Say you want to buy a new pair of jeans, and you’d like to be thoughtful about it. Consult the Good Guide, and you’ll find ratings for dozens of brands, from Tommy Bahama to H&M.

Top rank goes to Levi’s, so we called to find out more.

“Levi’s did its first lifecycle assessment in 2007,” Brianna Wolf told us. “We took two of our iconic products, 501 denim jeans and Dockers original khakis. Here’s what we learned: the greatest opportunity for improvement was at the beginning of the cycle – the raw materials stage — and at the end of the cycle, relating to consumer use.”

In the lifecycle of a pair of Levi’s® 501® jeans, we’ve found that the largest water impact comes from the cotton growing process and through the laundry habits of consumers, after they leave our stores. But we can’t ask our suppliers and consumers to change their behaviors unless we’re also willing to make some changes ourselves.

Life Cycle of a Jean

Levi’s came up with this consumer care tag, which points to four (ok, five) actions you’ll find on Practically Green:

Wash only full loads of laundry (20 points)

Wash laundry in cold water (50 points)

Donate clothes to a charity (20 points)

Line-dry laundry seasonally (25 points)

Line-dry laundry all year (50 points)

Levi's Customer Care Tag

“We identified another big opportunity area in the cotton field. We joined the Better Cotton Initiative, which makes positive change happen across the supply chain. Our goal is to get better cotton into 20% of our products by 2015. So far we’ve got it in 2 million pairs of jeans!”

This infographic illustrates the process:

Another great reason to wear Levi’s: the water-reducing strategies developed for the Water<Less collection.

Last year, we announced the Levi’s® Water<Less™ collection – denim finished in a way that uses significantly less water. Up to 96 percent less for some products.

As a result of this innovative process, we produced nearly 1.5 million pairs of jeans for this year’s spring line while saving 16 million liters of water.

But we knew we could do more. So we’ve been working with our suppliers around the globe to spread these water-saving techniques.

And we’re proud to say that the Levi’s® global collection now includes nearly 12 million jeans in the Americas, Europe and Asia. Since we introduced the Water<Less collection, we have saved 156 million liters of water around the world. That’s 60 million days of drinking water for communities in need.

Here’s something else you can do with old jeans: insulate your walls! (Levi’s estimates it has 25,000 jeans in the walls of its new San Francisco headquarters.)

Add insulation to your walls (100 points)

What do you think? Will you look for Levi’s the next time you buy a pair of jeans?

Susan Mazur-Stommen is a cultural anthropologist focusing on how people adopt sustainable, green behaviors. She conducts her research from the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy as the Director of Behavior and Human Dimensions, renowned for their States’ Scorecard for Energy Efficiency (see image ahead).

Susan argues that “in order to achieve true, lasting, behavior change in the area of sustainability, we have to use a multi-layered approach, tackling the problem with various tools and media. It’s important to think about the ‘whole person’ when we discuss behavior change, and that includes things like emotions, physical well-being, and how our environment may be affecting us on any given day.”

“For example,” she told us, “some popular ideas for going ‘green’ aren’t always very practical in terms of people’s real lives. Take line-drying, for example. Proponents fail to figure in the cost of the person who has to stand outside for an hour putting all those clothes on the line and then taking them back inside. When you consider the cost of that person’s labor, standing in the heat or cold, line-drying is not the ‘free’ energy saving solution it is often touted as, at least in terms of the individual and their limited time and physical energy.”

Susan gave us a few further insights from the social and behavioral sciences to share with you.

1) Social norms:

Robert Cialdini tested messages about saving water on the cards you see propped up in the bathroom of a hotel. He found that the most successful was one that read, “Two-thirds of our hotel guests decide not to get fresh towels during their stay in order to save water, won’t you join them?”

Reason: People like to ‘stay in line’ or ‘tribe’ with their peers and neighbors, it is a powerful incentive.

Note: Practically Green’s leaderboards encourage you to choose more green actions!

2) Foot in the Door:

Robert Cialdini also tested the ‘foot in the door’ concept, which says that people are much more likely to agree to make a big change if they are first asked to make a very small change. It works like this: if you ask someone for a nickel, and then later go back and ask for a dollar, the people you asked for a nickel will be much more likely to give later (which of course widens the gap between givers and non-givers even more!)

