Shop Green SD

The Green Team

2010-04-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

100 Park Boulevard
San Diego, CA 92101

Baseball season opens this month! How green is the home of San Diego's Padres? As one of the newer baseball parks, PETCO Park was built with the environment in mind. The park's sustainability efforts are managed by a Green Committee and they have won a slew of conservation awards.

GOOD: Here are just a few things to feel good about while you cheer on the San Diego Padres...

Building construction. The park location itself has helped revitalize a previously neglected part of downtown itself. Its construction incorporated an existing building, the historic Western Metal Supply Co. The kids' playground is partially made of recycled materials and some of the flooring elsewhere in the park is made of recycled rubber.

Recycling. The people at PETCO are finding ways to recycle as much as possible, right down to cooking oil, food waste, uniforms, grass clippings, and wire hangers used by the dry cleaning service. Plastic packaging is collected and used by an outside company to make decks, railings, and fencing.

Water Conservation. Bathroom water flow is minimized and field irrigation is carefully timed to avoid waste.

Energy Efficiency. A master computer system monitors and controls all heating, cooling, and lighting systems for maximum efficiency. Motion sensors assure that lights and air conditioning are switched off when PETCO offices and suites are empty or the doors open. Compact fluorescent lamps are used wherever possible and recycled when they burn out.

Education. Recycling is deeply ingrained in the PETCO Park mission, from employee training videos, newsletters, and handbooks to Jumbotron messages and signs for the fans. The team also hosts "Green Night" and several recycling nights.

BAD: Just by the virtue of being a ballpark, PETCO is a huge consumer of land and resources and a huge generator of trash. However, SGSD is glad to see the measures PETCO Park and the Padres have taken to ease their impact on our environment and hope to see even more in the near future.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Be sure to leave the car home and take the Trolley right to PETCO. Once you get there, grab some fish tacos or a veggie burger.

BOTTOM LINE: 4 Stars ****

Never too young...

2010-02-08T16:00:00.000-08:00

Pure-Rest & Ecobaby Organics

9541 Ridgehaven Ct.

San Diego, CA 92123

Becoming a parent brings out the paranoia in all of us. Before kids, you scoffed at the flu shot. Now you're calling all around town to find the seasonal and H1N1 vaccines for the whole family. Even before his or her birth, you probably also started worrying about all the household chemicals your little one might be exposed to. You don't know exactly what they might do, but now you're willing to spend a little extra money "just in case".

GOOD: Pure-Rest & Ecobaby Organics is a local, family-owned business that caters to that strong urge to go all organic when it comes to your baby. They sell mostly baby mattresses (made of organic cotton, wool, and natural latex), clothes, towels, and blankets manufactured and sewn on site in Kearny Mesa. Ecobaby has a zero tolerance for chemicals like formaldehyde, toluene, and phenols in their products and even in the construction of their building. In fact, they take organic and allergen-free so seriously that they only hire employees who use fragrance-free beauty products and come from a smoke-free home.

BAD: Not to sound like a broken record, but price is a major issue here. A few extra bucks doesn't seem like a big deal when it's an occasional meal in a restaurant or a nice box of chocolates, but $10-18 for one little shirt that your kid will only wear for a few weeks before it's torn, stained, and too small? Even though that's generally less than you would spend on organic clothing at Babies R Us, there's no way most people could afford a completely organic baby wardrobe. As for the mattresses, it sounds nice to be chemical-free, but is wool really a safe alternative to chemical fire retardants?

RECOMMENDATIONS: If you can afford it, spend the extra money on a crib mattress, bedding, and sleepwear for your baby - that's where they are most of the time. In comparison, babies only spend a short amount of time in each of those cute onesies before they're covered in food and/or poop.

BOTTOM LINE: 4 Stars ****
SGSD is glad places like this exist, but the prohibitively high cost goes against our goal of making green shopping more realistic for those of us who care about the environment, but also need to consider cost and convenience.

