The Better Good http://thebettergood.com Good choices, better future! posterous.com Thu, 10 May 2012 14:22:25 -0700 FREE YOGA http://thebettergood.com/free-yoga-64290 http://thebettergood.com/free-yoga-64290
Yoga-poster-2012

FREE YOGA in the park is now on for the summer!  Every Sunday at 10am in Rotary Park.  Everyone is invited no matter how flexible.  Bring your mat if you like or simply enjoy the green grass.  Led by One Yoga and brought to you by us, The Better Good.  

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Wed, 02 May 2012 13:10:47 -0700 TOMS Eyewear http://thebettergood.com/toms-eyewear http://thebettergood.com/toms-eyewear  
With every pair purchased , TOMS will give sight to a person in need. One for One.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Mon, 30 Apr 2012 16:28:35 -0700 CUPPOW! http://thebettergood.com/cuppow http://thebettergood.com/cuppow  

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Wed, 18 Apr 2012 14:19:00 -0700 Artterro Eco Art Kits http://thebettergood.com/artterro-eco-art-kits http://thebettergood.com/artterro-eco-art-kits

Artterro -  Eco-friendly, open-ended art projects with beautiful materials.  The packaging becomes a frame for the mini masterpieces!  

Artterro Artterro5 Artterro2 Artterro3 Artterro4
See the full gallery on Posterous

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Wed, 14 Mar 2012 09:37:00 -0700 Closed at 6 this Thursday for Tim Wise presentation http://thebettergood.com/closed-at-6-this-thursday-for-tim-wise-presen http://thebettergood.com/closed-at-6-this-thursday-for-tim-wise-presen

Tim-wise
Sorry for any inconvenience but we will be closing at 6pm on Thursday, March 15 so that our staff can attend the talk 

http://www.saskatoon.ca/DEPARTMENTS/Community%20Services/Communitydevelopment/Cultural%20Diversity%20and%20Race%20Relations/Pages/TimWise.aspx

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:54:00 -0800 A Green Conversation http://thebettergood.com/a-green-conversation http://thebettergood.com/a-green-conversation

Click here to participte!  

Reduce-reuse-poster

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:42:03 -0800 bkr Glass + Silicon Water Bottle http://thebettergood.com/bkr-glass-silicon-water-bottle http://thebettergood.com/bkr-glass-silicon-water-bottle
Jessica

If it's good enough for Jessica Alba's kid...bkr now in-stock

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:42:00 -0800 TOMS HQ Reconnaissance Mission http://thebettergood.com/toms-hq-reconnaissance-mission http://thebettergood.com/toms-hq-reconnaissance-mission

Toms-inter

Recently I was able to visit TOMS headquarters in Santa Monica, CA it was such a great experience but my favourite part was when I got to talk to a member of their giving department. I had a chance to ask tons of questions about the logistics, motives and complexities of giving away millions of pairs of shoes and especially how to make sure that it is done ethically.  So for all of you wanting to know the nitty-gritty details of TOMS giving operations, here is what I found out.

TOMS works with NGOs and humanitarian organizations around the world, to distribute shoes to children they already support in some way, be it through housing, education, health, or other support services. Some of these include Oxfam, Save the Children, Seva Foundation (for eyesight restoration), Partners in Health to name a few.  

Criteria for partnerships

TOMS looks for Giving Partners that have the reputation and capacity to handle large-volume shoe distribution over a multi-year partnership. They expect their Giving Partners to be the experts on the ground, and to ensure that the shoes are given responsibly and in a way that has high positive impacts. Baseline criteria include:

1. Repeat giving: The Giving Partner should be willing and able to work with TOMS in a multi-year partnership, providing shoes to the same children as they grow. TOMS can replenish shoes as often as field conditions require – this usually ranges from every 6 months to every 12 months.

2. Large volume: Most of TOMS’ donated shoes are sent to the field in large shipping containers, which means that most of our partners serve a large number of children. Organizations who are invited to apply for shoes must demonstrate ability to responsibly accept, store, and distribute shoes. They are open to two or more organizations coordinating amongst themselves to share a container.

3. High impact: Shoes should help the Giving Partner achieve its existing goals, whether they are increased health and well being, disease prevention or eradication, or school attendance.

4. Responsible giving: Partners should work with TOMS to mitigate negative consequences of shoe-giving, including impacts on local shoe-making or shoe-selling economies, as well as considering stigma and other social impacts of giving shoes to children.

5. TOMS Shoes is a non-political, non-religious for profit business with a sustainable giving model. While we are happy to work with organizations from all religious and political backgrounds, we prohibit the giving of our shoes from being associated with any religious or political ideology.