Note: That’s why PG offers so many ’small’ actions, worth just 5 points but still very important! A handful from the Recycling section:

3) Reciprocity:

Offering someone something begins a relationship of give and take that people find extremely hard to resist. This is one of the reasons charities include those address labels in their appeals: they have already given you something, and now you are enmeshed in an obligation to return their ‘gift’ even if you don’t like it, want it, and did not ask for it!

A utility could utilize a combination of ‘reciprocity’ and ‘foot in the door’ in a message. Say at the beginning of summer you want to get people to raise their thermostats in general to reduce peak load, you would send an insert in the mail, or an email that would read:

“Dear John Q Customer, we here at utility X appreciate how you have worked to save energy in your home these past few years.  To honor your commitment to energy savings, we have donated $50,000 to the Boys and Girls Club of America. All we ask in return is that you commit to turning your thermostat setting up by ONE degree this summer.”

Next summer….the follow-up…

“Dear Customer, we really appreciate how much energy you and your neighbors saved last summer, and to recognize that, this year we have DOUBLED our donation to Charity X in your name. All we ask in return is that you consider turning up your thermostat by FOUR degrees this summer. If you decide to take the pledge, please send in the enclosed BRC. Thank you for your support!”

Now, theoretically, the combination of social norming, reciprocity, foot in the door, and a pledge (whereby you can also evaluate level of intent) should result in some serious savings.

And this leads to the final insight,

4) Grant McCracken’s “Diderot Effect”:

Susan told us the story of the French philosopher Diderot’s new bathrobe:

“He received a lovely new bathrobe, cherry red silk, and he was sitting in his study one evening with it on, and feeling terrific but then he began to notice that the fabulous new robe made the rest of his surroundings seem shabby. ‘I need a better chair,’ he thought. ‘A nice desk…. New wallpaper. The bookcases are a mess!’ The idea is to introduce a disconnect between the consumers’ old selves and their new selves which can result in their wanting to bring all of these parts of their identity back into line, or what McCracken calls, ‘unities’.  An example of this might be a new mom who carefully purchases Bisphenol-A free baby bottles, but at the same time drives a gas guzzler which pumps pollution into the air her baby breathes. The disconnect between her decisions begins to gnaw at her and pretty soon she considers replacing it. Thus a whole chain of actions goes into effect. Pretty soon this mom is evaluating her food choices, her indoor air quality, her household waste, inefficiencies at her job. The activity of bringing her lifestyle choices into ‘unity’ with one another is an example of the Diderot effect.

At Practically Green we see the Diderot effect every day: once people begin checking off actions on their dashboard, they begin to get addicted to the process, it takes on significance, they continue and eventually share their accomplishments with their friends and colleagues.

One more story from Susan, who says that simple social recognition can be a powerful driver for change:

“I once met an older gentleman named Frank, a retired maintenance worker. He likes to walk around town, and at the end of his block was a little pocket park that would have been a nice place to sit except that people were filling it up with discarded cigarette butts. He started cleaning it up every day.  Eventually he won an award from the city council. They put a plaque up and named the park after him. It wasn’t that complicated, but it made Frank feel great so he got even more involved. He started working at the public library, going to city council meetings. So this social recognition was effective. It was very cheap for the city to recognize Frank’s good works, and at the same time, they reaped the reward of his intensified volunteer efforts!”

Bingo: Practically Green gives badges when you complete sets of actions. For example, here’s the new Conscious Consumer badge. How would you like to join the 12% of PG users who have already earned it!!

Click here for the complete playlist of actions: http://practicallygreen.com/badges/conscious-consumer

Check out the ACEEE 2011 State Energy Scorecard… where are you? Follow ACEEE ion Twitter @ACEEEdc and join them on Facebook.

We’ve got a fabulous panel of experts coming to our Water webinar on November 16. Please mark your calendars for 1pm Eastern, full details coming soon!

*          *          *

Meet Martin Wolf, one of our panelists; he’s the Director of Product & Environmental Technology at Seventh Generation. He also goes by “Scienceman.”

We asked Martin for the two or three most salient points he’d like to address during our Webinar, and here’s one of them:

Our water supply pipes and our drain pipes are connected.  What goes out our drain pipes goes into a system, and is brought back into our homes and other buildings through our supply pipes.  Knowing this, how should we change our thinking about what we put down our drains?

