Ten Simple Steps to Greener Living

As awareness of the civilization’s impact on the environment increases, people are becoming more willing than ever before, to accept clean lifestyles. But some aren’t exactly sure where to begin.

One doesn’t have to start out with leaps and bounds.  Installing a full solar power system on one’s home or switching to a hybrid car would be great. But large steps require planning and financing.  Small steps can be taken right now.

In some cases, your choices might depend on several factors: where you live, the natural resources available to you, your lifestyle, and others. Therefore there is probably no “one-size-fits-all” solution to going green (or at least, greener).

But there are many simple things you can do to live a greener life, through your day-to-day activities, and most of these apply to just about anyone.

1. Learn more about sustainable living

This is the first and most important step in going green. You should read up on the subject of environmentalism, and how your personal carbon footprint can affect global pollution levels. There are plenty of resources available online, and you can visit your local library for books on related topics.

2. Save energy

The most effective way to cut down on your carbon emissions is to conserve on energy in your home. Install energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs, turn off the lights when they aren’t in use, ensure your house is properly insulated and windows are properly sealed, and keep your energy consumption to a minimum. You will save energy and money at the same time.

3. Conserve water

Every drop of tap water you use consumes energy – for transport, filtering, and purification. It might just be water, but a lot of fossil fuel is consumed in processing it. In some places, water itself is scarce. You can turn the tap off while brushing your teeth, switch to more efficient washers and dryers, and collect rain water for use in your garden.

4. Use less fuel for transport

If a hybrid car is not an option at the moment, you can take other steps; walking or biking to work, or whenever you have to travel a short distance. If your work place is too far for a daily bicycle commute, consider using mass transit. You can carpool with a friend or coworker if that works. For long trips, consider the fuel efficiency of your different options.

5. Eat greener food

Eating is one thing everyone has in common. But did you know that eating the type of food can make an impact in the environment? The food industry contributes substantial carbon emissions in the process of shipping their products around the world. When you eat seasonal, local, and organic food, you help to conserve the environment – as well as improve your own health.

6. Buy smart

Instead of buying brand new wooden furniture for your home, you can search for good used furniture online, or even visit garage sales to find what you’re looking for. Think before making a purchase, no matter how big or small it is. Buying grocery items in bulk can save money and conserve on energy and packing materials. Also, be sure to buy high-quality products that will last for a long time and not just wind up in a landfill a year from now.

7. Shop Online

Shopping online is another good way to conserve on fuel. When you receive a purchase by post, the amount of fuel used to ship that purchase is no where near the amount of fuel you would have used to drive to a store and buy it offline. Furthermore, you can also save a considerable amount of time and money by shopping online, and many online stores offer free shipping.

8. Proper waste management

Years ago, many considered waste management to be the main environmental issue of concern. As long as you reduced, reused, and recycled, you were a friend of the environment. Things are not that simple these days, but waste conservation is still a big part of living green. It takes a lot of energy to process and dispose of waste, whether it’s recycled or dumped in a landfill. So conserving on waste is important, even if you do recycle. You should also compost your biodegradable waste materials.

9. Wear the right clothing

Your choice of clothing can make a big impact on the environment. One of the most heavily sprayed crops across the globe is cotton. Chemicals which are used as insecticides harm the environment, and harm people’s health. Fortunately, there are other alternative fabrics available in the market; such as organic cotton, hemp, bamboo, and flax. Try to find and purchase clothing that uses these natural and nontoxic materials. Wearing such clothing is also better for your health.

10. Avoid toxins and chemicals

If you look carefully at many of the products you use every day, such as cleaning and personal care products, you might be quite surprised at the harmful chemicals they are made from. Use products made from natural and nontoxic ingredients.

They aren’t hard to find – even Amazon has an entire section dedicated to green products. This section is called Amazon Green and it includes many household, personal care, home improvement, office, clothing, and grocery items. By shopping at Amazon Green you can find nontoxic and environmentally friendly products more easily, while also saving money and conserving resources by doing your shopping online.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit How to Go Green in Your Day-to-Day Life is a post from:

Cleaning up one’s life and helping clean up the environment at the same time really difficult.  Remembering the little things goes a long way.  Here are a few tips and reminders you can use to help protect the environment, in your everyday life.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Tips: How to Go Green Video is a post from:

I, personally, love to clean. I love the look of a sparkling kitchen and a tidy bathroom. However, I am not as fond of the toxic smell of chemicals, which is usually a side effect of having a clean home. So, I was thrilled when I finally tried Method’s line of soaps, surface cleaners and detergents. They are ‘people against dirty’ (read, people after my own heart) and they stand for great design, sustainability, safety and good-smelling cleaning products.

