the haystack needle

milk paint + milk painting classes

 

I'm so excited to share this post today — I feel like I'm calling to order a secret meeting about something mysterious yet super cool. There's definitely an aura of mystery surrounding milk paint. You may know the answer to the first question most ask: yes, the paint is made from milk. You may have seen Martha talk about old-fashioned milk paint on her show or read about it in the New York Times (check, check), but wondered how hard it would be to paint with milk paint and does it work as well as modern paint. (Turns out, it works even better.)

I spent my Monday at the Eli Rios studio — Eli is an expert on traditional paints and a well-known furniture conservator. My friend Chris (with Eli, below) works at Eli's antique furniture restoration studio, so I've been lucky enough to meet the man who restores furniture for everyone from Martha Stewart to Ralph Lauren. Eli kindly let me come down to his studio so I could ask him a sheet full of questions about milk paint, play with the paint, and see how the paint works. (Eli's been working with milk paint since 1987 — he knows his stuff.) All I can say is wow.

Think that just because milk paint isn't at your local Home Depot that it's harder to paint with, takes longer to dry, or is more expensive? Wrong. And I have a big scoop for those of you in the New York area. You can meet Eli too, and take a class to learn all about milk paint (even paint a piece of your furniture!) at his Astoria studio. (More details below!) Here's a primer on milk paint. Oh and for those of you new here, this post is a part of an April series I created called Green Swap. It took a bit more time to produce but I hope you enjoy.

What is milk paint?
It's truly the original paint. American Colonists made their own paint, using a formula of milk paint that dated back to Ancient Egypt. The old milk paint formula was re-created in the 1970s and sold to people restoring Colonial furniture. Since then, milk paint has peaked interest since it's both non-toxic and durable. Latex paint as we know it has only been around since the 1950s — think on that.

Is milk paint an eco-friendly paint?
Milk paint is as green as can be. You could eat milk paint (not recommended but it wouldn't kill you.) Milk paint pre-dates the use of petrochemicals, toxic bases, and solvents found in modern paint. It's biodegradable, safe to flush down your drain, non-toxic, and contains zero-VOCs. It's a fantastic option for painting a nursery + children's toys, too. The only ingredients in milk paint: milk protein, lime, clay, and earth pigments — then you add water. (The lime becomes totally inert when mixed with the slightly acid milk.) Milk paint doesn't smell like paint at all. There's a slightly milky scent when you apply milk paint, and it dries odorless. That's something I noticed when I walked in Eli's studio — it doesn't smell like a workshop where painting, gilding, and applying shellac goes on all day. That's because Eli and his team use milk paint and other non-toxic materials. Since milk paint is packaged in dry powder form, there are no paint cans or heavy gallons to truck around the country. Milk paint has the smallest carbon footprint of any paint on the market.

What can you paint with milk paint?
Your walls, your kitchen cabinets, your wood furniture — anything with a porous, water-based finish, including modern latex paint. You do need to know what you're painting though. Do not apply milk paint to anything with an oil-based paint, primer, or sealant (like polyurethane or lacquer.) You'd need to sand or strip that oil-based finish first and prime before applying milk paint. You can't paint metal with milk paint either.

Are milk paints only available in earthy colors?
Yes, that's true. Milk paint is made using earth pigments, so you can't get a purple or electric green. But you can mix any of the 16 historical colors to create different hues and colors. The colors in milk paint will not fade — milk paint is the longest-lasting known paint. And the colors are simply gorgeous. I'm partial to the Buttermilk color — I would love a kitchen someday with Buttermilk-painted cabinets.