That got me thinking about my kitchen sink at home, and the drain in the sink that leads to a disposal, which grinds up all our food scraps into… pulp? mush? and then all of that glop goes … where?

To the rescue: Bootstrap Compost, a can-do composting entrepreneur who supplies households and businesses in metro Boston with a cool bin, lined with a biodegradable bag. It has a happy green lid and it looks just fine on the kitchen floor.

Who can resist this message from Bootstrap’s impresario, Andy Brooks?

Bootstrap Compost is Greater Boston’s only year-round kitchen scrap pickup service. We use bikes, trains, hand trucks, and the occasional vehicle to collect and transport compostable material from houses, apartments, dorms, co-ops, and condos. Additionally, we’ll happily collect scraps from farmer’s markets, cafes, restaurants, concerts, festivals, cult gatherings — you name it. And the coolest thing is this: all active Bootstrap customers receive a portion of super rich compost 10-15 weeks after their initial deposit to the Bootstrap Compost bank. The second coolest thing is this: We donate finished compost to urban gardens in Roxbury and Jamaica Plain.

I was amazed at all the scraps we had accumulated after one simple dinner for two and a light breakfast the next morning – and this was before we scooped in our coffee grinds! There’s something a bit intimate, revealing, about showing you our compost, but here you are:

Personal compost, after one dinner, half a breakfast, and before coffee grinds

Turns out Andy is not alone: there are compost services in many other cities (go Philly Compost and New York Compost!), some of which are actually provided by the municipality (go San Francisco and Seattle!). And composting isn’t just for home: we know restaurants, companies, and even a major-league baseball team that composts 85% of its waste (go, Seattle Mariners!).

Find out why Compost kitchen food waste is worth a big fat 100 points!

Have you ever considered composting at your home, office, school? This might just be the way to ease into the practice…. Google “NAME OF YOUR CITY + compost pickup” and see what you get!

In a couple of months, the reward: they’ll deliver a bag of urban black gold – worm-processed soil that’s perfect for houseplants this winter.

Thank you, White Flower Farm

Energize Phoenix is a partnership between a city, a local power utility, and a university.

“We can be just as sophisticated about getting you to reduce your energy consumption as somebody selling you a Hummer can be to get you to increase your energy consumption,” says Arizona State University social psychologist Susan Ledlow, as reported by Emily Badger on The Atlantic.com.

Ledlow wants to create the social norm that energy conservation is something everyone does. This is a distinctly different message from “energy conservation is something you should do.” She wants people to hear that many, many people care about this, and that those people are doing something about it. “The more people hear that,” Ledlow says, “the more it becomes a social reality.”

We caught up with Badger on how she became interested in the subject of environmental psychology:

“It’s a relatively new field, the idea of taking marketing best-practices on how to influence people to behave sustainably, increasing their energy efficiencies, for example, as opposed to consuming cars or building McMansions…. There was an existing model that said if you give people the right information about how to make efficient choices, stick it up on a web site, eventually they’ll change. But that’s not enough, and people realize it. Cities all over the country have posted information on how you can get your lawn clippings picked up, but it just sits there! And now there’s a new imperative: with the economic downturn it’s simply not practical for people to be wasteful any more. We’re all looking for ways to save money.”

Emily Badger, Reporter

Susan Ledlow, Social Psychologist

Badger says that real-life energy efficiencies can go viral via the power of peer pressure: “it’s possible to envision a norm that catches on in one block, spreads up the street and eventually to the neighborhood level. Neighbors chat about their retrofits, their bill savings during a rough economy. Then they see a familiar face on a subway ad for happy insulation customers. The idea spreads along the rail line. The average consumption figures on the monthly electricity bill tick down, and the norm expands out regionally.”

“People are far more persuaded by what everybody actually does, even when they say that they’re not,” Ledlow says. “There’s just experiment after experiment where you can get people to change their behavior to match the behavior of the people around them. And then they will swear that that’s not why they did it. Yet we know that happens.”

We know that positive behavior change happens at Practically Green — we hear this all the time; we share user comments on our Facebook page and via Twitter @practicallygrn. And Groups is part of it: registered users automatically join 4 Groups, including their state and zip code Groups.

My Groups (L to R): Facebook, Practically Green Staff, SXSWEco, Zip, State, Country, All of Practically Green

People love to compare their scores with their friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Have a look at the Practically Green Staff Group here.

