Some of us remember to turn the lights off when leaving a room, and to turn off the faucet while brushing your teeth, and even then, we all still succumb to that feeling that we could be doing more to live a greener life and be more eco-friendly. But what? The truth is, there are tons of good green habits we can all start to develop in our lives that will benefit us, our wallets and our earth! Here at IBT HQ, we’ve started to incorporate some of these helpful green choices and so, on this Earth Day, we challenge you to pick 3 ways to go green this year and turn them into a lifestyle.
8 Ways to Go Green
via @thejungalow
1. Cold Wash
Did you know that about 90% of the energy that goes into doing your laundry goes towards heating up water? Turning that dial to cold will ensure you will have an energy-saving laundry day!
via @frommybowl
2. Meatless Mondays
Try going for a new vegetarian or vegan recipe! The truth of the matter is, there are many benefits from consuming less meat. Incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your diet will increase your vitamin, mineral and antioxidant intake as well as minimize risk for chronic illnesses such as cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. Not to mention, U.N. Food & Agriculture Organization attribute 14.5 percent of global emissions to the world’s livestock farms and factory farmed animals generates toxic excrement which pollutes our air and water. Try one of these go-to recipes for Meatless Monday.
3. Imperfect Produce
Food is truly a terrible thing to waste. Yet, billions of pounds of fruits and vegetables go to waste each year. In fact, a huge percentage of produce goes to waste simply because it’s “ugly” or looks a little different. Companies such as Imperfect Produce have connected with over 200 farmers and producers for people to have customized boxes of these “imperfect” fruits & veggies delivered straight to their doors!
via @thelittlemarket
4. Reusable Bags
Plastic bags are non-biodegradable, use crude oil and natural gas to manufacture, and require even more fossil fuels to ship. By using reusable bags, you are not only reducing the amount of non-renewable resources necessary to produce plastic bags, but cutting down the costs on yearly clean ups by your local community.
via @moroccanoil
5. Air-dry Your Hair
Not only is applying heat to your hair extremely damaging, but is equally as energy-guzzling. Allowing your hair to air dry will not only encourage healthy hair care, but will also reduce overall household electricity use.
via @mindbodygreen
6. Stainless Steel or Glass Containers
Plastic free containers are easier to find than you think! Storing your food, or using plastic-free reusable water bottles set the seal on fresher food that is free from BPA – a hormone disrupting chemical found in plastic.
Photo by Sanaz Photography
7. Shop at Your Local Farmer’s Market
It’s time to support your local farmers! Local goods are delivered fresh, and are not only healthy, but environmentally friendly. Farmers markets take sustainable living to a whole new level! They also ensure farmers can make a living off sustainably grown food, while providing an outlet where their community can find and purchase their products.
Photo by Vanessa Lentine
8. Sleep Green
Going green is not just great for the earth, but also your health! If you haven’t yet, now is the time to invest in an eco-friendly mattress. We love our My Green Mattress because it is natural, organic, non-toxic, and GREENGUARD Gold certified, which means during manufacturing it is required to meet lower total VOC emissions levels. Plus, this means the mattresses are safe for your kids rooms as well. Good news! They are having an Earth Day Sale: use code IBTEARTH15 for 15% off site wide. Reading this after April 22? Use code IBT125 for $125 off any twin or larger mattress and IBT35 for $35 off a crib mattress. *Please note that these codes cannot be combined with any other offer.*
What green habits have you developed in your life?