MORE Earth Friendly Purchases Under $50

MORE! I like more. I had so much fun writing Earth Friendly Purchases Under $50 that I had to write another one, because there just had to be MORE!

In the previous article, 10 environmentally friendly purchases that cost less than $50 were listed. Household items, foods, cleaning products, even clothing were named as helping to foster a "green" life that didn't require taking out a home equity loan to install solar panels or wind turbines. Here are 10 more tips to help you live a greener lifestyle without blowing your budget.

Again, these are articles I wrote for the iQualifyNow.com financial site.

Earth Friendly Purchases Under $50

Being friendly to the environment and living a “green” life is not as expensive as it is sometimes made out to be. Anyone can make small changes everyday towards making a big difference in the world’s ecosystem. Here are a few tips to help you live a greener lifestyle without busting your wallet.

1. Earth-Friendly Cleansers & Detergents. Standard detergents and cleaners are not environmentally friendly and many have chemicals that are harmful even in small amounts. From bathroom and toilet cleaners to laundry detergent and dish soap, there are green products to replace all of your toxic cleaners.

2. Re-useable Shopping Bags. Each year billions of plastic bags end up littering the streets and choking our waterways. Not only that, but it takes vast amounts of oil to create plastic bags. Purchasing a few reusable shopping bags will help you eliminate hundreds, if not thousands, of shopping bags from littering the planet.

3. Energy Efficient Light Bulbs. Sure, energy-efficient light bulbs may cost more initially, but the benefits they will bring to your household are worth the extra couple of bucks. They use 75% less energy than incandescent bulbs, produce less heat, last up to ten times longer, and can save up to $30 per bulb over its lifetime.

4. Rechargeable Batteries. Rechargeable batteries can offer an economic benefit when used instead of one-time-use disposable batteries. Though they may cost more up-front than disposable batteries, rechargeable batteries come in almost all standard configurations and they can be discharged and recharged hundreds of times before they wear out.

5. Organic/Local Foods. Local foods are those that are produced within 200 miles of your home and therefore use less fossil fuels to get it to your grocery case. Your local farmers’ market is chock full of local foods that are often less expensive than at the supermarket. Organic foods are grown free of chemical or oil-based pesticides and industrial fertilizers. You don’t have to convert your entire diet, but adding a few of these items with each trip will make a big difference.

6. Fair-trade or Rainforest Friendly Coffees & Teas. Certified fair trade coffee and tea help ensure living wages and safe working conditions for farmers. TransFair and Rainforest Alliance both include rigorous environmental standards in their certification criteria. There are also fair-trade and rainforest friendly chocolates!

7. Earth Friendly Hair Products, Soaps & Lotions. Chemicals and synthetic ingredients in many shampoos, conditioners, body washes, soap, lotions, and facial care products are more detrimental to your skin, and the ecosystem, than you think. Personal care products that are plant-based as opposed to chemical-based are better for your skin and the environment.

8. Natural Fiber Clothing. Hemp, an important renewable resource, is one of the strongest and most durable of all natural textile fibers and holds its shape well, stretching less than any other natural fiber. Other fibers that are being used in natural clothing are organic cotton, wool, silk, even bamboo!

9. Recycled Paper and Other Stationary. Whether it’s a spiral bound notebook for school or beautiful stationary for a romantic letter, there are a wide variety of recycled paper products available today. Buying recycled products like this not only prevents trees from being chopped down, but it keeps more waste out of landfills.

10. Recycled Glass Products. There are many beautiful products offered these days, particularly for the kitchen, that are made from recycled glass. There are vases, glasses, stemware, bowls, and plates, all of which have been constructed out of glass bottles that otherwise would have been headed to the garbage dump.

You don’t have to invest in solar panels or a wind power generator to green up your lifestyle. These are just a few examples of easy ways to watch out for the environment without spending a lot of cash.

This article can also be read here on iQualifyNow.com.

Wasteful Packaging: It Isn't Just Wal-Mart

Though I am no longer a smoker, I still receive offers, gifts, and coupons from both Camel and Marlboro cigarettes, as I have a significant other and several friends who smoke. Today, I received coupons in the mail from both of these companies.

From Marlboro, I received an envelope with the rules to a sweepstakes, as well as a promotion code to enter it. It also came with six coupons for cigarettes.

From Camel, I received what I believed to be a gift, as it was a 5” x 5” x 1” box wrapped in plastic. Inside the box was another box and inside that, another. The boxes were promoting a new type of cigarette in brand-spankin’-new packaging. In the last box was a fake, “new Camel” cigarette pack and inside that, a single coupon the size of a business card to buy this new smoke.

This type of wastefulness is ridiculous and I have e-mailed Camel regarding it. I doubt that they will care much, even though I bet they spent much more money on printing, packaging, and postage for their single coupon than Marlboro. I would have been more understanding if there had been a gift inside, but essentially, it was 4 layers of paper and cardboard for a tiny coupon.

If you have a similar experience, it is important that you speak up and tell the company how you feel. How ever will they know that this topic is important to consumers if we don't tell them?

This article can also be found at the Blogger News Network.

[EDIT: This is the response I received from Camel after voicing concerns regarding their waste:

I noted in your e-mail that the answer "no" was selected for smoker status and wanted to let you know that our offers and websites are restricted to legal-age consumers of tobacco products.

If this information was selected in error, please let me know. I will be glad
to assist you.

I see that I will have to change my smoker status in order for them to properly ignore me. :) ]