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Top Ten Green Consumer Trends Forecasted for 2009

Jennifer — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 04:00:35 +0000

The Fresh Ideas Group’s 2009 Consumer Trends Forecast is worth checking out if you’re interested in what’s hot and not on the green scene for 2009.

They sent me a nice little chart with the basics:

While I can’t say that I agree that recycling is out of style, and I’m so not jumping on the boxed wine train, it’s an overall good list. The actual forecast piece goes into much more detail and it’s an interesting read.

Check it out.

Source: The Fresh Ideas Group

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This Year Give Reusable Bags for the Holidays!

Jennifer — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:00:17 +0000

Reusable bags make awesome holiday gifts. You can stuff them with candy treats or cookies, and this is a gift that can be, and actually will be used for years and years. You can help your friends and family stay green or go green with a great bag.

I found some really nice reusable bag options – pretty ones that would make great gifts this year…

Wild Flowers Organic Cotton Eco Lunch Bag from Art And Philanthropy

Eco-friendly Hemp Bag with Queen Anne’s Lace (Pistachio) from Uzura.

Set of 3 Waterproof Eco-Friendly Snack and Sandwich bags from LMarcacci.

Peace Paisley Tote from Blue Monday.

Super cute Eco-Friendly Tote Bags from Mountains of the Moon which I first saw at The Greenset.

If none of these is quite your bag (pardon the pun) check out the Tree Hugging Family Green Holiday Gift Guide or read the following posts for more options.

Why yes, Tree Hugging Family DOES have a thing for reusable bags. Did you notice?

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Tomorrow is Buy Nothing Day

Jennifer — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 19:11:31 +0000

Tomorrow is Black Friday and Buy Nothing Day. I already know what I’m planning on doing. Have you decided? If you’re leaning toward Buy Nothing Day, but still need a little help deciding what you can do, here are some activities you can try tomorrow…

Find a BND event.
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.
Go to a store, but not to shop, instead stick one of these up quietly.
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.”
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:

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

[image via Buy Nothing Day]

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November 2008 Green Challenge: Buy Nothing Day

Jennifer — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 17:00:49 +0000

You may remember the popular BYOB Challenge – the bring your own reusable bag challenge and the Paper Towel Challenge. In any case, we haven’t had a green challenge in a while here at Tree Hugging Family, but this month, it’s on.

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

To buy nothing on Buy Nothing Day 2008.

Steps to take:

Buy Nothing Day happens on November 28, 2008 for North America and on November 29, 2008 internationally.
This small action step challenge consists of you buying nothing on the big day.
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:

Soon I’ll be posting about Buy Nothing Day – it’s history, the basic gist, and so fourth. Watch for that post.
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.
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]

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Reusable Bag Feature Round Up

Jennifer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:39:26 +0000

Our month-long June theme was the hefty topic of reusable shopping bags. We blogged and blogged bags, and yet there’s so much more we could have blogged. Bags are a big deal. We’ll likely revisit this feature at some point. If you missed any bag goodness, here’s a round-up of all things reusable bags…

The BYOB challenge:

Reusable bag basics and overcoming issues:

Get your own bag:

The why of reusable bags vs. disposable:

Bags for kids!:

Other reusable bag ideas:

Holy smokes – now that’s a lot of bags. Can you imagine if I went through and found all the bag posts we’ve ever done since this blog started? Wow. I’ll most likely be adding this round-up to the sidebar pages, so later you can find these posts again if you like.

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Reusable Bag Challenge Update – How Did Your Entire Month Go?

Jennifer — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:38:23 +0000

This month we’ve all been working hard on the reusable bag challenge. Now is your chance to tell us how you did.

Myself: I did pretty good. I only ended up with the one lame video store bag. Thankfully, I averted some clerks during the month, who were trying little sneaks, like re bagging my fruit into plastic. One bag is not so bad. I worked really hard to take my bags with me everywhere. I basically always kept them in the car, which worked well for pet store trips, and other quick stops.

Now, how did you do? Also, look for a bag round-up post. I’m going to try and gather all the bag posts together in one place – yikes.

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

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Olive Smart Reusable Grocery Bags

Jennifer — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 19:06:25 +0000

Bag month has been a little hectic. Too bad, because there’s just oh so many bags to see. In any case, I’m going to try and fit in a few more bags before we kick off out cool July theme.

I saw these bags originally at Eco Friendly Driver, and fell in love, because Hil had posted the light olive green darling carry bag – I’m a sucker for light olive green bags. I wanted to post it here, forgot, and then one of the store owners emailed me with some info.

Stephanie, co-business owner of Olive Smart notes the following about her partner and her: “We are both former professionals turned full-time Moms turned entrepreneurs. Our Sacks are unique because all six bags fit into the little Sack which in turn fits into the cup-holder of your car, your handbag etc. making it easy to remember. We are really trying to bring green to the mainstream by making it fun and stylish. With 5 kids between us, Kerri and I see way too many plastic bags leaving the grocery store, Target, etc. It needs to stop!”

