Green Thumb Shopping

Becoming environmentally conscious takes effort. It takes time to track down the items you want, it takes effort to overcome old habits and look a little bit deeper at products you have been using. Luckily, environmental consciousness is gaining momentum and by using the internet it's really not hard to find not only the advise you need to educate yourself on becoming green, but to discover retailers who have already done a lot of the research for you.

Some products that are eco-friendly can be more expensive, but remember the more people that purchase the eco friendly and recycled products, the more in demand they are, the less they will end up costing over time. It's not good enough to just recycle; you must also make a concentrated effort on purchasing products made from recycled material as often as possible to close the loop.

So, you're looking for merchandise with an environmentally and socially conscious message that is easy to purchase through the internet? Let me help you with that.

First stop, The Greenloop. The powers that be at Greenloop believe that what you wear and where you shop is a reflection of who you are and what you stand for. Their selection of modern, functional, high style apparel, bags, belts, footwear, and jewelry gives you the opportunity to spend your money on products that promote a sustainable economy, and by that they mean breathable air, clean water, healthy people, and diverse and thriving wildlife.

Greenloop's product mix is a step in the right direction. Some products they offer are made using a portion of "conventional" materials in addition to more eco-friendly textiles bringing us consumers a finished product which is "greener" overall, by that they mean doing more good than harm.

Some items are made in China, which is not always a bad thing. With an increasingly global economy, much of the expertise in product manufacturing is located in China or other countries. According to their website, every single one of the lines carried by Greenloop has been extensively researched and audited to ensure that the manufacturing facilities where their products are made adhere to human right standards and safe, responsible manufacturing practices.

They have a huge range of product lines to choose from and the clothes are very stylish, not just functional organic cotton tee shirts some of us tend to think of when we think "sustainable". Everything is tres chic. For example, the EcoSkin line created by Los Angeles-based designer, Sandy Skinner uses a blend of bamboo, Tencel, and Spandex for their clothing line. EcoSkin gives women a hip, sophisticated sustainable product with a minimal environmental footprint.

Have you heard of the wabi sabi way of life? Wabi Sabi is an ancient Chinese philosophy adapted by the Japanese tea masters. This belief stands for things that are fresh and simple, denote simplicity and quietude, incorporates rustic beauty, and includes that which is made by hand. It can also mean an accidental or happenstance element (or perhaps even a small flaw) which gives elegance and uniqueness. Pí Organic (or Perfectly Imperfect, get it!) carries a number of stylish tops, leggings and lingerie.

Green Label Organic claims to offer "the highest quality, most sustainable apparel brand on the planet. Their shirts are domestically made in the United States with 100% certified organic ring spun cotton, dyed with low-impact reactive dyes, and printed without the use of plastics." They offer some very nice dress down tees with a variety of logos.

This is only a small sampling of the number of product lines to choose from on the Greenloop website, but that is not uncommon. Another great website for trendy eco conscious clothing and products is Nimli and they also offer a large variety of product lines. Here you can find products for women, men, kids, even pets and your home. Nimli was founded in New York City in 2003 by entrepreneur Rajat Arora, a vegetarian since early childhood and a keen advocate of an organic way of life free from cruelty. His desire to help preserve the environment inspired Rajat to create Nimli with the hope and philosophy that people would adopt a sustainable lifestyle by purchasing green products and services.

Nimli offers clothing, accessories, home décor, beauty products and much more from independent designers who combine their effortless creativity with Nimli's environmentally conscious ethics. They offer an array of ecologically friendly products that are natural, organic, recycled, sweatshop-free, and cruelty-free. Firmly committed to a lifestyle that cultivates a green conscious mind, body, and soul, they also offer free shipping every day. Now that is hard to beat.

Their website is easy to maneuver through. Examples of some of the brands offered are: Alaska Glacial Mud, Brew City Botanicals, In The Raw, Naked Paint, Pomega5, HollyBeth's, Green Earth Jewelry, Zoica Matei, the list goes on and on. Each product is accompanied by symbols which indicate if the product is fairly traded, natural, organic, handmade or recycled.

Both Greenloop and Nimli carry numerous, trendy products, but sometimes you just need something practical, affordable, and eco conscious. In that case try Oregon Cotton Mill. They describe their eco friendly clothing as "good for you, good for our earth".

Oregon Cotton Mill uses all-natural dye methods; the clay-dyed offerings will retain their warm colors through years of wear and washing. The Hemp and Organic Cotton fabric has a soft slightly nubby texture to it like standard jersey knits, but it'll last a lot longer.

This company also uses bamboo in their products. Bamboo is a sustainable resource that thrives naturally without pesticides, and is 100% biodegradable, both attributes that are important in our natural world. According to Oregon Cotton Mill bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial and because of its hollow fiber bamboo has an unusual breathing ability that you will appreciate. It will keep you cool, yet cozy, and comfortable - all at the same time, and will never cling to your skin.

They just began offering a natural crew sock made out of almost half corn and recycled pop bottles. They're purported to be soft, cool and super at wicking moisture away from your sweaty feet; great for those of us in colder climates.

More eco-friendly clothing based on hemp fiber can be found at Soul-Flower.com Soul Flower began in 1999 as a boutique specializing in funky clothing, great gifts, tie-dyed clothing, and hemp goods. They've experienced numerous changes since then and no longer have a retail store but do have a mail order catalog and this great online shop site. Hippy, happy, fun, and socially acceptable, Soul-Flower is definitely worth a moment of your time.

Style isn't all that matters when looking to help out our environment. If you're looking for earth friendly cleaning products, Gaiam, a lifestyle company, carries a whole range of Seventh Generation natural household products for green cleaning and home maintenance. Seventh Generation produces family-safe, nontoxic goods like chemical-free cleaners and organic baby products.

They have paper towels, napkins, dishwashing liquid, laundry detergents, dishwasher gels, multipurpose cleaners to name a few items. Use these eco-friendly pest control products and non-toxic insect repellents to do away with mosquitoes, mice, wasps and other nuisances without sacrificing more important things. Gaiam is your source for environmentally conscious, organic, natural and humane household pest removal and insect control. They offer an on-lineYoga Studio, Wellness Clinic and Fitness Center where you can find ecologically friendly items. Definitely worth a stop by next time you hop on-line to check your e-mail.

Maybe you don't want to buy cleaning products; maybe you want to concoct your own. It's really not that hard. According to Essortment you probably have everything you already need in your cupboards to clean your house at a lesser cost and being more environmentally friendly then buying harsh cleaning products from the grocery store. They give you easy to make recipes for cleaning your kitchen, including your stove, easy to make laundry detergent, floor cleaner, and bathroom cleaner. This article basically tells how to clean your entire home using 3-4 homemade organic cleaning products rather than using multiple commercial toxic cleaning products, definitely worth a read.

There are many other websites that offer a host of environmentally friendly products and they are really not that hard to find. Just use any search engine and see what you come up with. Make a choice to make a difference. Small changes, small choices can produce big results.