2010 - Clairemont Communications

Green Thought Thursday: What’s Your New Year’s Green-solution?

December 30, 2010January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, SustainabilityApparel

I am going to have a moment of truth. I may be Clairemont’s green blogger, but even I have some cleaning (or should I say, greening?) up to do. One terribly wasteful thing that I do – something that I am almost too ashamed to admit – is that…is that…well…urmmm…OK OK…I LEAVE THE FAUCET RUNNING WHILE I BRUSH MY TEETH.

Gasp.

Now you must be thinking, what a hypocrite! But as I have continued to spill my little secret to family and close friends, I have learned that surely I am not the only one with a bad little habit. As it turns out, my brother takes 15 minute showers, my dad doesn’t recycle, one of my closest friends leaves all of her lights on (even when she’s not home) and my boyfriend…well….He’s perfect.

But seriously. It’s almost a new year, so I say we all band together and make our very first green-solutions! Think of how many resources we could save if each and every one of us committed to our little resolutions. According to one green blogger, if I turn off the faucet while I brush my teeth, I will save more than 684 gallons of water from running down the drain!

So without further ado, here is my green-solution – I vow to never, ever, everrrr leave the water running while I brush my teeth ever again! And yes, it’s going to be hard for me (it’s this weird thing where I love the feeling of hot water rushing over my hands), but I promise to do it!

Now that I’ve completely embarrassed myself on the World Wide Web, it’s your turn. What are your green-solutions? I know Dana, for one, swears to always bring her reusable mug to Starbucks. So who else will step up to the green plate and take one for the team? Want to hear from you!

And, before I forget, happy new year!

Green Thought Thursday: Dear Santa…

December 23, 2010January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, Sustainability

What will Santa leave under the Clairemont tree?

Dear Santa,

I know you’ve probably received a lot of letters this year from tiny tots (with their eyes all aglow), asking for Wiis, puppies and official Red Ryder carbine action, 200-shot range model air rifles, but I promise that this letter is a little different.

I simply want to say thank you.

Santa, to be so rosy, you are the greenest man that I know, and I want to thank you for that! After all of these years when you could have easily switched to a Range Rover or a Lamborghini or, heck, even a Rolls Royce…you chose, instead, to stick to what’s good — your trusty, no-fuel-necessary reindeer!

So onward Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner and Blitzen! And yes, I do think I recall the most famous reindeer of all — Rudolph the green-nosed reindeer?

Have a safe trip down south, Santa! And please, for goodness sake, don’t wake Charley!

xoxo,

Josie

Green Thought Thursday: ‘Tis the Season…to be Green!

December 16, 2010January 31, 2023 Josephine ButlerBlog, Sustainability2 Comments

Isn\’t this gift wrapped in old newspaper cartoons so cute?

Each holiday season, hundreds of thousands of people hop into their cars, head to their local shopping malls, buy lots and lots of presents and carefully (and beautifully) wrap each and every single one of them! Like Clark Griswold, I am a sucker for tradition, but this holiday season, I am going to make more of a conscious effort to be green. Here’s my little list (and I’m checking it twice):

– Use more gift bags. If you’re anything like me, you get caught up in the moment of opening your gifts and completely shred every bit of the paper used to wrap them. Try using gift bags this year since they’re reusable.

– Make your own wrapping paper. For gifts that just have to be wrapped, the Sierra Club suggests ways to make your own. I especially love the idea of using old newspaper cartoons!

– Just don’t wrap at all. Word on the street is that you can write the North Pole and ask Santa to not even bother with wrapping your gifts. It’s not like you’ll be ruining the surprise. What’s in Santa’s bag is top secret for the time being!

– Carpool when you go shopping. Gotta big list? You can bet your bottom dollar that your friends do, too! Save some gas and ride together.

– Give green gifts. Start by checking out TreeHugger’s 2010 gift guide – “low-impact luxury for high-impact giving.” From elephant poo paper to the very cool (and recycled) Elm phone by Sony, you’ll find a little something for everybody!

– Give a gift that keeps on giving. For those that are hard to shop for, try making a donation in their name to an environmental organization of your choosing. A couple of my favorites? The Western North Carolina Nature Center and Morehead Planetarium and Science Center promote science education in the state of North Carolina and are both very awesome!

– Get a real tree. Despite popular belief, it’s more environmentally friendly to use a real tree than to buy a fake one. Don’t believe me? Check out our previous blog.

– Use LED lights. Yes, they look a little crazy, but you’ve gotta love ‘em! According to The Daily Green, they’re 15 percent more energy efficient than regular holiday lights, and even better, at HolidayLEDs.com, you can recycle your old ones!

– Recycle old electronics! Getting a new cell phone? Recycle the old one! A new TV? Recycle the old one! There’s a whole multitude of reasons as to why this is important. I encourage you to explore the EPA’s take on “eCycling!”

Alright everyone! Let’s get to it and happy holidays! See you under the green mistletoe (if you’re lucky)!

Million Dollar Ideas

December 16, 2010January 31, 2023 Dana PhelpsBlog, Wonderfully Randomflu season, gig ideas, Public Relations2 Comments

germophobe 1 — Start by finding something in a plastic packet or wrapper.

Nothing is more exciting than coming up with an idea for a client that results in something huge such as the company’s highest traffic day ever (check), the media begging you for the exclusive (check) or the CEO getting an invitation to meet with the President of the United States and join him in a news conference (check).

What about those super cool ideas you have that are totally unrelated to your job and your clients? You know the ones that come to you randomly in the shower or based on something you, as a consumer, want or need that doesn’t seem to exist. We all have them. Most of us can’t (or won’t) do anything with them when they have nothing to do with our careers or passions. Maybe someone else could. In fact, I wish someone would take some of my ideas and DO them.

One is for fast food restaurants. Why can we get BBQ sauce and honey mustard in dip-able containers but the ketchup is still in a packet that has to be ripped open and squeezed? I had this idea years ago. I think someone is doing it now, but there are still a lot of packets of ketchup.

My latest — and I think this is a great biggo whopper of an idea — a GPS system that alerts me when a school zone is approaching. Last year, I got a ticket for speeding in a school zone. I felt horrible. I travel by this school every day. But that day, my schedule had changed a bit, and I didn’t realize it was the time that the school zone was active. What if my GPS system could have alerted me? Surely that is possible.

Here’s one more. Remote control germ protectors. Yes, I thought I had overcome my germophobic ways until an unexpected stay in a hotel during flu season triggered a flashback. Even in the cleanest of hotels, I tend to wonder if they think to sanitize things such as the door knobs, phone and remote control. Until there is a product, I like to make my own by using the plastic covers from the cups in the room or the coffee packets. See my photos for my product demo!

What are some of your million+ dollar ideas that you have no time or interest in developing but sure wish someone would?