Green Living Stores

Being Green is not only a benefit to you personally it is Stewardship of your environment.  No matter what your spiritual philosophy is, you realize that choosing carefully the goods and services you use is part of how you express your belief system.  The following is quoted from the First Baptist Church bulletin in Plano, Texas.

From the Pastor…
What are all those blue trashcans?  Is the roof leaking everywhere?”  Thanks for asking!  The Blue bins are for recycling-and no, the roof is not leaking.

The appearance of the recycling containers coincides with this morning’s sermon, “Serving God in His World,” which I’ve subtitled “Going Green without Worshiping the Earth!”  We are stewards of God’s creation; we are His partners in creation, reconciliation, and redemption.

The blue recycling containers are the most visible sign of some adjustments we’ve been making for a number of months.  All of the changes provide opportunity for us to be more effective stewards of God’s gifts-specifically natural resources.  The blue bins enable us to recycle all paper, cardboard, glass, tin, aluminum, and all kinds of plastic-except Styrofoam.  We have begun phasing in paper products that are made from 100% recycled material; in the next month, Styrofoam will begin to disappear from the campus as we replace current inventory with biodegradable products.

For nearly a year, we have used only biodegradable cleaning products.  Last month, each of the 144 incandescent bulbs (40 watts) in the Worship Center was replaced with 8 watt CFLs which produce more light and last twice as long.  (They will also save more than 4600 watts of electricity used every hour they are illuminated.)   Programmable thermostats wherever possible, regular maintenance, and monthly filter changes mean we use less energy and save money as we keep the facilities comfortable.

Stewardship means managing what God entrusts to us.  It also makes sense (cents?).  Figure on this one:  Baylor University pays one company to dispose of their garbage; another company pays them to collect their recyclable material.  Which do they want to encourage?

It might not be easy being green, but I’m proud to be your pastor,

Dr. Jerry Carlisle, Senior Pastor

Recommended Reading:
Is the idea of Living Green a little overwhelming?  The Friday, April 18, 2008 Dallas Morning News has published a recommended reading list to guide you in your decision to improve your life and the environment you inhabit.
1. 365 Ways to Live Green by Diane Gow McDilda; Adams Media for $7.95 – 20 Categories of choices you can make.
2. Green Housekeeping by Ellen Sandbeck; Scribner for $16 – How to remove toxins from your household.
3. Green Living for Dummies by Yvonne Jeffery, Liz Barclay and Michael Grosvenor; For Dummies/Wiley for $19.99 – lots of information in a user friendly format.
4. Go Green:  How to Build an Earth-Friendly Community by Nancy H. Taylor; Gibbs Smith for $12.95 – Suggestions on how to Green your community to improve environmental health.
5. Living Like Ed: A Guide to the Eco-Friendly Life by Ed Begley Jr.; Clarkson Potter for $18 – How Mr. Begley had his own light bulb moment and tips on how to live green.
6. Green Chic; Saving the Earth in Style by Christie Matheson; Sourcebooks for $12.95 – How to live comfortably and well as you change to a Green Living life style.  Who says living green has to be dull and oppressive; instead living green replaces dull and oppressive with health and bounty.
7. Hey Mr. Green:  Sierra Magazine’s Answer Guy Tackles Your Toughest Green Living Questions by Bob Schildgen; Sierra Club for $14.95 – a compilation of information shared by Mr. Schildgen in his Sierra Club column over the years.  He manages to give simple solutions to how to be green and where to get help.

www.NaturalOrganicClothes.com is where you can find clothes that have been manufactured from organic and recycled materials.  NOC is a virtual clothing store that reduces the cost of retail space and gas to travel to your local store. You are provided with an online clothing boutique in the comfort of wherever you choose to get online. 

Green Living is the sourcing products and services that contribute to the health of our selves and our personal spaces. This creation of health in turn creates environmental and physical health for our selves and our communities.  The services and products either can make use of materials that have been recycled or they can be created from healthy products that are non toxic and / or biodegradable.  Careful choosing of what we consume in turn reduces toxins caused by the products and services we use and creates a Green Living environment that increases our quality of living.  Quality of living is the end game for all our Green Living choices.  Simple daily choices such as what clothing we decide to wear (www.NaturalOrganicClothes.com), what we decide to eat or how we build our homes.  The end result of living in an eco friendly manner is that we gain personally and become social stewards of the world community resources. 

It is difficult to find providers of Green Living clothing that are Eco Friendly and Fair Trade Manufactured.  Where is the bamboo and organic cotton socks?  What about natural animal materials, reasonable prices and recycled materials?  We need a range of men’s clothing items.  What is offered in the women’s clothing line is less than nothing.  There are a few items for young women without the comfort of a mature shape.  What about the woman who has arrived at her full maturity and is looking for healthy and eco conscious clothing?  Children - we need everything.   For the provider who has these items and is willing to drop ship; please contact www.naturalorganicclothes.com  and give us your direction and what you have available.  NOC would like discuss with you the opportunity to showcase your selection.

Dress your most precious loved one in healthy organic baby clothing.  Now you have available a collection of body suits, baby tee shirts, baby long sleeved tee shirts and toddler tee shirts with baby boy and girl bottoms in sets.  Tee Shirts can be purchased alone, but the bottoms have to be purchased as a set.  Complete a set with the additional purchase of a blanket and bib, so your little one can be completely dressed from head to toe in an outfit the flatters as well as contributing to its health.