Posts Tagged ‘green shopping’

Why and When Should You Buy Eco Friendly Products?

Feb 11, 2010 Environmentally Friendly

If you’re concerned about climate change, pollution or other damage we’ve done to the environment as a species, you’ve probably thought about how you can be more eco friendly. Shopping habits probably immediately come to mind. Those organic bamboo sheets look awfully nice, perhaps?

Should you be buying them?

There’s a right and a wrong way to go about buying eco friendly products. Certainly if it’s something you need, get the eco friendly version whenever possible.

But if you’re just replacing something you already own, think more carefully.

It’s good to buy eco friendly when you’re shopping, but that doesn’t mean you can just shop for whatever you want. Even eco friendly is not an excuse for consumerism.

You also want to be aware of greenwashing. So many products claim to be green, but the claims are pretty thin. Many of these claims aren’t regulated and can be put on just about anything. Don’t assume that terms such as “natural”, “green”, “nontoxic” and similar terms mean much at all. “Organic” and “recycled” are much better terms as there is some oversight on them.

You can also research the claims online. Companies that are offering products they claim are eco friendly will probably share details online, even if there’s not much information on the packaging. If not, you can probably get some good information just by searching on the product name. It’s amazing what some people can find out and will share quite freely.

Certification is good to look for too, so long as it’s a real one such as Energy Star for saving electricity.

For personal care products, check out Skin Deep’s Cosmetic Database. You’ll find out if the products have a lot of unsafe ingredients.

Do buy foods, personal care products and cleaning products in eco friendly versions when possible or make your own. These are things you use up and so you’ll probably be buying pretty regularly.

Don’t go replacing perfectly good but non-eco-friendly products just because you want the green version. If it’s still good it’s probably more green to keep it than to replace it even with the eco version. If you do get rid of things that can still be used, make sure they head to a thrift store, get sold at a garage sale or are offered on Freecycle. Someone else may still appreciate what you don’t want anymore.

There’s a balance to be had in buying more eco friendly products and in being too much of a consumer. Keep an eye on your habits so that you don’t fall into that trap.

Tags: , , ,

First Week with the Organic Produce Club

Jan 11, 2010 Eco Friendly Home

As I noted in my post for the One Small Change challenge, I joined an organic produce buying club, and this past Saturday was our first pick up. It went pretty well, except I forgot my reusable bag and our produce had to just rattle around in the trunk. Not quite ideal.

But the produce looked and looks mostly good. A small container of blueberries was included, which delighted the kids. The selection was pretty good, including some fresh cilantro and some other herbs along with the vegetables and fruit.

The organic carrots are gone already. One of my nieces came for a visit over the weekend. She’s an exceptionally picky eater but has learned to love carrots. At home she always gets those “baby” carrots that I’ll admit are quick and convenient, but lack any other advantages.

She loved the organic carrots. Nice, whole, just wash and eat carrots. It was really good to see that she could cope with them looking different from what she gets at home because that’s very often a big issue for her. And now her parents know that they can just buy her regular carrots if they want.

The produce included some collard greens, which I’m not so familiar with, but that’s a part of the plan, to have to figure out how to use certain foods. I didn’t want to do that this weekend with the picky eater possibly demotivating my kids, but now it’s all fair game!

I don’t know if we’ll make it out every week or so… that’s something I still have to discuss with my husband. The price is good for organic produce, I must say. We’ve been eating conventionally grown produce so long that the price difference is still there, and on our budget I do have to think about that. But we’re definitely doing more weeks. The exposure to different foods is worth it, as is supporting local farms with at least part of the purchase and getting organic produce.

Tags: , , ,

Are You Ready for a Green Christmas Shopping Season?

Nov 23, 2009 Going Green

The holiday season is perhaps one of the most difficult times to be green. There are so many temptations to shop, shop, shop… and so many of the temptations are such poor choices for the environment. These are some of my thoughts on how to green things up just a little.

Avoid Black Friday Crowds

Admittedly, I have a long standing bias against Black Friday shopping. Comes from even before I thought much about the environment. Too many years working in retail and dealing with Black Friday crowds from the other side.

But it’s really ridiculous to fight the crowds that are so common on that day. To me there’s no Christmas present so important that I have to deal with that nonsense. The bargains are nice, but if you really need them, do consider that there’s Cyber Monday and you could just shop online. It can be more efficient. Sites such as Amazon are even starting “Black Friday” deals today and you might find something reasonable in their special deals.

Carpool if You Just Gotta

If you need to fight the crowds, think if any friends want to go shopping with you. It’s more fun, although you may have to be careful if you tend to buy more when you shop with friends.

And don’t worry about how good a parking space you get. A little extra walking isn’t going to be that much of a problem.

Think About What is Wanted and Will Last

Try not to buy gifts just to have something to give. It’s an easy mistake to make when you’re desperate for something to give, but it also results in a lot of unnecessary junk being bought.

Instead, think about gifts that really will last. It doesn’t have to be perfectly practical, but have some thought behind it.

If you don’t want to give something that lasts, think about free trade chocolates, organic produce gift baskets and such.

