Archive for the 'Shopping' Category

Being green because you’re being watched

Published on April 26, 2010 in Environment and Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: conservation, green, green washing, plastic bags.

In January, Washington DC implemented a 5 cent tax on each plastic bag distributed by retailers throughout the city. During a one-week introduction to the new law, a number of grocery chains distributed reusable grocery bags to ensure their branded bags would be seen across the city in the coming months and also served as a way for lower income residents to pick up several of the cost-saving bags at no cost.

As a result of this law, plastic bag use plummeted from 22.5 million bags a month to just 3 million. (Side note: the $150,000 and counting generated by this tax is earmarked to fund Anacostia River clean up.) People increasingly can be seen carrying tote bags of various sizes and shapes when running errands or grocery shopping.

The law brought about an almost instantaneous shift in behavior, which could be as much about peer pressure and status as it is about saving a nickel here and there. A paper in the March issue of the Journal of Personality & Social Psychology reported on a study of factors influencing more environmentally-aware purchasing behavior. “Supporting the notion that altruism signals one’s willingness and ability to incur costs for others’ benefit, status motives increased desire for green products when shopping in public (but not private)…”

It’s not enough to be personally aware of the impact your greener actions have within your community, you’re more apt to make the more pro-environment decision when other people can see you.

Which makes me wonder about corporate America. Given the fundamental lack of transparency that leads to epic crises like the Wall Street melt down and the mine safety debacle in West Virginia, would the same forces at work on individuals work on corporations. Could consumer demand of greater transparency across the providers of goods and services throughout every industry sector, yield more community-centric corporations that consider the social and environmental costs when making business decisions?

(Hat Tip David Berreby of Big Think)

Zak’s Third Annual Favorite Things List

Published on December 2, 2009 in Shopping. 2 Comments Tags: Archipelago Botanicals, bath products, breakfast, business cards, calling cards, chocolate salty oat cookies, coconut milk, Coconut Sugar Scrub, creed, house of creed, Kayak cookies, michael stars, monkey brains, moo.com, oatmeal, Oprah's favorite things, So Delicious, t-shirts, tee shirts, Turtle Mountain, virgin island water.

Zak’s Favorite Things of 2009

Archipelago Botanicals Coconut Sugar Scrub

This coconut scrub has a fresh scent and enough grit for brisk exfoliation. Chock full of natural oils, it’ll keep you moisturized and smelling shower fresh for hours. Unlike many edibles-scented beauty items, this one is not super sweet, nor does it remind you of a candy or food product.

Moo.com minicards

Even though I love the design of my business cards provided by my employer, I don’t always want to advertise my job. Sometimes I’m looking to make new friends or plug my blog. Accordingly, I need calling cards of my own. Moo.com makes custom calling cards simple. Though I could buy full-size cards, I prefer the mini-cards since they’re easy to tuck into your bag or your back pocket. With 100 cards per order, you can provide unique images for each of have duplicates created of one or more design. They’re a great way to express yourself and your interests to the different circles your travel in.

Chocolate Salty Oat Cookies

Since moving to the DC Metro area, I’ve discovered Chocolate Salty Oat Cookies, which are available at the Teaism locations around town. The creator found the perfect balance of salty and sweet in these oat cookies; I like to pretend they’re healthy since they are oatmeal cookies, but I’m pretty sure they don’t skimp on the butter. If you don’t live in the area, you can order them directly from Kayak Cookies. The creator now lives in Massachussetts, though she licenses the recipe to Teaism.

Turtle Mountain’s So Delicious Coconut Milk Beverage

You can’t have cookies without milk, but when you’re lactose intolerant, you need another option. If you’re a fan of all things coconut like me, consider this tasty beverage alternative. Chock full of healthy medium chain fatty acids (MCFA), I have a glass of So Delicious every morning with a splash of OJ stirred in. In Original, Unsweetened and Vanilla, it’s great with cereal, oatmeal, and pancakes. Most importantly, it helps keep you full throughout the morning.

