GOOD December

One of our favorite local magazines is GOOD.  No really, GOOD.

And GOOD's office on Melrose has turned into a community meeting place all month for GOOD December.

There are plenty of events still to come, and plenty of green ones, too like this weekend's TreePeople fieldtrip and Sowing the Seeds with Silver Lake Farms Monday the 15th.

Check out the calendar here.

And see how things have been going so far here.

Decorating and Wrapping Creatively and Consciously

We've got some tools at ASOG to help you 

make your parcels and parties pretty while treading lightly:

*Fair Trade, recycled ornaments from the Spiral Foundation.

*Incense of frankincense and myrrh for a merry, holiday fragrance.

*Bambu ornaments.

*Ecotwist ribbon--biodegradable, colored with natural veggie dyes paper ribbons that create leaf-shapes when its end is unfurled.

*Fishlips recycled wrapping paper made from 100% recycled paper and soy inks right here in the U.S.

Happy merrymaking!

FREE How to Have a Green Holiday Workshop this Sunday!

How to Have a Green Holiday!

Sunday, December 14th

10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 

@ All Shades of Green

FREE!

Come hear how our Sustainability Coach, Deborah, has been mixing things up to be festive, creative, and green during holidays past and how you can, too.

Water Conservation Ordinance

The LADWP is getting serious about saving water these days.  If you didn't already know, we want to share with you that there is a new conservation ordinance in effect.

It's great to know about because, well, it helps save our city's precious resource.  It's also good to know about because fines are in effect for certain water no-no's.

Here's a rundown of the H2O DON'TS:

*Don't use water to wash down hard surfaces like driveways.  (Brooms will do the job and provide a workout at the same time.)

*Don't serve water to restaurant customers unless they ask for it.

*Don't water your yard during the rain.

And DO's:

*Fix leaky faucets to save 20 gallons of water drip, drip, dripping down your drain.

*Adjust your sprinklers (if you have them) so there's no water wasted on the pavement--that'll save 500 gallons a month and prevent runoff.

*Run only full loads of laundry.

You can read the whole list here.

And if you own your own washing machine, you can get a $250 LADWP rebate for a new, high-efficiency model that can save 50% of the water you use in a year on the most water-heavy task inside the house.  Find out how.

Nonprofit of the Month: Baby2Baby

We like to feature at least one not for profit every month from our Los Angeles area community.

This month, Baby2Baby has our attention.

With shelters in more need than ever this year, Baby2Baby gets clothes and other kids' gear to those who need it most. Started by three friends, this little organization makes it easy to do good in our own backyards.

Here's how it works: every month, 12 local organizations put in their donation requests for baby and kid stuff of all kinds.  And you can help pass it along!

There are opportunities to donate gently used items for ages one to four (here are the drop-off spots), organize a baby shower to collect gifts or put on a toy/clothes drive.

You can also volunteer yourself or your youngins to help package everything up.

Or you can donate to the cause (a great way to participate in the season of giving as a group).

It feels good to give to a good cause.

Green Must-Haves/Dos for the Holidays

We at All Shades want to wish you the happiest of holiday seasons in 08!

Nobody wants to take the fun out of the holidays, including us.  There are loads of ways to load up on holiday fun and meaning while being conscious of our impact on the environment at the same time.

Here are a few to consider:

By switching to LED-powered holiday lights you'll save up to 80% of the electricity conventional incandescent string lights eat up.  They'll even last you 20 years!

For no-waste gifts, choose those with less packaging (we've all spent mornings trying to cut plastic and undo twist-ties) and wrap your gifts in found objects around the house like reused packing paper, old stationary you don't plan on using, newspapers, or beautiful bits of fabric you may have lying around.

Speaking of gifts, make sure to get ones that will be good for the world and good for the getter.  90% of everything manufactured ends up in a landfill within a year in the U.S.  Pretty shocking.  So make sure to be mindful of the kinds of things you're getting your loved ones so that they'll stay on or in their drawers, kitchen, walls, desks, and closets for years and years to come.

Consider getting a rosemary bush or indoor plant for your Christmas tree.  If you want a big one, go for the real deal as the artificial ones are plastic-heavy and can't be mulched in January. Find out more about recycling your live holiday tree from the L.A. Bureau of Sanitation.

