GreenBrig

Many of us nowadays zip through the drive thru and get drinks in disposable cups. Even though they are convenient, cheap and readily available, doesn’t mean we should be using them. In fact disposable cups are a culprit to our garbage problem. Reusable beverage cups are the solution to this impeding problem. These cups come in a variety of options: Ones with strew on lids, double layered cups to prevent sweating, others with reusable straws, and some with a non-slip grip holders.

Amazon.com has a plethora of these types of cups. Chose between a wide variety of colors to suit your daily routine. Almost all of these cups are BPA free and under $10. That’s a great price for not filling up your trash can with disposable cups.  If you want to keep your hands dry while enjoying a cold beverage, the Smart Plant EC-10 cup is double layered to prevent sweating. The Copco Sierra beverage cup has a non-slip grip to help you hold your beverage while you enjoy it.

Why stop there, when you can go all the way green. Switching to reusable water bottles are a great way to go green too. There are many in the market that are BPA free, but one tops the list – Camelbak . These cups are BPA free and are Phthalates free. These bottles are easy to use with their bite valve and carrying handle.  They come in a wide range of colors and sizes and only cost about $13 a bottle.

With so many options to turn your beverage holders green, you can’t afford not to.

If it is water that you want to save, then dishwasher is more green than hand washing. Research shows that an energy star dishwasher uses only 4 gallons of water, where as hand washing uses about 16 gallons of water. Now compare that to a non-energy star dishwasher, it still only uses about 6 gallons of water. But don’t be alarmed when you open you electricity bill and find how much your bill is. It is definitely more cheaper to hand wash than use the dishwasher. Typically you can finish hand washing the dishes in about 15 minutes, but the same load can take up to 2 hours in a dishwasher.

In an article from Treehugger there was some research done and here are the facts:

Things that need to be taken into consideration while comparing are – Water use, Energy use and Carbon foot print.

Dishwasher vs Hand washing

Using the Dishwasher uses only 4 to 6 gallons of water depending if it’s an energy star or non energy star appliance. Second the energy used to heat the water. Since it only uses 4 to 6 gallons of water, the energy required to heat is much less than hand washing. Finally the carbon foot print is much less when using the dishwasher, since heating 6 gallons of water emits much less CO2 into the atmosphere than hand washing, which uses 16 gallons of water.

Conclusion

At the end of the day, if you can wash the same amount of dishes with only 6 gallons of water, then that would be the most greenest choice, but in realty that is not possible. Therefore, hands-down using the dishwasher is the most greenest way to wash dishes.

It is very important to use Bisphenol A (BPA), PVC, and Phthalate free containers around the kitchen. BPA chemical should be especially avoided by pregnant women, infants and young children. According to Wikipedia BPA has been found to be harmful since the 1930s. Nowadays customers can readily purchase safer food containers from well known brands to more obscure ones. A more safer way to avoid BPA, PVC or Phthalate is to use stainless steel or glass containers. Both of them don’t react or change when heated, so there is no worry of toxins leaking out.

Below are a list of products that are BPA, PVC and Phthalate free:

• Innate MC2 Food Container
• CaliBowls (available in ceramic and BPA-free plastic)
• Kinderville Silicone Dishes and Storage Jars
• Pyrex, Corningware and Corelle
• Anchor Hocking Glass
• Snapware Glass Lock
• Kinetic Go Green Glasslock
• Bormioli Rocco Frigoverre
• Onyx Stainless Steel Ice Cube Trays
• Ecolunchbox
• LunchBots
• Healthy Kitchenware
• Greentainer Stainless Steel Lunchbox
• To-Go Ware
• Happy Tiffin Stackable Pyramid Tiffins
• All-Clad
• Kids Konserve
• Thermos
• Oxo Pop Plastic Containers
• TellFresh Containers
• Laptop Lunches
• SnackTaxi
• 3GreenMoms
• Plum Creek Mercantile
• Fresh Snack Pack
• Graze Organic Reusable Sandwich and Snack Bags

To buy the above products, please visit SoftLandings.com

If you need a more readily available storage containers, but are only BPA free, you may turn to Gladware or Rubbermaid for containers and Ziploc and Saran brand for plastic bags. Here is a statement from Gladware mentioning all their products are BPA free. Rubbermaid has posted a page about BPA free products in their site. And here is a site about other brands that are BPA free. Nowadays, even stores like Walmart are turning to BPA free plastic ware.

