barber, an experienced eco-friendly printer.

Today Greg and I are presenting our recommendations on a great tool that any paper consumer should take a look at before making their next order of paper.

What are the best paper calculators available online?

Tip #37

Paper calculator is a very useful tool to help you quantify the benefits of using eco-friendly paper. There are some great online calculators that we would like to recommend on:

1. The EDF paper calculator
The Environmental Defense Fund's calculator is a very user-friendly calculator that "shows the environmental impacts of different papers across their full lifecycle."

You choose the type of the paper, quantity per year and % of post-consumer and receive in return the impacts of your choice in terms of wood use, net energy, greenhouse gases, wastewater and solid waste. What I like about this calculator is that it gives you the option to compare between several papers, so this way you can compare for example the differences of using 30%PCW and 100%PCW.

The Paper Calculator is based on research done by the Paper Task Force, a peer-reviewed study of the lifecycle environmental impacts of paper production and disposal, and the underlying data are updated regularly.This calculator got many good reviews as you can read on the testimonials page. Here's one of them: "The Paper Calculator is an intelligent, flexible and comprehensive tool which has helped Dell identify and quantify significant internal environmental savings opportunities and assisted the company's green focus."- Tod Arbogast, Director, Dell Sustainable Business

2. ECO Paper Calculator of Neenah Paper
This is also a very good calculator that gives you the option to learn about the environmental of your choices. Only here it shows you how much you save by choosing a certain % of PCW.

As Neenah explains at the bottom of the calculator page, the environmental impact estimates for savings pertaining to the use of post consumer recycled fiber share the same common reference data as the Environmental Defense Fund paper calculator v2.0 (which is based on research done by the Paper Task Force).

What I like about this calculator is that they try to make the data more relevant for the user by translating the figures into examples we can all relate to. For example,using 30% PCW for 2 lbs of paper will save 6 gallons of water, which equals to an eight minute shower. Using 100%PCW for 10 lbs of paper will save you 4 lbs of solid waste, which equals to the amount of trash thrown away by one person in one day.

3. Mohawk Environmental Calculator
Mohawk Fine Paper also have a very good calculator. It's very user-friendly. You fill in information about the number of lbs (or kg) of paper you want to use, the postconsumer recycled percentage, coated or not coated, do you want it to be made with wind power or not, and do you want it to be made carbon neutral. Afterwords you click on 'calculate savings' and get the savings in terms of trees, water, wastewater, solid waste, greenhouse gases and energy. Mohawk's data is also based on the research done by the Paper Task Force.

Mohawk's calculator doesn't let you compare two types or more of alternatives in one calculation like the EDF and Neenah do. On the other hand, the presentation here is much more graphic, it's easy to bookmark or email calculations, and you can even download the calculator to your computer (it's only 1MB)!

You can find the calculator on the bottom right side of the homepage (third line in the blue part, just below to 'Merchant Login').

You're welcome to check all of these calculators and choose the one that is the best fit for your paper needs. In any case, we hope you'll make a good use of them.

For additional information on eco-friendly paper options, please call Greg Barber at (973) 224-1132, or email greg@gregbarberco.com.

Also, if you have any questions you would like us to address in future tips please email us to info@ecolibris.net .

You can find links to all the tips we published so far on our green printing tips page, which is part of our green printing tools & resources.

You can also find further valuable information on Greg Barber Company's website - http://www.gregbarberco.com.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: promoting green printing!

Our green gift giveaway: free green books and gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim

Last month we started a new green gift campaign, where we give readers who balance out 25 books or more by planting trees great gifts that promote green reading! And these are really great gifts - from free green books to gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim, the Netflix for books.

So what's the idea? well, For over two years Eco-Libris has been offering eco-conscious readers the opportunity to balance out their books by planting trees. At the same time our company has worked to promote sustainable reading, and reduce books' impact on the environment. So now we're combining the two, with a special giveaway that rewards customers with green gifts that promote green reading, from gift cards for Strand Bookstore and BookSwim to free "green" books, which are printed on recycled or FSC-certified paper.

The campaign will run through 2010 and we hope it will help forward our efforts making reading more sustainable. With all the current hype around the iPad it's still important to remember that over 95% of all books sold are printed on paper and hence the ever-growing importance of making physical books more sustainable.

How you can get these gifts? check out our campaign's webpage at http://www.ecolibris.net/gifts.asp, where you will find all the information including the list of green books that are currently offered.

And don't forget to check out our funny promotional videos (part 1, part 2 and part 3)! are available now.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: Promoting sustainable reading!

A new memoir, Coming Clean by Sarah Dean, is going green with Eco-Libris!

We are happy to announce on a new collaboration with author Sarah Dean on her new book "Coming Clean: My Letter-Writing Journey".

625 trees will be planted with Eco-Libris for the first edition of this beautiful book, which is a collection of letters written for the sake of healing and growing from the past. It includes letters to people she has hurt, places she loves, and parts of herself. It is a courageous memoir, written with a commitment to extreme honesty. Moreover, the book is printed on FSC-certified paper with 30% PCW content.

