Welcome to FilterForGood’s new “What’s On Tap” page! “What’s On Tap” will help keep you updated on all of FilterForGood’s amazing partnerships and upcoming events. We will also feature what’s hot in green and environmental news, post helpful articles and share pictures and videos from events across the country.

We’ll also share helpful tips to stay green and save money, so don’t forget to subscribe to “What’s On Tap” for the most recent FilterForGood news!

It’s officially summertime and that means sticky, sweaty days and nights. (Not the best visual, I know…but it’s true!) Are you happy with your deodorant? Besides keeping you fresh and sweat-free, there are actually many factors to consider when purchasing and using deodorants. The astringent compounds in deodorants and antiperspirants, such as zinc and aluminum, reduce sweat and odor producing bacteria—but they can also cause skin irritation, and some products contain potential or known carcinogens and hormone disruptors. Scary.

Here are some tips for purchasing the best deodorants for your body, thanks to the Green Guide.**

Steer Clear of the Dirty Dozen:

Remember when I wrote about the Cosmetic Dirty Dozen?** If nothing else, avoid any deodorant that lists an ingredient included in the Green Guide’s Dirty Dozen Chemicals in Cosmetics.** Of those 12, those most commonly found in deodorants and antiperspirants are antibacterials, diethanolamine (DEA), formaldehyde, petroleum distillates, fragrance and parabens.

Avoid Aerosol Products:

Aerosols are typically made with petroleum based ingredients and can be respiratory irritants. Steer clear.

Don’t Rely on Undefined Claims:

Terms such as “hypoallergenic” or “natural” are not regulated by the FDA and therefore provide no guarantees of a product’s safety.

Look For The Leaping Bunny:

Leaping Bunny-certified products** ensure that the product hasn’t been tested on animals.

Make Your Own:

You can make your own deodorant from baking soda (which deodorizes) and cornstarch (which absorbs moisture and deodorizes). Dab them on with a powder puff after a shower, while you’re skin is still damp. (Does anyone actually do this? I’m not sure I believe it.)

Ignore the Breast Cancer Rumors:

I have to admit, this one even got to me. I was quite concerned that antiperspirants could lead to breast cancer, but no credible evidence exists to link the two. The American Cancer Society has compiled a convincing set of counter-arguments** to this widespread, Internet-disseminated rumor.

Brands such as Weleda** and Burt’s Bees** make effective “green”  deodorants and antiperspirants. What are some other green brands that work well for you?

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.

Can you believe 2010 is half over already? I hope your New Year resolutions are going well — especially if you made a pledge to finally start toting a reusable bottle this year. If you’ve now made a water-wise habit of quenching your thirst without creating unnecessary plastic waste, I challenge you to set a mid-year’s resolution — to bring water-wise habits to other aspects of your life.

Water, after all, is a huge topic right now, especially with the crazy amount of ocean pollution from the Gulf oil spill. That disaster, combined with all the other sources of water pollution and global warming-caused droughts, has even non-environmentalists thinking about using water as wisely and conservatively as possible. And water really is connected to everything. In Los Angeles where I live, even clean energy advocates care deeply about water issues — because 20 percent of the energy we use is spent simply bringing clean water from far off places!

Many of us have already taken simple steps for water conservation, like taking shorter showers and turning off the tap when brushing our teeth. But this already hot summer’s a great time to start thinking about bigger water savings. And conveniently, Yes!** — one of my favorite green-minded magazines — has dedicated its latest issue to water solutions.**

This comprehensive issue lays out some big picture concerns,** from considering the challenges of desalination plants to converting our farmlands to use drip irrigation. But more to the point of personal lifestyle choices, Yes! also has put together a list of 6 simple ways to bring the water revolution home.**

These half dozen tips are indeed relatively simple — but are definitely more involved than simply turning off the faucet. Still, most can be tackled over a relaxing summer weekend or few, whether it’s revamping the garden to plant less thirsty plants, or figuring out how much water you’re using then shopping for less water-intensive appliances. The easiest tip is to capture your rainwater for reuse; all you have to do is put a big container under your downspout! And the most social tip’s to get to know your local waterway — a move that’ll likely help connect you with fellow water activists in your neighborhood.

I can attest personally to the fact that getting to know your local waterway’s an enjoyable form of activism. I took a tour of the L.A. River a while back, and from seeing it up close, feel I have a closer connection to and understanding of my city as a whole. As for Yes!’s other tips — Those are tougher to follow for apartment dwellers like me who have neither a downspout nor a real garden. I have, however, instituted a low-tech guerilla gardening system that conserves water. That would me me hauling out my dish rinsing water to water my balcony garden!

