Greenfest Philly: '08 Recap

It was a gorgeous day for Philly’s 3rd annual Greenfest ’08.  There was fun live music, great food and an impressive showing from local vendors & organizations.

For those who couldn’t make it out this year, here’s a rundown on some highlights & things I learned:

Water, water everywhere? The theme of this year’s Greenfest was water. There were several water stations conveniently located for people to fill up their (reusable) water bottles.

Overall, the fest’s theme wasn’t necessarily hammered into ‘greenfesters’ heads. But, there were organizations & vendors present specializing in water quality & eco-friendly water purification systems. One company, Watermark, produces home & office h20 purification systems.  They educated attendees on contaminants found in tap and bottled water. Check here for info on a free trial they’re offering the region’s businesses.

Positive action is happening to curb kids from picking up nasty habits – like littering. The Pennsylvania Resources Council, Inc. filled us in on some of the programs they have with school’s & communities to raise awareness.  The gentleman we spoke with really drove home the point that much like educating kids on the dangers of smoking & underage drinking – if you get ‘em young, the success rate to keep kids from littering is typically much higher. Sometimes it takes a child to remind the set-in-their-ways parent how harmful trash is to the environment. Check here for more info on what PRC is all about.

Will Smith doesn’t use toilet paper. Yup, some of you may have heard this before. But I think it’s interesting to note what Paul Glover of Green Jobs Philly reminded me of yesterday. Philadelphia native Smith & his family are toilet-paper free.

Philly’s into being green.  There was a great turnout yesterday. The event reminded me that there are plenty of local people around looking to make a difference in a plethora of ways.

Beyond the local organizations that showed face at Greenfest – like Green Peace, the Sierra Club, Gpen.org etc. – there were clothing, cosmetic & jewelery vendors who are aligning environmentally conscious practices with their business models.  It’s encouraging to live in a city with options to purchase products that are less damaging. 

 Check back for much more info on some of these Philly businesses coming soon.

 Posted by Beth 

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Beth is a Health and Wellness expert who believes sustainability goes hand-in-hand with self care. She’s the girl whipping up kombucha cocktails at parties, and extolling the benefits of canning vegetables to anyone who will listen. View all posts by Beth Funari