Saving the planet one cup at a time

2010-02-05T15:50:00.000-08:00

Cafe Moto

2619 National Ave., San Diego, CA 92113

Store hours: M-F/8 am - 5 pm

Coffee. You drink it every day, so there's lots of time to ponder its impact on the planet. From an sustainability point of view, few foods are more controversial. What country is it from? How are the workers treated? Is it shade grown? Organic? Does it come in a styrofoam cup? Is it from a chain or the corner bistro? Fortunately San Diego is home to one very progressive little bean brewer: Cafe Moto.

GOOD: Cafe Moto is a small, family-owned business that sells only organic and fair trade products. They brew coffee and package their wares in a downtown building made of recycled materials and powered exclusively by the sun and natural gas. They even donate their old burlap coffee bean sacks to the San Diego Zoo. Apparently tigers love to play with them!

BAD: The actual shop is out of the way and while several local business sell their coffee, it can be hard to find. But then staying small (a good thing) is one of Cafe Moto's goals.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Buy Cafe Moto coffee, tea, chocolate, and other gear online or at their downtown headquarters. Or look for Cafe Moto coffee served at the Landmark Theatre in La Jolla. What could be better than an indie movie and cup of joe you can feel good about?

BOTTOM LINE: 5 Stars*****

Celebrating a Sustainable Valentine's Day... the San Diego Way

2010-01-21T16:49:00.000-08:00

Chuao Chocolatier Cafes

The Lumberyard

937 S. Coast Highway 101, Encinitas, CA 92024

Del Mar Highlands Shopping Center

3485 Del Mar Heights Rd., San Diego, CA 92130

University Towne Centre

4465 La Jolla Village Dr., San Diego, CA 92122

Chuao Chocolatier (pronounced chew-WOW) creates "unusual, unexpected and delicious flavors using their secret blend of premium chocolate and fresh natural ingredients."

GOOD: Not only is Chuao chocolate locally made (in North County), its founders, two brothers from Venezuela, are committed to social responsibility. They give to local charities, are working to lessen their environmental impact, and have founded the Aguasanta Growth Initiative, a program dedicated to cacao restoration. In Venezuela, the source of Chuao cacao, farmers are typically paid well and treated fairly. However, the highly prized Venezuelan cacao crop itself needs help. The goal of the Aguasanta Growth Initiative is to provide the tools, education, and support necessary to grow and care for this special plant in a way that will preserve it for many generations.

BAD: The price. Good stuff doesn't come cheap, but yikes.

RECOMMENDATIONS: If you visit one of the local Chocolate Cafes, order a Winter Hot Chocolate with whipped cream or Spicy Maya gelato (depending on the season), then take home a Firecracker bar as a fun gift. This chipotle caramel fudge truffle with popping candy, salt, and dark chocolate is a real conversation starter. Chuao chocolates can also be found all over the country at places like Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, Wegman's, and Crate & Barrel.

BOTTOM LINE: 5 Stars*****

This place is just plain awesome.

Non-Toxic Nails

2008-07-30T16:06:00.000-07:00

You can probably smell your way to the nearest nail salon. That's most likely due to the acrylics that make up fake nails and the toluene, formaldehyde, and dibutyl phthalates (DBP) in nail polish, all declared by the state of California to be possible carcinogens and/or harmful to human reproduction and development. The European Union banned DBP in cosmetics four years ago, but the FDA still doesn't regulate most beauty products. Meanwhile, many nail salon employees have blamed respiratory irritation and other health problems on chronic exposure to these potentially dangerous chemicals.

When looking for a less-toxic salon, know what questions to ask. Look for places that don't even offer acrylic nails and ask about their sterilization techniques. Autoclaving, which relies on heat and pressure, is better than harsh chemicals that eventually go down the drain. The only problem is that most of these places are high-end spas and resorts, not dedicated nail salons. Though not truly "green" like some salons available in L.A. and San Fransisco, here are a couple of okay places to get your nails done in the San Diego area, where manicures start at $45, pedicures at $75:

Catamaran Spa, 3999 Mission Blvd., Pacific/Mission Beach
The Spa at Torrey Pines, 11480 N. Torrey Pines Rd., northern La Jolla

In a pinch, use your nose. The less smelly the salon, the more likely they at least have good ventilation, which reduces your exposure. You can also buy your own toluene/formaldehyde/DBP-free nail polish from companies like Nubar. And always check the health risks associated with any brand of beauty product and its ingredients at the Cosmetic Safety Database.