Toms-drop

I was super happy to hear that TOMS is starting to offer a "shoe catalogue" for the Giving partners to place orders from so that communities get shoes that are appropriate for the climate and social setting that the children are in.  TOMS started by always giving the traditional alpargata shoe and are now offering a cold weather boot, a sandal, a fancier dress shoe, and specific colors such as black which is required for school uniforms in many countries.  Each Giving Partner places an order for specific sizes and styles that they need so that the shoes are most effective for the community and there is no waste.

I wanted to know more about how serious TOMS was about Criteria #4 and probed quite a bit to find out what they did to ensure that local business was not affected by the distribution of shoes.  I was informed that TOMS has recently started to do Impact Studies through a 3rd party organization to find out the impacts, positive and negative, of select communities where they have been giving heavily for a number of years.  The goal was to find out more about local business, school attendance, prevalence of infections disease through soil transmission, and other effects that the giving has had on the community.  Although the results of the study were not available to be shared quite yet, I was really pleased that TOMS is undergoing these kinds of steps to ensure that the giving is done responsibly. 

Although, it doesn't relate directly to giving I asked a few questions about the manufacturing process of TOMS and found out that the shoes are made in 3 countries, China, Argentina and Ethiopia.  The factories are third-party audited yearly by this organization to ensure fair wages and working conditions.  It was nice to hear that TOMS is environmentally conscious with their production and waste as little as possible when constructing the shoes. They also make the shoes as close as possible to where they will be given (Argentina makes shoes that are given in South and Central America) so that they aren't shipping shoes all over the world. 

Finding out more about restoring sight with the purchase of a pair of sunglasses was one of my missions but because the program is still so new there wasn't a lot of info they could share with me.  I would encourage everyone to frequently check out The Giving Side which is TOMS blog devoted to updates about specific giving operations.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Sun, 05 Feb 2012 09:21:37 -0800 Winter Bike! - GO GREEN Ideas http://thebettergood.com/winter-bike-go-green-ideas http://thebettergood.com/winter-bike-go-green-ideas
Icecycle

You might get inspired to WINTER BIKE at Ice Cycle!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Thu, 02 Feb 2012 12:36:00 -0800 What would it take to go GREEN? Contest http://thebettergood.com/what-would-it-take-to-go-green-contest http://thebettergood.com/what-would-it-take-to-go-green-contest

So often there are small (or BIG!) things that each of us knows we could do to live a greener more sustainable life.  We know we want to, but we just don't quite make it happen. So we had this idea for a contest to offer a little motivation and support.

Green-conscience

Here's how the contest will work:

You will think of something you would like to commit to doing for yourself and our planet. This could range from eating vegetarian one day a week, walking to work, consuming less, planting a garden, switching over to all natural biodegradable cleaning products, buying organic cotton, turning lights off, recycling or any other great ideas we're sure you will have. If you want to think of more than one thing, you can enter multiple times, but remember this is more than an idea of what you would like to do, it's something you will do, as part of your commitment to living an even greener simpler lifestyle. 

TO ENTER: Write down your plan on a (small) piece of paper, including your name and email or phone number and drop it off at The Better Good. At the end of February if you did what you set out to do - YOU WIN!  In addition we will draw two entries who will receive a Sustainability Kit ($50 value and all items are fully exchangeable for anything in the store more useful to you)

We hope you will have fun and feel empowered thinking about all the things you can do. Remember no action is too small to make a difference.

Start now! GO GREEN!!!

From all of us at ~The Better Good~

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:31:00 -0800 Next Up http://thebettergood.com/next-up http://thebettergood.com/next-up

We are so happy to be helping Saskatoon's Next Up program.  Your purchases at our shop directly translate to assistance for groups like this!  Thank you. 

Next Up is a leadership program for young people committed to social and environmental justice.

Nextup

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Fri, 02 Dec 2011 14:20:00 -0800 Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op http://thebettergood.com/core-neighbourhood-youth-co-op http://thebettergood.com/core-neighbourhood-youth-co-op

We believe CNYC is making a difference in Saskatoon and are proud to be able to financially support them. As always - Thanks to our community for the ongoing support that allows us to support others!

The Core Neighbourhood Youth Co-op is a skills building and alternative education program for youth in Saskatoon. Youth are able to earn academic credits and learn life and employment skills in a compassionate and supportive environment.
Cnyc-letter

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Sun, 13 Nov 2011 19:25:00 -0800 TOMS HQ http://thebettergood.com/80053409 http://thebettergood.com/80053409

P1060285

I just got back from spending a few days in LA, it was awesome! The Better Good was chosen by TOMS shoes as one of only two Canadian retail stores to go down to Santa Monica, CA and spend a day at HQ. I didn't know quite what to expect but ended up having such a blast all day.  They did such a good job of making sure we had lots of fun and also got in a lot of info on the whole TOMS operation.  

