Make Art, Not Trash

I recently attended a very fun and creative school event that was filled with trash. Garbage everywhere: used cans, boxes, plastic bottles, egg cartons…you name it.  The event: a Trashy Art show! In honor of America Recycles day (November 15^th), my son’s elementary school decided to show their green spirit by hosting an art contest for the eco-friendly. It’s part of our school’s ongoing and growing environmental efforts to help us all be more green. Just a couple of years ago, they “politely” suggested that we not send in those nasty disposable plastic water bottles for snack and lunch. It’s worked….most kids bring in their reusable bottles and fill it up from the fountain. Pretty simple, huh?

Back to Trashy Art. The kids were very creative and used a lot of things I would have never have thought of. My son created a cute, but simple creation called “When Pigs Fly” using an Ovaltine can, a used sponge brush, egg carton, warped playing cards and left over Erector Set pieces. I thought it was extremely inventive…until I saw the rest of the entries! Kids made creations with engine pieces, soda cans and bottles, golf clubs, old windows, the list goes on. Really cool stuff.

But even though this was a fun time for the kids, they really did get the message about the importance of recycling. We (adults) can print flyers and talk about being good environmental stewards until we’re blue in the face. Sometimes, to break through the clutter, you have to kick it up a notch and our little Trashy Art show did just that. 

Take a look at some of the entries. You may just get inspired to create something interesting with your trash…..            

               When Pigs Fly                    Bottle Top Creature       Soda Can Wreath w/Golf Balls                

Rani Quirk, Marketing Manager

Add comment November 17th, 2009

Turning your household green, one drop at a time

Being green is certainly in vogue these days. Unlike some fashion trends, being green needs to become a way of life, and not go out of style. But like many things, becoming more environmentally friendly is overwhelming if taken to an extreme. So start out small. Take baby steps, just like we teach our children. Come up with small, simple goals, and try to reach them. Here are some ideas that are simple and easy to do:

1. Print on both sides of the paper: It takes a little patience, but just print page one, then put it back in right side up and print page 2. Simple.  I’ve been doing this for awhile and it is now second nature. Theoretically, this will cut my paper use in half, but I’m not totally diligent yet.
2. Rip paper towels in half: I admit it, I love using paper towels instead of sponges because of the germ factor. So, I just fold them and rip them in half for simple jobs. My kids are trained this way too.
3. Collect leftover drinking water: My kitchen is littered with cups filled with 1-2 inches of water. I pour them in an attractive pitcher by the sink and water potted plants with it.
4. Buy reusable water bottles and keep them accessible: That way, you are less likely to buy wasteful plastic disposable water bottles for convenience sake only. Reduce WaterWeek was designed exactly for this purpose and they work great for us.
5. Buy large boxes and bags of food: Instead of buying small packets of crackers and snacks, buy bigger containers and put in little baggies.

These are just five simple tips, but there are so many more simple and easy ideas out there. Do you have any eco-friendly tips you’d like to share? We’d love to hear.

 Rani Quirk, Marketing Manager

Add comment November 9th, 2009

Happy Halloween! Scary Environmental Facts….

In honor of Halloween, one of my favorite holidays, I wanted to post some really scary and alarming facts that you probably aren’t aware of. I know I wasn’t!  And hopefully, these spooky tidbits of information will get you thinking…about using reusable grocery bags, about recycling cans, bottles and all papers, about using reusable water bottles, about turning off those lights when you leave the room!

Scary Fact #1

Enough aluminum is thrown away to rebuild our commercial air fleet 4 times a yearScary Fact #2Every year enough paper is thrown away to make a 12′ wall from New York to CaliforniaScary Fact #3Making paper uses more water per ton than any other product in the world, even plastic.Scary Fact #4The U.S. has 5% of the world’s population but consumes 30% of the world’s resources and creates 30% of the world’s waste.Scary Fact #5Glass takes more than one million years to decompose in our landfills.Scary Fact #6About 1% of U.S. landfill space is full of disposable diapers, which take 500 years to decompose.Scary Fact #7Each American throws away an average of 100 polystyrene cups each year, which will take over 500 years to decompose.Scary Fact #8It takes about 4,776 gallons of water to raise a Christmas tree.Scary Fact #9Only about 12% of plastic water bottles are recycled, which equates to about 25 billion accumulating in landfills.  The oil required to produce these bottles is enough oil to power 250,000 homes and fuel 100,000 cars. Research from Doug James, Cornell U professor.And Scary Fact #10Cairo may kill you.  Breathing the daily air in Cairo, Egypt is like smoking 20 cigarettes a day.I just wanted to throw in that last point because it is fascinating…and begs the question, what’s it like if you live in Cairo AND smoke a pack a day? I guess that may explain their life expectancy of 60-65 years, compared to the rate in the U.S. that just recently reached 78 years.So, Happy Halloween. Don’t eat too much candy. And for goodness sakes, recycle all that wasteful plastic packaging!Thanks to the following sites for enlightening me.http://www.ecocycle.org/pdfs/Eco-facts_2004.pdfhttp://conserveplasticbags.blogspot.com/2007/03/some-interesting-and-alarming-facts.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/11353/facts.htm

–Ken Kreafle, CEO Base Brands

Add comment October 29th, 2009

Recent Blogs about Reduce Products!

