by Cate Nelson on April 2, 2009
McDonald’s, the States’ largest purchaser of potatoes, is taking preliminary steps to go pesticide-free, Reuters reports. Investor groups had been pushing for the move, and now McDonald’s looks like it’s bending.
It will now take steps to reduce pesticide use in potato production for its supply.
Our U.S. potato suppliers are already working with their growers to advance sustainable pesticide practices, such as reductions and alternative methods.
And because it accounts for a huge chunk of U.S. spud use, I suppose it’s good that they’re leaning toward organic. But this isn’t some charitable thing, though they’re gonna spin it that way (of course).
[read the full article...]
We get a lot of press releases from companies big and small touting their green initiatives. I usually dismiss the ones from major corporations like Disney and Barbie as greenwashing, but I still pass them on to our writers. After much prodding and persuading from my online friends, I usually take up the issue myself, as I just can’t help myself. Disney….it’s your turn.
Disney has just issued the company’s first ever comprehensive corporate responsibility (CR) report. For a company that was founded in the 1920s and is the largest media and entertainment corporation in the world, this report is a long time overdue!
The long term environmental goals outlined in the report are:
- Zero waste
- Zero net direct greenhouse gas emissions from fuels
- Reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions from electricity consumption
- Net positive impact on ecosystems
- Minimize water use
- Minimize product footprint
- Inform, empower and activate positive action for the environment
[read the full article...]
I have a confession to make: I am not the best housekeeper. I don’t really enjoy cleaning, although I do enjoy a clean house. There is one area of my house I insist is clean: the toilet! Usually, I just pour in a little vinegar and sprinkle a little powdered laundry soap into the bowl and scrub away, but recently I discovered Seventh Generation’s Emerald Cypress & Fir Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner. There’s nothing like a new natural cleaning product to motivate me to clean.
Most toilet bowl cleaners are made with caustic acids that can burn your skin, and I certainly don’t want my little one’s bums to experience that! Seventh Generation’s Emerald Cypress & Fir Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner is biodegradable, safe for septic systems, chlorine-free, phosphate-free, dye-free, etc. It comes in a cool shaped bottle allowing you to squirt under the toilet bowl rim. Unlike many other natural cleaners who guard their ingredients in a shroud of secrecy, Seventh Generation fully discloses its ingredients. This toilet bowl cleaner is made from:
Aqua (water), lactic acid (plant-derived demineralizer), polyglucose, coceth-7, coceth-4 and deceth-5 (plant-derived cleaning agents), xanthan gum (natural thickener), essential oils and botanical extracts* (citrus aurantifolia (lime), abies balsamea (balsam fir), calilistris columellaris (emerald cypress). *d-limonene is a naturally occurring component of these ingredients. [read the full article...]
McDonald’s, the States’ largest purchaser of potatoes, is taking preliminary steps to go pesticide-free, Reuters reports. Investor groups had been pushing for the move, and now McDonald’s looks like it’s bending.
