Experts Hail in a New Era of Disposable Dinnerware

According to Muse Green, “VerTerra, THE company to go to for disposable, leaf-based plates and platters have just completely revamped their line for 2009! What better than disposable plates made from a 100% renewable source? …. fallen leaves!” Sounds like amazing news to us here at Organic Eating Daily.

All in all, VerTerra sounds like a pretty great company, based on Muse Green’s analysis: “VerTerra (based on the Latin phrase Veritas Terra or ‘true to the earth’) are on a mission and that is to produce the highest quality products using sustainable production methods and fair wage labor for the environmentally and socially conscious consumer. The end result is pure genius. Using pure materials that they borrow—and then return—to the earth.”

Another note from VerTerra on their newest line of Disposable Dinnerware

“From start to finish, the impact we make on the earth is our top priority. We start by collecting fallen leaves from plantations without cutting down any trees. Normally, these leaves would be burned on the side of the road. Instead, they are brought to our factory, sprayed with high pressure water, steamed and UV sterilized. We recapture over 80% of the water we use. No chemicals, lacquers, glues, bonding agents or anything toxic are ever used. The entire process uses only a fraction of the energy used in recycling.”

Now read the rest of the article on disposable dinnerware at Muse Green.

Post Copyright 2009 Matty Byloos

It’s also fairly concentrated soap, so it doesn’t take a whole lot to get the job done. The essential oils (in this case, lavender, but there are others available like geranium and lemon verbena) make dish washing a meditative experience, while the cleaning agents are fairly gentle and made from natural sources. The Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day line of products has not been tested on animals and contain biodegradable ingredients packaged in recyclable materials.

Beyond the dish soap, you will also find excellent hand soap, cleaners for counters, windows and shower doors, carpet cleaner and stainless steel cleaner, fabric softener and laundry detergent, bath scrub, room spray and more. The best part? You don’t pay a premium for being kind to the environment. All of these products are priced roughly comparable to their non-eco-friendly counterparts. I am nearing the end of my first bottle, which lasted a LONG time, and just picked up the Lemon Verbana scent, which I will address in a later post.


Copyright 2008 Organic Eating Daily

There were a lot of choices, especially when you are prepared to just buy one pan and you are willing to spend the cash on something chef-worthy. Eventually, I stumbled on to the Bialetti Green Planet line of eco-friendly cookware. Seeing that my consciousness is there at the moment, AND I worship all things Italian given my family background, I investigated further and ended up choosing the 12″ Bialetti pan for my kitchen.

Features of the Bialetti Green Planet Cookware Line

Harvested bamboo handle, environmentally safe
Made from 50% recycled aluminum and 100% recyclable after use
100% Recycled packaging
3 Year Guarantee
Made in Italy

More Details on the Bialetti Green Planet Cookware

Not to be thrown in the dishwasher, the Bialetti cookware surface must be hand cleaned with water and soap only — and every once in a while, it’s a good idea to clean the pan with a cloth that has been coated with cooking oil.

Here’s my favorite part of the interior packaging on the pan. A note that reads, “For safety, please keep pet birds out of the kitchen. Birds respiratory systems are sensitive to many kinds of household fumes, including the fumes from extremely overheated non-stick pans.” Either they are (A) so environmentally conscious that their paid think tank of Italian eco-geniuses have listed they absolute worst case scenario of their pans harming anything in the environment, or (B) there are a lot more house birds in Italian kitchens than I realized, and they are not in cages, AND they are precocious and will eat right out of a hot pan on top of the range.

$24.99 for a 12″ pan at BBBY (easy to find $10 off or 20% off coupons anywhere)

Here’s the Marketing Blurbs From Bialetti on GREENPLANET

“With its essential design, attractive shape and ‘reassuring’ colour, Bialetti GreenPlanet is the line of cookware with natural style and with the style and natural look of bamboo. With GreenPlanet, Bialetti invites you to enjoy the pleasure of cooking naturally and with respect for the environment in which we live.”

“Bialetti Industrie’s philosophy in fact defines the company’s goals in unequivocal terms: to create value, not only through the search for maximum market competitiveness expressed by quality and innovation, but also with ethical respect and unity towards all our contacts and the territory in which we operate.”

Bialetti touts its own SA8000 certification as a guarantee of compliance, by the entire company, with all nine requirements established in part of the certification standards. These include but are not limited to:

* respect for human rights and the rights of workers, repudiation of child and forced labour, guarantees of health and safety in the workplace.
* respect for criteria of sustainable socio-environmental development.
* respect for and valorisation of human resources, through constant attention to the needs and expectations of all contacts involved in different ways in company activities (employees, suppliers, shareholders, customers, consumers) and the undertaking to promote effective and continuous improvement plans.

A Note on Social Responsibility from Bialetti

I found this on their website and thought it interesting:

“At Bialetti Industrie social responsibility is a value that is part of the company culture, equally shared at every level. Corporate Social Responsibility is a tangible asset that evolves in real time with innovative formulas and major partners. The centrality of human resources and the strong relationship with the surrounding area are its most visible expressions, implemented with actions aimed at improving the quality of the environment, both inside and outside the company.”


Copyright 2008 Organic Eating Daily