What do you need to paint with milk paint?
+ milk paint powder
+ plastic container for mixing paint
+ dollar brushes for stirring and messing around (Eli says they're the best to use)
+ room temperature bottled or filtered water
+ paint brush or roller/paint tray
Then it's as easy as making chocolate milk. You don't even need to prime raw wood surfaces. Seriously, no primer! Don't use tap water to mix milk paint, since chlorine is in regular tap water. If you're painting a large surface (like a room), you'll need a larger container for mixing and a hand-mixer helps to perfectly mix your paint. Since milk paint is completely natural, it's safe to use your kitchen mixer with the paint — just wash like normal afterwards!

How do you measure + make milk paint?
You don't need to take out a scale or measuring cup — just eye amounts through your plastic container. That's the beauty of it — it does not need to be exact. Typically you'll be measuring out equal parts powder to water. It's that simple.

Does milk paint only have a matte finish?
Not true. Milk paint will produce an antique-looking matte finish. But you can create a semi-gloss finish if you use Clear Coat with the paint. You can also easily create a distressed, crackled look — without the chemicals — by running a hair dryer over a surface just painted with milk paint. (And it turns out looking authentic, unlike the synthetic crackle finish solutions you can buy at the hardware store.) And if you're worried about fingerprints and stains on your walls, you can seal milk paint with a Clear Coat sealer.

How quick does it dry?
I watched the milk paint dry within minutes! When milk paint is dry, you can see and feel that it's dry. Depending on the weather and space where you're painting, drying time can range from 10 minutes to under an hour. It's fast! Eli and Chris painted a board with three different colors in under an hour.

How much does milk paint cost?
Milk paint is actually cheaper than the better lines of low-VOC modern paint. A pint is $12 and a gallon is $36. You can buy milk paint online through Green Spirit Products. As usual, the U.S. is slow to adopt something great + green. European countries, like Holland, widely use milk paint. Eli sees a lot of furniture from Europe that's painted with their version of milk paint. Wherever there are cows, there's milk paint available. 

What's the cleanup involved with milk paint?
Since it's a powder paint, cleanup is easy. Mix up only as much paint as you need for your project. Milk paint powder will last indefinitely if you keep it sealed and dry in an airtight container. If you have any extra mixed paint, you can seal it in a container and store for a few weeks in the refrigerator. Clean out your brushes with water — super simple. 

PAINTING CLASSES

Eli Rios is now offering two classes about painting. If you're in the New York area, I highly recommend signing up — and fast as they're sure to fill up. Here are the details:

5/23 introductory class on milk paint: In this class, Eli teaches you the basics of working with milk paint. Runs from 9am - 1pm (with lunch break). Just $25, what a deal!

6/13 + 6/14 paint workshop: This two-day weekend workshop teaches you about milk paint and other traditional paints. You can bring your own piece of furniture to paint, and you'll walk away with a solid foundation on the best methods for painting. This is the class to take if you want to be a painting rockstar and create some of the amazing DIY projects that have been floating around the blogosphere. (I'll also be at this workshop, so come say hi!)
Cost: $275

Contact Eli's studio to sign up for either class. Hope to get to meet some of you in person! And if you're not in New York, don't fret. I'll be documenting the workshop and will report back — and I'll share what I wind up painting at Eli's class.

what's green swap? find out more here

organic dry cleaning — not so green after all

Ben Jervey debunked a big myth I had believed. I thought that organic dry cleaners are eco-friendly. Wrong. That's just one of many environmental choices he uncovers in his fantastic book, the Big Green Apple: Your Guide to Eco-Friendly Living in New York City. Turns out organic dry cleaners use a toxic chemical you want to stay away from, and the greenest option involves CO2. Go figure that organic = bad and CO2 = good! I make a weekly drop-off to our dry cleaners, so I was thrilled to find out what's green and what's not when it comes to dry cleaning. Here's my interview with Ben:

When you see a sign that says organic dry cleaning — what does that mean?
I think organic dry cleaning is often one of the great consumer greenwashing scams. It doesn’t mean everyone’s business is a scam. But in many cases it is. A dry cleaner can accurately label themselves as an organic dry cleaner when they use this chemical, one of the most dangerous carcinogenic chemicals, called perc. In chemical terms, perc is a volatile organic compound. A lot of people are getting their clothes dry cleaned thinking it’s a chemical-free process, bringing their clothes home in those plastic bags and putting their clothes in the closet.

