The green Bannana

I was at the Tucson Mall this weekend shopping for a formal interview outfit; as I am graduating from the University of Arizona on May 17, and I am going out on a few job interviews. I walked up to Banana Republic and saw a sea of green through the store.

Banana Republic has come out with a green line. The new line is made from eco-friendly resources such as: organic cotton, soy silk and bamboo and spandex. Although they are trying to make the clothes green it is just a small step. For instance, a knit tank top is make from fabric that is only 5% soy silk.
Banana Republic's efforts do not stop there. In honor of Earth Week, April 22 - 27, donated up to $100,000 to the Trust for Public Land. Trust for Public Land is a non-profit organization that is trying to preserve public, urban green spaces.

Bags and boxes that come out of Banana Republic are also made with a percentage of recycled material. In 2006, Banana Republic bought 2,481 tons of recycled material. The price tags are made with 100% recycled material.

I am truely bored with talking about organic food, so for my last few bogs I am going to address eco-friendly topics that intrest me. Don't get me wrong nutrition is very important to me and I do lead an organic lifestyle, but punk rock, tattoos and skate boarding are my passions.
I recently learned that there are eco-friendly skate boards. These decks are manufacture by Super Green Boards. They are made of the world's fastest growing wood replacement, bamboo.
According to Lewis Bamboo Inc. bamboo produces new canes in the Spring. After the first 60 days of the plant's life it reaches its full size, although it produces new foliage each year. Bamboo reaches its full maturity in five years as opposed to the 100 years it takes for a maple tree to mature.

Bamboo is also an excellent converter of carbon dioxide. It converts more than eight time the amount of carbon dioxide that tree do.
But, the density of bamboo is what makes it the perfect candidate to replace wood skate board decks. The Super Green Boards' Web-site said that bamboo is 17 percent stronger than the traditonal maple wood used to make decks.

The Super Green Boards mission statement is: Super Green Boards is dedicated to bringing the cleanest technology to longboarding, as new developments in the green movement develop you'll be sure to find them here.
The decks are laminated with a very low Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) epoxy. VOC's are organic chemical compounds that have such high vapor pressures that add polution to the atmosphere.
The company has five differnt long boards available: GreenGasm, GreenSpeed, Space Pansy, Green Envy and GreenEggs&Surf. Custom made boards can be ready in as little as two weeks.

A green spirit to match your diet

The book Dharma Punx is what we all need to make our souls green to align with our organic diets and eco-friendly attitudes toward the enviornment. I wanted to stray from my usual topic of healthy eating and fous on a healthy psyche.

Noah Levine, author of Dharma Punx, tells his life story and how he went from being a junkie on the streets to a veagan and well-known Budhhist medatation leader.

I recently saw Levine speak at Project Moore high school in Tucson, Ariz.

Covered from head-to-toe in tattoos Levine sat in front of a crowd of kids that are at the last-chance high school and spoke about the harsh realities of life and what drug use did to him.

Levine radiates inner peace and the students picked up on that. His words were encouraging and he seems to lead the ultimate green lifestyle.

All this got me thinking there is so much emphasis on keeping our nutrition green, well what about our dharma?

Check out the book an in the words of Noah Levine, "Serve the truth, defy the lies."