BAG IT…OR NOT? GET $1 BACK?

It always seems to me to be a big, darn shame! I know you will all agree with me but, then….of course we don’t control it. And I am sure that many of you feel as I do; we consumers are prisoners to the whims of the whole supply chain from manufacturers to retailers. We are, as usual, helpless to change the status quo. What can we do? We DO feel guilty about the waste and certainly DO want to practice responsible consuming.

You know what I am writing about here. I am discussing PACKAGING! Every item we buy and consume is packed in its own plastic and paper containment vessel. From the everyday fruits and veggies we buy in the supermarket to our sofa we buy in the furniture store it seems that every item is packed in three layers of plastic. That is plastic made from petroleum based chemicals. We are discussing HUGE carbon footprints. In most of the US and the developed world a large portion of this packaging is thrown into the town dump. Now let me give you a really good example of excessive packaging. Even a lowly product such as bottled water is sold in a plastic bottle packed in a cardboard box covered in plastic. According to Gina Shaw in her article “Rethinking Bottled Water” on WebMD.com

(http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/bottled-water-bottles-environment) although “...23% of plastic water bottles are recycled, that still leaves about 2 million tons of bottles pouring into landfills every year.”

TWO MILLION TONS!!! That is an incredible amount of lost resources polluting the earth for hundreds of years. This kind of crap has got to stop!

OK. I am trying to do my share. I now carry around a folding shopping bag with me. When I shop for food I take the items without additional bagging. I try to put fruits and veggies in the bag directly. I have no use for those thin “throw away” plastic bags that can suffocate anyone stupid enough to pull one over his head. What really happens to these throw away bags anyway? Are they the bags I see floating in the water at the beach? Or, are they hanging in the trees in the parks?

Anyway the point of this is to let you know that starting in JULY 2010 we have instituted our own Asia Rustic eco-change policy in our store. Although we have always had an in-store policy to reduce packaging; most of our merchandise is displayed on tables and shelves with no packaging at all! Now we are extending our low packaging approach to a NO BAG policy by offering each and every customer a ONE DOLLAR BACK for every sale if you bring your own shopping bag. That’s right! ONE DOLLAR BACK for each customer who brings and packs his/her own shopping bag. The idea here is to lessen the ecological impact of packaging, so come on in, shop all our SPRING-INTO-SUMMER SPECIALS (GOING ON NOW!) and don’t forget the BAG!

SPLISH, SPLASH…AND ALL GREEN TOO!

Besides the early morning private time I carve out of my life for thinking and pondering I really cherish and look forward to my warm and fragrant daily shower. Really, I ask you what is more enjoyable than the luscious time spent in a nice, warm shower with a favorite fragrant soap followed by a careful drying with a wonderful, soft absorbent towel? I have so many WONDERFUL memories of showers from many years back and from places all over the world. The best memories all seem to have a common thread: the shower memories that stick have either an exotic setting or involve luscious, aromatic, sudsy body washes. For instance the outside shower in Haiti with the blue sky above and sand underfoot; the cascade of solar heated water hand-pumped to the roof tank and then flowing down full-force on my head and shoulders while ocean waves crashed a mere fifty yards away or, similarly the volcanic rock enclosed outside shower in Viet Nam with a full, jungle shower and wonderful, all organic private label soaps and gels made from exotic ingredients such as avocado, frangipani and jasmine flowers, aloe and honey. What a joy!

Now, for the past month I have been enjoying every daily shower with a Moksa, all organic and natural soap. I started with the “Amazon Lemon” bath bar which contains real poppy seeds as an exfoliate and has a wonderful, full citrus odor that makes me think of key limes and windy, deep blue skies. Now I am sampling the “Kashmir” which has an odor that makes me feel REALLY, REALLY clean. What surprises me is that although all the ingredients are natural the soaps all lather and froth like the less natural soaps. These Moksa products are delicious too. They smell edible! Melanie Haskell the manufacturer (if you can call hand-made products manufactured) claims that the Moksa products contain no parabens, sulfates, synthetics, animal byproducts or artificial ingredients. Every ingredient on the post-consumer produced packaging is pronounceable and easily understood by a consumer such as me.

Asia Rustic is proud to add Moksa all natural skin care products to our mix. Experience the full Moksa all-natural line of soaps, oils and creams at our Flatiron store in Manhattan at 37 West 23 Street. Now you can shower with Moksa too!

COMMON SENSE GREEN

COMMON SENSE GREEN

Oh..yes.. of course we all want to be Earth Friendly. After all, the environment is the world we live in and when we preserve the environment we protect ourselves and future generations. But how do go about it? We are told we need to make life-style changes and buy new appliances, homes and cars that are more energy efficient. What is the answer? Being Green and eco-responsible appears to be extremely complicated.

It need not be mind boggling. There are solutions to help preserve the environment that are immediately available to us. Common sense solutions are right in front of us. Some are so obvious we don’t see them. Recycling is not universal. The US only recycles a small percentage of available recyclables. Universal recycling could save huge amounts of energy yearly. Simply changing light bulbs saves huge amount of energy; LED bulbs, although initially more expensive, last many times longer than incandescent bulbs and use only 10% of the energy of standard bulbs. Buying food from local farmers can save fuel and energy lost when food is transported from further away.

At ASIA RUSTIC we support simple efforts to save the world and the environment. For instance we sell antique furniture that is, after all, truly recycled and reused! Generations ago Asian families had these pieces made for them and cherished these simple, well-made furnishings as important and practical additions to their households. Many years ago village carpenters used locally available lumber to create these fine furnishings to fulfill the needs of their local customers. Wood was fitted and glued, not nailed. No formaldehyde or other dangerous chemicals that damage your health and the health of your family were used. Today no forests of virgin trees need to be destroyed to produce our wonderful Asian Accent Antiques! In fact your purchase of one of these fine pieces can add beauty to your home, provide a legacy for future generations and be COMMON SENSE GREEN.

SAVE GREEN AND BE GREEN TOO! From the 15^th of May experience our SPRING INTO SUMMER WAREHOUSE SALE at our Flatiron store located at 37 West 23 Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenue and save up to 75% off the full retail price of our Asia Rustic Asian Accent Antiques. Mention this blog and receive an additional 10% off your purchase of one of our Antiques!