Stop Junk Mail. Be Eco Friendly. Do Good. The GreenDimes Blog

GreenDimes and other San Francisco Solutions

I am happy to call San Francisco home for many reasons- the neighborhoods, the people, the protests, the skylines, the views, the restaurants. You know, all the reasons everyone loves San Francisco.

But the there is another very important reason I am proud to call this City home. In the last month, San Francisco has banned plastic shopping bags in grocery stores and pharmacies, Styrofoam take-out containers (effective June 1^st ) and water bottles in some of the 2,600 restaurants in the 7 x 7 mile city limits.

And just today I was reading about another very interesting project that the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission is working on- turning the wasted vegetable oil from the said 2,600 restaurants into biodiesel. So the City has embarked on a $1.3 million project to turn another big problem into another green solution.

Kendra

GreenDimes

From Trees to Nets: GreenDimes Announces Partnership with The United Nations Foundation

Palo Alto, CA, April 25, 2007 -- Going beyond restoring the environment, GreenDimes -- a leader among socially conscious businesses -- announces their partnership with The United Nations Foundation and their Nothing But Nets campaign. Every time a person joins Greendimes, the company will fund the purchase of one bed net to combat malaria infection. The partnership will kick off on World Malaria Day, April 25th, with the goal of purchasing 5,000 malaria nets to help reduce the one million annual deaths from this devastating and preventable disease.

Every year, nearly 500 million people are infected with malaria. Bed nets are one of the most effective ways to prevent malaria and to fight the epidemic. GreenDimes is proud to join Nothing But Nets' founding campaign partners -- including the National Basketball Association's NBA Cares, The People of the United Methodist Church, Sports Illustrated, VH-1, AOL Black Voices, Rotarians' Action Group on Malaria, and Malaria No More -- in this effort to help address one of the most serious global health issues facing the world today.

"GreenDimes believes in empowering our members to do little things that collectively make a big difference in the world around them," founder Pankaj Shah explains. "We are very goal-driven and like to have measurable objectives so we can show people the impact they have together. Our junk mail reduction service gives our members control over their mailboxes and helps restore the planet. Through the United Nations partnership and contributing to the purchase of 5,000 nets, each GreenDimes member will help save lives in addition to planting trees."

Greendimes is a socially conscious consumer lifestyle company that helps individuals and businesses create social change through environmentally sound products and services. GreenDimes' premier service to reduce postal junk mail has already stopped 260,000 pounds of junk mail and planted more than 140,000 trees around the world.

GreenDimes
480 Lytton Ave, #8
Palo Alto, CA 94301
415.676.1689
Kendra @ greendimes.com

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GreenDimes at the Green Festival

The weather was perfect in Chicago this weekend. Not that I would know, I was in an enormous convention hall all day both days. But if I had to miss it, I am glad it was to be a part of something as cool as this…

There were 300 green businesses, 150 speakers and estimated 15,000-20,000 attendees in Chicago for the Green Festival this Earth Day weekend to find out what is new and hot in the green world. The energy, the motion, this community- I know it sounds cheesy, bear with me- all were absolutely awe inspiring. People do care about the earth? I collect from this experience that a whole bunch of you do.

It's easy to get caught up in the negative, scary stuff happening to the earth as I sit and write this (anyone read the articles in Vanity Fair this month?), but this weekend was about empowerment- seeing all of the interesting and innovative actions we can take to change the current environmental trends.

I also get the sense that GreenDimes is catching on. The reaction to my booth went from “GreenDimes, I think I might have heard about you…” on Saturday morning to “Oh yeah! I love you guys! I want to sign up!” by the end of the afternoon Sunday. Pretty sweet.

So for those of you that I met this weekend- GreenDimes members and non-members alike- it was so very nice to meet you. I will look forward to our paths crossing again in the not so distant future.

Kendra

GreenDimes

Earth Day: simple, conscientious actions

With Earth Day here and GreenDimes’ userbase growing exponentially with each passing day, we are thrilled about what’s been accomplished thus far in the war on junk mail and find it reassuring that North Americans are becoming more conscientious of the idea that we can collectively combat the degradation of our planet simply by incorporating simple but environmentally conscientious habits into our daily routines. 

