We live in a world of disposable everything.  Cups, plastic bags, razors, boyfriends; you name it, you can find it in a disposable form.  And although this makes our lives terribly easy, it also makes our landfills terribly full.

By just being a tad more conscious of your recycling options, you can make a huge difference with relatively minimal effort.  Here are some common products that you can recycle right in your home town!

Batteries – These babies are full of heavy metals and toxins that are of special concern to soil and water contamination, so be sure to recycle them!  Keep a box in your room so once those batteries from your remote control (or any other battery powered “appliances”…) burn out you can send them in to be recycled.  Batteryrecycling.com has a good program where you can send in pretty much any commercial battery for recycling, or you can check out any local recycling centers in your area to see if they offer this service.

Laptops – I don’t know about you, but I have definitely made my way through computers.  My most recent, Doris, has a cracked screen and a dead battery.  Who in their right mind would want to take her off my hands?  Gazelle.com, that’s who.  They offer laptop recycling services and even offer payment for some laptop models!  If poor little Doris can have a $30 value, just imagine what your old laptop can fetch!

Clothes – As college girls, I’m sure we’ve all become familiar with the beauty that is Goodwill.  There is no better excuse for buying new clothes than donating the old ones to a good cause.  But what about those that are just too threadbare to donate?  Surprisingly, you can donate them anyways!   Goodwill and the Salvation Army send out these clothes to “rag sorters” which recycle the fabrics themselves.  Another good option for running shoes in particular is Recycled Runners, a company specializing in recycling and donation of running shoes.  Hit up their website for donation info and sights in your area. Read More »

As you may have gathered from my previous articles, I am a shopaholic.  Even if I have no money, I can’t help but scour the internet for deals at the online sample sales (seriously, check out Ideeli, it’s amazing).  And even though I can’t always buy sustainable products, I still try to buy in sustainable ways.

Here are my favorite shopping tips to don’t just save the environment, but they can also save you money.

Read on, my fellow “Frugalista” (thank you, Target.)

Shop in stores.  Preferably ones you can walk or carpool to.  Retailers get their shipments in bulk, which decreases the amount of packaging material used to deliver the products.  When you shop online, shipping costs (and all that wasted paper and cardboard) can add up quickly, so spare yourself and hit the local mall (with your reusable tote!). Be sure to try on before you buy so you can avoid the extra gas needed to return something to the store.

Look for local labels.  Try to buy from companies that are based in the your state to cut down on energy needed for transportation.  If that’s not possible, look for brands that produce their products within the United States.  American Apparel, C&C Cailfornia, Splendid, J.Crew, Lucky Jeans, Joe’s Jeans, True Religion, Juicy Couture, 7 For All Mankind, Citizens of Humanity, and Rock and Republic (just to name a few) all manufacture their clothing in the U.S. Read More »

You know that really annoying friend of yours who feels the incessant need to point out that they were the first to know about a now really popular band every. single. time. it comes on the radio?

As annoying as they are, there is something exciting about the knowing of a new band, new clothing brand, great sale, awesome book or recipe, and sharing it with the ones you love. And by ones you love, I mean the ones you go back and forth with right here on the CollegeCandy message boards.

So here’s the deal: every week, we will feature things that YOU think other CollegeCandy readers just have to know about. Anything at all. Nothing is off limits.

Guffly.com
We all are trying to be green: wear more green, eat more green, recycle more green, earn more green. But sometimes it’s hard because we don’t know where to look for the best products. And let’s face it – some of those eco-friendly fashions have been hit with the ugly stick one too many times. Not to mention the sometimes way-out-there price tags – I mean I could buy some Jimmy Choo’s for the price of some of these reusable forks, frocks and eco-friendly gym bags! But thankfully, Guffly has come to our rescue. Guffly is a one-product-per-day online store (perfect for those of us who get overwhelmed by too many fabu products at once!). They feature eco-friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. They have made it their jobs (literally!) to find only the most stylish eco-friendly and fair trade products out there.  Now you can actually do something good for the environment, feel good about yourself AND still look cute. Sign me up.  Read More »

I first learned about Freitag, a Swiss company, and its products while flipping through a magazine during a flight. What kept me reading the whole article instead of turning up the volume on my headphones to whatever random movie was playing on that mini screen 10 rows up was how they made their products. This wasn’t just another ho-hum ad for a travel bag; Freitag was born from something bigger.

The idea came about when graphic designer brothers Markus and Daniel Freitag wanted a durable and waterproof messenger bag to carry their belongings in. They traveled by bike and when it rained, their designs would get ruined. They were inspired by the colorful trucks that would drive past their apartment, so they made the very first Freitag bag out of a truck tarpaulin with a used car seatbelt as the strap and an old bicycle inner tube as the edging.

