Adding a bit more commentary to the site

Moons ago, I tuned my television to CNN to watch “Planet in Peril: Battle Lines.” Despite Anderson Cooper’s Jack Bauer-esque reporting and Soledad O’Brian’s sassy temperament I found myself quickly annoyed with the unending cry me a riverthesis that planet earth is under a direct threat. In a world with nearly unlimited problems I lament the fact that so much time, money, and concern are being wasted on a very old rock, floating weightlessly in an unfathomably large universe and not, instead, on this rocks inhabitants. 
My frustration with the green community and it’s central mission, to “save the earth”, has been building for some time. I’m not sure when the purpose of being green shifted from preserving resources for further generations to treating the earth as a person, or dare I say deity, that we should make daily sacrifices for, but it seriously needs to stop for the sake of the green movement. We lose our ability to sell the notion of sustainability when we submit the earth as the sole benefactor. I cringe whenever I hear or read someone selling “green” products or activities by saying “we need to save the earth!” because the concept of saving (as in rescuing) our planet is so asinine it redefines absurdity. 

Message to my fellow “greenies”: The Earth Does Not Need Saving

I sense that part of this compulsion to rescue the earth, from certain disaster no doubt, comes from a lack of perspective. The earth is 4.5 billion years old. The average human lives maybe seventy years… longer if they have a dog.  Nothing that humans come into contact with on a daily basis is older or more resilient than the planet earth. Many years ago it was pummelled by an asteroid off the coast of Mexico, even that didn’t spell an end for our perilous planet.  It survived and we came later.  If we were to continue our non green ways and continue to use earth’s resources without regard for future generations, what would happen to planet earth? Would it cease to be the 3rd planet in the solar system? Would the activity at it’s core stop? From the earth’s point of view would anything notable happen to it that could compare to its violent past? No, No, and No.  (For more info on this, check out the “life after people” shows on the history / discovery channels… our earth recovers from us in a mere 250 years!)

But, if our ways aren’t a threat to earth what are they a threat to? What will happen if we continue to use resources the way we do now?  Imagining this scenario reveals the true reason to use earth’s resources wisely… to preserve and protect humans.  Our unwise use of earth’s riches are not and never will be a threat to our planet, but they will assuredly, be a threat to our children and their children, and so on and so forth.  If we continue to take and use more than we need, there will be less for future generations. This, coupled with increasing population, will cause famine, disease, drought, fire, and all sorts of human suffering.

The Planet is not in Peril, We are. This is the message that members of the green community should adopt and use to promote sustainability.  People rightly have more compassion for other people than they do for the earth and if we make people the reason to recycle or waste less water, we will be much more successful. But if we continue to prioritize the earth before people, we will fail.

So lets all come together and redefine our mission and our cause.

We are not a threat to nature, but subject to it.

The Earth does not need saving, We do.

and…

The Planet is not in Peril, We are.

Sorry CNN.

I’m reviewing a Compact Fluorescent Lamp or CFL today. This is the first CFL that Green Gear has reviewed in its 1 1/2 year history. That sort of surprises me. I’ve had CFLs for quite some time, almost every lamp in my home is a CFL. I guess CFLs seems so obvious. They’re cheap, available everywhere, and almost a no-brainer for people looking for new light bulbs. But, with that said, It’s important that I finally review one of the most popular green products out there.

The other day I was at Home Depot picking up a toilet flapper and thought I’d grab some CFLs. I nabbed the lowest wattage setting i could find and ended up picking up a 40w eqiuv (9 watt actual) 4-Pack made by n:Vision. It cost me $5.98. The price really couldn’t be better for non-dimming light bulbs. I remember paying astronomical amounts of money for CFLs when the first came out, so I’m happy that they’re cheaper.

The green savings here is of course the variable savings made possible by the CLF using 1/4th the energy of an incandescent lamp. Lighting while not a majority of your electric bill each month certainly is a big player so you could see a significant savings if you replaced your current bulbs with CFLs in the lamps you use most often.