What are greener options for dry cleaning your clothes?
Dry cleaning is a bad option. Wet cleaning is generally better. The best is a process called CO2 cleaning. It's carbon dioxide using liquid CO2 to clean clothes and it doesn’t involve chemicals. It’s not emitting CO2 into the air, either. Here in New York there’s one company doing it well: Green Apple Cleaners.

If the cleaning process is not specified, is it likely that the dry cleaner is using perc?
It’s pretty safe to assume then that the dry cleaner is perc-based. The EPA is looking into perc. We might not be terribly far from the time when perc is phased out of dry cleaning.

And here's more on dry cleaning from Ben's book:

While typical dry-cleaning practices are dangers for the environment as well as for workers and customers, there are eco-friendly alternatives. Dry cleaning itself requires detergents and a solvent— usually Perc, a known carcinogen— that prevent water from penetrating the threads but also release fumes...One alternative to this is "wet" cleaning. Wet cleaning is a relatively new process that is water- rather than chemical-based...Another cutting-edge alternative cleaning method uses liquid carbon dioxide, a mild detergent, and a highly pressurized tank. After the cleaning, the carbon dioxide is collected and reused.

Check out Green Apple Cleaners and Hangers Cleaners, which are green, pollution-free dry cleaners that use the CO2 cleaning process.

[thanks, Ben, for explaining this confusing topic!]

{top photograph by mezone} {green swap photograph by charlotte jenks lewis}
what's green swap? find out more here

green swap: organic cotton bedding

I used to think buying organic cotton bedding was simply an eco-luxe treat. I knew about the pesticides used with producing standard cotton, but I didn't think too much of it (especially because my wardrobe consists entirely of non-organic cotton pieces.) And as my mom would say, we've lived all these years without organic cotton and turned out fine. What I now know: buying organic cotton is more of a human rights issue. There's an ugly side to cotton, just like the human suffering connected with winter tomatoes that I discovered after talking to Slow Food's Josh Viertel. I had a nice long chat with Carrie, the designer behind Raksha Bella Organic bedding, and she shared an honest look at why she went the route of organic cotton for her lovely bedding line.

What helped compel you to go organic with your bedding line?
Vandana Shiva is the mother of eco-feminism. She’s the reason we buy organic cotton. She was the one that started stepping out and fighting against Bt cotton seeds. It’s about basic human rights. The movement that she generated helped support organic farming in India.

How do you define bedding that’s green?
The green word has been stretched. If it’s certified organic [GOTS], then it has my alignment. And you want to know where the cotton is grown and where it is from.

Does it cost more to make organic bedding?
Absolutely. It’s my number one problem. But it’s turning a corner. We’re at this edge where there’s going to be enough of a demand, and that’s going to help bring the costs down. When the big-box companies buy big minimums, costs will go down. When it goes to the masses, that will help the little guys because it’s generating awareness. The smaller organic bedding companies are not necessarily just putting out simple white plain sheets either — they can be more creative. Because we’re small enough, we can offer hand-blocked organic cotton that’s custom made. And my company employs women coming out of poverty. We bring it to the human level with sustainability — not just organic this, that, and the other, but how do we support the human system. The movement that we saw with Slow Food asked what about fair trade and what about workers. You want to look beyond the fabric to the cutting and sewing. Certified organic fabric is cut and sewn and printed through the GOTS certification.

When it comes to peaches, people choose organic to avoid the pesticides. Why splurge on organic sheets?
The chemicals used to finish commercial cotton are intense — they're harder on the environment but create a soft finish. You're sleeping with pesticides. Choosing organic cotton bedding means you're choosing to sleep on a sounder investment. Many people working cotton fields develop cancer — the production of cotton affects workers and water systems. Our cotton is organic from field to barrel. That means that through the process of harvesting and milling cotton, everyone’s paid a fair wage. Our bedding is made in India.

