So continuing with the theme of recycled products, there's a little something I wanted to add.
Recycled toilet paper. Yes, the very thought made me pause at first and it was a few weeks before I got over the initial concern. It just sounds wrong. But there's really nothing wrong with recycled toilet paper. Instead of cutting down trees to make it, they're recycling paper that would have otherwise been dumped into a landfill and turning it into... toilet paper.
To be honest, there's not much of a difference between recycled and "regular" (also known as virgin fiber) . I've always been a girl who likes her toilet paper nice, soft and fluffy. I'm not a fan of scratchy toilet paper, who would be? So I was pleasantly surprised when I noticed that, while not as fluffy as I'm used to, recycled toilet paper is NOT rough or scratchy at all. There's barely a difference. If you're not convinced, try it yourself - some stores sell single rolls of toilet paper and you can test it out and see that it's not that bad.
I've also extended it to paper towels, and I will say that while they do feel quite a bit stiffer and rougher than what I'm used to, it's not enough to make me go back. I mean, I'm cleaning up a spill and it's going into the trash when I'm done - why do I need extra soft and fluffy virgin fiber paper towels when the recycled ones do the job just as well?
Plus just think of all the trees that aren't getting cut down as a result. According to this and this, if every household in this country used just ONE roll of recycled toilet paper, we would save close to 424, 000 trees. That's just one roll, and that's just toilet paper. Think of the possibilities...
Monday, July 28, 2008
Monday, July 21, 2008
Green Product Recommendation: Organic wear Makeup
Last week Ariana posted some tips for reusing, reducing, and recycling that are easy to implement in our everyday lives. Following up on that, I'd like to recommend a product that can help with the reducing aspect of the three Rs of living green.
As people interested in making our lives a little more eco-friendly, I'm sure you've all read or heard that a simple change you can make is to look out for the products that use minimal packaging. But why not take it a step further, and be on the lookout for products that are packaged in recycled -- and recyclable -- materials?
Packaging is one thing I know I really take for granted. It's so much more than just the cardboard or shrink-wrap or any of those tamper-proof seals. Packaging is often the product itself. How many of you have ever thought twice about your makeup compacts? I never considered all the plastic that goes into my pressed powder cases, my palettes of blush and eyeshadow.
The other day I was shopping for makeup, and I noticed a line of organic makeup. It's called Organic wear, by Physicians Formula. Now, I'll admit, what attracted me to this product initially was the organic aspect, knowing that natural ingredients are probably a lot better for my skin than manmade chemicals. But then I noticed that the packaging is made from recycled materials, and in the case of the Organic wear pressed powder (and the blushes and eyeshadows, I believe), the compact is made primarily of paper, using 93% less plastic than traditional compacts. The makeup brushes in this line, too, are made of natural goat hair fibers, instead of synthetic materials.
The most recommending feature, of course, is that not only are these products packaged better for the environment, but that they're great for my skin. I'm not noticing a difference between the look of my old makeup versus the new; the tinted moisturizer covers surprisingly well, equal, I'd say, to my former foundation of choice; and a dusting of the pressed powder over that finishes the look. But I am noticing that at night, when I take off my makeup, my complexion looks healthier, so I'm wondering if the chemicals in the old makeup weren't contributing to skin problems! Good for you, good for the earth, and, as I've forgotten to mention, good for your wallet (the cost is equivalent to regular makeup at the drugstore or supermarket) -- what's not to like about Organic wear?
As people interested in making our lives a little more eco-friendly, I'm sure you've all read or heard that a simple change you can make is to look out for the products that use minimal packaging. But why not take it a step further, and be on the lookout for products that are packaged in recycled -- and recyclable -- materials?
Packaging is one thing I know I really take for granted. It's so much more than just the cardboard or shrink-wrap or any of those tamper-proof seals. Packaging is often the product itself. How many of you have ever thought twice about your makeup compacts? I never considered all the plastic that goes into my pressed powder cases, my palettes of blush and eyeshadow.
