Hank Green just posted a video of all the eco-friendly products they are introducing to their Good Store website (where most of the proceeds go to various causes).
Mar 11, 2025
Just thought I’d share. If you know of any other good eco-products share a link. I’ll be interested to know how well their detergent works – I’ve tried others and haven’t been pleased. But I trust Hank, so I’m willing to give these a shot.
The soap refill cubes are really appealing – I go through a lot of liquid soap refills. Most of my other cleaning products are reusable scrubbing cloths and vinegar.
In car news, KIA released a bunch of new car models, unfortunately, many will not be available in the US – but if you’re overseas, there are some good looking, affordable, high-mileage EVs coming soon. Their van is a game-changer for sure. Especially the fact it can be purchased as a wheelchair accessible w/o modification, it’s one of the platforms available.
Feb 27, 2025Jack takes a first look at Kia’s new PV5 van in cargo and passenger form. With 16 different variants, cutting edge EV tech and a staggering starting price, could this be the shot in the arm the electric commercial vehicle segment sorely needs?
That’s it from me; I just thought you could use a little good news from good people…
dc
Thank you!!! Great video and great information! I will be trying out these products and passing the word on.
Joy in FL
It helps to see people who are making good differences. Thanks for this post : )
Old School
Hopefully Kia has fixed the design issues that make their vehicles a magnet for car thieves.
TaMara
@Old School: JFC – maybe google. That was years ago and only their keyed cars, none of the keyless cars have that issue.
Fuck why do I even bother???
CaseyL
I’ve been using BlueLand cleaning pellets for years: they come in about six varieties for different tasks: glass, multi-surface, bathroom, etc., and quite good. Unfortunately, the (plastic) spray bottles aren’t very durable, and I hate having to replace them. Can strongly recommend the toilet cleaning disks, for which you can also order cute little canisters to keep them in.
I did have to give up on eco-friendly dishwashing powder, after trying a few brands. The stuff just doesn’t work, as I discovered when I tried a somewhat-mainstream brand (Mrs. Meyer) and got clean dishes out of the dishwasher for the first time in over a year. (I’d been slandering the dishwasher, poor thing, since I assumed that was the problem.)
I love the Green Brothers, and Nerdfighteria; they do great things. I’d like to hear how well their stuff works, though, before I switch from BlueLand.
martha
@TaMara: because not everyone who reads your posts are glassbowls :-). Many thanks for this and all your other posts!!
dc
@CaseyL:
For dish washing I’ve been using the “If you care” brand tablets. I think they work fine. But I will be trying out the Ecogeek products at the Good.Store site.
Old School
@TaMara: Well, that escalated quickly.
My apologies.
Joy in FL
Hi again,Tamara.
I went to The Good Store site and now I have a subscription to one of their coffees. I’m getting rid of my Amazon subscriptions, and I have enjoyed the convenience of having my Starbucks House Blend delivered for a couple years. I subscribed for that because it started to be out of stock all the time at my local grocery, and I really like that specific blend. I want to move away from Amazon, but I did not know where I would find coffee I like elsewhere, so I’m trying the Calypso Light Roast from The Good Store. Hopefully I will like it enough to switch.
Anyway, thanks again for this post.
HopefullyNotcassandra
Thank you for this! Always trying to reduce our plastic around here. Plastic is simply everywhere. Really want to keep it out of our brains. Your post certainly will help.
zhena gogolia
thanks, TaMara!
JaySinWA
@Joy in FL: I hope their coffee works for you. I had to find a new source of decaf coffee when Costco stopped carrying decaf beans for a few months and I couldn’t find decaf beans locally. I tried some Costco mail order brands and didn’t like any of them I ended up going to Peet’s online subscription. Maybe not as virtuous as Good Store Keat’s, but better than Amazon or Starbucks in my opinion, and I like their medium roast more than Costco’s house decaf dark. OTOH it is about 3 times as expensive but I haven’t gone back to Costco coffee since.
RevRick
This Saturday morning, we are launching our Climate Hope Affiliate campaign, sponsored by the United Church of Christ’s Environmental Justice Ministry. So far, we’ve persuaded thirteen people to be a part of the initial organizing team, who will be participating in the two-and a-half hour training. The goal is to develop a group who will develop relationships with our federal Representative and Senators and their staff and with local media advocating for climate change legislation. Part of our training will be learning not to take a legislator’s no as the final word. Ours will be a sustained, ongoing and persistent effort.
If you know of anyone in the Lehigh Valley (PA-7), who might be interested, send them my way. We are broadly ecumenical in this effort.
Joy in FL
@JaySinWA: Yes, the increased cost will be off-putting. I’ll keep Peet’s in mind in case the Calypso really doesn’t suit me.
CCL
Thanks for this TaMara – I love having suggestions about positive things to do – really appreciate the reminders and new information!
Juju
I’ve been using the Earth Breeze washer soap sheets and I’m happy with those.
@Joy in FL: I order coffee beans from Porto Rico Importing Co. on Bleecker St. in NYC. They have such a nice variety of coffee and teas and and they sell whole beans or grind for you and their pound is a real 16 ounce pound and most of what they use to ship and package is recyclable. They have been in business for over 100 years. My favorite coffees are their house blend, mocha java blend and fair trade Peru. Those are all city roasts which are lighter roasts. If you are used to Starbucks, my guess is you prefer a darker roast. I’m sure you would be able to find something you’d enjoy. I’ve been buying my coffee from them since 1994 and have never had any complaints. They even took care of things when a raccoon opened a box of delivered coffee before I got home from work. Their website is http://www.portorico.com if you are interested.
