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Eco Friendly Wedding Favors

October 4, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_11310679639_gogreen012.jpgBeing green and environmentally friendly is top of the agenda at the moment across the world and it seems the need to be eco-friendly has spread to weddings too. Even if you don’t apply eco-friendly practices to much of your wedding, you can still give your guests eco-friendly wedding favors.
Here are my top suggestions for ‘green’ favors:
Organic Edibles: Custom cookies are all the rage at the moment for favors so have yours made with all organic ingredients and naturally colored icings. If you didn’t want cookies you could apply the same to cupcakes or mini cakes as well. Present either in card boxes made from recycled paper.
Fair Trade Edibles: There is a wealth of choice here, including chocolates, tea, coffee, cocoa, wine and more specialized edibles. Take a trip around your local supermarket as most have Fair Trade products on their shelves these days or have a section dedicated to them.
Depending on what you buy you need to think carefully about the packaging.
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Eco Friendly Wedding Invitations – Simple Yet Elegant

Planning an eco friendly wedding begins before you even save the date. One of the most important aspects of any green wedding is conservation, and what better way to conserve than by using eco friendly wedding invitations. Eco Friendly Wedding Ideas

An eco friendly wedding is an excellent way to go green and save some money at the same time. It really seems like green weddings are the newest trend because there are so many fun and easy ways to turn a regular wedding into an environmentally friendly event. Eco-Friendly Wedding Favors

Eco-friendly wedding favors are fast growing in popularity and what a wonderful thing that is. To incorporate a green wedding theme into this special day speaks volumes about your commitment to the betterment of our environment. But that doesn’t mean that you want your wedding favors to be anything less than spectacular. So what are your options? How to Choose Great Wedding Favors

Normally when you attend a wedding the bride and groom will offer a token of appreciation by giving small gifts or wedding favors. This is quite traditional for most weddings in many countries. When choosing the ideal wedding favor for your guest, you want to choose a gift that says thank you. Here is how to choose great wedding favors.Things like tea and coffee would be best presented in small tins, this not only keeps the contents fresh, but the tins are also recyclable when empty – although they do make useful little containers for other things. Chocolates and other ‘solid’ food stuffs could be presented in card boxes made from recycled paper. As long as the packaging itself is ultimately recyclable then anything goes.
Plants and Seeds: Plants, seeds and flower bulbs are probably the ultimate eco-friendly wedding favor, although there is an argument about introducing non-native species to an area (but we won’t go into that here!). You can choose to give small plant seedlings, packets of seeds, plant-able cards which have seeds embedded in them or bulbs.
Take this a step further by looking for those that have been grown or produced organically, that is without any chemical fertilizers, pesticides or herbicides.
If you give seeds then add in a small info card about growing organically.
Candles: Candles are a popular wedding favor choice with votives and tea lights being the most popular sizes. However, many candles are made with harmful chemical ingredients which release pollutants when lit. Look for candles made from organic ingredients or beeswax.
Recycled Favors: Check out items made from recycled materials, not just paper or card but things like car tires, glass, metal and plastic. Things like pencils to notebooks, cards to photograph frames can all be produced from recycles.
Organic Skincare: Many favor stores sell small boxed sets of soaps, so look for similar versions made from organic ingredients. Be careful though that what you are buying is made from 100% organic ingredients, one look at the label should tell you what’s included and you will be able to see if any chemical ingredients have been used. If organic ingredients have been used you will recognize them.
Other options to soap include bath salts, bath bombs and small bottles of hand cream, body lotion or shower gel. These can all be bought in large packs and then decanted into smaller containers such as packets, bottles, tins etc at home.

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Choosing Eco Friendly Products

October 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_21310563694_utahtothepacific153.jpgEco friendly products are a great way to start going green. It is a lot easier than you might think. If you make gradual adjustments to your lifestyle, you will barely notice the change. All you have to do is be more aware of how small changes can make a big difference.
Consider the environmental impact of the lifecycle of an item.

What is it made of? Are these materials natural and renewable? Or are they toxic and from a finite source?
How is it made? Does the process cause unnecessarily high levels of pollution? Is it tested on animals? Does the company do something to help reduce its environmental impact?
How is it used? Is it disposable? Is it energy efficient? Does it produce less waste?
How do you get rid of it? Is it recyclable? Is it biodegradable? Or is it harmful to the environment?

Keeping these thoughts in mind when you buy something will tell you whether or not they are eco friendly products.
Examples of Eco Friendly Products

Rechargeable Batteries: Everybody has some type of battery operated device.
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Eco Friendly Paper Products For The Home

Want to help save some resources in your own home? Looking for a way to go green and save some money too? Find out how you can switch to recycled paper products for your household use and save some of our disappearing native forest at the same time. Why You Should Choose Eco-Friendly Hair Care Products

Have you ever read the ingredients found on the back of your favorite shampoo or hair conditioner? It may shock you to learn exactly what chemicals some of these products contain that you’re putting on your hair daily. Go Green With Eco Friendly Toys

People often wonder how they can involve their children in their efforts to go green. The best way to do this is by buying eco friendly toys, while explaining the importance of going green to the kids. This way, they can benefit from eco friendly products while learning a thing or two about sustainable living at the same time. How Eco Friendly Products Can Make Me Healthier

What is an eco friendly product? A very good example of that is a simple plastic bag. Stores no longer give you a plastic bag when you buy their goods – instead they offer bags which they term ‘green’. But did you that eco friendly products can make you healthier?Turn them into more eco friendly products by using rechargeable batteries. They may seem expensive at first, but considering that they are reusable hundreds of times, they will save you a lot of money in the long run. They have an added bonus of reducing landfill toxins.

