1.       What is the seafood? 

Pick a type of fish that is not endangered or overfished.  Check out which types of fish or seafood reproduce quickly, squid for example is a great choice in that it has a short life span and reproduces after a year.  Squid at the moment is able to withstand heavy fishing. 

2.       Is it wild caught or farm raised?

Farm raised fish like salmon increases the spread of disease and increases water pollution. Choose wild fish rather than farm raised.

3.       Where is the seafood from?

Certain regions practice safer fishing techniques and do not catch fish that are on the endangered species list.  Shrimp caught in the U.S. for instance, are more environmentally friendly because the methods American fishermen use, do not destroy mangroves, a growing problem with catching shrimp overseas.

4.        How is it caught?

The way the fish is caught is critical because some fishing practices can kill marine life and damage the environment.  Troll and poll-caught fish are two fishing techniques that are less harmful to the environment.

Some of these questions may be difficult to answer.  As an aid, I downloaded and printed a sustainable fish pocket guide that I keep in my wallet. It’s small and is easy to use.  I often reference it when trying to decide which type of seafood to purchase, I highly recommend using one.  Go sustainable the next time you buy seafood!

            When it’s hot and you have walked four miles, the one thing you want most is water! Instead of handing out thousands of disposable bottles of water to passer-bys, which would be used once and then thrown away into a landfill, we decided to go with another option.  We gave away thousands of reusable water bottles that could be used for many years. In addition to being reusable, we chose to go with bottles that can also be recycled.  Typically water bottles are made using # 5 plastic; however, these are made with PETE # 1 plastic, which is one of the types of plastic that is accepted by most recycling centers. Reusable water bottles are a great solution to help reduce excess waste. 

            Krill are shrimp like crustaceans that are vital to the ocean’s eco system.  Many marine animals such as penguins, seals, and whales depend upon this little crustacean as their primary food source.  In recent years, the growing popularity of krill has resulted in a decline in marine life in the areas where krill is most fished.  In response to their decision, Whole Foods states, “Consequently, at present we are choosing to discontinue the sale of krill supplements as we continue to evaluate this emerging research. Please consider alternatives to krill oil supplements such as fish oil or astaxanthin supplements.”

            Ditch krill and go for squid! Squid are the perfect alternative to krill and other unsustainable omega-3 products.  These little creatures have a short lifespan of one to three years, and reproduce rapidly at a young age. CardioTabs Ocean Safe Omega-3 is one of the only supplements made from sustainable squid.  In addition to their rapid reproduction rates, squid are a more environmentally friendly choice because they are caught using jig gear.  Using jig gear means there is almost zero by-catch and our delicate ocean ecosystems are not damaged.

             I love our new office; we have a spectacular view.  The best part of all is our new building has its own recycling program! As you know, I pushed the management of the previous location for months to establish some type of recycling program, but was unsuccessful.  Now we can recycle more than just paper! I always felt guilty throwing away trash that could be recycled; I’m happy I can actually do something instead of feeling just guilty. The new recycling program accepts paper, aluminum cans, plastic, and even cardboard boxes.  We have already accomplished one of our “Earth Day Resolutions,” now on to the next!

      Did you know that before 1970, there were no environmental regulations on factories or businesses? They could dump as much waste and emit as much pollution into the environment as they wanted to. Senator Gaylord Nelson in 1970 created Earth Day to demonstrate to the government that making environmental changes needed to be a top priority. On the first Earth Day on April 22nd, 1970 an estimated 20 million Americans protested across the United States. The demonstrations were a success, and made an impact on Congress. In December 1970, Congress took their first step towards change by developing the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to help create new regulations.

      Why do we celebrate Earth Day? Well, I look at it as a “Green” New Years Day. Earth day helps us to take a step back from our chaotic lives and reflect on the environment and the changes we have made during the past year. It also gives us the opportunity to make green New Year’s resolutions. We have many goals we would like to accomplish at CardioTabs in order to reduce our waste. One of our goals is to have all of our CardioTabs bottle labels printed on 100% recycled post consumer waste paper. We are also working hard to create a better recycling program. Every green step counts! What are some of your green resolutions?  How are you going to celebrate Earth Day?

As you may have seen recently in the news, many fish oil companies and suppliers have failed to meet California’s Proposition 65 PCB standard, which states that PCB levels should not exceed 90 nanograms a day. There’s no need to worry if you take CardioTabs Omega-3 fish oil or CardioTabs Ocean Safe Omega-3! These pure fish oil supplements meet both the World Health Organization’s and California’s proposition 65 standards for 12 toxic PCBs. In fact, we are gold-certified in heavy metals testing by a nationally-recognized third-party laboratory.

Typically the smaller the fish, the less mercury and contaminants the fish contains. Larger fish tend to live longer, which causes them to absorb more contaminants. CardioTabs Omega-3 fish oil is derived anchovy, sardines, and squid while the oil in CardioTabs Ocean Safe Omega-3 is extracted only from squid. Heavy metals and contaminants that are found in these short-lived sea creatures are purified using molecular distillation; the only method that removes PCBs, heavy metals (such as mercury, lead, and cadmium), DDT and other contaminants to below detectable levels for human consumption. Don’t question the safety of your fish oil; choose a brand you can trust!

It has been an extremely daunting task hunting for suppliers online. I have started a spreadsheet of all of the companies that look promising. The problem that I am running into is the price. Many of the companies I have found charge close to double the price of a standard box for a 100% recycled post consumer waste one. I am determined to find a company that offers these green packaging materials at roughly the same price we are paying now. I’m sure one exists; I just need to find it! I’ll keep you posted on what I find out.

Fish depletion has become an issue that we all need to pay attention to. If the current fishing and consumer consumption rates continue, it is expected that many of our fish stocks may be completely depleted by 2048. This is not to say that we have to give up fish completely or that we have to discontinue taking our fish oil supplements. No, this means that we need to start picking fish that are more sustainable so that the endangered fish species can replenish themselves.

CardioTabs Ocean Safe Omega-3 is a great way to go green. This new omega-3 supplement is made from sustainable calamari. Every year, 2 million tons of calamari is caught and used for the production of calamari rings and filets. 200,000 tons of calamari also goes unused and is completely wasted. Ocean Safe Omega-3 utilizes this waste by extracting high quality omega-3 oil, which helps prevent unnecessary waste. Calamari is sustainable because of their short one to two year lifespan and their ability to reproduce at a very young age. Calamari is also caught in one of the most eco-friendly ways using jig gear, which is virtually zero bycatch. Jig gear does not come into contact with the ocean floor, so it does not damage the delicate ecosystems found there. I am very excited about this new product, and love that it provides vitamin D-3. I also don’t get any fishy burps (an added bonus in addition to being green)!

CardioTabs has longed to go green for quite some time, but with financial constraints, it has been extremely difficult. However, we understand our impact on the environment is crucial. Over the next several months, you will notice some exciting new changes we are making here at CardioTabs as we pursue our green passion. We are going to find affordable ways to reduce our carbon foot print. We hope that the changes we make will inspire you to do the same. I will keep you updated on our journey to go green. How would you like to see CardioTabs become more environmentally friendly? We’d love to hear from you.