EARTH FAIR OBX

The first ever Earth Fair OBX will be held at Jennette’s Pier in Nags Head on Sunday April, 22 from 1 to 4 p.m.

With its theme, “Keeping the Outer Banks Clean and Green,” the inaugural Earth Fair OBX will provide attendees with education, activities and entertainment throughout the afternoon.

“Events will include a recycled clothing fashion show put on by local students, guest speakers, games and crafts,” said Lydia Courtright, event organizer and pier educator.

One of the crafts will include tie-dying T-shirts that sport a cool Earth Day OBX logo, which was designed by a local artist, she added.

Many area organizations and businesses will be on exhibit to showcase what they are doing to educate, protect and promote sustainability and the environment, Courtright said.

The event is free to the public. For more information, call 252-255-1501, ext. 207.

TS Designs Announces First Certified Organic Cotton Harvested in North Carolina

North Carolina Apparel Companies and Farmers Partner to Improve Textile Supply Chain

Dec 20, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — In 2006, Eric Henry, president of TS Designs, and Brian Morrell, president of Mortex Apparel, met with experts in state agriculture. Their mission: to grow organic cotton in North Carolina. The response: it can’t be done.

Now, five years later and for the first time in recent memory, a usable volume of USDA-certified organic cotton is being harvested in North Carolina. Despite a myriad of challenges to growing organic cotton in the state, including weeds, pests and defoliation issues, two North Carolina farms — Hickory Meadows Organics and Parrish Enterprises — have grown 65 acres of healthy organic cotton that will be harvested by the end of the month.

Henry and Morrell have worked with these farms to grow organic cotton in their home state and as a solution for what they considered a broken supply chain. Until now, TS Designs’ organic cotton T-shirts have been made at Mortex, but due to a shortage of U.S.-grown organic cotton, they have been made from overseas yarn.

“The journey of growing organic cotton in North Carolina began about five years ago when we were told it couldn’t be done,” said Henry. “We started by making T-shirts from cotton grown in the state with a line called Cotton of the Carolinas, knowing that eventually we could do the same thing with certified organic cotton grown here.”

Henry and Morrell partnered to create Cotton of the Carolinas, which has been sold for the past few years. Since the cotton was not certified organic, the brand focused on supporting local jobs and creating an entirely transparent supply chain, connecting the wearer of every shirt with every producer in the supply chain.

“Conventional textile wisdom says you can’t create an apparel line from one farm, but we did it,” said Morrell. “This organic cotton harvest is the next milestone and represents significant opportunity in bringing a positive impact to both jobs and the environment in our state.”

Organic certificates and harvest photos are available at http://www.tsdesigns.com/ncorganic . A harvest video is also available. The cotton quality, and thus the potential end product uses, will be determined after ginning in January. Henry is committed to finding buyers nearby to use the cotton.

SOURCE: TS Designs

Eat seasonal, eat local

‘Tis the season for eat’n! After a belly bulging Thanksgiving, most of us will be enjoying the holidays by the spoonful. While we often think about eating local when it’s time for a spring harvest, this time of year, you can still find local produce in and around the Outer Banks!

Right now, farm stands along 158 are stocked full of sweet potatoes and collards grown nearby. Some stands also are carrying apples grown in the mountains of North Carolina. And local peanuts are always available, so no need to ever buy those in the grocery store!

Why buy local?
In general, local food is more sustainable. But there are many good reasons you should check out the farm stands.

Local food is closer, which saves energy and resources. On average, most produce grown in the States that we buy in supermarkets is shipped 1,500 miles. Of course, much of the produce we buy is imported from Mexico and other places around the world. By buying local, we conserve the energy and resources required to transport our food. This is especially important to help our nation break its addiction to oil.

Local food is fresher (and that means tastier!).  According to LocalHarvest, most produce in the U.S. is picked 4 to 7 days before being placed on supermarket shelves. Buying direct from the farmers cuts out this lag time.

Local food is often cheaper. An added benefit to buying from local farmers is that you can find great deals on seasonal food at most farm stands.

Buying local supports the local economy. Your purchase supports local farmers and their families rather than large agribusiness corporations.

To learn more about local food and what’s in season, check out this handy local food availability chart.

So now that you’re pumped about buying local, I thought I’d share some ideas of what to do with the sweet potatoes since you can very easily and inexpensively find them throughout our region all year long. Sweet potatoes are a favorite holiday dish on their own, but they are so versatile they can be used in all kinds of recipes. They  also are very nutritious! You can use sweet potatoes to make make hearty biscuits, soups and chili and of course, pie. One of my favorite dishes using sweet potatoes is Caribbean Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup. Here’s the recipe, enjoy!

Building NC Local Food Economy 10% Farmer to Fork

We’re challenging you to spend 10 percent of your existing food dollars to support North Carolina food producers, businesses and communities. Join the 10% Campaign today!

Why 10 Percent?

It is achievable for most and meaningful for all:

• We spend about $35 billion a year on food. If we spent 10 percent – $1.05 per day locally – approximately $3.5 billion would be available in the local economy.
• A vibrant local food economy will support farms, food and manufacturing businesses and create jobs.
• Infusing fresh and flavorful fruits and vegetables into diets can significantly reduce diet-related diseases and long-term health care expenses for everyone.

Here’s How it Works

Join the campaign! Register and pledge to spend 10 percent of your food budget on foods produced/grown locally.

• Explore this site to learn where you can buy/grow local foods. We will track and post 10% Campaign partnerships, initiatives, news events and happenings.
• Connect with the thousands of North Carolinians and organizations/initiatives already in the field and those just beginning to bloom.
• Track your progress and ours. Once you register, we’ll send you a weekly email asking a few important questions about your progress.

Help Us Grow

The 10% Campaign is committed to success through education, promotion and collaboration. We are working with organizations, businesses, governments and just about any other group you can think of to encourage participation, “farm to” buying programs and growing your own. Suggestions for partnership are welcome!

Encourage your friends, family, co-workers and neighbors to join the 10% Campaign and build North Carolina’s local food economy while enjoying the greatness of North Carolina food.

Here’s How It Works

Join us in support of North Carolina’s farmers, businesses and communities.

• Pledge to spend 10 percent of your existing food dollars locally
• We’ll email you with a few simple questions each week
• We’ll track your progress, and you’ll see our progress statewide

The Dare County Local Foods contact is Susan Ruiz-Evansfrom the NC Cooperative Extension Service

The Currituck County Local Foods contacts are Tommy Grandy, Cameron Lowe from the NC Cooperative Extension Service

The Plastic Epidemic, Part I – from Ivy Ingram

If you walk in to any retailer on the coast of Hyde, Dare, or Currituck you should not receive your purchases in a plastic bag.  This is all thanks to legislation put in to place by former Senator Marc Basnight.  The specific concern in this legislation is marine life, waterways, and marshes, but the bonus is it reduces our use of plastic and our landfills will thank us.  The world is seeing growing momentum for the ban of plastic bags and the United States is finally starting to take notice and many municipalities are putting bans in place such as San Francisco, Santa Monica, Austin, LA, and the list is growing.

Although plastic bags are the most well known of the plastic villains they are certainly not alone.  Plastic water bottles, food packaging, product packaging, disposable tableware, among others are all to blame for the mounting polymer piles in our landfills.

So, what to do? Recently,  I watched an eye opening documentary called, Bag It   This film is a great place to start if you want to reduce the plastic in your life.