WhatsMyNym
Really interesting about the PV5 is their battery choices…
Omnes Omnibus
Obstinacy?
AJ of the Mustard Search and Rescue Team
Thank you TaMara, I needed this today!
Hope you are doin ok overall
NotMax
Am I alone in remembering Salvo from 60 or so years ago?
;)
zhena gogolia
@NotMax: I don’t remember Salvo, but Wally Cox was so cute!
RevRick
@NotMax: Not even a wife!
Dan B
I’m glad to have the video on the Kia PV5. We’re hoping to purchase an EV after the lease on our Nissan Leaf ends and a van would be great. We could sell our pickup if we have something that can haul things like lumber.
Joy in FL
@Juju: Thank you for that info. I’ve bookmarked the link. Starbuck’s House Blend is actually not a dark blend. I tend to like medium to light blends.
Nukular Biskits
Thanks, Tamara!
Geminid .
@Dan B: Those different Kia batteries interest me. There a have been a lot of advances in materials research in this area that are now being applied to battery technology. That includes heavier batteries more suited to homes and electrical grids.
sab
Don’t want to politicize this thread but…
Talking to a lovely co-worker today. Car buying came up and she mentionned that they had just gone shopping because they needed another one (three driving boys sharing one car) and they found deals so good that they bought one when they had just intended to look.
I said we had just bought one to beat the tariffs. She said “what tariffs?”
My two sons are terrified that the trade war with Canada will destroy their jobs, and everyone else is just “what? Huh?”
This is what we are up against. Clueless not bad people.
Our new car is a Honda hybrid. I make husband buy gas for our soon to given away Honda FIT because he doesn’t have to budget for gas anymore.
My very beloved FIT is not going to stepdaugnter to be traded in like a dog to the pound hoping for a good adoption. Instead it is going to granddaughter who bought a clunker from a shady outfit. 100,000 miles on a Honda is barely middle-aged. So Honda FIT gets a good home and grandfdaughter gets out of debt with a much better car.
Dan B
@Geminid .: I’m very intrigued by the new battery technologies, especially the inexpensive heavy ones for storage. My partner’s only interested in cars but batteries seem to be essential to getting off fossil fuels.
Dagaetch
I’m a little late, but. I use the Meliora foaming soap cubes and like them. Product is a little thinner than what you get with regular stuff, but it does the job fine. For laundry and dishwasher, I use Dirty Labs. I’ve also switched to bar haircare products (Ethique), and picked up some reusable paper towels last year that have been great. I just use one for a couple days for the small stuff, then toss it in the laundry bin. A roll of paper towels now lasts me for a month or more, basically only used for the really icky stuff.
MinbariSafari
Tamara, thanks so much for that info on the Kia! I currently have a 2017 Ford Transit Connect and have been increasingly paranoid about something happening to it, since Ford discontinued it in North America after 2022 or 2023. The entire small van segment has disappeared in the US and it boggles my mind. There’s a whole lot of people out there who need a vehicle that can haul stuff but can’t afford a full sized Transit or ProMaster (or fit it in their garage!). I need to be able to haul my entire art fair setup around several times each summer and there’s no SUV that 1)has the same kind of cargo space 2) is within my budget 3) gets decent mileage and 4) fits in my garage. I have a sinking feeling that somehow we won’t be able to get these in the US, but I sure hope we can!
pieceofpeace
Good, interesting and very useful post. It’s worthwhile to have environmental issues and solutions featured, both for their importance below and far above our earth and to spread the word of natural, not-as-toxic care products.
Thanks for this, TaMara, good have you here.
Mike in Oly
@TaMara: Thanks so much for bringing these products to my attention. They look amazing and I love Hank. We’ll be trying them out soon.
meander
Somewhat related, and on a much longer timescale, is fighting climate change and making utilities that serve their customers instead of Wall Street via publicly owned utilities. From the American Prospect:
meander
A bit of good news from the energy sector, via Canary Media: Florida is now a solar superpower. Here’s how it happened
YY_Sima Qian
@WhatsMyNym: Strange choices. The passenger carrying version is using the higher energy density but less safe NCM chemistry at larger sizes, & the cargo carrying version is using the lower energy density but safer LFP chemistry, at smaller sizes. Shouldn’t it be the reverse? Or does Kia expect the cargo version will be used for short hauls, while the passenger carrying version could be used for long trips?
Lyrebird
Thank you very much Tamara!
FWIW in our house we really like soap nuts for sheets and towels (link is to NaturOli website). For what we wash in cold, I often don’t want to bother (you should presoak the soap nut bag in warm water for that), so we have been using whichever laundry detergent sheets we can get in the grocery store, unscented.
We have tried a stain remover stick that was basically soap with a little borax, it’s okay but not as good as Ecover stain remover, which they of course have discontinued, and it is shipped (was?) with all the water in it.
@Dagaetch: Thanks for sharing those reviews. I have seen Meliora stuff advertised but haven’t tried it yet. Unfortunately none of the bar shampoo and conditioners we have tried have been better than awful, but it may also depend on your hair type.
Kayla Rudbek
@Dan B: I would have to check the specs, but just from the still image of the video, that KIA van looks large enough to fit a tandem bike inside of it (my criteria for judging a vehicle’s capacity).
My holy grail of EV would be able to fit tandem bike, footlocker for the telescope, and the inflatable tandem kayak (aka Engineer Barbie’s Delight) along with the clothes for a week up in Maine.
Another Scott
“I bought this after Elon went crazy.”
Well done.
Thanks TaMara.
Best wishes,
Scott.
There go two miscreants
Thanks for this; bookmarked the link. I have not tried the laundry sheets but my son & DIL use them so I will give it a shot.