What’s greener, organic cotton or bamboo?
The process of creating bamboo and softening it into fibers takes a lot of energy. I just know that it takes a lot more energy and takes a lot more solvents so there's a larger carbon footprint. I have not seen certified organic bamboo processing.

A special thanks to Carrie for talking organic cotton with me. Be sure to check out the Raksha Bella Organic bedding line. It's organic cotton bedding you can feel good about — and the patterns are gorgeous to boot.

And here a few other organic cotton bedding lines that I love.

Les Indiennes
Plover Organic
Rubie Green

{top photographs courtesy of raksha bella organic}
{green swap photograph by charlotte jenks lewis}
what's green swap? find out more here

green swap q + a: author helen coronato

I'm bringing you the last Green Swap q + a for the series (see below) — and I'm ending on a high note. Helen Coronato is the author of the book, Eco-Friendly Families, which is full of tips + ideas for manageable, real ways you can go greener in your everyday life. I wanted to close the series with Helen because her book acts as an incredible guide to raising a family with green values. And in the end, I feel that's a major proactive way we can all change the world for the better — teaching kids early on to be conscious of the environment and everyday green actions.

1. three simple ways you've gone greener in your life
+ consolidate days of the week into "errands day", "cleaning day", "fun outing day" so when we are out we get all chores done and when we are home, we make better use of the time there. Making lists — and checking them twice — has been great for this!
+ We always fill our water canteens before we leave the house (me and 2 young boys) so we don't have to buy bottled water on the go.
+ We opted for sweatshirts and extra blankets on the bed this winter instead of turning up the heat.

2. last green purchase
Organic apples. Apples are one of the most highly treated fruits and my kids love them! Even though families are cutting back on expenses at the grocery store, I recommend, and do, always buy organic apples.

{photograph by methyl lives}

3. one green initiative you'd like to see enacted in your community
The local farmers market will open in June, and I would love to see even more families coming out to buy local fruits, vegetables, meat, flowers and artisan crafts. These markets are such a great place to put a "face to the food", support local economy, cut down on packaging, travel, etc. I love our market!

4. best green gift you've given, received, or coveted
I hope the best green gift I've given is my book Eco-Friendly Families — it was the book I was looking for. How to go green without going crazy :) AND make it fun and functional for the kids! Best green gifts I receive and covet? Enjoying simple pleasures with my family and friends like potlucks, park days and bedtime stories. Going green is more than a product, it's a lifestyle. And when I'm with the most important people, enjoying my community, I am living that lifestyle.

5. hardest habit to break to be more eco-friendly
Remembering my refillable coffee cup. I've got the bags and water canteen down — but I do forget my mug. It might be time to invest in another one and stop using throwaway cups once and for all!

6. three ways you want to be greener this year
+ coffee cup (see above)
+ live by the motto "I want everything in my house to be useful and beautiful". Clutter makes my skin crawl. Time to donate, reuse and recycle.
+ Eat in season and avoid processed foods. Good health and a good green diet go hand in hand!

A big thanks to Helen for being a part of Green Swap!

[I have a couple more Green Swap posts that will go up this week, but this is the last Green Swap q+a as I'm wrapping the Green Swap series this week as a regular feature. I'll post the occasional Green Swap q+a when I stumble upon someone who I'd love to share here. Thanks to everyone who's been involved with Green Swap — I've learned so much from all of you!]

{green swap photograph by charlotte jenks lewis}

Thursday's q+a: Lauren Yarmuth
what's green swap? find out more here

green swap: greening your home

Lauren Yarmuth shared some amazing tips with me all about building a more sustainable home. I'm filing this post under must-read whenever Dan and I own a home someday.

