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Self Realization and Sustainable Living

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Real Good Goods from Gaiam



Gaiam.com, Inc

If you haven’t looked into Gaiam yet, it may be time you did. For a crash course on the company, have a look at the video at the end of the posts on this page. It’s a great jump in point to get an idea of just what an earth sensitive and socially responsible company can be.

Here’s the Vision Statement.

“To create a global community of life-minded people – a force for positive change.”

The Mission Statement is no less encouraging.

“Gaiam was founded to make a difference in the world of educating people about lifestyle choices that affect personal development, wellness and environmental responsibility. We began as a lifestyle media company with a vision that, given a choice, people would choose a lifestyle that is health and life enhancing – for themselves, their families and the Earth.”

Gaiam (pronounced “guy-um”) is a fusion of “Gaia” (earth) and “I am”. The company sees the earth as an interconnected system of systems that can be viewed and experienced as a single entity – a whole being.

From the Website

“The word Gaiam represents planetary awareness, preservation and support of the interconnectivity of all living things. By nurturing, protecting and respecting our planet, its natural resources and its inhabitants, we enrich our own lives and those of future generations.”

Sounds like “just what the doctor ordered”. Care for ourselves, so we can care for the community, so the community can care for the planet – and so it goes.

Playing around on the site is a joy. Two of my favorite destinations are the One World – Fair Trade Marketplace and the Solar Living department. There’s also a Gift Guide and Registry as well as Online Catalogs and great Customer Service .
And that's not all....

From the homepage , your can access, eco-home and outdoor products, a yoga studio, fitness center, apparel department, wellness clinic, a media library, and an outlet store.

But wait! There’s more. You can follow the brown and blue tabs at the top of the page and look into the Gaiam Community and Gaiam Travel.

Gaiam’s environmental efforts are stellar. The company launched the first carbon-neutral product shipping program and partners with the Conservation Fund to create Go Zero, a tree purchasing program to offset the carbon impact of the operations and distribution centers.

They offer EcoPass mass transit passes to headquarter employees and use non-virgin fibers in their catalogs, earning them the Forest Stewardship Council certification for responsible paper production standards and thereby saving nearly 50,000 trees and eliminating 9 million pounds of greenhouse gasses since the advent of the program.

Packaging is 100% biodegradable and recyclable. It’s made of post-consumer waste and printed with soy-based ink.

Gaiam is a major supporter of the Solar Living Institute
and, for three consecutive years, has ranked in the top tiers of Business Ethics Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens list..

So have a look. Great companies like Gaiam are models to uphold. View the video at the bottom of this Post page and shop responsibly.

@peace


Friday, December 7, 2007

America is Cooperating and Co-op America Is Working for All of Us

Here’s the mission. “…to harness economic power - the strength of consumers, investors, and businesses - to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society”

Lofty words, but Co-op America is serious and their efforts go far beyond the commendable.

Their visionary outlook is no less lofty.

“We work for a world where all people have enough, where all communities are healthy and safe, and where the bounty of the Earth is preserved for all the generations to come”

Co-op America is unique to the green movement. They:

• Focus on economic strategies and economic action to solve social and environmental problems
• Mobilize people in their economic roles as consumers, investors, workers, and business leaders
• Empower people to take personal and collective action
• Work on issues of social justice and environmental responsibility
• Work to stop abusive practices and to create healthy, just and sustainable practices

Drop by their family of Websites. Links are on our navigation bar.

For some good reading and resources, visit our Bannon River Books Sustainability Store

@peace