Hello dear reader,
This blog is discontinued as I decided to move my writing frenzy about sustainable living to a new, more professional-looking website. Here you go http://www.artofgreen.eu/.
Talk to you there!
Loves,
Product Social Footprint, a brand new certification of quality for ethical entrepreneurs and businesses
Today I was invited to attend the web presentation (in Italian) of a brand new quality assessment for the products we buy. Some of you may be familiar with the expression “environmental footprint”, which is often calculated in terms of CO2 emissions related to the production and/or consumption of a product.
The new certification complements the environmental footprint certificate by shifting the focus to other critical factors determining the value of a product, i.e. demographics and living conditions of the people who work for the company, which produce the product we buy.
The Social Footprint label was officially launched in Italy at the end of April 2015. Here’s how its design should look like.
I’ll let you know what I’ll learn in the seminar. Follow me on the social media channel to stay updated.
Have a great day,
GA
Algae, the sustainable superfood
Hi folks,
I tried algae for the first time – except for kombu algae and similar, which I used to eat while living in Japan. I tried organic algae hand-harvested on the West coast of Irland – so they write on the label.
Are you wondering about the taste? It is… ehm… peculiar. I didn’t dislike it though. In my opinion, the taste resembled much that of seafood – seafood towards the harbour O.0
It all comes down on how you combine them – see below under “How do I eat algae”.
Image courtesy of ALGA-NET
Why shall I eat algae?
Because they are a kind of food as for now produced in an ultra sustainable way and they are super nutritious. For example, 100g of algae contains on avarage 200% of the RDA of Vitamin B12, 480% of the RDA of calcium and 241% of RDA of magnesium. In fact, they are a superfood. And if you are a real Green Addict like me, you’d like to think of where your food comes from and you’d strive to eat as local as possible. Contrary to many superfoods praised by numerous health coaches, this superfood is currently available in Europe, so it does not have to travel long before hitting your table.
How do I eat algae?
Put it on the top of your soup or in the salad, instead of croutons. They are dried and crunchy, which makes it a nice texture contrast. Try it on fresh peas homemade soup… it blends in the flavor very well!
Good luck with your experiments in the kitchen,
GA
PS: I bought wild organic algae called “Atlantic Carragheen”, or “Chondrus Crispus”. I found them at the bio supermarket NaturaSì.
OMG So much plastic! How to avoid packaging excess
During my time living in Copenhagen I was a member of an organic local veggie association. Every week I used to go pick up my “dose” of vegetables taking with me a canvas bag, filling it up with potatoes, tomatoes, onions, garlic, salad, beetroots – and again a lot of potatoes, beetroots, potatoes, beetroots, potatoes, beetroots… well, that’s what they eat over there :).
Although we are not lacking similar veggie group purchasing in Italy (es. Cortilia in Milan), I didn’t get the chance to become a member of any of those yet. But I think today I will take action against it, as I was completely shocked at seeing the enormous amount of plastic is used in packaging in supermarkets. I mean, I knew it before… but today I looked down to the cart and…
It kind of hurt my eyes…
And my heart. Think about how much petroleum, processing energy, CO2 emissions, transportation costs, toxins and mould on our food we can save, just by avoiding packaged fruits & vegetables.
Next time you are at the grocery store… Think about this post. Let’s make a change together!
“Sorry if we used plastic for packaging, but please do recycle it” – What?! Are you kidding me? Of course I will recycle it.
That’s the least I could do, but you, dear producer, should just stop filling up my house, my fridge and my cabinets of it. You and I, we both deserve to nurture ourselves – and leave on a cleaner, healthier Planet.
Armonia at Castello Belgiogioso, a slow fair to take care of your health, spirit and inner beauty
Holidays! While the majority of us Italians are spending the first long weekend of summer at the seaside, I decided to go relaxing at the Armonia Festival hosted by the beautiful Castle of Belgioioso, not so far from Milan.