Want more water saving tips? Eco-bloggers have lots to share:

>> Use a soaker hose in your garden.** Re-Nest points out that this frugal watering method can save you up to 70 percent on your watering bill: “That number can be even lower if you’re recycling water collected from a rain barrel or additional collection system.”

>> Read a water-wise book.** Grist’s Umbra’s next book club read’s an ocean-friendly tome: The World Is Blue: How Our Fate and the Ocean’s Are One. “It’s a fact-filled, inspiring ode to the oceans. A page-turner. It’s also a very fine read at the beach!”

>> Take fewer showers.** Says plastic-free blogger Beth, a.k.a. Fake Plastic Fish: “Some people save water by taking quick showers. I save water by showering every other day instead.”

>> Travel with a reusable bottle or mug.** Tiny Choices recommends considering your real hydration needs to lighten your load: “If it’s hot weather maybe you don’t need your reusable travel mug, just a water bottle – or if you would rather, just bring your mug with and use it to fill with water in local bathrooms or at water fountains while you’re out and about.”

Got your own water-wise tip? Share it in the comments –

Photo by D Sharon Pruitt**

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.

I’ve been totally inspired by the book Grow Great Grub** to start a little garden of my own on our back patio. After reading about Siel’s adventures, as well as another blogger that I adore,** I decided it’s time to buck up and plant some herbs and vegetables. I mean, it’s the perfect time, right? I should be having my new baby any day now…I have PLENTY of time to grow a garden!

I just received the book in the mail yesterday, but I dove right in. Gayla Trail, the author, is the creator of the popular gardening project, You Grow Girl** (now in its 10th year) and the author of You Grow Girl: The Groundbreaking Guide to Gardening as well as an in-demand gardening personality and spokesperson with a focus on urban gardening, growing food, sustainable living, and community.

The book covers issues such as choosing a location and making the most of your soil (even if it’s less than perfect), building a raised bed, compost bin, and self-watering container using recycled materials, keeping pests and diseases away from your plants (the toxin-free way), growing bountiful crops in pots and selecting the best heirloom varieties, cultivating hundreds of plants, from blueberries to Thai basil, to the best tomatoes you’ll ever taste and and preserving to make the most of your garden’s harvest. Phew! That’s a lot of information, but Gayla makes it all super accessible and easy for the TOTAL garden novice to understand.

I think my first project is going to be planting multiple veggies in one pot – according to Homegrown LA,** a single tomato plant can be flanked by 2 pepper plants and 2 basil plants in an 18-inch deep pot. Sounds good to me! Wish me luck!

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.

Hello, FilterForGoodians. Composting is something I’ve blogged about before here on FFG. It’s also something I’ve wanted to do for years, but for some reason, the start up costs always seem to be prohibitively expensive (specifically buying the big bins). I need to be composting because we cook almost every night at my house, and everything I make is fresh. We consume tons of fresh fruit and vegetables, and it breaks my heart to throw all those scraps away. So, for your post today, I’ve discovered a company that is doing something good with all that waste. The company is EcoScraps.**

The story starts on their homepage, “Americans throw out nearly 30 million tons of food every year—27 million of it from supermarkets, restaurants, and convenience stores. This is 25% of all food produced. All of this wasted food can be turned into a fully organic, nutrient-rich soil amendment.”

They talk about how chemical fertilizers offer the soil high nutrient values, but little organic values. They also mention that traditional compost offer high organic values, but low nutrients. Enter EcoScraps. What makes their product different is through a completely organic process they produce high quality soil conditioner that has the same nutrient values as chemical based soil amendments and is 100% organic. This is the only soil amendment on the market that offers the best of both worlds.

Their Web site doesn’t really tell the whole story, so I had to do a little digging to find about more about this story. In an interview with the Standard-Examiner,** I discovered that they company was founded by a young guy named Daniel Blake. Apparently, he was eating at an all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet when he noticed how much food was being wasted by patrons. He started developing his product by dumpster-diving, and experimenting with composting in his apartment complex’s dumpsters. He finally found the right combination, and his business was off and running.

This story is so inspiring. It makes me want to start something like that here in New Orleans. We have so many restaurants, that I think it could be very successful. I also want to interview this guy, and learn more about what they’re doing.

Missed all the fun, green-minded beach activities on International Surfing Day** last weekend? Then put the beach in your planner for this weekend, when Hands Across the Sand** will bring environmentalists around the world out of their homes and onto the sand.