The other day I was shopping for makeup, and I noticed a line of organic makeup. It's called Organic wear, by Physicians Formula. Now, I'll admit, what attracted me to this product initially was the organic aspect, knowing that natural ingredients are probably a lot better for my skin than manmade chemicals. But then I noticed that the packaging is made from recycled materials, and in the case of the Organic wear pressed powder (and the blushes and eyeshadows, I believe), the compact is made primarily of paper, using 93% less plastic than traditional compacts. The makeup brushes in this line, too, are made of natural goat hair fibers, instead of synthetic materials.
The most recommending feature, of course, is that not only are these products packaged better for the environment, but that they're great for my skin. I'm not noticing a difference between the look of my old makeup versus the new; the tinted moisturizer covers surprisingly well, equal, I'd say, to my former foundation of choice; and a dusting of the pressed powder over that finishes the look. But I am noticing that at night, when I take off my makeup, my complexion looks healthier, so I'm wondering if the chemicals in the old makeup weren't contributing to skin problems! Good for you, good for the earth, and, as I've forgotten to mention, good for your wallet (the cost is equivalent to regular makeup at the drugstore or supermarket) -- what's not to like about Organic wear?
Monday, July 14, 2008
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle…
I’m sure we’ve all heard those three words before and they’re nothing new. However, I did want to share some little tips that I’ve been trying to follow lately.
Reduce
I’ve started reducing what I get. For example: I know people who get a large handful of napkins when they go out to eat and then use maybe half that. If I must use napkins, I only take what I know I’m going to use, so that nothing goes to waste.
I also try to reduce how much waste I generate in general. I’m more aware of what I shop for, trying not to buy individually wrapped items if possible. I keep scraps of paper around to write on rather than buying new notepads (which is a weakness of mine). I’ve also reduced the number of catalogs that arrive in my mailbox. https://www.catalogchoice.org/ is a great website that will take you off mailing lists.
Reuse
Well cloth bags would fall into this category, but I’ve started reusing other items as well. I’m a sucker for those bottled iced teas that come in glass containers (even though I try to stay away from them) and I’ve started saving those containers to reuse. You’re not supposed to reuse plastic bottles but there aren’t any problems with glass bottles, other than them being a bit heavier than I’m used to!
I also like to reuse envelopes (that my paystub arrives in) and boxes for mailing, whenever possible. At work I’ve started running off homework and other copies on paper that has already been printed on one side. Parents don’t seem to mind, kids don’t care either way and it saves me from having to ask the office for more paper!
Recycle
This might be a no-brainer but unfortunately it doesn’t occur to some people. I live in a small apartment but I’ve made space in my laundry room for buckets to hold my recycling. I’m still new to recycling so I’m not great about it but every bit helps… those 4 plastic juice containers that are waiting to go to the recycling plant are 4 containers that have been saved from doing nothing in a landfill.
Something else that I’ve been recycling lately is books. Well, it’s recycling in a way… I used to take them to used bookstores but sometimes I’d be lucky to make enough money to make it worth the gas to get there. These days I’ve started mailing books to my friends, and some of them are sending me their books as well. I find it works well – while I’m spending a bit of money to ship the books, I’m getting ‘new to me’ books in return, and I don’t have a bookshelf of books I won’t read anymore!
If you know of any tips that you’d like to share, feel free to add them in the comments!
Monday, July 7, 2008
More About Cloth Bags
As Ariana wrote last week, reusable shopping bags are one of the easiest green changes you can make in your lifestyle. So, I'm going to write about them again and share a little about my own experiences with green shopping.
Like her, when I was first introduced to reusable shopping bags, I was skeptical. When I watched Oprah raving about taking your own cloth bags to the grocery store, I scoffed, convinced such a practice just wasn't practical. For one thing, the particular tote bag she gave away to each member of her audience didn't look roomy enough to hold many groceries. And, as a shopper on a budget (unlike Oprah!), my inability to shell out for enough such bags to accommodate my week's groceries for two (and what about one day when there are children in my household, and I have twice the groceries to lug home?) took priority over the environment.
