For more than 40 years clean water advocates have called for the elimination of phosphates from American products. While phosphates could have been banned years ago when the 1972 Clean Water Act was first made law, lobbyists fought hard to keep the chemical out of the regulations insisting phosphates were an essential ingredient. But, as of July 1, we’ll have one less phosphate-laden product on the shelves. The American Cleaning Institute (formerly the Soap and Detergent Association), a manufacturer’s trade group representing most detergent companies, announced they will voluntarily no longer include phosphates in their dishwasher detergents.

“Industry’s announcement on phosphates in dishwasher detergents is welcome news, indeed, if somewhat overdue,” said Jonathan Scott, a spokesman for Clean Water Action, founded in the early 1970′s to fight for clean, safe water. “Even small amounts of phosphates can wreak havoc when they get into our water,” Scott says, “so it’s the last thing you want as an ingredient in detergents, which are specifically designed to end up in the water by way of household appliances and drain pipes.”

We think Scott sums up the situation best:

Good news is all too scarce these days, when it comes to our water. Between the BP Gulf oil disaster, and a host of other problems, it is clear that the nation’s commitment to clean and safe water has faltered.

There are other reasons to be encouraged by this new development, too. First is the immediate benefit to water consumers and ratepayers. It costs money to remove phosphates from water in the treatment process, and now, finally, a significant source of phosphates is being eliminated.

Second, while a mandatory ban–enacted decades earlier–would have been even better, this kind of approach holds great promise for the future. With so many water problems out there, we should do everything possible to stop pollution from entering the water in the first place. Besides detergents, how many other “designed for the drain” consumer products are out there with ingredients that can pollute our water?

Meanwhile, this small change could mean that more attention can now be paid to some of the bigger remaining problems, starting with phosphates and other nutrient pollution from industrial-intensive agriculture, over-fertilization of lawns and gardens, and outdated water systems that flush the pollution from farms and communities into our waterways.

why did it take so long?

Pollution from phosphates, an essential nutrient in minute quantities, can easily overwhelm waterways, causing algae blooms that decay and leave the water without oxygen and unable to sustain life.

Many people might have thought that phosphate use was banned already in dishwasher detergents. But that’s not the case. In fact, phosphates may constitute as much as 24 percent of a product’s formula. Dishwasher detergents contain levels of phosphorus as high as 8 percent, which translates to a phosphate level of 24 percent.

While industry lobbyists were able to fight federal-level regulations, state and local governments have been banning phosphate use. The cleaning products industry did bend to the local bans growing consumer pressure by voluntarily eliminating phosphates in laundry detergents in the 1990s. But the industry claimed that our dishes wouldn’t come clean with out phosphates.

Of course, companies such as Seventh Generation, Earth Friendly Products and scores of other eco-friendly cleaning brands successfully brought phosphate-free detergents to the American consumer. The big detergent companies could no longer insist that phosphates were essential to their products.

As clean water advocates ourselves, we’re pleased that another industry is taking steps to improve their impact on the water supply. Of course, this voluntary ban doesn’t mean that another company won’t continue to add phosphates to their detergents. Not to mention the many other sources of phosphates that still need to be addressed. In fact, we wish everyone would follow the motto of Martin Wolf, Seventh Generation’s Scienceman and a leading authority on the environmental impact of household cleaning products:

If a negative environmental impact can be lessened or avoided, both industry and consumers have a responsibility to do so.

photo credit: Dublin City University

The typical shoe has 50 components, virgin plastic, toxic glues, and is complicated to put together. All that means that the average shoe is far from eco-friendly. Fortunately, there are a number of shoemakers, large and small, who are offering plenty of eco-friendly choices.

high fashion and eco-friendly

First, let’s dispel the myth that eco-friendly shoes have to be ugly. Quite the opposite in fact. There are some selections that would make a fashionista clear out her closet. Shoemaker Terra Plana is offering up some hot heels made from vegetable tanned, non-toxic leather and a recycled memory foam lining. In addition to eco-friendly materials, these folks design the shoe to have as few pieces as possible, lightweight, and strong.

