The 21st century has been a mute witness to several advancements in technology and lifestyle that have taken place at the cost of our environment. Irresponsible human activities have increased the emission of green house gases causing extensive damage by way of global warming. All this has made it vital for us to reduce carbon footprint in some way or the other. One good plan to achieve this is to use green products that are environment friendly, sustainable, bio-degradable and recyclable. There are many green products available in the market, some run on water and solar power, some consume less electricity, some require less packaging and so on. Let us check out seven green products that will help reduce carbon footprint:
1. Green furniture
As the name implies, green furniture is sustainable, contains low levels of toxic materials and can be taken apart or recycled at the end of its life. Furniture with C2C (cradle to cradle) certification from McDonough Braungart Design Chemistry (MBDC), the global sustainability consulting and product certification firm, is an example of green furniture. This kind of furniture uses reclaimed wood or bamboo, the latter growing mature in a time span of 5 years or less. Many of these can be assembled without tools. Best examples of green furniture are lounge furniture from EGM Green and furniture from Havertys, Steelcase Inc., and Herman Miller.
2. Environmentally friendly lighting
Eco-friendly lights for your home or office is a great way of greening up your lighting. LEDs, CFLs and solar powered bulbs and lamps are energy efficient and long lasting. Green lighting systems use motion sensors to turn lights on and off only when a person’s presence is detected in the room. There are timers available to turn lights off after a set time period. All this reduces the overall electricity consumption to a great extent.
3. Eco-friendly wall treatments
Thinking of changing your wall decor? Go for green eco-friendly wall tiles that are made of bamboo pulp which is 100% bio-degradable and chemical-free. This is a great way to paint walls without going in for the more toxic painting process. 100% recyclable 3D tiles made from sugar cane bagasse are available in different shades which add a fresh look to walls. Paints manufactured artificially have a high metal content and emit fumes when applied on the walls or left uncovered. A reasonably better option is to use paints and finishes made of natural products like clay paint and plant based paint. The company Painted Earth manufactures good quality paints from natural products as well as high quality water-based synthetic paints and wood finishes with zero or very low VOC (volatile organic compounds) that emit few or no chemical fumes. Other manufacturers in this category include Behr – which offers eco-friendly, lead-free paints and Nippon Paints offering environment friendly paints with very low VOC. The next in this league of eco-friendly wall treatments is bio-degradable wallpapers made of natural fiber, recycled paper and post consumer recycled waste.
4. Organic apparels and eco-friendly accessories
Organic clothing is made from materials like soy, organic cotton and hemp. Green clothing that is skin friendly and environment friendly is in vogue. These clothes are dyed with organic dyes, free from hazardous chemicals. Brands selling organic clothing and accessories include Nike, Timberland, Marks and Spencer, Wal-Mart, Target and Reebok. ‘Del Forte’ Denim is a cool example of organic clothing. It is made of 99% organic cotton and 1% of spandex, making the jeans environment friendly and stretchable.
There is a variety of eco-friendly accessories like bags made of wicker, recycled leather, candy wrappers, recycled sails, coir, jute, coconut shells and recycled paper in addition to eco-friendly jewelery made from recycled metal, bamboo, silver and wicker. Snake skin shoes can be made from organic cotton canvas cleverly designed to mimic snake skin. Nike makes use of recycled paper to create cool sneakers. There are foot wears made from recycled leather dyed using organic vegetable dyes.
5. Green gadgets
Green gadgets range from solar powered devices like solar panels that charge your cell phones, car batteries and digital cameras, solar powered water heaters, lawn mowers to solar cookers. Some run on water like the eco-friendly Bedol alarm clock. It converts ions in water to energy and a single fill up lasts for more than 12 days.
There are LCD television sets like the EcoTV from Philips which is made entirely from lead-free, flame-retardant components. Its manuals as well as packaging is made from recyclable materials.
6. Green moss carpets
Moss carpets are a great way to look green, feel green and go green, right in your bathroom. You get a beautiful feeling of fresh green grass under your feet. It is made from imputrescible foam called plastazote, which is sustainable and 100% recyclable. The mat has island moss, ball moss and forest moss, which thrive on the moisture found in bathrooms.
7. Green cleaning products
There is an entire range of cleaning products made of environment friendly, non-toxic, organic and bio-degradable ingredients extracted from vegetables and plants that break down completely without polluting the sewage systems. Their containers are 100% recyclable. Green cleaning products do not contain harmful substances like chlorine, benzene, glycol ethers or petroleum distillates. Amway home care products are a good example of eco-friendly cleaning products.
These environment friendly, green products will reduce your carbon foot print to a great extent. Take the initiative to go green, start using green products.