Then, during my weekly grocery run, I saw these for sale in Wal Mart:
On sale for $1 apiece. On closer inspection, one bag appeared roomy enough to fit the gallon of orange juice and the gallon of milk in my shopping cart. And, more importantly, strong enough to carry them. That would cut down on two plastic sacks. If I could fit twice as many groceries into one of these reusable backs as would normally require two plastic sacks (or more, seeing as many cashiers have the tendency to double-bag milk, juice, and canned goods) and do it for say, $5, maybe this reusable shopping bag idea wasn't so impractical, after all.
So I bought five of the bags, and now my weekly grocery shopping looks like this:
I love my shopping bags. My groceries stay more organized now: milk and juice together, cold things together, canned goods together, produce together, etc. I can get my five bags from the cart to the trunk and from the trunk into the house much more efficiently than I used to, with the added bonus of not being worried about plastic sacks breaking under the weight of the food. Maybe best of all, my pantry doesn't fill up with the hundreds of plastic bags that accumulate week after week of shopping, which can't be put in our city recycling bins.
One area that is not at all efficient, however, is getting my groceries from the shopping cart into my bags at the checkout line. This is mainly a problem at Wal Mart, where the checkout lines have bag carousels that make it easy for the checkers to bag groceries. The set-up there is not at all conducive to shopping with reusable bags, and on more than one occasion I've been met with eye rolls and heavy sighs that I'm making their job difficult. One cashier even went on a rant about how Wal Mart shouldn't sell those bags if they're not going to make it easy for the checkers to bag groceries properly. Mostly I have to hold my bags open on the tiny surface on top of the bag carousel for the cashier to put in, or sometimes, I'm expected to bag them myself. The cashiers at Wal Mart don't appear to have been trained in any kind of system for dealing with cloth bags, which is a real shame for Wal Mart's promise of good customer service.
It's not just the regular checkout lines that are problematic. The self-checkout lanes are a huge pain, because they're not programmed to account for the weight of personal shopping bags. You have to scan an item and then select "skip bagging," which really holds things up at Wal Mart, where a store code is required to override the bagging scale.
All that's gotten me to thinking. I really applaud all the retailers who are providing their green-minded customers with an affordable alternative to plastic, and even paper, bags. But that Wal Mart cashier, if rather melodramatic, was right. If retailers really want to encourage eco-friendly shopping, they'll go the extra mile and re-configure their checkout lanes for the convenience of their cashiers, and re-program the self-checkout computers to include an option for reusable shopping bags to keep those lines moving swiftly for their customers. We need to write Wal Mart (and our retailers of choice) and let them know how much green shopping means to them, and encourage them to make the changes necessary to make responsible habits like reusable shopping bags the norm.
Like her, when I was first introduced to reusable shopping bags, I was skeptical. When I watched Oprah raving about taking your own cloth bags to the grocery store, I scoffed, convinced such a practice just wasn't practical. For one thing, the particular tote bag she gave away to each member of her audience didn't look roomy enough to hold many groceries. And, as a shopper on a budget (unlike Oprah!), my inability to shell out for enough such bags to accommodate my week's groceries for two (and what about one day when there are children in my household, and I have twice the groceries to lug home?) took priority over the environment.
Then, during my weekly grocery run, I saw these for sale in Wal Mart:
On sale for $1 apiece. On closer inspection, one bag appeared roomy enough to fit the gallon of orange juice and the gallon of milk in my shopping cart. And, more importantly, strong enough to carry them. That would cut down on two plastic sacks. If I could fit twice as many groceries into one of these reusable backs as would normally require two plastic sacks (or more, seeing as many cashiers have the tendency to double-bag milk, juice, and canned goods) and do it for say, $5, maybe this reusable shopping bag idea wasn't so impractical, after all.
