By now you should know—the greenest clothes possible are the ones you already own. Re-wearing your clothes as long as you possibly can is simply the best way to make up for the resources their production (and shipping) depleted. But if you must buy new clothes (let’s face it, most people *me included* like doing this from time to time), there are a few things you should keep your eyes open for.

1. Try to choose clothes made from materials that can be cold washed and line dried—anything more advanced (i.e. dry-clean only) continues to tax the environment significantly as it ages.

2. Buy clothes you know will last! The longer you can wear them, the better.

3. Check out thrift shops. They are the equivalent of clothing recyclers and as an added bonus, a great way to cheaply restock your wardrobe.

4. Shop around for clothing made from reused materials. This can be anything from recycled plastic bottles to grocery bags! If you are cold, look for fleece fabric made from spun bottles.

5. Try to buy organically grown materials. In the United States, ten percent of all agricultural chemicals are used to grow cotton that only covers one percent of farmland! Organic materials won’t poison the earth with fertilizers and pesticides. You can find organic cotton, wool, linen, flax and hemp.

6. If you can’t buy organic, the next best thing are materials derived from wood pulp, bamboo, soy and corn. When they can no longer be worn, simply throw the garment into your compost heap!

With everything you do, paying attention to the effects your choices have on the environment is of the utmost importance. Nothing matters more than protecting our planet. So before you run out to replace your jeans, shop around—the earth will thank you!

Plastic bags are one of the worst things for the environment that we can think of. Research suggest that 500 billion to one trillion plastic bags are consumed each year. And only one city in the United States has banned their use in markets and pharmacies—San Francisco.

So, they aren’t going away. But what can we do with them to make them more useful and keep them out of landfills?

You can make plastic bag yarn!

(pic courtesy of hellejorgensen.typepad.com)

You can then use it to knit, and even make clothes and bags from it! They’ll be waterproof! Consider using plastic bags from your old shopping trips to knit a tote for a new way of shopping! We promise, you will be forgiven for all the bags you used before. You can also make rugs and placemats as well.

You can also make better, stronger totes by fusing bags together to incorporate their designs into a new, better one. The same technique can be used to make an awesome dress like this!

Fusing can be done with a simple iron and parchment paper, but be sure to do a little research before getting melting or you may have some difficulty. Then, the plastic “fabric” can be sewn together into anything you want to make.

Fusing can also make beautiful, funky jewelry and hair accessories.

By making anything from plastic bags—or even carrying them for another use—you help keep these volatile landfill-mongers out of our earth a little bit longer.

Pic courtesy of craftster.org.

These green aficionados go further than recycling, solar panels, and planting a vegetable garden. These green homes will make you green with envy! From the Discovery Channel Planet Green TV show called “World’s Greenest Homes,” here are five memorable homes designed to be environmentally friendly. They don’t look weird either; these are some sweet “home sweet homes”.

