Earth Day. The only holiday that somehow doesn’t have a college drinking game associated with it. So, since you’re sober, why not take a moment to  save the planet. Or at least support companies that are making their own attempts to go green.

The following 5 companies are all my favorite eco-friendly brands. These are brands that include being kind to the earth in their manifesto and take steps towards “greenifying” their processing, despite the hike in cost. Often, they supply products on or above par with their less eco-minded competitors and are definitely worth a look!

Make Mother Nature proud and check ‘em out (just make sure you have your credit card handy!):

What other earth friendly companies should we know about? Sound off below!

"I take 10 minute showers! I'm killing the planet!"

For the past few months I’ve been talking your ear off about why the earth is in trouble and how you can go green to save our environment.  And while it’s great to do whatever you can to protect the planet, there is such a thing as caring a little too much. According to the New York Times, there has been an increasing amount of people that report anxiety and stress because they feel like they are never as green as they would like to be.  And, believe it or not, such anxious thoughts about the environment can have negative impacts on your emotional state, your health, and your relationships.

How do you know if you’re just a concerned citizen or full-blown green stress case?  Read on for the answer and for ways to manage if you’re glowing green just a little too brightly.

Are you green stressed? There’s a huge difference between being concerned and being down right obsessed.  Before you go any further, ask yourself a few questions:  Are you happy with your efforts to help the environment?  Do you feel like you’re doing enough to go green?  Are you willing to give up your green efforts to preserve some of your favorite activities?  If you answered yes to all of these questions, then congrats!  You are helping in a way that is both healthy for the environment and healthy for your well-being.

Didn’t pass the test? Then you may have some anxiety issues related to going green. With all of the information out there, it’s hard to feel like you’re ever doing enough to counteract the rest of the world’s indifference.  Before you start ripping your hair out, realize that this is more of a psychological issue than an environmental issue.  An obsession with going green is just the same as an obsession with losing weight or making money – you never feel like you’re doing enough. Read More »

The holiday season is many things, but eco-friendly is not one of them. (Did you know that we could power 600,000 houses for a year with the amount of electricity wasted on holiday lights?!)  When you take into account all of the presents we buy, miles we travel, and food we stuff in our mouths, you can’t help but notice how quickly it all seems to add up. Now, I’m not trying to Scrooge up your holiday season, but I think we should all be aware of the impact that “the happiest time of the year” can have on our environment.

Here are some of the more harmful holiday practices and how we can tweak them to make them more eco-friendly without any less holiday cheeriness.

Gift Giving:
Every year we all spend our precious time and money picking out the perfect gifts for our loved ones.  Unfortunately, what may seem like the “perfect gift” to us may not be so appreciated by the recipient and end up as a throw-away by the time spring cleaning rolls around.  Avoid this potential waste while saving your own time and effort and give them something they will actually use.  Go for gift cards to their favorite stores so they can pick out something they’ll want.

Another idea is to stray away from buying “stuff” and give experiences to your loved ones instead.  A massage at the local spa for your mom, tickets to the big game for your dad, or a backstage pass (slash nosebleed section ticket) to the Jonas Brothers for your little sis should do the trick.  Plus, all of these gifts have the potential for you to include yourself in on the action (minus the J Bros, thanks).  Happy holidays to you!

And if none of those ideas strike your fancy, there are tons of eco-friendly gifts that will make everyone – including Mother Earth – happy. Read More »

Got something awesome everyone needs to know about? Email your “The Know” ideas to Jill@collegecandy.com and I’ll pass them along to everyone right here, right now. Everyone’s got something to share..

Biodegradable Trash Bags:
Did you know that those white plastic bags currently housing beer cans and so-dirty-and-covered-in-dust-bunnies-that-they-can’t-be-salvaged beer pong balls take a thousand years to biodegrade, if ever? Didn’t think so. Lord knows I’m not thinking about how long my trash bag will hang out with Mother Earth when I’m throwing up in it on a hungover Sunday morning.

Well now you can puke with a green conscience. Green Genius has come up with a line of garbage bags that are edible by microbes. The (green) geniuses realized that combining plastic with an additive that bonds organic nutrients to the plastic’s molecular structure miraculously turns the evil material into sugars, fatty acids, and amino acids while it sits in the landfill.

And in English that means one thing: these bags are better for Mama Earth. Read More »

I like to think that alcohol in and of itself is good for all mankind.  It makes people happier, friendlier, and much more likely to dance like a fool if given the opportunity.  Unfortunately, your favorite spirits are probably not the most eco-friendly drinks on the block (or bar).  Instead of forgoing your Saturday nights, just swap your faves for these green alternatives and feel free to party on!

Veev:  An excellent substitute for vodka, Veev is actually manufactured from acai berries which are packed with antioxidants and anthocyanins.  What makes this drink even better, however, is the company’s commitment to the environment.  Veev donates $1 towards the Brazilian rainforest for every bottle sold, preserving their sustainable acai supply.  Veev is also the first carbon-neutral liquor company, powering all of their distillers through renewable energy.  Pass up the Smirnoff  and throw one of these back with friends (but don’t forget to toast to the Brazilian rainforest first!).

OneHope Sauvignon Blanc: I bought this baby on a whim at BevMo (5 cent sale, anyone?) and felt an instant karma boost.  With every bottle sold, OneHope donates 50% of the profits to the American Forest, a charity aimed at protecting, restoring, and enhancing our native trees and forests.  If you’re not a sauvignon blanc fan, there are several other wines to choose from, each with their own cause.  Drink chardonnay for breast cancer, merlot for AIDS, or zinfandel for our troops overseas.  Whichever you choose, you can bet you’ll feel a little buzz of goodness with every glass. Read More »

When your favorite cream blush or powder foundation is empty, do you just toss it in the trash? By recycling your used beauty products, you can help save the planet and get brand new products for free!

Mac’s Back To Mac Program
Return six Mac primary packaging containers to the Mac counter at your local department store or via mail, and you’ll get a free lipstick of your choice! For more information, click here.

Read More »

I have this theory that anything that’s good for the planet is good for your health as well.  You’ve heard it all before:  ditching the car, eating organic greens, and drinking tap water are all great ways to maintain your well-being.  But did you know that adding a little green to your workout routine can actually bump it its effectiveness and your subsequent sexiness?  Read on, my friend…

Treadmill vs. Trail: Treadmills use a lottt of energy – about 6 hours of lights on a Christmas tree-worth in only 30 minutes (obscure analogy, I know).  Running outside, however, requires no additional energy except for that needed to manufacture your workout clothes.  I don’t expect you to run outside just for the environment’s sake, but what if I told you that running outside can up your calorie burn and save your joints from strain and impact?  Not only are trails more likely to have inclines that torch calories like a wildfire, they also have a bumpier terrain which causes your muscles to make tiny corrective movements. All in all, this can increase your calorie burn by up to 10%!  Run on sand, and burn 1.6 times more calories!  Plus, dirt trails, wet and dry sand, and even asphalt (never run on the concrete sidewalk!) are softer than the surface of treadmills and will better protect your knees and ankles from impact and future joint pain.  Trust me, running in nature sure beats trotting alongside that 50 year old man sweating like a pig in his 1976 gym shorts. Read More »

I have a love/hate relationship with Sephora. I love walking through there and playing with all the makeup, but I hate how there is just so much. How am I supposed to know which brand is best? Which one looks best on my skin? Which mascara is worth $45 and why is that better than my $6 mascara at home?

It’s all quite overwhelming.

And that’s why I choose my friends based on how good their makeup looks. Ok, so that’s not (totally) true, but I do depend on my friends to guide me in the direction of quality products for my face. When they tell me they love a product or brand I trust them, and I haven’t been disappointed yet.

Most recently, a friend of mine started going on and on (and on) about Tarte cosmetics. I knew nothing about them, but after spending an hour with this girl (of which, only 5 minutes were not spent talking about Tarte), I decided to take the brand for a test run myself. I ordered some of their most popular products online (it seems that various beauty editors are quite enamored as well) and tried them out.

And let me just say – I am addicted. Like seriously addicted. Not only are the products super high quality, but they are completely natural, healthy and earth friendly as well! I’m a major recycling dork (I even reuse Ziploc bags….) so that is something that is really important to me.

Anyways, I tried out a bunch of things, but here are my all-time favorite Tarte products: 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 »

Happy late Earth Day! You probably don’t think of tech gadgets when you think of saving the planet but you should. I mean think about how many new cell phones you’ve gotten in the past two years. For most people it’s at least two (or more if you’re accident/drop-in-the-toilet prone).

Where do you think your old phones go? There’s no magical cell phone farm where they go to live out their last days in a texting spree. It’s more like a industrial landfill where they sit until the end of time.

And well that’s just not great for the Earth. The amount of tech junk that’s hanging out would make Captain Planet cry.

So what can you do to help with that? Well, you could buy less stuff, but that’s not too realistic. Especially with all the cool shiz that comes out monthly (thank you, Apple!) and the short life many of our gadgets have.

So what can you do? Why recycle, of course! Read More »