Growing plants indoors can be an enjoyable hobby, but it will require some time and commitment, and you will need to know the proper soil, lighting and temperature for the plant you wish to grow. There are also several various ways of growing pot plants.

Before you do anything, you should inspect the area in which you plan to grow your plants. The potted plant should receive natural light, several hours per day. If you have the budget for it, you can also use artificial lighting. There are special indoor lights and lamps that can be used to replace natural sunlight. Temperature is the easiest factor for you to control, but be sure that your home’s temperature is right for the plant.

When growing a pot plant, you should match it with the appropriate container. The bigger the plant, the bigger the pot should be. A big plant in a small pot can become unhealthy. Its roots won’t be able to breathe properly and this can stunt its growth. A small plant in a large pot will usually not look good, but it might grow to fit its pot. Or you can simply grow your plant in a smaller pot and transplant it to a bigger pot when it grows. You can also choose from various styles and sizes. The diameter of the container should be half the height of the plant. Ensure the pot has drainage holes in the bottom, so that the roots will not drown.

The next step is to look for the proper soil or growing medium. Garden soil is usually not suitable, because it doesn’t drain properly. It might also contain insects or fungi that can be harmful to your plant. There are packaged potting soils available on the market, which can hold moisture and at the same time aerate the roots of your plant.

There are a few key factors that can affect the timing of when the plant should be watered. These are sun, rain, wind, heat, and the type of plant you are growing.

Most pot plants should be watered regularly, but not to the drowning point. But some desert plants, such as aloe vera, may do better when their soil is allowed to dry out, and is then flooded with large amounts of water.  This makes some desert varieties ideal for people who have a hard time remembering to water their plants regularly.  The amount of water any plant needs can vary each day.

Potted plants also dry up faster than those growing in the ground. To find out whether a plant needs to be watered, you can stick your finger into the soil. If it is dry, then it needs to be watered.

Pot plants generally require fertilizers every two weeks. When you water a plant, it flushes the nutrients from the growing medium. Use organic fertilizers – especially if there are kids or pets around the area where you keep the pot, if you are growing an edible plant, or if the plant will be used for personal care or medicinal purposes.

As a note, some plants are poisonous to animals or humans.  If you have pets or children in your home, ensure you do proper research on a plant before you bring it into an environment where they can access it.  (See Pets and Plant Poisoning for more information on this.)

When you grow a plant in or around your home, you should do what you can to protect it from destructive pests. Even if it’s inside the house, insects can get in and destroy your plant. There are several organic pesticides you can use to combat this problem.

Growing pot plants – whether inside the home, in a window box, on a patio or balcony, or in an outdoor garden, is a rewarding and worthwhile endeavor.  Pot plants can provide herbs for teas or natural remedies, edible fruits and vegetables, fragrance, or simply decoration.

As is the case with any gardening project, growing indoor plants does require a bit of study and application of standard practices and proper growing techniques, but this will become easier with practice, and will be well worth the trouble.

Many smart shoppers are talking about eco-clothing these days. People are becoming increasingly aware of materials used in the products they buy, and how they are manufactured. Designers are looking for ways to incorporate materials from sustainable resources.

Eco clothing lines are those which are designed in such a way as to maintain harmony with nature.

Consumers should be on the lookout to support products that are organic, recycled, and created with as little waste as possible. Once the demand for an alternative product increases, manufacturers have no choice but to make more of it.  Many modern consumers are looking for products with small carbon footprints.

But currently, eco-clothing has a relatively small market share in the fashion industry and it might take a few more years before it goes mainstream. It is more expensive than typical clothing, but one advantage it has over the average clothing is that eco-clothing is stronger, higher quality, and generally lasts longer.

There are different types of eco clothing. Most of them are made from natural materials, such as organic cotton, soy, bamboo, leather alternatives, and a lot more.

Bamboo fabric is one type of material used in eco-clothing. It is a natural textile, made from the pulp of the bamboo. It is both strong and light at the same time, which makes it a viable alternative fabric, for clothing use.