I’ve had no issues with the n:Vision, they don’t flicker when turned on, they stay relatively cool to the touch and seem to be built well. Just as a note these aren’t dimmable, though that do make ones that are. Also, because these are CFLs they need to be disposed of in a proper manner, my local home depot recycles them for us so I suspect yours does too.

Here is the Video Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Gears for Variable Eco Benefit, Value, Design Quality, and Being Ready for Mass Purchase

The first review I did on Green Gear was a Delta 1.6GPM showerhead my wife and I bought at home depot.  That was our first foray into the world of green products..  Since then I’ve probably reviewed more showerheads than any other product type, but each of them have been around the 1.5GPM flow rate.  That is not bad.  But I knew I could do better so I went looking for one with a lower flow rate and found the Bricor B100 Ultra Max .55GPM Showerhead.

This is what I consider a “premier” product review.  Every post I publish with the word “bricor” gets more hits than most others.  Also, there seems to be a lot of buzz around the B100 Ultra Max, but no full reviews.  So, I’m hoping that I can help shed light on the quality of this low LOW flow showerhead. 

I’ve reviewed a Bricor before, They are very well made showerheads that utilize a lot of different technologies to make a little water feel like a lot.  The main technology used is what they call a vacuum flow, which uses air to create a vacuum in the head.  This generates a greater amount of velocity, and thus force.  It worked really well with 1.5GPM, so i was very anxious to see what only half a gallon per minute felt like…

You know when you’re using the B100 that you have a low flow showerhead..  I mean, how can you not?  It uses 20% the water of a regular flow showerhead, and 33% the water of a 1.5GPM.  So, don’t think that you’re gonna buy this thing and get an AMAZING spa like massage shower, you’re not.  But what you WILL get from the B100 Ultra is a good shower, especially considering the flow rate.  I give a lot of credit to Bricor here, it feels like much more than .55GPM. 

The head has a rotating handle that adjusts the pressure created.  With it you have the option of choosing a firm or gentle shower.  It works pretty well and I use both settings each time I shower.  The firm is great for getting soap out of hair, while the gentle is good for those mid-shower snoozes.  You know what i’m talking about! 

The green value here could almost not be higher.  The amount of water you are saving here is staggering.  If have a 2.5GPM and take eight minute showers you’ve just saved 15 GALLONS of water.  That’s three of those big water cooler containers!  That’s a serious amount of water savings… Also, You didn’t need to heat it up.  So, from a “green” standpoint, the B100 ultra Max .55 is what I consider to be THE green showerhead.  If your main goal in showering is saving water, this is the head for you.  Basically very committed environmentalists and anyone who owns a boat or RV!

Now, lets talk about price.  This showerhead was $75.  That is a significant amount of money to spend on something like this.  It’s high quality and bricor usually commands a high price point.  But lets look at this two ways.  If you already buy showerheads at this price or $75 is not a lot of money, this is going to be nothing but savings to you.  If you’re like me and usually buy ones around $35, You will still see the additional $40 investment pay off in one year (assuming 8min showers and $.05 cents / cuft of water).  I have no problem recommend this showerhead in either scenario. 

Two important points of note.  If you like warm showers and have turned down your water heater to save money you might need to turn it up for this showerhead.  .55GPM is great, but it doesn’t transfer the “heat” as well since there isn’t as much water.  Also, make sure you use teflon tape and a good pair of channel lock pliars and screw this thing on there snug. 

So there you have it.  Almost the lowest of low flow.   For anyone who is looking to save a massive amount of water, I couldn’t recommend a better showerhead.  (yet!)

Here is the video review

RATING: 3 out of 5 Gears for (a HUGE) Variable Eco Benefit, Value / Price, and Product Design and Quality

In the humble opinion of this green product reviewer, the best green products are the ones that are designed from the get-go to use less. Products that are designed green from the inside out. Creativity and Ingenuity are supremely important in the process of designing products, especially green products. But, often the greatest result of such high-minded activities and thought are little more than a simple product design that moves around an inefficient obstacle instead of through it.