new shoes from old stuff

Old carpet padding, recycled bike inner tubes, and discarded water bottles are not what usually come to mind when you think about the materials in your shoes. But, if you’re wearing Simple Shoes, that’s just what’s between you and the street. These folks got their start in 1991. They were determined to counter the “over-hyped, over-marketed, and over-teched sneakers.” From their ethical supply chain guidelines, to their shoe boxes made from recycled paper, Simple Shoes has made it clear that they’re not green washing! And we love their tag line: Shoes for a happy planet. To the left is one of their men’s “vegan-friendly” offerings. The sneaker is made from certified organic cotton, the sole of the shoe is biodegradable, and they use water-based glue (instead of the petroleum-based glue most of the industry uses).

one shoe for me, one for you

If you haven’t heard of TOMS shoes, then perhaps you’ve been away to the jungles of Africa. Oh wait, they have TOMS shoes there too! These shoes are not only good for the planet (they are made of organic canvas and post consumer recycled plastics) but they are also great for humanity. For each shoe purchased, another TOMS gives away another pair.

big guys go green too

Of course, the big brands haven’t overlooked the chance to make some cash from eco-friendly shoe shoppers. Keds introduced their Green Label line made from organic cotton and recycled rubber last year. We’re guessing it’s not a hot seller since you can’t find it on their website unless you know what you’re looking for.

Timberland’s Earthkeepers shoes, sandals, even work boots are made from recycled PET linings, organic cotton, and leather from eco-friendly tanneries. What’s more, with their new Earthkeepers 2.0 collection, they’ve designed all the footwear to be easily disassembled and recycled when their worn out. For example, on this work boot, after you’re done with it, you’d return it to a Timberland store or mail it back to them. Then leather upper removed, cleaned and made into new footwear. In fact, 90 percent of the shoe will be recycled. Now that’s thinking things through.

wait, don’t toss those old shoes in the trash

If you’re like many American’s no doubt you have at least a few pairs of shoes that you’re not going to wear anymore. We’d like you to consider one of these shoe recycling options.

If the shoe is still good enough to wear, the best thing is to donate it to a good cause. For dress shoes, there are plenty of local organizations, such as Working Wardrobes in Southern California, collecting your old shoes. They clean them up and give them to someone who’s working on improving their life and trying to find a better job.

Other organizations collect shoes to give to the homeless, or ship them overseas to places like South America, Africa, and elsewhere. No doubt there’s a worthwhile group in your area that would love to take your usable shoes off your hands.

Of course, sometimes a shoe isn’t fit for anyone’s feet. Nike has an answer for that. Their Reuse-a-Shoe program has  recycled more than 25 million pairs of athletic shoes since 1990. At the recycling plant, old shoes become new athletic surfaces for running tracks, basketball court padding, or foam tops for tennis courts. The great thing is that they take all brands, not just their own.

Water-related news from around the world delivered right to you. Two stories about drinking water–one in the USA and the other in Iraq, Australia’s continued efforts to conserve their already scarce water supply, Coke’s success in cutting it’s carbon footprint, and lastly, a laundry in Seattle is saving water and money with a bit of ingenuity. Naturally, if you’ve noticed any other water-related stories this week, don’t keep them a secret, share them by posting a comment below.

time for stricter drinking water standards?

The quality, or lack thereof, of drinking water in America has been put front and center with media coverage such as the New York Time’s Toxic Waters series. Fortunately, the government is listening and today the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it’s planning on stepping up drinking water system monitoring and action when a problem is found. The revised rule should reduce the amount of waterborne pathogens that make their way into the fresh water supply causing a variety of ailments from abdominal discomfort to kidney failure to hepatitis. There’s a 60 day pubic comment period, so if you’re concerned about the quality of your water, perhaps you should let the EPA know you support stronger regulations.

