Look out for phthalates!

This article will make you think twice before you pick up the rubbery toy for your child or nieces and nephews.

Phthalates are a group of industrial chemicals used to make plastics like polyvinyl chloride (PVC) more flexible or resilient and also as solvents. They exists in toys, food packaging, hoses, raincoats, shower curtains, vinyl flooring, wall coverings, lubricants, adhesives, detergents, nail polish, hair spray and shampoo.

Phthalates have been found to "disrupt the endocrine system. Several phthalate compounds have caused reduced sperm counts, testicular atrophy and structural abnormalities in the reproductive systems of male test animals, and some studies also link phthalates to liver cancer

A new study has also links phthalates to autism. They found that "Infants or toddlers who lived in bedrooms with vinyl, or PVC, floors were twice as likely to have autism five years later, in 2005, than those with wood or linoleum flooring."

Now, I must think of green alternatives to my nail polishes.

Bread Tabs

Frankly I think we just toss the bread tabs into the trash after we finish with the bread, hopefully these ideas from Planet Green will give you pause the next time you are able to throw the tab away.

1. Use it as a guitar pick.

2, Collect different colored tabs and use them as poker chips.
3, Use them as scrapers when washing pots, pans, stove and countertops

4. Mark the end of the roll of tape

5. Use it to mark prices during your garage sales

6. Use them to create art, don't believe it? See here
7. Use them for bingo chips.
8. Use them to label electrical cords, never unpluck the wrong cable anymore.

So, don't underestimate the power of a small bread tab.

Eco Nuns

Look, even convents are going green these days.

The Benedictine nuns of the Conventus of Our Lady of Consolation have moved to their new convent in the North York Moors National Park.

So how green are their convent? Hot water are provided by solar panels, a woodchip boiler that can be fuelled by locally-sourced trees and a green roof to better insulate the buildings. Rainwater from some of the roofs will be collected and used to flush the toilets and, instead of an electrically-driven waste water treatment plant, the architects have installed a reedbed sewage system. Last but not least, materials for the building (timber to stone) are sourced locally to minimize the transportation and thus carbon footprint.

Check out the pictures and story in the Guardian

Sustainable Packaging

If you had bought anything from the Ikea shop and use their shopping bags, you will know it disintegrate itself after a while. Now, more and more businesses are making their packaging more sustainable too.

Here's some good inventions.

Steve Haslip and his HangarPak. Click on the picture for better view. For a start, courier companies should start eliminating their plastic packages.

Then, there's 60Bag and their bags that biodegrade in 60 days. Uber cool.

Solar CD and MP3 Player

I love this design, it looks so contemporary and it doesn't really look like a CD player. I will however prefer it to look slimmer.

This player comes with a solar panel which you can place outside your window to capture the free sun rays and you no longer have to feel guilty keeping your CD or MP3 player on through the night.

It is already for sale at 99 Euros, get it here today!

Wave your nokia today!

If you are not using a Nokia now, it is time to consider switching. Why is that so? Because in a few years time, imagine not having to charge your handphone anymore.

Nokia Research Centre located in Cambridge, UK is working hard on a technology that allows the handphone to harvest small amount of energy from radio waves. The radio waves will convert into energy to charge the battery of your Nokia.

This is a great idea versus those unsightly handphones out there with an actual solar panel on it to charge. I love those ideas but don't love their designs but if they start to hide the solar panels without looking ugly, I will use them.

Recycling Bins

Saw these recycling bins at the airport the other day when I went there for lunch. Now those who throw recyclable stuff away can't say they are both illiterate and blind as well.