earthpak: great idea, crappy company

so… a few months ago, i mentioned what I believed to be a cool company, earthpak. this little texas operation deals in bags/backpacks/etc. made from recycled soda bottles. cool, eh? so about a month ago, i went for it and ordered a number of items, including the messenger laptop bag I’d been ogling and a new backpack and lunchbag for my daughter and i waited…

and waited…

and waited…

i started to get really concerned about two weeks ago, when i realized that i really needed the laptop bag for biz trip i’m taking in a few days. So i called…

and called…

and emailed…

and called…

BIG FAT NOTHING!!!!

it wasn’t until i filed a claim with paypal that someone finally answered the phone (odd coincidence)… no one could seem to help me, nor tell me when my order would be delivered… so i asked to speak with the owner, scott figueiredo, who i’d been emailing for weeks. he wouldn’t come to the phone, but the “customer service” gal PROMISED me that the laptop bag would be sent out by last friday or else she’d overnight it monday.

fast forward to yesterday, when – huge surprise – nothing’s arrived. i called three times and finally got someone on the line. imagine my surprise when she (natalie, i believe) tells me that, no, my order still sitting in limbo land. ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!

so i ask for my money to back… this gal has no clue and claims to have just started working there. So i ask for someone else… another woman “shauna” (sp?) comes on, puts me on hold three or four times… and then forgets about me. natalie comes back on and i ask to speak with shauna, who “tries” to connect me with the owner by holding his cell phone up to her landline phone. f-in brilliant (and, silly me, i used to wonder how in the world G-dumb got elected… TWICE!).

finally i just tell her i want my $207. 96 back… she tells me that only scott can take care of this… so i respond that if it’s not refunded w/in 24 hours, i’m hitting small claims court… it’s no longer about the dang money… i wasted HOURS trying to help keep them in business…

by late last night, earthpak had refunded $206 of the $207.96 i gave them…any idea how much i want to go after them for that remaining $1.96? brreaaaaattthhhheeee…

honestly, this was the WORST online retail experience i’ve ever had… and it’s just a dang shame because legitimate companies working hard to do the right thing are getting screwed because of people like these guys… nice job, earthpak!

pcw. pcf. fsc. wtf? oh... and i'm not a virgin...

ok. i'm quite sure that pretty much ya'll are recycling your paper (you are, right? RIGHT??? :). now it’s time to close the loop. this is a vital step in the lifecycle process, as there must be demand for paper product companies to offer recycled options. makes sense, right?

sweet! now for the confusing part: the mysterious acronyms… the cryptic symbols…they’re enough to give you a massive migraine and make even the huggiest of treehuggers say “fahhgettabbouttit!” but never fear, they aren’t as perplexing as they might seem at first glance.

post-consumer waste (pcw)

also called “post-consumer content” (pcc), post-consumer waste refers to used material collected though household, office and drop-off recycling programs. this is different than “recycled” paper, which is made from pre-consumer content such as paper trimmings from the paper mill and printer and printed materials that never reach the consumer (that's peachy and all, but i have faith that we can all do better, si?).

sooooo, try shopping for paper products (printer paper, facial tissues, paper towels, etc) with the highest pcc percentage (30 percent is optimal). look for packaging that displays the chasing arrows within a circle. this indicates that the product contains recycled content. and, if there’s a percentage in the middle, that indicates the amount of recycled materials in the product. the symbol is often confused with the chasing arrows symbol, which simply indicates that a product may be recycled.

recycled

recyclable

it'll cost you a bit more (then again, try buying in bulk from amazon or ebay... you can find some great deals!)... but, by purchasing paper products with a high PCC, you are not only closing the lifecycle loop, but you are sending a message that will encourage manufacturers to continue the reclamation and use of recycled materials (translation: if there's money to be made, they'll make it!... ahhh.. capitalism!).

processed chlorine free (pcf)

in order to make paper white, paper fibers are bleached (yuck!), even though chlorine-free paper quality is optimal. the only difference is that has not been subjected to a boatload of nasty chemicals. also, the more unbleached paper purchased, the fewer toxins end up polluting our water (whee! everyone wins!). the term "pcf" means that the bleaching process uses no chlorine or chlorine derivatives, thereby eliminating toxic by-products associated with chlorine, such as dioxins.

forest stewardship council (fsc)

the forest stewardship council is an international organization that promotes responsible stewardship of the world’s forests (and, no, no kool-aid is involved). one of the ways it achieves this is through its certification program. besides certifying forest management, it also offers a chain of custody certificate, which provides a guarantee regarding the steps taken from the forest to the consumer, including processing, manufacturing and distribution. by looking for the fsc label on all your paper products, you are contributing to the preservation and responsible management of our forests

btw... serious "bitchin disco!" to renourish.com for its efforts to provide the graphic design industry (and those it so beautifully illustrates) tools to embrace sustainability. i don't know ya'll... but you rock!

that's it for tonight folks. if you still haven't figured out acronyms like lmirl, tdtm, iwsn or nifoc (ewwww... ), try google. that aint my job.

(sort of) mid-year check-in

yup... like many folks, i made some new year's resolutions a few months ago... and, in an attempt to be accountable for my actions (and lack thereof), i thought it appropriate to -- as my friend joe says -- to "sit down with my bad self" and see where i'm at, as well as where i'm going...

resolution 1: purchase produce that is grown locally (start working my way toward the 100-mile diet).

--i'm actually doing pretty well on this one... my sunday-morning trips to the local farmer's market have actually become a bit of an addiction! (BTW, if you're not checking out your farmer's market, you're missing out on some SUPERB fruits and veggies... yum!). in addition, my little organic garden is bearing fruit, and i'm up to my eyeballs in tomatoes... yay! my only major failure has been regarding one thing -- bananas. not a whole lot of banana farmers here in so cal, so i'm rationalizing this by buying organic. all in all, i give myself a solid 9 on this one.

resolution 2: replace one major appliance with a more energy-efficient model by the end of 07.

--sadly, i'm getting a 1 in this area. sure, i've window shopped, but plunking down a few grand for the washer and dryer of my dreams is a bit more difficult than i'd planned. thankfully, i have a few months left before '08 comes knockin' on my door.

resolution 3: get power strips for the kitchen appliances and tv, etc. and remember to shut em off when not in use!

--check! it's amazing how much electricity we've saved by doing this... and i'm actually doing *darn* well at remembering to shut em off. i'll go with an 8 for this sucker.

resolution 4: replace outdoor garden lighting with solar-powered lighting.

--ding! man, i'm feeling much better now (the whole appliance thing was making me feel bad!). the solar lights work great, although i admit the lighting is a bit different. but we've gotten used to it.

last, but not least.. my sorta resolution 5: clean up and get rid of all my crap.
--ehhhhh... can we go back and reflect on my successes? :)

anyhoo, i'd love to hear how ya'll are doing on your green resolutions... hit me up!

cheers!