Monkey Brains!!

Since we’re on the subject of breakfast food. Can we talk Monkey Brains? No, not those brains; I mean the best oatmeal out there. Though I prefer strawberry, it also comes in bluberry and raspberry flavor. No high fructose corn syrup in this product means no sugar guilt for you.

Michael Stars Tees

A tee is not just a tee when it’s from Michael Stars. Though the one size fits most fit isn’t ideal and the pricing is almost to my absurdity cut off, they’re a great investment given their fit and quality. They’ve got just enough stretch to fit most, but enough elasticity to spring back to their original form. These tees look great dressed up or with jeans, and as someone who prefers solids to prints and other zany imprints, the color range provides something for everyone. While not every style will fit every body, I’m eagerly awaiting the next sale on the styles I love to stock up on a few.

Ode Magazine

Ode is an upbeat magazine focused on people working to change the world in big and small ways. In a world full of bad news at primetime, it’s great to get an issue of Ode or a read their weekly e-newsletter to see what’s right with the world. What else is there to say about it?

Creed’s Virgin Island Water

I’ve never been much for perfume, but I have to admit Creed’s Virgin Island Water sends me to my happy place. Though it typically retails for well over $200, ebay will score you a great deal. Given the strength of this unisex scent, a little goes a long day. It’s a scrumptious tropical beach smell. Since I’m not a perfume expert, I share the breakdown of the notes from Creed‘s site.

Top Note: Essence of copra (the white inner portion of the coconut); lime of the Antilles; white bergamot and mandarin orange from Sicily.

Middle Note: Hibiscus, ginger, ylang-ylang and Indian jasmine.

Bottom Note: Sugar cane and white rum of the Antilles, musk from Tonkin

Traditionally, I think that fragrance would be way too busy, but it’s just right. And with the wintertime doldrums setting in, it can’t hurt to keep a bottle near by.

And that wraps my 2009 list of Favorite Things.

Previous Lists: 2007, 2008

Good Samaritans under fire

Published on December 19, 2008 in Health and Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: activism, CPR, First Aid, good samaritan laws.

Throughout the United States “Good Samaritan” laws are in place to provide legal protection for everyday citizens that choose to help someone that has fallen ill or is injured in an accident, whether roadside or at the office or any other place you could imagine someone needing immediate care. Under these laws you can’t be sued or arrested for “assisting,” as long as you’re acting within reason.

For almost a decade now, I’ve been CPR certified. During my last CPR certification renewal, I also completed a First Aid course that is good for 3 years. As someone who teaches in a gym, I’d like to be ready, just in case. I’m happy to report that it’s training I’ve never had to use.

But a California Supreme Court decision makes me reconsider my Girl Scout-esque preparedness.

A woman pulled her co-worker from a vehicle after a car accident on Halloween 2004. As a result of her injuries, the co-worker was left paraplegic. The woman is being sued for damages for her contribution to the injuries inflicted.

The woman and her lawyer fought the lawsuit arguing her Good Samaritan status.

The Supreme Court has sided for the injured party in a decision that could discourage people from helping those in crisis situations. Essentially, only the medical actions taken are protected under California law. So while you’re OK if you perform CPR or the Heimlich maneuver* or apply a tourniquet to gushing wound (knowing help is hours away), if you pull a person out of the middle of the road to administer that care, you can get sued for any damages caused by that act.

From a dissenting judge:

“One who dives into swirling waters to retrieve a drowning swimmer can be sued for incidental injury he or she causes while bringing the victim to shore, but is immune for harm he or she produces while thereafter trying to revive the victim,” [Judge Marvin R.] Baxter wrote. “Here, the result is that defendant Torti has no immunity for her bravery in pulling her injured friend from a crashed vehicle, even if she reasonably believed it might be about to explode.”

