Reducing Waste, Buying Responsibly

Natural Beach Stone Chime
Coast Chimes

Spending time on the local beaches is a great perk of my job. It fortunately takes a long time to find stones and driftwood acceptable for my needs, so I get to spend many hours walking along the Pacific Ocean. How lucky is that?

I am very conscious of our failing planet, the terrible price people pay for the convenience of plastic, or throw away poor quality stuff (yes, I see the plastic trash on the beach), and our high energy demands. It is with pride I invest so much thought and work into producing the very highest quality works I can, so that I know these will last for so many more years than typical garden and home decor. Further to that, I am pleased to have recently invested in a bike, and now I almost do not use our single car at all. I just ordered some high quality, made in Canada, panniers, not cringing (too much!) at the price, seeing as how many reviews mentioned the durability (again, avoid throw away stuff, no matter how cheap). With these, I will not only be able to do much of our grocery shopping, but I will also be able to go to the beach and bring home stones and driftwood without burning fossil fuels. I like that.

Below is the most recent collection of natural beach stones I found for use in my work. I just love beach stone. When they get wet from the rain or snow, they become even more beautiful!

See all my beach stone creations on my website: Coast Chimes

Recently Collect Beach Stones
from Roberts Creek, BC

Green Eco-Friendly Production at Coast Chimes, Buy Quality Not Junk

Green & 'Green'
Ecologically Friendly Design at
Coast Chimes

How could anyone not understand that we are beyond a time to start caring, and into a time where we need to make major changes to survive as a species? As a daily beach comber, I am all too sadly aware of a major increase in sea pollution, especially plastic and styrofoam. Sad is far too weak a word. And there is an increase in illegal dumping of the most nasty sorts of waste in local forest. Disgusting. Too many have a 'buy it cheap and throw away' mind set, and this is evil.

I look at houses around me a similar size, with the same number of residents, and week after week I see two, or even three, large garbage bins. Really? What in the world are they filling those with? Most often we put one very small bag into our single bin. I'm not at all proud of that-- still seems like too much --but putting out even one full bin, and definitely several full bins, now that is just plain unacceptable.

This all got me thinking about my own work, and evaluating my impact on the planet. I feel good, for several reasons.

All my glass is upcycled, it comes from used wine and liquor bottles. How cool is it to take something that would end up either in a landfill, or having to be trucked far away (and glass is heavy) and using lots of energy to remelt? Pretty cool to turn it into art instead.

I can even feel okay about the copper I use. While no doubt having the largest negative impact (no, I can not argue that mining is swell), copper is not like the vast majority of garden ornaments made from cheap metals, or metals that have been painted with finishes that soon deteriorate, so soon thrown away. My works are designed to be extremely durable. These are works of art to be treasured and enjoyed for many, many years. Not thrown away. And my copper at least does come from Canada where there are more rigorous environmental rules than perhaps some other sources.

Yes, there is a price to pay for non-factory made, non-throw-away, garden and home decor. Durable high-quality materials are expensive, but far, far cheaper from an environmental point of view. When choosing anything, thought should really be given to how your purchase is impacting the planet. Please don't buy so much, and especially so much short lived trash. A little less stuff and a lot more quality, that helps.

Find all my planet friendly designs Coast Chimes