And there it was: an awesome looking bag that was practical and eco-friendly. Read More »

Are you committed to living green?  Are you committed enough to work at making your school devoted to becoming green, as well? Do you like moolah?

Keep on reading, ladies. Keep on reading.

There is a new contest on the block and we want everyone to get involved. America’s Greenest Campus, running from now until October, is aimed at college students nationwide in an effort to reduce their school’s carbon footprint.

In order to participate, you have to sign up with any .edu e-mail address and then encourage your friends, classmates, and professors to sign up as well… and commit. Commit to what? To making your campus a greener and more earth-friendly place to live and learn. Read More »

I’m all for being green and helping to save the planet in our my own way. I always recycle empties and I even reuse old print-outs for taking notes in class. But there are some things out there that take things a bit too far. And by “too far,” I mean, “totally gross me out and make me want to vomit in my mouth a little.”

Surely, the planet can be saved without going to these lengths:

1.  Recycled Animal Poo Products – One company collects elephant dung, washes it, and uses it to make pretty recycled-paper stationery.  Another makes “poopourri” in the same sort of way from sheep poo.  Interesting idea, but icky.  I don’t care if it’s washed and sanitized, I don’t want my apartment smellin’ like sheep poo.  Plus, what would someone think if you sent your birthday invites on poo paper?

2.  Reusable Toilet Wipes - Exactly what it sounds like.  Basically, they are cloth wipes that you use when you go to the bathroom… and then wash and reuse.  But where do you put them before you have a chance to get home to wash them? And how do you explain to house guests that you don’t have TP, but they can feel free to wipe themselves with that little napkin next to the toilet? And how would you TP your neighbor’s house for Halloween? So many questions, not to mention the gross-out factor of washing those things with your sheets and towels. Read More »

We all want to go green, but let’s face it – it’s not easy. Not only is it impossible to build a compost heap in the dorms, there are a lot of lame Earth-friendly products out there. We’re not going to trade in our gorgeous leather bags for some crappy burlap sack. We aren’t going to start cleaning our dishes with some nasty dish soap/toothpaste/shampoo combo.

That’s not going green; that’s going ugly.

But wait. There are some really cool, great and low-cost products out there that are also good for Mother Earth. The kinds of things that you use in everyday life. Things that would be easy to swap out to decrease your negative impact on our beautiful planet.

Lucky for you, CC found them. Read on to learn about the best everyday products for our green world: Read More »

[Post courtesy of out friends at StyleBakery.com. For more awesome fashion, style and beauty news, check them out!]

As global warming continues to become a bigger and bigger issue for our planet, it becomes increasingly important to do our part to cut down on wasteful resources. And what better place to start than in our very own closets?

These five items are all created with a bevy of natural materials from recycled leather to organic cotton, all which help to reduce our carbon footprint and still give us a fashionable footprint in which to step forward. Read More »

The peanut crisis is getting worse. And I just ate a PB Power Bar. Oy.

Go green this V-Day.

Proof that dorky dudes are slightly funny.

Harvard is losing profs to Obama.

(Put on some clothes and) Come home, Amy Winehouse. 

OMFG we need this at our Superbowl Party.

Do people actually wear these?

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Man sues strip club for $25,000.

Will University budget cuts compromise student safety?

What skin type do you have?

So it seems like everyone is buzzing about the benefits of organic things these days. I’ll admit, my family is all about organic foods; Trader Joes anyone? But organic makeup seems to just be making its way to your local mall. Toting a heavy price-tag and boasting health benefits, organic makeup seems pretty legit.

But the Katie Couric in me has decided to investigate just how legit this organic makeup is.

First off, let’s make this Organic 101 for a second and define what it means to be organic. Organic products are products that are produced without pesticides or other chemicals. They are also produced in a way that is environmentally friendly, as toxins are not released into the air. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) has now made standards that regulate which foods can be deemed organic. Although usually more expensive, organic foods can be better for you, so the same should be true for organic makeup right? Turns out, not so much.

I decided to check out my best friend, Sephora, to see just what organic products they offer. Sephora is stocked with three “organic” brands: Care by Stella McCartney, Juice Beauty and NVEY Eco. Each brand claims to be pure, luxurious, and certified organic. Looking through their products they look pretty great: Care is big on moisturizing skincare and NVEY has some really pretty eyeshadow kits.

Too bad that upon further research the term organic kinda seems like a hoax… Read More »