1. The Dome Home:  north branch, mn. 50 acre wooded lot. Bear creek dome, based on the 1950s geodesic dome. 49 foot diameter dome. With the cupola on top for ventilation about 33 feet high. Spherical design provides strength because all the points of strength share the stress equally. Can withstand earthquakes, high winds, and several tons of snow—just gets stronger. Dome shape uses 60 percent less structural material than a traditional box home natural and chemical free as possible. Domes are self supporting so the interior has no walls, just large inner space. Heat efficient. Floors heated. Windows are triple paned, ¼” tempered glass.  Dome walls are 18 inches thick with 16 inches of insulation. Home is the same temperature at any point. Heat rises, but in a dome hot air rises and cold air drops so air flow stays natural. Central fireplace radiates heat evenly. Energy efficient. Most amount of space for the least amount of material. Check out the video on it here.
2. Solar Dream Home: Outside Lake Tahoe in Gardnerville, Nevada. On a hilsside, 3,400 superhome makes the most of the desert sun. downstairs is open plan from kitchen, dining room, living room. Light filled. Solar-heated indoor poor in master bedroom. House blends in with locale and takes advantage of the sun. wood fireplace super-efficient clean burning. Burn a fire warmth radiates for a long time afterwards. Everything is recycled and natural. Straw insulation. Non toxic and highly sustainable. Double the insulation value of square frame homes. Straw bale homes. Insulates . less expensive than wood frame. Water, cement and dirt equals mud and looks like dirt. Solar panels generate most energy needs and off set any power she pulls off the grid on cloudly days and at night. Check it out.
3. Down Under Steel House:  Aukland, New Zealand. Urban living at nature’s doorstep. 2006, modern, 2 story home. 2 bed, 2 bath. Exterior is 90% recycled steel that can withstand the salty ocean. Double paned windows. Low carbon footprint. Emphasize natural resources. Eco-efficient windows extend to the top floor saves energy and the double pains retains the passive heat. Thick concrete floor is solar passive as well. Heats in winter, cools in summer. Recycled, sustainable wool insulates the home. Plenty of it in new Zealand. Energy and water efficient appliances in kitchen. Rain water catching sustains the garden. Maintained existing vegetation and disrupted it as little as possible. Deck timber is plantation pine. See it here.
4. Tiny Apartment Transforms: Hon Kong is one of the most densly populated place in the world. Gary chang, “domestic transformer.” Demonstrates the green principal that using the most of a small space can have infinite eco-possibilities. Achitect gary chang had green philosophy. Learn how to cope with the tight space. Utilizes every inch of usuable space. Tiny tenement apartment. Unique eco friendly residence. Ultra hip. Only 330 square feet, small area means efficiency and user-friendly does not sacrifice livability. Futuristic sliding wall system. 24 different room possibilties including a guest bedroom, kitchen, linen closet, and bathroom. Three floor to ceiling tinted windows keeps house always sunny even during cloudy weather. Hardly ever has to turn on lights. Tracks on ceiling, mirros hide the tracks and illusion of space. Reflective surface utilizes the light in the apartment, eco-friendly.  Technological marvel.
5. Blacksmith Shop to Eco Home: In Toronto, Canada. A shack transforms into an eco home. Elegant. Architect kept metal panels. Reuse and recycle and build something that already exists. Black matte finish is a plywood mahogany linseed oil, dish soap mixed together to make paint. Enivornmentally friendly. Footprint makes them build up. Added four feet to building on the second floor. Courtyard on second floor. Clean lines, unstained ceder. Minimal. Let the wood do what it naturally does. To the roof terrace about 22 feet up. Green roof garden in the sky. Endless benefits to a gree roof retains storm water, cools the roof and cools enivornment around it. More green roofs, cooler city, good to look at.

See more at planetgreen.discovery.com for more eco-friendly houses, bungalows, apartments, and offices from Chicago to Hamburg to the desert. Living off the earth is possible, no matter your address.

With trendsetters singing the hallelujahs of eco-alternative products, many companies produced their pro-earth answers, stuffing the market with the ubiquitous green leaf label. But how can a consumer know if the product actually does no harm? First, research as much as possible to know what’s behind the label. Don’t get “greenwashed”—the frightfully easy practice of labeling products “green,” when in actuality, they fall short of EPA standards. For example, the organic foods market often greenwashes the public, and some products are only organic in strictest sense of the word. Try to avoid these five products that contribute to the greenwashing scheme by falling short of their green claims.

1. “Eco-shaped” Water Bottle:

Since this single-use bottle design uses 30% less plastic than regular bottles, Poland Springs proudly boasts that they are “Doing their part.” The truth is, there is no need for plastic water bottles at all, and most plastic bottles end up in landfills, no matter their shape. Plus, the energy that goes into creating and transporting these bottles nullifies any “green” claim. You’ll live greener by drinking out of a reusable bottle made of stainless steel or aluminum.