the quest for clean drinking water

Now consider for a moment, the plight of the Iraqi people. Despite fact that America has poured billions into the country, Reuter’s Aseel Kami explains that for 7.5 million Iraqis there is no safe, clean drinking water, and it’s certainly not coming out of the kitchen sink. The fact is that the infrastructure is just not there and what is there is broken or heavily damaged. The International Red Cross delivers hundreds of thousands of liters of water each day. Some neighborhoods were even built without being connected to the city’s water system. While the Baghdad government says they’ll end water scarcity in two years, many aren’t so sure.

learning from australia’s never-ending drought

It’s safe to say that Australia’s 12-year drought is one of the worst in the world right now. Lakes have dried up, rivers are always at least 40 percent lower than before, crops are failing, and the forecasts are not optimistic. Water scarcity is now a way of life for folks Down Under. Of course, it’s not like the country is going to pick up and move, so they’re finding ways to manage their water resources. In New South Wales, the most populous state in Australia, they’re investing in water recycling projects. For example, they plan to increase recycled water use in agricultural irrigation. And it’s not like the Aussies aren’t well ahead of other developed nations, they already use 27 billion liters of recycled water for farming, industrial, and households. As water scarcity effects more and more regions, no doubt governments will be looking to Australia to see what’s worked.

coke’s reducing water, using recycled plastic and getting greener

Last year Coca-Cola announced it was making a commitment to reducing its carbon footprint. As one of the largest multinational corporations, and one which often operates in water-scarce areas, Coke’s improvements stand to have a significant impact. This week, Coke has issued an update. Via the company’s Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability (CRS) Report, Coke shows advances in reducing energy use, water use, increased recycling, and an overall drop in the company’s carbon footprint. Of course, we’re always looking at water management, and it now takes 1.67 liters of water to produce a single liter of soda (or any other of their products). That’s down 3.5 percent over two years ago. In addition to their own improved efficiencies, Coke invested invested $12.7 million in a global partnership with U.S. Agency for International Development to support water scarcity and quality in Africa.

keeping linens clean with less water

The Bellingham Herald shares a story of a small business in Washington state used to use 50,000 gallons of water each day to clean and sterilize hospital linens. But Sterile Surgical Systems President Greg Gicewicz wanted to save water and money. Gicewicz installed a $115,000 water treatment and recycling system the company installed in November and recently added a rainwater capture system to his roof. Now, the business only needs 15,000 gallons a day. On top of all the water he’s not paying for, the company’s sewer bills are also lower. Gicewicz expects the systems to pay for itself in only a year. Well done, Sterile Surgical Systems!

photo credits: dirty tap water Jenny Lee Silver/Flickr, dry Murray River Shovelling Son/Flickr

Last week we told you about how families in some drought-stricken parts of India are moving their wedding receptions out of town to ensure there’s plenty of clean water for the party.

This week we heard about Alex and Kristen’s wedding. They didn’t have to choose a venue based on water availability, but water was still a central player in the event. Instead of gifts from Crate and Barrel, Macys, or Target, Alex and Kristen asked their guests to donate to fund a water well project.

Kristen became aware of how water scarcity is such a significant problem during a trip to Africa last year. There she saw first hand how the women and children walked for miles in Ethiopia to collect water for their daily needs. Kristen told Charity:Water, “There was no running water in the operating rooms. And we vowed when we left that we were going to do something.”

Kristen and three friends funded a well last fall, but she knew she wanted to do more. She talked it over with her fiancee, Alex, and they both agreed that they didn’t need more stuff. Instead, on their wedding invitations and via email reminders, the couple told guests that if they wanted to give a gift, to donate to Charity:Water instead, which would build water wells in Africa.

How did it turn out? Great! Kristen and Alex set a goal of $5,000. They were able to raise that much well before the wedding and started up a second campaign. In the end, their wedding raised more than $11,000 which will help over over 110 families with several water wells.

We think this is pretty cool and wish Alex and Kristen a lifetime of happiness.

Would you give up a birthday, anniversary, or even wedding gifts in exchange for helping families without water become families with water?

