Bloggy Giveaway - 3 more days!

I am opening the Green Giveaway for 3 more days to participate in the bloggy giveaways carnival! Leave your comments here and I will draw a winner for a fabulous Organic Cotton T-Shirt for one lucky gal! International comments welcome! Drawing will be held on February 3rd.

Bottled Water Boycott

Bottled water companies have got us all thinking they have the corner on "pure" water, when the reality is that their water is usually not any better than tap water. Did you know that many companies actually bottle their water from the same sources? As a frugal mom, that alone convinced me to stop wasting my money on water that costs more per gallon than my gasoline!
As an eco-concious mom, the statistics on waste and pollution that the bottled water industry produces made me SERIOUS about spreading the word.

We just received our Sigg bottles in the mail for the kids, and LOVE them! We have a Best Water pitcher to filter our water, and simply fill these up in the morning. It's great on the go, no more bottled water for us! And have you seen the cute prints for us eco-fabulous moms? I want this one next: The kids got this print: Take the "Think outside the bottled water" pledge by clicking below. The statistics are straight from their site:

Did you know?

Seventy-four percent of Americans drink bottled water, and one in five drinks only bottled water.

Worldwide, consumers spent $100 billion on bottled water in 2005.


Each year more than 4 billion pounds of PET plastic bottles end up in landfills or as roadside litter.

Making bottles to meet Americans’ demand for bottled water required the equivalent of more than 17 million barrels of oil last year – enough fuel for more than 1 million U.S. cars for a year - and generated more than 2.5 million tons of carbon dioxide

Green Giveaway!

This organic cotton tee Needs You! Leave a comment on the blog by Thursday the 31st, 12pm. The winner will be chosen on February 1st. Winner will get their choice of S, M or L in this tee. And just because you're a guy doesn't mean you can't try to win....Valentine's Day is just around the corner! Comment Away!

Greenwashing

If you are not familiar with this term, you need to be, and QUICK! According to Wikipedia: Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.[1]

If you are just starting to be a green consumer, one who wants to make a difference with their dollars, then greenwashing can really fool you, it's around every corner! Most companies now know that "greening" their image is starting to make economic sense and gain them loyal customers.

I found a perfect example this week on the Ellen show. She has All Small & Mighty as a "green" sponsor, claiming that their product helps to save the environment because it is concentrated. Granted, concentrated is a great first step to helping reduce plastic and waste. As consumers, it's smarter to buy concentrated for our wallets, because we are not paying for water. However, the glaring gorilla that nobody is pointing out is that All is still Toxic, and not very eco-friendly in its chemical makeup. Moms wanting to go green may see this advertisement and promotion and just assume that All is green, it's not!

So what alternatives do we have? I reviewed Mountain Green Laundry Detergent and found it to be eco-friendly, and a great cleaner. However, it is not as concentrated as I would like, and is tough on the pocketbook. The cleaner I finally settled on is Shaklee's HE compatible Laundry Liquid. It is super concentrated, you only use 1oz per load, and it works fabulously! Even better than the Gain HE I was used to and swore by before. Many products are now certified green by third parties to prevent consumer confusion. Read labels carefully, and don't let greenwashing tactics hoodwink you!

'08 Toyota Prius Review

No, I didn't run out and buy a 2008 Toyota Prius....even if I wanted to my family is too big to fit in one! But I did get to test one out last weekend on a trip to Atlanta. The drive was 260 miles each way, and we drove about 10 miles to the Marta station and some around town the 3 days I was there. Total miles about 600. Total gas used $40 at around $2.90/gallon = 13.8 gallons=43 mpg. Keep in mind that there were a lot of highway miles in that trip, which uses more gas than battery. So definately better than my minivan which averages only 28 mpg on the highway.

The big question here is how does it drive? We all know it saves gas and money....big plusses for our pocketbooks and the planet. But....it's definately an adjustment to drive. Many luxury models have similar systems to turn on the car, such as "plugging" in your clicker, no key, and joystick like shifter. This is a bit awkward when you first start driving. My biggest complaint is that the park button is above the joystick for shifting. I thought that a button on the top, or side would've been more convenient. The display was confusing, and altogether annoying to operate, but I figured it out eventually. Bottom line, great for the environment, smooth drive, fairly roomy and cute, but awkward to get used to. Like anything minor adjustments, and more time spent driving would make this a pretty great car. Now I just have to wait for the minivan version!

New Year's Resolutions

According to statistics, up to 75% of Americans want to be "greener" this year. This is the perfect New Year's resolution, because it often covers the more traditional resolutions as well. One of mine this year is to lose weight. Thankfully, eating fresh vegetables from my own garden or from the farmer's market is gentle on the environment too and saves many tons of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere. Biking and walking everywhere you can will save the planet and burn calories at the same time.

Another common resolution is to save money. Going green doesn't have to be more expensive, in fact in many cases it is actually the more frugal thing to do. Using less energy by turning down your thermostat, switching to CFL's and being more efficient with your electricity use can save the average family $200-400/yr. Buying greener cleaning products in concentrate can be much more cost effective than your traditional all-purpose cleaners, and prevents hundreds of plastic bottles from entering the landfill.

Lastly, being a good neighbor and serving others is on the top of many resolution lists. What better way than doing your part to keep the water, air and soil clean for the global community. The people who live in South America who depend on the rain forests or the small fishermen in the world who depend on the fish will be directly affected by your conumer choices. Resolutions are best kept if they are planned out ahead of time. Make a list of 10 green things to do this year, and be well on your way to going green. You can make a difference on an individual level, make it a resolution!