A big thank you from GreenDimes — and our planet— to anyone and everyone who has signed up for our junk mail reduction program, referred friends, posted a link or blurb on their website/blog or just taken the time to check out the site in general. 

Thanks to hipstercards.com, we have prepared a series of Earth Day e-cards to raise further awareness of the waste that is junk mail and what GreenDimes is all about.  Feel free to distribute them to anyone who you think’ll give a dime.   

Have fun observing the officially sanctioned Earth Day… but do continue to celebrate it 365 days a year!

GreenDimes on Urban Dwelling

The only thing better than watching the sun set over the water in San Francisco is doing it from Greens Restaurant at Fort Mason. Those of you who have been know what I am talking about. Those of you who have not yet been, I suggest making it a point next time you are in San Francisco to try Anne Sommerville’s famous vegetarian cuisine.

So I was invited to attend the launch party for Greenopia- the urban dweller’s guide to green living- last night at Greens. And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. I witnessed the City’s movers and shakers came out in force to support Gay Brown and her green-team’s efforts to make all of our urban-dwelling habits eco-friendly.

This team is showing us that we can live in a big city and eat green. We can also shop green, look beautiful using green products, buy green gifts (GreenDimes membership, anyone?), commute and travel green, and even volunteer green.

They are chic. And they know what they are talking about. If you live in- or spend any amount of time in- the Bay Area, pick one up hot off the press. There is no paid advertising, just a guide with hints and tips that their research team found while walking the streets and talking to urban dwellers.

Green San Francisco (there is an LA edition as well!) packaged in a little book fit for any urbanite’s purse? Now that’s greenopia.

Kendra, GreenDimes

Who has time for the planet?

The Washington Post recently published a great article called “Pearls Before Breakfast" about an experiment they did to see if people rushing to work would pause and recognize one of the top violinists in the world playing some of the most amazing classical music ever written.  The results are surprising and kind of disturbing.  And there are some for all of us working to do good for the planet.

The article provides this quote:

What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.

-- from "Leisure," by W.H. Davies

And goes on to discuss how the 1000+ people who heard this amazing music were maybe just too wrapped up in the frantic pace of American life to even notice, much less stop and appreciate, these incredible sounds, this rare beauty.

How true could this be for the natural beauty of the planet, the environment we zoom through and past as we rush to work?  This made me think of two things - probably nothing new to environmentalists, but relevant to working at GreenDimes.

For one, the American pace of life can disconnect people from nature – not because don’t get its beauty and importance, but because they don’t pause long enough to appreciate it.  If we can find ways for people to pause and appreciate the planet, we’re more likely to encourage them to do something for it.   In the article, one person gave money to a “street musician” for the first time in his life because he finally appreciated the beauty of what he heard.

Secondly, busy Americans need to be given little things they can do, things that take almost no time or even save them time.  Less than 1% of the people who heard the music took more than a single minute of their day to listen to it.  *None* of the parents who had the chance to give something to their kids, to let them experience this beauty that every child recognized and wanted, actually took the time to do it.  So, if we want to reach a meaningful number of Americans with our ways of helping the planet, we need to make these actions quick and clearly valuable enough for them to spend their precious time.

That’s one of the reasons I like where we’re going with GreenDimes and eventually the larger company we call Tonic.  Helping people do litle things to help the planet is what we’re about and I’m looking forward to all the different products and services we’ll be launching based on this idea. 

Ted Ko

GreenDimes

It doesn’t take a treehugger to recognize

You will receive 40 pounds of bulk mail this year, almost half of which will instantly end up in the garbage.

Then, consider the fact that America’s people — all 300 million — each receive 560 pieces of this unwanted mail per year, and throw enough of it away to fill 450,000 garbage trucks (which, if parked back to back, would extend from Phoenix to Kansas City) or deforest the entire Rocky Mountain National Park.  A hundred million trees are chopped down annually to produce the 62 billion pieces of junk mail that end up in American mailboxes and subsequently, wastebaskets.  Furthermore, transportation of junk mail “necessitates” $550 million American tax dollars annually, not to mention $320 million to then dispose of it all— this mail that you couldn’t even be bothered to read.

