“Green Shopping” is a bit of an oxymoron.  I mean, one of the fundamentals of going green is to reduce consumption, right?  So what’s a green retailer to do on Black Friday?  One of the reasons I started EcoPlum was to give shoppers the option of buying high quality, stylish goods, while knowing that they are made primarily of recycled, reused and earth friendly materials, using the most sustainable practices possible.  So, while it would be best if we all gave gifts with an almost zero footprint – like a backrub or an original song or something like that, here are some green gift ideas for those of us who aren’t blessed with songwriting or other creative skills.

So while you may not be certified in giving back massages, you can still pamper your partner with a beautiful gift basket of green body care products from Zosimos Botanicals.   I’ve already sung the praises of this natural, and mostly vegan line of safe cosmetics and skin care, and for the holiday season you’ll love their Christmas Stocking for $40, the Hannukah Theme Gift Basket for $95, the Holiday Theme Gift Basket for $60 or any of their other lovely basket selections.  They even have a New Year’s Gift Basket for $30 – for those of us who are a little late with the gifts sometimes.

Looking for something a little more personal?  How about some beautiful fair trade jewelry from Shanti Boutique?  I absolutely love the Seven Chakras Dangling Earrings for $89 and matching Well Being Necklace for $58.  If you really want to go all out, the Good Vibes Chakra Charm Bead Bracelet for $329.80 is absolutely stunning.

Another item that makes a really unique gift is the one-of-a-kind hand-made handbag from Basmati Bags.  We are carrying two right now – the Autumn Gold Standard Shoulder Bag for $80 and the Red Accents Compact Shoulder Bag for $66.  I have a standard size shoulder bag which I use every day – I can’t tell you how many compliments I get about this bag.  Basmati Bags are so stylish, unique and quite light and comfortable too!

Looking for something for the athlete in your life?  Look no further than Atayne’s high performance athletic wear made of recycled plastic bottles.  These wonderful shirts are made for biking, hiking, running, climbing and even paddling and they come with clever recycle-themed graphics.  Starting at $39, these shirts for men and women really rock – and while it’s hard to pick a favorite – I would probably go with the “Recycler” graphic on the bike shirt in Arctic Sea (get it? re”cycle”r?)

And now for something completely different – TOYS!  Global Green Pals makes a wonderful set of eco friendly dolls, and with names like “Carbon Offset Chet,” “Clean Air Kate,” and “Recycle Kyle,” they are educational too! These award winning dolls ($27.95) are made with organic, natural and tested fibers and low impact dyes and are stuffed with 100 percent post-consumer recycled plastic PET bottle stuffing. Each doll comes with its own imaginative character tag printed on recycled paper, using soy-based ink that tells each character’s story and offers kid-friendly green tips on how to help the Earth. My 8 year old daughter Talia has been having a lot of fun with “Pink Coral Laurel” – she can dress and undress her, play pretend snorkeling, and also cuddle up with her at night.  (Unfortunately the dog likes Laurel too – but she hasn’t succeeded in chewing her up quite yet).   Another great selection of educational, eco-dolls is Pepe & Sherina designs’ Sock Monkeys.  These dolls, also on Talia’s play list, are made of 100% upcycled materials and come with their own inspiring stories.

Finally, if you want to give a gift for the home, Glass Dharma makes an ultra chic line of glass straws.  Spruce up your holiday party with these handsome looking straws that come in three different styles – beautiful bends, decorative dots, and simple elegance – and a whole range of sizes and combinations starting at $6.50.  They are dishwasher and microwave safe and even come with a lifetime guarantee against breakage!  Handmade in the U.S.A. and free of toxins, these straws keep thousands of plastic straws out of landfills and make a truly fun conversation piece!

All these items can be wrapped in reusable decorative cloth, reusable gift bags, or recycled wrapping paper from Earth Presents.

Happy Holidays!  Enjoy 10% off with code PLANET10 at checkout.

With the holiday season quickly approaching (yeah, I said it), I am reposting all my Eco Friendly Shopping Picks articles from my column on One Green Planet. This one on Fair Trade Jewelry was originally published on July 19, 2011:

When you put on that necklace, what goes through your mind? How does this make me look? Is this the right fit? What about, how does the purchase of this affect people’s lives around the world? Buying Fair Trade jewelry ensures that the people behind the production of your everyday necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets are being paid adequate wages, endure decent working conditions, and have fair terms of trade for their products. Fair Trade requires companies to pay sustainable prices for products, thus addressing the injustices of conventional trade, which exploits workers in developing countries.