{photograph via apartment therapy}

What should you consider if you want to green your home?
I think the main consideration is to make sure you have a contractor or architect who is behind you with your green goal or green initiative. So much of it comes down to the little details that they’re doing behind the scenes. Make it clear what your goals are. The best way to find a local contractor is to talk to local green building organizations and see if they have a local listing. It varies by location. The U.S. Green Building Council has a directory.

Your common goal may be energy efficiency or it could be the toxicity of your home and that's linked to air quality. Another green goal is using materials that are environmentally preferable within the eco system. I think that some of these green goals actually contradict one another. You may focus on air quality and that may compromise energy efficiency. If your goal is centered around air quality, you may look to add really good air filters, which tend to be thicker and use more energy. So that counters energy goals but is great for good air. It's a bit complicated. You'll have more success if you focus on meeting your main goal.

With kitchen cabinets, think about the wood that you’re using. Is it sustainably harvested? Most composite woods are made with a binder or glue [urea-formaldehyde] that is very toxic. To avoid that, you have to specify it and ask for nontoxic wood products. Those formaldehydes are carcinogenic. Think about resource depletion — look for wood from a sustainable forest. Countertops are a big one. Marble comes with two issues, mining practices and the transportation of shipping big heavy products. With bathrooms, showers tend to be where we use most of our water. There are choices we can make to use less water and be smarter about water usage. [remember Michelle Kaufmann's q + a explaining grey water systems?]

 
{photograph via habitually chic}

With flooring and furniture, what are the benefits of choosing reclaimed + recycled wood?
To the extent that we can reuse materials makes an enormous difference. It avoids having to harvest those materials and you’re more likely to not have off-gassing. It also is a really good education. Reclaimed products tell a great story. Reusing products is one of the best things you can do. When you install flooring, think if someone else can take that flooring apart and use that product again. You can design for reuse of materials by not using glues or nailing things down so you can pick it up later.

How can you find out if a piece of furniture is an off-gasser?
Look at any certifications for furniture with harvesting and forestry. FSC is a rigorous certification. GreenGuard certification is valuable to indicate that the furniture is not off-gassing. Other environmental stuff to ask: where are the materials coming from and where is the furniture assembled? Understand what it’s made out of. There's a new term: cradle to cradle.

 
{photograph via apartment therapy}

If you're interested in turning a piece of reclaimed wood into a desk/table or using reclaimed wood as a gorgeous new floor, how can you find a local source?
Search salvage yards. Check out Green Depot and Build it Green. Next step is call them and ask them where the reclaimed wood is coming from to make sure it’s not greenwashing. I just did a comparison, reclaimed wood versus new wood floor for our apartment. They came out about the same. Sometimes it will save you money — it goes both ways.

When Dan moved in with me, I adopted a nice wool rug. In our small Brooklyn space, it quickly became apparent that it smelled like burning rubber. I did some research, found out the rug was off-gassing, and we ditched the rug. Is there a way of knowing whether a carpet will be an off-gasser?
The Carpet and Rug Institute have a program called the Green Label and that looks at off-gassing of carpets. That’s a really good certification. Mohawk, Shaw, and FLOR are good companies for greener carpets.

If your kitchen cabinets need a makeover, what are green options?
Reface the cabinets. I kept the cabinet boxes of my cabinets, but I replaced the doors and added new fronts. It was a pretty low cost way to get what I wanted. Think about the woods and the paints and where the wood’s coming from. Check out salvage yards — you can donate your old cabinets and pick up new ones. We used Benjamin Moore Natura. There's no reason to use high VOC paints. Low-VOC paint works great.

What are the greenest routes if you're going to replace your kitchen countertops?
Concrete and PaperStone and recycled glass are good alternatives. Even steel, which can be recycled. If you have an existing counter, stone can be reused or ground down for concrete products. That's true of a lot of things. You can take an old toilet and have it ground down in concrete core, which is a great way to recycle materials. 

