ZIPLOC SANDWICH BAGS
A staple in most Canadian lunches. Yeah, yeah, technically you can wash and reuse these polyethylene sacks, but they’re not durable if you do (the seams inevitably split), so why not opt for something made without fossil fuels anyway? $3.99/50 bags.
Score: NN
KEEP LEAF LUNCH BAG
Steer clear of lead- and phthalate-laced vinyl lunch boxes and reach for cloth instead. This little Toronto company is blowing up across the continent with its pretty organic cotton bags (with phthalate-, lead- and BPA-free waterproof polyurethane liners). Designed in T.O. and made fairly in India (certified by the Ethical Trading Initiative). Available at Ecotique, Outer Layer and keepleaf.com. $18
Score: NNNN
WEAN GREEN GLASS LUNCH CUBES
Yes, there are tons of great glass storage options on the market by mainstream brands like Pyrex, Rubbermaid and Lock & Lock, but I like Wean Green because it’s a small Calgary company. And it now has sizes for the whole family, with watertight, easy snap-on lids. Made in South Korea. Safe in the microwave, dishwasher, freezer and oven up to 250°F. (For glass storage you can bake at 400°, look to the other brands mentioned.) Available at Big Carrot, Noah’s, Ecoexistence and weangreen.com. $9.50 each.
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LUNCHBOTS
Awesome for school lunches or at-your-desk meals at work, with up to four stainless steel compartments to cram in all your food groups. Ideal for dry stuff, since dividers aren’t watertight. Smaller leak-proof containers and a recycled felt-insulated case are sold separately. The competition, kid-centred PlanetBox, sells the whole kit and kaboodle together with an attached lid, but it’ll cost you $87 at Pottery Barn Kids. Both have lots of fans. Made “responsibly” in China. LunchBots at Ecoexistence, IQ Living, Ecotique and lunchbots.com. $22.
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ABEEGO WRAPS
Ditch the disposable plastic baggy and cling wrap for something more sustainable. I’ve got a huge heart-on for Abeego because its products are not only made in Canada (Victoria, BC), but also use great materials (hemp/cotton fabric made water-resistant with a beeswax, jojoba oil and tree resin coating). Buy the washable Flats instead of Saran, keep your sandwich fresh in the Wraps, or opt for smaller Snack size. Available at Grassroots, Evergreen Garden Market and abeego.ca. $11-$25.
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Greenwash Of The Week
ORGANIKA SUPPLEMENTS
If you’re used to sniffing out phony organics in the body care aisle, you may still, like me, be guilty of letting your greenwash radar down in the supplements section. For what it’s worth, the company promotes the fact that its facility in BC is certified organic, but that doesn’t mean all its products are. In fact, only a handful beyond spirulina and coconut oil are actually certified organic.
Nature Notes
STOP THE ENERGY EAST PIPELINE
It’s not often you see Stephen Harper looking giddy, but it seems the PM finds TransCanada’s proposed west-to-east pipeline from Alberta to New Brunswick “extremely exciting.” While at the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John last week, he also said the government doesn’t officially endorse this kind of thing – since, of course, it hasn’t yet got enviro approvals or the nod from the National Energy Board. The fact that the project hasn’t yet been vetted by any regulatory process, however, didn’t stop the PM from bringing out his pompoms. When Ecoholic checked in with oil expert Jeff Rubin, author of The End Of Growth, he pointed out that before any bubbly gets cracked the feds will have to get past growing resistance to oil shipments through Quebec. “Lac-Mégantic can play two ways,” says Rubin. “Pipeline companies will argue that they are a way safer mode of transport [than trains], but the spill also underscores the problems that come with moving oil by any means.”
WIND CRITICS LOSE THEIR GUSTO
It’s amazing what researchers are discovering about people who live near existing wind turbines. Pembina Institute just released the results of its survey of registered complaints around operating wind turbines in Alberta, which has been in the wind farm biz for two decades. Pembina’s Benjamin Thibault writes, “As it turns out, there isn’t much to report – at least with respect to operating wind farms. We heard that wind projects attract notable concern when they’re undergoing permitting, and some have also drawn complaints during construction (mostly road impacts and congestion, as well as dust problems). But very few complaints have come in about operating turbines.” There were only three, actually. Last month, a University of Waterloo study came to similar conclusions. Guess Roosevelt was right: the only thing to fear is fear itself.
PALM OIL’S SLAVE LABOUR
If you thought the palm oil in cookies and soap was just bad for the poor endangered species whose habitat is getting axed to grow palm plantations, well, I’ve got more bad news. The results of a nine-month investigation by the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism published last month found thousands of child workers and forced labourers held captive on plantations owned by one of Malaysia’s biggest palm producers, KLK. The firm sells to global palm oil supplier Cargill. Writes Benjamin Skinner, “Because palm oil companies face little pressure from consumers, they continue to rely on largely unregulated contractors, who often use unscrupulous practices.” Rainforest Action Network has kicked off a new consumer petition asking Cargill to adopt “comprehensive safeguards to prevent palm oil connected to slave and child labour, human rights abuses and rainforest destruction.” To sign, head to ran.org.
