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Aveda’s Full Circle Recycling Program

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I’m really getting into the green movement lately and when I found that Aveda one of my favorite brands is initiating such a profound recycling program I had to share it with you guys. If you like and use Aveda like I do check out how they are recycling and how you can join in the Full Circle Recycling Process.

The Full Circle recycling program is the latest step in the brand’s environmental commitment, seeking to take responsibility for all Aveda packaging in the U.S. Aveda continues to be mindful of its environmental footprint and paves the way in environmental leadership by:

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· Minimizing packaging, maximizing the use of post-consumer recycled materials, using materials that can be and are recyclable and by designing packaging so that the individual parts can be separated for recycling.

· Building on the success of the Aveda Caps Program. In 2008, Aveda created the first bottle cap collection program of its kind in the continental U.S., helping to eliminate this type of plastic from landfills and waterways, and educate recyclers and municipalities about the need to accept #5 plastics at curbside—collecting more than 115 million plastic bottle caps. Newly molded 85% post consumer recycled content caps are now included on Aveda products such as Full Spectrum™ Hair Color and retail sample tubes due to the success of the Aveda Caps Program.

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FULL CIRCLE RECYCLING PROCESS:

1. Check with your local recycler to determine what types of materials are accepted via curbside service. Municipal recycling programs vary on the types of items accepted in community programs.

2. Any Aveda packaging not accepted curbside, such as caps, makeup brushes, and various bottles, jars, tubes and pumps, can be brought into any Aveda Experience Center retail store in the United States and placed in the Full Circle recycling bin. Visit Aveda com/locator to find the Aveda Experience Center retail location nearest you.

3. Once full, the Full Circle recycling collection bin will be sent to Aveda’s recycling partner g2 revolution in Findlay, OH where items will be sorted by material category. And, g2 revolution ships all packages under UPS’ Carbon Neutral Program. Based upon the total volume of packages shipped, g2 revolution pays UPS to purchase certified vintage carbon offsets to balance out the emissions produced by the transportation of the shipments.

4. All materials will be recycled, reused or burned for energy recovery—with the intention of utilizing collected material to create new Aveda packaging or accessories.

AVEDA EXPERIENCE CENTERS ARE LOCATED IN:

AL, AZ, CA, CO, CT, DE, FL, GA, IL, IN, KY, MA, MD, MI, MN, MO, NC, NJ, NV, NY, OH, OK, OR, PA, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA and WI.

Green Tip: Staying Warm while Stopping Global Warming CleanFlame Firelog

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By Summer:

clip_image002Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful. Okay compared to what we’ve had this winter the weather really isn’t currently frightful, but I do appreciate a cozy, warm fire to cuddle up to with my husband … ok let’s be realistic, we’re watching a movie and both working on our computers. But it is a nice start to the evening to be ultra-clean while burning a 100% recycled CleanFlame firelog.

Here’s the deal, I was a skeptic about CleanFlame’s green claims. I had to do my research to find out why these logs were claiming to be environmental. Well, CleanFlame proved themselves to me!

CleanFlame is made from 100% recycled waxed corrugated boxes which aren’t readily recyclable. However, these boxes are vital to our vast produce delivery as these boxes are used for transportation as they are water-tight, high-quality, FDA-approved food-grade, waxed-box containers. (Tongue-tied? Read it again! I’m not trying to trick you but be honest about the true environmental nature of these firelogs.) Though these wax boxes are great for produce they’re not great for the environment as the wax would just sit in a landfill for up to 50 years waiting to decompose.

CleanFlame uses a special system called CleanCycleTM  since wax boxes can’t go through the regular recycling procedure and could actually contaminate the whole process of recycling a batch of plain cardboard. There have been attempts to chemically strip the wax off those boxes but as you can imagine how polluting this is. Though wood is a renewable resource these waxy boxes need to be recycled as over 95% have been going into landfills, about 1.5 MILLION EACH DAY. So in doing this recycling, ClearFlame not only makes clean firelogs and firestarters but they save over 100,000 trees each year. Win-win!

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In addition to all this green construction procedures, ClearFlame does NOT use palm oil from plantations in Indonesia, Malaysia and Papua New Guinea to make their logs as they have been linked to human rights abuse, rainforest destruction, and polluting which threatens highly endangered species including the Sumatran tiger, Sumatran elephants and the Orangutan. (In fact other companies are taking notice of these palm oil plantations too; Whole Foods Market will not be selling products with palm oil starting in 2012 without third-party certification that the oil has been sustainably harvested.)

