Well lets start with three basic changes you can incorporate into your morning routine. 

1. Tongue Scraper

The ancient Ayurvedic healing philosophy of India has recommended tongue scraping for centuries as an aid to digestion and for the health of the teeth and the sinuses. When the salivary glands are cleaned, it activates them and enhances digestion (yes, digestion beings in the mouth as saliva mixes with food and begins to break it down). While you sleep at night your body is busy clearing out toxins. Some of those toxins are deposited on your tongue as a coating. By gently scaling this coating off first thing in the morning you avoid reabsorbing these toxins.

Where to buy: Local pharmacy

$: Under $5

2. Dry Skin Body Brush

The practice of dry skin brushing may be old news to those who practice the daily routine, but with all the skin care products and hypes out there, it’s important to remember this low maintenance and economic technique that offers a great way to maintain not only healthy skin but a healthy body. The ability of the skin to excrete toxins is of paramount importance to you. Some benefits of this old practice are:

• Dry skin brushing helps to shed dead skin cells, which can help improve skin texture and cell renewal.

• Dry skin brushing increases circulation to skin, encouraging your body’s discharge of metabolic wastes, which greatly aids the lymphatic drainage of the entire body. When the body rids itself of toxins, it is able to run more efficiently in all areas.

• Dry skin brushing also helps to tighten the skin because it increases the flow of blood. Increasing the circulation to the skin can also help lessen the appearance of cellulite.

• Dry skin brushing stimulates the lymph canals to drain toxic mucoid matter into the colon, thereby purifying the entire system. This enables the lymph to perform its house-cleaning duties by keeping the blood and other vital tissues detoxified. After several days of dry brushing, you may notice the gelatinous mucoid material in your stools.

• Dry skin brushing helps with muscle tone and more even distribution of fat deposits.

• Dry skin brushing also rejuvenates the nervous system by stimulating nerve endings in the skin.

• Dry skin brushing helps your skin to absorb nutrients by eliminating clogged pores. Healthy, breathing skin contributes to overall body health

Where to buy: Wellness stores, markets like Whole Foods

$: Under $10

3. Glass of water with lemon

A glass of water with lemon right at least 15 minutes before you start your first meal is such an easy way to start your day right. The first thing I do every morning is pour a large glass of water and squeeze in half a lemon.  It balances PH and  kick starts your digestive system. Lemon is also a natural energizer, it hydrates and oxygenates the body so it feels revitalized and refreshed!

The post THREE LOW MAINTENANCE CHANGES TO INCORPORATE INTO YOUR MORNING ROUTINE appeared first on Green Jar.

Let’s not even consider all the fossil fuels wasted in producing the bottles and trucking them around the world.

The solution for a group of entrepreneurs out of Michigan? box up the water. Their motivation:

It started with the simple idea of creating a new bottled water brand that is kinder to the environment and gives back a bit—we found that it shouldn’t be bottled at all, but instead, boxed. So we looked to the past for inspiration in the century old beverage container and decided to keep things simple, sustainable, and beautiful.

Their argument for why boxed is better?

76 percent of the box is made from a renewable resource—trees—”making it one of the most sustainable beverage packages available.
Those trees come from certified, well-managed forests.
The boxes are shipped flat, which is significantly more efficient than shipping empty plastic or glass bottles.
The boxes are recyclable—where facilities exist.
The company plans on donating 10 percent of its profit to organizations working to improve access to clean water, and promote reforestation.

And it seems to be catching on. There isn’t a day that goes by where the words “boxed water” don’t appear on my twitter timeline, or pop up on my instagram feed. There’s much to be said for the concept, the simplicity of the packaging and the overall aesthetic. One thing’s for sure: Boxed water is definitely better-looking than the competition. And isn’t that what matters anyways?

There’s a list of Boxed Water Is Better outlets on the company’s Web site, www.boxedwaterisbetter.com .

Follow them on twitter @helloboxedwater

The post BOXED WATER, WHAT ALL THE COOL KIDS ARE DRINKING appeared first on Green Jar.