The main concern is when you are heating up food in these containers or leaving the containers in hot sun. The temperature will cause the plastic or container to leach in toxins into the food. And these toxins are linked to causing cancer.

So please be aware of these toxins and use BPA, PVC and Phthalate free containers.

Green Toys is a California based toy company that makes toys from recycled plastic milk jugs and all the toys are made in the USA. Parents nowadays need to be aware of all the toxins that surround their children. This is especially true for toys. Kids play with them all day long and even put them in their mouths where toxins can leach into their developing bodies. Green Toys makes toys without any BPA, phthalates or lead paint and adhere to toys safety standards ASTM F963, EN71, and the CPSIA.

Types of Products

Green Toys carry a wide range of toys and utensils for kids:

• Building Blocks, Stacker
• BPA Free Feeding Bowls, Utensils, Plates
• Chef Sets, Cookware and Dining Sets, Dish Set
• Dump Trucks,  Recycling Trucks, Tugboats

• Ecosaucer Flying Disc
• Indoor Gardening Kit
• Jump Rope
• Sand Play Set
• Tea Set, Tool Set

Why it’s Green

1. They use recycled plastic milk jugs to start with. They break it down to high density polyethylene (HDPE). This material is the cleanest and safest plastics around.
2. The toys are made right here in California. This means less energy is produced to transport the toys around the country and emits lower levels of greenhouse gases. Also it is great to support products that are made in the USA.
3. Green Toys are packaged in recycled corrugated boxes and don’t use any plastic or cellophane or twist-ties. This makes it safe for kids to open up the packages themselves.
4. The toys safety levels are tested by third party companies. The toys also don’t contain any exterior coating, to eliminate any fears of lead paint. They also pass all the following tests:

• Consumer Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)
• Consumer Products Safety Standard Specification, ASTM F963
• California Prop. 65 restrictions on lead & cadmium
• FDA regulations for food contact
• Voluntary testing for no BPA (Bisphenol-A)
• International standards EN71 and ISO 8124

So when you are talking about your children’s toys, please do take the time to make sure they are green and made here in the USA. You can buy these toys through the Green Toys Website

Diapers are life savers for parents nowadays, but they do come with a price – a hefty one. Other than being expensive, they are not environmentally friendly. There are steps being taken to bring out bio-degradable diapers, but apparently not many parents are a fan of how they feel on their baby. So the natural thing for companies to do is to create a new technology of diapers. This is where Pampers created their Dry Max Cruiser Diapers. They are 20% thinner and are cheaper to make. They absorb more and claim to give your babies more room to stretch. But with a little investigation anyone can see that they are far from being environmentally sound. To start with the diapers use a petrochemical in their diapers to make them thinner and absorb more. Once these diapers are thrown away into the garbage, it takes about 1000 years to decompose. The old diapers aren’t any better, but at least they weren’t make with petrochemicals and didn’t take 1000 years to decompose.  Secondly, even though these diapers are cheaper to produce, the savings aren’t being passed on to consumers. They seem to have made this change more for their bottom line, than for your babies. Finally, the design of the diapers are not practical for a moving baby. The contents of the diaper tends to come out and mess up the babies clothes.

Both on their website and on Amazon.com you can read many reviews from parents asking Pampers to go back to their old diapers. But change doesn’t seem to be coming. Diapers are bad, but this one is the worst so far. So please don’t support Pampers and ask for a more environmentally sound diaper. This will benefit both you and your baby in the long run.

The makers of Clorox have now come out with a natural cleaning products line called “Green Works”. This line of natural cleaning products are made from plant based ingredients and are a 100% bio-degradable. Additionally the bottles are all recyclable. This line of natural cleaning products is perfect for all us who desire a more balanced lifestyle without compromising power. The products don’t leave any harsh residue but still get the job done, as you can expect from Clorox brand products.

Green Works Product line

Green Works carry many different products like:

• Natural All Purpose Cleaner
• Natural Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• Natural Multi-Surface Cleaner
• Natural Bathroom Cleaner
• Natural Glass & Surface Cleaner
• Natural Dish washing Liquid
• Natural Compostable Cleaning Wipes
• Natural Laundry Stain Remover
• Natural Laundry Detergent

With this kind of a line-up of products, no wonder others are competing for the Natural Cleaning Product market share.