When it has not been spun yet, bamboo fiber looks a lot like cotton. Bamboo grass can grow without the use of insecticides, and it can grow fast. The process of making bamboo fiber doesn’t require chemicals or bleaches that can harm the environment.

Bamboo also grows very quickly, so that it is replaced very soon after it is harvested.  Since any living plant produces oxygen, a  plant that grows back quickly after being cut down is good for helping maintain oxygen levels in the environment.

Another type of eco clothing is clothing made from organic cotton. It is just like regular cotton except it is grown without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides. The process of growing organic cotton has a low impact on the environment; it replenishes well, and its soil maintains fertility. Acceptance of organic cotton is growing, and more cotton farmers are now switching to organic methods.

Recycled fleece is used to create another type of eco clothing. This fabric is made from recycled soda bottles. Though it is not a natural fiber, it is considered environment-friendly because it’s made from recycled materials. Recycled fleece is used to make outerwear, soft-soled baby shoes, and diaper covers.

These are just a few of the different types of eco clothing currently available on the market.  There are still other types of eco clothing out there.

When you’re shopping, make sure to check clothing labels to see what your new garments are made of. If you want to be socially and environmentally responsible, buying and using eco-clothing is the right thing to do.

The standard news from the business world is not always encouraging. Scandals seem to be more common than not and the current climate of Madoff’s and Exxon Mobil’s isn’t helping. But as we all know, honest businesses do exist, especially in the green sector and many of them are great examples of how to grow your business while staying true to social responsibility and environmental values.

One of these companies is Seventh Generation. The company describes themselves as “the world’s most trusted brand of authentic, safe, and environmentally-responsible products for a healthy home.” When you learn more about the company, it’s hard to argue with this claim. The company’s name and philosophy is derived from the Great Law of the Iroquois that states, “In our every deliberation, we must consider the impact of our decisions on the next seven generations.”

Transparency is the first sign that a company is genuinely invested in and concerned about their social responsibility and environmental impacts. If a company produces an annual social responsibility report (SRR) and sustainable report (SR) then you know they have at least taken the time to think about the issues. It does not guarantee they genuinely care about environmental issues, but it is generally a sign they are headed in the right direction.

Seventh Generation writes a yearly “Corporate Consciousness Report,” an in-depth and honest look into all of the activities of the company. The report outlines sales, giving, employees, carbon footprint, transportation-related GHG emissions, packaging, manufacturing partners, sourcing, product design, and green workplace. The report also provides a section at the beginning outlining the achievements (environmental or not) of the previous year. One of 2008’s biggest successes was Seventh Generation’s purchase of sustainable palm oil credits and participation in the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil. Palm oil is a major component in many of their most popular cleaning products.

So you are probably wondering, what is so great about Seventh Generation’s products?

According to their website, Seventh Generation name-brand products include non-chlorine bleached, 100% recycled paper towels, bathroom and facial tissues, and napkins; non-toxic, phosphate-free cleaning, dish and laundry products; plastic trash bags made from recycled plastic; chlorine-free baby diapers, training pants, and baby wipes; and chlorine-free feminine care products, including organic cotton tampons.

Unlike nearly all other companies in the cleaning products business, Seventh Generation discloses all of their ingredients and explains what each does on all the products they sell. There are no laws requiring them to do so, but they are working hard to turn those laws into reality by lobbying.

In the last couple of years, Seventh Generation has not only made their own business more sustainable, but assisted manufacturers in their supply chain. In 2008 they held Manufacturing Partner Sustainability Summit, one of the first of its kind, which helps businesses in their supply chain become more socially responsible and environmentally-friendly.

They also donate 10% of their pre-tax profits to non-profit community, environmental, health, and responsible business organizations working for positive change. This is a huge percentage compared to most other companies, even those in the green sector.

On top of all that, Seventh Generation also has a climate action plan, which the company says will reduce their GHG emissions by 80% by 2050 (normalized to sales). They adopted this before many countries had even considered it.