At EcoPlum, we sell Jewelry from Shanti Boutique. The reason we selected Shanti as our first Fair Trade jewelry supplier, is that they are a Green America approved company. We have a tremendous amount of respect for the Green America approval process and knew that any company that passed their screening process had to have Fair Trade principles ingrained in their business practices.  But Shanti is also a member of the Fair Trade Federation, so that gives us double confidence!

In a bit I will give you some tips about my favorite Shanti products, but first I’d like to share a little about Shanti’s inspirational founder, Crystal Water.  She started Shanti Boutique because she wanted to create a business that offered unique fair trade jewelry to fill a niche market of yoga and well-being with everything she loved incorporated into it — travel, fair trade, design, health, languages, green business, internet, and wearable and meaningful art/jewelry (among other things too long to list).  She saw it as a means to improve lives in developing countries through practicing fair trade principles while providing conscious options to consumers.  A portion of all proceeds are donated to the Tibetan Children’s Education Foundation, a cause very close to Crystal’s heart.  She serves on the board of this foundation and personally sponsors a Tibetan child and a Tibetan elder.  She says her initial goal in starting Shanti was to make fun and meaningful jewelry that supported fair trade and charity, and this goal has remained consisted in the 7 years since she started the company.  Crystal enjoys traveling on business to India with her family, where they all experience high adventure together. “It’s a pleasure to run Shanti Boutique,” says Water, “it’s just about the love for people and the planet. A small business with our little mission of trying to make some difference in the world.”

I really enjoy working with Crystal and I personally love her jewelry. I realize jewelry is a very personal thing, and while some people love big dangly colorful items, others go for the dainty and classic. What I love about Shanti is that there is something for everyone. I recently wore my 7 Chakras Dangling Earrings and matching 7 Chakras Well-Being Necklace to my dear friend’s 45th birthday party. I’m not really that into yoga and spiritual things, but I have to admit I felt some energy coming from this jewelry as I got comment after positive comment from the partygoers. “Chakra” is a Sanskrit word that means “wheel” or “turning.” It is used in many Hindu texts and practices, and refers to the “force center” or “energy center” of the body. If you don’t believe in that thing, you can wear it and buy yourself a cup of Fair Trade coffee; that works too.

For a completely different look, consider the Hamsa Protection Earrings and the Hamsa Protection Necklace, to match. The Hamsa is popular in the Middle East as a defense against the evil eye. It is also a symbol of good luck in Jewish mysticism.

Hamsa isn’t really your thing? Then how about the Heart Wire Wrap Necklace? This lightweight piece goes well with pretty much any casual outfit. Earrings-wise, I also like the Heart Wrap Earrings. They are simple and intricate at the same time; small enough to be comfortable, and big enough to be noticed.

Last, but certainly not least on the list of accessories are our Fair Trade rings. My favorite one is the Namaste Ring. I’m sure many of you have heard the term “Namaste” used in your yoga classes. For those of you who haven’t, Namaste is a customary greeting and salutation in India. It also has connotations of recognizing the spirit within, honor and love.

I hope some of these suggestions help! No matter what, your purchase will be Fair Trade Federation certified, which makes it a good purchase. Happy shopping!

Please note:  The Love Heart Wrap Earrings are no longer available, so I replaced the link with the Lotus Love Earrings.

Halloween is such a fun holiday for kids and adults alike – who doesn’t like dressing up in a costume and eating candy?  Unfortunately, it’s one of our more wasteful days: Halloween costumes alone account for at least 6250 tons of landfill waste a year, or the weight of 2500 midsize cars, according to the folks at greenhalloween.org. Whoa!  I have to admit, when my kids were little, I couldn’t wait to go out and buy them a brand new adorable Halloween costume every year, not even thinking about the fact that the costume would be worn once, and then thrown away.  It didn’t even occur to me that there were millions of other costumes out there that other kids had worn once last year, that were also getting thrown away, and that would make perfectly good costumes for my kids this year.  Turns out, there is a national movement of costume swapping going on, and it’s not too late to get involved for this Halloween!