Ralphs vs. Vons

2008-07-28T16:55:00.001-07:00

Faced with two choices for convenient grocery shopping, which do you pick? Ralphs or Vons?

Always be skeptical of corporate sustainability reports (often part PR campaign) but here's a quick list of measures taken by these major grocery retailers to help reduce their environmental impact, according to their corporate websites:

Ralphs (Kroger):

collected and recycled 9.1 million pounds of plastic grocery bags in 2007
reduced office paper usage by 455 tons
diverts leftover food to food banks, composting, and animal rendering plants
trains grocery baggers to "Strive for Five", or putting at least 5 items in a bag to reduce the number of bags used
eliminated 68,000 pounds of PVC by switching to smaller, recyclable Eco-Flexx advertising billbaords made of polyethylene
working to reduce the weight of plastic milk and water bottles, saving an estimated 1.8 million pounds of plastic resin
reduced overall energy consumption by 22% since 2000, shooting for 30% by 2010, mostly by updating lighting fixtures and refrigerators
reducing the carbon footprint of shipping fleets by improving insulation, reducing mileage, and training drivers to slow down and reduce idling time, and using and selling fuels that are 85% domestic ethanol/15% gasoline, thus saving an estimated 1 million gallons of diesel fuel over the next three years

BOTTOM LINE: 2 Stars **
Lots of small efforts, like recycling and encouraging behavioral changes, are good, but Kroger has yet to stand up and make big changes. Their sustainability report reads more like a list of things they hope to do, rather than things they've done.

Vons (Safeway):

buys enough wind energy to power all 300+ of their fuel stations, all stores in San Francisco, CA and Boulder, CO, and their corporate headquarters
currently developing 20+ solar projects around the country
550 trucks in California and 79 in Arizona run on 80% petroleum diesel and 20% biodiesel made from soybean oil grown and manufactured in the U.S.
designing more efficient buildings, including no-heat freezer doors
recycled more than 500,000 tons of cardboard and plastic in 2006, thus keeping 85% of their solid waste out of the landfill (the state mandates only 50%)
first major retailer to register with the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the only voluntary, legally-binding greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system in the country
award winning: 2005 EPA Green Power Purchaser of the Year Award, 2006 City of San Diego Recycler of the Year Award , 2002-2006 WRAP (Waste Reduction Award Program) Awards, and 2007 California Flex Your Power Award for energy efficiency

BOTTOM LINE: 3 Stars***
Big box stores should never be our first choice, but when that's the only choice, I would choose Vons over Ralphs. Flashy moves like wind power and joining the CCX might not always be as effective as lots of smaller changes, but Safeway is sending the right message to other large retailers without being too showy about it.

What are your thoughts??

Sticky Bumps Surf Wax: Soy-based and Local

2008-07-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing San Diego is known for, it's surfing. And since surfers are often hyperaware of environmental issues (who better to notice and care about problems affecting the coast), it's no surprise that San Diego is home to Sticky Bumps, a pioneering maker of earth-conscious surfboard wax. (Parent company Wax Research is now located in Carlsbad, but rumor has it that Sticky Bumps founder John Dahl started mixing waxes back in 1972, a stone's throw from Swami's in Encinitas.)

Surfers wax up their boards to release water, thus allowing for better traction. Since oil and water don't mix, petroleum was the preferred base for most early surfboard waxes. Even today, "regular" bars of surf wax get that sticky feeling using petroleum or synthetic rubbers with heavy alcohol agents. The problem with these types of surf wax is not just the environmental cost of their manufacturing, but how they flake off and stick around in the ocean (pun intended).

The problem comes with finding a tacky substance that does it all: rubs on easily, stays on, stays sticky, doesn't melt, yet eventually biodegrades. Newer, more "natural", types of surf wax are made from a combination of biodegradable vegetable, soy, and beeswaxes. Sometimes they even come wrapped in recycled paper and soy ink. Sticky Bumps was one of the first companies to break away from paraffin and start offering soy-based surf wax ($2/bar vs. industry average of $1/bar). You'll find Sticky Bumps in just about every local surf shop, like Clairemont Surf Shop (6393 Balboa Ave).