There I lost myself into the harmonious vibe coming from all over the places, dancers, musicians, qi-gong, masseurs, and…
A mind-blowing approach to healthy and natural sleeping… Check out Pedano, true excellence for your back, body and rest.
Walter and his didgeridoo, music for the soul from the traditions of Australia.
My eco-friendly outfit today is made of second hand clothing, social impact necklace Bead for Life (which I told you about a few days ago here), handmade hay wallet – a souvenir from my spiritual trip to Thailand and my fave healthiest shoes ever Vivobarefoot.
Until next time,
Take care 🙂
GA
Monza Sustainability, Green Lifestyle and Young Entrepreneurs Community on MeetUp
I’m so excited to announce I have opened my first MeetUp group as a facilitator of a local green lifestyle community. I live in a city close to Milan that hosts one of the biggest fenced public parks in Europe, a bomb of energy, natural scents and greenness… Welcome to Monza!
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Oggi ho aperto il mio primo gruppo su MeetUp. Utilizzo il servizio già da parecchio tempo e lo trovo davvero utile per incontrare persone vicino a noi, che condividono i nostri stessi interessi. Se volete salvare il pianeta, e nel frattempo divertirvi ed essere inondati dalla mia energia positiva (chi mi conosce sa… ;-)), unitevi al gruppo qui!
A presto il primo incontro…
A presto e buon weekend,
GA
Tips on how to organize a sustainable event
I’ve been to the World Fair trade Week conference in Milan to attend the #Fefs talk, a delightful event where I listened to the words of my green blogger friend Francesca Romana Rinaldi (Biofashion), the founder and CEO of @People Tree Safia Minney and director Andrew Morgan of stunning docufilm about fashion industry @The true cost.
Tip #1 • Treat your staff well
If you are organizing an event that brings some good to society, young volunteers will run to help you. However, you should not forget to treat them right. If they have fun and enjoy working at the sustainable event, they will have a good memory of sustainability and the people gravitating around the so-called ‘conscious’ world. You give us all a favour by making possible for young people to associate positive experiences to sustainability, as they will remember it over time – and probably a sustainable mindset will influence their mindset as young parents and adults.
Tip #2 • Substitute neck straps with everlasting beautiful necklaces
It is difficult to produce a zero impact event. AGICES – the producers of the Fair & Ethical Fashion Show had the wonderful idea of substituting ugly, anonymous and environmentally non-friendly neck straps with beautiful necklaces from the Bead for Life collection. There is no waste and the volunteers will keep the necklace as a conscious gift to themselves.
I myself have bought Bead for Life jewellery a few years ago and I’m happy to see this project is still alive. They make eco bijoux by turning used colored paper into beads and they realize colorful, elegant and unique bio accessories. Moreover, by purchasing a Bead for Life eco accessory you will assist a social project to eradicate poverty in some areas in Africa (Uganda, Kenya, and others).
Tip #3 • Low impact booth and temporary furniture
Pallet, cardboard, recycled wood, up-cycled furniture, reused, rented or borrowed stuff … It is all good to put together a good-looking, elegant, comfortable and clean environment.
Link to video recap of Fair and Ethical Fashion Show in Milan 2015 [in Italian]
Until next time,
GA
Fashion Revolution Initiative Italy
Today Green Addict participates to the Fashion Revolution campaign! Who made your clothes?
Bermuda by Individuals, the 100% Made in Italy visionary brand of bikini & underwear (and other crazy stuff… 🙂 )
Fruits & Veggies tracker – post your organic eating #foodporn
How often are images of fresh veggies and healthy food published online, compared to junk food alluring pics? Let’s revert the trend! Eat organic F&V, take a nice shot and show the world!
Video casted from http://www.foodpornindex.com/
The smart communication initiative created by Bolthouse Farms will be showcased next month at the Partnership for a Healthier America’s summit, with keynote speaker Michelle Obama.
My best wishes for a truly Happy New Year!
I am green addict 