Here is the TOMS shuttle van coming to pick me up at the hotel. I was joined by 4 wonderful people from Korea, 2 from the TOMS UK office and 1 more Canadian girl who owns a shop in Edmonton. 
P1060290
Arriving at TOMS HQ in beautiful Santa Monica!  It is so nice here and the warehouse/offices are a reasonable bike ride to the beach, shopping and the Santa Monica pier.  I am with Neeka, an intern in the international relations department. 

P1060272

I absolutely loved the work environment at TOMS, every employee has a cubicle made out of plywood which kind of sounds like it could be awful but it wasn't!  Every one was decorated and had lots of character and there were TOMS everywhere you looked being used for all kinds of things.  

P1060280

P1060278
Another awesome thing about the whole scene there is that there are no "corner offices" or other signs of hierarchy. Top executives,including the founder Blake Mycoskie, have their offices in the same space as everyone else, interns, new employees and heads of departments.  Also, there are no stuffy job titles that show rank of any kind.  Every employee has to have shoe in their title and they choose it themselves, such as Chief Shoe Giver or Punky Shoester. 
P1060282
The style-your-sole part of the day was so fun!! I was a bit worried because I am not at all artistic but I stuck to something simple and they turned out alright. After being a part of one, I am totally sold on style-your-sole parties.  We are definitely going to plan to do one at the shop and I would highly recommend calling us up if you want to have a super original, fun birthday party or any kind of party for that matter.  Here is some more info on the concept and remember kids can design shoes too!
P1060284
The rest of the afternoon was spent at a screening of the TOMS documentary (so good to get an understanding of the start-up of such an innovative company) By the way, we have a copy of the shop that we loan out so stop by if you want to bring it home for a night!
After that we got to meet with a representative of the giving department and I got to slam her with as many questions as I could come up with and there were lots!  I will do a separate post reporting back all of the nitty-gritty details of how, where, why TOMS give shoes and how they insure that their #1 goal "to give responsibly" is upheld.

We wrapped up the day with the TOMS weekly Friday after work Happy Hour!  They plan so many awesome incentives for employees, no wonder so many people have worked there since the very beginning.  Here are some of the fun things the staff take advantage of:  regular costume challenges, massage therapy appointments on fridays for any employee that signs up,  use of the TOMS shuttle vans and bikes, opportunity to go on a shoe drop and of course happy hour where there is an awesome spread of food and drinks and where the staff hang out and decompress after the work week.  

P1060287

Thanks for reading about my TOMS HQ experience!

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:49:00 -0700 Doctors Without Borders http://thebettergood.com/doctors-without-borders http://thebettergood.com/doctors-without-borders
via msfwarehouse.ca

Thanks to the ongoing support of our community we continue to be able to do great things like sending a surgeon on a 6 week mission. Thanks You!

A surgeon’s skills are urgently needed after disasters such as an earthquake, or in areas of active conflict where there are high numbers of casualties from violent attacks. Surgeons are often flown in by MSF with only a day’s notice, and will then work around the clock in small teams performing life-saving operations. Reconstructive specialists have gone on short missions to perform surgery on patients who have been badly injured in war. Surgical teams have also been established so that women can receive emergency obstetric procedures - such as C-sections and correction of obstetric fistulas - dramatically improving a woman’s quality of life. Surgical teams were also vital in MSF’s response to the earthquake in Haiti, performing over 11,000 operations in the first four months after the quake.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Wed, 26 Oct 2011 09:46:00 -0700 Real people voice concerns http://thebettergood.com/real-people-voice-concerns http://thebettergood.com/real-people-voice-concerns

By Rory MacLean

Elections are a time of many promises and the two major parties have a ready-made promise for every demographic. But instead of letting the parties simply take aim at nebulous interest groups this election, The StarPhoenix took to the streets to find the real people behind the numbers, asking them what they would like to see on the agenda - real people with real concerns brought directly to Saskatchewan Party Leader Brad Wall and NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter .

Today, The StarPhoenix spoke to Corey Neufeld, a Saskatoon small business owner and young father. Neufeld and his wife Laura are the co-owners of The Better Good in Saskatoon, a business that sells sustainable and fair-trade products, from bed sheets and household cleaners to chocolate and shoes.