BOTTOM LINE: 4 Stars ****
Big props to local company Sticky Bumps for leading the way in eco-friendly surf wax, but with only one soy-based type of wax and the rest seemingly proprietary (read: ingredients are a company secret, revealing only "Vaseline-like softeners"), there's always room for improvement.

Cleaner Dry Cleaners

2008-07-15T16:00:00.000-07:00

In a perfect world, the best way to avoid dry cleaning toxins is to buy only clothes that don't require dry cleaning. But we all know that's not always possible. In an attempt to find out just how bad local dry cleaners are for the environment, SGSD discovered that California has already taken steps to insure that all dry cleaners clean up their act.

Thanks to a bill enacted last year by the Air Resources Board (part of the California Legislature), all dry cleaners in the state will be forced to phase out the use of perchloroethylene by 2023. Purchase of dry cleaning machines that use this toxic solvent is already forbidden as of this year, and by 2010 all machines of that type more than 15 years old must be replaced. Although some people are worried about the costs that this conversion will pass on to small business owners, the state is offering a $10,000 incentive to help every dry cleaner buy alternative machines.

But what is the alternative? As the name implies, dry cleaning refers to any method of cleaning clothes without the use of water, meaning a solvent is used instead. Alternatives to perc-based dry cleaning methods usually use hydrocarbon, silicon, or pressurized liquid carbon dioxide as the solvent. The jury is still out regarding the environmental trade-offs of emissions and toxins involved in the first two methods, so for now it seems that most environmentalists have settled on carbon dioxide as the best answer to green dry cleaning. Apparently it's more gentle on clothes, too.

Still, possible risks to the environment and personal health notwithstanding, it sounds like many dry cleaners are wary of plunking down the $100,000 (10 times the state's supplement) or more for a carbon dioxide machine, just to have that phased out a few years down the line for something even greener. Hence there are only something like 37 carbon dioxide-based dry cleaners in the country (one is in North County SD!).

BOTTOM LINE: 4 Stars ****
Dry cleaning is probably going to be wasteful no matter what. Can't blame the skeptics, but until better technologies are developed, here's a quick breakdown on some local dry cleaners and their solvents:

Hangers Cleaners (carbon dioxide), Torrey Hills Marketplace, 4645 Carmel Mountain Rd., San Diego, CA 92130
Sunny Fresh Cleaners (water), 8849 Villa La Jolla Dr. #303, La Jolla, CA 92037 (near Whole Foods)
Green Cleaners (?), 1878 Grand Ave., Pacific Beach, CA 92109 (Supposedly perc-free, but their website never specifies what method they do use. Also non-responsive to inquiring emails.)

Green Arches?

2008-05-31T13:21:00.000-07:00

McDonald's
4260 Nobel Dr. (UTC)
5065 Clairemont Dr. (Clairemont)
1121 Garnet Ave. (PB)
and a million other places...

SGSD has boycotted McDonald's, the biggest, baddest conglomerate around, for over a decade. (Middle-of-nowhere pee stops don't count.) With their Big Macs and styrofoam containers, the Golden Arches have long been a symbol of everything wrong with "Fat America". Okay, so they ditched the styrofoam ages ago, but as McDonald's pushes hard to pull a 180 with their image over the last couple of years, suddenly we're starting to notice. First there was the addition of new, healthier, menu options. Now they're reinventing themselves as a Starbucks competitor and, as rumor has it, even smoothies will be added soon. So, given other options, this blogger will probably still choose the one that's not McDonalds, but it might be time to ask...does McDonald's deserve our business again?