*        *        *        *        *

No wonder we felt a buzz in Boston when this state scorecard was released by the ACEEE last week; for the first time, Massachusetts ranks number 1.

From the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy 2011 Scorecard

Michael Sciortino, Policy Analyst, ACEEE

“In a sour year for the economy, energy efficiency remains a growth sector that attracts investment and creates jobs,” lead author Michael Sciortino says. “It’s just plain smart to invest in energy efficiency, and that’s what the leading states are doing. There are so many things that can be done… energy efficiencies are abundant anywhere in the country. And yes, some states take this scorecard as a call to action.”

Note to States: why not sign up at Practically Green?! That way you can compare your energy-efficient progress with your peers and boost your rank next year!

If you live in Georgia, and especially if you work in the metro-Atlanta area, you probably know about The Clean Air Campaign. The Clean Air Campaign works with commuters and employers such as Coca-Cola, UPS, Aflac, and hundreds more to reward employees for kicking the ‘drive-alone’ habit.

In the past 10 years, more than 32,000 Georgians have participated in the Cash for Commuters program, one of just a few rewards programs the non-profit offers. Click here for details and here for a sample application.

While we don’t offer cash at Practically Green, we do award mega-points and badges for changes like these ones:

Walk to work regularly (200 points)

Take public transportation to work regularly (150 points)

Carpool to work regularly (100 points)

Bike to work regularly (200 points)

Carpool to school one day a week (50 points)

We even have a Low Car Diet! http://practicallygreen.com/actions/low-car-diet

October 24-28 is Clean Commute Week, which encourages students throughout the state to get to class by bus, bike, on foot, or via carpool. To date, The Clean Air Campaign’s Clean Air Schools program has worked with more than 300 schools in 30 counties throughout Georgia … impressive. You can follow the progress of Clean Commute Week on Facebook.

We were curious about how the Clean Air Campaign got started, so we called its (aptly named) Director of Communications, Brian Carr. It turns out that the Atlanta Olympics were the catalyst, in 1996:

“We were focused on the twin problems of extreme traffic congestion and poor air quality in Atlanta,” Carr explains. “We were worried about millions of people visiting: the athletes, dignitaries, VIPs, and about our citizens, who were already having a tough time commuting to work. A diverse group of private-sector and public entities emerged to solve the problem – the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and the Department of Transportation, the Sierra Club, Georgia Power, Georgia Pacific, a number of businesses downtown – all trying to address it. It was remarkable — and it was ironic, frankly — because some of these groups were suing each other, but they wanted to collaborate, to do something about the link between transportation and air quality challenges.”

The Clean Air Campaign was born, a non-profit supported by all of them.

“We came up with ways for people not to have to come downtown to work while the Olympics were going on. It was a huge success: during those three weeks commuter traffic declined and the air quality improved substantially. The number of emergency room visits related to lung, breathing issues dropped 37 percent. From there we established the financial incentives program and we showed that habits could be made to stick, that the white-knuckled single-person commute didn’t have to be the norm. We consult with our partners, really listen to them, and we develop benefits to commuters that employers can call their own.”

Telework begins to take off: up from 4% in 2009.

Telework is another impactful strategy. Luiz Montoro, project manager for Coca-Cola, is a fan:

According to the 2010 Metro Atlanta Regional Commuter Survey, teleworking has overtaken carpooling as the number-one commute alternative … more than 600,000 metro Atlantans telework at least occasionally, a 20 percent increase since the last survey in 2007.

Why?

Some employers may be motivated by the fact that Atlanta loses $2.7 billion annually in productivity due to traffic congestion, and that the average Atlanta household spends more on transportation costs than on food. Numbers like that tend to grab your attention.

They sure do! Check out The Clean Air Campaign’s website for calculators, resources, checklists, and other tools for employers, commuters, and schools. All of these are free of charge.

http://www.cleanaircampaign.org

Follow them on Twitter @CleanAirGA

Please forgive us for being a little obsessed with the new mobile app we created for the SXSW Eco Challenge. Hundreds of SXSWEco participants are going after this badge right now!

SXSWEco Challenge on iPhone (also available on Android)

Have a look at the Group on PracticallyGreen.com:

Not in Austin at the SXSW conference? No worries, you can get this badge too. Simply check off any 12 of the actions: http://practicallygreen.com/badges/sxsweco.

