Mommy Goes Green

1/3 of all landfill waste is product packaging and I believe it – the more I try to reduce our household waste, the more I realize that packaging is what keeps it full.  I’m always appreciative of containers that are recyclable but I admittedly don’t specifically look for products with recyclable packaging – it’s more of a bonus. ( there’s always something to work on! ) 

The good news is that companies continue to find ways to recycle product packaging that can’t be recycled curbside.  In this case – cosmetic companies.  I know it takes an extra step to hold onto the containers until your next trip to the drugstore or mall but it may just be worth it.  Check out the freebies you get!

Origins – Bring ANY empty cosmetic jar, tube or bottle ( regardless of brand ) to an Origins counter and in return they’ll give a free sample of your choice of one of their skincare products.  Excludes Nordstrom, Canada and Puerto Rico.

Butter London – The ‘Turn In Your Toxins’ campaign is a partnership with BrandHabit.  Through May 15th,visit your favorite participating fashion or beauty boutique and trade in three old, toxic, nail polishes, fill out a customer profile, and in exchange, receive a coupon to redeem your free butter LONDON, 3 Free Lacquer online.

MAC Cosmetics – Return 6 M·A·C primary packaging containers to a M·A·C counter or M·A·C Cosmetics online, you’ll receive a free M·A·C lipstick of your choice!

Lip-Ink - Send 4 empty regular sized Lip Ink vials and they will let you choose any 1 Lip Ink Liquid Lip Color for free!

Avasiare – Return 3 used cosmetic packages to receive the free featured item of the month.

Anyone tired of selling tubs of cookie dough or magazine subscriptions?  Take the road less traveled and pick a green fundraising project this year.  It’s also a great opportunity to teach students about their impact on the environment.

The Funding Factory rewards educational and non profit organizations for collecting laser or inkjet print cartridges and cell phones.  Organizations can then redeem fundraising earnings by choosing items in a Rewards Catalog or by requesting a check.  They provide free promotional materials such as flyers, posters, online blog, prepaid shipping labels and corresponding curriculum.

TerraCycle Brigades take product wrappers and upcycles them into tote bags, pencil cases, notebooks and more.  They provide free shipping boxes for your collections and pay .02 to .05 per piece. They currently accept the following packaging:

• Capri Sun and Honest Kids drink pouches
• Chips AHoy and Oreo cookie wrappers
• Frito Lay chip bags
• Kashi product packaging
• Stonyfield Farms yogurt containers
• Balance Bar and Clif Bar snack bar wrappers
• Bear Naked bags
• Ritz and Wheat Thins Toasted Chips bags

Kids Konserve makes packing waste free lunches easy by providing reusable food and drink containers and cloth napkins.  Their Waste Free Lunch Challenge and Custom Bottle Drive helps raise money and reduce trash on campus by donating 25% of their product sales back to the school. The Custom Bottle Drive allows you to have your school or team logo printed on their food grade stainless steel bottles and all proceeds go to the school! Their website lists 10 great activities to get the whole school involved and excited about the program including ‘Trash Free Tuesdays’, Green Kid of the Month, and a poster or essay contest.

The Green School Project pays schools and non profit organizations to recycle print cartridges, cell phones and PDA devices.   They even provide prepaid shipping supplies and all marketing materials, free of charges. They frequently run contests and bonuses – the Spring bonus is an added 20% bonus if 50 items are sent in by the deadline or 30% bonus if 200 items are donated.  50 items seems doable – heck I probably have 3 or 4 sitting in my office to donate.

If you just love hitting up your co-workers with a catalog of goods, then take the traditional route of fundraising with a green twist.  Greenraising has both a catalog and online shopping mall of goods – all of which your school receives a percentage of – 25% for online sales and 40% for catalog sales.  Products include recycled gift wrap, chocolate bars, coffee, tea, reusable water bottles, lunch bags and totes, cleaning supplies, soaps and lotions and a lot more.

Contact the principal, fundraising or sustainability committee at your school and offer to help out with one of these great, eco-friendly fundraisers.  It may just fund your child’s next classroom trip!

Looking for a great Mother’s Day gift?  Make sure to check out the MGG Mother’s Day Green Goodies Guide later this week!

If you recycle – here’s something you can feel good about!

