Mother's going GREEN Day 96 - Greening your School Back Pack

Had I not gone green earlier this year the question for my son starting kindergarten would have been: "which super hero back pack with matching lunch box would you like? Batman, Spider man or Superman?" But as it stands the question was "Hemp or not?"

My first choice was hemp and on a recent post I list the greatness of hemp, but one of the things it is not and that is waterproof - well at least the pack back I was looking at was not waterproof. Since we will be walking to school rain or shine - it would make sense to get a back pack that would still keep its contents dry in the pouring rain.

I have read too about back packs made out of old tires - now that would be great, funky and cool. But I could not find any online to buy and if my sleep deprived memory serves me well - if I did - then shipping to Canada was not an option. (on a side note: I would like to say that global warming is a worldwide thing and that if you are an online store selling 'green' products you should try ship worldwide!!! - it doesn't cost you but the person paying for the shipping, doesn't it??)

We finally settled on a "Book Bag" sold at Mountain Equipment Co-Op. While it not made made from a natural material or from a recycled material it is made from 'safe' material. PEVA - which as this website "Sorting Out the Vinyls" suggests: that the term vinyl in ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), polyethylene vinyl acetate (PEVA), polyvinyl acetate (PVA), and polyvinyl butyral (PVB), however, does not refer to PVC and does not raise the same concerns associated with chlorinated molecules like PVC. Now I am not a chemistry major (but my understanding is that it (PEVA) is safe).

Also, the company representing this product is in support of wilderness and conservation. They develop award-winning green retail stores and they strive to make their products with a minimum impact on the environment. They also are a member of 1% for the Planet which means they donate 1% of all sales back to the planet. The reviews for this back pack noted that it lasts for many years - hence we will not have to buy a new one for a very long time (unlike the superhero models that last - if you are lucky - the school year). So we ultimately will be reducing waste by reusing this bag for years to come.

As this news article from November 2007 states: "High levels of lead in children's backpacks, rain ponchos, vinyl lunchboxes and toys are documented by nonprofit environmental health and consumer protection groups in two reports this week." I wanted to make sure that I at least stayed away from that in choosing a back pack.

Should you wish to look at some really cool hemp backpaks be sure to visit: Rawganique

Mother's going GREEN Day 94 - Children's Eco-Craft

Since I have been talking about hemp I figured we could make some hemp jewelry and such. I have chosen to make a bracelet and/or key chain.

Hemp Bracelet and/or Key chain

You will need:

--Stands of Hemp

-- Beads

-- Key ring (if you chose the key chain)

Directions (with an adults help if required):

We will be using the easiest knot in our creation the "Square Knot".

-- You will require 4 stands in total (so get 1 stand of 24" for 'filler' and fold it in half and for your working stands one strand 6' long and fold it in half).

-- With the loops of the folded stands together tie them together with a knot creating a loop. (in ours we used a bead for a fastener so we measured to make sure the bead would fit through the loop snugly when we tied the loop. (if you choose to make a key chain attach the loop to the key ring at this point).

-- The 2 shorter strands are your filler stands and they are to remain in the centre of your work with the 2 working strands on each side.

-- Follow the instructions on this site to tie the "Square Knot". Please note that they are using four strands for their filler instead of the 2 strands that we are using.

-- To add the beads - insert both filler strands through the hole of the bead and tie the knot around them. We chose to make our bracelet with a message - also by doing this we had way less knots to tie.

-- keep tying the knots until the length of knotted hemp is the desired length for your bracelet and then tie them off. In our case we inserted a bead on all 4 strands and tied it off. (this is where it ends for the key chain)

-- the end bead is then inserted into the the loop to create a 'clasp' to close the bracelet.

This craft is probably for the older children although my children had fun selecting the beads and it was great for letter recognition as my son searched for the letters as I asked for them.

If you are struggling to follow my directions there are many directions available on the Internet.

Mother's going GREEN Day 93 - Hemp

Since greening our families lifestyle I have never come across hemp or references to hemp so much as now. It seems if you are going green there is no way to avoid hemp and the many products produced by hemp.

Here are some interesting hemp facts:

-- From its fibres we can get textiles, paper, lighting oil, rope, incense, charcoal, glue and some building supplies such as plywood and drywall.

-- US Presidents Washington and Jefferson grew hemp.

-- The US Declaration of Independence was drafted on hemp paper.

-- The first American flag was made out of hemp.

-- The finest bible paper remains hemp-based even today.

-- The first Levi Jeans were made from hemp.

-- The rigging sails of every ship that sailed the high seas during the 18th and 19th centuries was made of hemp.

-- Hemp was money and was used to pay taxes for over 200 years.

Hemp may be the 'be all and end all' of our 'green' society it has so many benefits:

-- It can grow in just about any soil or climate and grows quickly and easily, it can reach heights of 10 to 20 feet in as little as 3 to 6 months.

-- It does not require herbicides or pesticides as it is naturally resistant to pests.

-- Hemp fiber is longer lasting than wood pulp; it’s stronger, acid free and chlorine free.

-- Paper made from hemp can be recycled 7 times over the 4 times for paper made from wood pulp.

-- Hemp can replace plastics made from petroleum and are therefore biodegradable.

-- Best of all hemp could be the answer as a fuel source. At a comparable cost in converting petroleum to methane, methanol or gasoline we can instead convert hemp and it burns cleaner without contributing to global warming.

For more information and facts visit this Hemp Site, among the many others found on the Internet.