This Saturday, October 8th, is National Costume Swap Day.  It also happens to be Yom Kippur, so those of us celebrating the Jewish Holy Day will be starving in Temple on Saturday – BUT – the great thing is – the swap doesn’t have to happen on THAT particular day.  You can check out all the swaps happening in your neck of the woods (see, a lot in the NY area are NOT on Saturday), or you can plan and register your own swap event!  I am so excited about this because – well – I am a pack rat and I still have some of my kids’ adorable costumes up in storage.  Now I can finally get rid of them and know they are being used to make another kid’s Halloween fun and green.

Talia's First Halloween - Moo!

Even without an actual swap event, you can participate in this easy way to green your Halloween (and save money too!)  For example, my daughter Talia wants to be a Zombie Cheerleeder this year.  Turns out, her friend Allison was a Zombie Cheerleeder last year, happens to be a little bigger than Talia, and she still has her costume.  Voila!  We are all set for Zombie Cheerleading!  And Allison is getting her costume from another friend.  And so on, and so on…

Another important thing to remember this Halloween is that face paints and some kinds of make up can be pretty damn toxic and you should think twice about putting that stuff on your kid’s skin.  Check out these great tips from our friends at Zosimos Botanicals on using Vegan make up for Halloween .

So go ahead, find or register for a costume swap day event near you, and please tell us all about it when it’s over – and send photos too!  Happy GREEN Halloween!

Related Articles on EcoPlum:

Have One’s Pumpkin and Eat it Too

Tricks for a Green Halloween

A Responsible Sugar Fix

photo by Gerry Thomasen Flickr Creative Commons

Did you ever hear the one about the group who goes out in a small boat together? One of the passengers pulls out a drill and starts drilling a hole underneath his seat. The person next to him is shocked and, afraid that the boat will sink, asks the man why he is drilling a hole in the bottom of the boat. The driller replies, “it’s not your business, I’m drilling the hole under MY seat!”

That’s how I feel every day. When I’m behind someone in line at the drug store who takes that CVS bag just for the pack of razor blades they just picked up when they could easily slip the blades in their handbag (or better yet – use a reusable razor), or when I see hundreds of people buying bottled water and disposing of the bottle before it is even empty, or when my friend gets in the car to drive to the coffee shop that is less than 1/4 mile away, I think – why are these people drilling a hole in my boat???

Believe me, I’m far from perfect and I realize that every human creates greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions just by living, but at least I am trying as hard as I can to minimize my footprint every day. You are reading this, so obviously you are trying too. The question is – how do we reach those millions of other people, people we interact with every day? I’ve been asking that question, and trying to come up with solutions, since I started this blog two years ago. And while I know from the emails and comments I receive that some of the tips and information and guidance I have posted here has inspired and helped a few people here and there, and the content we churn out weekly on EcoPlum and monthly in our newsletter has helped some to go green, it just seems there is still so much work to do…

I want to figure out a way to reach people who just haven’t had that Aha! moment, who just don’t think about the waste they produce or their GHG footprint, who just go about their lives consuming, disposing, wasting, polluting, without a care in the world that they are drilling a hole in my and my kids’ boat. I’m convinced that fear and guilt don’t work. It just causes people to feel insignificant and to throw their hands up and to go about business as usual. What we need is inspiration. How do we inspire people to care? So I’m reaching out to you, my readers, for some ideas. Let’s come up with some grass roots, community oriented action, that will get more people fixing the hole and less people drilling the hole in our boat.

Please post your ideas here, or on EcoPlum’s facebook page, or send me an email: gia@ecoplum.com.

Last weekend was my son Noah’s Bar Mitzvah (that would explain my infrequent posts over the last year). It was AWESOME!!!! But I’m not here to boast or bore you with my personal feelings of pride and contentment. No. What I want to share is how a small shift in thinking can make a big difference. Depending on where you live, you may have never heard of a Bar Mitzvah or you may have been to quite a few. It’s a Jewish coming of age ritual for 13 year old boys and girls. Anyway, after the service it is customary to have a luncheon or banquet or party of some kind. Going into this, I knew there would be waste and a footprint associated with the party but I also knew I wanted to minimize it however I could. So, here are a few choices we made that when adopted by others too, could help lessen our collective impact:

• We chose a “sustainable” caterer that used organic and sustainably sourced food. All leftovers were donated to the homeless shelter in the same building.
• We asked the caterer to remove the plastic bottled water from the menu and instead provide pitchers of iced tap water.
• We used China, silverware, and glasses instead of disposable dinnerware.
• The place cards were made of plantable wildflower seed paper.
• We used potted flowered plants as centerpieces. People took them home to plant in their gardens.
• The kids’ giveaways were reusable stainless steel water bottles customized with Noah’s name and filled with candy.
• Instead of a steady flow of plastic junk from the MC/DJ that is customary at these events – sunglasses, glo sticks, hats, flashing LED wands, pins and necklaces – we had one 3D LED necklace per kid (I know- better to have none – but we didn’t want to spoil all the fun!)
• We minimized the meat on the menu serving mostly veggie, fish, and pasta.
• One thing that could have been less wasteful was our invitations. Although we used FSC certified paper (we could not find any affordable invitations made of recycled paper) we still had a card for the service, another card for the reception and a third reply card with envelope to be sent back via snail mail. I later got a number of invitations to his classmates’ events with a simple reply to email address. Good idea. Should have done that (although I have to admit I enjoyed receiving all the reply cards with personal notes and smiley faces on them and will keep them all in a memory box).

So, whether you are throwing a huge party for a life cycle event, or just going about your daily routine, think about the small changes you can make that could reduce waste and emissions.  I’m sure that compared to some, my event may seem extravagant and wasteful, and compared to others it may seem green and frugal.  The point is, no matter where you are along the spectrum of conservation and environmentalism, it’s important to think about the choices you are making and ask yourself: Is this really necessary?  Is there a less wasteful way to do this?  Is there a greener alternative.  My friends at the Broadway Green Alliance say that there is no such thing as “green”, only “greener.”  Just by living we are consuming resources every day.  The question to ask is: what small changes can I make to reduce my impact, while still maintaining (or enhancing) the quality of life I love?

Photo by Diana House

You would think that it’s a no brainer to replace plastic, styrofoam and paper disposable dinnerware with bagasse or another compostable kind – the latter doesn’t sit in a landfill forever, right? Well, it’s a little more complicated than that. I’m not trying to talk you out of replacing your plastic/styrofoam/paper plates with the compostable kind. There are still many environmental and health benefits to using these products. But I think it’s important to understand how it all works.

The first part of this is examining the materials used and the manufacturing process. Most compostable goods are made of renewable resources: sugar cane fiber, bamboo, wheat grass, and palm leaves. Isn’t paper a renewable resource, you may ask? Well technically, yes, but trees take years to grow and replace, and the process is pretty energy intensive. On the other hand, gathering fallen palm leaves or using sugar cane fiber, which is a by product of sugar production, is not so resource intensive. Also, many disposable goods are made of plastic and styrofoam and these materials can leach toxins. Do you want your kids eating off of styrofoam trays and ingesting all the toxins they give off? Of course not.

The more complicated and often misunderstood part of this is the disposal of these products. Compostable goods are meant to be composted, not sent to a landfill.  When food scraps and biodegradable garbage go to a landfill, one of two things will happen, and they’re both not good: 1) the conditions in the landfill are such that very little biodegradation will occur at all (you may have heard of the discovery of 40 year old hot dogs in landfills) or 2) biodegradation occurs, but because of the lack of exposure to oxygen, the process creates methane gas – a greenhouse gas 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.  This process is called anaerobic biodegradation.  There are some landfills that capture this methane gas and produce energy from it (which is very cool) – but not all do.

So what happens if you compost the stuff? Well if you use a home composter or a composting service, most likely it will be done aerobically (with the aid of oxygen). The gas released in this process is carbon dioxide, not methane, which is one positive result. But what’s more important is that you will be creating much needed nutrient rich soil to return to the earth. And when compost is used in place of raw manure for fertilizer, it reduces groundwater pollution. The great thing is that with the advances in composting technology and all the great services available, you don’t even have to deal with smell, worms and all the other yucky things associated with composting.

So, go ahead and switch to compostable goods and please try to compost them. If the composting part is not an option right now, I still say these products are better than plastic, styrofoam and paper. The materials and manufacturing process are more environmentally sound, less toxic, and if they happen to end up in a landfill that does capture methane gas, then they will be helping to produce new energy!

Disclaimer: We sell compostable dinnerware on EcoPlum.

