An update on the June 2014 contest

June 5th each year is observed as World Environment Day. Heck, some places even celebrate the entire month as 'Environment Month'.  

At A Full Moon, we source our products from local communities who handcraft gorgeous works of art & craft using natural materials and processes. Their skills provide them with a livelihood that offers them and their families a better quality of life. 

The June contest turned the spotlight on the environment especially on India's natural wonders. Answer 5 (eeeasy) questions (or so we thought) and the winner would get a hand-painted folk art (unframed) by a Santhal tribal artist. 

The contest ended on June 13th, the day/night of the full moon. Unexpectedly, not one of the entries got the right answer even with the descriptions (read hints) supplied along with the questions. We then had to take the unusual step of not declaring a winner. 

So so disappointed! 

June 2013 'Honey Moon' Photo credit: Stephen Rahn

On the fun side, though, I learnt that the full moon falling on Friday the 13th (which I don't consider unlucky, whatsoever) would next fall only on August 13, 2049! 

And the combination of a full moon on Friday the 13th in June only in 2098.

This year's full moon is also called a 'Strawberry Moon' or a 'Honey Moon' for different reasons - It's time for strawberry picking and the moon is the colour of honey respectively.

That's all the full moon trivia for now. :) While completely unrelated to the products we retail, it's just so much fun knowing stuff like this! Ask not why? 

Yes, a bit geeky, we know. But what to say, we are like this only! :)

June 2014 - What's up at A Full Moon?

I didn't mean to post consecutively about the contest on A Full Moon. I didn't even realise that it's been a whole month since the previous contest. Time sure flies when you're having fun! :) 

I promise to post more of other things soon, but for now, here's info on the June contest. It started on June 5th - World Environment Day and is a short li'l quiz about the world we live in, especially the natural wonders we have right here in India. If you'd like to participate in our contest, check out the post on our Facebook page. Remember, the contest ends on June 11th (IST). 

Our products are sourced from local communities who handcraft gorgeous works of art & craft using natural materials and processes. It was only right that our contest for this month highlighted the beautiful world we live in (and generally take for granted).

At A Full Moon, we source our products directly from the artisans and from non-profits (NGOs) who work with local communities. Creating the gorgeous handcrafted products allow the artisans to earn a steady livelihood giving their families and themselves a better quality of life. 

Recycle, Reuse: How hard can it be?

India produces 14.6 million tonnes of waste paper every year, out of which only 27% is recovered. In more developed nations recovery is anywhere between 45% to 73%. 

Knowingly or otherwise, Indians have been recycling newspapers, magazines, notebooks for years now. It usually gets sold to the neighbourhood scrap dealer from where it proceeds further to be recycled into paper packets, wrappers for street snacks etc. But it mostly ends there. 

Paper wrappers for street food in India
(image courtesy: www.forkspoonnknife.com)

Conscious attempts to recycle and reuse paper though is limited unless there an immediate economic benefit is perceived. "If I am not paying (money) for it, who the hell cares?" is more or less the attitude. How many times have we, in our own offices, seen paper wastage around printer spaces, colleagues indifferently discarding paper printed on one side or unthinkingly printing multiple copies of a document unnecessarily? 

Companies might repeatedly request and encourage employees to reduce wastage and think before printing a document but it barely makes a dent. It makes you wonder how employees who work mainly on devices (laptops, tablets, phones) can manage to generate so much paper waste.

The immediate benefits of recycling paper, money-wise, might not be too obvious. But the extent of its long term benefits are unquestionable. 

Paper is produced mainly using wood pulp, water (lots & lots of it), chemicals and energy (electricity, fossil fuels). Producing recycled paper uses far lesser amounts of resources and reduces emissions (water and air pollution) drastically. 

But there's immense reason to hope. :)

In India, usage of recycled paper cellulose has risen from 7%in 1970 to 47% in 2011. This has reduced dependence on wood from 84% to 31% in the same years. 

Recycled paper can be made out of waste paper, cloth, cardboard too. And it's not only paper that is recycled. Even PET bottles, drink cans, tetrapaks are recycled into various products. 

Enough of the heavy stuff! Here are some easy and some fun things you can do to recycle and reduce waste.

Doodling in class or during meetings

1. Use paper printed on one-side for less important work. Send it to the shredder only if really required. 

2. Turn off the taps while washing, brushing, shaving etc. Even if it's a few minutes, leaving the water running, day after day, wastes over 25 gallons of water a month. Now multiply this by the number of people in your home. 

3. Turn off appliances and electronic items when not in use i.e. switch off at the electrical socket itself or shut them down completely. As long as it is on, there is always electricity being consumed to keep the machine running in 'sleep' mode

4. Use reusable plastic bags, or better still, cloth bags while grocery shopping. Funky ones are available everywhere now. 

5. Walk or cycle short distances - to the shops, to the park, to your friend's house. For larger distances, use public transport as far as possible or carpool. The more individually owned vehicles are plying the roads, the greater is the increase in fuel consumption and air pollution. 

5. Don't throw your old clothes or toys away. If you aren't handing it over to someone else, you can give them away to be recycled. There are a number of NGOs who recycle them in various ways. It's certainly an excuse to get yourself a whole new set. :)

6. Gift your friends 'green' products for special occassions - a pottedd plant, recycled paper stationery, upcycled jewellery, naturally made cosmetics, clothes & other products made of organic or natural fibres. 

Potted plant

Recycled paper notebook

Recycled paper beads

6. Support an environmental cause - in your neighbourhood, your country or anywhere in the world.

There are many, many options, if you're but willing to look for them. After all, there is only one earth and we live in it. 

(info reference: www.thehindu.com; www.dosomething.org & images courtesy: www.google.co.in/images)