Here's more about the book from the author's website: This is a book filled with personal letters I've written to people, events, and myself for the sake of "coming clean" with myself and healing and celebrating pieces from my past that have not felt complete. It is my answer to a "bucket list", what I want to take care of before I die.

We're happy to collaborate with Sarah, who is a writer, life coach, workshop leader, and certified wood product auditor. She writes and lives with a balance of extreme honesty, integrity, and compassion.

Book release party will take place at the Joy Center March 20, 2010 from 7-9:30. Open to public. Limited space. The author will read a few letters, show a story gem, and sell and sign books.

The book is now available on Sarah's website at http://sarah-dean.com/mymaps.php. You may pick up advance orders at this time. You may also fill out an advance order form for Your Letter-Writing Journey.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!

An interview with Fiona Robyn, an author with a new novel offered to read for free online!

Fiona Robin is not only a supporter of Eco-Libris, but also a gifted author who has released lately her latest novel, 'Thaw' with an offer you can't refuse: you can read it online for free!

This is definitely a bold move (although there's a growing evidence that such steps actually help to boost sales of printed titles), and we thought it's an opportunity to speak with Fiona about her books and her innovative marketing strategies. We also have a signed copy of the book we're giving away, so check the details at the end of the post.

Hello Fiona and congrats on your new novel. Can you tell us what it is about?

Thank you. ‘Thaw’ follows 32 year old microbiologist, Ruth, as she thinks about whether or not to carry on living. She gives herself three months to decide, and the novel is her journal over these three months.

What was your inspiration for this novel? for the characters?
My characters always appear ‘out of nowhere’, and it was the same with Ruth. As I got to know her, the story emerged. I knew she was a troubled character, and that she used photographs as a way of staying sane, and then I realised she would want to have her portrait painted, and so the Russian painter Red came into being…

This is the fifth novel you publish within only 3 years. How do you it?
I had a head start! I’d been writing for six years when I found my publisher, Snowbooks, and they wanted to publish all three of my novels. There will be more of a gap before the next!

\You decided to do something quite radical and enable readers to read it online for free - why?
It is radical. It’s an experiment, really – my hope is that some people will read it online and then want to buy my previous novels, or that some people will want to read to the end before waiting for it all to appear online. We’ll see if it helps or hinders my sales in the long run!

You're not just a fruitful and talented writer, but also an innovative marketer - can you share with us couple of the strategies you used so far to market your books? what do you find the most effective?
Thank you. I’ve always tried to find marketing strategies that will feel like fun, whether or not they help me to sell more books. I’ve always enjoyed writing my blogs, and I’ve had great fun on my virtual book tour and with the Thaw project. It’s difficult to know what is most effective, but it does seem to be a cumulative thing, and patience is essential. There is a very fine line between asking people to help and becoming annoying, and maybe it’s inevitable that you cross it with some people, so a thick skin is also helpful!

What do you find more challenging - writing a book or marketing it later on?
Both are very challenging, and both are great fun. It takes a very different kind of energy to write a book – a reflective, introspective kind of energy – whereas marketing is all about putting my energy out there. Both activities can be very tiring in different ways, and I need to have a recharge after finishing a book and after a marketing campaign.

Do you think social media is really working? Is it just a better way to communicate with your readers or also a marketing tool?
I do find new readers for my books on Facebook and Twitter, and so I think it does work as a marketing tool, but you have to be even more careful about putting people off – nobody wants adverts for books on their Facebook page all the time. I try to use these tools more as building a profile for myself, by writing about the things that interest me, and then hopefully if people like my writing style they’ll also check out my novels.

How many hours a day do you spend on facebook, twitter and other similar social media platforms?
Hmm, a good question! Maybe an hour or two (or sometimes three). I COULD spend an hour or less if I was focused and I didn’t end up going off on random tangents.

You are an ongoing supporter of Eco-Libris and I know the environmental issue is very important to you. Do you find similar awareness and concerns among readers?
I don’t think people tend to think about the environment when they’re reading a novel. Balancing out our paper consumption by paying for Eco-Libris to plant trees is such a brilliant idea – everyone should be doing it!

Finally, what is your next project and when we can expect your next novel?
My next novel, ‘The Most Beautiful Thing’, is on the horizon, and follows 14 year old Joe as he spends the summer in Amsterdam with his aunt Nel. I already have the NEXT novel queued up in my head, but I’m hoping to take a break yet. I’m looking forward to a quiet summer!

Thanks Fiona!

You can read more about 'Thaw' and the other novels written by Fiona Robyn on her websites - www.fionarobyn.com and www.plantingwords.com

GIVEAWAY ALERT!!

We're giving away a signed copy of Thaw, courtesy of the author, and of course a tree will be planted for the copy!

How you can win? Please add a comment below with an answer the following question: What do you think about enabling readers to read a book for free online? Will it benefit the authors eventually? Submissions are accepted until next Tuesday, March 16, 12PM EST. The winner will be announced the following day.

Yours,
Raz @ Eco-Libris

Eco-Libris: plant a tree for every book you read!