Instructors in the courses I’ve taken have always reminded students to follow several rules

You never move the body when a neck injury is suspected; always suspect a neck injury.
If the options are a) possibility of a dead body or b) move the injured body to prevent it from being a dead body, you’re better off alive than dead

Because of this legal finding, it appears I’m actually unable to help anyone unless they’ve fallen or landed out of danger and in a bodily position that doesn’t require much shifting before applying my first aid training. Moving a body won’t necessarily be protected as medical care, so I’d be risking civil liability.

Hopefully, the California State Legislature will redefine Good Samaritanism to include all non-medical action required to save a life. Otherwise, it seems that the only crisis safe to handle is applying adhesive bandages to paper cuts.

* The American Red Cross no longer refers to choking victim rescue as the Heimlich maneuver, but as “abdominal thrusts.” I’m told the Heimlich family wanted royalties for use of the name. Seriously.

photo by akeg

Sex & Relationships: December news round up

Published on December 16, 2008 in Entertainment, Health and Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: abortion, birth control, Bush administration, chick flick, contraceptives, father's intelligence, health and human services, hhs, intelligence of father, london, prescriptions, pro-birth, pro-choice, pro-life, romantic comedy, romcom, semen quality, sexiness, sexual satisfaction.

photo by blmurch

Romantic comedies are not your best date night movie option!

Romantic comedies set up unrealistic expectations in relationships. Researchers at Hariot Watt University found their study subjects, after watching such films, to be more apt to believe in soul mates, magical consistent sex with one’s partner and that in a good relationship one’s partner should be able to predict your needs, even if you don’t explicitly state them.

Kimberly Johnson, who also worked on the study, said: ‘Films do capture the excitement of new relationships but they also wrongly suggest that trust and committed love exist from the moment people meet, whereas these are qualities that normally take years to develop.’

You can help out with their next study on relationships, personality and media consumption, you can take part in a survey here.

A while back I read about a study that found couples were more likely to hook up after watching a horror film than other genres included in the study. (A study I, of course, can’t locate right now). Horror films get the adrenalin pumping and the blood flowing with the disadvantage of making your call into questions various aspects of your current relationship.

Looking good, feeling better.

Market researchers for Astral moisturizer in the UK surveyed more than 1000 women between the ages of 45-60 about their sex appeal and satisfaction.

The age at which a women feels most sexy is 34, according to a new study, that also found those in their twenties and thirties have the most sex – 10.4 times a month on average

This figure is double the amount middle-aged women have, which works out at just 4.5 times a month, but the research suggests the older women take more pleasure from it.

More than half – 56 per cent – said they enjoyed sex more than they did when they were younger.

Seems reasonable. Women feel sexiest when they’re getting the most nookie. Their partner(s) make them feel more desirable, yielding more sexual encounters. Like everything else in life, practice makes closer to perfect. Older women have spent years figuring out what feels good to their bodies, so one would hope a good partner who understands one’s need would make for better sex.

Birth control pill available without a prescription in London

Here’s a solution to the Bush administration’s planned HHS regulations allowing medical professionals and staff to deny procedures and sales of medications that violate their own moral code.

A very progressive Department of Health in the UK is running a trial, which includes selling the birth control pill without a prescription to women 16 or older at 2 London pharmacies. The study aims to see if greater and easier accessibility to the birth control pill could lower teen pregnancy rates in the country.

The UK is actually serious about cutting back on unwanted pregnancy, unlike the US. Here, pro-birth advocates are hard at work to cut government funding to Planned Parenthood chapters nationwide. Why? Abortions make up 3% of the service offered at Planned Parenthood. Nevermind that abortion is legal and 38% their patients are there for contraceptives to prevent an unwanted pregancy (page 6 of Planned Parenthood Annual Report)

Abortion doesn’t cause depression

A John Hopkins University review of more than 21 studies looking at post-abortion mental health found no linkage between abortion and depression, but instead found “post abortion syndrome” to be a convenient political gimmick for the pro-birth movement.

