shirts—are widely available on sites like
Etsy.com.
Sheets, pillows and mattresses all
come in organic varieties, too. More,
they are often superior in quality and
durability to their cheaper conventional
counterparts.
Contact: Environmental Justice Foun-
dation, EJFoundation.org; Etsy.com;
Patagonia, Patagonia.com.
Cleaner Lawns and Gardens
According to a fact sheet from the
Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, sales
of organic lawn and garden products
increased by 64 percent between 2002
and 2006 and continue to grow. It’s no
secret that Americans are enthusiastic
about their perfectly manicured, green
lawns, but they’re also increasingly
aware of the environmental impacts.
Some are rethinking lawns altogether,
switching to native ground cover and
other plants as an alternative.
Lawn maintenance equipment is
a major environmental problem with
grass. A traditional gas-powered mower,
notes the Environmental Protection
Agency, produces as much air pollution
as 43 new cars, each driven 12,000
miles; 54 million Americans mow their
lawns each weekend. One alternative
is the electric mower, which produces
no exhaust, requires little maintenance
and is much quieter and lighter than its
gas-guzzling cousin. Models from Black
& Decker, Neuton, Sunlawn and other
companies come in corded and cord-
less varieties, with charges that can last
up to an hour.
Even more problematic, a study
by Purdue University confirms that 30
to 60 percent of all urban freshwater
is used for watering lawns, which also
entails 67 million pounds of pesti-
cides that end up contaminating water
systems as runoff. Native plants, on the
other hand, require nothing but rainfall
to thrive.
Also, more people are turning to
rain barrels. Placed under a home’s
downspout, these can hold up to 100
gallons and have a spigot for attach-
ing a hose. An added benefit of using
rainwater is that plants prefer it.
Contact: Clean Air Gardening,
CleanAirGardening.com.
October 2009 21
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