Green Shopping

Laundry Balls - Your new Going Green Best Friend and Why

Laundry balls come in different models.  Some resemble a small ball that bounces around in your washing machine and provides extra agitation.  Some other models act as detergent dispensers that are one time use and need to be repurchased continually.  There are still others that contain other materials that are supposed to allow for the release of ionized oxygen during the wash cycle.  This ionized oxygen is supposed to raise pH levels in the water, thus softening it and the fabrics being washed.  This allows water to penetrate easily the fabric and lift out dirt and grime. The effectiveness of these laundry balls is in dispute from people who swear they work to those who see no appreciable difference and consider them a waste of money.  The balls also come in a ceramic disk form; however, the way the work remains pretty much identical to the ball types. Laundry balls are not a new product and can be traced back to 1991 when they were sold via a multi-level marketing outfit.  This was done through recruitment of distributors and their subsequent sales of the product.  As with many of the earlier MLM businesses, emphasis was put more on the recruiting of distributors ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it

Plastic Bag Alternatives

Plastic bags are one of our icons of convenience culture.  Some people say that the tossable plastic bag is the most common consumer item out there, with trillions of examples loose in our waste stream and our environment.  The hazards of the plastic bag start with its production, since they're made from petroleum products (with all the impacts of using fossil fuels) and the inks used in some bags contain lead and other toxic colorants. Then the bags have to be transported to stores, using fuel on the way, and purchased or given to customers.  Each year in America alone, over a hundred billion plastic bags are tossed.  Some of them have only ever carried one small item - it's standard for anything you buy to be placed in one of these bags, and you'll get one unless you request otherwise.  Throwing away that many bags is the equivalent of throwing out about twelve million barrels, all full of oil. Only about one percent of the bags we use are recycled, if you look at world numbers.  For the US by itself, that number rises to ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it

How Green is Shopping Online?

Shopping can be a hassle, especially during the holiday season. There are traffic jams and long lines at every cashier’s counter, and stores are extra busy and packed. It's tempting to just avoid these stressors by shopping online, but is online shopping good for the planet? Here we will look at the pros and cons of online shopping. Some of the benefits of shopping online include: - By shopping online, you can avoid driving and save on gas, avoid getting caught in traffic and spend more time looking for the perfect gifts for your loved ones. - You have more opportunity to be picky about where your items were made, by whom, and how. When you show in local malls or boutiques, you are limited to their inventory. Most online stores will give you a little extra information about the products being sold. - You can save on armloads of paper and plastic shopping bags. - You can find and support a greater variety of stores online that are doing good things for the environment, as well as a greater variety of items. The greatest downside to online shopping ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it

Renting Movies vs Buying Movies

Renting movies instead of buying them is a significant change that can protect the environment and save you money.  Moreover, the Internet will provide you with tons of movies, available to download for free – which will certainly expand your options and help you make the difference in your green going behavior.  Renting movies is your chance to transform your regular lifestyle into a green one.  By renting movies, you can guarantee those DVDs will be used multiple times, saving people money and saving the planet at the same time. You will prevent waste, as the materials in which the DVDs are made are not recyclable.  The DVDs that are thrown away will pollute the environment for a very long time.  Renting DVDs ensure their continuous cycle – providing entertainment, and caring for the environment.  You can play your own important role when it comes to preventing such polluting materials from being thrown away in the environment.  In addition, you could save more than $12 a pop.  The average movie rents for about $4, while the average new DVD sells for more than $16. Try renting movies by downloading.  This actually reduces your carbon footprint on a number of levels.  One example ...

• Bookmark :
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Stumbleupon
• Redit it