We'll be sharing many more less-impact holiday ideas at our FREE workshop, How to Have a Green Holiday on Sunday, December 14th at 10:00 a.m.! Hope to see you there.

Clean Your Space/Trash Free Street Clean-Up

This Saturday you can help the Surfrider Foundation clean up Silver Lake along Sunset Boulevard as part of its "Clean Your Space" campaign.

The importance of cleaning up the streets (and parking spaces and driveways and rain gutters) is this: everything on the street gets washed into the catch basins and into the L.A. River and out to sea when it rains.  So, all the stuff like candy wrappers, cigarette butts, car oil, and contaminants like pesticides and chemical cleaners catch a wave out to the Pacific.  

And those contaminants contained in storm water or runoff aren't good for marine animals, the aquatic habitat, or humans who like swimming either.  Never fear though--we can all pitch in to help!

If you're a Silver Laker or other Angeleno who wants to clean up the beach in your own backyard, join Surfrider at:

Clean Your Space

Saturday, December 6th

9:30 a.m. to 12: 30 p.m. 

On Sunset between Matlman and Manzanita

Check-in at Sunset Junction

Find out more about the event here.

And read our earlier post on urban storm water runoff in Los Angeles here.

Eco-Home Tour

We're proud to be part of an:

Exclusive Green Home Tour

of an AlterEco home from Planet Green this Thursday evening.

This beautiful Spanish-style home by Byrd Eco Luxury Homes will be open by special invitation to showcase green building materials and ideas, and you're invited!

In addition to the tour, you can expect to enjoy:

reusable bags with green gifts provided by US, All Shades of Green 

and

tips on going green from the consultants at Eco|Consulting LA

Come for the tour, come for the drinks, and come to meet the AlterEco hosts!

Tickets are $45 (all proceeds will go to charity)

Thursday, December 4th

 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

in  Los Feliz

(address provided with ticket purchase)

To purchase tickets, use the code GREENHIVE at Hiving.net

Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Baskets

We believe that gift-giving can be a joyous and celebratory act that not only brings together families and friends, but also helps create happier and healthier communities and a better environment around the world.

Sound like a tall order? 

By selecting gifts that are FAIR TRADE, LOCAL, ORGANIC, NON-TOXIC, RECYCLED, RECLAIMED, BIODEGRADABLE, AND REUSABLE, you are helping to do just that.

We've taken out the guesswork and carefully selected items in the holiday gift baskets we're offering that fit the bill to help you enjoy giving beautiful gifts this season that also demonstrate your values.

Some of the compilation baskets from which to choose:

The Eco-Gourmet

The Natural Baby

The Lover's Basket

The Coffee and Chocolate Swirl

and 

The Dinner Party

among others, like the Hands and Feet Therapy Basket, The Lavender Bath, and the Go Green Starter Kit baskets.  These are collections everyone on your list will enjoy.

Or, you can design your own!

Come on by, give us a call, or e-mail us to find out more and order yours.

All Shades of Green

3038 Rowena Avenue

Los Angeles/Silver Lake 90039

(323) 665 -7454

info@allshadesofgreen.net

*Starting at 45.00.*

Speaking of Saving Resources: Water

Eartheasy has 25 ways to help you save 10 gallons of water a day in your home.

And we've got a list of tools to help you as well:

Faucet aerators can reduce your water use by up to a gallon per minute (280 gallons per month)!  And they're easy to install and super inexpensive to boot.  Perfect for kitchen and bathroom sinks.

Evolve showerheads reduce water flow to just a trickle once your shower is the perfect, toasty temperature.  So, if you're doing something else while waiting for the water to warm, you won't waste nearly as much to the pipes.

Showerhead shut off valves are simple and super-savers.  Just flip the switch while you're lathering up or shaving instead of having to mess with the bath fixtures.  Flip again when you need water again--a navy shower made easy.

Smart faucets operate similarly. When you're not pushing a convenient lever, the water flow stops at the sink to give you time to lather your hands with soap.  When you're ready to rinse, you simply lean on that lever again.

