Saving Water - One Pair of Pants at a Time

photo credit: Lars Plougmann on flickr

Here in the North Bay when we consider water conservation we commonly think about outside irrigation in the summer and low flow toilets in general. Turns out the food we eat and the other products we buy also contribute to the amount of water we use.

This month Levi's introduces a new line of jeans they're calling WaterLess Jeans. The process used to finish these pants is projected to save 16 million liters of water - a 28% savings. Who knew? Turns out it's not just how you wash your jeans, it's also how they're made that counts.

According to a Levi's announcement last November, "during the production process, a typical pair of jeans are finished in large washing machines and dryers to create a unique look and feel. Using traditional garment washing methods, the average pair of jeans undergoes 3-10 washing cycles - adding up to approximately 42 litres of water per unit"

Levi's have reduced the water consumption in the finishing process by making simple changes to the process such as:

• Reducing the number of washing machine cycles by combining multiple wet cycle processes into a single wet process
• Incorporating ozone processing into the garment washing
• Removing the water from the stone wash

"What's different about [the new collection] is that we're still using the same materials and techniques to create finishes for our jeans but we've substantially reduced water's role in the equation," said Carl Chiara, Director of Brand Concepts and Special Projects for Levi's. "Sometimes, the way to achieve a more sustainable design is to rethink a traditional process and find a way to do it better."

So there you go. We haven't quite reached the stage they did in Dune, but to avoid that, it would be no bad thing if we considered our use of water all along the way.

For more information:
:: Levi's WaterLess Jeans press release
:: Your pants are made of water on www.bluegranola.com

Toilets Since the Age of Thomas Crapper

Don't get us wrong, the indoor flush toilet was a great invention, but a lot has changed since the time of Thomas Crapper and the first water closets.

This advertisement dates to the late 1880s. It really does make the early toilets look like fascinating contraptions. What's also interesting is that although his name is commonly associated with the flush toilet, Thomas Crapper did not actually invent it. That honor goes to John Harrington, who invented it way back in 1596. And then Joseph Bramah, another Englishman, was the first to patent a practical verision of the toilet in 1778, and Edward Jennings patented the first flush toilet in 1852. What Thomas Crapper did was promote the daylights out of it and the whole idea of 'sanitary plumbing.'

According to his bio on wikipedia he also pioneered the concept of the bathroom fittings showroom, which makes sense, because besides a successful 'sanitary engineering' company, Thomas Crapper had his own brassworks and workshops where he could develop and manufacture his own inventions - one of which was the ballcock.

But that was then, this is now and toilets have advanced a bit. Designs are certainly more streamlined, and mechanisms simpler. The modern toilet also requires much less water to flush - definitely a good thing.

What hasn't changed so much is the concept of the bathroom fixture showroom. Printing catalogs is certainly easier these days, and we have the internet so we can look things up with a few keystrokes. But neither quite replaces being able to see fixtures in 3D and compare finishes side-by-side.

Which is why we re-organized our shop on Broadway to accommodate much more display space. We have some toilets set up (not sure Thomas Crapper would recognize what he was looking at) and lots of faucets and shower fixtures on display. There are even some sinks and vanities - and the famous Fish 'n Flush (for fun and the general feng shui).

Please stop by some time. If you're in Sonoma, we're right across from the high school, between the bike shop and doggie daycare. We've even got a copy of the advert pictured here on display - just for old times sake.

Report Asserts Filtered Tap Better Than Bottled Water

The Environmental Working Group has released a new report exposing the lack of health and water quality information for bottled water. It's not a big surprise, but it's a good reminder that too often we assume that because something comes in a package with a recognized brand name on it, it must be OK.

The report, 2011 Bottled Water Scorecard, surveyed websites and labels of more than 170 bottled waters sold in the U.S. looking for three things:

• Where does the water come from?
• Is it purified? If so, how?
• Have tests found any contaminants?

EWG found that just three -- including only one of the top 10 domestic brands -- disclose information about the water's source, the method of purification and any chemical pollutants that remained after the water was treated.

The domestic brand noted is Nestlé's Pure Life Purified Water, which discloses its water source and treatment methods on the label and offers a toll-free number consumers can call to request a water quality test report.

For a summary of the report, see Report: Filtered Tap Water Better for you than Bottled Water at www.walletpop.com. You can read the report and the EWG summary at Bottled Water 2011.

Of course not knowing the source of the water you're drinking or its quality is a biggie. On top of that, however, are the alarming number of plastic water bottles thrown away -- and the expense of bottled water compared to filtered tap. If you have no idea whether or not the water you're buying is as good as what you've got at home, why pay the extra bucks? Convenience? Really?

Fortunately, point-of-use and whole-house water filtration provide good alternatives. Filter your own tap -- if it needs it -- and refill BPA-free water bottles for pennies per gallon.

We regularly install point-of-use filters for customers. Give us a call if you would like information on options and choices. We have also installed whole-house filters. You can read more about that in our previous post One Stop Peace of Mind...

If you'd like more information, you might be interested in these related posts:
:: Save Money With Filtered Tap
:: Clean Drinking Water a Major Concern
:: Drugs in Your Drinking Water?
:: Tap Into Filtered Water