In case you haven’t noticed, we are an e-commerce site. We sell stuff. Our tag line is “Where it Pays to Buy Green.” EcoPlum started out as a place to buy eco-friendly products and earn rewards in the process. But it quickly morphed into an educational/informational site. My passion has always been teaching and I come from an academic background, so as I learned more about environmental issues, I wanted to educate as many people as possible: through my blog: “Confessions of a Reformed Consumer”; by bringing on experts to write monthly columns on Green Design, Green Schools, Eco-Friendly Beauty Products, Local and Organic Food, and Green Entertainment and Media; by posting top green news stories every day on facebook, Twitter and Google; and through our monthly newsletter EcoPlum Pie. However, somewhere along the way the fact that we sell products got a little lost. Well I’m here to bring it back.

So, let’s get the obvious part out of the way. Of course buying nothing is greener than buying something. So if you don’t need it, don’t get it. OK? I said it, don’t buy if you can help it. The problem is, most of us need stuff, want stuff, and will continue to buy stuff. Take clothing, for starters. Don’t know about you, but I’m not a nudist, and I need things to wear (plus I live in the North East and I don’t want to freeze my tushy off). So when my workout clothing has seen one too many spin classes and it’s time for a new cycling jersey, why not buy one made of recycled plastic? Or when my son’s backpack falls apart from carrying 500 pounds of books to school every day, might as well replace it with one made 100% from recycled water bottles.

This kind of thinking can be extended to all your purchasing habits. Rather than buying my daughter a new handbag, I got her one made of recycled juice boxes. I stopped buying plastic disposable straws for my kids’ drinks and replaced them with glass reusable straws. Lunches get packed in a reusable folding sandwich container instead of Ziploc bags, disposable coffee cups have been replaced by reusable mugs, we make our own seltzer and have eliminated plastic soda bottles from our waste stream, we use stainless steel water bottles and never buy plastic bottled water, and those awesome Chicobags are with me on every shopping trip. I know there are a LOT of people who could make these small changes towards a green lifestyle. But this will only work if:

1) People know WHY and HOW to go greener, and,
2) People know WHAT the greener alternatives are, and WHERE to BUY them.

So this brings me back to education and disseminating information. While my marketing people tell me I need to focus a little more on the products and a little less on the education, I still maintain that “An Educated Consumer is Our Best Customer.” Sy Syms, can I steal your tag line?

OK, I don’t usually use my blog just to post a video, put I just love this and had to post it:

Have a wonderful weekend!!

As I’ve mentioned frequently, a few years ago I was clueless about environmental issues. I didn’t even know about the effect of cow farts on climate change. But then I had my “AHA!” moment and became keenly aware of the effect that my actions (and my eating habits) had on the environment. I changed my behavior and tried to preach as much as I could about it. Problem was, I was preaching to the choir. My mission to convert the unconverted, to get them to see the light and have their “AHA!” moment was falling upon deaf ears. What I failed to realize was that the majority of people are not going to have an “AHA!” moment and completely change their lives like I did. There needs to be a shift among mainstream consumers, which includes buy in from business, government, and constituents. I can imagine the frustration amongst the folks who have been environmental activists for years, banging their heads against a wall while the rest of us carried on with our wasteful ways. I’m sorry! I wish I knew then what I know now.

The good news is the tide is finally turning (can I use any more cliches?) and I think my job is going to be easier than the one that the veteran environmentalists had in front of them. Thanks to Al Gore and others, at least the issues are out there, whether or not people decide to take action. But there is another big catalyst in play: we are no longer having a party with ourselves. What do I mean by that? A decade ago, Seventh Generation refused to do business with Walmart – just on principle. Fast forward to 2010, Seventh Generation is all over Walmart. (OK, the fact that founder Jeffrey Hollender was later ousted by the company board definitely puts a skeptical spin on this – but try to set that aside while I attempt to make my point). Why the shift? Because Hollender realized that the only way to make a dent was to reach out to people where they were. Another pioneer who has been given a hard time for dancing with Walmart is Adam Werbach, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi S. Yet thanks to his efforts he has brought personal sustainability practices and awareness to hundreds of thousands of employees nationwide.

