Consumerist
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Allen's
Allen's Bribes Customers Who Find Dead Rat Heads In Their Italian Green Beans
Texas wedding caterer Dale Cane found a dead rat's head in one of the twenty cans of Allen's Italian Green Beans he bought at Walmart. Allen's quickly offered Cane $200 if he agreed to keep quiet, and assured him that "the Pasteurization process renders the product sterile and completely safe for consumption." Even worse, this isn't the first time a dead rat's head popped up in a can of Allen's Green Beans...
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cars
Hybrids Better Values than Other Car Options
The conventional wisdom around hybrid cars has been that they will save a significant amount on gas costs during their lifetimes and are better for the environment, but that those benefits come at a cost — a higher initial price that makes a hybrid an overall more expensive option for transportation. But Yahoo Green has an analysis showing this is not the case when all of the various economic factors surrounding a car purchase are considered. In fact, it turns out that buying a hybrid is a better financial move than purchasing a comparable non-hybrid car because of the following reasons: More » -
accolades
Macy's Switches To Biodegradable Packing Peanuts
Wesa ordered a cast iron pot from Macy's and it got packed in these special packing peanuts which Macy's says are 100% biodegradable. They're made from corn and potato starch. Macy's says you can dissolve them in water and pour in the garden, yard, sink, or toilet, or put them in the compost, put them in the ground, or simply throw them away where they will "dissolve in the landfill." Pretty neat! The accompanying flyer is inside.
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travel
Calculate The "Emissions Cost" Of Your Next Flight
Enpalo is an online calculator that lets you estimate the flight emissions of your next airplane jaunt—you choose an airline, enter your origin and destination, then sit back and light up a cigar while you laugh about how many baby polar bears you're drowning. More » -
videos
Consumers Use Shopping Spree To Get Store To Make Energy Efficient Choices
Carrotmob leveraged the power of several hundred San Francisco consumers to get a local liquor store to make environmentally friendly choices. How did they do it? Organizer Brent Schulkin went to all the liquor stores and asked if he got a ton of people down there to buy on one day, how great of a percentage of their spending would the store be willing to dedicate to making environmentally friendly improvments? The store with the greatest percentage won and the Carrotmob got several hundred people to show up on one day. The line stretched around the block and bouncers had to be used to regulate the inflow. The consumers spent about five times what the store pulls in on a normal day, generating enough money for the store to redo its lighting system and its refrigeration gaskets. "We can harness the buying power of the casual consumer, get businesses to make environmental choices, and we can do it with the carrot," says Brent in the event video after the jump. Pretty freakin' awesome, a total win-win, imagine what could this look like if it were scaled out on a national level...
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A test of 47 "natural" and "green" labeled soaps, shampoos and other consumer products show that they contain 1,4-dioxan, which has been shown to cause cancer in lab rats. [LAT]
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jewelry
Would You Seek Out "Fairtrade" Gold If You Could?
Gold is the latest commodity vying for the ethical "Fairtrade" seal of approval, reports Reuters in a feature on Britsh/Canadian Greg Valerio and his quest to reduce exploitation—both environmental and human—in the jewelry market. He's currently selling "green gold" (that term really needs some marketing help) from a small jewelry store in Chichester, England, but is working with the Fairtrade Foundation and the Association Responsible Mining—a trade group he helped found—to figure out how to certify gold as Fairtrade by 2009. More » -
goodbye
Biodegradable Coffins, "Composting At Its Best"
Biodegradable coffins allow you to rest in peace without putting a permanent dent in the planet or your wallet. More » -
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whoops
Computer Glitch Causes Toyota Prius To Fail Georgia Emissions Test
If you bought a Toyota Prius and have been trying to pass an emissions test in Georgia, you're probably pretty stressed out right about now. More » -
christmas
National Christmas Tree Association Says Real Trees Are "Green"
Apparently there's some debate about whether or not it's more eco-friendly to buy a real Christmas tree every year or a fake one once every billion years or so. More » -
greening
The Eco-Friendly Potato Chip Is Coming
As energy costs skyrocket it's not just consumers who are hurting, manufacturers aren't pleased with the energy bills they're getting either. More » -
mergers and acquisitions
Clorox Buys Burt's Bees
Clorox is sick of being unnatural so it's going to pay $925 million in cash for natural skin care products manufacturer Burt's Bees. More » -
environment
Upgrade Or Repair Your Home With Eco-Friendly Products
Despite all the media attention, buying well-made, affordable products that are also environmentally sound is still a difficult task. Kiplinger's "Shopping Guide to Eco-Friendly Products" offers several suggestions to help you buy green and get a solid deal on major appliances, lawn care, building supplies, and home maintenance. More » -
green
Fresh Direct To (Eventually) Stop Using Those Awful Cardboard Boxes
FreshDirect is finally doing away with the awful cardboard boxes! (For those of you who are unfamiliar, it's like Peapod but in New York City, and not as good.) One of the main problem with Fresh Direct (from a customer standpoint) is that they pack everything in cardboard boxes. More » -
tips
Online Guide To Home Energy Savings
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy has just updated its Consumer Guide to Home Energy, which "draws on the latest research on home performance and energy use, translating research findings into the practical steps consumers can take to cut their energy consumption." The guide is offered for purchase, but you can also access highlights from it fro free online. More » -
green
Dell Says It Will Go Carbon Neutral By 2008
Being "green" is so hot right now. Everyone's talking about it, even Walmart, and now their best computer buddy is joining in for some of the hot, hot PR action. More » -
marketing
"Green" Credit Cards Are Silly
Bankrate has an article about co-called "green" credit cards that donate a portion of your purchase to environmentally friendly causes. Why are we saying they're silly? More »
green
New York, 8:57 AM
Mon Nov 23
8 posts in the last 24 hours
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