Save with Green Cleaners' Earth Hour challenge!

On 23 March, households and businesses will take part in turning off their non-essential lights for one hour to raise awareness about the need to take action on climate change.

Green Cleaners is celebrating Earth Hour 2013, by taking part in Earth Hour's new I WILL IF YOU WILL challenges - WE will be offering the promotions below if YOU commit to recycling!

Accept our challenge? Visit Earth Hour's YouTube channel, Sign in and commit to recycling at: http://goo.gl/RFZY1

Once we have 20 commitments, our offers will be available! While you're there, why not create your own IWIYW - email us the link and we'll support the best challenges on our social media platforms!

* Offer available once 20 commitments have been made. Kindly complete an online quotation form with the words 'Earth Hour 60' in the referral box. Offer ends 23/03/13. Subject to availability – please check for available dates early!

** Offer available once 20 commitments have been made. Kindly email your order to sales@greencleaners.asia with the subject heading 'Earth Hour 60'. Offer ends 23/03/13. Delivery charges may apply.

EARTH HOUR 2011 Singapore

Walk, walk, walk … in the dark

You are invited to the Earth Hour Party on Saturday 26 March.
Make your way down to the Promontory @ Marina Bay with your friends, family or workmates for an unusual evening in-the-dark.
This year, we are 100% fuelled by Alpha Biodiesel recycled from IKEA Restaurants' waste cooking oil. Well then, what's cooking ?

Earth Hour Live Concert and Carnival

From 5.30 pm, the Live Concert and Carnival starts.
The concert is supported by Café Diplo, and will be hosted by DJs from the official radio stations for Earth Hour 2011, Power 98FM and Jia 88.3FM. Singers like Jack & Rai, Syltra Lee, and many more will be taking the stage.

Make your own kite and personalise it with your wishes for a healthy planet.
You can also look forward to some educational games,craft activities, and discover how to do good while shopping!

Walk for the Planet!

At 8.30pm as the lights go out, we will flag off the first Earth Hour Night Walk as a symbolic march in support of our Planet. Walk alongside Earth Hour 2011’s celebrity supporters like Nadya Hutagalung and Tung Soo Hua. The 3.5 km route starts at the Promontory and traces the perimeter of Marina Bay, passing by landmarks such as Marina Bay Sands, the Esplanade Theatres On The Bay and One Fullerton.

Movie Screening

Can’t find the pair of walking shoes your grandma gave you on your last birthday? Fret not, stay on and watch Singapore’s skyline fade into the starry sky as well as a screening of the award winning documentary “The Age of Stupid”.

Spread the Word

Tell the world about your commitment and help us spread the message about the fight against climate change. Tell your friends and family about Earth Hour and ask them to join us. Download web banners for your blog, website or put up posters in your office, school or apartment block. You can download resources at http://earthhour.wwf.sg/downloads.php

Going Beyond Earth Hour

- First, you can start by using a fan instead of air-conditioning, and if you turn your air-conditioning on, remember to set the temperature at 24ºC or higher.

- Take the MRT, use your bike or walk, it can help you keep fit and reduce your ecological footprint.
Plan your holidays closer to home, there are so many beautiful places to discover nearby.

- Shop wisely, bring your own shopping bag, kindly turn down the cashier offer to wrap your stuff in 2 or 3 bags, and choose what you buy responsibly.

- Select items with minimum packaging, which are produced closer to Singapore to avoid unwanted emissions from shipping and moving goods around the world.

Is there such a thing as "fake green"??

In my work related research I have come across a very large number of business that declare themselves green or environmentally concious in their corporate social responsibility policy.

As a consumer it can be very hard to see through the smokescreen of a company's marketing strategy and figure out which companies are dedicated the reducing their carbon footprint and which companies are using a few green iniatives to attract the modern green consumer. Eco-friendly doesn't mean anything unfortunately marketers have figured out that people are willing to pay a premium, a little more, if it says eco on it. So sometimes it does even though it may not be eco-friendly at all.

I've seen companies using "supporter of Earth Hour" to promote their green iniatives. Excuse me!!! Swithcing off the lights for ONE HOUR every year does not make your company green. It's this kind of companies, I call "fake green". They support a public green initiative and use it as proof of their green-ness. Don't let this easy bought green initiatives fool you!!

There is actually an official term for the concept: Greenwashing: It’s greenwashing when a company or organisation spends more time and money claiming to be “green” through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimise environmental impact.

Make sure you look carefully next time you decide to buy green products. Spend some time researching the different companies before you make decide on the brand. There is plenty information available online - enough to enable you to make an informed decision!

What did you do during the Earth Hour?

I stayed home and sat in the dark!

