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This Earth Day, Join in the Great “Green Idea Swap”

Contributed By: ecofabulous

In honor of Earth Day we’ve listed out top tips from ecofabulous founder, Zem Joaquin, to help you make small changes that add up to a big difference. Through the end of the month, you can have even more of an impact by sharing these tips and earning money for Global Green, a non-profit organization dedicated to fostering a global value shift toward a sustainable and secure future. As a follow-up to last week’s live Webcast hosted by Kelly Ripa, Electrolux will donate $1 to Global Green for every eco tip swapped via kelly-confidential.com. So take a look at the top tips below and start swapping!

1. Become a weekday vegetarian. Follow Treehugger.com founder, Graham Hill, in cutting down your meat consumption to only two days a week in order to dramatically reduce your impact (up to 70%!).

2. The easiest way to buy sustainable clothing is to start with what already exists! Shopping vintage and pre-owned means your purchase won’t be contributing to the production of any new material (and will often get you a great deal). For example, buying a pre-loved silk dress on eBay saves 95% of the CO2 needed to make a new one.

3. Choose non or low-VOC paint, especially for children’s rooms. There’s now an option in every color (and almost every manufacturer). You’ll get the perfect hue without being exposed to hazardous chemicals – that “new paint” smell is courtesy of volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), which cause eye and throat irritation and have been linked to asthma and cancer.

4. Whether shopping for groceries or clothes, use reusable bags! And if you forget your bag, ask for a used cardboard box from the store’s old packaging supplies.

5. LED lights save energy, are mercury-free, and mean you won’t have to change any bulbs for a very long time (plus many of the new ones are dimmable and have a warmer light).

6. Try adding one day a week of “car-alternative” transportation, like walking, riding your bike, or taking the bus. If you do commute by car, try to organize a carpool - a car with a solo driver releases a pound of CO2 per mile!

7. Use glass food storage containers rather than plastic. An easily recyclable, renewable resource, glass doesn’t leach toxic chemicals when heated or cooled.

8. Buy organic cotton T-shirts and denim. It takes a third of a pound of pesticides to produce enough conventional cotton for one t-shirt and two-thirds of a pound of pesticides for one pair of jeans! By buying an organic outfit, that’s one pound of pesticides kept out of our waterways and soil - and off our bodies!

9. Look into eco–friendly mattresses, like those that use organic cotton, natural latex or organic wool (which is naturally fire resistant). We spend one-third of our lives sleeping in bed where we can be exposed to dangerous chemicals. Children are even more sensitive to these toxins.

10. When buying jewelry, choose vintage or new pieces that use recycled gold or silver. The production of just one 18-karat gold ring that weighs less than an ounce can generate 20 tons of harmful mine waste.

11. New vinyl shower curtains release around 108 different chemicals within the first 28 days of use! Avoid buying PVC whenever possible—use an organic cotton shower curtain or one made from recycled polyester.

12. From the bathroom to the kitchen, to the office, paper is a household and work-wide staple, so look for products that contain 100% recycled post-consumer waste.