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I was so impressed by what I found about CleanFlame. Not just in their manufacturing procedures but CleanFlame is also green enough for cooking and heating. CleanFlame logs are safe enough to cook over as they do not incorporate the toxins found in other brands. The FDA-approved wax boxes they use burn at a high-BTU (British Thermal Unit) that is hot and clean with very mild, candle-like smoke. In an independent test conducted by Omni Consulting Services, Inc. they confirm CleanFlame logs, “burn cleaner and yield greater flame optics and heat per pound than either firewood or other manufactured firelogs.” Due to CleanFlame’s log composition it is even safe to burn more than one log at a time.

For all this green talk, let me share some more green news — you’ll be saving green … YES CASH! Believe it or not CleanFlame is cheaper than other firelog brands. CleanFlame gets their recycling raw materials for a reduced rate and pass that savings onto YOU! You can find Clean Flame retailers on their site; for more information you can also check them out on Twitter @CleanFlame.

So cuddle up or make your s’mores with your CleanFlame blazing!

 

Summer received samples from CleanFlame in order to create this review. All opinions are her own.

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.

Roundabouts: The Fun Way to Have a Cupcake! Giveaway

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By Summer:

I love to bake. Love, Love, Love! I’ve been baking since I was in 8th grade or so; I still remember the rainy day that I found one of my mom’s church cookbooks. I flipped it open to the dessert section and baked the day away … then my mom made me walk some goodies to all the neighbors because I had made 6 different types of dessert that our family of four would never eat before they went bad. Baking has always just been fun for me.

clip_image002Now I bake every Monday night for my husband’s team meetings at work on Tuesdays. I have a fun time finding new recipes and making cool things. But don’t let my love of baking convince you that I’m an expert; I’m always needing help and find most of it through my mom friends who seem to have a plethora of baking knowledge. My last experiment was “Margarita Cupcakes” inspired by Roundabouts® and created with the help of AllRecipes.com and my Facebook mommy baker friends.

clip_image004If you find baking just as fun as I do you should investigate Roundabouts’ themed cupcake sleeves which will add fun to an occasion and prevent you from showing up with just plain, naked cupcakes. Choose from many assorted cupcake sleeve themes and sleeve decorations with over 70 designs to choose from you’re sure to find something for your next event. You’ll also never forget to dress your cupcakes as these sleeves – at 81/2” wide x 13/8” – will fit right inside your drawer next to all your other baking accessories such as candles, liners, and sprinkles.

For my cupcake sleeves I chose their “Sweet Margarita” sleeve. I stayed with the theme so people knew what type of cupcake they were getting before their first bite. I made a batch of Lemon-Lime Cupcakes* (which made more than the promised 24 cupcakes – all over flowing). My frosting was 6 cups powdered sugar, 1 8oz package Neufchatel cheese, ½ cup heavy whipping cream, ½ teaspoon sea salt and 1 teaspoon of vanilla. For the “salt” of the margarita glass I used Bob’s Red Mill unsweetened coconut flakes. The straws are just decoration, but the lime is a gummy from the bulk candy section.

* Personal changes: I usually try not to change recipes until I’ve made them as written at least once, however for my preference I made curtain changes. In the cupcakes we don’t keep soda in the house and I didn’t want to purchase any, but we do have Mike’s Hard Lemonade varieties on hand, so I use Mike’s Hard Limeade as a soda substitute.

How Roundabouts are Green:

Roundabout® Sleeves are also doing their part to be environmental, not just cute. There packaging is recyclable and their sleeves are free of solvents, toxic agents, and bleaching chemicals. To learn more about Roundabouts® check their website or the Roundabouts Facebook page or follow them on Twitter @RoundaboutWraps.

Which party or occasion would you use Roundabout® Sleeves for — the Oscars, a birthday, treat day at school or work, the Super Bowl, book club?

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Enter to Win:

Roundabouts® would like you to give you a chance to dress up 12 of your own cupcakes for FREE in a set of sleeves of your choice.

To Enter:

Give us the skinny; tell us your theme — what kind of cake you’d make, topping you’d use including decorations, and tell us which Roundabouts® you’d wrap around your cakes.

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Tweet or RT this post and include the link to the post

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This giveaway ends February 7th. I received the above to review for this post.  All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

About Summer:

Summer is the President of our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living.