1. Find a BND event.
2. Do the obvious – hang with the family, have a cookie baking day, play games, go for a walk, plant a tree, play dress-up, sing, make some crafts, it’s a great day to find a family activity.
3. Go to a store, but not to shop, instead stick one of these up quietly.
4. Get started on a Buy Nothing Christmas. As BND advocates note, if a Buy Nothing Christmas is too extreme, try selling your family on, “A Buy Less Christmas. Or a $100 Christmas. Or a Regifting Christmas. Or a Green Christmas. Or a Slow-Down Christmas.”
5. Join the New Dream Community (all you need is an email). Once you join you’ll gain access to FREE booklets on the following topics:

• Tips for Parenting in a Commercial Culture
• Good Times Made Simple: The Lost Art of Fun
• Simplify the Holidays
• Back to School Buying and Action Guide
• Alternative Gift Fair Guide

Other good reads: 

• Give the gift of time this holiday season
• It’s not green Friday folks…
• Buy Nothing Day Tips
• Hypocritical me & the stuff issue
• Homemade Eco Gifts You Can Make for the Holidays!

November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…

[image via Buy Nothing Day]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Your green challenge, for November 2008, should you choose to accept it, is…

To buy nothing on Buy Nothing Day 2008.

Steps to take:

1. Buy Nothing Day happens on November 28, 2008 for North America and on November 29, 2008 internationally.
2. This small action step challenge consists of you buying nothing on the big day.
3. Another action step you can take would be to spread the word, tell your friends and family. Convince at least one other person to ban shopping on Buy Nothing Day.

Difficulties with this challenge:

For some of us, Buy Nothing Day will be a snap. However Black Friday is seductive to many. Some people are going to have to use massive will power to avoid the sales. To help you avoid caving in, I’ll be writing posts during the month that discuss Buy Nothing Day, ideas for simplifying, how to avoid shopping temptations, and how to be a good green shopper when you do shop.

The end result: 

Of course this challenge is about avoiding Black Friday; but there’s more to the end result than simply that. Part of being an earth-friendly individual is lowering your overall consumption, and buying ethically when you do shop. While Buy Nothing Day is a good first step, it merely kicks off a specific sort of mind-set. It’s not about NEVER buying items, it’s more, in my mind, thinking before you purchase. What the eventual end result should be is a change in your overall thinking; a knowledge that there’s a difference between needs and want, and that living simply can be a worthwhile endeavor, both for you and the planet.

To get started:

1. Soon I’ll be posting about Buy Nothing Day – it’s history, the basic gist, and so fourth. Watch for that post.
2. Start thinking about what challenges you may face on Black Friday – what might make you head to the stores. Let me know so I can provide you with helpful ideas.
3. Start telling your pals. If you participate in Buy Nothing Day, that’s swell, but if you can convince someone else, well, that’s a double accomplishment.

Now, are you going to try and participate in the Buy Nothing Challenge this month? Let me know in the comments. I’ll have update posts all month, including a wrap-up post to see how everyone did.

November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…

[image via Buy Nothing Day]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

The cashier questions and hesitation really puzzled me. I never got asked those questions before I started taking my own bags. Why are the bags making some cashiers nervous?

Then Michael said something that totally made sense: “They think of them as your personal space. They probably think if you’re picky enough to bring your bags, then you’re picky about how things are bagged.”

Oh. I also remembered another cashier commenting once, “You must really hate plastic.”

Then it became clear: I’ve been taking for granted that people who bag my groceries actually understand why I’m bringing my own bags. I always just hand the bags to the cashier quickly before they start their plastic routine and say, “I brought my own bags.” I guess that may not be enough.

If you live in an eco-minded city, this won’t be a problem for you, but some people still don’t know about the bring your own bag movement. Crazy, huh?

To help inform folks who may not understand why you’re taking your own bags, try selecting reusable shopping bags that make your reason for using them loud and clear. If you don’t like the direct approach of the “Plastic Bags Blow” bag above from reusablebags.com, then I’m guessing a bag with a cute planet image would do the same. Try the bag to the right from Etsy. Or you can add your own message on plain canvas bags.

Have you found any nice bags with a green message?

BYOB image from reusablebags.com. Planet/Heart image from Etsy/melissavest.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in June 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Responding to a reader email, Melanie writes:

“It bugs me too that so much green advice seems to boil down to “spend a lot of money, buy all this ‘green’ stuff”. ‘Green’ is not a lifestyle choice. It’s not a sort of fashion that is only available to the rich. The greenest people on earth are the poorest. They don’t cause as much pollution, carbon emissions etc as we do because they can’t afford to. It’s we in the affluent countries who are causing the problems. And the solution isn’t to buy a lot of green junk, but to buy less junk.”

Read her full post.

I agree we all need to buy less stuff, “green” or not. So, that’s why I get concerned that some readers may get the wrong message by our recent increase in product reviews and product suggestions, or even contests that promote green products.

