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Go Green at Halloween?
Believe it or not, you can Go Green at Halloween!
You can make Halloween fun, healthy, affordable and GREEN! The best way to do this is to use the concept of the three ‘R’s’ – Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
This will help to organize a heathy and ‘GREEN‘ Halloween.
Although the small candy bars may taste good, they are full of sugar and wrappers are not exactly “Earth friendly“…
Why not suggest to your children a fun alternative without having to tell them you’re not giving out the usual chocolate?
It is a good idea to get the children’s approval and make them offer a suggestion of what to do that might be different and fun. See if they have suggestions of what to hand out and then ask if they like the idea of giving out neat trinkets and treasures.
I like the idea of polished stones or coins. If you decide to give out treats I would suggest healthier fruit bars with extra Vitamin C.
Children might like the idea of offering something different to their friends in the neighbourhood and if they believe they had a part in deciding what to hand out it makes them feel good.
You might try to Reduce by:
Giving out the treasure, or a colourful pencil and just one treat not tons of sugary candy.
You can Reuse many items in a “fun” way:
Reusing is a good idea even for the costume, you can find things around the house to use for a unique, yet fun costume. One idea is for your child to wear something that they can wear over again, like clothes they would wear everyday. For example, my son’s costume this year is “Spiderman“, but it is a set of pyjamas that can be washed and worn not just for Trick or Treating, but also for sleeping thoughout the year.
Another year, we reused a friend’s “Tigger“ costume that was like brand new.
If you plan to host a Halloween party why not find things at home like old jewellery, belts or scarves that can be made into a unique costume?
For Recycling try:
Remember to compost leftovers, natural decorations like gourds, hay, jack-o-lanterns and candy…
Reducing, Reusing and Recycling are quite easy to do and sometimes even more convenient than travelling to so many stores to find the best costume ever and as long as your child is happy, then everyone is happy while making the earth a much cleaner place to live.
This a neat site for Halloween tips and tricks:
GreenHalloween.org
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Jill
Earth Friendly Fabrics and Tips
Are you ready to revamp your closet for the fall?
You should consider designers like, Kim Carlson, eco-expert and founder of “EarthSmart Consumer Certified”, who use earth-friendly fabrics and practices. Kim helps people become true label readers in a way to be eco-chi and find green threads. Although green clothes may not be the first thing we read about in fashion, there is definitely a growing awareness.
Here are some tips from Kim regarding eco-friendly fabrics like organic cotton, hemp fabric, tencel and wool.
Eco-Friendly Fabrics
Organic Cotton: Try to buy anything you wear next to your skin, like underwear and pyjamas made out of organic cotton. Non-organic cotton is an extremely pesticide intensive crop. It is comforting to know that organic cotton is raised without toxins or synthetic fertilizers. So it’s better for land and water supply. It’s also produced without harsh chemical bleaches or dyes, which won’t irritate your skin.
Hemp: Hemp is making a comeback not as a drug, but as a fabric. Hemp grows naturally without pesticides. Since it grows like a weed it even nourishes the soil rather than sapping it and costs less to produce. Hemp is often combined with other fabrics like silk and cotton to make jeans, skirts, jackets and accessories including purses and belts. No need to worry, this isn’t the clunky, hemp fashion of the 70’s. The designs are sleek and exude a sophisticated eco-intelligence.
Tencel: Be sure to check labels when shopping for a new fabric called tencel. It’s known in the fashion world for its “drape”. It looks quite luxurious, similar to rayon. The fabric is lightweight, soft and breathable. Tencel is made from wood pulp – that’s right, trees.
Most other synthetic fabrics are made from petroleum, a non-renewable and highly toxic resource. Tencel is made from tree-farmed trees, a renewable resource. The other good news is the fiber is produced with much less pollution than other man-made fibers.
Wool: On a cool night you migh consider Alpaca wool. Alpacas are related to Llamas of the Andes Mountains. The wool doesn’t contain lanolin, meaning it doesn’t require the harsh chemicals used to clean sheep’s wool. It is softer and stronger than conventional wool and comes in a wide range of beautiful, earth tone colors, which eliminates the use of toxic dyes.
Recycled Options:
To keep your fashion looking fresh and lighten your pocketbook, you can mix and match expensive, cheap, new and old into your wardrobe selections. To take advantage of recycling, buy from a company that makes new goods out of discarded waste like “Ekoganic’s” recycled cashmere designs made from scrap cashmere. It keeps scraps out of the waste stream and uses less energy patching pieces together.