2. Simple Green Household Cleaner:

This popular household cleaner labels itself as nontoxic and a “safer alternative” to other cleaners. However, a toxic solvent called butyl cellosolve is one of Simple Green’s key ingredients. Butyl cellosolve is also found in some traditional all-purpose cleaners. It seems Simple Green is aware of this problem, because its label warns customers to not “dispose near storm drains, oceans, lakes, or streams.” Simple Green maintains that the cleaner is nontoxic, but acknowledges the presence of butyl cellosolve. The company says they will soon launch a truly all-natural cleaner to meet customer demand, but in the meantime, stick with homemade mixes of water and baking soda.

3. Green Trash Bags:

Although marketed as biodegradable or compostable because they break down faster than normal trash bags, green trash bags must be used correctly to earn the green title. If not, they negatively impact the environment. If you fill a green bag with leaves, for example, the leaves break down along with the bag, and repurpose as mulch. On the other hand, if the bags are stuffed with empty containers of bug pray, bleach, cleaners, or similar, more common forms of “garbage,” the composting bag leaks whatever is inside. A regular plastic trash bag, although not itself good for the environment, contains whatever it holds and prevents toxins from getting out.

4. Toyota Prius:

Along with the recent safety concerns, the first—and most popular—hybrid car may or may not be an eco-friendly set of wheels. New, albeit conflicting, scientific reports take note that although the Prius claims to get up to 6o mpg, gas mileage is the last factor to weigh when considering the green qualities of a vehicle. The production, raw materials sources, and the shipping methods all matter more, and in these areas, Toyota definitely does not measure green. For example, the Prius’ battery contains nickel mined in a Canadian mill nicknamed “The Superstack,” because it produces miles of wasteland and pollution. The mined nickel then travels to Europe, China, Japan, and the United States for different steps in the production process via freighter—costly in both dollars and carbon emissions. Other studies debunk these, so do copious research before shelling out for any hybrid vehicle.

5. Artificial Christmas Trees:

These faux pines have long been lauded as a green alternative to chopping down a natural tree, but the unsafe levels of lead and PVC (and smell!) remain a concern, as many come from Chinese warehouses. As artificial trees age and spend most of the year in storage, they begin release lead dust. Artificial trees are also very difficult to throw out; the plastic does not decompose and cannot be recycled. Although pesticides are sometimes used on real Christmas trees, environmentalists say that real Christmas trees are the best option from an ecological point of view. Besides the fact that there’s no PVC or lead dust releasing, real Christmas trees naturally absorb carbon dioxide and emit oxygen. 
Christmas tree farms exist only to grow Christmas trees, so your purchase does not contribute to deforestation. You can even opt for an organic Christmas trees by looking up farms in your area.  Environmentalists also suggest purchasing a tree you can replant after the holidays, but if not, at least compost the tree or drop it off at a local area dedicated to repurposing the tree as mulch.

If you even further proof that going green is difficult, according to a study noted on the Freakonomics blog, new research concludes that green products negatively affect behavior. People who purchase green products “act less altruistically and more likely to cheat and steal after purchasing green products than after purchasing conventional products.” So going green makes you feel better, but act worse. And with SUVs and pesticides making eco-friendly claims these days, don’t trust the label. Do the research.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States generated 249.8 million tons of trash in 2008. Organic materials—including yard and food waste, wood scraps and paper products—made up more than two-thirds of this trash.

All of this could have gone in a compost pile.

Composting, an at-home method of nutrient recycling that takes nutrients left in organic waste and gives them back to plant and animal life, is an easy way to make a difference in the amount of garbage that our nation produces. Here, we’ll dispel the myths about composting and give you the tools to start your own pile.

Composting is not gross! If you do it right, there should be no smell and no attraction of vermin. Keep dairy, meat and fat products out, and there will be no odor. Vegetable scraps, paper products, vacuum lint, fireplace ashes, and even hair and fur can all go in the pile without problem.