Method offsets their carbon from all of their employees’ commutes and the energy it takes to run their office buildings. They also offset the energy consumed by the manufacture of products through renewable energy credits. They work to reduce their energy consumption from making, shipping and using their products. One of the ways they can do this is by manufacturing concentrated soaps and detergents. Oftentimes, soap contains a large percent of water, but Method makes more concentrated products which allow less packaging materials and less weight. This results in fewer carbon emissions during the shipping and distribution of products.

In terms of safety, Method has followed the ideas of Michael Braungart, co-author of Cradle to Cradle, in using completely natural, biodegradable and harmless ingredients in their products. They were recognized at the ‘champions’ level of Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative, as part of the EPA’s Design for the Environment program. The program works to reduce chemical risk and improve energy efficiency to be better for both people and the planet. The EPA now has 1,034 products and counting as part of this program, which have eliminated more than 270 million pounds of harmful chemicals. Method currently has 50 products in compliance with the DfE program.

Method also prominently displays their ingredient lists on their website, breaking each product down ingredient by ingredient. You can feel good about knowing exactly what’s in every product you use. The people at Method work with Michael’s Braungart’s team at the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA) to carefully consider every material that goes into their final products, and to make sure that the products won’t pollute any of our water systems with harmful chemicals.

Method makes Cradle to Cradle certified products, which is a huge achievement in itself, but they also became endorsed as a Cradle to Cradle company recently, which means that they are environmentally sustainable not only in their products, but in all aspects of their business.

Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry, the founders of Method, have also figured out how to capture the market (and my gratitude) with their sleek designs. I no longer feel the need to stuff cleaning products under the sink or put them in non-descript containers; my dish soap stands proudly out on the counter. The bottles are 100% recycled plastic and Method uses labels that won’t jam up recycling systems. And did I mention they are pretty?

I knew I loved Method’s products the moment I read the bottles and discovered scents like ‘pink grapefruit, cucumber, ginger yuzu’ among others. Thankfully, we finally have another choice for scents in the cleaning aisle besides lemon.

Method has revolutionized a market which has historically been seen as environmentally unsound. They have made effective cleaning products that can be washed down drain without the subsequent environmental guilt pains. They have made it so we can take off the rubber gloves, and we can keep our cleaning products on display. Above all, they have set a standard of sustainability.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Clean and Green: Method’s Home and Personal Care Products is a post from:

I, personally, love to clean. I love the look of a sparkling kitchen and a tidy bathroom. However, I am not as fond of the toxic smell of chemicals, which is usually a side effect of having a clean home. So, I was thrilled when I finally tried Method’s line of soaps, surface cleaners and detergents. They are ‘people against dirty’ (read, people after my own heart) and they stand for great design, sustainability, safety and good-smelling cleaning products.

Method offsets their carbon from all of their employees’ commutes and the energy it takes to run their office buildings. They also offset the energy consumed by the manufacturer of products through renewable energy credits. They work to reduce their energy consumption from making, shipping and using their products. One of the ways they can do this is by manufacturing concentrated soaps and detergents. Oftentimes, soap contains a large percent of water, but Method makes more concentrated products which allow less packaging materials and less weight. This results in fewer carbon emissions during the shipping and distribution of products.

In terms of safety, Method has followed the ideas of Michael Braungart, co-author of Cradle to Cradle, in using completely natural, biodegradable and harmless ingredients in their products. They were recognized at the ‘champions’ level of Safer Detergents Stewardship Initiative, as part of the EPA’s Design for the Environment program. The program works to reduce chemical risk and improve energy efficiency to be better for both people and the planet. The EPA now has 1,034 products and counting as part of this program, which have eliminated more than 270 million pounds of harmful chemicals. Method currently has 50 products in compliance with the DfE program.

Method also prominently displays their ingredient lists on their website, breaking each product down ingredient by ingredient. You can feel good about knowing exactly what’s in every product you use. The people at Method work with Michael Braungart’s team at the Environmental Protection and Encouragement Agency (EPEA) to carefully consider every material that goes into their final products, and to make sure that the products won’t pollute any of our water systems with harmful chemicals.

Method makes Cradle to Cradle certified products, which is a huge achievement in itself. They also became endorsed as a Cradle to Cradle company recently, which means that they are environmentally sustainable not only in their products, but in all aspects of their business.

Eric Ryan and Adam Lowry, the founders of Method, have also figured out how to capture the market (and my gratitude) with their sleek designs. I no longer feel the need to stuff cleaning products under the sink or put them in non-descript containers; my dish soap stands proudly out on the counter. The bottles are 100% recycled plastic and Method uses labels that won’t jam up recycling systems. And did I mention they are pretty?

I knew I loved Method’s products the moment I read the bottles and discovered scents like ‘pink grapefruit, cucumber, ginger yuzu’ among others. Thankfully, we finally have another choice for scents in the cleaning aisle besides lemon.

