Green Body

Nowadays, people everywhere are "going green", but what does that mean and how can it make a difference? By definition, going green simply means being aware of the immediate and residual impact our products and practices have on the planet. If we are causing harm at either of these two levels, whatever we are doing is not a green practice. We all want to make the planet a better place and the best place to start is by thinking “sustainable”. Are the products and services that you’re using being depleted or can they be sustained naturally? What’s consumed should not have a negative impact on the body or the world in general. When that isn't possible, make choices that have the least negative impact; for example, buy local and organic food and chemical-free cleaning and body products whenever possible.

Our skin is our largest organ, so remember what goes on the skin, goes inside the body! With this in mind, be watchful of the ingredients list and what those ingredients are!

* A cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient and market the product without an approval by the FDA.
* Evidence shows that cumulative use of these products may be contributing to asthma, the onset of puberty in girls and the feminization of baby boys.
* The majority of personal care products will be washed down the drain.
* Waste-water treatment centers are unable to remove many of the chemicals shampoos, lotions, soaps, deodorant and make-up, leaving the residue in our water supply.

What You Can Do: GIVE YOUR BODY A BREAK

* Cut back on the sheer number of products you use
*Pick one weekend a month to “go au naturel”
*Prioritize your regimen and buy green (clean) products that stay on your skin like deodorant, lotions and cosmetics
* Buy products with the fewest ingredients
* Beware the misuse of words like “organic”,“natural” and “hypo-allergenic”
* Avoid antibacterials (triclosan), parabens, phthalates, and fragrances
* Send companies a message
*

Choose products with less packaging; some cosmetics are simply sealed rather than packaged.

From the food we eat to the products we use on our bodies, becoming mindful of our choices to live a sustainable lifestyle is within your grasp. Today, take a minute to read the ingredients label, recycle and consume less—your body and planet will thank you for it.

On the Lookout for Tree Loving Artists

As an advocate for the trees that keep the earth healthy, Marcal Paper Products, LLC , one of the nation’s oldest earth-friendly paper goods producer of household recycled tissue paper products, today announces its Marcal® Small Steps™ “Save the Trees” Paper Towel Design Contest. This contest is one element in Marcal’s ongoing campaign to save one million trees and provides consumers an opportunity to get involved by submitting original artwork that showcases their appreciation for trees.

Since 1950, Marcal has been making its paper from recycled paper, not from trees. By purchasing Small Steps™ products by Marcal® brand, consumers are taking a small, easy step to a greener earth.™

The grand prize winner of Marcal® Small Steps™ “Save the Trees” Paper Towel Design Contest will win a trip to ‘hug a giant tree’ at California’s Sequoia National Park, a year’s supply of Marcal® Small Steps™ 100% recycled paper products, and the winning artwork may be used as inspiration for future Marcal® brand product packaging.

So grab a pencil and get started on your sketches now!!

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Thank you to all who participated in our Chicken Soup for the Soul:Power Moms, book giveaway contest! Jennifer from Phoenix, Arizona is our winner; congratulations Jennifer, we will be mailing your autographed copy of the book to you soon!

GREEN COUPON-ING

Did you know that according to Simmons Market Research Bureau, currently more than 40 million people nationwide are printing online coupons. While coupons are a great way to save money in this recession, paper coupons equate to a staggering amount of wasted paper. Instead of printing and clipping, go green this Earth Day by visiting free online coupon code and deal site Coupon Craze (couponcraze.com) before you shop. Check out Coupon Craze’s top 5 reasons why you should stop clipping and start clicking instead:

BE A SAVVY SHOPPER: If each of the 40 million people printing online coupons replaced one paper coupon with an online coupon code, 80,000 reams of paper would be saved!

SAVE TREES: 500,000 trees must be cut down to produce each week's Sunday newspapers, including the massive coupon section. Why do we even need all of those coupons, when only 0.5% of those coupons inserted in Sunday newspapers were redeemed in 2008.

BE GREEN: The average household throws away 13,000 pieces of paper each year, most of which is junk mail consisting of printed coupons and promotions. Reducing paper use reduces greenhouse gases and using 40 million pieces of paper translates into 3,000 acres of pine forest absorbing carbon for a year.

CONSERVE WATER: Who knew? It takes more than 1½ cups of water to make one sheet of paper4 – meaning that the 40 million people who have printed coupons have wasted 3.75 million gallons of water.

