5 Ideas for week 5
1.) Trade your plastic water bottle for stainless-steel. Personally I love the SIGG bottles. Stainless-steel bottles are free of bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic substance used to make clear and shatterproof plastic. BPA has been linked to cancer, interferes with fertility, and could contribute to childhood behavioral problems like hyperactivity. Okay...well being the mother of 4 and 5 year old boys you don't to tell me twice!
2.) Download your favorite songs online. It takes a lot of raw materials to manufacture a compact disc. In addition to the CD itself, don't forget about the plastic jewel case.
3.) Cancel your newspaper subscription and read the news online. From the trees that are cut to manufacture the paper and the chemicals used to produce ink to the energy used to run the printing press...reading online is just an eco-friendly alternative!
4.) Order a tap beer when you're out. Draft beer eliminates the need for glass bottles and cardboard packaging.
5.) Buy organic, fair trade chocolate. With Valentine's Day right around the corner this is my favorite green tip this week. You can read all about responsible chocolate companies here. Have you ever visited the organic/natural chocolate section of your favorite grocery store or speciality shop? I have to admit that one of the things I love about "good" chocolate is the packaging. Yes you may spend $6 on a candy bar but now I understand a little bit more about why. I took it upon myself to purchase a few bars (that I plan to give to my office employees) and found that "fair trade" chocolate was actually not easy to find. Only one of these bars specifically states fair trade but each one seemed to offer something that made it stand out.
The Chuoa bar sold for $4.99 and states "slave-free cocoa". Gee, how big of them...
The two Santander bars state "fairly traded with small farmers from our country". This pineapple one sold for $2.59.
The Vosges bar was my biggest splurge at $5.99, but part of the reason may be that they produce their chocolate with 100% renewable energy...wind to be precise. Read about their green mission here.
So there you have it...5 very cool (and easy) ideas and some totally tasty green chocolate. Won't you feel better when you give your Valentine chocolate that is good for them, eco-friendly and packaged so totally cool? I can't wait to give these to my office employees - they deserve $17.00 worth of chocolate more than anyone I know...
1 comment:
Give up my newspaper? Gasp. Every newspaper is recycled/reused...but give it up? Can't I just stop breathing or something easier??
Bryn
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