The purpose of Hands Across the Sand is simple: To gather to oppose offshore drilling. Planned in response to the Gulf oil spill, Hands Across the Sand is a peaceful stand against environmentally-destructive drilling for fossil fuels — and a call for clean energy solutions. This quiet event’s organized by a collective of environmental organizations — including FilterForGood partner Surfrider Foundation.**

All you have to do to be part of Hands Across the Sand** is get to the event nearest you on Saturday, June 26 at 11 am, whatever time zone you’re in. There, you’ll gather, meet fellow environmental activists in your neighborhood, and learn about offshore drilling and how to organize to oppose it. Then at noon, you’ll join hands with your neighbors to form symbolic lines in the sand against oil drilling.

For bonus points, make sure to walk, bike, take public transit, or at the very least, carpool to the event. After all, it would be ironic to burn fossil fuels by driving all alone to an event that’s trying to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. I also recommend taking your reusable bottle with you, to drink from plastic waste-free if the summer heat makes you thirsty.

I plan to bike over to the Hands Across the Sand event nearest me, happening right next to the famous Santa Monica.** Tourist season’s already in full swing, so I’m hoping that in addition to the locals, visitors will be encouraged to join the line and participate in this worldwide event. Where will you be June 26 at 11 am?

Image via handsacrossthesand.org

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.

By 1996, “cruelty-free” shopping became quite the popular buzzword, but it was also confusing, sometimes misleading, and ultimately frustrating. Companies had begun designing their own logos, abiding by their own definition of ‘cruelty-free’ or ‘animal friendly’ without the participation of animal protection groups.

In response, eight national animal protection groups banded together to form the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics (CCIC). The CCIC promotes a single comprehensive standard and an internationally recognized Leaping Bunny logo. What exactly is the Leaping Bunny, you ask? It is the gold standard for cruelty-free labeling for personal care and household products, and is the only one that requires companies (as well as their ingredient suppliers and manufacturers) to sign assurances that they are not testing on animals during any stage of product development. Leaping Bunny also commissions on-site compliance audits.

The Leaping Bunny Program publishes and distributes the Compassionate Shopping Guide,** which lists more than 300 Leaping Bunny certified companies including L’Occitane, Hard Candy, Mary Kay, Seventh Generation, and Yves Rocher. They have also developed an iPhone App** for cruelty-free shopping and they have more than 8,500 fans and counting on Facebook.**

Essentially, Leaping Bunncy is working with companies to help make shopping for animal-friendly products easier and more trustworthy for us.

Currently, the Leaping Bunny Program is working to obtain 100,000 pledges to go cruelty-free by November 2011, their 15th anniversary. If you want to help this great cause, check out what you can do here!**

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.

Can big events be bottled water-free? Yes they can! Notice the complete absence of disposable water bottles on the speaker table below!

That photo was taken over the weekend, when I (far left) moderated a panel about green business and social media for a mini-conference put on by a local environmental group, Women of the Green Generation.** At that day-long event, no one drank bottled water — at least not the disposable plastic-wrapped kind. Instead, everyone drank water in reusable bottles — or biodegradable cups, provided for those who forgot to BYO bottle — filtered by a company that provides clean, bottle-free drinking water for events.

I’ve been seeing filtered water at more and more green events — though honestly, if filtered water isn’t available, I’ll simply fill my bottle from the nearest water fountain or tap. After all, a lot of bottled water’s really plastic-encased tap water anyway — and sometimes even contains dangerous contaminants. Tap water’s of course not perfect, but is at least required to undergo tougher testing criteria than bottled water is.

Plus, opting for tap’s a great way to save money, as many FilterForGoodians know — especially when you’re on the go. In fact, BYO-bottling’s the big money-saving tip that won the recent Get Rich Slowly video contest.** (via Lifehacker)**

The winner, Austin from Foreigner’s Finances,** explains in his sort video that buying a bottled thirst-quencher — whether bottled water, soda, or energy drink — whenever you get thirsty while out can mean a slow money bleed. His idea is to drink tap not just in lieu of bottled water, but for other drinks too.

“Avoid those little 2 to 5 dollar purchases when you’re thirsty and want a quick drink, like a Gatorade or a Coke,” says Austin, a self-described BYO bottler who makes use of both water fountains and bathroom sinks. Even if you only buy a bottled drink every few days, that habit likely costs you about $5 a week. Change that habit to BYO-bottling, and savings will add up to $250 a year, Austin points out.

A nice side benefit for those who are prepping for swimsuit season: BYO-bottling and filling up with water will also keep you from downing empty calories you don’t need. After all, if you pop into a convenience store every time you get thirsty, you’re often tempting yourself to buy sugary sodas, juice punches, and energy drinks. Did you know that a single can of Rockstar** has as much sugar as a half dozen Krispy Kreme Original Glazed Doughnuts?

