Charitable

Making a Difference in Chicago

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Day 361 – Chicago has its fair share of problems. Crime, unethical politicians and the current state of our sports teams, are just a few of the challenges that residents face. Thankfully, their are plenty of amazing and wonderful things happening in the city as well. In today’s post I wanted to share information on a few organizations that are making a positive influence on the people of Chicago and the planet as a whole.

Plant Chicago

“We equip people and businesses with the tools to live more sustainably through community-driven, hands-on programs and innovative research projects. We are now in the process of renovating an abandoned firehouse as a center for circular economy programming in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the southwest side of Chicago.” – Plant Chicago

CCRX

Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange is a nonprofit organization committed to the creative reuse and redistribution of surplus materials for arts, non-profit, education in the Chicago-area.

Community Glue Workshop

“Inspired the repair cafe movement in Amsterdam, Community Glue Workshop’s goals are to divert repairable items from the waste stream (or repurpose them if need be), encourage critical thinking, debunk the relentless myth that newer is better and foster community.” Community Glue Workshop

The Chicago Tool Library

“The Chicago Tool Library opened in fall of 2019. Located on the southwest side of Chicago, in the Bridgeport neighborhood, our non-profit lending library houses over 2,500 items that range from basic hand tools and table saws to ice cream makers and camping equipment. We are a forward-thinking organization hoping to help our city reshape its relationship to ownership, consumption, and creativity.” – The Tool Library

Chicago Green Theater Alliance

“The Chicago Green Theatre Alliance was founded in 2014 with a mission to encourage, educate, and motivate theatres and theatre professionals to work together to adopt more environmentally-friendly practices.” – Chicago Green Theater Alliance

The Chicago Green Theater routinely hosts events that help the environment. They host textile and e-waste recycling drives, along with helping the theater industry adopt more sustainable practices.

There are so many more people doing great things in your community. Make it point to seek them out and support them any way you can.

Tomorrow, inspiring the youth to make a difference.

B-Corporations: Best for the World

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Day 358 – I have written about B-Corporations throughout the year. These are businesses that put people and planet before profits. They have made a commitment to better their communities, ensure their employees work under the best conditions and that their product does not harm the planet and may even benefit it.

Every year the B Lab recognizes the top-performing B Corps creating the greatest impact through their businesses. The Best of the World highlights community, customers, environment, governance and workers.

Click on each category for a complete list of winners.

Best for the World: Community

Best for the World: Customers

Best for the World: Environment

Best for the World: Governance

Best for the World: Workers

Help support these amazing companies around the world that are making a difference in the world.

Tomorrow, choosing reducing over recycling.

Give Back Box

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Day 350 – If you have an empty box and things you no longer want and would like to donate, then Give Back Box is exactly what you need. This time of year we all have plenty of shipping boxes being delivered. Instead of breaking those boxes down and having them recycled, you can load them up with items to donate.

You can either download a free shipping label or pay $15 and choose a charity of your choice.

“The purpose of Give Back Box® is to provide an effortless and convenient method of donating your used household items. Give Back Box not only provides an easy way to be part of a truly good cause, it gives a secondary use to corrugated boxes and guarantees they will be recycled.. So this is an all-round CSR & Sustainability solution.” – Give Back Box

This holiday season give your cardboard boxes a new life and help others while you’re doing it.

Tomorrow, an interesting location for solar panels.

Consider a Donation this Holiday Season

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Day 336 – Finding the perfect gift during the holiday season can be a challenging task. Being able to help a worthy cause would make a great gift. Here are some amazing organizations in the world that will take your donation dollars and do the most good.

Here is a list of 10 organizations, along with their Charity Navigator rating and mission statement.