I have really only scratched the service of Seventh Generation’s commitment to sustainability and social responsibility, but it is clear that they are a model for businesses of all sizes. They are not perfect, but they are making progress and are genuinely concerned about their environmental and social impact. In 30 years, if I had to bet, Seventh Generation will be one of largest household products companies, beating out Clorox by a long shot.

The first time I heard of the phrase Cradle to Cradle (C2C) was when a friend told me take a bath with a book called Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things. The reason for the bath and the book at the same time? The book is printed on synthetic ‘paper,’ made from plastic resins and inorganic filters, and is designed to “look and feel like top quality paper while also being waterproof and rugged.” The book can be recycled in all areas where polypropylene (think yogurt containers) recycling is available and can be reused for a lifetime, barring any contact with fire or radioactive materials.

I quickly became intrigued with the book and plowed my way through it. The ideal behind Cradle to Cradle design is that of the design of the book: use, recycle, reuse. C2C is the anti-thesis of single-use throw away design that dominated American capitalism in the last half of the 20th century. It is a relatively new idea—simple in conception, difficult in reality—that is creating quite the buzz throughout the “green” industry.

The current buzz from C2C is the result of Michael Braungart and William McDonough, the authors of the previously mentioned book. Although others conceived of the idea before them, they are largely responsible for the recent popularization of the term. Their book is the first manifesto of the C2C movement and an excellent introduction to this revolutionary school of design.

Cradle-to-cradle products, as opposed to cradle-to-grave products, are designed and produced to be “perpetually circulated in a closed loop,” thus maximizing their value while simultaneously reducing damage to ecosystems. C2C seeks to eliminate “waste” altogether.

The language of C2C design can be complex, but understanding only a few terms will give you a basic understanding of the philosophy. Braungart and McDonough split up all materials into two categories: technical and biological nutrients. A biological nutrient is “a biodegradable material posing no immediate or eventual hazard to living systems that can be used for human purposes and can safely return to the environment to feed environmental processes,” while a technical nutrient is “a material that remains in a closed-loop system of manufacture, reuse, and recovery (the technical metabolism), maintaining its value through many product life cycles.”

In an ideal world, Braungart and McDonough would like to see products solely designed by C2C protocols and entirely composed of either biological or technical nutrients. This would ensure a truly sustainable economy, one that not only reduces resource use in the present, but also guarantees those resources’ health in the future.

Unfortunately this ideal world does not exist and probably never will, but Braungart and McDonough have conceived a ‘C2C Certification’ that rates nearly any type of human product: consumer items, buildings, cities, social systems, and more. Although the certification system was initially slow in gaining traction, entire cities in China could become certified in the near future.

According to Braungart and McDonough’s company website, C2C certification “provides a company with a means to tangibly, credibly measure achievement in environmentally-intelligent design and helps customers purchase and specify products that are pursuing a broader definition of quality… This means using environmentally safe and healthy materials; design for material reutilization, such as recycling or composting; the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency; efficient use of water, and maximum water quality associated with production; and instituting strategies for social responsibility.”

Hundreds of products have become C2C-certified and more are in the process. To learn more about certification, check out the site, which gives an overview of the certification process and the requirements to become certified.

C2C design is incredibly important as the United States and the world transitions into a clean energy and green economy. Simply reducing consumption and building renewable energy projects is not enough because it is not genuinely sustainable for the future. Concentrating on creating processes and products that do away with consumption altogether is what C2C is about and that is the model the new economy needs.

Several weeks ago at a company summit in Bentonville, Arkansas, the world’s largest retailer announced plans and some details for the most comprehensive and ambitious retail sustainability index in history.

During the last couple years Wal-Mart has been taking steps, some more significant than others, to become more sustainable. The company is experimenting with hybrid and biodiesel shipping trucks, stocks a line of clothing made with organic cotton, installed solar panels at many stores in California, and sells concentrated detergent only, which saves an enormous amount of resources: 400 million gallons of water, more than 95 million pounds of plastic resin and more than 125 million pounds of cardboard.

