It seems everyone else is blogging about the past year, so I was thinking about how we were living cheap and green in 2008.
I’m a big believer in baby steps and doing what you can. It would be great to be the perfect eco-family but let’s get real: it doesn’t work that way. But I do look back at seemingly small things I’ve done that have made an impact.
Probably one of the most noticeable has been our trash level. Months back I joined in on Enviromom’s One Can A Month Challenge. I never expected to lower our level to only one can, but we did! It also led me to investigate composting, and to be much more conscious of buying products with less packaging.
And the up side to the bad economy was that we became more conscious of our driving habits and energy usage.
We have almost stopped using paper towels thanks to our super absorbent kitchen towels (think sham-wow) and by sheer luck, our trash pick up started picking up recyclables #1-7.
We switched over to low flow shower heads and put aerators on kitchen and bathroom faucets…and never noticed a difference in performance, just in our water bill.
Lots of little things, over a year…but it has made such a difference in our budget and in our impact to the environment. Living cheap and green is the way to go :)
But overall, I think what I am most proud of (and probably have never blogged about?) is that my son is picking up these little habits…and thinking about them. I am proud he rinses his cup and sets it on the counter for later use instead of using 5 or 6 cups a day, and that he turns the tv off when he’s done watching, and puts recyclables in the bin.
So my assessment of the past year? Pretty good job…except I still haven’t made homemade yogurt yet! (See March 24th’s entry!) Sounds like I have a New Year’s resolution…
Happy New Year!
Christine Plumer is a 30-something mom, wife and art teacher. She writes about her attempts at frugality while living green and eating healthier at Living Cheap and Green.
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Yes, everyone does seem to be blogging so we’ve started one. Come say hello! I enjoy your site and variety of reviews. Such neat products and options out there for moms and dads wanting to buy earth friendly products. I like how your stuff is quick and to the point as well. Thanks for all you do. I’m sure it’s a lot to get so many products to review.
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I just visited your website and I absolutely fell in love with the whole feel and the message you pass on. Way to go.. Its amazing how wel you can create the feel and emotion just by a website.. The garments do speak out a lot.. I specifically loveyour mission behind the whole thing ..
I am writing this mail to you to be associated with your company either through Vendorship or through Partnership..
You will be proud to know that ADYA INTERNATIONAL has been a very passionate about the organic way of life, improving lives of a lot of people and showing gratitude towards mother earth. Based in India , we humbly and graciously fold hands to the nature to bless us in all our endavours…
We are into :-
1. manufacturing of organic apparel in knitted and wovens for men , women and children
2. production of handspun organic woven fabrics
3. production of 100% herbal organic dyes
4. Fair trade production of recycled paper and cotton waste utility products.
5. Fair trade production of surface ornamentation on garments and textiles.
Manufacturing of organic apparel
Manufacturing of 100 % organic apparels include mens, womens, and childrens wear. I have done this production for all ranges more in knitted wear. We have used :-
100% organic cotton,
70% organic cotton - 30% bamboo blend,
85 % bamboo - 15 % organic cotton ,
96% organic cotton - 4% lycra (elastanve)
100% bamboo
96% bamboo - 4% lycra ( elastane)
(BAMBOO is known for its antibacterial properties, freshness and deodrance.)
I am also trying to explore into Soy, Pine and Banana Fibers but I haven’t done any production into them yet. We have done baby wear , T shirts for women in herbal dyes and herbal all over prints, yoga wear for men and women (currently in production), Trendy T shirts for men ( currently in sampling stage) .
In wovens I have done couture skirts with Ahimsa Silk and tops with 60’s organic cotton and amazing prints. We also sampled Womens Jackets using handspun organic cotton( organic khadi). I am also doing sampling of bathrobes for Spa’s using herbal dyed handspun organic cotton.
Dyes
1. Low Impact Chemical Dyes - You must have heard abt these everywhere. 90 % percent of organic garment providers and manufacturers are proudly using these dyes and yet agencies certify them as “organic” . According to me, they are nothing but diluted forms of the same chemical and hazardous dyes used on normal clothing. As if the concentration is reduced from one cup to half a cup. Certain manufacturers (like us) however ensure that these dyes do not have the carcinogenic material, lead , indigo concentrations, chemical washed etc.. So we have a yet softer form of low impact chemical dyes. On the other hand, these dyes are freely available, in all spectrum of colours, infact any PANTONE colour can be produced in these dyes, they do not run and can be screened.
2. Water Soluble Dyes - These are slightly better form of dyes. They contain water based pigments and are less chemically hazardous as compared to Low Impact Chemical dyes. They too are freely available, in most spectrum of colours, do not run and also be screen printed.