One reason Jennifer and I decided to post on green products more frequently is because that’s what many of you said you wanted in our recent poll. We don’t do it because we think you should buy more stuff. Read Jennifer’s recent post on this topic: If you’re so against having stuff…

The products we talk about are hopefully those that many of you might consider over other options that aren’t so eco-friendly. For example, if you’re buying toys anyway, look at the green options we’re showing you. Few green products are so great that you should start buying them if you aren’t already buying a similar non-green option. That would be like buying a hybrid car instead of walking to work.

I’d also like to say that we don’t pick products to promote for our own interests. We don’t get paid by companies for product reviews, suggestions or contests. The most we get is sometimes a free product to sample for a review. Free or not, it never affects our honest review of an item. We’re paid by b5media, and they are paid by the ads in the sidebar. It’s pretty simple.

What do you think of our recent mix of product reviews/suggestions/contests?

Images via stock.xchng.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Marye – “Meat and dairy… commercially produced meat of all kinds is unethical, unhealthy, bad for the earth, and downright nasty. Genetic manipulation, hormones, antibiotics, canabalism, unethical treatment…the list of why not goes on and on..AND not only that but the studies that show commercially produced sanimal products have a much higher proportion of Bad Fats than those raised in stress free conditions.”

Rachel – “Cleaning products!”

dh – “I always buy organic dairy too. I like to buy organic plants and seeds. I’d like my veggies to be mostly organic. I buy my mother organic flowers for Mother’s day or her birthday”

Susan – “How about organic diapers? The cloth and non-cloth choices that are available now weren’t around when my babies (25 and 26 years old) were in diapers.”

Tammy – “I want to say makeup/body care products. There are so many options that are very affordable, and you put these chemicals on your body, so that makes it extra important.”

These are all really good – diapers were in fact already on the list; but only cloth. If you do buy disposable, you should buy the more biodegradable types. Meat and dairy is also huge. These are two of the most dangerious foods you buy conventionally. Buying organic is so much better. Plants, seeds, flowers, and body care are also excellent additions. These are items we use daily for the most part, or things that are around us daily; it’s important to be green about items that we frequently use first.

What my ideas were:

One of my ideas was what Rachel said, “Cleaning supplies” – the population uses them in such an abundance that it seems wacky not to have them on the list. It’s one way people can make a difference every single day.

My second idea was housing. Green built housing is still not very green (housing and structures by nature, just aren’t all that eco-friendly). That said, green building practices help save untold amounts of resources. Not to mention green building practices include things like structure deconstruction vs. demolition, reuse building supplies, and proper trash disposal and recycling. Buildings are one of the biggest man-made issues, and new ones go up daily, so it makes sense to buy green.

My problem is, what would I take off the list? I guess this is not a case of taking stuff off, but adding on. Maybe Co-op America didn’t want to overwhelm people. I mean, if you had to take something off, to add something, what would it be? I can’t think of one.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in May 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

It lists 12 items and if you’re watching your green spending, I’d say this is a good place to start. It can help you to zero in on the best ways to spend your green dollars.

Here are 6 of the 12:

1. Produce
2. Coffee
3. Transportation
4. Paper
5. Batteries
6. Light bulbs

I agree with the list. I was trying to think if there was anything I might switch out for something else, and I can’t think of anything. I think they nailed it. Maybe gardening gear should be in there, but I can’t think of something I’d leave off. I’m interested to know what you think. Read the whole list, then let me know if you think something is missing, or if you’d take something off the list.

OH! I just thought of one biggie one they left off, and another possible one too. Oooo. Ok, I’m going to let folks comment, and I’ll be back later to tell you what I think they missed.

[photo via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

The EVO rating system works like this…

They consider “What it’s made from, how it’s produced, the distance it travels to reach the consumer, and what type of energy is used to power it.” Next to each product you’ll find 1 to 5 little leaves.

The more green leaves EVO gives the product, the greener it is. EVO products must have a minimum of one Green Attribute to be featured.

Below are some examples of what EVO calls Green Attributes.

• Natural Fibers
• Energy Star
• Solar
• Pure Beeswax
• Eco Packaging
• Bamboo
• Sustainable Wood

EVO also has a great little grow a tree quiz on their homepage that you can take. When you start the quiz your tree is leaf free. As you answer questions your tree grows leaves according to how green you live. It’s pretty fun. Additionally, and here’s the best part, if you register at EVO they will plant a real live tree. To do this EVO partnered with Trees For The Future. In honor of their website launch, they are committing to planting 100,000 trees. Nice. I already registered so that’s one tree planted. How many of you can sign up?

Oh, one note, it’s hard to find where to sign up but I found it — it’s in the top right hand corner of the site. In spite of this design flaw this is one handy site. In fact, later I’ll show some cool stuff I found there.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family