With that in mind, last week I was happy to receive two bottles of a product that does just that, Flavrz Drink Mix. Flavrz (which i pronounce with an accentuated ZZZZZZZ) is a line of concentrated organic drink mixes designed to be mixed with water. Flavored Water, in other words. Flavored water used to be little more than a slice of lime, but with the advent of Vitamin Water and Gatorade-ish offshoots the market has exploded. Unfortunately, one important result of this explosion is the manufacture and transportation of millions upon millions of plastic PET bottles. Bottles which, if not properly recycled, can last much longer than you or I would care to know.

In comes Flavrz, for the price of 7.99 (for 16-96 servings, depending on taste) flavored water lovers can mix their own flavored water at home or at the office without bothering with the disposable bottle. My first question to the contact from Flavrz was, “why on earth don’t other people do this?” I mean, i used to drink concentrated orange juice all the time. It was good and came in those little cardboard canisters that froze to my hand when they came out of the freezer. Heck, I used to eat these as a sorbet of sorts. Seriously though, you’d think that concentrates would be more popular. They’re making a huge impact on the household cleaner market.

Anyway, Flavrz! Flavrz comes in a variety of um… flavrz! The ones i received were Cherry Berry and Lemon Lime. I’m partial to Cherry Berry but they were all very good. Both Mrs. Green Gear and I liked them. Also, they’re VERY low in calories, especially if you like a little bit of flavor. So, they taste good, they’re less expensive than competators, and they come with the benefit of not being packaged in PET bottles which need to be created and shipped all over the world. This is clearly a fantastic product for anyone who drinks flavored water.

Here is the video review…. In it I chug 40 oz of water in 20 seconds. Also, in the video Mrs. Green Gear expresses her opinion that this product also merits a variable benefit rating for a PET bottle not being used at each consumption… While she is wise and all knowing and I value and honor her intelligence and compassion, Mr. Green Gear feels that this benefit is sufficiently captured in the fixed eco-benefit category.

RATING: 4 out of 5 Gears for Fixed Environmental Benefit, Value, Quality and Design Innovation, and Being Ready for Mass Consumption by All Flavor Drink Lovers.

Bags Bags and More Bags! I’m beginning to think that the bag is going to replace the stainless water bottle as the international signal of environmentalists.

A few weeks ago we reviewed a reusable grocery bag made by trader joes. Well, almost 30 minutes after that review went live I got an email from Steve at thebetterbag.com offering me a sample and a chance to prove him right and proclaim to the world that he has a better bag.

I didn’t tell him this but I’m a sucker for business owners with guts and cajones! I love it when someone who makes a product can claim, unequivocally that their product is superior. Well, not long after he and I worked out the details I was using his bag and measuring it up to others.

Steve doesn’t say that other bags are bad… his is just better for the sole reason that it is 100% completely recyclable. See, Steve has over 20 years experience recycling plastic. So he knows that most of the other recycled bags have been changed from a pure plastic to an other and that most municipalities can’t recycle them. So when you go to throw away your “not better” bag, it gets put straight into the landfill. Not so with the better bag. Send it back to them and he can promise you that its gets recycled properly.

The better bag is a black plastic weave with cloth handles. It is large, flexable, and strong. I used it and abused it and it kept on ticking. It serves that same purpose as other bags, but it is a true cradle to cradle product. It’s not less bad, its good!

I’ve gotta say… seek out a better bag. I suggest you start at The Better Bag.com

Here is the video review.

RATING: 5 out of 5 Gears for Fixed and Variable environmental benefit, price, product quality / design, and being a great purchase for everyone.

So, the pen is mightier than the sword, right? But is a green pen mightier than a normal pen? Who knows. I can’t really tell the difference and maybe that’s the point.