This year, Super Bowl XLVI (or 46, if you don’t do Roman numerals) is being hosted in Indianapolis, and the city, along with the NFL, is doing its part to make this the greenest Super Bowl ever. Here’s how:

1. Playing in an Environmentally-Friendly Stadium

Indianapolis has done a lot to make Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Colts, a green place to play. The building has a retractable roof, a CPI lighting system to utilize natural light, and “Big Ass” fans designed to move air with minimal energy consumption. Along with the Indiana Convention Center, the stadium recycles tens of tons of aluminum, plastic, glass and cardboard each year, and implemented recycling programs in other sports venues in the city. The stadium also purchases supplies in bulk, and its parking lots are swept, not sprayed, to conserve water.

2. Offering Green Options to Fans

The Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee has also participated in greening the Bowl. As part of the organization’s “1st and Green” plan, the city implemented “Project Plug-IN” along Georgia Street, the heart of Super Bowl Village. This project helped fund two charging stations for electric cars, which should be operational in early February. Hopefully this means that eco-friendly fans with electric cars can drive to the game and not have to worry about where to recharge their batteries.

3. Composting

Another “1st and Green” project in the works: a composting pilot program, set to take place during Super Bowl week. According to the website, “The JW Marriott hotel, which will house the Media Center for the 2012 Super Bowl, is partnering with GreenCycle, Republic Waste Services, the Indiana Department of Environmental Management, the Indiana Recycling Coalition, and the 2012 Indianapolis Super Bowl Host Committee to participate in a composting pilot project during the week of the Super Bowl. Food waste scraps from the JW Marriott kitchens will be collected in compostable bags and conveyed to the GreenCycle facility, where they will be mixed with wood chips and converted into nutritious compost instead of being sent to the landfill.”

4. Utilizing Renewable Energy

For the past 18 years, the NFL has been working to green the sport, and this year, it’s more eco-friendly than ever. The NFL and Super Bowl Host Committee have greened the power at the six major Super Bowl facilities. Their press release explains it all by saying “everything from the computers in the Motorola Super Bowl XLVI Media Center to the lights that shine down on the teams as they compete during Super Bowl will be powered by green energy.”

Green Mountain Energy Company is supplying the power, which will be generated by windfarms in North Dakota; this will save more than 14,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions normally associated with the Super Bowl and its festivities. According to NFL Environmental Program Director Jack Groh, “Green Mountain Energy Company has helped us reduce the overall environmental impact of Super Bowl activities. Together, we have been able to expand the way we address greenhouse gas emissions and leave a permanent benefit to the host community.”

5. Giving Back

Using renewable energy isn’t the only eco-friendly step the NFL has taken. Years ago, recycling bins were added to stadiums, and today, the league’s green efforts are much bigger. Leftover stadium food is donated to food banks (one Super Bowl generated more than 93,000 pounds of food). Supplies and equipment used in the big game are recovered and reused, a value Groh places at $250,000. And for the past seven years, the NFL has participated in urban forestry, planting 1,000 trees in each host city.

We can expect even more from next year’s Super Bowl. New Orleans will host the 2013 event, but the NFL made them work for the honor. For the first time ever, potential host cities had to submit an environmental plan with their bid. “The return on investment for us can be as much as 600 percent,” says Groh. That return doesn’t go to the NFL — it’s used to implement eco-friendly initiatives within the host community.

So, just why have green programs become so important to the NFL? ”We did it as part of our operations. Environmental principals are about greater efficiency and reduction of waste. How is that not a good business practice?” says Groh. And David Krichavsky, the NFL’s director of community affairs, adds, “We’re really doing this because we think it’s the right thing to do.”

The Super Bowl airs on Sunday, February 5, on NBC. Kickoff is as 6:30 EST.

HIT FROM: ECORAZZI.COM

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FOR THE SKATERS: Find an i RIDE i RECYCLE shop near you and take your deck in for recycling. If you don’t find a shop near you, email them letting them know who your local skate shop is and they will contact them to get on board!

FOR THE SKATE SHOPS: Join i RIDE i RECYCLE. Skaters will bring their broken decks to your shop, you’ll ship those decks to i RIDE with pre-paid shipping labels that they will provide, i RIDE will make rad designs from the decks, and everyone wins!

The post ATTN SKATERS AND SKATE SHOPS: WHERE TO DONATE YOUR BROKEN DECKS appeared first on Green Jar.

We are confident that in the near future we will be able to bring the first shoes, T-shirts, and bags that are either compostable or recyclable to the market,

Franz Koch, Puma’s CEO, told German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche on Friday.

Puma is working with external partners to develop products based on cradle-to-cradle principles, according to Koch, who succeeded Jochen Zeitz in April.

