Cost-U-Less came through!
Remember this?
They are here! Cost-U-Less is now carrying Seventh Generation paper towels, toilet paper and kitchen trash bags.
The trash bags, unfortunately, are not biodegradable, however they are far far better than using ones that are not made from recycled plastic:
I may order a box of these biodegradable bags online to see how well they do and then order in bulk, but in the meantime I'll be buying the Seventh Generation ones.
The paper towels are a bit expensive compared to the Bounty right next to them ($1.88 per roll instead of $1.13 per roll). Here are the selling points though:
That is worth the extra $.75 cents per roll, right?
If you are living here or buying these types of products here on SXM, please consider purchasing these, so that we can encourage retailers to stock full ranges of environmentally responsible products.
(Getting these pictures was interesting. There were 3 Cost-U-Less workers stocking the aisle and when I took the pictures they immediately stared over and then told me I needed management permission to take photos inside the store. Then they stopped and said, "wait, are you Canadian?" - a Canadian company recently purchased the Cost-U-Less chain, perhaps they thought I was a company spy.)
They are here! Cost-U-Less is now carrying Seventh Generation paper towels, toilet paper and kitchen trash bags.
The trash bags, unfortunately, are not biodegradable, however they are far far better than using ones that are not made from recycled plastic:
Seventh Generation Tall Kitchen Trash Bags are made with 100% recycled plastic with 70% post consumer content. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one package of 15 count large trash bags made from virgin plastic with 100% recycled ones, we could save: 93,000 barrels of oil, enough to heat and cool 5,300 U.S. homes for a year: 1.7 million cubic feet of landfill space, equal to 2,500 full garbage trucks and: avoid 34,600 tons of pollution!
I may order a box of these biodegradable bags online to see how well they do and then order in bulk, but in the meantime I'll be buying the Seventh Generation ones.
The paper towels are a bit expensive compared to the Bounty right next to them ($1.88 per roll instead of $1.13 per roll). Here are the selling points though:
Seventh Generation Paper Towels are made from 100% recycled paper, with a minimum of 80% post-consumer materials. They are hypo-allergenic and unbleached. If every household in the U.S. replaced just one roll of 120 sheet virgin fiber paper towels with 100% recycled ones, we could save:
* 1 million trees
* 2.6 million cubic feet of landfill space, equal to over 3,800 full garbage trucks
* 367 million gallons of water, a year’s supply for 2,800 families of four
* and avoid 38,000 tons of pollution!
These jumbo rolls reduce waste by utilizing less packaging per sheet and fewer cores than regular rolls. The compressed rolls allow more product to be shipped on each truck, thereby reducing pollution and fuel consumption.
That is worth the extra $.75 cents per roll, right?
If you are living here or buying these types of products here on SXM, please consider purchasing these, so that we can encourage retailers to stock full ranges of environmentally responsible products.
(Getting these pictures was interesting. There were 3 Cost-U-Less workers stocking the aisle and when I took the pictures they immediately stared over and then told me I needed management permission to take photos inside the store. Then they stopped and said, "wait, are you Canadian?" - a Canadian company recently purchased the Cost-U-Less chain, perhaps they thought I was a company spy.)
16 comments:
Is Cost U Less on the island?
So it' s like a BJ'S/ Cosco's kind of store.
Um! Good to know
Yep, across from where the big Food Center was (which is now Grand Marche). Kind of like Cosco but you do not have to be a member. Very handy place! (Ok, goshdarnit, they need to start paying me for advertising)
this is cool. i'll have to tell my parents to stock up on this stuff when they go to get their next big purchase of heavenly water.
Hey gibber!
It'd be great if SXM consumers would buy this stuff and start asking for other ways to reduce their environmental impact. I've got my fingers crossed.
Jess
that is fabulous!
what a great thing!
I will definitely be buying those products!
I hope they are going to advertise that they have them.
Barbara
Hi Barbara: I hope so too! I posted a quick comment on the SXM Private Eye site, and I am trying to figure out how to get a post onto the Daily Herald message board about it. We'll see. If you can think of places to post about it, let me know!
Hope you are staying warm and dry!
Hello Jess, My husband and I are considering moving there. How's life there? Can you buy a car? How's tranportation work? Is there cable, high speed, etc? Sorry for the ignorance. Thanks Tatiana
Jess
I saw your post on PE and I commented also.
and I just left a message on TDH BB with a link to your site. I don't think that is a very busy BB though.
what about contacting TDH to run an article?
Alita Singh used to be involved with SXM Pride so I know she might be interested in doing an article on it.
Barbara
Hi Tatiana, thanks for commenting here. I guess the biggest thing is, do you plan to work here? If yes, moving here is hard. Getting papers is hard. Finding someone to employ you is hard.
Getting a car is easy and very necessary. There is cable tv and internet.
If you are serious about it I would suggest spending 3 months or more here before you uproot your life, and decide after that.
Sorry if I am discouraging, I get this question a lot, there are lots of folks who dream of moving here, but I have met plenty of folks who can't take the annoyances.
