Project Green Challenge is the latest and most exciting initiative of Teens Turning Green!
Teens Turning Green is a national non-profit organization devoted to education and advocacy around environmentally and socially responsible choices for individuals, schools, and communities. The student-led movement seeks to promote global sustainability by identifying and eliminating toxic exposures that permeate daily life, often unknowingly, yet threaten public and environmental health. What began around Erin and Judi's kitchen table in California in 2005 now has a presence at elementary (as Kids Turning Green), middle and high schools, universities (as Turning Green), and student organizations across the United States, as well as a strong digital and media presence. TTG chapters across the country lead grassroots efforts that aim to raise awareness and work to lessen local and global impact.
The lifestyle component includes personal care products and cosmetics (formulations and packaging), fashion (organic / sustainable fibers and manufacturing processes), home (building materials, energy, bedding / linens, etc.), among many other aspects of daily life. TTG believes that conscious consumption is critical and has the power to shift mass markets. The campaign's work in schools uses the campus as a palette for exploration through a process of inventory, case study analysis, and identification of greener alternatives in four main categories: landscape, classroom products, janitorial (see the just-launched Project Green Clean: http://www.projectgreenclean.info), and food service (see Project Lunch: http://www.projectlunch.org/). The community piece of TTG allows for grassroots efforts and the formation of coalitions around area-specific issues that threaten the population and planet, examples of which include protesting a proposed aerial spray, pushing for a single use bag ban (see BYOBag Marin: http://www.byobagmarin.com), promoting safe cell phone use, water testing, mapping county-wide health trends, removing invasive species, etc.
Advocacy is another vital aspect of the campaign, lobbying for legislative and policy change that protects human and environmental health, as well as partnerships with companies to urge and ensure corporate responsibility. Youth must challenge large entities to consider not only pure formulation and full ingredient disclosure, but also responsible sourcing of ingredients, business practices that respect the earth, fair trade labor policies, human and animal rights, community empowerment projects, sustainable packaging (post-consumer waste, biocompostable, etc.), renewable energy, and incorporation of a Cradle-to-Cradle approach towards an endless cycle without waste.
Young people have tremendous power to affect change. There is a real need to focus energy around personal responsibility and individual local actions: think globally, act locally. It is vital to demonstrate how accessible sustainability is to everyone, for there are near innumerable entry points. TTG has experienced incredibly positive public response to simple, fun, effective educational resources and initiatives. Any and all progress is rooted in education and communication; when information is available and alternatives are accessible, people think critically and initiate change.
Find out more and get involved: http://www.teensturninggreen.org
Become a fan of TTG on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/teensturninggreen
Follow TTG on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/teensturngreen
Other Campaign Initiatives:
www.projectgreenclean.info (summer 2011 launch)
www.projectlunch.org (spring 2010 launch)
www.projectgreendorm.com (2009 launch)
www.projectgreenprom.com (2009 launch)
www.byobagmarin.com (2009 launch)