*          *          *          *          *

We asked our friend Bethany Stephens to pick one of the Eco Challenge actions to write about.

For more on Beth, the Ozark National Science Center (she’s the executive director), and the sweet spot that is Bentonville, Arkansas, read on!

Eat Locally When You Eat Out

Beth and family eating out, local-style

It’s pretty simple to feel good about how green we are in the controlled environment of our homes. We congratulate ourselves on our use of CFLs, our recycling prowess and our minimal water and energy usage. So, what happens when we step out into the world? Suddenly, it’s harder to control waste, transportation, and the habits of others.

Before you throw up your hands in despair, remind yourself that there is one tiny step you can take today with mighty impact: simply eat locally when you eat out.

In theory, local food is safer food (fewer pesticides and contaminants) that traveled a shorter distance (lessened transportation and therefore less environmental impact). However, these may be assumed benefits since there is no guarantee. I prefer to eat locally on several less scientific theories: relationships, knowing my food, a little less processing and fewer preservatives, better variety and a positive effect on the local economy.

1. Better relationships: Here in my own backyard, I know Kno over at Taste of Siam, David and Shane at The Rail: A Pizza Company and Sara over at The Green Bean personally. They know me and my family and share a passion for food that makes me feel good just being in their establishments. However, the same advantage exists when I travel – from my old favorite Cuc Tran Cafe in Wenatchee, Washington to Wintzell’s Oyster House in Mobile, Alabama – eating locally feels and tastes good. These are the places that share the vibe of a community, its food and its passions.

2. Know your food: While we may not interact with the proprietors of local restaurants any more than we would at a chain, we’re guaranteed to have a little better feel for what we’re served. No matter how high the customer count, your food is usually prepared in the back by hand. Yes, plenty of local establishments may use food service companies, but most are not mass producing hamburger after hamburger to the point that their heart and soul and original recipes have vanished.

3. Better variety: Variety is certainly the spice of life, and ethnic food makes my world go round. In San Antonio, there is no shortage of puffy taco locales and taquerias. Taco Taco did something different – it’s hard to put your finger on it, but you’ll leave the city craving and attempting to replicate its loveliness. Admittedly, Taco Taco is now expanding – the real test will be whether the feel and taste that made it special will keep it alive. The point is that local options are the best options for exploring both ethnic and homestyle food. Expand your boundaries and walk in the doors of a place where you don’t necessarily speak the language: you’ll likely be rewarded with great food and memories. Challenge yourself when you travel to try the local places off the typical tourist or business traveler path.

4. Positive effect on the local economy: Perhaps most rewarding of all, a far greater percentage of dollars you spend locally stay in the community. Chains send large portions of revenue back to headquarters, but dollars spent locally are more likely to go straight to staff wages, utilities or rent/mortgage. I like knowing that paying my check means I have directly invested in helping my friend or neighbor’s business thrive, and when I travel, it feels like a small expression of gratitude that I pay that community for my experience.

From farmer’s markets to u-pick establishments to local restaurants, local food means a local investment. However, a quick disclaimer: let’s not be so quick to demonize every chain restaurant, food service company, big box retailer or discount club. Often, we forget that their volume savings also help the small, local establishments we love stay in business. They may not be doing everything right, but every effort is a commendable step in the right direction.

As for me, I try to concentrate on what I can do better (and greener) every day rather than worry about others – just like Mom taught me. And now, I’m hoping to dash over to my favorite local establishment for a little lunch.

Bio: Beth Stephens is the executive director of the Ozark Natural Science Center, a nonprofit field science and environmental education facility on 500 acres of Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission land in the Ozarks of northwest Arkansas. ONSC delivers life-altering overnight school excursions, summer camps and group programs, weaving conservation messages and its mission of enhancing the understanding, appreciation and stewardship of the Ozark natural environment throughout its programs. ONSC has served more than 45,000 children since it was founded twenty years ago, often providing them their first significant outdoor experience and a lasting connection to the natural world. Connect with Beth via email, Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or her personal or food blogs, and learn more about ONSC at www.onsc.us or via Twitter or Facebook.