A huge thank you to Lauren for answering my questions about greening the home! If you have any questions of your own about green home building products, feel free to leave a question in the comments field, and I'll pass it on to Lauren for an answer.

{green swap photograph by charlotte jenks lewis}
what's green swap? find out more here

eco-friendly stationery: part 2 (+ special sale!)

Happy Friday! I can't wait for the weekend. Here's the second half of my look at eco stationery (and running a green paper business) with Green Swapper Vivian of 9SpotMonk. 

How did you start your stationery line down a green path?
I wanted to do it right and wanted to find out what I could do. First thing we did was purchase windpower credits. We switched papers so we’re only using papers made in the U.S., and the paper is either 100 percent recycled or 100 percent cotton. Our ideal paper is 100 percent recycled or 100 percent PCW (post consumer waste.) I do research into the companies that we’re working with. It was hard to reconcile the cost but we were on the mission to switch our papers. We went ahead and ordered recycled paper and ate the cost of it. You can’t necessarily up the wholesale cost. We try to cut costs with the least amount of waste. Sometimes we’ll create a line based off the waste of another product line. We donate a bunch of our scrap paper to the local Girl Scouts and offcuts to my daughter’s preschool so we know it’s used again. Even a 2x3 piece of paper gets saved for something! We have stacks and stacks of offcuts waiting to be used.

Any suggestions for how people can make better use of paper?
Try to find paper that has some recycled content even if it's not all recycled. Cost is always an issue. Your pocketbook says one thing and your conscience says another, so buy what you can that works for you. Try to use paper smartly and reuse it in any way. Use the backside if you’re using it with printer. I wish people would consciously think of reusing paper.

Does selling eco-friendly goods help you as a small business?
It absolutely does because more and more consumers are becoming educated about the environment. It’s increased our sales, because people who buy are buying smarter. Our pricepoints are pretty good, too. We’ve been told that when the choice is whether to buy a $3 recycled card or $3 non-recycled card, people want to go for the recycled card. It’s great for business to be able to offer green goods. You can sleep well at night and you can make a bit of money.

And out of curiosity, what's been one of your favorite custom jobs?
A few months ago we did a prom invitation for a local high school. They’re kids in high school, and they came in really wanting something environmentally correct. I was amazed about that. It was nice to be working with these kids who cared.

I included peeks (above) at my favorite 9SpotMonk green papergoods: 

+ recycled greeting from 9SpotMonk's recession line (love this collection! so many fun sayings, but this one in particular is spot on Jen)
+ recycled paper placemats for the kids to draw at the table (also comes in "space travel")
+ letterpress recycled notebooks with super cute animal illustrations
+ mini recycled notebooks for every kind of list

Special thanks to Vivian for sharing more about her green paper line! Vivian is offering a 25% discount on all 9SpotMonk orders. The code at check out will be "HAYSTACK". They also offer free shipping when you order $50+. The sale be valid until June 1, 2009.

{green swap photograph by charlotte jenks lewis}
what's green swap? find out more here

eco-friendly stationery: part 1

You may remember my past Green Swap q + a with designer Amy of Smock paper. I also got to talk to Debbie Urbanski, owner of Smock, about greener alternatives in stationery. Smock, as you may know, is a pioneer in creating lovely bamboo stationery, including custom wedding invitations. Here's part one of a feature about eco options in stationery: Debbie of Smock on going green in the paper world.

Did you start Smock with being green built into the business structure?
Yes! Smock is a relatively new company (it launched in May 2008 at the National Stationery Show) and our goal with Smock was to create an inspired letterpress stationery/invitation line that was both beautiful and green. And we wanted the “green” in Smock to go deeper than simply using eco papers and eco inks.

