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 »

I love being green.

But I loathe the possible side effect of smelling like a blend of hemp and granola from all my green efforts. And I hate when other people smell that way, too. Thus, I have put together a list of the best enviro-friendly bath product companies for ladies.  No hemp or granola; only cute, yummy-smelling products that also happen to be good for the environment.

So go ahead – splurge a little in these stores.   Your skin and your “mother” (nature, that is) will thank you.

100% Pure – This company boasts no animal products, fragrances, thickeners, emulsifiers, or preservatives.  Just pure, smelly, fruity goodness.  They feature a full line of bath, skin, and hair care products.  My personal fave is their body washes that actually make you smell like what it says on the bottle (genius, I know!).  They have several scents to choose from, ranging from mint eucalyptus to dark chocolate mocha. (Editor’s Note: If it’s all natural, can we eat it!?) My personal fave, however, is the Honey Almond Milk Shower Gel.  It’s seriously like taking a bath in a creamy almond smoothie, but without all of the clean up.

Lush Cosmetics – This company has stores in 35 countries across the world.  Lush hasn’t just conquered the far reaches of the globe, they’ve also become one of the green powerhouses of the bath product industry.  Their products are all natural and they have practically eliminated any unnecessary packaging from their products. Most items can be purchased by the pound and are wrapped with parchment paper upon purchase.  For their catalogs, and when packaging cannot be avoided, they make sure to use post-consumer materials to save them trees.   Lush also makes all of their products by hand (I’m talkin’ smashing coconuts with hammers kinda work), which saves energy and provides jobs.  If you’re going to give Lush a try, I strongly recommend trying their skin care line.  I personally love Ultrabland, a peanut oil based cleanser that can seriously take off ANY makeup you may put on your eyes without the painful sting of alcohol-based makeup removers. Read More »