Sustainability, Koch said, can be approached either in one of two ways: the technical (say, the use of recycled tires for soles) or the biological. In the biological cycle, I can make shoes and shirts that are compostable so I can shred them and bury them in the back garden, he added. We are working on products that meet these two criteria.

We look forward to hearing more about this exciting new venture for Puma!

HIT FROM: Ecouterre.com

The post TALK THAT TALK: PUMA TO LAUNCH COMPOSTABLE CLOTHING appeared first on Green Jar.

So how do we differentiate all these new spin classes? What makes one stand out from the rest? The instructors, the music, the staff, and now with the opening of Cycle House LA, the mission. At Cycle House, a new West Hollywood spin studio, charity begins at the gym. For every class you take, the studio donates two meals to feed the needy through a partnership with nonprofit Feeding America.

Cycle House is a new type of workout experience focused not just on improving you, but the world around you as well. Every class taken at Cycle House translates to two meals for someone in need and anywhere from 500 to 1,000 calories burned off of your body.

At Cycle House, you can take a spin class and know that each time you do, your money will be donating not just 1 but 2 meals to someone in need. This is not just a spin class, but a movement. You’ll not only leave with that “spin high” I was describing before, but you’ll feel like you’ve not only taken care of your health and body within the past hour, but someone else’s as well.

For spin newbies and regulars check it out HERE & let us know what you think!

Phone Number: (310) 358-0888
624 North La Cienega Blvd
West Hollywood, CA 90069

The post CYCLE HOUSE LA: NOT YOUR ORDINARY SPIN CLASS appeared first on Green Jar.

To support Nike’s strategic evolution and better enable Nike to transition to sustainable business models, we have transformed the corporate responsibility function into something altogether different. It’s now called Sustainable Business and Innovation (SB&I). SB&I’s mission is to enable NIKE, Inc. to thrive in a sustainable economy.

For more on the lab’s function, here’s an excerpt from a Nike job posting (for the lab’s manager) that circulated in June 2010: The Sustainable Business & Innovation (SB&I) Lab is a new strategic investment program to enable and accelerate Nike’s disruptive growth and innovation through sustainability.

The Lab will invest in two portfolios to simultaneously accelerate Nike’s sustainability vision and long-term business growth:

(i) Closed loop – a vision for zero waste of natural resources in a product’s journey from raw materials to finished state to post-consumer stage, and

(ii) Activating the inactive – motivating and inspiring inactive populations to lead more active and healthy lives. The SB&I Lab will use multiple tools, primarily equity investments in early, mid and growth stage businesses. But also, as required, will invest in partnerships and alliances with institutions, governments and NGOs. Depending upon the need and opportunity, the SB&I Lab will serve as creator and manager, sole funder, lead investor, co-investor, general partner or limited partner in operating companies and organizations.

The post FROM SNEAKERS TO SUSTAINABILITY: NIKE’S NEW VENTURE CAPITAL FUND appeared first on Green Jar.

HIT FROM: ECOFABULOUS.COM

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Is green Nascar an oxymoron? After all, the sport is all about watching gas guzzlers drive at high speeds in circles for hours. Until 2007, race cars used leaded fuel. Tens of thousands of fans still drive to races in recreational vehicles and other gas hogs.

The post NASCAR STARTS AN IMPRESSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL INITIATIVE appeared first on Green Jar.

It was a big goal to keep it functional and looking stylish

In traditional shoe design, materials like plastic and leather provide shape and structure; however, the designers reduced the need for conventional reinforcements.

New Balance took the extra steps to ensure comfort by only using elements of a shoe that are completely necessary. Using the same outsole as the NB Minimus, it really follows the trend of “less is more” that the NB Minimus follows.

For a typical shoe, there’s foam, a reinforcer, another reinforcer, and an external material, said Drew. A lot of stuff goes in there and we stripped all that out.

In the final design, each element of newSKY is a testament to thoughtful shoe construction through an innovative use of material. Fabric made from post-consumer plastic bottles was developed into a comfortable, well-designed shoe.

What’s really interesting about this is, aside from the foam and the little rubber components [on the outsole] and a little bit of water based glue, the only material here is the recycled fabric.

This just sums up the basic parts of the shoe but be sure to check out the whole interview about the design and creation of the newSKY by clicking here. The shoes will be available in October.

HIT FROM: Theshoegame.com

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