  1. The Conservation Fund (90.94/100) – The Conservation Fund, working with public, private and nonprofit partners, protects America’s legacy of land and water resources through land acquisition, sustainable community and economic development, and leadership training, emphasizing the integration of economic and environmental goals.
  2. Waterkeeper Alliance (92.61/100) – Waterkeeper Alliance holds polluters accountable. We’re the largest and fastest-growing nonprofit solely focused on clean water. We preserve and protect water by connecting and mobilizing more than 300 local Waterkeeper groups worldwide.
  3. Ocean Conservancy (94.13/100) – Ocean Conservancy is working with you to protect the ocean from today’s greatest global challenges. Together, we create science-based solutions for a healthy ocean and the wildlife and communities that depend on it.
  4. Amazon Conservation Association (95.14/100) – Our Mission is to unite science, innovation, and people to protect the western Amazon – the greatest wild forest on Earth.
  5. Wildlife Conservation Society (94.50/100) – WCS uses science to discover and understand the natural world. This knowledge helps us engage and inspire decision-makers, communities, and millions of supporters to take action with us to protect the wildlife and wild places we all care about.
  6. American Bird Conservancy (94.26/100) – American Bird Conservancy is dedicated to conserving wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas.
  7. Natural Resource Defense Council (96.11/100) – We combine the power of more than three million members and online activists with the expertise of some 700 scientists, lawyers, and policy advocates across the globe to ensure the rights of all people to the air, the water, and the wild.
  8. The Sierra Club Foundation (95.87/100) – The Sierra Club Foundation promotes climate solutions, conservation, and movement building through a powerful combination of strategic philanthropy and grassroots advocacy. The Foundation is the independent fiscal sponsor of Sierra Club’s charitable environmental programs.
  9. Environmental Defense Fund (86.78/100) – We take on climate change and other grave threats by identifying what’s most urgent and where we can make the most difference.
  10. National Park Conservation Association (85.62/100) – We’re protecting and enhancing America’s National Park System for present and future generations.

So many options to give a gift that helps the planet.

Tomorrow. ideas for upcycled gifts.

Sustainable Holiday Gift Guide

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Day 335 – You may be already done with your holiday shopping. Or you haven’t even started. Whatever the case may be, it’s always a great idea to purchase gifts that will help people and the environment. Not only will you feel good giving special gifts to family and friends, but you can feel good that your gift will have a positive impact on the planet.

Here are 15 ideas from posts that I have written this year.

  1. Day 21 – Blueland – eco-friendly cleaning products
  2. Day 152 – Eco-friendly Toys
  3. Day 164 – Sustainable Phone Cases
  4. Day 178 – Eco-friendly Sunglasses
  5. Day 193 – Clothing made from recycled plastic
  6. Day 199 – Zero Waste Makeup Brands
  7. Day 205 – Igloo EcoCoolers
  8. Day 237 – Eco-friendly Yoga Mats
  9. Day 240 – Looptworks – Upcycled gifts
  10. Day 257 – Lost Golf Balls – used and recycled golf balls
  11. Day 272 – Sustainable Pet Products
  12. Day 293 – Green Goo – Skin care derived from plants
  13. Day 300 – EcoSports – Eco-friendly sporting equipment
  14. Day 324 – Rumpl – Eco-friendly blankets
  15. Day 327 – MC Squares – reusable sticky notes

Other great options include:

  1. Earth Hero – variety of Earth-friendly gifts
  2. UNICEF Market
  3. Certified B Corporation gift guide
  4. Creative Chicago Reuse Exchange – gifts for the artists in your life
  5. 4Ocean – gifts that help clean the oceans
  6. Gift card to commercial composting service
  7. Climate Pledge Products on Amazon

One more list to help you out:

20 Awesome Holiday Gifts that Help the Planet

Tomorrow, giving a gift donation.

Blankets That Keep You Warm and Help the Planet

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Day 324 – With the cold weather upon us, it got me thinking about blankets. There is nothing better then a warm blanket to cozy up to during the winter months. I started looking for eco-friendly blankets. I found quite a few companies that offer organic cotton and even alpaca wool. When it comes to price these blankets were on the high end. As mentioned, I love a cozy blanket, but not for over $200.