3. 100% Herbal Dyes - They are the most natural form of dyes. They 100% chemical free natural herb based dyes over our fabrics. This is a patented formula. These dyes are manufactured by herbs and nature products such as henna , turmeric, madder, tulsi etc… We have developed a range of 18 basic colours so far and developing and researching more each day.. They are not available freely , they have 18 basic colours, some of the shades like crimson’s do run in the first wash and are supposed to be washed with similar colours, they can be printed all over, can be screened . On the whole, you may not get that bright ranges as you may get in low impact chemical dyes or water based. But this is the best form of dyes which I always suggest especially for baby or infant wear.
Handspun Organic Woven Fabrics
We are direct manufacturers of handspun organic cotton, also known as ORGANIC KHADI. This are organic cotton yarns hand spun, hand twisted and hand woven by handlooms. We dont use any mechanised process or power looms at any stage. ( I can send you a video of this production too ! ) This is absolutely one of its kind product and cannot even be compared to machine woven fabrics ..Just for your knowledge, fabric production of 7 machine woven shirts provides employment to one person, but on the other hand, fabric production of one hand spun ( or khadi ) shirt provides employment to 4 people. We achieve softness by using super combed organic yarns and non chemcial fabric softners.
(Using this fabric and topping it with herbal dyes couldn’t get any better – its like THE MOST “IDEALLY GREEN” clothing you can ever get !! You gain the blessings of workers, and gain the blessings of the nature through the natural dyes )
Fair trade production of recycled paper and cotton waste utility products
Now we don’t even throw the cotton waste ! We simple collect it, mix it with other bio-degradable wastes and mainly paper, and then RECYCLE ! These products are purely hand made from recylced paper and 100% Cotton waste . Paper recycling is the process of recovering waste paper and cotton cloth and remaking it into new paper products.If you would like, I can send you the details of the manufacturing process. Ranges include items such as pen stands, memo pads, wall hangings, phone books, carry bags , utility cases, letter holders, photo frames etc…
These are ecofriendly and at the same time highly employment generating products.Thousands of workers are involved in this work because of its manual nature. For every order, usually minimum 5-10 workers are required for basic designing and hundreds of them to execute the product
Fair trade production of surface ornamentation on garments and textiles
As a part of fair-trade we are creating 100 % handmade products by rural Indian artisans. We contemporize our women’s and girl’s wear ranges using these beautiful hand made products and make it as trendy and wearable for our customers .These products include authentic traditional Indian hand embroideries from almost all the states, mirror works, knotted designs, crochet, knitting, macramé, hand made organic dyes, hand made prints, wax prints , vegetable prints, handmade block art etc… We are also into handmade accessories such as stoles, shawls, handbags, handtags, scarves etc..
Corporate / Give – away’s / Event’s
Catching on the Green wave, there have been many Corporates, offices and large quantity clients who have approached us with their requirements – we of course welcomed them to join our bandwagon ! We even made a lot of give away bags, volunteer T shirts for events, “SAY NO TO PLASTIC” totes and a host of other things …
Yoga Accessories
I am into yoga bags, totes, mats , rugs , eye pillows cushions, teak wooden blocks, neti pots etc.. You can have these products with and without your logo over it. It could be as personalised as you would want them. They are made with and without organic fibers , however you want them.
Linen
Last but not the least ! Bed sheets , towels , pillow covers …. In amazing self weaves, prints, textures…… whew !
——-
Thanks a lot for being patient and going through the above write up. I think I have just been born for this mission so I cant limit the flow of writing once I start..
I will be more than happy if I could be able to manufacture something for the cause you are behind. Being an apparel designer myself, I could probably design some T Shirts free of cost for you ! As long as I meet people with the same cause and the same mission.. my passion for saving the planet just triples !
I would love to hear from you , answer your queries if any.. Pls also let me know if you would like to see certain sample or swatches.You could give me your contact number ifyou would like me to get in touch with you.
Thanks and Best Regds
Adya
0091-9930234063
0091-9321454730
0091-22-32718302
001-312-473-7415
ADYA INTERNATIONAL
www.adyainternational.com
www.adyainternational.blogspot.com
We made quite a few baby steps in 08 too. Cloth diapers, repurposing items for new uses, cloth towels (instead of paper) and cloth napkins. One idea that I found super helpful is something I recently blogged on: http://repurposeful.wordpress.com/2009/01/30/one-small-step/.
Great job on becoming more green. All of these helpful websites have made me open my eyes and I have found it more interesting to live a green life. Our site has great stuff too. More of how to improve your home by using green tips and more. All of these sites are amazing and I really think that all of these sites with great information helps people like you and me to jump on bandwagon! Best