That means even if you avert your eyes from all the cheap chocolate bars, candy, and chips in the convenience stores and look only at the drink section, you can still pack on the pounds. I don’t keep junk food in the house because I know if I see it, I’ll eat it — which is why I stay out of convenience stores for the most part too! Don’t self-sabotage your health goals by letting a legitimate need (thirst) lead you into unnecessary temptation (empty calories in sugary drinks and junk food). Save your money and your waistline by BYO-bottling this summer.

Photo by anahr**

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.

Hi, FilterForGoodians. I’ve got a delicious post for you today. I always love coming across a story that combines my passion for the environment and my love of food. And, do I have a doozie for you today. I’ve discovered Otarian,** a restaurant that goes beyond being merely 100% sustainable. They also reward their patrons (with karma points) for eating and participating in their green movement.

Now, I blog about it all the time here on FFG. I love it when businesses create easy ways for consumers to do good for the planet without even thinking about it. For instance, Otarian enables us to do good and go green by simply ordering something off of their menu. Speaking of their menu, you’ve got to check it out!**

Feast your eyes on the Tex Mex Burger below. It’s vegetarian, and although I’ve never tasted it, it looks pretty darn good. Beyond the food, take a look at the right side of the photo below. They list carbon comparisons on their menu where they compare their menu items to more conventional (meaty) fare. Neat.

Here’s a synopsis of how they describe themselves:

Otarian is based on its creator’s dream of a fully sustainable planet, and her hope in the intelligence of human kind to understand, accept and adapt to a more sustainable way. One of the main contributors to global environmental degradation is the livestock industry. The effects of large-scale meat production are wide-spread and impact unsustainably on almost all aspects of the environment whilst creating other economic and social costs.

Greenhouse gas emissions, inefficient utilization of resources, deforestation, water pollution, land degradation, unfair trade, ill health and obesity are just some of these costs. The Otarian menu is completely meat-free, a delicious range of vegetarian options that eliminate the negative effects of livestock production whilst providing nourishment.

Otarian also focuses on evolving sustainably in its social, economic and environmental endeavours. After years of creation and development, Otarian takes its first steps, launching 4 Otarian restaurants in New York and London this year. A first step on what I hope will be a very successful path.

Each and every individual consuming an Otarian meal makes a small but meaningful difference to the planet and all its inhabitants. Otarian’s goal is to provide guests with delicious vegetarian alternatives and, in so doing, to empower them to make a positive impact on the environment one meal at a time. This is why Otarian has undertaken ground breaking research and provided the first ever comprehensive CO2e footprint for every item on its menu.

Have you eaten at Otarian? Comment below and tell us about it!

Alas, Otarian is only located in NYC and London currently, but here’s hoping we get one down here in New Orleans soon. Hey, we did just get a Pink Berry.**

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.

I can’t believe it’s almost here, but my baby is due to arrive in two weeks! We’ve been in nesting mode over here – although for some reason, my instinct doesn’t kick in until around 11pm each night. (What’s up with that?) I can definitely vouch that the second baby doesn’t arouse quite the nesting/list-making impulses that I had for the first one, but we’ve been stocking up on our favorite necessities nonetheless. I thought I might share some of our very favorite tried-and-true products.

1. Seventh Generation Diapers** – Sure, they are probably not as environmentally-friendly as cloth diapers, but I AM LAZY. These chlorine-free diapers work well for days and nights and are much easier on your little ones bums.

2. California Baby Super Sensitive Shampoo & Bodywash** – We definitely have a theme over here and it revolves around no scent. If the product is scented, it’s a deal breaker for me. This bodywash has no scent whatsoever and is super gentle for babies’ skin.

3. Method Go Naked Hand Wash** – Once again, no scent and no dyes means no irritation. And if you are new to this baby gig, trust me, you’ll be washing your hands A LOT.

4. Seventh Generation Baby Wipes** – This product is not only for babies, but for all ages. We use these wipes every day for our preschoolers’ hands, wiping his bum and pretty much everything that calls for a wipe. I LOVE these wipes and buy them in bulk!

5. The Miracle Blanket** – The day we started using this with our son was the day he started sleeping hours and hours at a time at night. Our favorite version is the 100% cotton knit with no dyes.** Don’t be afraid to buy several of these – we have three.

What about you? Any favorites for newborns?

**You are leaving the FilterForGood Web site. The Brita Products® Company is not responsible for the content or data collection of that independent site.