Why was being green important to you?
My business partner/husband and I are great lovers of the outdoors and we’ve always dreamed of using our small business to do more than making pretty things – we want to use our business to do good as well. We’re inspired by companies like Patagonia, who have a strong sense of ethics and also happen to create top-notch products. During our hiking adventures, we’ve seen first hand the devastation that clear cutting can do to an environment. We would hate to look back 10 years from now and think that we contributed to the environmental problems that the world will surely be facing. There’s a wonderful book called Stirring It Up: How to Make Money and Save the World by Stoneyfield Farm founder Gary Hirshberg. Hirshberg argues that, for the green movement to work, and for the world to get better, businesses – both large and small – are going to need to be involved. Consumers can’t change the world by themselves. We totally agree.

We’ve found a lot of fabulous books out there – essential reading for any business owner, large or small, who wants their business to make a difference. Our favorite book is Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman. The Green Marketing Manifesto is a must-read as well. We’ve also found great support and green business ideas from organizations that we are involved with, like 1% for the Planet and Green America. My husband Harold did spend a lot of time researching paper options before we launched Smock – he talked with numerous paper mills and suppliers before we decided bamboo was the greenest, and the most luxurious, we can go (we helped develop the bamboo paper that we use.)

What are options available for eco papergoods?
Thankfully the quality of eco options for paper has been increasing lately – we’re paper snobs and our favorite papers (like the bamboo) have to measure up in quality to conventional, non-eco papers. Bamboo is our favorite option of course – soft, luxurious, eco. 100% post consumer recycled paper is also great for more everyday uses (our office paper in our laser printer, for instance, is 100% post consumer recycled paper). We make our gift wrap from 100% post consumer recycled paper too. I have to say I’m fascinated by the Elephant Poo Poo paper as well.

Do you think using green practices benefits you as a business?
The state of the Earth has become difficult to ignore, and I think customers want to cause the least amount of harm with their purchases. You don’t want to trash the planet during your joyous and beautiful wedding, for instance, or send a birthday card to a loved one made from virgin tree pulp. So using green practices has helped us connect with customers. Certain green practices (like reusing inbound cardboard boxes, keeping computers powered down at night, etc.) helps keep operation costs down as well.

What's one of your favorite custom jobs that you've done?
I love this save the date we did:

I love the slightly daring, full of energy raspberry ink, and the use of calligraphy highlights (it’s a font that Smock had created just for us, based on our favorite calligrapher’s handwriting) is just perfect as well. I think it’s sophisticated, energized, stylish, full of warmth, and gorgeous – which is how I’d describe my favorite letterpress designs.

How can people be more mindful with their use of paper?
My philosophy is to get rid of the mail you don’t want, and make way for the mail/paper that you do want. I think there is a place for keepsakes, heirlooms, and handwritten notes, even in a green lifestyle. We signed up for 41 Pounds — a nonprofit that gets you off of mailing lists for a small subscription fee – and aggressively make sure we’re kept off of print catalog lists. We think twice about subscribing to print magazines and read the newspaper online. That said, I still treasure receiving beautifully printed invitations and handwritten letters and notes (ideally on eco papers of course). Don’t forget other household paper usage – napkins (go cloth); paper towels (go real towels); toilet paper (go 100% recycled, honestly it works just fine!) 

Your stationery line uses bamboo paper. How is bamboo transformed into paper?
Although bamboo is a grass, it's pulped just like any other wood based paper. This process extracts the cellulose from the bamboo to make paper on traditional papermaking equipment. The advantage to bamboo is how it’s grown: without pesticides or irrigation, and much more quickly than tree fibers. It’s also not extracted from the wild, but from family-run bamboo plantations in Thailand. Bamboo has been used in the past for various commercial grade papers, but nothing nice enough to print wedding invitations.

A big thank you to Debbie for these thoughtful ideas! Part two on eco-friendly paper will be with Vivian of 9SpotMonk.

{photography courtesy of smock}
{green swap photograph by charlotte jenks lewis}
what's green swap? find out more here