Wait, what?

It doesn’t take a treehugger to recognize that those figures are completely outrageous.  No one likes junk mail, yet our natural environment continues to be pillaged, our mailboxes, wallets, and time utterly disregarded as we sit idly by, begrudgingly accepting piles and piles of it every day — 10 pieces of junk for every handwritten letter — as the status quo.

That’s not right, and that’s where GreenDimes comes in.  For ten cents a day, our staff researches dozens of direct mailers and literally thousands of catalog publishers, contacts them on your behalf and makes sure that you stay off of their lists. 

Since GreenDimes’ September 2006 launch, 250 thousand pounds of junk mail have been stopped, 140 thousand trees planted or saved, and 633 thousand gallons of water conserved thanks to Americans who give a dime.  Do you?   

Greendimes.com

The Police Are Coming!

We’ve all had a run-in at some point with Johnny-law, right?  Details aren’t necessary here, unless of course it’s a good story. 

What does this have to do with anything GreenDimes-related?  Nothing really, but in the spirit of The Police getting back together I thought I’d ask.

Yes, it’s true, The Police are touring again and it’s long overdue. I’ve got no problem with Sting - he’s a talented artist - but the sum is greater than the parts here.  The Police disbanded a little early, robbing a whole generation of a really unique sound and some powerful music.  Here’s your chance to check ‘em out if you missed the paddy wagon way back when.

So where exactly do you stand on a few other Police related matters?  Are you for:

Synchronicity I or Synchronicity II?

Every Breath You Take or King of Pain?

Every Little Thing She Does is Magic or Don’t Stand So Close to Me?

Spirits in a Material World or Canary in a Coalmine?

So Lonely (The Police), or So Cruel (U2)?

Roxanne or Roxy?

Ok, I realize the last one might have little to do with the Police’s music, but it could give a good indication of who’s reading this.  IS anyone reading this? 

Bueller, Bueller. 

Busted.

Ted F, GreenDimes

If Harry can save trees, so can you!

I read today that the new (and final) Harry Potter book- out July 21^st- is going green! It’s US publisher- Scholastic- announced this week that it has come to an exciting agreement with the Rainforest Alliance

on stringent environmental standards for its final 784 page adventure. Phew!

Some of the highlights, according to USA Today are:

• Pages made from 30% post-consumer waste fiber
• A deluxe edition that will be printed on 100% post-consumer waste fiber (100,000 books in the first printing)
• Forest Stewardship Council approval over almost 2/3 of the 16,700 tons of Harry Potter’s paper

This is very encouraging news- and I am glad to see the US following Europe and Canada’s lead in the greening of this enormously successful- albeit resource draining- best-selling series. Per J.K. Rowlings request, past editions of her series were printed on forest friendly paper in both Europe and Canada.

Let’s hope this is the beginning of many publishers’ consideration of environmental standards- I think it is one large leap in the right direction.

Cheers- Happy Easter!

-Kendra at GreenDimes

www.greendimes.com

GreenDimes on Fixing the Planet

Fixing the planet is a daunting task, we all know that.

But it seems to have just gotten a little bit easier. Enter FixingThePlanet.com- a new website dedicated to providing free resources to anyone interested in making small, daily changes that together make a big difference in the greening of our lifestyles. Their approach is to provide the space- by way of topic-specific forums- for users to engage with one another in an easy exchange of ideas, tips and services (GreenDimes included!).

They have forums with information on everything you need to be green: from transportation to clean energy, green events to gardening- there really is something for everyone. In addition to the forums and tips for going green, there are environmental news articles and even groups that you can join. You, the user, are encouraged to ‘hang out’ and enjoy the site at no cost to you... Oh yeah, and you can help fix the planet while you are at it.

Kendra at GreenDimes