‘Based on the best available evidence, emotional harm should not be a factor in abortion policy. If the goal is to help women, program and policy decisions should not distort science to advance political agendas,’ added Vignetta Charles, a researcher and doctoral student at Johns Hopkins who worked on the study.

Blogworthy! The Archipelago Botanicals Warehouse Sale 2008

Published on December 13, 2008 in Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: Archipelago Botanicals, archipelago botanicals warehouse sale, candles, fiji, pomegranate, Tommy Bahama, warehouse sale.

Every year I encourage my peeps to attend the Archipelago Botanicals warehouse sale south of Downtown Los Angeles — the deals are AMAZING.

The products they sell are typically discontinued OR overstock OR retailer returns OR discolored OR damaged OR test pours. Those boxes take up valuable space that they’d like prefer filled with full-price salable product. Selling these products at rock bottom prices mean they get a return on product that might otherwise be thrown out. Everybody wins!

For $35, I picked up 25 candles and 2 huge bottles of shower gel today.

candle-sale

The breakdown:

2 32-oz bottles of pomegranate shower gel (retail $28 each)
1 Fiji Glass Jar Candle, 120 hours burn time, sans lid (retail $30)
1 Fiji 6.5″ pillar candle (retail $21)
1 Corsica 6.5″ pillar candles (retail $21)
1 Corsica 3.25″ pillar candle (retail $16.25)
2 Paper White soy candles sans labels (retail $29.50 each)
1 Espresso soy candle sans label (retail 29.50)
1 Sugar Cane & Coconut store demo candles (about 2/3 the size of the one sold at retail for $18)
1 White Sugar & Mango store demo candles (about 2/3 the size of the one sold at retail for $18)
2 Wasabi-Mint Soy Candles, no box (retail $24 each)
1 Papaya Vanilla Soy Candle, no box (retail $24)
1 Jasmine Hibiscus Soy Candle, no box or label, (retail $24)
4 Malaga candles (retail $15 each)
2 Pomegranate soy candles, sans box (retail $25 each)
1 Milk Candle in Tin (retail $11)
4 Tommy Bahama Plantation Sugar 3″ pillar candles (retail $12.50 each)

$523.75 worth of (mostly) candles for $35 today.

A friend picked up 4 candles from the Royals Collection for $20 total. Turns out they’re $45 each in the retail world.

It was a zoo and the lines were long, but given the haul by each member of my shopping party, it was worth 3 hours on a Saturday. I’m going to be knee deep in candles until next fall, right before Warehouse clearance 2009.

The sad news: Sunday (tomorrow) is the final day of the sale.

The good news: they’re considering a mid-year candle clearance in 2009 as well.

Update, even better news: the sale is back by popular demand on Sat 12/20 from 8:30am-4pm

Tips for the best quality candles at the sale:

Bring a baggy of coffee beans. After an hour in that ware house you can’t smell much of anything. Take a hit of coffee beans between candles. The coffee bean smell is strong enough to clear your nose and kept it functioning in peak condition.

Don’t use the reusable shopping bags they supply; instead place your candles in the empty boxes you can grab from diff’t corners of the warehouse. Pillar candles rub up against glass jars and get scraped up. Stacked in a box, you’ve got a better chance to keep the candles in the most pristine condition.

Some parts of the candle sale feature a random selection. Single candles of different fragrances. Unlabeled candles. There are number of tables full of them. There’s never room to display everything, so you’ll find stacks of boxes under the tables. Don’t just eyeball what’s on top; dig through these boxes underneath. Today, I found some of my best buys hidden away out of sight.

Is a great gift candle all scuffed up? Buy it anyway. Use a hair dryer to melt the top layer of wax. After the wax starts to melt and pool (about a minute), set it aside to it to dry evenly.

Tips for the best savings at the sale:

Pack the loose candles into one of the many boxes you see hanging about. Layer up! Large quantities are overwhelming to the people tallying your purchases, and they tend to err in your favor when ballparkinghow many candles are in the box.