GOOD: Check out McDonald's commitment to the environment at their corporate website. McDonald's Switzerland recycles polyethylene packaging, newspapers, and light bulbs. In Australia, Brazil, and Europe, McDonald's has an active biodiesel recycling program. McDonald's Japan is testing the feasibility of collecting and recycling paper cups. McDonald's Sweden and Canada have their buns and Coca-Cola delivered in reusable plastic containers. To combat climate change, McDonald's Denmark has one restaurant totally free of hydrofluorocarbon-based refrigerants.
BAD: Sounds good for Europe. Not so much for McDonald's US. What gives? All this talk of "environmental sustainability" and "feasibility studies" tends to sound like a lot of fancy PR. And here's another thing: on a recent car trip bathroom break, GreenSD noticed a new sign on the door warning that coffee will only be served in McDonald's own disposable coffee cups. No personal reusable mugs allowed. What the heck? Must be more lawsuit paranoia.
BONUS: All suppliers (think beef farmers, vegetable growers, etc.) sign a "social accountability" agreement, receive training, and are inspected by third party monitors to assure their employees are treated fairly. After years of flack for making America fat, McDonald's now pushes "healthy lifestyles" by updating their menu, providing nutrition information, and even giving out pedometers in a special adult Happy Meal. In a local twist, McDonald's gave The Scripps Research Institute (La Jolla) $2 million in 2006 to research childhood obesity and Type II diabetes. Plus they still have clean toilets. And if you live in the Carmel Valley/Del Mar area, you get the extra treat of having a "Gourmet Bistro" McDonald's. No joke. They sell gelato.
RECOMMENDATIONS: Sorry, I have yet to get over the guilt and buy something worth recommending.

BOTTOM LINE: 2 Stars **
For effort. It's about time Big Business recognizes that consumers want environmentally sustainable and healthy products and services. Hopefully we'll start seeing more action and less talk from McDonald's, especially in the U.S.

La Jolla TJ's Produce Stand

2008-05-31T09:48:00.000-07:00

(Near UCSD, in front of Trader Joe's)
8657 Villa La Jolla Dr # 210
La Jolla, CA 92037

GOOD: Living near a Trader Joe's is a great thing. Except for the sad produce selection that usually necessitates a bigger chain grocery store nearby. And frequenting the farmer's markets in La Jolla or Hillcrest sounds great, but only if you remember when they're open and happen to be in the area at that time. But the La Jolla Village Trader Joe's has a special bonus - an independent produce stand just out front. You can't beat the convenience. SGSD used to be skeptical of the produce man's prices and the origin of his wares (bought at Ralph's and sold for a higher price?), but recently he's started indicating exactly where each fruit and vegetable comes from. Turns out it's all local and seasonal. Fresh onions, tomatoes, avocados, strawberries, and more from Vista and Escondido. And now he takes credit cards.
BAD: The produce stand isn't always open, especially not later on weekday evenings. Some items might cost more than you could find in the Ralph's next door. And you have to be careful not to pick the rotten onions. But... a generous bag of mini avocados is only $2.
BONUS: the gorgeous smell of fresh berries and some friendly salesmen
RECOMMENDATIONS: choose recipes and make a list ahead of time - so you don't buy unnecessary veggies that end up going to waste - and bring your Trader Joe's reusable shopping bags.

BOTTOM LINE: 5 Stars *****
The price of everything is going up, but we've been paying too little for food of little quality for too long. Fresh, local, seasonal fruits and veggies are worth the extra money for the environment and your health. And, hey, here's a convenient place to get it all.

Stone Brewing Co. World Bistro & Gardens

2008-05-25T12:41:00.001-07:00

1999 Citracado Parkway
Escondido, CA 92029
(not shown on Google maps, so check the website for directions)
http://www.stonebrew.com

GOOD: unique food; rich, complex beers; a dedication to fresh, organic, seasonal, and local ingredients; attempts to improve efficiency and sustainability in the brewing process
BAD: all the energy and waste generally involved in making and shipping beer; expensive food; all the gas it takes to get out there if you don't live in Escondido
BONUS: movie nights, lectures, "Beer University" classes, a book club, a neat gift shop that sells a gargoyle belt buckle that doubles as a bottle opener
RECOMMENDATIONS: make a reservation, eat outside in the garden, have the spud bud appetizer, try a beer that you can't find in stores (like Stone Pale Ale aged in a red wine barrel), and take a tour that ends with generous tastings. If you don't live near Escondido, look for Stone beers in grocery and liquor stores closer to home.

BOTTOM LINE: 5 stars *****
Stone definitely puts Escondido on the map. You can feel good about supporting a local brewery/restaurant that cares about other local companies and about finding new ways to be more eco-cool. Worth the extra money.