Going Green and selecting the right eco-friendly products for you and your family is of the utmost importance not only for your health, but also for our environment and the future of our children as well. Unfortunately, there is so much information out there that it can be extremely confusing as to exactly how to go about choosing the best eco-friendly products to use. Therefore, we are going to cover in detail how to select the eco-friendly products that are best suited for you and your family.
What Are Eco-Friendly Products?
Well, eco-friendly products are considered anything that doesn’t harm the environment and that means from start to finish. In order to be considered a green product, the item must be eco friendly from the manufacturing, to the processing, to the disposal. An eco-friendly product cannot contribute to the pollution levels in any way. In addition, an eco- friendly product can be made from either recycled materials or from scratch.
Why Isn’t Everyone Using Eco-Friendly Products?
The reason most people don’t bother to recycle or even try to go green is because they think it’s too time consuming. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Yes, it does take a small amount of time to get everything setup and for your family to get used to doing things differently or using green products. But after the initial setup and introductory period, you and your family will probably hardly even notice the changes.
How Do I Become Eco-Friendly?
If you want to become eco-friendly, you need to have a game plan. That means you need to sit down and assess everything in your life from your lifestyle, to the products you use, to the way you use those products then make the changes necessary to go green. For example, you can start by studying the products you use then check into their eco-friendly counterparts then make the switch. You should then assess your home, appliances, and your lifestyle habits to see where you could make some changes in a way that would conserve energy and protect the environment. Then you could learn to recycle and implement that as one of your lifestyle changes as well.
How Do I Choose Eco-Friendly Products?
Actually, choosing eco-friendly products is fairly easy as there are only a few basic principles for you to follow.
- Always look for products that have been made with recycled or repurposed materials. These items can be handmade, recycled, or repurposed in any way.
- Choose products that are made using sustainable materials. For example, bamboo grows very quickly and is grown without pesticides. Bamboo can be used as a wood or as fibers that are used to make fabrics and so on. And since Bamboo grows so quickly, it’s considered a sustainable resource.
- When shopping for products, look for items that are labeled organic or all natural. These are products that are made without using chemicals or pesticides.
- Lastly, you need to consider how those products are shipped and look for a carbon-neutral shipping company. A company who states they are a carbon-neutral shipping company simply means they plant trees and actively work to promote other ecological projects to help balance out the pollution and other effects their processing has on the environment.
What Are Some Eco-Friendly Products?
There are plenty of eco friendly products out there you just have to know what to look for. And you can start by assessing each product by the qualifying factors we mentioned above. Then you can look at your lifestyle to see where you can make some changes.
Here are some examples of eco-friendly products that are extremely easy to implement into any lifestyle.
Paper Products. Replace as many paper products with cloth as possible. For example, you could replace your paper napkins with cloth napkins and your disposable diapers with cloth diapers. And while disposable diapers are convenient, you are exposing your infant to the harmful chemicals used to make them, which is just another great reason to make the switch.
Cloth or Plastic? When you go shopping opt for cloth shopping bags rather than plastic shopping bags.
Appliances and Electronics. Consider buying a new dishwasher. One that uses steam as a pre-wash, which will minimize the amount of water being used. Start using a precision induction cooktop, rather than your traditional stove to reduce the amount of electricity needed to cook. Switch to solar powered outdoor speakers rather than a traditional stereo and anything else that can be solar powered. You can also switch to a solar phone charger versus a charger that uses electricity. What about your hair dryer? Did you know there are hair dryers out there that use half the electricity than what is needed for a regular hair dryer? Did you know that some companies make solar powered lawn mowers? Look around your house and see what else you have that could be switched out or substituted in an eco-friendly way.
Eco-Friendly Cleaning Products. Most cleaners can be replaced with natural alternatives that work equally as well, if not better. Do a little research into using white vinegar, peroxide, tea tree oil or baking soda to replace some those toxic chemicals you’ve been using for years.
Reusable Water Bottles. Yes, you probably already know this, but using disposable plastic water bottles poses a huge threat to our environment. However, once you make up your mind to switch to reusable water bottles and actually do it, you will forget all about those environmentally disastrous disposable ones and save yourself loads of money buying them as well.
Rechargeable Batteries. Batteries are another huge threat to our environment because they contain dangerous metals and most people don’t take the time to dispose of them properly. Why not switch to rechargeable batteries? Rechargeable batteries will save you a significant amount of money and you’ll be helping the environment as well.
Water Waste. Install some easy to use water saving devices such as a shower timer and a low flow showerhead that won’t sacrifice your shower’s performance, but will help save gallons of water, which will save you money while helping the environment.
LED Bulbs. Switching to LED light bulbs can save an enormous amount of resources. The U.S. Department of Energy says that LED light bulbs use about 75 to 80 percent less than traditional incandescent bulbs. This could help you save a significant amount of money and you can feel good that you are helping to protect our environment.
Going green and using eco-friendly products isn’t hard, you just have to make an effort to switch by implementing a few small lifestyle changes. And by doing so, you will also save loads of money which could come in handy when buying your other wants and needs for your new home.
2 Point Highlight
1. Going green and selecting the right eco friendly products for you and your family is of the utmost importance not only for your health, but also for our environment and the future of our children as well.
2. We are going to cover in detail how to select the eco friendly products that are best suited for you and your family.