I was looking for a good pen made with recycled materials that I could put refills in and stumbled upon the Pilot BEGREEN G2 Gel Pen. The Pilot G2 Pen has been around for quite a while. Its sort of the go-to of gel pens out there and I remember being very fond of them when I was in school. They are tough and sturdy which is good because if they were soft and gooshy (like a bic) I would end up chewing them up. But no, the G2 is awesome and in all regards puts down a nice pen stroke when it has to.

Pilot has a lot of different BEGREEN Pens but this was the only one that i found at the store. It is made with, get this, 81.5% recycled content. Not 81.3% or even an optimistic 82%, but exactly 81.5% recycled plastic. With a number like this, the chance that they’re trying to blow green smoke in your face is unlikely. This pen was priced at around $5 for a pack of five. This is in line with other pens of its type.

You wouldn’t know that this pen is green or made of recycled content if it didn’t proclaim it loudly on the package. It’s just a normal G2 pen… This is sort of refreshing, so many products out there are full of green marketing but fall short on product quality and performance.

This pen does what it should do and does it without using new material.

The video review is below.

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RATING: 4 out of 5 Gears for Being made of recycled materials, price, quality, and being something for everyone.

Green Gear is gaining steam as we cruse into the Green Products Expo later this month.  We’re going to reach my goal of 50 products reviewed much sooner than I originally thought.  Thank you to all the readers out there as well as all the product manufacturers and business owners who sent out samples… You keep this site moving!

Next week is a big week in terms of reviews.  I’m anticipating 5 new product reviews. 

• Flavrz Drink Mix Concentrate
• Nellie’s Nuggets Laundry Detergent
• The Better Bag
• Pilot BEGREEN G2 Pen
• and *drumroll* the Bricor .55GPM B100 Ultramax Showerhead.

I’m pretty excited, I’ve been trying out the better bag, pilot pen, and flavrz for a little while and I’m pretty high on each one of them.  The Bricor is the one I’m most excited about… I’ve only done 1.5GPM showerheads so far and i really want to see how the .55GPM holds up, plus, there is a lot of buzz about it and not a single review. 

Whatever it is, rest easy in the knowledge that I test the products and give them each a fair shake and give you the truth. But there’s a catch… You have to tell your friends….

For the latest independent reviews of green products go to www.greengear.info

ask questions and post comments!

Lord, I hate being sick. It almost never happens. But a few weeks ago I was 100% legit sick. I had a cold… it’s not the worst sickness but man it gets annoying. One of the things I reach for when nursing a cold is a good tissue. I mean, I want the good stuff. 3 ply, aloe, wicking, whatever! I want the good tissues…

But! This cold caught me by surprise and I didn’t have any of the good tissues so I dug out the pocket tissues I purchased from Trader Joe’s a while ago hoping they would suffice. These things were just over $1 for a six pack of tissues. They’re 3-ply, whatever that means and made from 100% recycled paper.

Now, It’s no secret that I’ve had issues with recycled paper products. They’re usually cheap if you get them for a decent price and the good ones are way too expensive. I hoped, for the sake of my nose, that these would be different.

They weren’t.

As I show in the video, they don’t hold up at all. I end up using a ton of them and they scratch my nose more than I would otherwise want. I love being green, but sometimes I want to be pampered… now give me my chicken noodle soup and some fancy aloe tissues (earth be damned)!

RATING: 1 out of 5 Gears for being made of recycled content

I’ve seen a lot of different products in my day.  I mean, I’ve been shopping my entire life, I run this product website, and I once had a summer job working in the “receiving department” at Linens ‘N Things…. But I’ve never seen a product that has made me so equally perplexed and happy as I was with my first encounter with Zukay Life Food.  I mean it… Blue Ribbon!

I stumbled on this product online a few weeks ago and HAD to try it.  Anything with the sub title “live food” gets my goat.  So i sent an email over to Zukay and after some very pleasant conversation with Scott I received 6 jars of their assorted Salsas (mild and hot) and relishes (horseradish and garlic dill).

