Useful Vendor Connections and Mounds of Trash

This Weekend I participated in the Green Festival in San Francisco.  I donated some local floral designs, bridal bouquets, attended the event and helped with cleanup.  It was fun to meet local vendors and vendors from afar, as well as listen to guest speakers and artists and take part in the massive recycling and composting activities after the event.

an arrangement I made (Gorgeous and Green Events) for a stage at the festival, I love the combination of red and lavendar

It sort of felt like a county fair with a green spin.  I do love the fair and love shopping for stuff, but I did wish there was a little less focus on the retail side of things.  I also noticed that although there were quite a few vendors and organizations who were very green and sustainable, many were not quite as green and it made the festival feel a little green-washed at times.  I think for future events it would be great to have higher standards of vendors and possibly include more demonstrations and hands on activities, instead of such a main focus on retail sales.  I think it is important to offer green and sustainable items for people to purchase or learn about, but one of the main tenants of sustainability is getting by with less.  Living simply.  And I would definitely like to see the festival incorporate this tenant a little more next time. For the most part, however, the experience was valuable.  I met some other green businesses, learned a lot about recycling and trash and realized how much responsibility we all have in reducing our impact on a daily basis.  Sifting through the festival's bags of trash, recyclables and compost made me realize how all of the little things we touch can add up to create something big.  A big pile of trash that goes to the landfill, if we let it. Thankfully, I'm not willing to send piles of trash to the landfill and either are a lot of other green businesses.  I hope to showcase a few this week in upcoming blogs, but here is a sneak peak at some of the folks I met:

Righteously Raw: raw chocolate bars, super tasty!

a bouquet I made for the Hemp fashion show and Conscious Clothing,who also make cute lingerie beside their wedding gown collection

Lydia's: A local organic and raw food company, who also caters!

Table Nectar: an organic and raw catering company

Cafe Gratitude: A great organic and raw food restaurant in the Bay Area

A water station at the Green Festival, I loved that they actually showed you where the water we were using was coming from:

I hope to show you more from the festival in future posts. In Green and Health, G&G