• Recycle one aluminum can – SAVE ENERGY TO POWER YOUR TV FOR THREE HOURS
• Recycle one glass bottle – RUN 60 WATT LIGHTBULB FOR 4 HOURS
• Recycle one  small stack of newspaper - SAVE ONE TREE
• Recycle one gallon jug of milk – RUN 100 WATT LIGHTBULB for 11 HOURS
• Recycle one pound of steel ( about 4 canned goods ) – RUN 60 WATT LIGHTBULB for 26 HOURS
• Recycle one gallon of motor oil – SAVE 18 KILOWATT HOURS OF ELECTRICITY ( enough to run your TV for 90 hours )
• Recycle grass clippings ( leave them on your lawn ) – REDUCE FERTILIZER NEEDS BY 1/3

The EPA estimates 75% of our waste is recyclable but we only recycle 25% of it - before you throw something away, check to make sure it absolutely cannot be recycled!  Just because your waste management company won’t accept it curbside, that doesn’t mean it cannot be recycled.  Check out Earth 911 for a local location to recycle anything!

I hate to be the bearer of bad news but even art supplies contain chems we don’t want our kids choking down and you know all our toddlers eat crayons and finger paint, regularly.  Even the state of California has a list of art supplies that children in grades 6 and below cannot use, because they aren’t safe ( I’m not sure that makes them safe for grades 7 and up? ).

Next time you’re on the hunt for art supplies, try one of these fun, earth friendly options – safe for consumption ( if it should happen ).  They make great gifts for young kids on your list!

CRAYONS

Traditional crayons are made of paraffin wax, which is obtained from petroleum. Prang soy crayons are made with environmentally friendly soybean oil and natural pigments and are certified non-toxic. 

Crayon rocks are a great birthday gift because they are unique.  Made from soy wax and tinted with  natural mineral powders, crayon rocks are shaped like pebbles and make holding them easier for little fingers. See below for a chance to win a free set!

Crayon recycling – don’t throw away your crayon stubs, send them wrappers and all to Crazy Crayons, a crayon recycling program that has kept over 43,000 pounds out of landfills.

PLAY DOUGH

One canister of YoHoHo Dough contains all the ingredients to make 4 pounds of dough.

DIY – If there’s a DIY option, why not?  It’s cheaper.  Nature Moms has a great list of recipes for playdough, from simple playdough to peanut butter playdough.

PAINT

Fingerpainting is arguably my daughter’s favorite thing to do and I recently stumbled upon these great natural fingerpaints made from plant, fruit and veggies extracts from Eco Kids USA. 

DIY – if you’re a do-it-yourself kind of girl, this recipe for homemade fingerpaint has ingredients you already have in your pantry.

RECYCLED PAPER

Pick up a pack of recycled construction paper the next time you’re at an office supply store.  Office Depot carries a line by Riverside Paper for $1.39 per 50 sheets.

KEEPING IT CLEAN

Art smocks are a great way to protect clothing from stains ( and keep your laundry down! ).  Make sure to find one that is vinyl free.  While modern oilcloth is a very popular fabric, it’s made with vinyl so best to choose a safer alternative.  These smocks from the Land of Nod are PVC free and come in several designs.

Splat mats are used on the floor under art projects and make cleaning up easy.  They, too, can be found in safer fabric and darling designs.

As always, check the label.  If there are any warning signs like ‘harmful if swallowed’ – put down the product and walk away quickly! DANGER, WARNING, CAUTION or ‘keep out of reach of children’ should also be heeded – find a safer product.

FREE STUFF – Courtesy of the wonderful Stubby Pencil Studio, we are giving away a set of crayon rocks and a sketchbook to a lucky winner.  You can enter to win by checking out www.stubbypencilstudio.com and leaving a comment on what product you’d love to have by Sunday, April 19 at 11:59pm PST.  Contest open to all U.S. and Canadian residents, ages 18+. We will choose 1 winner, at random, and will notify them by email. Privacy Policy.

I’m a bit of a fanatic about recycling – I just love the idea of avoiding the landfill and getting further use out of something – particularly for products that people use all the time AND throw away all the time.

If your kids drink Capri Sun – I’m talking to you!  Capri Sun has partnered with TerraCycle to upcycle Capri Sun pouches into new products like totes, bags, pencil cases and now dresses!  The one-of-a-kind dress ( made entirely with Capri Sun pouches! ) was created by designer, Justina Blakeney of Compai, a company renowned for rehabiliting “used and abused” clothing and it’s being auctioned off to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Not only does Capri Sun want your used drink pouches back – they’ll pay you to get them!  Sign up at TerraCycle to start a “Capri Sun Pouch Brigade” at your school to collect Capri Sun pouches ( Honest Kids and Kool Aid pouches also qualify ) and get 2 cents for each pouch – TerraCycle will even cover the shipping costs.  

Donate a couple garbage cans to your school lunchroom, use the bags provided by TerraCycle, label them clearly and let the parents and students know!  Capri Sun has even provided some educational materials and curriculum to coincide with the program. Sounds like an easy way to earn money for your school – and these days, our schools could use some extra $$ !

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