Buying Local and Going Green Go Hand In Hand

Before I begin delving into all sorts of information regarding green painting and decorating products and techniques, I feel a need to first put into place the thought that being green also means buying local and that buying local also means a green mind-set.

When buying locally, the consumer helps reduce the amount of transportation involved for distributing goods--meaning less impact on our fossil fuel consumption and the emission of greenhouse gases.

More importantly, when purchasing goods from your local area (i.e. local produce growers, milk producers, livestock handlers, etc.) you are also supporting your community . . . you are investing your earnings back into your community while at the same time your investment back into the communtity allows small business owners to employ more people from your community.

Furthermore, the Small Business Adminstration reports that businesses with less than 500 employees represent 99.9 percent of total businesses in the United States.

As Chad's Carpentry states about buying locally on the Dane Buy Local website, "It just makes sense." As a local business owner, I couldn't agree more.

Being Green

Being green in the painting industry is getting easier everyday . . . . from paints with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to zero VOC paints . . . . to natural paint products such as milk paints, organic plant dyes and natural wax protective sealants . . . . a variety of green and near-green products are available for consumers and professionals.

Green products are not only better for the environment, they are also better for our health--common building materials outgas harmful chemicals over time. The publication Natural Awakenings states that "the Environmental Protection Agency warns that the inside our homes is significantly more toxic and polluted than the air outside . . . (August 2008, Madison Area Edition)." This being said, it seemingly just makes sense to go green . . . especially when living a green lifestyle is becoming easier everyday.

At Red Canary LLC, we have used a variety of eco-friendly products and are continually, when applicable, testing out a variety of said painting products. Over the course of the next several months, we will post information and our reviews with regards to some of the new--as well as tried and true--green painting products.

Related Topic: Check out our Milk Paint Desks, painted with Old Fashioned Milk Paint, listed on our website. Also, keep watching The Chirp for a make-your-own milk paint recipe!

From Shena's Desk . . .

Well, today is August 10th . . . I'm ashamed--yet proud at the same time--to state the obvious: The last post to our blog was on Independence Day . . . how the time flies . . . and evidence that we have been in the throws of our extra-busy season. What a great summer it has been!

This summer, we have been painting away . . . everything from interiors to exteriors, remodels and rentals, staining decks and creating beautiful abstract art on walls . . . which is why I'm proud to say our last blog was July 4th--we've been BUSY!!!

Our growth as a business has been exciting . . . and challenging! (Thanks to all of you folks out there who hung in there with us while things were a bit chaotic during our expansion and structural changes--your patronage and support is truly appreciated.)

Now, as summer is beginning to come to a close, we should have more time to update our website www.redcanary.biz (we will hopefully finally find the time to get our webstore officially up and running) and to regularly maintain this blog . . . we are excited to continue building and growing our blog (aka on-line newsletter). Thanks for your readership!

Best regards,
Shena Blomgren
Proprietor and Artist
Red Canary LLC