What are some of your favorite organic or green products?
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010 at
12:22 pm
I’m starting to get into going green and using organic products. So far, I use organic shampoo, makeup, lotions, soap, etc. I light soy candles (which smell better than regular candles, btw), and I just recently bought a recycled stainless steel waterbottle that is supposed to promote "going green".
What are some of your organic or "green" favorites?
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Tagged with: btw • lotions • makeup • organic products • organic shampoo • soap • soy candles • stainless steel • waterbottle
Filed under: Natural Living
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I use glad rags for my period. they last 5+ years and I have no weird chemicals touching my body nor pads to landfill (the average woman throws out 230 pounds of feminine hygiene products in her life time
I air/line dry my clothing year round.
I buy only energy star appliances when I replace things (I have replaced a computer, fridge, windows, printer, water softener, front loading washing machine and water heater in the past 3 years).
I keep my thermostat set at 60F in winter and do not use air conditioning in summer.
My house is well insulated for an older house (it could use more but I am working on that. So far I have spent about $2000 on energy savings improvements and have saved over 2 years about $800 so this will pay for itself in another 2 years). And the house is much more comfortable-no drafts.
I grow my own food.
I have a green business (I own and operate a small organic farm that sells produce direct to the public via a CSA , farm store and farmers market-http://www.boulderbeltfarm.com).
I do not use a vehicle daily and when I go into town I combine trips so I have at least 5 errands to do.
Food that I do not grow I try to buy from other local farmers and about 90% of my diet is local.
I can and freeze food for the off season so I can easily eat locally year round.
I make my own cleaning agents out of items such as vinegar, baking soda, salt.
I do not buy paper towels but use cloth rags/towels to clean up messes.
I do not buy multi-ply, quilted toilet paper and buy such made from recycled 40% post consumer paper.
I do not use paper plates.
I reuse all plastic bags at least 10 times
I eat vegetarian meals at least 10 times a week and try to have at least 2 meatless days.
I buy food at farmers markets/support other local farms
When I eat out I go to locally owned businesses over national chains.
I buy clothing at consignment shops
I buy useful and beautiful items at auctions (the ultimate in reduce, reuse, recycle) I try to buy used as often as possible.
I recycle most of my trash. My family produces under 1 trash can of waste that is land filled a week. The rest is composted, burned or sent to the recycling center
I do not buy bottled water
I pay attention to packaging and will not buy over packaged products and try to buy plastic that can be recycled (#1, #2 and #4)
A note on organic cosmetics, there are very few truly organic soaps and make-up brands out there. You see, organic is regulated by the USDA. Cosmetics and body care are regulated by the FDA which has no organic standards. So as the law reads currently, anything regulated by the FDA can carry the word organic on the label even if they have zero organic ingredients. Items regulated by the FDA cannot be certified organic. Anything regulated by the USDA cannot carry the word organic on the label without using certified organic ingredients and in the case of non processed foods the farm they came from has to be certified organic. See http://www.organicconsumers.org for a lot more about this and a list of which cosmetics and body care items really are organic (it is a shockingly short list). See http://www.ams.usda.gov/nop for the organic regulations
Soy candles are not as green as beeswax candles-find a beekeeper and they should have real bees wax candles which have a nice mild sweet aroma and you will be supporting a local business which is incredibly green.
green bell peppers i addict eating those right now.
I like my veggies I grow myself. They are loaded with minerals and boost your sex drive.
My heirloom tomatoes.
1) Money
2) Green Beer on St. Patrick’s Day
Good for your for "going green"! Physicians Formula has some great organic makeup. I’m also a fan of Burts Bees and Toms of Main. Nature Source is a great supplier of organic cleaning products. Seventh Generation also produces green dish soap, laundry detergent, household cleaners, diapers and even papers supplies! Many name brand companies such as Johnson and Johnson are also coming out with environmentally friendly versions of products such as windex. If you shop around you can find many organic products at a reasonable price. Good luck!
Going green is easy, there are so many great resources about the subject. My personal favorite is "The Green Book" which has parts of its book online as well at http://www.readthegreenbook.com.
As I have been striving to "Go Green" I realize it is like stepping back in time without getting rid of my modern conveniences. I’m doing many things I learned as a child, like line drying my clothes, sweeping instead of vacuuming, opening the windows in the morning to catch the cool breeze, only buying what I need instead of everything that looks cool, growing some of my own food, and canning what I can’t eat now.
To me "going Green" is a frame of mind. Do what fits your lifestyle and do the easy things first, it is a process and like dieting if you go to radical to soon, you are more likely to go back to bad habits. I also believe there are good, better, best choices in most things. If you aren’t ready to start a home garden, then try finding a farmers market, until you locate one look for produce grown as close to home as possible and go organic when available.
Many people think "going green" is expensive, I disagree. Some changes may take an initial investment, but they usually have a short payoff time. Things like weatherstiping and insulation cost, but the energy savings will add up quickly. You may need to purchase reusable bags, but most stores give you a 5 or 10 cent credit, so you are paid back within a few months.
My top tips are make your home more energy efficient, that also means using natural light, cooling and heating.
Reduce your packaging, if you eat more fresh food you will generally reduce packaging, it’s the same thing they tell dieters, shop the perimiter, that is where all the meat, dairy and produce are located. Only buy what you will use, many Americans throw away a lot of unused food. Buy in bulk, that doesn’t just mean large packages, but that area with the bins that you buy only what you plan on using.
Replace disposable items with durable items, if you eat outside often and use disposable paper or plastic plates, it is a wise investment to purchase a set of reusable plastic plates. Replace disposable razors, diapers and cleaning products like swiffer. Avoid bottled water, get a home filter like Pur or Brita.
Recycle, http://www.earth911.org will help you locate the nearest recycle center. I try to only purchase plastics that are #1 or #2, they are more easily recycled. I also buy recycled products when available, that includes paper towels, napkings, toilet paper, tissue, school/office supplies and clothing.
Detox your cleaning, vinegar and baking soda clean almost anything, they can even losen a hair clog. Seventh Generation and Method are a couple mainstream brands that are very earth friendly.
Just start small and build from there, don’t get overwhelmed.
You can easily save electricity and lower your energy bill at the same time by replacing incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) bulbs. You’ll save even more energy by going with LED bulbs, but the bulbs themselves are a bit more expensive right now.
Also, for ladies, My Earth Too! pajamas from Kohls.com are very affordable and made from 100% organic cotton.
Hope this helps!
- Aaron Dalton, Editor, 1GreenProduct.com