One Cashier At A Time

Being waste conscious and living in the year 2008 in Australia can get pretty challenging at times. It seems that as a nation we are completely addicted to plastic bags, take away containers, straws and a multitude of other handy devices designed to make moving stuff around easier.

I think that a large reason for our addiction is that we are being force fed these objects sometimes against our will. Let me explain: I go into a store to buy 1 or 2 objects, put them on the counter, politely smile and say “No Bag Thanks.” The person behind the cash register rings them up and then proceeds to take them and place them in a plastic bag anyway. I stop them and politely remind them that I didn’t want a bag. I get a funny look as if to say ‘why?’ and the items are removed from the bag. If I am lucky the bag gets placed back with the others for the next customer, otherwise it goes straight in the bin as its now considered ‘used’.

I think that if we want to create a culture that is less dependant on disposable petroleum based products (plastics) and generates a whole lot less waste, we could make a great start by influencing people behind counters. Next time you order a drink or buy some food, and ask for it without a straw or a plastic bag, tell the attendant why you don’t want one. Tell the café owner or shop keeper they should consider training their staff to only dish out plastic if they are asked.

Imagine how much less waste would be produced if stores only handed them out when they were asked…

So join me in educating one cashier at a time and lets see what happens.

What are your thoughts?

Until Next Time

Danin Kahn

Chief Eco Officer

Todae

www.todae.com.au

Why Don’t You Stock This?

Every so often we get asked “Why don’t you stock this product?” It is a great product and an organic store down the road has it.

This is an issue we have been dealing with ever since we started – losing business because we don’t have some products that customers like. An example of this would be Seventh Generation cleaning products. They look fantastic, the company has a great ethos, the ingredients are good, and they work well. Only problem is they are shipped in from overseas (US).

Now it’s true that we do sell many products that are produced overseas, and that is because unfortunately Australia doesn’t produce many of the products that we believe are beneficial. But when it comes to things like cleaning products, which are heavy and bulky, we have made a big effort to only stock Australian products (and 1 or 2 NZ products) to reduce the amount of embodied energy in our products. Not only that, but I believe the Australian products are better than most overseas products.

Thanks,

Danin Kahn

Chief Eco Officer

www.todae.com.au

And The Award Goes To....

Hey All,

It is a challenge to get our name out there and help everyone lead more sustainable lives. We try our best and hope that we can help people make a difference whether it is small or large.

It is great to see that we are being recognised for our efforts and the efforts of our wonderful customers. We have been nominated for two awards:

• The Sydney Business Awards
• The Best of Sydney Awards

We are really happy to receive this recognition and we need you, our customers and friends to help support us even further. We would love it if you could vote for us. Voting is simple and easy.

To vote for us in the Sydney Business Awards, vote online (by selecting our name) or sms 'TODAE' to 0421 266 662 (standard sms charges apply).

To vote for us in the Best of Sydney Awards, simply email 'Best New Age Store - Todae' to best@alternativemediagroup.com.

We appreciate all your support! :)

Thanks,

Landon & The Todae Team

www.todae.com.au 

Oh Baby!!

The Todae family has recently had a new addition – my little baby girl Naomi! She is truly an amazing miracle and has brought me even more joy than I could ever imagine. What I didn’t realize however was just how much waste this tiny human would produce and how much equipment she needs! Over 24 hours we are talking at least 12 nappies, 6 burp cloths, 6 change table towels and 20+ wipes just for the basics not to mention washing of at least 4 (oh-so-cute) baby outfits, towels, face washers and change of clothes for mum and dad when the inevitable vomit happens.

Not being around many babies before my own, I had no idea about all the stuff she needs and it wasn’t long after coming home from the hospital that I found myself swimming in all sorts of bits and pieces, and realizing how non-eco most of it all was.

Thankfully there is an abundance of options to help reduce the not-so-tiny footprint of our little angel. Re-usable cloth options are the ultimate for nappies, wipes, breast-pads (for mum!) and bathtime – but as we found – the time required to wash and dry these during the challenging first months at home makes the task seem impossible. So the next best thing we discovered is the biodegradable options. Instead of the standard polypropelane, polyethelene, polyacrylate disposable nappies spending years in land-fill after their brief stint as briefs, you can try biodegradable alternatives from Moltex and Safties or funky bamboo. Similarly, wipes and even the rubbish bags with which to dispose of each pooey episode are available made from biodegradable materials such as pulp from sustainable forests and corn starch (Wot Not are a great Australian owned option).

Its also amazing how many chemicals mainstream baby products contain. If you are concerned about smothering your child with sodium laureth solphate, a range of organic, fragrance free products are available for bath-time, bottom cleaning and baby massage (ah – what a life)!

Some of my & Naomi's favourite eco-baby products are online.

Naomi is only 6 weeks old now, so we haven’t even begun to think about food, toys or the evils of TV yet. Stay tuned for the next challenge … teething!