Check out these recent blogs that have been written about reduce products.

Reduce Compactor Can Blog

http://thedirtytshirt.com/reduce-compactor-can-review

Reduce WaterWeek

http://simplybeingmommy.com/2009/10/23/reduce-waterweek-bottles-review-and-giveaway/

http://threetimesthegiggles.blogspot.com/2009/10/waterweek-giveaway.html

Add comment October 27th, 2009

What is BPA and why is it bad?

BPA has reared its ugly head again with news that a popular water bottle company didn’t exactly “not” use it in its aluminum bottle liners. Oops. But why should you care?

BPA (bisphenol-a) is a mouthful for sure. And, it should stay away from your mouth too, because studies have shown it is linked to some pretty bad diseases and conditions. Although widely used for over 50 years until recently, BPA has been found to cause developmental problems, neurotoxicity, hormone disruption and carcinogenic effects, even at low doses, during laboratory tests on rats. There are even thoughts that BPA could be linked as a precursor to breast cancer and obesity.

So we don’t want our friends, family, loved ones or ourselves drinking from bottles or cups made with BPA. Period. All Base Brands products, including Reduce WaterWeek bottles, are BPA-free and they’ve never had it; never will.

Look for products that are BPA-free. It is a minimum standard you should expect from any product you spend your hard-earned money on.

–Ken Kreafle, CEO Base Brands

Add comment October 22nd, 2009

Tap Water Just Makes Sense (Cents?)

A recent article from the New York Times* about the cost of bottled water versus tap water really hit home for me. It is something we’ve been talking about for a while. The savings are dramatic, almost unbelievable!  In NYC, the cost of drinking tap water for a whole year is only $.49. (No, that’s not a typo). The cost of buying bottled water for a year averaged out to $1400!  A savings of $1351, which if invested wisely, could put your kids through college.  This was based on 8 glasses a day.  NYC, like most municipalities, has spent tons of money upgrading their water facilities.  Their drinking water is top-notch and tasty.

Sometimes, we get used to doing things a certain way and forget about the waste (of money, to the environment). But it makes so much sense right now, during our economic downturn, to cut out simple waste, and not buying disposable water bottles is a real simple solution. And it makes economic sense not just for our pockets, but for our environment too. It takes oil (which costs money) to produce plastic, to ship, to refrigerate and to recycle… you get the picture.  Did you know only about 20% of disposable water bottles end up recycled?  Topic for another time…

If you are of a certain age, you remember life without bottled water.  Somehow, we were able to get by.  We weren’t dehydrated.  We weren’t always thirsty.  We grabbed a cup or water bottle, filled it up, and took a sip.  Ahhhh, simple times.  That’s the main reason we created the Reduce WaterWeek bottle system—always have a filled bottle of water ready to go which makes it easier to ditch the disposables.  Think about those simpler times the next time you reach for that bulky, all-to-heavy 36-pack of bottled water.

–Ken Kreafle, CEO Base Brands

*http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/subjects/w/water/bottled_water/index.html?emc=eta2

Add comment October 14th, 2009

Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

Why should you reduce your carbon footprint? Since the beginning of time the presence of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere has been necessary to warm the earth. However, the more we have progressed in technology, the more energy we use on a regular basis. The activities that we take part in that release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere are what make up our carbon footprint.  Now there is an argument for too much of a good thing. We need the carbon dioxide to keep everything from freezing, but it has become necessary to moderate the amount we emit so that we can do our part to suppress global warming.

Many of us have listened to endless political debates over what is causing climate change but thus far we have not seen much action towards alleviating the problem. The other night I was able to tune into The Vice Presidential Debate for a bit and when asked about climate change and energy efficiency, Sarah Palin’s response really got me thinking. She had a complete disinterest in wasting time debating why the problem existed but was more concerned about coming up with a solution. (More Info…) Going along with that principle, I am more interested in taking initiative and doing my part to positively affect the climate crisis than waiting around for a bunch of politicians in D.C. to come up with a plan they can agree on implementing. We should be Proactive, not passive, but how? At Reduce we make it simple to reduce your carbon footprint in everyday life. All of our products provide for a more energy efficient lifestyle; from our WaterWeek Reusable Bottles to my personal favorite, the BAGit Trash Can. Take a look at our products and see how easily you can become part of a proactive solution to climate change.

2 comments October 6th, 2008

Going Green Matters

In June of 2008, REDUCE was showcased as a company that “saved money” and “reduced waste”! We hope you’ll enjoy reading the blog entry from Going Green Matters.

http://www.goinggreenmatters.com/

1 comment July 3rd, 2008

WaterWeek Press Release

The average American household spends hundreds of dollars each year buying bottled water. If these families were to fill reusable bottles with their own filtered tap water, they could save an average of at least $500 per year and help reduce the nearly 200 million pounds of plastics waste… Click to read the full WaterWeek press release.

Add comment July 2nd, 2008

Green Unlimited - WaterWeek Testimonial

I confess, I’m frequently on the lookout for great-looking water bottles. I love drinking water… Click here to read how one WaterWeek user LOVES to reduce by using her new WaterWeek bottles!

Basebrands would like to thank “Green Unlimited” for their glowing report on WaterWeek. It is exciting to think of the endless possibilities as we all join together to REDUCE!

1 comment July 2nd, 2008