Tankless Water Heaters: They don’t waste energy keeping your water hot. They heat the water as it’s needed, and are about 90-100% efficient, depending on the model. They’re eco friendly products with the added bonus of saving you money.

Digital Thermostat: They’re available with timers and are programmable.
That means you can reduce your heating or air conditioning while no one is home or while you are sleeping and save a lot of money. Simply adjusting your thermostat a couple of degrees can save you money, and help the planet. It averages to 3% of your bill per degree of adjustment.

Geothermal Heat Pump: One of the more attractive eco friendly products, they can keep your house at a constant temperature and will heat your water, all using the natural heat of the earth. They aren’t cheap, but once they are installed they will save you a bunch of money, operating almost without cost, and reduce your impact on the earth.

Solar and Wind Power: Due to increasing levels of awareness, they are becoming more cost effective, efficient and available. You can get solar or wind power for your home, but also for charging small electronics now.

Cleaning Supplies: Believe it or not, you don’t need harsh chemicals to clean most things around your home. In fact, it has been recently proven that antibacterial products are bad for you and the environment. Changing to more eco friendly products is a simple and healthy way to go green.

Furniture: You may not think to go green with your furniture, but it’s available now, usually items made from renewable resources or recycled materials.

Apparel: Natural and organic renewable fibers instead of petroleum based synthetics are becoming more popular, and just feel better. Think of them as the stylish version of eco friendly products.

Efficient Lighting: While compact fluorescent lighting saves money, they do contain mercury, which means they have to be disposed of properly. On the plus side, they will outlast several incandescent bulbs and use far less energy. LED lights are truly eco friendly products, lasting decades and using little energy, but are more expensive initially.

No more excuses. It’s becoming easier every day to go green with the widespread availability and development of eco friendly products.

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Eco Friendly Wood Furniture

October 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment

f_01310680649_dsc09051.jpgBringing the natural world inside is possible by using the beauty of wood furniture that is eco-friendly. Manage the wood correctly and you will have a wonderful resource that will live on throughout generations in your family. As well, the world’s forests are met if fifteen percent of the earth’s forests can be managed correctly.
There are some environmental considerations to keep in mind, when looking for wood furniture such as, environmental problems, and solutions. The United States leads the way for wood consumption. The World Wildlife Fund states that close to half of the world’s original forests have already been cut down. With forty million acres, this adds to more loss each year.
With that information, there are ways to make sure you have eco-friendly furniture. To insure that the furniture you have does not contribute to deforestation, look for the wood the Forest Stewardship Council, known as FSC, certifies that.

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3 Types Of Eco-friendly Wood Furniture Finishes

One of the foremost selling points of today’s furniture is how magnificently the finished product shines beautifully and in luster. Let’s have a look into three of the most basically used wood finishes and why they are eco-friendly. Manufacturers only make use of few types of finishes nowadays. Eco-Friendly Patio Furniture

Eco-Friendly patio furniture comes in many shapes, sizes and materials. Plastic patio furniture can be one of the most eco-friendly furniture around. Learn the different ways plastic patio furniture is made. The next time you are shopping you know what to look for. How to Find Eco-Friendly Furniture

With so much emphasis on going green and preserving the earth’s natural resources, everyone is trying to do their part. Did you know that there is even furniture that is considered eco-friendly? Eco-Friendly Engineered Wood Flooring – A Revolution

Engineered wood flooring is a new and innovative product that combines beautiful wood flooring with eco friendly ethics. If you, like so many others, are concerned about climate change yet feel that a wonderful home is equally important then you won’t have to compromise when it comes to engineered wood flooring. Not only will you feel that you are doing your bit for the environment but you will also be able to choose from a multitude of colours, designs and finishes too.This is a non-profit organization whose beliefs cover environmental, social, and they have requirements to the specific needs of each regional ecosystem. This eco-friendly wood is stamped with a FSC logo. When you see this logo, you know that the eco-friendly wood furniture is sustainable. Meaning it did not take away from the regions in need for the wood.
Another option is finding wood that is from demolition landfills, or even underwater. By recycling this wood, you have kept the forests standing, and you give a second life to some wood that has served a previous function. This does not require any new wood and may even free up the space in the landfills. Smart Wood Rediscovered is a company that certifies the wood is recycled and is not harming any forests.
Sweetgum, madrone, and California oak are readily available, without knowledge of this wood.
If you use these types, they are equal to even better than some of the most popular wood. This wood is known as secondary species, because they are harvested more. Therefore, the other species, such as mahogany, can continue to regenerate naturally. Buying these products with the secondary species, takes a lot of pressure from the overused wood, and the diverse forest wood.
Eco-friendly furniture offers beautiful home furnishing. The eco-friendly wood is longstanding, and used for years to come. Most people will own some type of wood furniture, rather in their home or in their offices at any given time. Now that you know the right wood to look for to use for the eco-friendly furniture, now it is time to care for this wood correctly.
Wood furniture needs to be cared for and treated. This will help to lengthen the life of your furniture. Wood cleaners and polishers sold on the market today are full of chemicals. This is not good for the wood. Once you did all your research on getting the eco-friendly wood, and which wood is the best, you certainly do not want hazardous cleaning agents in your home or on your wood furniture.
Any woodworker asked on what to use on the new eco-friendly wood furniture. All that they can tell you is that you need to care for the wood. Cleaning and caring for it will help your furniture to look great for years ahead. Wood furniture loves moisture, but this does not mean it is a good idea to clean the wood with water. Through the studies, the best way to clean and polish your eco-friendly wood is beeswax, giving the wood a beautiful shine.

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