As I continued looking, I came across Rumpl. Their mission is to introduce the world to better blankets. They also want to do that in a responsible and sustainable way.

“Looking to the future responsibly means thinking sustainably. This means that we prioritize scaling our business responsibly with the “long-haul” in mind, never too fast or recklessly. We seek ways to reduce our impact on the planet by incorporating recycled materials in our products and leveraging transportation options that reduce our carbon footprint. And finally, when possible, we leverage our voice and our influence as a platform for social good.” – Rumpl

Here’s how they’re doing it:

  1. Whenever possible they use post-consumer recycled materials in their products. Through that effort they will have up-cycled millions of discarded plastic bottles since Fall 2019.
  2. From bottle to blanket. They use discarded plastic bottles and recycle them into the synthetic insulation and polyester that make up their best-selling products.
  3. Their synthetic insulation is made from recycled plastic bottles, and their natural down feathers are sourced humanely and ethically.
  4. Rumpl has been a member of 1% For the Planet since 2017 and are Climate Neutral Certified, meaning they offset the carbon emissions of their entire company. In 2021, they officially became a Certified B Corporation.
  5. They also support a number of local and grass root organizations.

If you’re looking for a blanket that will make you feel good inside and out, than Rumpl is exactly what you’re looking for.

Tomorrow, celebrating World Fisheries Day.

Keeping the Toilet Bowl Clean

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Day 323 – Happy World Toilet Day! I thought it was the perfect day to talk about keeping your toilet bowl clean in an environmentally friendly way. On Day 21, I wrote about Blueland and their line of cleaning products. The people friendly ingredients are packaged in compostable bags. When the tablets are added to water in reusable bottles, various cleaning products are produced.

I was very excited when I heard Blueland added toilet bowl tablets to their product line. One tablet and a toilet brush and you have yourself a clean bowl. The Toilet Cleaner Set comes with a tin and 14 tablets. Refill tablets come in a compostable bag, so absolutely no waste.

Another great way to celebrate World Toilet Day is to help build toilets in countries where they are not available. Who Gives a Crap donates 50% of their profits to ensure everyone has access to clean water and a toilet within our lifetime. They offer toilet paper made from 100% recycled paper or bamboo. It is packaged in brightly colored paper, so there is no plastic to discard. We have been using Who Gives a Crap since January and LOVE this company so much!

The next time you are in the bathroom think about the 3.6 billion people living without access to safely managed sanitation. Poor sanitation contaminates drinking-water sources, rivers, beaches and food crops, spreading deadly diseases among the wider population. It’s a convenience we usually take for granted.

Tomorrow, eco-friendly blankets.

Madagascar Needs Our Help

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Day 308 – I am a big fan of World New Tonight with David Muir. I tune in everyday to watch. If I’m busy the DVR is ready to record the episode for later viewing. My family doesn’t quite understand why I watch. They believe it’s all bad news. Sadly, they are right. There is not too much good news being shared. Thankfully, the last segment is always a feel good story. Getting through all the negative news to hear the good news is well worth it.

At the beginning of the week David Muir shared a story about Madagascar. Unfortunately, this was not the last story of the show. It was not the feel good story, but just the opposite. The current conditions being experienced on the island of Madagascar are extremely dangerous and it is threatening the people, the wildlife and the land.

“Southern Madagascar is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, making the land here too arid to farm and leading to crop failure. For the past four years, the severe lack of rain has led to depleted food sources and dried-up rivers. Climate change has also led to sandstorms affecting these lands, covering formerly arable land and rendering it infertile. The situation has led to widespread malnutrition affecting more than 1 million people, and pockets of what the United Nations classifies “catastrophic” food insecurity signaling deepening hunger.” – World News Tonight

So, why should we care about Madagascar?