You can purchase any of their products at your local grocery and drug store, or at Amazon.com

If you have kids, then you might be one of millions of people in the US who us batteries on a daily routine. This is where rechargeable batteries can save you money and the planet. The company Green Batteries has a wide range of batteries to chose from that are rechargeable. They even sell battery chargers for almost all the sizes and other accessories for them.

Seems like they manufacture their own “Green Batteries” which is backed by a 30 day money back guarantee. But if you are skeptical about an unknown manufacturer, Energizer also makes rechargeable batteries and battery chargers. If you would like to purchase it, Amazon.com has almost all of the sizes at a great prices.

You can recharge these batteries about 100 times and they hold their charge for many hours. This will definitely save you money in the long run and it will keep away dead batteries from our landfills. Once the batteries have lost their charge, instead of throwing them into the trash bin, please look up a recycling station in your neighborhood by visiting 1800Recycling.com. This is a great resource to find recycling locations for other materials too.

In this day in age, everything requires batteries and energy to operate them. If you truly want to go green, buy simple toys for your kids and don’t think they won’t be able live without that portable DVD player. You’ll be surprised how kids will adapt to any environment. They just need to be given a little credit.

Bissell Vacuum Cleaners are becoming a little bit more greener nowadays by adding more sustainable designs to their products. The biggest product that has gone green is the “Little Green” vacuum cleaner that is made of 50% post consumer recycled plastics. Others include the “Steam Mop” which cleans without any chemicals. This is great, since harsh chemicals can be toxic in a closed environment for children and pets. A lot of their liquid cleaners and formula have the EPA Design for the Environment Certification.

Bissell Sustainable Design Features:

• Designed the cleaners to use 95% less PVC in their products.
• Products are manufactured with polypropylene, which is more easily recycled.
• Both the brush block and solution tanks is made from 100% post consumer recycled plastic.
• Packaging of the product is improved by eliminating Styrofoam and using up to 75% recycled corrugate materials for the carton and inner packaging.
• The cleaning liquid that is used in the Little Green contain no heavy metals, optical brighteners, phosphates or dyes.
• Use a “Closed Loop Manufacturing” process where the Bissell parts are recycled and made into raw materials, which is then used to manufacture new Bissell components.

You can purchase one of their products from their main Bissell websites or through Amazon.com

Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions pose one of the biggest threats to Earth’s future. GHG, by absorbing and emitting radiation in the form of thermal energy, is the root cause of the greenhouse effect. This in turn causes the gradual warming of the planet that has been observed. The primary greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide (NOx), water vapor, methane, and ozone.

The developed, industrial nations tend to produce a disproportionate amount of total greenhouse gas emissions. Manufacturing and power generation industries are two of the largest sources of greenhouse gases. Fossil fuels, like coal, petroleum, natural gas, and other forms lead to large amounts of GHG emissions due to our dependence on them. Since we are becoming even more dependent on fossil fuels, humans are likely to continue emitting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Map

The map below summarizes the relative intensity of greenhouse gas emissions by country. The industrialized countries of North America and Europe, as well as certain developing countries like Brazil, India, and China are shown to be the largest producers of greenhouse gases. By contrast, African countries emit relatively low amounts of GHG.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Country in 2000

The map above shows countries in the world colored by greenhouse gas emissions. The darker colored, developed nations produce relatively large amounts of GHG compared to third-world, developing countries.

Reducing Greenhouse Gases

It is imperative that the developed nations that produce the largest amounts of greenhouse gases take the lead in reducing their emissions. As developing countries continue to add to total greenhouse gas emissions, concerted effort must be taken to control global warming and other effects of GHG.

It is very important that all of us start eating more organic and natural foods, but this is even more valuable for infants and children. Earth’s Best makes certified organic baby food for the past 25 years. Even though their business has grown, their product has stayed the same – simple. Earth’s Best food is formulated not only for you infants, but also for your growing toddlers and young kids. They also carry a small number of baby care products like chlorine-free diapers and wipes.

Behind the Ingredients

All the items that go into the product is grown without any pesticides, chemicals or growth hormones. More importantly they are free off  genetically engineered ingredients (GEIs) which are genes that are taken from one plant and inserted into another strain of plant to produce more crops or control pests. Most of their products are grown in 4 farms in the US, who all practice pesticide-free, organic agriculture.

Reviews from parents and doctors conclude that Earth’s Best product is a great and practical way to give the best to our children. You can buy this product from Earth’s Best Website or on Amazon.com. But now a days you can find this product at Whole Foods and Babies R Us. Hopefully you will give it a try and your picky eaters will like it.