Care of Clothes:
Did you realize that taking care of your clothes is as important as the kind of clothes you buy? Try using a biodegradable, non-phosphorus laundry soap. If you buy something that needs dry-cleaning, be sure to take it to a “non-PERC” cleaner. PERC (perchloroethylene) is a hazardous chemical that’s been linked to cancer. You can find these cleaners by looking for “wet cleaners”, carbon dioxide cleaners or a silicone solvent cleaner. If a PERC dry cleaner is used, take the plastic off of the clothes immediately and air them out in a basement for 48 hours before hanging them in your closet. The plastic holds the toxic chemical in until you wear it!
The Bottom Line: Become a label reader! Read clothing labels just as you read labels to find out what’s in your food. Apply the organic principle: avoiding chemicals is a good thing even in what we wear and how we clean our clothes. So the next time you go shopping remember these important tips. Even take a little note with you listing different types of eco-friendly fabrics.
For more on Kim, please visit www.earthsmartconsumer.com.
Lucky Earth
I would like to introduce you to a new, GREEN way to wash your car.
This idea is fantastic! It is a ”Waterless” Car Wash, from “Lucky Earth”.
This incredible idea from “Lucky Earth” makes it possible to quickly and easily clean your entire car, inside and out. It can be used on wet and dry surfaces. You can even use it inside your vehicle on the dashboard, leather seats and doors.
You might ask, well how can you really have a “Waterless” Car Wash?
The idea behind the concept is, it dissolves and encapsulates dirt, then whisks it away with a microfiber towel.
When you use the “Lucky Earth, Waterless Car Wash” System you will help reduce water consumption, while having no pollutants run into our streams, rivers, and lakes.
“Imagine the good we will do for ourselves, our families, and the world!”
Benefits of Lucky Earth “Waterless” Car Wash:
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Save up to 840 gallons with one bottle
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Get 7-10 washes from one 32 oz bottle
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Save Money
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Save Time
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Save Water
The “Waterless Car Wash” from Lucky Earth is made with water, natural surfactants (the cleaner) derived from coconut, and silicone.
What I like about this product is the use of natural products and the great benefit to our earth!
There are many other products available. You should check them out at:
You will be glad you did and think about the good you will be doing for our environment!
Two more tips re: avoiding GMO’s
Tip 2: Avoid Artificial Additives and Sweeteners…absolutely avoid all artificial sweeteners like, Aspartame, Nutrasweet, etc. Use honey, or real maple syrup or stevia instead. If you want to eat sugar, use organic sugar.
Tip 3: Buy Local…If you can, avoid all meat and dairy that is not organic. Non-organic meat and dairy is made from cows, chickens and pigs that have been fed GMO corn and soy. If you really want to avoid GMOs, you should try and buy organic meat and dairy.
If you do eat non-organic dairy products, avoid dairy products with rBGH, the genetically modified growth hormone.
Need Energy?
Do you lack energy and feel tired during the day?
Can you imagine a drink that contains so many ingredients that it has the highest antioxidant concentration compared to many others? This drink rates the highest on the ORAC value scale at 4500.
For those of you who don’t know, ORAC value means oxygen radical absorbance capacity and is a way to measure the antioxidant capabilities of different foods.
The ingredients that rate extremely high on the ORAC value scale include a mixture of berries like acai, blueberries, goji, noni and grapeseed extract, just to name a few. You only have to take two ounces per day to get high nutritional value and energy.
With this type of drink you can boost energy and your immune system.
What I like about this type of supplement is, you don’t have to take pills, pills and more pills. Taking pills can become tiring. Every since I was young, I have not liked swallowing pills.
Finally I don’t have to and neither do you. This drink is 60,000 for 4oz on the ORAC scale:
Why Go Green?
Are you confused about going green? There is so much hype out there about it, that you may not know where to begin. I am here to help you and learn along with you. I truly believe it is important to go green, but how green? If you can do something each day to help our planet we are that much farther ahead. Even if you start by doing something once a week you are helping our planet in your own way.
Here are three tips:
- Keep reusable shopping bags in your car, so they are accessible when you need a quick trip to the grocery store or have a large order.
- Keep your tap water to a pencil’s width when washing your hands or turn it off when brushing your teeth.
- Use cold water when doing laundry it will save energy, money and still keep your clothes looking bright.
You should recycle as often as possible so that there is not so much waste in the landfills. Also, try to use safer, more concentrated products that you add water to, so they will last longer. I can help you with finding green products and ideas.
I choose to go green to help the planet, our future and my family. How about you?