Mark

www.todae.com.au 

Peddling to a brighter future!

I recently got my hands on a Hymini Wind Power Generator and wow this by far the coolest gadget ever! I got mine with a bicycle holder and solar panel and I love how it looks on my handlebars, I especially enjoy how cool it looks and the fact that and an inbuilt LED makes the turbine blades glow green when you go fast at night!

The fact that it looks cool and I can show off isn’t the only reason I love my little Hymini. The energy it generates charges my iPod and mobile phone – and I get to make a statement about my position about renewable energy.

In my personal opinion we live in a time when we have the opportunity to transform our relationship to the planet by implementing renewable energy solutions on a massive global scale. An opportunity that right now isn’t coming to fruition.

Australia has some of the best solar and wind energy resources in the world, however, we also have some of the world’s best coal deposits. Approximately 40% of the world electricity production uses coal – a major greenhouse gas contributor and the source of a heap of other environmental nightmares.

Australia’s abundance of coal means we are sadly lagging behind the rest of the world in terms of renewable energy use. The new Labour government publicly reinforced their commitment to the coal industry by applying a means test to the domestic solar rebate (a major blow to Australia’s small renewables industry) and giving the Coal industry a $500M handout to research ‘clean coal’.

A greenie at heart I want solar panels on every roof and an abundance of wind farms – unfortunately with our pollies with their heads in the sand and with non-renewable energy prices so cheap (because they don’t have to pay for our planet’s future) I’ll keep raving about my Hymini and keep peddling renewable energy to all our wonderful customers!

Cheers!

Until Next Time. 

Rana

www.todae.com.au 

Sustainable Printing and Design Practice

First things first. Does the item actually need to be printed?

Carefully consider the message and if it could be delivered just as effectively, if not more so, in another medium such as a pdf, website or email?

Choose recycled paper

Recycled papers are all the same right? Wrong! Not all papers are created equal, here’s a run-down of eco-friendly papers available:

Post-consumer paper is created from paper and card items, such as boxes and juices cartons, that have been used, then recycled and made usable again.

Pre-consumer is paper that has left the paper mill but never made it into use, such as off-cuts and test sheets from printers. This is sold back and reused again.

Mill-broke is paper that never leaves the mill, such as off-cuts and low quality rejected materials. This is then re-pulped and put back into the mix.

Alternative fibres are derived from materials other than wood such as cotton, bamboo, bagasse and sugar cane waste.

While paper made from plantations is better than paper made form Virgin forests, plantations do not provide suitable habitats for wildlife and therefore have a detrimental effect on our natural environment.

There are also some great specialty eco-papers on the market that offer even more eco-benefits such as being chlorine-free, made from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar. Look for environmental certifications.

What can you do in your office?

Choose a good eco-friendly paper, minimise paper usage by printing double-sided and avoid wastage. Educate yourself on sustainable business practices that go beyond printing choices - Check out Change The World 9-to-5 and True Green at Work.

What do we use in our office?

Our office printer loves Evolve Office Recycled Paper, Ecocern Recycled Paper and Ecocern Envelopes. It’s such a team player!

We also use and stock 100% recycled Document wallets, Manilla folders, Office pads, Notebooks, Tab Dividers, post-it notes, pens and pencils.

What about when you’re out-sourcing printing projects?

When printing large scale collateral, such as business cards and annual reports, there are a number of steps you can take to reduce your environmental footprint.

Firstly, effectively plan the quantity of units you are printing so as to avoid wastage, but also consider the environmental effects of re-printing if your initial run falls short of your needs.

Ask your printer about replacing hazardous chemical petroleum inks with vegetable and soy based inks, which are also easier to de-ink and recycle once the item is no longer used. Find an eco-friendly printer at Greenpages.com.au

Research the environmental credibility of special printing techniques. For example a celloglase feels great yet because it is actually a plastic laminate it won’t allow the paper to break down when recycled and metallic ink pigments are also nasty for our precious environment.

We’d love to hear about your sustainable printing practices, you’re welcome to leave a comment!

Thanks,

Until Next Time.

Rochelle. 

No Bag Thanks…

Almost every morning on my way to work I call in to my local fruit and veggie store to purchase my daily fruit intake. And almost every morning the kindly cashier asks if I need a carry bag. Without fail, the answer is always 'no thank you'. It has somehow become a matter of course that people 'need' a plastic bag to carry their goodies around. Even if it is just a few items that will happily sit in a satchel or shoulder bag until ones destination is reached, I wonder why cashiers keep offering the damn things and more importantly, why do we keep accepting them?

