It's Cold Outside for some of us...

For those of us living out our January in the colder portion of this US of A, I have some suggestions. These suggestions are not just about warming you up physically, but, warm you up to being more eco-friendly and thinking “green”!

Did you know that if you set your thermostat one degree lower for heat this winter, you could save $100.00 per year on your utility bill?! If everybody in every house in this country did the same thing, we could save more than $10 billion per year in energy costs. That is enough to provide a year’s worth of gasoline, electricity, and natural gas to every person in Iowa! Not bad, considering our shrinking pocket books and our shrinking planet.

So, now comes the part about staying warm and cozy. Check out Celery Street’s eco-friendly blankets. Our Global Mamas beautiful soft patchwork batik quilt is handcrafted from the leftover 100% cotton fabric scraps used in clothing production. The colorful collection of patchwork squares is backed by recycled 100% cotton flour sacks. Each quilt has a tag telling the Global Mamas story about women in Africa attaining economic independence producing this and other products. These blankets are so soft and such a conversation piece. I just love mine!

If half of the polyester fabric made in the United States each year were produced with recycled materials, it would be enough to cover the entire state of New York. That fact reminds me of the visual impact of the 1,293,300 square foot AIDS memorial quilt that covered the front lawn of the White House. Compare that to the size of the State of New York and realize what a small difference we can all make by reusing fabrics or buying recycled fabrics.



Wrap up and stay warm…and green!

- e.

*The above facts are from one of my favorite resources: the green book by Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas M. Kostigen, AIDS quilt picture courtesy of Flickr.com.