  So, what is Zukay and what is live food? Zukay is a line of fermented salsas and relishes.  Fermented?  Like Beer? Well, sorta.  Zukay uses local fresh produce to make their salsas then adds probiotic cultures (bacteria) that then break down and ferment the condiments.  Wait Bacteria?  Yes! But don’t let that bug you.  FIrst off, bacteria is in all sorts of foods… and way back when people ate lots more fresh fermented food and there is a line of thinking (probiotic thinking) that these bacteria helped out the immune and digestion systems.

I’m not a scientist or even a health food nut.  But, anytime someone promotes a more “back to basics” idea I get excited.  I’m kind of a traditionalist.  Plus, i think the closer we get to our food and the fresher it is the better it is for us.  But if you’re looking for more on probiotics, go to Zukay’s website.

So, what does this mean for me? How does it taste? and how is it green? Well, the fact that this stuff is fermented means a couple of things.  First, the flavor is strong.  You taste your food more.  Second, since it’s got cultures in it you need to keep it cold.  Third, you need to not freak out when gas escapes your salsa when you first open it (in the form of bubbles) or your first bite tastes like salsa pop rocks.  This is normal, stir it, let it sit.. and enjoy. This stuff is very good.  The relishes take the prize though.  I put it on hotdogs, pasta, and eggs.  It’s a winner!  Salsa is good too, though I’m weird and couldn’t taste much heat… But i just added tabasco.

How is green and why is it on a green website? Zukay uses (when possible) local produce from or around Lancaster, PA…. what?  That’s it?  No solar panels, wind turbines or solar offsets? No, no BS here.  Zukay merits green kudos simply for using good local ingredients.  They could have easily imported cheaper stuff that would have been shipped from god knows where using god knows how many fossil fuels but they don’t.  The best part is, there’s no half-trying green promotion to speak of.  They aren’t trying to sell you their product because they’re green.  They sell you on a great innovative product and just are green where and when it makes sense.

Scott even told me, “i don’t think of us as a green product.”  Well, guess what?  You are!  Good Job!

Video below.  Its long but toward the end of it I devour a hotdog in less than 30 seconds.  Also, if you click on the video while playing you’ll be taken to my youtube page and somewhere in there is a video of Zukay Bubbling when I opened it… awesome!

RATING: 3 out of 5 Gears for using Local ingredients, Price relative to competitors, and a crazy amount of innovation and creativity

The battle against body hair has been raging since man first felt stubble and thought, “this is freakin’ itchy!”  The amount of testing that goes into the razors we use each and every day is staggering.  Think shaving is a simple concept?  Check out Gillete’s R&D Budget!  Still, unless you’re shaving Croc Dundee style (“now thatsa noife!”) you probably haven’t found a razor that is too eco-friendly. 

Well, leave it up to the dudes and dudettes over at Preserve to come up with another resource saving, colorful, ergonomically pleasing product that cuts hair like nobody’s business.  I picked up a razor 4-pack at Generation Green about a week ago for around $7.  They had a three blade one for the same price but I figured why not opt for the 4 pack, after all, then Mrs. Green Gear could use one and I’d have an extra for the gym.  Each razor comes with detachable blades, pivoting heads, and a lubricating strip.  Each colorful handle is made from recycled #5 plastic which can be recycled at your local municipality or sent back to preserve to be made into park benches.  Cool eh?

So, how does it work?  Well, not too bad.  It didn’t give me any of the cuts i normally get from razors that come in packs and the lubricating strip helped.  I’d rate it somewhere between a generic bic and any razor endorced by a pro athelete.  Translation, Good Enough.  Replacement blades can be purchased for around $5.

To me, the price is prohibitive.  The quality of the shave is fine, but it would make a whole lot more sense for a dollar and a half less.  Still, if you’re the kind of person who doesn’t mind paying more to preserve earth’s natural resources, it’s not a bad choice.  I’ll have to try the triple blade though, this baby face needs some extra care. 

Here is the Video Review

RATING: 1 out of 5 for being made of recycled material.
Update: This product had its quality gear removed after further use