Quality Montessori
Sustainable Kids
Purely Products
To-Go Ware
Lunette
Lunastix
Kiss My Face
Jade & Pearl
G Diaper
Good Clean Love
Endangered Species
Glad Rags
Ecover
Eco Lunch Boxes
Earth Friendly Products
Dr. Bronner's
Blue Q
Diva Cup
Bloomin Seed Cards
Beka
Wear Your Intentions
Bambu
Moom
Loving Naturals
Herbs of Grace
Fabkins
Burts Bees
Chico Bags
Luna Organics
Eco-Lips
Clementine Art
Biobag
Leather Girl Kelley
Maggie's Functional Organics
Wrapsacks
Ambassador Hairbrushes
Green Toys
Eco-Kids
Silent Springs is your online eco-friendly artisan market. We bring dedicated sustainable producers and the green products they innovate to you, wherever you may be. Thank you for your commitment to a healthy, sustainable, and just future.
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Selecting a Sustainable University: Guide to Green Colleges
April 15, 2013
Photo by Jason BacheSelecting a Sustainable University: Guide to Green Colleges:
As social institutions go, universities are extremely conservative organizations. The almost absurd adherence to long held traditions (including our ridiculous robes) makes change and innovation surprisingly difficult. Despite their reluctance, universities across the nation are starting to wake up to the reality that as places of higher education, we have a solemn responsibility to forward sustainability in a wide range of contexts. As a professor of sustainability and proponent of institutional sustainability on college campuses, I spend a remarkable amount of time imagining what a sustainable university should look like. For those of you looking for a college, or for those of you helping another to make such an important decision, I'd like to share a few tidbits I've learned along the way.
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How to Make Your Own Toxin Free Natural Deodorant Stick
March 25, 2013
Ditch the Chemicals! Make Your Own Non-toxic Deodorant StickHave you read the label on your deodorant stick lately? There's some pretty nasty stuff in there, and considering that almost everything we apply onto our skin gets absorbed into our body, it's definitely something to think about!
One concerning ingredient is parabens - a chemical preservative which can mimic estrogen and has been found in breast tumors. Another is aluminum zirconium, and although the link between aluminum and breast cancer is "inconclusive," it has been linked to a whole number of other nasty diseases including alzheimer's, cancer, and osteoporosis. The aluminum salts in antiperspirants actually enter your pores and expand to block your sweat glands; they're also absorbed into your body and broken down, releasing the aluminum.
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The Best Green And Eco Hostels Around The World
May 20, 2013
Photo by Eric Audige-SoutterThe Best Green And Eco Hostels Around The World
Hostels have always been a great way for young travelers to see the world on a budget. If you’re looking for the best way to travel inexpensively and find the best summer travel deals, then staying in a dormitory-style hostel is definitely it. However, just because you’re saving a few extra dollars doesn’t mean that you can’t be environmentally friendly at the same time, as green and eco-friendly hostels are becoming more and more common.
These green and eco hostels are very popular with young travelers, many of whom have grown up with environmental concerns looming over them. Below, you’ll find ten of the best green and eco hostels from around the world:
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Henry Vilas Zoo Scavenger Hunt: Madison, WI - Card # 1
May 9, 2013
It's finally warming up in Madison, WI! Our kids used to love the Henry Vilas Zoo in Madison. As our oldest started getting "too cool" for the zoo however we decided to help keep things interesting by making some photo scavenger hunts. One of our family's favorite things to do outside is going on scavenger hunts. These hunts take on many forms: Geo-Caching, Orienteering courses, Treasure Maps, Follow the Clues, and Photo Hunts. This Spring we will be posting photo scavenger hunts for various cities, and parks that we have visited. We hope you will get outside with the people you love, enjoy nature, and test your observation skills while looking for these places or objects.Once you've found all the places, or objects from the Photo Hunt # 1 card - leave us a comment & tell us about it. Then check out Vilas Photo Hunt # 2, Vilas Photo Hunt # 3, & Vilas Photo Hunt # 4! If you notice that any of the pictured object are no longer there, please let us know. We're not living in Madison anymore so it's hard to keep track of what's current! Every comment will be automatically entered into a drawing for gift cards to Silent Springs. This drawing will take place on Aug. 31st, 2013.
This photo hunt can be printed, or taken with you on a mobile device. Have fun, & Happy Spring!
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Environmental Volunteering Opportunities, Responsible Tourism, & Green Travel
May 8, 2013
In today’s global climate (and with the looming threat of climate change hanging over our heads!) it is vitally important that we take a step back and think about where our planet, and humanity, will be in the next twenty, fifty, one hundred years…what kind of world do we want to leave for our children, so that they may enjoy the same natural resources and relative comfort that we have grown up with? Our natural environment is shrinking and our greenhouse emissions are not – and this could spell disaster if we do not take action now. On a grand scale, the problem of climate change and environmental destruction can seem overwhelming – how can one person hope to make a difference when the world is so large, and individually, we are so small? At United Planet, we prefer to live by the powerful words of Ryunosuke Satoro: “ Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” Imagine the global change we could generate if every single person in the United States took action right now – that’s over 300 million people!Of course, this is a lofty goal to pursue. However, only by taking action ourselves can we hope to inspire others to do the same. So what exactly can you do?
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Why Be Conventional? Organic alternatives to our make-up
April 29, 2013
Why Be Conventional? Organic alternatives to our make-upThroughout history the pursuit of beauty has lead us down a dangerous path. From the use of malachite (a green iron ore) in eyeshadow by the ancient Egyptians, the white lead face powders of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to the reported use of rat poison in depilatory creams the early twentieth. Fast-forward to today and we are still taking our lives in our hands. Lead in lipstick and mercury in mascara, the ever-growing list of toxic and potentially harmful ingredients in beauty products is not only worrying, but also truly astounding.
A multi-billion dollar industry, we are spending more on cosmetics and beauty products than ever before. A cruel twist in the bid to look good, it is these products that contain the ingredients that could have potentially damaging long-term health effects. In our campaign for beauty we are slathering creams, applying balms, smearing portions and lotions and re-applying same-said balms; unwittingly ingesting or absorbing toxic ingredient upon toxic ingredient.
Take lead in lipstick for instance. According to FDA (US Food and Drug Administration) research in 2009, the lead content in the average lipstick is around 1.11 ppm (parts per million). If the average woman uses two lipsticks a year for sixty years then the total amount of lead that she is subject to over her lifetime is fairly low. Multiply that comparatively minimal lead absorption with the chemical content of the other beauty products she uses, such as mascara, body lotion and shampoo and the figures begin to stack up.
With this in mind the thought to dump the toxic ingredients and 'green up' your make-up bag is ever more appealing. But do natural and organic products really stand up against conventional drugstore brands?
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