Pencil it in: Sustainable Fashion Collaborative Clothing Swap

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WHEN: January 12, 2014 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

WHERE: Bella Luna Restaurant, 284 Amory Street, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

WHY: Join the Sustainable Fashion Collaborative of Boston  for a night out of pizza and clothes swapping! Bring 5-10 gently worn pieces (clothing/accessories). You have the night to shop through other "pre-loved" items, have a drink and grab a bite. You'll leave the event with "new-to-you" pieces, revitalizing your wardrobe without spending money on new clothes! Register here. 

Spotlight: City Soil

As many of you know, the Massachusetts Food Waste Ban goes into effect this year, which makes composting increasingly important in Boston and beyond. This week's spotlight company, City Soil, has played a pivotal role in developing Boston gardens and farms, including at Revision Farm in Dorchester. Responding to the need for responsible compost management, City Soil employs Boston residents to operate the City of Boston’s leaf compost site in partnership with Casella Resource Solutions. City Soil is a leader in compost heat capture. Moving forward, City Soil will continue to responsibly manage Boston’s organic resources and develop opportunities to expand the urban food system.

Keep an eye out for their work! And read learn more here.

Ways to Reduce Your Waste

image courtesy of Wired

Its a new year, and time to clean up our acts, so to speak. One of my goals for a better lifestyle is to reduce the amount of trash I make. The North End has trash collection for residents 3x/week - which is ridiculous considering how tiny all of our apartments are. How can we possibly be creating this much trash?! In solving this problem, here are a few things to consider:

• Watch your consumption. This one is obvious, but we constantly have to remind ourselves to bring resuable shopping bags, coffee mugs, and other waste-savers.

• Start composting. 2014 marks the beginning of Boston's food waste ban for businesses, which means composting will become the norm over the next year or so. Join the trend and start your own composting bin and look for collection opportunities with Bootstrap Compost.

• Take care of your stuff. Learn to sew, be tidy, and use your belongings properly. Even though not everything is meant to last forever, give your belongings the longest life possible.

• Give up soda, bottled water, and other single-serving beverages.
  
• Have a Keurig? Get a reusable filter.

• Use cloths and rags instead of paper towels and paper napkins.

Any more ideas? Please share!

New Perspectives: Keeping Warm with Multi Fuel Stoves

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Winter is in full force, and means we are constantly looking for ways to keep warm when we are at home. Unfortunately, this means that this time of year can be damaging to the environment. Energy bills are likely to take a steep rise as you try to keep warm, but you should know that there are decent alternatives that will allow you to stay warm and reduce damage to the environment. There is nothing quite like relaxing in front of the fire on a cold winter night, and there is one type of stove that you can have in your home which will look fantastic, keep you warm, be kind to the environment and be very efficient too. With so many benefits that this stove type brings it is no surprise that people everywhere are suddenly looking to invest, and you should too because they are a terrific heat source.

Multi fuel stoves are the new heating alternative, and they can allow you to save an enormous amount on your heating bill over time. As the name suggests, these stoves can burn a variety of fuels, including environmentally friendly, renewable fuel. These stoves can save you money whilst saving the environment if you look to use fuels such as dried wheat, corn and compressed wood chips, and you can even use all three of these together if you wish. So you can clearly see the benefits that this type of stove brings, and on top of this they can look fantastic and really add some character to any home as well.

Multi fuel stoves can be installed into existing fireplaces, or as a free standing unit if you wish, and the inset stoves look particularly good when they are inset into a chimney breast. When you shop at stove specialists, like Glowing Embers, you will get the best range at these places, and this will include contemporary stoves, traditional stoves, inset stoves, enamelled stoves and lots more. This means you should be able to find the perfect one to fit with your home, and you will love how much money it saves, how great it looks and the fact that it is eco friendly as well, and this makes it the ultimate way to stay warm when you are at home this winter.

Author: Volsom Limited

Daily Earthspiration

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Pencil it in: BASG Panel on Effecting Community Change

image courtesy of Trell Brennan

WHEN: Tuesday, January 7, 2013, 6pm - 9pm

WHERE: Venture Cafe, Kendall Sq.

WHAT: The Boston Area Sustainability Group presents a panel about inspiring environmental change. Remembering the three pillars, often too little attention is given to social responsibility. Bringing sustainability home, taking responsibility where our businesses operate, has the potential to create real shared value and sew the seeds of lasting change. Please register. 

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