Earth Day Giveaway! 10 Simple Ways to "Go Green"!

Attention fashionistas: "Going Green" is all the rage this season! April 22nd marks Earth Day, a holiday created in 1970 to inspire awareness and appreciation for the environment. With Earth Day just around the corner, we ladies at Jupe Boutique wanted to do our part in helping to promote the well-being of the planet. We have teamed up with E House Company, an adorable eco-friendly boutique located at 1511 East Carson Street in the Southside, to bring you 10 Simple Ways to "Go Green". 

Give us one of your own eco-friendly ideas and automatically be entered to win a $50 gift card to E House Company! Just post a "go green" tip as a comment to this blog entry. The best idea wins the gift card! Winner to be selected on April 30.


Want suggestions on how you can help protect the planet? Then check out the following list, which was created by the fabulous Tanya at E House. It is filled with practical and rewarding ways to make your daily lifestyle more friendly to Mother Earth. Give them a try!

10 Simple Ways to “Go Green”

1.  Become energy-efficient and save money while doing so.

• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs and/or LED lighting (Save 75% on electric bills). 
• Turn lights, etc. out when leaving a room. 
• Using Energy Star appliances helps greatly reduce energy use.
• Use re-chargeable batteries (great for power-hogs like cameras).
• Use a programmable thermostat (to turn the heat down while away).

2.  Use a re-useable shopping bag instead of disposable plastic grocery bags.

• Why keep accumulating disposable plastic bags when you can reuse a compact, sturdy, and colorful bag like “ChicoBag” or “Envirosax”?  Using a re-useable shopping bag is actually becoming more of the norm these days, instead of the exception!  Green and fashionable at the same time!

3.  Stop junk mail:

• To opt out of receiving all that pesky mail, you can go to: www.dmachoice.org  (Direct Marketing Association). They do charge a $1.00 fee, but it would be worth cutting down all the excess paper clogging the mailbox and landfills!

4.  Recycle your electronics. 

• Locally, Construction Junction accepts some appliances and electronic waste (there are fees for some items): http://constructionjunction.org/pages/recycling-resources.
• There are several places that even pay for some of your old computers, monitors, cell phones, cameras, etc.: www.buymytronics.com , www.myboneyard.com , and www.greenphone.com.

5.  Use a water filter instead of buying bottled water

• Prevent excessive plastic bottle waste, and conserve the energy it would require to transport them.  Using a water filter is more cost-effective in the long-run, anyway, and it conserves water (that would otherwise be  required in the processing of bottled water).

6.  Opt for organically-grown (i.e.) fruits & vegetables, and organic cotton clothes. 

Organically–grown means that it’s grown without the use of pesticides. 

• Produce that typically uses the most pesticides (so buy organic when possible) = peach, apple, bell pepper, celery, nectarine, strawberries, cherries, kale, lettuce, grapes, carrot, pear.
• Produce typically using the lowest amount of pesticides = onion, avocado, sweet corn, pineapple, mango, asparagus, sweet peas, kiwi, cabbage, eggplant, papaya, watermelon, broccoli, tomato, sweet potato.

7.  Use non-toxic & biodegradable household cleaners.

• Time for Spring cleaning!  Consider using greener cleaning products.  Many cleaning products have harsh chemicals with fumes that can adversely affect your health (in various ways, from simply giving you a headache or skin irritation, to respiratory issues, to cancer!).  There are many safer cleaning products (such as Seventh Generation, Biokleen, etc.) as well as simple cleaners that you can make yourself. (see: http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm ). This way, there are less harsh chemical fumes in your home, as well as less chemicals downstream. It’s also a good time to open your windows for some fresh air!

8.   Less is more:

• Opt for products with less packaging;  it reduces the amount of waste in landfills.   
• Better yet, opt for  recycled, such as recycled paper products (whether office paper or paper towel, etc.).

9.  Walk, bike, carpool, use public transportation or drive a hybrid car to work.

• Also, run errands in an efficient loop, to save time, gas, and car emissions.

10.  Shop local businesses/local products (reduce the “carbon footprint”)

• Support your small, local businesses like E House Company and Jupe Boutique!

BE "GREEN" AND SAVE! Use your own shopping bag at Jupe from now until April 30 and receive 40% any one item! In addition, save 10% off your next purchase at E House by mentioning this blog post!