Competition Time: Results and Round 2!

Hey folks! I’m happy to announce the winners of the first competition to write a Green Stars Review, both of whom happened to write their reviews in blog form. Below that, I’ll describe the next competition, which involves a Glee Gum giveaway 🙂

Winner 1

S. from A Misplaced Pen wrote a review of the Queen Ann B&B in Denver, Colorado. She looked at many factors when considering her rating, including food, toiletries, bedding, and even the building itself! Here are a few details:

The innkeeper pointed out the herbs, peppers, and leafy greens that were growing around the house/B&B, and mentioned that the B&B kitchen often harvests from the garden for their daily breakfast preparations.

The shower gel, conditioner, and shampoo were all located in a large refillable dispenser, which is meant to reduce waste by allowing the B&B to continue refilling the dispenser from bulk containers rather than buying and replacing smaller bottles.

By laundering only on request/between guests, the B&B avoids excessive water consumption. (According to the B&B’s website, the shower heads are also low flow, which saves even more water.)

Last, but not least, the buildings that make up the Queen Anne Bed and Breakfast are each over a century old; repurposing and preserving old buildings instead of tearing them down can be more sustainable…

Thanks for putting so much effort into it, S.! You win a gift from the World Wildlife Fund and the Led Zeppelin complete recordings box set.

Winner 2

Brigid wrote a review of the Happy Camper in Glenveagh National Park, Ireland, on her blog Watching the Daisies, and also wins a gift from the WWF. The Happy Camper is a food truck (food caravan, technically!) that serves pancakes to hungry hikers. As Brigid pointed out, compostable plates and utensils are especially important when you’re in the middle of a beautiful wilderness. A food truck (/camper) also tends to have a much lower carbon footprint than a fully-fitted (and heated) restaurant.

Round 2: Glee Gum Giveaway.

And now it starts again! After I wrote a post on sustainable chewing gum, Glee Gum contacted me to offer several variety packs of their gum as prizes. So, to enter Round 2 of this completion you just need to respond to the following question:

What do you think are the most important factor(s) to consider when evaluating the social and environmental impact of chewing gum?

To enter, either comment below or send me an email at jmskrb at gmail dot com by Nov 16th. (Apologies, but you must be over 18 and located in the US for this one; the next competition will be open to everyone.) Winners will receive a variety pack containing every flavor of Glee Gum. I’d like each winner to write a Green Stars review of the product after trying it (and post on any site of their choice) and I’ll feature it here in a future post.

That’s it! Congrats again to S. and Brigid and good luck to all in the next round!

Toodles!