About 6 months ago, I was approached by someone in the sports world who wanted to partner with EcoPlum to promote sustainable purchasing to their fans. My initial reaction was to decline associating with a sport that, well, wasn’t exactly green. No way! However, as I started to learn more, it started to make sense. The sports teams were, in fact, taking steps to incorporate sustainability into many aspects of their operation. And while not perfect, we have the opportunity to get EcoPlum’s message out to so many, many more people about how they can live a green lifestyle and we can encourage them in making good purchasing choices by offering a great array of sustainable products for which they can earn EcoChipz.  Am I selling out? Absolutely not. I could continue to sell green products and publish green living articles to the already committed, but we’re not going to change the world by throwing a party for ourselves. We need to reach people where they are. Fans will go to these spectator sports and spend money on products promoted there whether or not the green companies get involved. So let’s bring our message to where people are already hanging out – whether or not it is a place with which we are altogether comfortable.

Can you think of a few examples of green companies that are reaching the general public without greenwashing?

Kids tend to see things in black and white: You don’t like me? You must hate me. He’s not smart, he must be stupid. For many of us, the tendency to present a False Dilemma carries forward into adulthood. Big kid that I am, I often forget the shades of gray in between choices and tend to think in extremes. So when I embarked on my environmentalist journey, I became passionate about minimizing my environmental impact in every aspect of my life and left little room for transgressions. I stopped buying plastic water bottles, started carrying around reusable bags and coffee mugs, switched to organic produce, cut down on my energy use, stopped buying things I didn’t need, reduced my water use, practically eliminated my meat consumption, switched to natural cleaning products, stopped using disposable dinnerware & Ziploc bags, bought a home seltzer maker, and cut down on my water use.

I thought if I could just get everybody else to do what I did, the world would move quickly in a direction of healing and repair. I went on a mission to spread the word about my enlightened way of life and thought that through education and sharing of experiences I could get others to follow suit. I became a green hall monitor, of sorts, and found myself giving the evil eye to all those bottle drinking, plastic bag toting, meat eating planet destroyers out there. Now, while quite a few people have told me that I’ve inspired them to change their habits, so many more have not even thought about changing the way they live. Why? Could it be that my drastic transformation from over-consuming materialist to radical greenie is rare, and that it represents one extreme? Maybe expecting the majority of consumers to give up the majority of their consuming habits is just unrealistic?

Then I started to look back at my own evolution and realized that I, too, was living in a shade of gray. For example: I didn’t completely give up eating meat because I wasn’t ready to stop making my favorite ragout sauce, but when I do eat it I make sure it is grass fed and organic. I still buy paper towels because, for some things, I just want to throw away the mess, but I buy towels made of 100% post-consumer content. I’m pretty good about not buying or drinking bottled water, but if I find myself in a situation where is the only choice of beverage that I have (i.e. it is given out at a conference where there is no access to tap water), I will drink it and make sure I recycle the bottle. So if the (self proclaimed) queen of green herself isn’t living a purely green life, then surely others can do the same? Maybe encouraging this shade of gray will actually rally more people into a greener lifestyle. Maybe I was going about it all wrong with my “green police” attitude. Cast a wider net, my husband likes to say, and you will catch more fish.

So goodbye, black and white, and hello green! If you are not ready to make drastic changes in your lifestyle, then OK, start with little steps. Make a change that doesn’t make you feel frustrated to the point of giving up. Pick something and stick with it. Then pick something else. Here are a few easy things you can take on:

#1: Stop buying plastic disposable water bottles. Carry around your own reusable bottle in your backpack, briefcase, shoulder bag, or purse.

#2: Stop using disposable plastic shopping bags. Carry around at least one Chicobag with you – these definitely fit easily into your pocketbook, briefcase, even pocket.

#3: Recycle at home and at work. Check out our “What do do with your stuff” page for where and how to recycle different types of materials.

#4: Stop using disposable coffee cups. Carry around your own reusable coffee mug. Ask for a ceramic “for here” cup if you plan to hang around the coffee shop to enjoy your coffee.

#5: Stop buying wrapping paper – use colorful newspaper, children’s art projects, reusable gift bags or cloth for your gifts.

#6: Stop using disposable wrap and bags for your kids’ lunches. Instead purchase reusable bags and lunch materials.

#7: Eat less meat. Reducing the amount of meat you eat can have a significant impact on the environment – methane from cows is 21 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

#8: Take public transportation whenever you are in a city. Check this out for a guide of public transportation options in your city.

#9: Ask yourself “do I really need it?” when you are about to buy a new appliance. If you do need it, make sure it is Energy Star rated.

#10: Stop using paper plates and utensils. If absolutely necessary, buy ones made of recycled and biodegradable material.