The Clorox company has come out with a line of "green" products that have mostly natural ingredients. Great, right? You can clean your home with the products you're used to and still be green!
Wrong. Let's just take a look at their Natural Glass Cleaner, shall we?
It's 99% natural. Well, that's a good start. Let's see their natural ingredients:
- essential oils
- corn-based ethanol
- filtered water
- glycerine
- blue colorant
- coconut-based cleaning agent
- soda ash
Now, there are a few problems with that (corn-based ethanol isn't the smartest idea, but we'll get to that one later), but the one I'm going to choose is the coconut-based cleaning agent.
Clorox is a company that's based in the US. Coconuts come from many places...but they don't come from the United States. In fact, the largest producer of coconuts as of June 11, 2008, was the Phillipines, followed closely by Indonesia.* Now, if you'll notice, those are places that are all the way on the other side of the world.
The closest producer is Mexico, which produced about 1% of the output that the Phillipines produced in 2005. Now, even if we were to assume that Mexico is where Clorox gets its coconut-based cleaner, there's going to be a good deal of transport involved to get that cleaner produced and then delivered to your local supermarket. There's oil cost, AND you can't re-use the plastic containers in which these commercial products arrive.
So it's time for Stupid-Free Green Living Tip #2: Vinegar + Water = The Real Natural Glass Cleaner.
Vinegar is going to be the topic of another post later on, because it's just so useful for a load of things you wouldn't expect. However, right now, I'm going to tell you how to make your own glass cleaner that will both be more environmentally friendly AND less expensive than commercial products.
Combine one part white vinegar and one part water.
Yes, that's it. That's the whole thing. You can splash it on, or put it into a reusable spray bottle and use it just as you would Windex. For an even greener solution, you can use newspaper instead of paper towels and you'll get a great streak-free shine. I've done this myself, and it's a great, simple way to go greener. Sure, you have to get used to the smell while you're cleaning, but it's worth it. It won't linger, so don't worry about your house smelling weird afterwards.
There will probably be a upcoming post about all of Clorox's "Green Works" antibacterial products, but I don't have the time to put on my Super Science hat right this minute. Look out for it!
*http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coconut
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
SFG 1: Let's Start Simple.
For many people, "green" is an extremely important thing to be nowadays. Of course, past the fact that it's a buzzword on the news, most people don't think about what living green really means.
Sure, you could buy all of the "green" products out there. But my question is, why would you do that when there are simpler, more natural (and often more cost-effective) solutions to begin with?
For example, a water-saving showerhead is probably going to run you between $20-40. It'll save around 30% of the water that you'd normally use. Standard shower heads are going to be putting out 5-6 gallons per minute*, so that'll save you 15-18 gallons on a 10 minute shower. However, I can tell you a quick and easy way to reduce your water use by HALF!
Are you ready for this? Perhaps I should give you a quick hook for it first. I guarantee you that if you use my method, you're going to see softer, smoother skin within a week. People will start complimenting you on how nice your skin is, and- get this- you'll save a ton of money because you won't even need body creams to keep your skin that way. Ready?
Then it's time for Stupid-Free Green Living Tip #1: Stop Showering Daily.
Yes, you read that correctly. I am an advocate of showering less than 7 times a week, and have been for years. I also advise showering for 5 minutes, maybe 10 maximum. Here are some of the reasons why.
First, saving water is important. But if you just wanted to do that, you could blow the $20 on a water-saving showerhead instead of going my way. However, there are other reasons for showering less frequently- like that it's better for your skin.
Over the years, I've gotten many compliments on how soft my skin is. I get asked what lotions I use, how I keep it looking so great. This applies both to the skin on my body and the skin on my face. My big secret is that I don't overdry it by showering the oils away all the time. Sure, I could shower daily and spend more money on moisturizing body washes and creams, but that would cost me more money and involve me putting all sorts of weird chemicals onto my body. My hair is also in good condition, because showering every other day (or even every two days, sometimes) lets the oils in it work through and- gasp- it self-moisturizes!
Who'd have thought, our bodies can take care of themselves if we stop worrying about them so much.
We only shower daily because our society tells us that to be hygienic, we must. Some people even shower twice a day- for shame. Once you get past the idea that showering every other day is not going to make people turn up their noses at your stench (I promise, it won't!), this is a very simple, healthy way to live a little greener.
*(http://www.thewatergeeks.com/Water-Consumption-sp-16.html)
Sure, you could buy all of the "green" products out there. But my question is, why would you do that when there are simpler, more natural (and often more cost-effective) solutions to begin with?
For example, a water-saving showerhead is probably going to run you between $20-40. It'll save around 30% of the water that you'd normally use. Standard shower heads are going to be putting out 5-6 gallons per minute*, so that'll save you 15-18 gallons on a 10 minute shower. However, I can tell you a quick and easy way to reduce your water use by HALF!
Are you ready for this? Perhaps I should give you a quick hook for it first. I guarantee you that if you use my method, you're going to see softer, smoother skin within a week. People will start complimenting you on how nice your skin is, and- get this- you'll save a ton of money because you won't even need body creams to keep your skin that way. Ready?
Then it's time for Stupid-Free Green Living Tip #1: Stop Showering Daily.
Yes, you read that correctly. I am an advocate of showering less than 7 times a week, and have been for years. I also advise showering for 5 minutes, maybe 10 maximum. Here are some of the reasons why.
First, saving water is important. But if you just wanted to do that, you could blow the $20 on a water-saving showerhead instead of going my way. However, there are other reasons for showering less frequently- like that it's better for your skin.
Over the years, I've gotten many compliments on how soft my skin is. I get asked what lotions I use, how I keep it looking so great. This applies both to the skin on my body and the skin on my face. My big secret is that I don't overdry it by showering the oils away all the time. Sure, I could shower daily and spend more money on moisturizing body washes and creams, but that would cost me more money and involve me putting all sorts of weird chemicals onto my body. My hair is also in good condition, because showering every other day (or even every two days, sometimes) lets the oils in it work through and- gasp- it self-moisturizes!
Who'd have thought, our bodies can take care of themselves if we stop worrying about them so much.
We only shower daily because our society tells us that to be hygienic, we must. Some people even shower twice a day- for shame. Once you get past the idea that showering every other day is not going to make people turn up their noses at your stench (I promise, it won't!), this is a very simple, healthy way to live a little greener.
*(http://www.thewatergeeks.com/Water-Consumption-sp-16.html)
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