I wanted to play hide and seek but my cats were all sleeping (yes, they do know the game) and my baby boy was fast asleep too but he can barely crawl anyway :) I looked out my window and saw that quite a number of my neighbours were sitting in the dark as well. The darkness and silence brought me back to my childhood days when my sisters and I used to play hide and seek (in pitchblack darkness) and had to play our little game without even as much as a squeek! As we did not want our parents to know that we were still playing when we suppose to be in la la land! So what did you do during the Earth Hour? Let us know what you were up to last night ;)

Tip of the day: Planning to wash your car today? Why not bring your car to the nearest drive-through wash in your area. You'll save more water this way than using your hose and doing it yourself. And drive-throughs are way more fun!

Its Earth Hour Today...

...so please do not forget the whole purpose of the Earth Hour. In my previous blog entry, I mentioned to you that Orchard Road is joining in on the Earth Hour and there will be a live music performance, star-gazing and other activities, depending on which mall you're heading to.



The Earth Hour is not about being in or enjoying a party, it's about creating awareness, it is actually about the Earth. We humans have rapidly deteriorated Earth's health and are continuing in doing so without a hint of guilt. Well the majority of us are not doing anything to help heal her or maybe are doing it just to be seen doing it. It's not about jumping on the bandwagon and hitching along for the ride. The people who really care for the Earth are actually hoping that this will catch on as a daily basis, where we incorporate it into our daily lives, not just a yearly ritual or occult.

You might be thinking 'at least people are joining in' but what is the point if it is once a year and people don't make it a habit to save electricity or recycle at the very least? Saving the Earth has to start in the home where you can teach the elder generations and of course our children on simple daily routines that will help Mother Earth and create a better and a more self-sufficient future for our future generation. We need to set them in the right direction so they will continue walking on the right path..

Tip of the day: Why not go a day doing something Earth friendly? Go for a walk in the park, have an eco-friendly picnic, go cycling or roller-blading in East Coast.. Enjoy an Eco-Friendly Saturday!

Earth Hour on Orchard Road

Its two more days to Earth Hour.

If you don't know what it is, it is a movement organised by the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) to demonstrate that with concerted efforts, mankind can make a difference in the fight against carbon emissions and climate change. More than 10 shopping centres, including new malls such as Ion Orchard, 313@Orchard, Orchard Central and Mandarin Gallery will switch off their facade and other non-essential lights for at least an hour starting from 8.30pm. Mrs Sng Ngoi May, Chairman of the Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA), said 'Switching off our lights is a simple act which sends out a powerful message.

During Earth Hour, our malls, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses on Orchard Road will be united with millions around the globe to demonstrate that in our own little ways, we can all make changes to reduce our total energy consumption. Many of the malls will also hold their own related activities and promotions for example, Wisma Atria will be holding a countdown to Earth Hour as well as star-gazing and polaroid picture-pledging, while capital land will hold an Earth Hour Lights-Out party with live performances at Ion Orchard.

I just hope that they will be using renewable energy for their live performances, if not it will defeat the purpose right.. Ms Amy Ho, Managing Director of WWF Singapore, said 'ORBA's pledge to join the Earth Hour switch-off is a resounding statement for Singapore staying true to it's commitment in joining the fight against climate change. We hope that this marks the first step towards longer term collaboration about educating shoppers on sustainable lifestyle and more environmentally friendly consumption practices.' Well I think Orchard Road should change their street lamps to solar-powered ones with the many street lamps and outdoor lightings they have and use. I'm sure they are able to afford it. I believe they can do more than just switching off their lights for an hour once a year.

Tips of the day: You're not suppose to feed your baby from the same food jar so I keep the old jars and instead of buying bowls for him, I reuse the glass jar as my baby's bowl :)

Counting down to Earth Hour - Less is More?

New Delhi will join 91 other countries in switching off their lights on the 27th of March at 830pm across the globe.

The Capital managed to save 700 megawatts (MW) during last year's Earth Hour. Monuments, government buildings, residential and commercial establishments switched off non-essential lights for an hour to save energy. Because of the success of last year's Earth Hour, Delhi's government decided to hold their own Earth Hour on the last Friday of every month. So when they started doing it monthly, the popularity of it dropped. With the enthusiasm dipping both for the campaign strength and the public response,the government has decided to keep it simple, and annual.

Hmmmmm.. so people, what do you guys think about "Delhi's experiment"? Are people doing the Earth Hour cos it's cool? Or do you think they really care? I mean, if it's non-essential lights, it's non-essential right? So why is it hard for people to actually save electricity every day? Is it like a chore to them? I understand the need for street lamps but buildings? Maybe for starters they slowly cut down the electricity usage by a quarter then half and so on. You know, like cold turkey hehe..Don't people miss the darkness of night? I know I do..

Tip of the day: REMEMBER TO OFF THE MAIN SWITCH WHEN NOT IN USE AND WHEN LEAVING THE HOUSE. Don't just wait for Earth Hour, start now..