Hi Barbara! Thanks for adding that to the Daily Herald. Contacting the Herald is a good idea, I'll give it a try.
All the best,
Jess
Hi Jess,
We are both going with jobs and the employer sponsors the VISA, so no worries there..... i guess I was more worried about the general day to day stuff, life in general... i do realize it' hard to move there, but oportunity knocks.... what say u now?
Thanks Tatiana
Hi Tatiana: OK OK I will try to be less of a grump :)
I am from the US so when I talk about what I was used to, I was used to the US, k?
Life is good here, you can find the things you need. Its just harder than in the US where you can find everything you may ever need, in forty different brands and flavors.
So, yes, I would plan to buy a car. Some people send their own cars from home, but I've always thought that must be a hassle because if you do not have a car that is sold a lot on SXM, finding parts for it on the island is very difficult. On the positive side of that, perhaps no one will want to steal your car for parts because no one else has a car like yours. I've never understood folks who have fancy cars here because the roads are awful and everything rusts quickly.
Public transportation is not terrific though they do have it and plenty of folks use it, but it is not centralized - its drivers who have buses, they put a place name in the front and if you are going in that direction you hop on, if you need to get off you holler. You pay a dollar or so every time you get on the bus and there does not seem to be anything like a transfer, so it can add up. They travel along the major routes, so if you want to go somewhere a bit obscure you may have to walk once off the major route.
Internet depends on the provider. I like Caribserve for the most part. They have decent customer support and they do not take forever to install. I once had to get Telnet installed (DSL) in a house that already had a land line. They told me they had to strip the line or something, and so the installation took about 2 months. I called every day for about 3 of those weeks once I figured out that was a good idea. I could never get their customer service line to pick up either, so I got the number to tech support direct and kept it clutched close to my heart.
Oh yes, its smart to keep every number anyone ever calls you from, just in case. For instance if you need the repairman who ripped out the faucet to come back and replace it with the new one, but his cell phone is not answering and then it says "this phone is not in service", you call the other number he once called you from which turns out to be at his house and his wife answers and she is pretty helpful especially when you explain that you still need to pay for the other half of the work.
Bureaucracy here is the same as in the US except more. If you are doing something like registering your car, you go to the island receiver's office, and then it turns out that they also need a stamp on your application but you cannot buy the stamp there, you have to buy the stamp at the federal receiver's office, so you go over there but its closed already because they have limited hours and when you go the next day and buy the stamp and then go back to the island receiver's office, they are closed because it is a holiday. If you have a business sponsoring you, they may have a runner who normally does all this stuff, keeps a stash of the stamps in his truck, and knows all the ladies at the island receiver so he gets things done in a breeze. It is wise to become his friend. Very wise.
What else would you like to know? Just let me know. This is kinda fun.
Hey Jess,
Thanks for the info.... sounds like something we are ready to do..... Things are looking good and we both have been offered jobs soit looks like we'll be coming down soon.....
I do have more questions if you don't mind.... places to live... how does that work??? Are places furnished??? If not, what should I ship down from my house?????
Anything you want from the states when we come down???
Thanks for the info....
Tatiana
Hi Tatiana: I've found that most rental places are actually furnished. What they are furnished with is another story! I don't know how long you are planning to live here, but I wouldn't ship anything big down right away. From what I hear the problem is not really getting it to SXM, its getting your stuff back home when you want to leave - expensive, has to go through customs, etc. There are several furniture stores on the island, so if you need anything its not impossible to get it here, or arrange for it to be shipped later.
Thanks for the offer to bring stuff down but I am all set. The only thing I would ask for these days is a case of Andy Capp's Hot Fries, but they are pretty bad for me, so I just dream about them. Who knows what would have happened to me if I still lived in the US, probably would've expired from Hot Fries ingestion by now.
Hi Jess,
Great write up about "the use of recycled items". Phil and I were in France together this past year and I was "Impressed" with the laws forcing people to bring their own bags from home to pack their groceries as well as "Encouraging-Educating people to wake up to the world's pollution and environmental issues. Bags are not paper or plastic, they are usually fabric or strong material that people designate for shopping and bring them with them each time they shop. Each person in France starting from children, yes children, to adults are doing their part with recycling and Nobody is complaining or inconvienced by doing it. I learned an important issue of what it means "if everybody does their part to helping the earth and the environment." It doesn't take much. But, I also remember that too much is taken for granted in the states and we've become a "spoiled society" about having TOO MUCH available. We've become what I call "a Throw Away Society". It's easier to use a plastic cup than to wash a glass...and so on and so on....Thanks for making us more aware of what's happening on earth. Best to you, Bill
Hi Bill: Thanks for your nice comment. I think once the ideas start to get get around our island a little bit it will be like a snowball, gaining momentum. I hope so anyway. Even though I get preachy on this blog, I have to force myself to do the small things I do to be more environmentally responsible. I don't always have my cloth bags with me, etc. I am hoping that each change I make will eventually become a habit, making the next change easier.
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