STOP WASTING: The United States alone, which has less than 5% of the world's population, consumes 30% of the world's paper. As if that were bad enough, approximately 1 billion trees worth of paper is thrown away every year in the U.S.

In honor of Earth Day (which is every day to me), visit Coupon Craze to find online deals and coupon codes that can easily replace those paper-wasting printed coupons. While you're there, check out their new green category!

World's Largest Roll of Toilet Paper

Yesterday, I was thrilled to be a part of an event, honoring trees--one of my favorite things! A urban jungle was built in the middle of Times Square, complete with trees, recycle bins and the world's largest roll of toilet paper, all to bring awareness about the importance to RECYCLE and to USE RECYCLED products! The event was sponsored by Small Steps by Marcal, a recycled kitchen and bath paper products company. Thousands of passersby were treated to free samples and coupons, all in an effort to reach Marcal's goal of the Million Tree March. If everyone in America switched to just one roll of recycled paper towel or toilet tissue, together we could save ONE MILLION TREES; and trees, as you know, oxygenate the planet, filter our air, house countless species, cool the planet and are just plain beautiful to look at.

So, do your part, take a small step, use some tissue and save a tree--I am!

I never thought I'd see the day

I never thought I'd see the day when the average 700 pounds of paper used by each American every year would be used to create household items such as napkins, paper towels, and bath tissue. Well, it's true! The new brand, Small Steps by Marcal has officially launched in super markets nationwide. What I love about the product is that it's made by the folks at Marcal who've been doing this recycled paper thing for over 50 years, so you know they've got it down right! They're no flash-in-the-pan-jump-on-the bandwagon-kind-of-company-they're just now touting their work. Well, good for us green moms who really care about the environment, but just don't have all the time in the world to save the rainforest--today! Now, it's as simple as switching over to a brand that chooses to be made of used paper rather than trees! Now, that's something, isn't it?

Green Your Planet

As a Healthy Green Living Expert, I am often asked, "What can I do to help green the planet?". My answer is to make simple small steps every day that add up to one big impact.

The easiest way to get started is to: JUST RECYCLE. If everyone JUST recycled and used recycled products, we'd be way ahead of the curve. Once recycling becomes a part of your daily "routine", then add in REDUCE and REUSE. Again, simple small steps!!

In a lifetime, the average American will throw away 600 times his or her adult weight in garbage. This means that each adult will leave a legacy of 90,000 lbs. of trash for his or her children. Recycling all of your home’s waste newsprint, cardboard, glass, and metal can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 850 pounds a year. Americans generate on average 4.4 pounds of waste per day per person. In this decade, it is projected that Americans will throw away over 1 million tons of aluminum cans and foil, more than 11 million tons of glass bottles and jars, over 4 and a half million tons of office paper and nearly 10 million tons of newspaper. Almost all of this material could be recycled. Almost 1/3 of the waste generated in America is packaging.

Tip for Today: Just RECYCLE!

Why use a valuable material or product once, and then place it in your trash to be buried in a landfill? Instead, divert that material for recycling, and capture the energy and resources already used to make that product. Since recycled materials have been refined and processed once, manufacturing the second time around is much cleaner and less energy-intensive than the first. By using recycled materials instead of trees, metal ores, minerals, oil, and other raw materials harvested from the earth, recycling-based manufacturing conserves the world’s scarce natural resources. This conservation reduces pressure to expand forests cutting and mining operations.

Then, when you're done, try hugging a tree! ;)

CONTEST: Chick Soup for the Soul: Power Moms

I'll toot my horn for just a moment as I share with you the wonderful news about my article being published in the next Jack Canfield, Chicken Soup for the Soul series book, Power Moms. With a thousand plus entries, my article, It Happened in an Instant, ( Simon & Schuster 2009) was selected to appear in the book with notable power moms such as, editor/author, Wendy Walker, authors, Jodi Picoult, Jane Green, and Jill Kargman; Mary Himes, wife of Congressman Jim Himes, and Jillian Barberie-Reynolds, co-host of Good Day LA, to name a few.

I hope that you'll find the time to read the 101 stories that make up this touching and meaningful book and just for reading and playing along, you can WIN one of five signed copies of the book from me! (you can purchase the book by clicking here)

Enter a comment about "Why you or someone you know is a Power Mom,"on THIS BLOG then, on April 30th, 2009, I'll randomly select an entry and the winner will be notified via email. Your personally signed book will be mailed to your designated address.

BUY THE BOOK HERE