You don’t need a big pile, though. Plenty of companies offer small, designer-styled composting cans that will fit right in to the green kitchen. If you are still worried about odor, these cans include a charcoal filter that will take care of any potential smell. If you don’t have a yard, you can still compost! Even if your home “garden” only consists of a few windowsill flower boxes, your flowers can still benefit from the nutrient concentrate that is compost—just transfer it from your kitchen pail. Or, if you have no plants that could use your organic waste, see if your city has a compost removal company that will come and get your compost for free.

If you do have room in your backyard, consider getting a container that will aerate the pile will storing it. Check out the rolling compost bin that can be rolled to your yard waste, filled up, and rolled to your plants to unload. The rolling action will add air to the pile and speed up the composting process dramatically. While creating a heap is possible, it will require time to mix it and could be violated by pests, making it less likely to produce good results. If you don’t want to have a container in your yard, consider digging a shallow pit for your compost—the warm temperature will increase the speed of compost production.

Besides reducing your waste and maybe even the cost of your waste removal, there is nothing better for your soil than compost. It can loosen clay soil and help sandy soil retain water, suppress plant diseases and pests, and increase yield.

If limiting your family’s waste production sounds like something you would be interested in, check out the EPA’s website for more information.

When the 2010 United States Census started campaigning for Americans to get counted, they mailed to each household a letter explaining the forthcoming census paperwork, a postcard reminder to check the mailbox, and the census itself.  Thank you, Census Bureau, for unnecessarily wasting paper and simultaneously annoying nearly 115 million households. Go planet!

Reducing paper mail is an easy step towards living green. Direct mail, bills, advertisements, and catalogs consume huge amounts of paper. Here are five ways to master your mailbox and control the amount of paper you send and receive.

1. Dear “Current Resident,” reduce and refuse direct mail, that is, junk mail. Companies spend more money on this type of marketing than any other, often mailing to a large number of people in an attempt to gain customers and offer discounts. Not only do they waste time and paper, direct marketers invade privacy. There are options to rid your mailbox of this common clutter:

• Write “Refuse” any unopened mail and send it back to the post office. However, this method does not cut off the source.
• Contact the company directly and ask to be removed from their mailing list.
• Visit websites that control your direct mail preferences, such as www.dmachoice.org and www.donotmail.org.
• Campaign for a National Do Not Mail Registry, a “Do Not Call” list for mailboxes.

2. Ask for paperless statements from your banks and other billing services. According to www.payitgreen.org, switching to electronic bills and statements not only reduces paper’s negative impact on the environment, but also protects your privacy by switching to online options. If you have numerous accounts to transfer to paperless, websites such as www.mint.com track multiple accounts online and assist with managing your budget and payments.

3. Ask your employer if you can be paid via direct deposit. You’ll get the money faster and save yourself a trip to the bank. Pay It Green notes that every year, paper checks use over 600 million gallons of fuel and add over 3 million tons of CO2 into the environment.

4. Recycle the paper mail you receive at home. Many municipalities offer curbside pickup of newspapers, junk mail, and other paper products. If not, check out www.earth911.com to find your local recycling center and other green living tips.

5. Do as much mailing as you can electronically. Email is quicker than snail mail and costs nothing. In addition to your monthly bills and payments, consider other ways to cut down on your paper mail. For example, send out electronic “Save the Date” wedding invites, RSVP online, and cancel your magazine subscriptions (you can read all the gossip online, anyways). You’ll also save money on postage stamps!

Clearly, it’s easy to adopt a lifestyle that reduces the paper mail you send and receive. Not only can you thwart the privacy-stealing junk-mailers, but also you save yourself time and money.  Don’t let the mailbox win!

It’s pretty easy being green. At least, that’s what Portland, Ore. would say if you asked. The city at the top of our list definitely makes it look easy. If you don’t have the good fortune to live in one of these earth-friendly cities, try visiting one. Maybe you can take some of their green practices home with you. These are Popular Science’s picks for the greenest cities in America.