Yay for mama businesses! And yay for adorable bags. These bags are good looking, machine washable, hold 20 lbs, and a set of six fit into a cup holder in your car, all of which make these bags ultra easy to carry and use. Following is my favorite set, although, there’s a smaller set and a more bold color set available as well. This set goes for $39.00 and includes 6 bags and the carrying sack – a great deal.

Love the colors – so pretty. The website is very user friendly – which you all know I’m a fan of. They offer bag Q&A, plastic bag facts, and even have a handy demo slide show. This is the first slide below, which is cool, because it shows just how tiny the set is, and how nicely it fits into your car. Can you find the bags?

In any case, I’m very happy that Stephanie emailed me, because this is a great bag set to see. It’s also one of those bag sets that would make a perfect gift, being so colorful and well-priced. Visit Olive Smart to learn more.

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

[Images via Olive Smart]

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Inexpensive Reusable Grocery Bags

Jennifer — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 20:25:18 +0000

Inexpensive is relative; one person’s inexpensive is another person’s not so much. However, for the sake of this post, I’m naming right around $10 and under as a decent inexpensive bag. Yeah you can get store brand non-washable bags for 99 cents, but I’m more on the fence of folks buying a decent washable set. One, you can wash them. Two, they hold up better (in my experience). Three; and I’ve noted this before, but research shows that not everyone recycles those store brand bags.

So some inexpensive choices:

[Biome Lifestyle's reusable bag - £6.00 - only downside is that this one may not be washable.]

Dharma Trading Co. has some of the most inexpensive bags around. These plain cotton totes look great, plus have both a gusset and two side pockets. You could dye a bunch or add patches. Cost – just $3.95 per bag, but the price goes down if you order more. Find a pal or two and order tons.

Also see these Plain Reusable Cotton Tote Bags – 6 pk £8.99

Of course Reusable Bags has many good deals. I’d suggest checking their specials link first. Following are some choices.

[Reisenthel - Mini Maxi Shopper, Long Handle - $6.96 to $8.95 - many color options.]

Additionally, Peggy and I have both shopped Reusable Bags. Peggy got some Organic Cotton Eco-Bags for around $8 each, and I got some recycled cotton bags for under $6 each.

Now, if you’re really going to recycle the bag when it wears out, these look pretty good (for non cloth):

[Green World Bags - $7.50 each - different styles available.]

You also might want to check out the post I wrote; I Need New Reusable Bags & Hate Shopping (sos… help!) – there are some decent deals in there. Remember,when you look at a set of bags cost, it might seem like a lot, but really, for example, if you pay $40 for a set of six bags that will last years, that’s a stellar deal at less than $7 per bag. So pay attention to bulk rates.

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

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And the big fat anti tree hugging award of the week goes to…

Jennifer — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:00:37 +0000

This bag!

In wildly expensive bag news (Julie will love this one) I present you with this adorable, but WAY too expensive bag option…

The “Think Green” Organic Cotton Kermit Tote:

Pros:

Totally adorable
Organic
Comes with buttons – if you’re into that sort of thing.
It saves plastic bags

Con:

Um, almost $40 PLUS $8 shipping, for anything, even a hand spun by the queen, organic bag, is frankly, INSANE. I’m sorry, but here’s the deal; if people really want to make a difference and create change, they’re going to need to make nice organic items accessible to all of us, not just rock stars and others with fatty bank accounts.

I talk a lot here about the choices we make. Like I choose not to own much stuff, I save my $ for organics that provide better health for Cedar. But this bag is not about making a choice; like I’ll cut back on something else to pay for it, because overall, it’s just too expensive. Many places sell longer term bags for a better deal overall. Other places sell organic bags for less. What’s up with this bag?

I don’t know who made it, but it’s a very lame move to charge so much for an item like this. Great job winning the anti-green award of the week bag creator!

[image via Delight.com]

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

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BYOB Challenge Update!!!

Jennifer — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:00:38 +0000

Go me… Go me!

So far, I’m only in for one bag – my previously mentioned lame movie store situation bag. I haven’t used that one bag for anything yet though. I decided to place it by the door to the garage. This way, when we’re on the way out, I see it and think “LAME” – which has been great for reminding me to always grab a bag, if I know there’s not one in the car.

Other than that, I’ve got nothing to report because I rock. I did look up some basic stats on bag use – none are very complete, because that’s an impossible task, but here are some links if you’re interested:

I also read that the average use per U.S. individuals is 300 plastic bags a year. So, if you consider that I got one bag this month, that’s an average of 12 bags a year vs. the possible norm of 300. I know that many of you have been doing great with this challenge, which means as a groups we’ve saved seriously countless bags. AMAZING. Great job everyone! I think we all deserve a shiny star – here they come…

Your turn:

If you’re participating in the Bring Your Own Bag (BYOB challenge) make sure to leave a comment about how you’ve been doing since the last check-in. We’d love to hear how you’re doing and may use your comment for something special. So be sure to fill us in.

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

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family