Wal-Mart’s announcement to develop a worldwide sustainability product index, however, is a step above its previous efforts to become more sustainable. The index will establish a single source of data for evaluating the sustainability of all of Wal-Mart’s products. It is the first initiative of its kind in the world. Lifecycle analysis of products is not uncommon, but for a company of Walmart’s size and scope, it is unheard of.

According to the press release:

The company will introduce the initiative in three phases, beginning with a survey of its more than 100,000 suppliers around the world. The survey includes 15 questions that will serve as a tool for Walmart’s suppliers to evaluate their own sustainability efforts. The questions will focus on four areas: energy and climate; material efficiency; natural resources, and; people and community.

The survey will be sent to more than 100,000 suppliers around the world. Questions vary from relatively simple to complex:
- Have you measured your corporate greenhouse gas emissions?
- If measured, please report the total amount of solid waste generated from the facilities that produce your product(s) for Walmart for the most recent year measured.
- Do you know the location of 100 percent of the facilities that produce your product(s)?

“The survey will include simple but powerful questions covering familiar territory, such as the location of our suppliers’ factories, along with new areas like water use and solid waste,” said John Fleming, chief merchandising officer, Walmart U.S. “The questions aren’t complicated but we’ve never before systematically asked for this kind of information. The survey is a key first step toward establishing real transparency in our supply chain.”

The second stage involves creating a “consortium of universities that will collaborate with suppliers, retailers, NGOs and government to develop a global database of information on the lifecycle of products.”

The third and final stage will be the task of translating the product information Wal-Mart receives from its suppliers into simple and meaningful information that consumers can use. This is quite possibly the most important stage of project. If the information provided is too complex, consumers will not pay attention, but if it is too rudimentary, attentive consumers will wonder if their choices are making a difference at all. Consumers are not likely to see the “green” ratings on store shelves for at least 2-3 years. The labels will likely look similar to food labels with fat and calorie contents, but their design has not been finalized.

Walmart’s president and CEO Mike Duke said that the company is not seeking to create or own the sustainability index. He is hoping it can be applied universally to products from all companies, regardless of location, and be used as a kind of open source technology.

“We want to spur the development of a common database,” said Duke, “that will allow the consortium to collect and analyze the knowledge of the global supply chain. We think this shared database will generate opportunities to be more innovative and to improve the sustainability of products and processes.”

Although United States locations plan to complete phase 1 by October 1, a timeline was not given during the webcast.

Adrian Gonzalez of Logistics Viewpoints was pleased with Wal-Mart’s announcement, but questioned some aspects of the initiative:

“I applaud Walmart’s effort to work with various stakeholders to develop global sustainability standards and metrics. Without standards, broader adoption of sustainability practices is not possible. But as anyone who’s been involved with standards bodies knows, getting companies across different industries and geographic regions (as well as governments) to agree on anything is a very long and painful process. And when you consider that sustainability is such a politicized topic, the challenge is even greater. In my opinion, this step will take years (maybe a decade) to complete, if ever.”

Because the bulk of the development has yet to be completed, Wal-Mart could only offer general details about the sustainability index, but it is clear that if the initiative is only partly successful, it will send ripples throughout the retail industry. At the moment, those in the “green” business sector should applaud Wal-Mart for undertaking such a pioneering task, one that, if successful, will provide a framework for other businesses, large and small, to truly understand the environmental and social impacts of their products.

Questions still remain, however. The goal of the index is “to provide customers with product information in a simple, convenient, easy to understand rating, so they can make choices and consume in a more sustainable way.” In other words, consumers are the force of change in the system; Wal-Mart makes no promises of making the changes themselves. While the system will make it easier for outside groups to lobby Wal-Mart to buy more responsible products, their supply chains are not likely to change unless consumers pay attention to the information. Will the consumers be up to the task? One hopes so.