Green Products

Just a few years ago, the mention of recycled clothes and accessories would have garnered giggles or perhaps even puzzled looks. Few people stopped to consider all of the waste that was created by throwing away old garments. After all, thrift stores have space and quality restrictions that prevent them from accepting every last article of clothing. The resulting misfit clothes would just end up taking up space in a landfill.

But this is 2009, when eco-consciousness has become the norm. Recycled clothes have lost their stigma; in fact, they are in high demand in trend-setting circles. Recycled messenger bags balance fashion with function, offering cool kids an excellent means to transport their laptops to and from class. It’s truly amazing that through sheer innovation and creativity we can be a bit kinder to the earth.

As one of the earliest domesticated plant, hemp has many uses in our society. While it is, of course, associated with marijuana, it is therefore on the receiving end of many drug-related jokes. But hemp is always used for industrial, non-drug uses. To that end, hemp often creates products in a much more natural and less carcinogenic manner. One of the major examples is hemp paper. While tree-based paper releases dangerous byproducts, the same cannot be said of hemp paper.

Hemp is also associated with a more eco-friendly plastic, food, fuel, and even textiles. This last category is particularly prevalent. To that end, hemp is used in tee-shirts, shorts, and many other kinds of clothing. There are even hemp purses for the stylish and eco-conscious individual. And these particular individuals can even apply hemp cosmetics after sporting that stylish hemp bag.

One of the most important steps to creating an eco-friendly lifestyle is making it fun for everyone involved. This means it can’t all be about sacrifices and conserving. One of the best ways to demonstrate to people what recycling can do is through recycled purses. These purses are often made from products such as the inner tubes of bicycle tires. They can also be made from the fabric of clothing that has long been discarded or forgotten.

A recycled purse can be elaborate or simple, plain or decorative. But whatever the end result ends up looking like, it’s a great lesson that trash can be tailored into something useful and beautiful. Carrying one of these purses is sure to be its own kind of fashion trend. Not only will the specific styles and patterns be considered trendy, but the overall idea of wearing recycled gear can catch on as its own trend.

Exercise every effort in keeping our environment clean. Advocate the use of eco-friendly products such as recycled bags. These days, bags made from juice foil/plastic containers are becoming a popular fashion trend among environmental advocates. These products are created using tetra-pack containers that are sewn together to create nice and trendy bags.

Refuse bringing goods home in disposable plastic bags. Always carry a recycled bag or tote every time you go out of the house. Keep this ready to contain whatever things you shop for to eliminate the need of bagging goods in non-biodegradable containers. Know that plastics are very harmful to the environment and we should minimize its use as much as possible.

Seven days to go green and save money. If that’s what you’re looking to do, not change your lifestyle this is for you.

To start off the with, I’m going to give you something simple to do.

These are the easy  things you can do.These seven days will put you well on your way to a greener, healthier home and way of life. But it’s  only a start.

Let’s get started! I want you to start by taking a shorter shower. The average home uses 15% of it’s energy in heating water. Taking a 5-minute shower instead of lolli-gagging and taking a 20-minute shower will improve your power bill and the amount of water you use, which is another benefit for the environment.

You could go all out and take a cold shower, but the title is 7 simple days, and taking a cold shower isn’t very simple.

The other way to save water heating energy is to only turn on the dishwasher when it’s full. Tonight, instead of turning on that dishwasher right away, peek in there and see if you could add some items before turning it on. Again, you’re saving water on top of your water heating bill.

Same goes for washing clothes. Only here, you can cut out hot water all together. Using cold water for laundry saves on average $63 a year. And there are detergents  specially formulated for cold water that get your clothes the same amount of clean.

While you’re over switching your washer to cold/cold, turn the hot water heater down. What do you have it on now, hot? It should be set to warm, which is somewhere between 120-140 degrees. Can’t tell? Hold a thermometer under your sink and see what it reads– anywhere over 120 degrees is too hot.

That’s it for day one! See– simple, quick, and didn’t cost you a penny.

• Take a shorter shower
• Turn on the dishwasher only when full
• Wash clothes in cold water instead of hot
• Turn the temp on your hot water heater down

Do this, and you’ll see the results on next month’s power bill, and water bill. I will post Day 2 soon for an Organically Green Lifestyle.

Greening Your Business:
 There are many reasons to carry your Green Practices into your workplace and into the way you run your business. When you choose to share positive options that make our world safer, cleaner and more naturally enjoyable, you promote a better life for everyone.

Your can remind your clients and business associates how they can make a difference each day, and that you and your company are thinking green.

20 Quick Tips on How to “GREEN” Your Business

1. Use the backside of printed documents for scratch paper.
2. Re-label manila folders and re-use.
3.  Save and reuse packaging materials such as boxes, envelopes, boxes, bubble-tape, and Styrofoam filler.
4. Purchase refillable pens and pencils.
5. Reuse paperclips, folders, binders, and other organizational supplies.
6. Install a water filtration system and encourage employees to refill their own containers rather than drinking out of plastic bottles.
7. Provide all employees with reusable stainless steel water bottles.
8. Implement and enforce a recycling program with various bins clearly labeled and effectively managed. List separate containers for plastic, glass, paper, cans, compost & trash.
9. Buy large bulk containers of coffee, cream and sugar, and then put in smaller containers.
10. Reduce the use of plastic and one-use items such as paper/plastic cups, plastic utensils, napkins, stir sticks, etc.
11. Encourage employees to bring their own coffee mugs to reuse and keep at their desk.
12. Provide reusable plates, silverware and glasses, and then each person are responsible for washing their own kitchenware.
13. Provide cloth napkins and hand towels rather than disposable ones.
14. Organize potluck lunches and encourage employees to share with others.
15. Find secondary and even tertiary uses for products you would otherwise throw away.
16. Convert all power strips/surge protectors to the Smart Strip.
17. Change all lighting to CFL bulbs or LED lighting.
18. Create company newsletter with green tips, eco-news, classified ads for buy, sale or trade, green resources, co-op shopping, etc.
19. Offer incentives for green efforts for employees with contests and prizes
20. Offer public transportation passes or incentives for carpooling

Educate Employees on How to Live a Greener Life

For those of you in the Phoenix Metropolitan area, schedule a “Green Awareness Day” and bring in one of our green experts to speak to your staff on what it means to go green with education on green living and how we can all make a difference on our environment and the future of our planet with simple every day choices.