Shower timers will keep you on track for your desired water-conserving shower.

Shower buckets can be used to collect water while you're waiting for the stream to get hot enough--instead of going down the drain, it can be used to water the plants!

Time to get saving.

bring your own bag

Since it's Saving Energy and Resources month at All Shades, we want to share with you a tried and true way to save both that's so simple it has its own acronym: BYOB.

By bringing your own shopping bag to the grocery store, farmer's market and any other place where you leave with more than you walked in with, you save the materials and energy that go into making those throwaway bags.  Sure, you can reuse them, but why not go farther to reducing first? That saves petroleum, water, and trees at the start.

We know you're on board with this, which is why we carry Chico bags, Ecolution bags of all kinds, and our very own ASOG variety.

My Own Bag, has a whole host of facts and figures on bags and bag consumption worth checking out.  For example, the plastic bag was introduced in 1977 and we now use 14 billion of them in the U.S. alone every year, requiring 12 million barrels of oil to produce. (And those bags that seem harmless do harm thousands of marine animals and stick around for hundreds of years.)

Read even more on the subject of ever-present bags here.

To bringing your own this holiday shopping and eating season!

More T-Day Tips

We wanted to share with you the incredible, edible tips from last weekend's podcast of KCRW's Good Food.

There are plenty of recommendations for how to have a truly memorable, creative Thanksgiving from the perfect bird-brining solution to sweet potato salad to serving only foods for which your kids are actually grateful.

There's also a feature on a contributor to SuperVegan who shared plenty of meat and poultry-free ideas for a green, grateful feast.  The recipe for chestnut soup with porcini mushrooms and root veggies is on the Good Food site here.

Listen to the whole show here.

Thanksgiving: A Merry, Green Meal

We at All Shades wish you a merry, magical Thanksgiving on Thursday!

In that spirit, we want to tell you about some T-Day tips.

First, The Pioneer Woman has some wonderful recipes (along with how to brine a turkey) to take care of your menu snafus.

And if you have yet to choose your turkey, we want to recommend making yours a free-range, organic bird. If you want to go the extra mile, you can even choose a heritage variety. Heritage birds are breeds that were foregone for the industrial tom breed we're used to seeing at the supermarket.  By getting one, you're supporting farmers, preserving traditional breeds, and getting delicious poultry to boot.

There are still some sustainable turkeys left at LocalHarvest, an organization bringing local farm products to chefs and eaters like us (a great resource all year round).

If you're skipping the turkey altogether, you can find some unique, delectable vegetarian recipes that will please as much as the 45 million birds that will be served on Thanksgiving from Nava Atlas.

And finally, here's our absolute favorite vegan pumpkin muffin recipe (just be sure to use vegan margarine!).  They are doughy, moist and a giant hit!   Enjoy.

FREE Solar Workshop!

We want to invite you to our first Solar Workshop with the folks from Phat Energy.

Solar 101 

Led by Phat Energy

Thursday, November 20th

7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.

@ All Shades of Green

Find out everything you need to know to go solar.

** Please call (323) 665- 7454 for details and to reserve your space. This event is FREE. **

Urban Sustainability and Self-Reliance in Changing Times

You're invited to a special event this Sunday evening:

Urban Sustainability and Self-Reliance in Changing Times

Sunday, November 16th

6:00 p.m. -9:30 p.m. 

@ The Project Butterfly Loft

821 Traction Ave. #108

Downtown LA, CA 90013

[between Alameda & Santa Fe

and between 2nd & 3rd Street

in the Arts District]

This unique event hosted by Project Butterfly in downtown L.A. (and in conjunction with ASOG's sustainability coach Deborah Tull) will feature an interactive workshop, All Shades of Green products, and a meal shared by guests.

What will the workshop include?

DIY projects

Lights in a jar

Rainwater catchment

DIY cleaning supplies

Composting

Sustainable living topics like recycling and energy efficiency

What about dinner?

It will be organic, vegetarian, and delectable.  And dessert? Solar oven-baked cookies!!

**$25 for the workshop and delectable meal if you sign up by Friday. $30 after that.

 Find out more here (scroll down the page).