Earth Hour is back! Show your support

In 2009 hundreds of millions of people around the world showed their support by turning off their lights for one hour.

Earth Hour 2010 will continue to be a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community. A call to stand up, to show leadership and be responsible for our future.

Pledge your support here and turn off your lights for one hour, Earth Hour, 8.30pm, Saturday 27th March 2010.

It’s Showtime! Show what can be done.

Earth Hour 2009 Round Up....

Landmarks around the world plunged into darkness in a global push to act on climate change.

Lights were turned off at 8.30pm local time to mark Earth Hour, organised by the WWF. To start the annual event, diesel generators were switched off on the Chatham Islands, a small archipelago off the east coast of New Zealand.

Lights then went out at Sydney's Opera House and Harbour Bridge. Asia followed with lights at landmarks in China, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines dimming as people celebrated with candle-lit picnics and concerts.

Other iconic landmarks falling into darkness this year include the Eiffel Tower, Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, Table Mountain in Cape Town, CN Tower in Toronto and the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas.

Among the landmarks taking part in Britain are Nelson's Column, the Forth Bridge, the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, and the London Eye. The public is also being urged to get involved in their own homes.

"We are sitting here near the harbour. There are about 60 or 70 people here having a picnic," an Earth Hour spokesman said in Sydney. The organisers suggested people in Britain took part with picnics, acoustic gigs and pub quizzes in the dark.

Earth Hour began in Sydney in 2007, when more than two million homes and businesses switched off their lights for an hour. A year later, 50 million people switched off their lights, with the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome's Colosseum and the huge billboard in Times Square, New York, all standing in darkness.

Switch off video;
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20090329/video/vwl-90-countries-take-part-in-earth-hour-d7f4ae7.html

Big switch off this Saturday!!

If you are planning a nice romantic dinner date come this Saturday, 28th of March, do make an 8.30pm reservation for a candle-lit dinner. As part of Earth Hour Singapore 2009, an impressive number of establishments (See here for full list - We're at number 49 :)), from businesses, hotels, shopping centres and buildings, have pledged to switch off part or all of their lights from 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

Green Cleaners are fully behind this campaign in the fight against climate change. Here's a few places you may wish to go to enjoy this amazing visual spectacle as part of a wonderful dining experience.
1. Take a trip down to the Singapore Flyer and partake in great Italian food at Senso Bistro. Expect great discounts, and at the same time witness some 400 volunteers light candles to form the phrase “We Vote Earth!” on the Forumula 1 Track just adjacent to the Singapore Flyer.
2. How about taking part in “The Longest Candlelight Dinner” at One-Ninety? At only $48++ per person, enjoy a 5-course meal prepared by Chef Bruno Correa.
3. Take a trip to the Dempsey Area, drop by Jones the Grocer, and pack yourself a nice picnic basket of cheeses and cold cuts. From there, take a nice, leisurely stroll down to the Singapore Botanic Gardens and enjoy a specially organised candlelight picnic and concert.

So do your part, and make your dinner date with Mother Earth today!

Earth hour is approaching!

We are 14 days away from the big 'switch off' and the number of organizations and individuals pledging their support for Earth Hour is increasing rapidly.
Globally, we have already exceeded our target of 1000 cities! 1,189 cities and towns across 80 countries are committed, with more coming on board everyday!
In Sydney, where Earth Hour began in 2007, every ferry in the city's harbour will even sound its horn at precisely 8:30pm to herald the beginning of Earth Hour in Australia.
Do your bit by spreading the word!

Earth Hour 2009 - Update!!

With eight weeks still to go, citizens, businesses and public authorities in 375 cities across 74 countries have already committed to turning off their lights for Earth Hour at 8.30 p.m. on March 28 in a show of support for action on climate change.

The list of cities confirming their participation in Earth Hour 2009 includes 37 national capitals and some of the great cities of the world, including London, Beijing, Rome, Moscow, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong, Dubai, Singapore, Athens, Buenos Aires, Sydney, Mexico City, Istanbul, Copenhagen, Manila, Las Vegas, Brussels, Cape Town and Helsinki.

Earth Hour 2009

This year, Singapore will officially take part in Earth Hour 2009, a global climate change campaign organised by the WWF.

On 28 March 2009 at 8.30pm, Singapore will join cities around the world to turn off their lights for one hour.Earth Hour 2009 has one major aim: to show every one in the society, individuals or businesses that it is possible to take action on global warming. The world can no longer wait; and the first step is as easy as turning off a light.

Here’s what you can do:Sign up for Earth Hour 2009 on www.earthhour.org/singaporeTurn off your office and household lights at 8.30pm Saturday March 28Spread the word and tell your friends, colleagues and customers about Earth Hour!!