On the Trail! School program at the Ozark National Science Center

Background: The Ozark Natural Science Center serves the rather unique northwest Arkansas community, a five city (Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, Fayetteville, Siloam Springs) area which is home to the global headquarters of the world’s largest retailer: Walmart.  Northwest Arkansas is also home to Fortune 500 ranked Tyson Foods as well as J.B. Hunt Transportation.  The business climate in this small corner of Arkansas is unprecedented, but often escapes national recognition.  In an effort to better serve their largest customers, Walmart and warehouse powerhouse Sam’s Club, literally hundreds of the world’s top brands maintain offices in northwest Arkansas.  ONSC has benefitted greatly from this “sweet spot” by developing corporate partnerships with companies such as Cargill, GE Lighting (check out their intriguing Ecomagination site), Shell, Dr. Pepper Snapple Group, Heineken and SC Johnson (especially their Off! Botanicals brand).  Northwest Arkansas is also home to the University of Arkansas’s Applied Sustainability Program, which resulted in the jointly-administered Sustainability Consortium with the University of Arizona’s Global Institute of Sustainability.  The Applied Sustainability Center at the University of Arkansas works closely with Walmart (which has staggering sustainability goals) and other industry leaders on sustainability issues specific to the consumer packaged goods industry.

It’s tailgate time! Do you have a tired collection of coolers and containers that do not begin to reflect your enthusiasm for getting together with family & friends to cheer your favorite teams?

Enter BlueAvocado. This is a very cool company, founded by two sisters and their best friend in Austin, Texas.

Paige David, Amy George, Melissa Nathan of BlueAvocado

At first we set out to change just one thing – the way you shop. So we built a company run by women for the good of everybody. Then we designed a mixable family of lifestyle products light on environmental waste and heavy on sass, style and inspiration. Featuring certified recycled REPREVE fibers, all of our products are durable, lead free, washable and include a carbon label to track environmental impact.

You can buy BlueAvocado at the Container Store, select Bloomingdales, and via Practically Green — just scroll down to the products section on any of the related actions.

Personally? Craving a Boxey Lady set for transporting snacks to games and events this season:

Paige has five additional product recommendations.

• Big Chil – ideal for hauling food to tailgates:

Big Chil

• Clutch Kit: For a more fashion forward approach and some extra accessories for snacks for the kids in our (re)zip and dips insulated in our boxes.
• Hip Chil: Messenger style to keep items insulated.
• Hip Pod: Perfect for sunscreen, sweater or other items.
• Lunch Tote: The perfect daytripper,
• Mini chil clutch.

Check out the Green Shopper badge on Practically Green! Complete nine of these actions to earn your badge.

{When you’ve earned your badge, enter in the coupon code ‘balovespg10′ for a 10% discount at BlueAvocado.}

Hmm, these reusable lunch bags look awesome – think of all the money I’ll save on zip-loc bags, AND I’ll finally check this action off my PG plan!!

Switch to reusable sandwich bags:

WaterSense is Common Sense, by Veronica Blette

Many people find the sound of running water to be soothing.  That may be true if you are in the woods having a picnic beside a babbling brook, but it isn’t when you are entering your house after a day of work. One day last winter I came home and found that the flapper on my toilet had become stuck in the open position, which led to its earnest, yet futile, efforts to fill the bowl all day long.  Not soothing at all to realize that while I was at work focusing on advancing a nationwide ethic of water efficiency, water was running down my drain. My water bill saw a big jump and I was shocked when I pulled information from my local water utility and saw how much water had actually been lost during that day of wasted toilet filling.

Veronica's water bill

Turns out, I wasn’t alone – the average American house wastes 10,000 gallons each year through leaks. How many of us have heard the ghost flush that happens in the middle of the night?  Well, it turns out that those flushes add up!  Across the country, easy-to-fix household leaks add up to more than one trillion gallons of water lost annually, robbing homeowners of 12 percent of their water bill.

Less than one percent of the Earth’s water is available for human use, and managing water is a growing concern in the United States. Using water more efficiently and avoiding waste helps maintain supplies at safe levels now and for future generations.

That’s where WaterSense comes in – we’re trying to make it simple for consumers to save water through water-efficient products, homes, services, and tips for around the house.  Over the past five years, WaterSense has helped Americans save 125 billion gallons of water and $2 billion in water and energy bills.

Besides finding and fixing leaks, there are lots of other things you can do around the house to save water.  Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3…just check-twist-replace!