Buy white and yellow candles. Yellowed candles are the most discounted — typically 2 for $1. They’re not going to unpack your box(es) of candles to verify that the white candles are totally white, so your pricing is sometimes better than with the colored candles.

Don’t come first thing in the morning. Come towards the last 2 hours. Even if the sale ends at 3pm, the staff is there until the last person has forked over the green and left. They want to go home and won’t over think the prices, so they can keep the line moving.

Boxed candles cost more than the same candle sans box, so a lot of people remove the box and leave it behind. If the candle is for personal use and not a gift, it’s the difference between paying $3 and $5.

Be thoughtful: send holiday cards

Published on December 11, 2008 in Shopping, Society and Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: christmas cards, culture, holiday greetings, stationery.

photo by mdu2boy

I hesitate to write this post at the peak of greeting card season, but it’ll be less relevant come January 1st.

I’m as tech obsessed as the next member of Gen Y, but I’m disappointed in the sharp decline of holiday appropriate stationery greetings.

I sent out about 45 Holiday cards this year. If I get 5 back from non-family members, I’ll be surprised. What I do expect is a massive influx of text messages on Christmas day sending out well wishes to all with a cell phone number, and likely a barrage of festive greetings as FaceBook status messages.

It’s just not the same.

There’s something inherently thoughtful about written holiday greetings. Someone has to take the time to pick out cards that fit his or her own personality before writing out cards and labeling envelopes. It’s personal.

A text message is a perfunctory last minute missive. I hate to get all Martha Stewart on the world, but a text message is not a greeting card.

If the $25-$30 a holiday mailing costs is too much, you’ve got a few options.

A) Plan ahead. The day after Christmas the price of all holiday cards are slashed in half, by mid-January they’re 75% off to get them off the shelves. You can be ready for Christmas 2009 for under $10.

B) Try an e-greeting card. There are lots of free options out there ( I tend to use Hallmark for greetings to people that don’t have a mailing address for.) Though not as personal as an actual paper greeting, it does offer the option of picking a card that reflects your interests. The more ambitious can personalize the card for each recipient, the less so can send a generic greeting out to everyone they know.

Given we spend so much time sending impersonal emails and text messages, leaving voicemails and generally minimizing personal interaction to streamline our work, the holidays are a perfect time to reconnect.

Send a few cards this month. . . and for birthdays; thoughtfulness at birthdays would be nice too.

VOD: How hotdogs are made

Published on December 9, 2008 in Health and Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: bbq, culture, food, food processing, grilling, hot dogs, junk food.

I knew I should trust my gut that hot dogs are gross. If you’re a hot dog connoisseur, sometimes you’re better just not knowing. Nothing to see here.

Thanks Buzzfeed!

Making the most of holiday gifting

Published on December 4, 2008 in Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: Christmas, christmas shopping, gift giving, holiday gifts, holidays, Shopping.

photo by weddingcakes

It’s obvious retailers are struggling this year, and the steep discounts offered on Black Friday are merely the tip of the iceberg this holiday season. Come December 26th, retailers are practically going to give away their product in an effort to clear the shelves for spring goods.

So if you’re sticking with consumerism this holiday season, I say enjoy the religious traditions on schedule and then swap gifts come New Year’s Day.

A friend of mine from grad school introduced me this gift giving cost saver. She swaps gifts with her friends and family AFTER the holidays are over. And her logic makes sense.

Whatever your gift giving budget, you get more for your money on December 26th. You can opt to spend less for the same quality items you would have bought at full price. Or you can opt to spend the same on much higher quality items.

For instance, in past years my favorite department store Lord & Taylor cut prices on their cashmere sweaters in half the day after Christmas. With the additional savings you get with their coupons, you typically wind up paying about $60 for a $140 sweater.

With the retail sector in an especially difficult situation this holiday season, a $148 cashmere sweater is already marked down to $65.99. You’ll probably be getting 2 sweaters for that price on December 26th.