For the Kids?

Even kids who spend some time thinking about the environment are likely to want the latest trendy toys. It’s hard to blame them. There are a lot of really cool toys out there.

At the very least, think about if the toys you buy will have more than a momentary fascination for your kids. How many end up eternally in the toy box after a few days?

There are some great toys for kids that are more environmentally friendly too. Try to balance things out as best you can for them.

Tags: , , , ,

Is the Trouble of Going Green Worth It?

Sep 21, 2009 Going Green

One of the reasons I hear sometimes for not worrying about how a particular person can be more environmentally friendly in their day to day life is that the difference isn’t big enough. Some people feel that we need the big corporations to take steps first, and that should be the focus.

No doubt, that would be a wonderful thing. But it’s not exactly easy to convince big corporations to do such things without a pretty impressive social movement behind it. They’re businesses, after all. It’s easier for them to do things that make money than for currently abstract ideas of what will happen if they don’t make changes.

Yes, your individual changes and sacrifices only make the smallest of differences when big ones are needed. But they’re a part of what it takes to make those bigger changes.

Admittedly, not all the changes are exactly ideal. There’s more pressure for companies to carry organic goods, for example, and so the standards for organic have changed and been made easier to reach.

“Green” goods get marketed more so that people can play at being green while enjoying their usual shopping habits without really looking at whether or not the product is needed or produced in a way that is minimally damaging to the environment.

There’s a reason why green consumerism is a bit of a problem.

On the plus side, individual interest is probably a big part of why reusable shopping bags are so easy to find now. Many of the stores I go to even have more interesting ones now than the plain ones with a simple store logo on them.

Not to mention government rules protecting the environment. The rules may get weakened and strengthened depending on the party in office, but at least they’re there!

In so many ways you can say that if we individuals don’t care, there will never be a reason for corporations or governments to care. And if they don’t care, they won’t change. And if they won’t change, what will?

It can be frustrating dealing with people who don’t see how their small contributions can add to your small contributions can add to other people’s small contributions. But the difference is more than just the carbon you produce, the plastic you avoid and so forth. It’s the momentum built.

Tags: , , ,

6 Ways Cutting Back is Good for Your Family

Jun 10, 2009 Budget Environmentalism

Like a lot of families, we’ve had to cut back this past year and a half or so. Not that we were extravagant in the past, far from it. But like a lot of families, our income is down this year, and the need to save still more has hit pretty hard.

Really, it’s good for us. Even if you’re lucky enough to not have to cut back, it’s probably good for your family too.

1. More time playing as a family at home.

Family game nights have long been a good idea. When you don’t have the money to spend on going to the movies or taking vacations, they’re a good way to still have some family fun.

Games can be active too. Tag, hide and seek and so forth don’t have to just be for the kids.

2. You find out just how great deals can be at thrift stores.

This has been gaining in popularity as more people realize that great clothes and other things are available for low prices through thrift stores.

This can also help if you have kids who are really into trendy clothes. You probably won’t get the most trendy stuff, but you can often find the right names at thrift stores. If you find clothes that are clearly barely worn or even still have their tags on them, it’s a lesson on how much people can waste just on wardrobe.

There’s no rule saying kids have to have the trendiest clothes, after all. That can be a painful lesson for some people, especially if all their friends are really trendy, but it’s a great lesson to learn.

3. Gardening is good for you.

Especially organic gardening. Once things are going, you can earn back your investment in fresh, better than from the grocery store produce. Plus you get exercise working in the garden.

Try to get the whole family involved. My kids have an absolute obsession with planting seeds, most of which don’t come up because they start forgetting to water them.

Besides, it’s fun telling kids that yes, they may snack off the tomato vines, beans or peas. Having kids beg for something healthy is great.

Plus you can give great lessons in sharing by having the kids give the excess to neighbors.

4. Doing it yourself encourages creativity.

Whether it’s sewing, knitting, home repair, cooking, making play dough or other such things, it’s good to know how to do it yourself. Making things builds an appreciation for them. Kids especially love the feeling of knowing that they made something by themselves.

For example, I’ve promised my daughter that I’ll teach her some basic sewing this year. Not the sewing with yarn kits that she has done with her grand mother, real sewing. She’s really excited by the notion, especially since we might just haul out the sewing machine once we’ve done some basic hand sewing. It doesn’t really save money compared to thrift store shopping, but for the pride of  “I made that!” it can’t be beat.

5. Simpler family outings can be a good thing.

Most of our family outings involve hiking, a wonderful free activity. It also helps to build an appreciation for nature. If you aren’t good at naming plants, try checking out a local nature guide from the library. You might be amazed at what grows wild in your area.

6. You can save a lot of money.

Some ways to cut back will cost extra at first, such as starting a garden, but in the long run should pay off.

It’s not always easy to cut back, but both financially and environmentally speaking it’s often a great choice. Keep in mind the differences between frugal, cheap and green, so that you can focus on which matters most to you.

Tags: , ,

Older Entries
14 queries. 0.726 seconds