In those moments when I do require a bag to carry home my shopping I proudly unfurl my envirosax reusable shopping bag and pop everything in that - its large enough to carry a decent amount of shopping with good size handles to easily slip over a shoulder and when it’s not needed it can be folded up into a convenient pocket size roll! What's more they come in a huge range of patterns to suit both men and women and now they even come in funky kids designs to tote around the wet beach towel, soccer boots or library books. They scrub up a dream too.

Another thing I have noticed in my grocery store adventures is a habit I like to call "anti-mingle". This is where shoppers must separate every fruit and vegetable from every other type of produce by putting everything in a separate plastic bag. As far as I know the only purpose this serves is to plonk it on the scales in one nice heap. I am yet to come across a cashier that has a problem putting loose vegetables on the scales or plopping them altogether in my reusable shopping bag thus reducing the need and subsequent use of small plastic bags. If one does require a bag for say, loose salad leaves or a handful of snowpeas, use the paper mushroom bags! These are not explicitly for mushrooms! That way your items are contained and you can recycle the packaging or even pop it in your worm farm or compost bin.

Have some forethought and think about what you will do with your packaging or carry bag afterwards. Buy products in re-useable, recyclable packaging or none at all. Steer clear of buying landfill. It’s amazing how many people buy mushrooms on a polystyrene tray covered in plastic wrapping or carrots in a bag when it is often cheaper to buy them loose! We have these options right in front of us, we just need to make smart, thoughtful consumer choices to make a big difference.

Happy shopping!

Ash

Until Next Time.

www.todae.com.au 

Australia Go For It!

Hi all,

I’m a student from the Netherlands currently working at Todae.

After spending almost 6 months in Australia I have developed so much respect to the people here in Australia, who are trying to create a better world, an environmentally friendly world. When I arrived in Sydney and started to create a new life and I did some shopping. I realised that the people are doing so many small things to create a better environment. For example a lot of people are using reusable bags.

When I take a look at the Netherlands there is so much promotion for things like this, but nobody is doing it. The government has invested a lot of money in larger efforts for the environment but there have not been any promotion small activities.

I don’t want to say that nothing is happening in the Netherlands about creating a better world. But for example the children here in Australia getting information at school to use less water and why you have to do this. There are no initiatives like this in the Netherlands because in the Netherlands we don’t have a water problem so many people don’t realise how much water they use and how much water they can save by using a water saving toilet or a water saving showerhead for example. All these small things can save you a lot of money. What I personally recommend to those people who want save some money is to invest in creating a better energy saving house with energy saving gadgets.

The progress we’ve made in the Netherlands is nothing compared what the progress is in Australia. So I want to ask you all “go for it” and show the world how we all can fix this eco problem by starting to make a difference individually. Start with something small and you will help to create a better place for you and for your loved ones.

Cheers,

Hans Heurkens.

www.todae.com.au  

Tim Flannery Opens New Todae Store

World renowned environmental scientist and 2007 Australian of the year Professor Tim Flannery opened the new Todae Westfield Bondi Junction Store at the official launch party. The store is Todae's second store after their Glebe store opened in late 2006. The store located on Level 1, Westfield Bondi Junction gives Sydney's Eastern Suburbs easy access to Todae's leading range of eco-friendly products and services that will help them to make a positive difference to our environment without jeapoardising their lifestyles. 

              

For more infomation & pictures please check out the story on www.todae.com.au

Thanks,

Landon

The Todae Team

www.todae.com.au  

Todae's New Sydney Store!!

Unbeknownst to many of our customers and clients, the Todae team has been busy over the last few months, hatching the second of our offspring – the brand new Todae Store at Bondi Junction Westfield!

This project has posed many new challenges that have finally been met, with the store being open to the public just one week ago. One of the most important and necessary challenges for us was to be mindful of our company ethos of sustainability throughout the design phase. With this tying the concept of the store together, the selection of materials has been very specific. In our new store you will find used the following to ensure the least environmental impact:

Merchandising plinths made from 100 year old recycled timber whose former purpose was office furniture at the old Maritime Service Board in the Rocks.

We has used several parts of the existing fit out, preventing this from going straight to landfill.

The paints used are free of harmful VOC’s and chemicals. The floorboards are bamboo, one of the most sustainable, natural building materials.

The lighting throughout the store is highly efficient LED and compact fluorescent lighting, meaning the store is only using 20% of the power and normal retail store would use.

The energy required to power the store is being produced by our very own solar system, sitting on Westfield tower roof! This is the first solar system to be found on any Westfield shopping centre in the world.

I would like to thank the whole Todae team....Whilst carrying on with business as usual, the entire Todae team has been extremely supportive of this project with some ideas and suggestions.

We eagerly await the official launch party where renowned environmental scientist and Australian of the Year Tim Flannery will officially open the store.

Feel free to come visit us and see the new Bondi Junction Store:

Shop 1008, Level 1
Westfield Bondi Junction
500 Oxford St
Bondi Junction

Thanks!

Until Next Time.

Carmel

www.todae.com.au