sustainability

Sustainability Is Worth The Struggle 

What kind of world will we leave for future generations? Photo: Pexels sustainability
Good Earth Plant Company loves it when our clients consider how their purchases impact our environment. Study after study demonstrates consumers want to buy products and services from companies taking a stand on saving the planet. A 2019 study of consumers found 83% of Americans are concerned about the environmental impact of products they buy and say it’s important for companies to design more environmentally friendly products. We think it should be 100% but it’s a good start. During a recent conversation with my son Ted, it hit me how pessimistic he feels about our earth’s health. The environmental outlook is dire.… Read More

Hooray, It’s Time to Celebrate Earth Day 2022

Earth Day 2022 reminds us of ways to preserve our planet - and plants can be a big part of the solution. Photo: Pixabay
The first Earth Day took place in 1970. It is now an annual event celebrated on April 22 in more than 192 countries each year in hundreds of communities in the United States Guess which city has the BIGGEST Earth Day event? Yes, it’s right here in San Diego. The annual Earth Day Fair 2022 returns to Balboa Park after two years off due to the pandemic this Sunday, April 24. It is the largest free, all-volunteer Earth Fair in the United States. Organizers definitely need both volunteers and cash donations. Please help if you can. This year’s Earth Fair features 300 exhibitors, the Children’s Earth Parade from 9:30 to 11 a.m.,… Read More

Ten Ways to Go Green St. Patrick’s Day

My neighborhood mascot Mr. Stumpy is ready for St. Patrick's Day in his recycled Irish attire! Thank you, Nina! Photo: Jim Mumford Go Green St. Patrick's
You don’t have to be Irish (or part Irish like me) to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day today, March 17. And I won’t judge if you continue the celebration through the weekend. Slainte! We love any occasion focusing on green things. The Eco-Warriors at Good Earth Plant Company don’t think of shamrocks when we think about going green. There are many more ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day all year long besides just wearing green and drinking green beer. Think green all year with our ten ways to go green on St. Patrick’s Day. Eat Greener For some of you (like me), this is a tough one.… Read More

Our Mission To Enrich Peoples’ Lives With Plants

We're thrilled to partner with Paige Kries of Plant It Again. (L to R): Team member Laurie Boarders, Paige Kries, Jim Mumford, volunteer Margee Lawrence, and Kaylee Yoon. Photo: Paige Kries growing our mission
Time for some truth-telling on the blog this week. Our industry has a dirty little secret. Of all the environmentally responsible businesses in the world, you might think working with plants is especially earth-friendly. But in reality, there is waste associated with our business. Clients want their plants to look perfect. Living things are rarely perfect. We often swap out old plants that get too big for the space or aren’t doing well for some reason. Since we don’t want to spray anything inside your home or office, we always remove plants with disease or pest issues. We provide beautiful living art pieces that contain orchids and other flowering plants.… Read More

Sustainability Must Be More Than a Buzzword

A closer look at the variety of textures and colors used in this moss wall design. Photo: Good Earth Plant Company questions about moss walls
After several years of designing and building living walls for our clients, we realized at Good Earth Plant Company we needed another option. While it’s always our preference to bring Nature into workplaces, homes, and other indoor spaces with living plants, it’s not always possible due to lighting, location, or other challenges. Then in 2015, Good Earth Plant Company installed our first moss wall. Moss walls provide most of the benefits of traditional living walls plus a few distinct advantages: Moss walls can thrive in any indoor setting. Moss walls don’t need any light or water, and minimum maintenance. Moss walls are incredibly lightweight for their size compared to the same size living walls.… Read More

Celebrate Earth Day 2021: Fight Global Warming With Gardening 

Today is Earth Day 2021: the 51st year for Earth Day. It was founded on April 22, 1970, by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin. He was inspired by student protests against the Vietnam War and hoped to inspire a similar outcry against our war on the environment. It might not be an official national holiday, but it’s an important day to all the Eco-Warriors at Good Earth Plant Company and important for us to call it to every reader’s attention. It’s easy to get discouraged about climate change and global warming and easy to feel powerless about stopping it. But it’s possible if we all add a little effort, which will add up to a lot if we don’t give up.… Read More

Show Mother Earth The Love on Valentine’s Day

Roses are a popular expression of love on Valentine's Day - but production can be hard on our planet. Photo: Dramm & Echter
Attention Good Earth Plant Company blog readers: Friday, February 14 is Valentine’s Day. You’re welcome. If you let this sneak up on you like a lot of people, you’ll be scrambling today to purchase the no-brainer Valentine’s Day favorites: chocolates and flowers, usually roses. Valentine’s Day roses and I go back a long way at Good Earth Plant Company.  For my first 14 years in business,  I ran a flower stand named “Good Earth Plant & Flower Co.” – very different from what we do today after four decades in business. Back in the 1970s and into the early 1990s, our main product was fresh cut flowers, and our biggest sales rush of the year was Valentine’s Day.… Read More

Turn Black Friday into Green Friday This Year

#OptOutside Good Earth Plant Company Thanksgiving Sustainability Living Walls Plants
For five years in a row now, REI has closed its stores on Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year. It processes no online sales and it paid all its 12,000 employees to spend the day outside with friends and family. How big is Black Friday? It is routinely one of the largest U.S. shopping days, both in stores and online. Adobe Digital Insights Inc. estimates that the single day in 2018 brought in $6.2 billion in online sales in the U.S. We’re completely into the #OptOutside concept at Good Earth Plant Company – we caught on in year number two and told you about it back then.… Read More

18 Ways to Celebrate Earth Day 2018 – Sunday and All Year Long

Environment, global warming
Forty-eight years ago today, the first Earth Day took place in 1970. It is now an annual event celebrated on April 22, coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network. It reaches more than 192 countries each year including hundreds of communities in the United States. Not to brag, but we celebrate Earth Day every single day at Good Earth Plant Company! We are a green-run company and we believe in sustainable practices. They are now just a normal part of our everyday routines. We love it when the rest of the world takes a day to focus on environment issues and finding good solutions we can easily adopt.… Read More

Cool Things Made From Plants, Not Plastic

uman beings are addicted to plastic and trashing our planet with discarded bottles, fishing nets, and more. We need to find a solution. Photo: Courtesy Ocean Cleanup Foundation
Forget being addicted to drugs, or sugar, or the internet. America is addicted most of all to plastic. Last week, the Ocean Cleanup Foundation published a report on the Pacific Garbage Patch, a huge mass of trash swirled together by the ocean’s currents. It sits between the California coast and Hawaii. It is hundreds of miles from land, from any major city. So much trash is getting into the Pacific Ocean that doesn’t biodegrade, it has now grown to 87,000 tons, four to 16 times bigger than anyone previously thought. It is four times the size of the state of California.… Read More