A number of the staff here are into fitness. And as such, we’re always on the look out for new high performance, green fitness wear. Naturally, we want athletic shoes and apparel that has the latest technical textiles, plus we want them to be eco-friendly and stylish. Let’s see what some of the major athletic companies are doing for us eco-fitness shoppers.

sustainable materials

REI ecoSenstive Bike Jersey

Most of the major athletic apparel brands are taking steps towards sustainability. From using more organic cotton, to recycled plastic, to reducing toxins, the apparel industry is heading in the right direction, but it takes a bit of effort to find because the eco-friendly athletic wear is not yet widely available.

Fortunately, some athletic companies are making it easier for consumers to find the eco-friendly shoes and apparel.

REI created an ecoSenstive line. These shorts, tops, socks, and other items are made from sustainable sources. What we like is that for each of the types of source materials, REI describes both the benefits and the drawbacks. For example, for cotton, they explain that non-organic cotton, while only three percent of the world’s crops, uses 25 percent of the toxic chemical pesticides. While “organic cotton is renewable, biodegradable and non-toxic. The material is traceable through the supply chain.” Of course, organic cotton has its issues too. For example, supplies are limited, it’s more expensive to grow, it also uses a lot of land, which could be used to grow food instead.

Of the mainstream athletic brands, Patagonia might be the most progressive. They were well ahead of the competition when they using conventional cotton and began using only 100 percent organic cotton in 1996. Being green is not just a marketing message for them. Patagonia put it at the heart of their business. Their mission statement is “to build the best product and cause no unnecessary harm.”

Patagonia goes beyond eco-friendly production by thinking cradle-to-cradle for their products. When you buy items with a Common Threads tag, Patagonia wants them back when you’re done. They take worn out clothing and recycle them into new.

Nike has been getting quite a bit of play lately for their World Cup kits made from recycled plastic bottles. But they’re not the only ones using recycled polyester.  Most athletic apparel and shoes are not made from cotton, but man-made fibers which deliver the performance apparel that even the casual athlete wants.

One of the fastest growing performance apparel companies, Under Armour, is also getting on board with green fitness gear. Their UA Green collection is made with recycled plastic bottles. The line, while still limited, gives athletes all the benefits of advanced technical textiles (wicks away sweat, keeps you cool, offers UPF protection, and is light weight) with the advantage of being eco-friendly. According to their website, UA expects to convert over 1 million plastic bottles into athletic shirts and shorts.

To confirm the benefits of recycled plastic fabric, according to an Adidas’s life cycle assessment, they “discovered that depending on the method applied, savings of 40-85% on non-renewable energy use and global warming potential savings of 25-75% can be achieved” for recycled over virgin polyester. And to toot our own horn a bit, if these manufacturers would adopt AirDye technology, they would see even better sustainability results when it comes to creating a finished product.

consider green packaging too

The box your new shoes come in should also be a factor in the sustainability equation. While sometimes an empty shoebox can be handy, we use them to store paid bills at home, but overall, it’s basically something you’re going to discard right away. Fortunately, more and more athletic companies recognize this as well.

New Balance makes their boxes, shipping cartons, even the stuff to keep the toes molded from 100 percent recycled materials which can be recycled again. They also use non-toxic glue, ink, and varnish.

But PUMA has the best solution: Ditch the box altogether. They worked with FuseProject to create the “Clever Little Bag.” To us, this is one of those “why has’t anyone else thought of this” ideas. Eliminating the bag has no negative impact on the shoes and will save PUMA money, water, electricity, fuel, and tons of waste each year. According to their website, you’ll see the new packaging in 2011.

Clearly the move towards creating eco-friendly athletic gear is underway. After all, it doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to think that we only need to keep our bodies healthy–doesn’t the planet deserve the same treatment?
You can read more about each of these brand’s commitments to the environment at their websites:

• Adidas Sustainability
• Nike Responsibility
• New Balance Responsible Leadership
• Patagonia Enviromentalism
• PUMA Vision
• REI Stewardship

Is there another company whose line you think rocks in the green fitness category? We’d like to know who they are. Share comments below.