So I bought five of the bags, and now my weekly grocery shopping looks like this:
I love my shopping bags. My groceries stay more organized now: milk and juice together, cold things together, canned goods together, produce together, etc. I can get my five bags from the cart to the trunk and from the trunk into the house much more efficiently than I used to, with the added bonus of not being worried about plastic sacks breaking under the weight of the food. Maybe best of all, my pantry doesn't fill up with the hundreds of plastic bags that accumulate week after week of shopping, which can't be put in our city recycling bins.
One area that is not at all efficient, however, is getting my groceries from the shopping cart into my bags at the checkout line. This is mainly a problem at Wal Mart, where the checkout lines have bag carousels that make it easy for the checkers to bag groceries. The set-up there is not at all conducive to shopping with reusable bags, and on more than one occasion I've been met with eye rolls and heavy sighs that I'm making their job difficult. One cashier even went on a rant about how Wal Mart shouldn't sell those bags if they're not going to make it easy for the checkers to bag groceries properly. Mostly I have to hold my bags open on the tiny surface on top of the bag carousel for the cashier to put in, or sometimes, I'm expected to bag them myself. The cashiers at Wal Mart don't appear to have been trained in any kind of system for dealing with cloth bags, which is a real shame for Wal Mart's promise of good customer service.
It's not just the regular checkout lines that are problematic. The self-checkout lanes are a huge pain, because they're not programmed to account for the weight of personal shopping bags. You have to scan an item and then select "skip bagging," which really holds things up at Wal Mart, where a store code is required to override the bagging scale.
All that's gotten me to thinking. I really applaud all the retailers who are providing their green-minded customers with an affordable alternative to plastic, and even paper, bags. But that Wal Mart cashier, if rather melodramatic, was right. If retailers really want to encourage eco-friendly shopping, they'll go the extra mile and re-configure their checkout lanes for the convenience of their cashiers, and re-program the self-checkout computers to include an option for reusable shopping bags to keep those lines moving swiftly for their customers. We need to write Wal Mart (and our retailers of choice) and let them know how much green shopping means to them, and encourage them to make the changes necessary to make responsible habits like reusable shopping bags the norm.
Tuesday, July 1, 2008
One way to go green... cloth bags
I’ll admit, when I first heard about using cloth bags for grocery shopping, I was kind of stumped. A friend suggested it to me and I thought of every reason why not to – including wondering what people would think when they saw me doing so. Silly, I know. Finally, one day I caved and bought two bags at the local grocery store – at only 99 cents a piece, I figured I couldn’t go wrong.
Wow. I’ve totally changed my opinion – cloth bags are awesome. I figure that every time I do my weekly grocery shopping, I use at least 4 plastic bags. At 52 weeks in a year, that’s 208 plastic bags that I use… and that’s just one year! Now my 2 cloth bags manage to hold everything that my plastic bags used to hold, and then some! They are durable, I don’t have to worry about them breaking, and they’re convenient – my two bags and I get up to my third floor apartment with much less of a struggle than the plastic bags.
Yes, cloth bags are everywhere now, some expensive and some not so expensive. When I go grocery shopping now (as opposed to when I first started, a few months ago), I see more people using them, but they’re still in the minority – they make up maybe a fifth of the customers, as far as I can tell. I hope that they continue to become “popular” and that more people can appreciate them, like I do!
Wow. I’ve totally changed my opinion – cloth bags are awesome. I figure that every time I do my weekly grocery shopping, I use at least 4 plastic bags. At 52 weeks in a year, that’s 208 plastic bags that I use… and that’s just one year! Now my 2 cloth bags manage to hold everything that my plastic bags used to hold, and then some! They are durable, I don’t have to worry about them breaking, and they’re convenient – my two bags and I get up to my third floor apartment with much less of a struggle than the plastic bags.
Yes, cloth bags are everywhere now, some expensive and some not so expensive. When I go grocery shopping now (as opposed to when I first started, a few months ago), I see more people using them, but they’re still in the minority – they make up maybe a fifth of the customers, as far as I can tell. I hope that they continue to become “popular” and that more people can appreciate them, like I do!
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