Method has revolutionized a market which has historically been seen as environmentally unsound. They have made effective cleaning products that can be washed down the drain without the subsequent environmental guilt pains. They have made it so we can take off the rubber gloves and keep our cleaning products on display. Above all, they have set a standard of sustainability.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Clean and Green : Method’s Home and Personal Care Products is a post from:

Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a picnic. But how green is your picnic if you’re bringing virgin plastic cutlery, paper plates, and paper napkins with you? As many places implement ‘carry in, carry out’ policies, we have to think about the effect our disposables are having on the municipal waste stream and how we can better minimize our impact.

Branch, which offers sustainable products for daily life, offers a series of biodegradable plates, bowls and napkins. These are made entirely of bagasse , which is a sugarcane fiber, a byproduct of the refining process.  It is a renewable material, but is often burned as a waste product instead of reused. Branch sells bowls, plates, trays, and platters made of this material that are unbleached and FDA approved.

Now all you need is your cutlery, right? Well, Branch offers a sustainable solution for that too. They sell forks, knives and spoons made of potato starch and vegetable oil which are also completely biodegradable. Their website advertises that the cutlery will decompose in just 180 days in a composting facility. A plastic fork (depending on the kind of plastic) can take decades to decompose. Tens, or even hundreds of years versus 180 days?

Lastly, Branch carries a line of cold cups made from a polymer that is derived from corn and other renewable resources. These are said to break down within 90 – 120 days in a commercial composting facility. Not only are these decomposing faster, but they are reducing our dependency on oil and focusing on products that we can grow in the US.

In addition to these biodegradable options, they also sell 100% recycled paper napkins. If you have to have disposable napkins, these may be a good choice but we can also suggest bringing your own cloth napkins from home, as these leave less of a waste trail.

Branch carries some great products for a more sustainable lifestyle. The only caveat for those trying to buy sustainable and local, is that many of their products are made in China or Thailand. If we can manufacture compostable tableware in the US instead of abroad, we can begin to close the loop in production, which would stimulate the local economy as well as be an environmental gain.

Though there are many options out there for biodegradable and compostable tableware, I like the selection at Branch because they clearly outline what their products are made of and why that is a more sustainable choice than its traditional counterpart. They also offer smaller quantities for the every day user, instead of only selling huge cases (better suited for retail). It’s important that it’s not only the food service industry that has access and incentive to buy these products, but that they are marketed for the individual as well.

We need to think about the purpose of the products we use and how the materials suit the need. Many products generally outlast the purpose they are built for, which contributes to greater waste. Instead, we can use biodegradable options that can be thrown into the compost pile or completely recycled when they’ve served their original purpose.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Biodegradable Tableware: How to Have a Green Picnic is a post from:

August is the peak of the season for delicious fresh fruits and vegetables, whether from your own garden or from local farms. This abundance of summer produce is worth waiting for through those cold New England winters, but it also produces a true challenge to the many city-dwellers without outdoor space – how to compost all that organic waste?

Many cities will subsidize large composting bins for those who have backyards, and this truly is a great opportunity to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills. However, for those apartment-dwellers, or for those who generally prefer not to trudge out to the back of their yard with their food scraps, there is the kitchen-composter produced by NatureMill.

Designed to do the rotating and the aerating often required by other composters, NatureMill is willing to do the work for you. You can add your vegetable scraps, your coffee grounds, even meat or fish – though perhaps decomposition creates enough odors without adding fish. The composter can handle up to 120 pounds of material a month and uses ‘hot composting’ to drive the process a bit faster than your backyard composter. No worms must be added, just the food scraps and off the little machine goes, decomposing your waste without the pungent smell. NatureMill does alert you that you may detect a slight smell (like mushrooms), but in weighing the smell over the emissions of methane from landfills, I’d take the smell. And hey, you can always keep the composter in the garage if it’s that bothersome. When you’ve added enough organic matter, the indicator light will tell you that your compost is ready – et voila, a great fertilizer for the garden or even for your household plants. If you head out on your summer vacation, you can set the bin to “vacation mode” and off you go.

Composting not only reduces the amount of waste each individual generates, but reduces the collective amount of trash generated, which drives down the number of trash collections needed, and the oil needed to power those vehicles. Such a small step such as putting your organic waste in a NatureMill bin instead of your trash can have huge impacts on the environment. According to the EPA, methane gas emitted from landfills is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas. As landfill fees increase, as the piles of trash grow, as we send our trash overseas to other countries, it seems time to take control of our waste and recycle as much as possible. We’ve become accustomed to sorting cans and bottles, now on to corn husks and banana peels.

This post was first published on The Green Bean Blog. To continue reading, please visit Food Scraps to Fertilizer: Urban Composting is a post from: