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.

So how do you fix it? Unless your stress is very severe, a quick reality check is just the ticket to snap you out of it.  First of all, think about all of the things you already do to help the environment.  Do you recycle?  Turn off the lights and water when you’re not using it?  Bike or walk to work or school?  Believe it or not, most people don’t do any of these; you’re way ahead of the game!  On a similar note, don’t compare your efforts to those of others!  Not all environmentally friendly methods are compatible with everyone’s lifestyle.  Pick your favorites and make a pledge to stick to those.  As time goes on, slowly try to incorporate other changes into your routine if it works.  Which brings me to my last point…

What is important to you? We already know that the environment is high on your priority list, but think about the other things you enjoy doing.  Personally, I love to go out, drink a few beers, and hang out with my friends.  I’m not going to let the fact that I’m wasting a few aluminum beer cans ruin my night.  Going green is all about protecting your passion, so be sure that you protect all your other ones as well!

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.

Keep the travel to a minimum:
While it’s great to spend time with loved ones during the holiday season, it can become a little exhausting for the family and for the planet.  Spare your fam the holiday traffic, fights over the radio station, and tons of air pollution and keep it small.  Instead of driving from family member to family member, invite them all to one place for a holiday dinner or small party.  Not only will it reduce the stress of the holidays, it will also take a load off of the planet.  If you just have to go see Aunt Edna this year, consider renting a hybrid car (Zip Car, the greatest business ever, has plenty for rental, either for a few hours or an entire day!) for the journey to save on gas and increased mileage on the family minivan.

Get off your butts!:
For some reason, “family time” during the holidays now tends to include TV, going to movies, or playing Wii tennis (thanks, Walmart commercials).  My advice? GO OUTSIDE.  For those of you lucky enough to have snow during the holidays, go build a snowman or have a kids vs. parents snowball fight like old times.

If a food coma’s got you feelin’ a little sloth-y, go on a leisurely walk around the neighborhood to check out the over-the-top decorations or stay in and play Apples to Apples.  Not only will you save electricity and energy, but you’ll actually get to spend time with your fam that doesn’t involve your Mom’s awkward comments during Nights of Rodanthe about how Richard Gere is “such a hunk.”

Reuse your wrapping paper:
As much as I would like to think that I could convince you all to wrap your gifts in recycled newspaper, I know that’s just too tacky, even for us poor college students.  The next best thing?  Save wrapping paper, tissue paper, bows, and gift tags for next year.  This will cut down on holiday waste and save you a butt-load of money next year.  Another great tip that I picked up from my Mom is to re-use all those holiday cards as gift tags for the next year.  Just carefully cut around the writing to get some free, unique, and recycled gift tags for next year’s gifts.

What do you to green up your holiday?
Don’t be a Grinch – share your tips with the rest of us!

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.

iPod/iPhone gloves:
For all you iPhone/touch phone users, I know walking and texting/online shopping/scrolling through your music until you find something you actually like is addicting.  (I get it, but please, for the love of my un-scraped heels, watch where you’re going!) But with winter, well, here, no text is worth frostbite on that finger of yours. After all, after they amputate it texting will be a hell of a lot more difficult (even if your manicure is suddenly cheaper…). While tons of companies are now making gloves where you can peel bag the fingers to allow for phone manipulation, that’s not good enough for me. Thankfully, Tavo has created these gloves that have traction on the actual glove tips so that you can keep keep your hands inside the toasty gloves and text your bff about the totes awk encounter you just had w/ ur ex! They may not be as cute as those gray wool mittens you’ve been eying at Target, but, let’s be real, there’s nothing cute about missing fingers.

Gap Cozy Slipper Booties:
If there’s one thing you should know about this winter, it’s these. In approximately three weeks you will find me on my couch (assuming you know where I live…) watching every season of Gossip Girl (I’m so behind, I know!) in comfy sweats and these bad boys. And not leaving for DAYS. Once you’ve slipped into a pair, you’ll be more than happy I told you about them.

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.

New Belgium beer:  This brewery from Fort Collins, Colorado has a long list of environmental actions and achievements.  I am not going to go through the whole list here because, well, I’m lazy.  Here are the most notable ones of the bunch:
* Decreased energy usage in their brewing and in the facility itself due to efficient lighting, sustainable building materials, and efficient brew kettles.
* Wind power and waste water are used to produce renewable energy for the factory.
* Encouragement of bike transportation by hosting an annual bike festival and giving every employee a free bike after 1 year of employment.
* Member of 1% For the Planet, meaning that they give 1% of their revenue to environmental non-profits.

ModMix organic mixers:  The name says it all – ModMix creates a line of fully organic mixers for your favorite cocktails.  This means no chemicals, no synthetic pesticides, and no harmful substances.  You can use ModMix for pretty much any drink you could imagine.  Their products include mixes for citrus margaritas, French martinis, lavender lemon drops, mojitos, pomegranate cosmos, and wasabi bloody marys.  Just be sure to mix these babies with a sustainable alcohol such as Papagayo organic rums, 4Copas tequila, or TruVodka.

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.

Origins’ Return to Origins Program
Origins accepts empty cosmetics tubes, bottles, jars, etc. from any brand (regardless of manufacturer) at all of their retail stores and department store counters. In return, they’ll give you a free sample of your choice of an Origins

Kiehl’s Recycle and Be Rewarded Program
Bring your empty Kiehl’s jars and tubes to the store nearest you and you’ll get a card to collect stamps for each container you recycle. For three containers, get a free tube of lip balm. When you return five, you’ll get a free item from the Travel Collection. And when you reach 10, choose one regular sized product valued at $25 or less! To find a Kiehl’s store near you, visit kiehls.com.<

Tarte Customer Recycling Incentive Program
Tarte offers discounts when you send in your empty cosmetic containers. Send in your Clean Slate Primer or Smooth Operator SPF 20 foundation and you’ll get 15 percent off your next complexion purchase. Send in an empty Slide Tin Lip Balm and Tarte will give you 15 percent off any lip product. And send in an empty cheek stain and you’ll get 15 percent off the next cheek stain! For more information, click here.

Want to make recycling make up easier? Buy brands that use recyclable materials for packaging. Josie Maran sells biodegradable plastic compacts that can be composted (after you remove the mirror), and SpaRitual nail polishes come in recyclable glass bottles. If you shop at Lush, you can buy slices of soap and bars of shampoo sans-packaging (bring your own bag or buy a recyclable aluminum tin to store yours in), and their plastic bottles can be recycled along with drinking bottles and caps returned to the store to be re-used.

[For more fashion and beauty fabulosity, visit StyleBakery.com.]

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.

StairMaster vs. Real Stairs: Like treadmills, StairMasters use a lot of energy to simulate the effect of…stairs.  I don’t know where you live, but where I’m from, stairs are not exactly a rare site.   Spare yourself the pricey gym membership and the unbecoming fluorescent lighting and hit your nearest sport stadium.  Depending on your weight, running stairs for 30 minutes can burn around 500 calories while 30 minutes of the StairMaster burns a measly 300 (hey, that’s an extra scoop of ice cream right there!).  You can also use the stairs as a forum for strength exercises, like this one from Women’s Health.  Plus, there’s always the added benefit of “accidentally” running the stairs at the exact same time as the football team…

Free Weights vs. Resistance Bands: Of course, both free weights and resistance bands take energy to manufacture and distribute.  However, think about the difference between buying an entire set of dumbbells and buying one or two resistance bands.  Not only is it better for the environment, but it is also a lot cheaper for us poor college students.  Unlike free weights, resistance bands challenge your muscles on both the flex and the release, increasing your muscle stability and strengthening tiny muscles that you didn’t even know existed.  You can use them in various exercises and you can control how hard the exercise is based on your form and the positioning of the band.

If you find that your band is too easy for you, just run on over to your local sporting goods store and buy one with higher resistance for about 15 bucks.  Plus, they’re super portable so that you can take them with you on that binge drink-a-thon spring break you have planned.  Don’t know how to get started?  Head to Fitness Magazine’s website and check out their plethora of resistance band workouts.

Of course there are so many other green exercises you can do!  Using your body as resistance instead of using weight machines, biking or walking to class instead of driving, and taking fitness classes instead of using the machines are all great examples.  Let me know what you do to keep the planet cool and your body hot!

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:

Natural Cheek Stain: It’s a fun little stick that you just sort of sweep on your cheek and blend in. And you can’t mess it up; you get plenty of time to perfect it before the stain dries, meaning no ugly streaks or clown cheeks. I use Flush and it gives me that perfect rosy color that comes after a good, hard laugh. It’s perfect.

fRxtion Natural Sugar Exfoliator & Lip Balm Duo: I tend to breathe through my mouth when I sleep, which means loud snoring really nasty lips in the morning. I used to just load up on the lip balms to smooth my pucker, but then I found this lip balm/natural exfoliator thingy. There is a soothing lip balm on one side and a sugar scrub on the other that gets rid of all that dry lip skin and makes your lips taste sweet like sugar. Oh, and it comes with a mirror attached to the case so you can apply this stuff anywhere. If that’s not genius I don’t know what is.

Be Good To Your Mother Earth 24/7 Natural Lip Sheers: This is my all-time favorite beauty product ever. Three tinted lip sheers (all different, all fab) and an adorable reusable tote for lugging home those groceries or toting those books to class. The lip sheers are perfect for girls like me who want a little color on their smoocher but aren’t into bright/bold lip sticks. Plus, they are SPF 15, which means your lips are protected all day long. I use these every single day and I can’t even tell you how many compliments (read: boys trying to kiss me) I’ve received.

I love Tarte…and it seems that Tarte loves us, because they are giving all CollegeCandy readers 25% off their entire purchase at TarteCosmetics.com for the entire month of September. Just type in “COLLEGECANDY” at checkout and you can take home these or any of their ridiculously awesome products for cheap.

Natural, eco-friendly, fabulous and cheap? Be still my (Tarte) heart.

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.

The contest is catching on quickly; in only the few short weeks since it was launched, AGC has signed up over 6,000 students at over 400 universities, and it’s shaping up to be the largest measurable youth environmental campaign in U.S. history!  Currently, students who have signed up have committed to:  reduce their annual carbon emissions by 4 million pounds, save over $500,000 per year, reduce 1.5 million gallons of water usage each year, and avoid using over 25,000 gallons of gasoline total.

The leaderboard on the site keeps track of the school with the most members and the amount of carbon reduced. Currently, George Mason University, University of Maryland-College Park, and American University are in the lead. Are you going to let them win?

I didn’t think so.

And if the glory of beating those schools – and, of course, saving the planet – isn’t enough, both the school with the most members and the school with the best results will win a $5,000 price.

How cool is that? You can help your school earn money while doing your part to help the environment, and be a part of history! And it’s easy. By teaming up with hundreds or thousands of other students at your school, you can be a part of something huge and really see a difference in the way your school runs and interacts with this lovely planet of ours.

We couldn’t be more excited about this contest and we urge you to get involved. It’s our planet, so we really gotta start taking care of it. Together.

And maybe win a little moolah.

Check out the site and sign up today to get entered in the contest, watch Obama Girl’s hilarious (and inspiring) video, and learn what you can do to help more people on your campus get involved.

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!

While you can’t just toss your old Razr or MacBook in the recycling bin with your cardboard boxes and empty bottles, there are many recycling centers to send your used electronics to when they break down or become obsolete. Check here for a list of places local to you! Or see if your city offers the USPS recycling program.

And when it comes to many other electronics, you have many options to save Mother Earth that are simple and will probably save you money in the end.

* Instead of buying new printer cartridges just refill the ones you have.

* Print on both sides of your computer paper. Maybe not for your actual turn-in products but for your notes. Also check with your profs to see if you can turn in things electronically. Every little bit counts.

* Turn your stuff off. Game consoles burn up an obscene amount of energy. I understand wanting to leave them running but it’s better for everyone if you just turn them off and replay that level later.

* Unplug! Don’t leave everything you own plugged in at all times. Not only does it cost you extra money, but it sucks a ton of energy! When you aren’t drying your hair, unplug the dryer. When you aren’t making coffee, unplug the coffee maker. You get the idea…

You don’t have to do grand things to help make the Earth a better place. Just do a little somethin’ somethin’ with those electronics and we’ll make this planet a better (and toxin free) place.