Neufeld called on the leaders to describe what concrete actions they are planning to protect the environment long term by shifting away from coal toward renewable energy sources.

He also wanted to know what the leaders plan to do to promote social justice and find ways to help low-income people.

"That shouldn't be to the disadvantage of commerce ... but the first priority is people, not money, and I want to know what concrete actions they can take to steer our community and our province towards taking care of people in need."

Check out the video on TheStarPhoenix.com to see Neufeld's comments in his own words.

Following are the responses from the party leaders.

Sask. Party Leader Brad Wall's response:

To Corey Neufeld Over the past four years, the Saskatchewan Party government pursued a growth agenda - but growth is not the end goal. Our goal is to ensure that all Saskatchewan people share in the benefits of growth, to secure our province's future and to improve the quality of life of everyone in our province.

We have done this through taking 114,000 Saskatchewan people off the tax rolls, historic investments in highways and infrastructure, $200 million for the children's hospital and more. Our plan for the next four years focuses on growth and opportunity, making life more affordable, improving the quality of life of Saskatchewan people, and providing responsive and responsible government. There is more work to do, but today in Saskatchewan, our province is looking forward to the future with optimism and with hope.

Response from NDP Leader Dwain Lingenfelter:

Hi Corey, The NDP shares your concern about our environment and about making sure our electrical supply is clean and renewable.

Our commitment to Saskatchewan is to have 50 per cent of our electricity supply sourced from clean and renewable energy by 2025. It's ambitious and I will work as premier to make it happen. We're going to build 400 megawatts of wind power in our first term and also look at biomass, geothermal and solar energy sources to accomplish our goal.

To your second question, the NDP's platform is really about making sure our province's current economic fortunes are shared by everyone. That's why we've talked about using these resources to improve our health care, make post-secondary education more affordable, and expand accessible child care so that everyone, including low income citizens, benefit from Saskatchewan's resources.

Thanks for your questions Corey and good luck with your business.

© Copyright (c) The StarPhoenix
more: http://www.thestarphoenix.com/business/Real+people+voice+concerns/5606872/story.html##ixzz1buJQudTa

They didn't ask Green Party leader Victor Lau, so I did.  Here is his response.

Our Green Party is the only party promising to not only rapidly Green the Grid but also Ban nuclear waste and nuclear power. This is a key to the future; without these bans we will be stuck arguing these issues while others move forward or the world collapses.

As for social justice and poverty, our Green Party has the simplest and most elegant solution: legislate a Guaranteed Livable Income. www.livableincome.org

Countries like Brazil, India, some African nations have started implementation after test trials.  Alaska has it in a small form and pays it out annually. So does Iran.

I hope I've managed to address some of your concerns.

As you can see from our platform,  the Greens are a Party of social justice AND ecological concern.  It all goes hand in hand to create "ONE SASKATCHEWAN".

 

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:02:57 -0700 Movember TOMS http://thebettergood.com/movember-toms http://thebettergood.com/movember-toms
Movember

TOMS + Movember have collaborated once again to celebrate the importance of men’s health in children’s lives. Movember is a monthlong event to raise awareness for cancers and health issues affecting men, through the growing of a dashing moustache, or “Mo.” While TOMS focuses on the health and education of children in need, the role of healthy informed parents is also paramount to the wellbeing of children.  So grow a Mo’ and check out the new TOMS + Movember Botas and Classics, with proceeds going to the Movember Foundation. Available in Women’s sizes too, so everyone
can help change the face of men’s health.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:13:00 -0700 Best of Saskatoon http://thebettergood.com/best-of-saskatoon http://thebettergood.com/best-of-saskatoon

Thanks for voting us Saskatoon's best!

Locally owned Shop 

Place for Unique Finds

Environmentally Friendly Shop

Media_httpwwwplanetsm_hiavq

via planetsmag.com

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Thu, 20 Oct 2011 19:54:00 -0700 Holiday TOMS http://thebettergood.com/holiday-toms http://thebettergood.com/holiday-toms

New styles are now in!  All these and many more.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:13:01 -0700 Phone Books http://thebettergood.com/phone-books http://thebettergood.com/phone-books
Mysask-logo

Given the electronic options available to access phone numbers - the traditional phone book is becoming obsolete.  If you received one or possibly many copies of the new phone book but wish you had not you can call 653-6010 to let them know.

You can find local phone numbers online at www.mysask.com

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good Mon, 12 Sep 2011 10:36:29 -0700 Happiness! http://thebettergood.com/happiness http://thebettergood.com/happiness http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/09/20119494131282414.html

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/192325/roundstamp.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4bmS9D2cV4xr The Better Good The Better Good The Better Good