Environmentally conscious consumers grabbed their eco-friendly bags and headed to Hynes Convention Center, where Down:2:Earth held its second annual expo of ‘green’ products this weekend.’
More than 70 companies that passed Down:2:Earth’s criteria for minimal environmental impact sold products to hundreds of attendees Friday to Sunday ranging from environmentally friendly windowpanes to flower arrangements.
The expo was an educational event for consumers, focusing on green businesses that can help better the environment, Down:2:Earth project manager Julie Roper said. Roper said for students to be more ‘green’ they need to be conscious about what they are buying.
‘We support businesses that we want to be successful in the future so they can further economic, social and environmental sustainability,’ Roper said.
Shannon Glasheen graduated from the School of Fashion Design on Newbury, but taught herself how to use recycled materials to make new pieces of clothing, she said. Now, she has her own design company, Shannon Glasheen Designs and had advice for BU students cleaning out their closets at the end of the semester.’
‘Don’t just throw your clothes in the trash,’ Glasheen said. ‘ Give it to someone, or donate it to a charity.”
Emerson University graduate student Melissa Hunger said she does not always have enough money to be environmentally friendly.
‘I’m broke, so it’s difficult to be environmentally sustainable,’ Hunger said.
However, Massachusetts Agriculture Resource Department exhibitor Lisa Danon said eating locally and in-season can help save money.
‘When a tomato, for example, is in-season, it is not going to be more expensive than anything else you find in the grocery store,’ Danon said.
Danon, a Boston University graduate student, said BU students should do something about the lack of locally grown food in dining halls.
‘Students need to put pressure on the Boston University administration to buy more local foods for the dining halls,’ Danon said. ‘I know that Tufts and UMass Amherst have huge programs that support local farming.’
College of Communication freshman Elena Garcia said she gets frustrated when she does not know where her food is coming from.
‘I know that BU makes some effort to buy local foods like the local butter at Warren Towers, but I really wish they would do more and tell us where its coming from,’ Garcia said.
Green Mountain Coffee representative Amanda Cooper said BU supports fair trade and organic coffee with the Newman’s Blend in the dining halls.
Cooper said it’s important to do research before assuming a ‘green company’ actually operates in an environmentally sustainable manner.
‘Do your research about companies saying they are green because they might be abusing the definition of ‘green,” she said.
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