1. Portland, Oregon: Talk about progressive. Half of Portland’s power comes from renewable sources and a quarter of the city’s workers bike to work, carpool or use public transportation. They are probably going to work in a green building too; 35 of the city’s buildings are certified by the U.S. Green Building Council.

2. San Francisco, California: This green city generates some of its power from roof space that would have otherwise been wasted. On the roof of the massive convention center lies an intricate collection of photovoltaic cells that power the center during events and 180 homes when the center is empty. Next, San Francisco will be covering many, many more surfaces with solar cells.

3. Boston, Massachusetts: Yard waste is gold in this green city. A plant is in the works to convert yard clippings and leaves into power and fertilizer. Anaerobic bacteria will feed on the grass and create methane while the leaves will be subjected to heat and agitation to speed up the composting process.

4. Oakland, California: The second California city on the list is a master at green transportation. Their public transportation system relies on a new fleet of hydrogen-powered buses that give off nothing more than water vapor.

5. Eugene, Oregon: The second Oregon city on the list has everyone beat on electricity efficiency. While much of the Pacific Northwest gets its power from hydroelectric dams, Eugene goes a few steps further by getting an additional nine percent of its energy from wind dams and buying back excess power from residents who install solar panels.

By supporting the cities that have entered the green future, we can help the country move forward as a whole. If you see anything here that you think would be possible for your city, ask your political representatives about it. Let’s get every American city on this list!

When breaking the ice with strangers at social gatherings, you want to make a good first impression. Why not doubly-impress with cool eco-facts that show off your smarts and green lifestyle? Here are ten quick eco-facts sure to impress.

1. A laptop is more environmentally friendly than a desktop. It consumes five times less electricity.
2. An aluminum can that is thrown away will still be a can 500 years from now!
3. Walmart is leading the green business evolution, but not “out of the goodness of their heart.” Walmart knows that it’s the future of business. In Germany, people simply stopped shopping at Walmart because of their unsustainable business practices. Now that they’ve gone green, Walmart (and their customers) saves money.
4. Traffic jams cause eight times more air pollution that traffic moving at regular highway speed. Ah, rush hour. Annoying and toxic.
5. There are more roads in our National Forests than in the entire U.S. Interstate Highway System.
6. In Michigan, the only state with a dime deposit on recycled cans, the redemption rate is 95%. Newman and Kramer were on top of this eco-fact years ago:
   
7. Americans represent only five percent of the world’s population, but they generate 30 percent of the world’s garbage.
8. Although the light bulb was invented to help mankind see in the dark, indoor lighting use peaks between the hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
9. The Gutenberg Bible, the first and second drafts of the US Declaration of Independence, and the original works of Mark Twain were all printed on hemp-based papers. Hemp-based paper production saves billions of trees each year.
10. It takes less gasoline to restart your car than it does to let it idle for more than a minute. Furthermore, if all the cars on U.S. roads had properly inflated tires, an estimated 2 billion gallons of gasoline would be saved each year, and gas mileage would improve 3 to 7 percent per vehicle.

You don’t even need note cards for these cool bits of trivia. Hit the keg, grab a handful of (organic) potato chips, and get the conversation rolling with one or more of these handy eco-facts.

As we have discussed in this post, bottled water is far from the most environmentally-conscious hydration solution. Greener alternatives to that include buying a filter or carrying reusable water bottles with you. But not everyone needs to go out of their way like that, some of us are just lucky because we live in cities where tap water is clean and drinkable. So are you one of the lucky bunch? Let’s take a look and see.

A couple of years ago Forbes.com tested the tap water from cities across the United States and analyzed the results.

Forbes studied data compiled from the Consumer Confidence Reports (CCR), which are provided annually by the EPA and community water systems. The CCR looked at each city’s water turbidity—commonly known as “cloudiness” –-as well as levels of bacteria, lead, and halo-acetic acids, which are byproducts of the water purification process.  Scientists have also found other contaminants, such as pesticides, germs, arsenic, and even rocket fuel in water samples.

