Source: Flickr User Kevin Krejci
After last week’s frightening discovery of the “great Atlantic garbage patch” (yikes!) I wanted to remind us why it is so important to use natural, reusable products and share a few simple tips that can have a big impact.
We have to remember that every time we make a purchase, we are in essence, voting. Do we want more disposable products, processed food, petrochemical-filled shampoos, etc? Or do we want to have better choices for our bodies and the planet, like more organic options, natural cosmetics and reusable products? When we take away demand for the products that can be harmful, the market will shift accordingly.
After we address what goes on our bodies and what goes in our bodies, we need to focus on greening our everyday lifestyle choices. One area I wanted to improve this year was my use of “disposable” items, and I’m excited to share with you some of my new favorite reusable products. PeopleTowels offer stylish, reusable towels made of 100% organic, fair trade cotton and silk screened with eco-friendly dyes. I have stocked the kitchen and use them in my daughter’s lunch box instead of napkins. A small change like this can truly have a big impact: every day, over 3,000 tons of paper towel waste is produced in the U.S. alone! By switching to PeopleTowels for just 1 year, you personally save 1/4 of a tree, reduce landfill waste by 23 lbs. and conserve 250 gallons of water! Can you imagine what that means over a lifetime? To make this switch even easier, they are offering free shipping on all orders placed between April 12 and May 12, 2010. Put this on your ‘to do’ list of earth day activities!
Source: Flickr user Wagman 30
I was shocked to learn that each year Americans consume over 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps, contributing to the toxic contamination of waterways and the death of thousands of animals that mistake the bag pieces for food. So if you’re like me and you can’t leave home without an emergency snack, here’s a great alternative to plastic ziplock bags
-Reusable snack baggies! For dry snacks, check out Plum Creek Mercantile’s organic snack bags in green swirl and grey poppies.
Another option is Fresh Snack Pack’s PVC-free reusable plastic bags made with EVA, a type of plastic that is BPA and phthalate-free (the mono polymer construction allows for easy recycling where available). These are available in a sandwich size for $5.50 and a snack size for $4.50.
A few other quick reminders for Earth Day (and all year long!):
-Eat Less Meat. While I am far from a vegetarian, I try to be conscious of how much meat I’m eating. In the book, Eating Animals, the author points out that if you eat meat only one day less a week, it’s the equivalent of taking five million cars off the road. What a great excuse to eat more pasta!
-Switch to Fluorescent Bulbs. The process of generating electricity is the single largest source of industrial carbon dioxide emissions (the primary greenhouse gas) in the US. If every household in the US replaced incandescent bulbs with fluorescent bulbs in just one room, the nation would save 800 billion kilowatts of energy and keep one trillion pounds of greenhouse gases out of the air.
-Get your air vents cleaned! This inexpensive procedure helps to save money on energy bills and dramatically increases the quality of air you breathe in your home.
-When you buy paper products – buy recycled. The pulp and paper mill industry is one of the worst pollutants of air, water and land. Producing recycled paper causes 74 percent less air pollution, 35 percent less water pollution, and creates 5 times the number of jobs than producing paper from trees. It saves old-growth trees, forest eco-systems, native habitat and biodiversity.
Think of today as the day to start habits that will last all year long!
Tags: Natural & Organic
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