i didn’t wear this t-shirt for the photo shoot: wasn’t as colorful as pink. and plus, i REALLY wanted to keep it.

it’s by one of my favorite apparel makers, life is good. it says “green is good,” and it’s made from organic cotton, in the good karma collection. it’s super soft, even after a dozen washes. worth the 30 bucks.

the shirt is not available on the life is good site anymore, but i found it at cabela’s.

don’t forget to enter my contest (see entry below!). i’ve had 10 entries so far.

a few months ago, i bought this t-shirt, size M, from cafepress.com, because i needed to wear something for the photos to go with my rockford woman story about “living without plastic” for a week. or at least not buying it in its most noticeable forms.

i washed it and hung it in my closet, waiting to give it away. and now the day has finally come!

i’m giving away this “green is the new pink” shirt by drawing names at random.

how can you win?

send me an e-mail with your name, address and daytime phone number for verification, to jpollock@rockfordwoman.com.

and you need to prove that you read this blog by telling me what my favorite color is: orange.

please enter only once. i’ll take entries until wednesday, sept. 3. if you win, i’ll probably want to take your picture with the shirt on.

to see all the stuff i’ve written about plastic, click on “living without plastic” on the right side of the blog.

good luck, go greenies, and spread the word!

… by a cushman, one of the little vehicles used by campus maintenance to zoom around and scare the pants off of half-awake students.

this morning, driving into work on north second by sinnissippi park, i saw this little white truck. i thought, “i bet that’s the one we’re writing about.” and sure enough, it is.

chris and danny lopez drive a zap (zero air pollution) electric vehicle. it plugs into a conventional outlet. read the story. i won’t give the rest away.

it’s back-to-school time, and while the kids love to pick out their folders and notebooks, what they really like to pick out is their clothes.

i originally was “inspired” to write this post when i got a press release about eco-fashion, which meant “buy this sewing machine.” kind of a stretch.

as i thought further, of course, hand-me-downs and thrift shop finds are “green.” and then i stumbled upon this story.

As an eco-designer, Bee Askin makes use of recycled materials to create clothing she hopes will appeal to a wide audience of women.

“It’s a very simple concept,” she said. “You deconstruct and reconstruct.”

“Eco” or “green” fashion involves “treasuring things that still have a lot of life left in them,” she said. “I think eco-fashion can be part of the fashion world.”

Askin’s favorite recycled materials are men’s shirts, preferably cotton and of good quality, perhaps too threadbare around the neck to still be worn but with attractive colors and designs she can adapt to her own creations.

“Men’s shirts are beautiful and well designed,” Askin said. “The collar can be frayed, but the rest of the shirt has years left in it.”

parting thought: the average american purchases 70 pounds of fabric per year, with 85 percent ending up in landfills, according to the institute for local self-reliance.

so what are they going to do about it? i’ve seen ads with a plan but haven’t had time to “drill down,” so to speak.

the list, which gets national attention each year in its effort to show teachers they are ancient and kids these days live in the modern world (sarcasm aside, with the greater purpose of understanding), notes that the class of 2012 has never sipped soda from glass bottles, only plastic.

on the one hand, that’s sad, for nostalgia reasons and the fact that glass recycles more times over than plastic.

but on the other hand, i have hope because the younger generations will always be environmentally conscious if not proactive. plus, they’re can buy the new-fangled choice of 2-in-1 shampoo-conditioner, according to the list — that cuts waste in half!

note: if you are curious, you can see the lists back to the class of 2002.

this article would say they’re right. i had a friend once who had the old-fashioned push reel mower that sliced away rhythmically through the blades of grass. but i never thought there could be electric or solar options.

before you get too carried away: ordinances often say you’ll owe the government some green if you don’t keep up your yard.

personally, i don’t mow because of my allergies, so i’d rather have one of these. so just keep in mind:

Each weekend, about 54 million Americans mow their lawns, using 800 million gallons of gas per year and producing tons of air pollutants. Garden equipment engines, which have had unregulated emissions until very recently, emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, producing up to 5% of the nation’s air pollution and a good deal more in metropolitan areas.

i know i have to do more digging, but i thought i’d ask you, the go greenies, what you do and know.

i haven’t noticed a mold or fungus smell on my clothes, but if you do, this company says it has an eco-friendly way to get the grime out of the washer.

the good news? birmingham is recycling and exceeding its expectations.

the bad news? the british city chose a photo of the american city’s skyline for a “thank you” leaflet. or 720,000, to be exact.

funny story. but i ask, why did the city waste all that paper printing that in the first place? there are other ways to communicate these days.

p.s. i spared you the 12 bad headlines i came up with for this blog post.