Reduce the Use of Paper : The average worker uses 1,000 sheets of paper each month-and the vast majority of those pages end up in the trash (or the recycle bin) within a few days of being printed. Think before you print (do you REALLY need to print out a 3 page memo just for the phone number in the signature line?), and be sure that when you do print a document that you make it double-sided.

BYOL: Bring your lunch to work! Brown bagging it takes a little more time and energy, but the benefits are worth it! You’ll be saving gas (no need to drive to grab take-out), reducing your trash (no wasteful packaging for single-serve items out of the vending machine), and eating healthier (better organic and locally-grown options). Try our reusable Organic Canvas Lunch Bag or the Stainless Steel Lunch Container .

spend Less $$ on Gas : One of the biggest monthly expenses is the amount we spend on fuel to get to and from work. With the ridiculously high prices of gas, consider alternate transportation such as carpooling with co-workers, riding your bike, walking, or take the bus, train or light rail system.

AND REMEMBER TO REDUCE… REUSE… RECYCLE

As everyone knows, California has stricter laws governing emissions than the country as a whole. And as an effect, 12 other states have adopted their stricter emissions laws.

Now, California is requesting they be able to make their standards even stricter. What they’re proposing is to cut greenhouse gases by one third by the year 2016– “double the reductions that would be achieved by the new fuel economy standards contained in last year’s energy bill, the best the federal government has been able to do so far.”

So what’s the hold up on allowing California to do so? Well, you see, what had happened was…

Even though the Bush administration is now admitting that, well, there might be something to this whole greenhouse gas thing, they are still stuck on not doing anything about it. Why do we keep getting stumped by the fed?

Rachael Levenson

Recycling gold allows you to live green in more than one way. Generate additional income this month while supporting a healthy environment at the same time.

By recycling old gold such as old jewelry and gold casting, you are limiting the demand for new production of gold. Although modern advances have lead to safer mining of gold, threats to the environment still exist.

For example, some miners use cyanide and mercury to divide gold from rock. These chemicals are usually inhaled by the miners themselves, posing risks to their health. Furthermore, these chemicals may spread into the surrounding ecosystem, polluting rivers and vegetation.

The reduction of gold mining lessens the use of these chemicals and the amount of explosives used to break new ground during the mining process. These explosives are also damaging to surrounding communities.

In 2007, the United States was responsible for producing an astounding 255 metric tones of gold. Second only to China who produced 276 metric tons of gold and South Africa who produced 272 metric tones.

The good news is that being environmentally conscious has its rewards. With the rising price of gold, the gold recycling industry has been booming with people trading in their dusty gold for profit.

You may be surprised to find the numerous places where you may find gold. Remember that ugly piece of jewelry from a past boyfriend? Or the old broach you received from your dear Aunt many years ago? By just looking in a jewelry box, many women may find dusty jewelry that they haven’t worn in ages. Jewelry is the most obvious source of gold but many would be surprised to know that gold may be found in old computer parts, old castings and in some foreign coins.

Before you sell gold to a gold buyer, be sure to do your research well. For example, find out if the company is a member of the Better Business Bureau and how long they have been in good standing. Also, ask your gold buyer of their experience in the industry. You want to be sure that your transaction is safe, easy and profitable.

When more of us recycle gold, we are preserving our gold resources for future generations and helping to promote a healthier environment.

Posted by William Bryant as More Green

This is a very very important video for anyone who’s on this site to watch.

Why is recycling and zero waste and being careful about how the products you buy affect those who make them and buying from local stores instead of big box stores and buying organic foods and being wary of toxins and achieving sustainability period important?

This movie brings some scary but true facts to the table. It outlines our process that is most prevelant here in the U.S. that is so destructive to our world. Greed has carried us thus far and it has ruined our lives. But we’re too busy to notice it or worry about it. We’ve let it into our homes. But we can make the change.

Following the simple steps to green available on this site will help tremendously, but they are essentially designed to lead you down the road to life-altering sustainability awareness.

We’re playing on the green buzzword in hopes you’ll realize it’s much more than that. That it’s absolutely essential to our survival.

Watch the movie here.

Reduce, reuse, and recycle.  Those three words are the most commonly used terms to help our environment.  With people throwing away tons of garbage every day, it really is necessary to do everything possible to help save planet Earth.  It really isn’t hard to do.  You just have to be more diligent in doing things around the home.  And you just have to patronize companies that help reduce waste.

One product that you might not expect to be recycled is the tire.  You can even make recycled purses out of them.  And they look fashionable too.  Who would have thought that your tires can be more than just tires?  Of course, there are many more things that can be recycled.  It is up to your imagination to think of alternative uses for items we would otherwise throw away.  Let’s do our share in protecting and preserving our environment.  Remember, our children will live in the same world.  Let’s make it better for them.