Justifiably, the public often questions the healthful quality of tap water. According the Environmental Working Group (EWG), contaminated tap water can cause illness, especially among pregnant women, the elderly, and young children. Though tap water purity levels improved since being publicized, according to studies similar to the one conducted by Forbes, some cities still violated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) standards with very high levels of contaminants.

Despite the odds, high EPA standards and green living initiatives inspire many cities to ditch the bottle and reap the benefits of their local water supply. Seven of the top cities with the cleanest tap water include:

• Las Vegas, Nevada boasts low turbidity ranks #7 overall according to the Forbes study.
• San Jose, California is leading the way amongst green cities, by announcing plans to recycle or reuse 100 % of its wastewater within the next 15 years.
• Miami, Florida ranks #4 on Forbes’ top cities, and also scored in the top 25 for low levels of turbidity, bacteria, lead, and halo-acetic acids.
• Midwesterners who call St. Louis, Missouri home are proud of the clarity, aroma, and taste of its local tap water supply. The US Conference of Mayors agrees, and after a blind taste test in 2009, announced that St. Louis had the best tap water.  Furthermore, St. Louis water only had traces of the pollutants decried by the EPA.
• Austin, Texas scored consistently in the top ten with low turbidity, halo-acetic acid, and lead levels, and thus winning the silver medal in Forbes’ survey.
• In Kansas City, Missouri, even the drinking fountains ranked high in clean tap water studies
• But it’s Des Moines, Iowa that takes the gold according to Forbes and also ranks high in other studies. Des Moines had the second lowest level of bacteria amongst cities studied, along with a consistent top fifteen ranking due to low levels of lead, turbidity, and halo-acetic acid. A job well done by all comparisons!

If you don’t live in one of these cities or are still concerned about the quality of your tap water, invest in a carbon filter, such as those made by Brita. By avoiding plastic bottles, you save money and the environment, and anyway, many bottled water companies use the same source as your tap: local municipal water.

According to the International Energy Agency, to satisfy the rising electricity demands of consumer electronics in the next two decades, 560 coal-fired power plants (or 230 nuclear power plants) will need to be constructed. And did you know that a number of household electronics increase your electricity costs even when they are turned off? This is called ‘standby power’, and on average, an American home has over 40 electronics drawing it. Many electronics aren’t really ‘off’ when their switch is in the off position—they may wait, using power all the while, for the signal of a remote, or for the television screen to be turned on again. These products, listed with their standby energy usage as estimated by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, should be unplugged when you aren’t using them. Unplug, and watch your monthly electricity bill decline.

• Video Game Consoles: In an effort to save games, many video game players will leave their console turned on when they aren’t in use. In total, the nation’s gaming consoles use the same amount of electricity yearly as San Diego, the country’s ninth largest city. These can use up to 63.74 watts in standby.
• Televisions: Even when off, televisions with DVR capabilities use energy as they record or power their signal receptor for the remote control. These can use up to 48 watts in standby.
• Cell Phone Chargers: Have you noticed your charger is warm when it is plugged in to the wall but not into your phone? Only about 5% of the total power drawn monthly by a cell phone charger goes into charging your phone—the rest is wasted power when the charger is plugged in but not in use. These can use up to 1 watt in standby.
• Night Light: Even though it is daytime, your night light is still plugged in, using energy to provide light you don’t need. Unplug it, and then plug it in when it starts to get dark. These can use up to 1.2 watts in standby.
• Printer: No one is printing all the time, yet printers are typically left plugged in to wait until they are needed. These can use up to 22 watts in standby.

If your home has all of these things, and you keep them plugged in all the time, you are paying for an additional 135.94 watts to be drawn constantly when these electronics are on but not in use. Keeping things plugged in when you aren’t using them is a secret drain on your bank account, as well as a drain on our limited resources for power —so unplug away!