That $65.99 will either cover both Grandma AND Aunt Betsy or you’ll be throwing in a scarf and gloves with Grandma’s New Year’s Day gift.

If you are partaking in gift giving traditions this season, make sure you make the most of the dollars you choose to spend.

What are your frugal gift giving tips? Share them here, or blog about them and enter to win a variety of prizes over at Broke Grad Student.

12/13-12/14 2008: Annual Archipelago Botanicals Warehouse Sale

Published on December 3, 2008 in Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: Archipelago Botanicals, sample sale, Shopping, warehouse sale.

THE ANNUAL ARCHIPELAGO WAREHOUSE SALE

DECEMBER 13TH AND 14TH

8:30AM-3PM. CASH ONLY.

1844 E. 22nd St, Los Angeles, Ca 90058

I typically buy candles for the year for under $50.

Last year I saved 90% off retail prices shopping this sale.

This sale will be back on Saturday 12/20

from 8:30am-4pm, same location

Project Angel Food's Divine Design 2008

Published on November 15, 2008 in Shopping. 0 Comments Tags: A. Testoni, ABS, Babystle, Batta, Between the Sheets, Black Halo, Botkier, car lease, Charlotte Tarantola, Chinese Laundry, Claudia Benvenuto, Cordelia, culture, designer discounts, designer sale, Dillon-Wells, Divine Design, Eric Javits, Everything But Water, Evisu, fashion sale, Ficcare, Frieds of FUR Fashion, Gail DeLoach, Gerard Yosca, Hanky Panky, L.A. Eyeworks, Le Doux, MBT, Mighty Fine, Monarchy, Moschino, Nanette Lepore, Perry Ellis, PHI, Philosophy Di Alberta Ferretti, PORTS, Prius, Project Angel Food, Robin Piccone, Sanctuary Clothing, Sanrio, SarVera, Smashbox Cosmetics, Tadashi Shoji, Ted Baker, The Fainting Couch, Thema, Theory, Tokidoki, Toto, Trina Turk, Wilton Cordrey.

One of the best designer sales (for charitable purposes) takes place next month in Los Angeles. Divine Design is worth adding to your calendar.

Two years ago I picked up a $375 skirt for $75; it’s swooshiness never fails to make me smile, so I know I’ll be getting years and years of use out of it. I also grabbed several $90 tank tops for just $10 apiece.

What:

Divine Design is an annual pre-holiday shopping event featuring designer clothes, shoes, cosmetics, and furniture. 100% of proceeds benefit Project Angel Food.

The designer items are the latest from trendy lines like Trina Turk, Theory, Dolce & Gabbana, Jimmy Choo, and Smashbox Cosmetics.

Where

9900 Wilshire Blvd (old Robinson’s May location), Beverly Hills 90210

When

VIP Early Shopping December 4th, 6pm -8pm, with $100 ticket purchase

Friday, December 5, 11am – 8pm
Saturday, December 6, 11am-8pm
Sunday, December 7, 11am – 8pm
Monday, December 8, 11am-8pm

The discount is usually progressive, meaning on Friday items should be 50% off, Saturday 60%, Sunday 70% and Monday 80%.

Tickets:

Tickets are available online for $15 or at the door for $25 ($10 off admission coupon)

Bonus:

Just 500 Raffle tickets are available to those of you who’d like to drive home in a Prius. For a $100 ticket, you’re odds of winning a 2-year lease on a 2009 Prius are way better than that of winning the state lottery.

Beneficiary:

Project Angel Food is unique: we are the only, free meal-delivery program that serves men, women and children debilitated by HIV/AIDS, cancer, and other life-threatening illnesses throughout Los Angeles County. Thanks to a devoted corps of volunteers, every day Project Angel Food cooks and delivers more than 1,400 to people in need throughout our community. We act out of a sense of urgency because hunger and illness do not wait. The people we serve range in age from 12 to 97 years.