6.27.2008 8:16 AM

The Democratic National Convention Wants to Party Green

But It's Hard to Find Organic Fanny Packs and Biodegradable Balloons

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The Democratic National Convention in 2004. This year the convention will boast recycled signs and biodegradable balloons.

Photo: AP Photo / Charlie Neibergall

By Gloria Dawson

Denver's mayor, John Hickenlooper, posed a challenge to the Democratic National Party: "Make this the greenest convention in the history of the planet," the Wall Street Journal reports.

As anyone who has tried to throw a sustainable party would know, this proved to be a challenge. So much so that the committee hired a Director of Greening and an Official Carbon Adviser, among others, to research ways to green the event. The Director of Greening is Andrea Robinson, a longtime environmental activist, whose challenges are many, not the least of which are finding organic fanny packs (made in the U.S.A. by union labor) and biodegradable balloons (she didn't trust the label so she buried the balloons herself to see that they would break down).

Any green party planner could take some tips from Robinson, although she will also have 900 volunteers working specifically to ensure that every fork, knife and spoon falls into the correct bin for recycling, a luxury most could not afford. The convention will take place at Denver's Pepsi Center, which will be outfitted with energy-efficient lights. The signs at the event will be made from post-consumer recycled or biodegradable materials and will be recycled afterward.

The culinary rules for the convention are: local, organic and nothing fried. And the local caterers, restaurateurs and hotel managers are preparing by attending "greening classes" given by the mayor, who believes green is "the new patriotism."

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