“Madagascar is one of the world’s highest priority countries for biodiversity conservation due to its exceptional species richness, high number of unique plant and animal species; and the magnitude of threats facing these ecologically, culturally, and economically valuable resources. There are more unique species of plants and animals living in Madagascar than on the entire African continent and more than eighty percent of its species can be found nowhere else on Earth. Because of this exceptional uniqueness of species, the loss of one hectare of forest in this country can have a larger effect on global biodiversity than forest loss anywhere else on Earth, making Madagascar arguably the highest biodiversity priority on the planet.” – USAID

Madagascar has produced 0.01 percent of the world’s annual carbon emissions in the last eight decades, but it is suffering some of the worst effects. The people of Madagascar are suffering due to the carelessness of so many other countries. If their story doesn’t convince the world that we need to start reversing the effects of climate change now, then we are destined to experience the same conditions.

Click here to help families in Madagascar.

Your donation will go a long way.

  • $7 provides a month of school meals for a child in need
  • $15 provides a month’s worth of lifesaving nutrition to small-scale farmers
  • $25 provides 50 mothers with nutritious meals$50 provides a child with a year of school meals
  • $75 feeds a family of 5 for one month, providing staples like rice, vegetable oil, sugar, salt, flour, beans, and lentils
  • $1,000 can feed a family of 5 for one year.

Tomorrow, a farm in a major league baseball park.

EcoSports: Eco-friendly sporting equipment

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Day 300 – In my search for environmentally friendly companies and the products they create, I found EcoSports. EcoSports offers basketballs, volleyballs, soccer balls and footballs that are biodegradable, recyclable and vegan.

  1. Eco Sports uses a material called TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). Products made from TPU can be recycled into primary chemical components which can then be used to create additional raw materials, including more TPU. In addition, products made with TPU are biodegradable and can be fully broken down in approximately three to five years. Another key advantage is that TPU is non-toxic, and when it biodegrades, it does not contribute to pH changes in soils or groundwater during the biodegrading process. 
  2. Eco Sports also only uses recyclable packaging for their products removing plastic wrapping from traditional packaging.
  3. Eco Sports is giving back by donating 10% of the profits immediately to plant trees across the nation on the consumers behalf. 

Tens of millions of sports balls are purchased every year and there is no other place other than the landfill when they reach end of life. EcoSports has created a product that can help stop that from happening.

Tomorrow, there’s a reason it’s called downcycling.

Green Goo: Skin Care Derived from Plants

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Day 293 – I came across Green Goo while researching environmentally friendly products. They seemed like a pretty cool company. They make hand sanitizers, skin care products, deodorant, soap, lotions, saves and even products for your pet. Green Goo has taken out the harmful chemicals and replaced them with organic, natural and safe ingredients. They are a women owned business, cruelty free, gluten free, made in the USA, and are a B-Corporation. They are one of those companies you can feel good about supporting.

Not only is Green Goo putting out a variety of good products they are also doing good in the world.

  1. They are proud to donate $.05 of all deodorant sales to The Keep A Breast Foundation, in support of their breast cancer education and awareness programs.
  2. They proudly donate 1% of the annual sales of our Belly Balm and Nursing Comfort salves to support the incredible efforts of Mercy in Action.
  3. In support of their partnership with 1% for the Planet, they are proud to donate 1% of the annual sales of their Animal First Aid salve to select animal charities and aid organizations.
  4. They are proud to donate 1% of the annual sales of their First Aid salves to PARSA (Physiotherapy and Rehabilitation Support for Afghanistan).
  5. They proudly donate 1% of the purchase price of their Foot Care salve to support the diligent work of the PCTA (Pacific Crest Trail Association).
  6. They are proud to donate 1% of the annual sales of their Baby Balm and Children’s First Aid salves to World Vision, in support of their Mother and Child Health Fund. Additionally, for every pair of sunglasses sold, Green Goo donates a pair to World Vision.

Green Goo is one of those companies that needs to be applauded, celebrated and supported. They put people and planet first.

Tomorrow, biodegradable gloves.