1. Check toilets for silent leaks by putting a few drops of food coloring in the tank and seeing if the color appears in the bowl before you flush. Don’t forget to check irrigation systems and spigots, too. (Click here for Practically Green’s efficient-toilet suggestions!)

2. Twist and tighten pipe connections. To save even more water without a noticeable difference in flow, twist in a WaterSense labeled faucet aerator or showerhead. (Fix a leaky faucet; Install low-flow valves in all faucets)

3. Replace the fixture if necessary. It may be as easy as replacing a toilet flapper, but if you need a new fixture, look for the WaterSense label, which signifies the product has been certified to save water and perform well. (Upgrade older faucets & shower heads (older than 1994); Upgrade toilets that take more than 1.6 gallons per flush to standard toilets)

Veronica (at left) and her friends -- on the job!

Want to do more? Join my team and thousands of your neighbors by supporting the We’re for Water campaign. Visit the website to take the I’m for Water pledge, “like” WaterSense on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter.

About the author: Veronica Blette leads EPA’s WaterSense program. Veronica has been with the Agency for more than thirteen years and, going forward, will always make sure the toilet is not running before she goes to work.

Applegate’s Sausage Fest Contest ends on Saturday, October 1, and we’re so lucky to have a sneak peek at one of the entries! Jennifer O’Connor lives in central Massachusetts, and she submitted a recipe that she says is perfect for her son’s fall high-school crew meets (“they row in ALL kinds of weather”), which she learned from her mother. “It’s a real cozy meal for the turning-colder weather.”

Crew Race

It‘s a cozy, delicious dish – and it’s one that can win a kettle full of PG points! Each one of these actions is worth 50 points, which tells you how impactful they are:

1. Buy meat that is raised using sustainable farming methods
2. Buy organic beef regularly (ditto)
3. Buy organic pork regularly (ditto)
4. Buy antibiotic- and hormone-free meat regularly

Submit your culinary genius and win a practically unending supply of Applegate sausages (and we promise, they are delicious!). Here goes!

*     *     *     *     *

Jennifer’s Recipe Entry

Hello,

First I’d like to thank you for making such yummy hot dogs that are natural and organic! I hadn’t eaten a beef hot dog (or any “meat” hot dog in over a decade until I tried yours. Please continue making wonderful organic meats available forever and ever!!

Next, I’d like to submit my recipe for your Sausage Fest contest. Being a New Englander and proper Bostonian, I must submit a recipe for homemade baked beans with bacon. Then turn it into good ole Franks’n'Beans!

Jennifer & her family

Baked Beans Recipe:

The Northeast’s famous baked beans are traditionally made with molasses, but here they are sweetened with another New England classic: maple syrup. One pound of dry navy beans will yield enough hot topping for a crowd…and then some.

• 1 pound organic dried navy beans
• 4 Organic Applegate Bacon slices
• ¹⁄₂ cup pure maple syrup
• ¹⁄_3-1 cup barbecue sauce
• ²⁄₃ cup finely chopped onion
• 1 tblsp prepared mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 packages of Applegate Great Organic Hot Dogs

Rinse beans well. Place in large bowl and add enough cold water to cover the beans by 2 inches. Let beans soak 8-12 hours (longer is fine, too).

Drain and rinse beans; place in heavy kettle (cast iron works great). Add enough cold water to cover the beans by 1 inch. Bring to slow simmer, skimming the surface often to remove foam. While beans are simmering, heat oven to 300-325 degrees. Cook bacon in a skillet; drain strips on paper towels, reserving the fat in the pan (if desired).

After beans have simmered slowly 20-30 minutes, chop the bacon and add it to the beans. Stir in some or all of the reserved bacon fat, if desired. Stir in maple syrup, barbecue sauce, onion, mustard and salt. Return mixture to a simmer. Cover pot tightly and bake until beans are fully tender, 3-4 hours. You want to end up with very tender beans in a thickened sauce. If there’s too much liquid at the end, transfer pot to a stove burner and cook beans over medium high, stirring constantly, until liquid is reduced. You can also thicken them by pressing some beans against the sides of the pot.

You may serve the beans right away, but they will taste even better if you: a.) leave them in a warm oven for a couple hours; b.) let them cool down completely and then reheat them; or c.) cool and refrigerate them overnight.

Once you have your tasty baked beans, slice up your hot dogs so they look like coins. Toss them into the prepared baked beans and let them cook on medium heat for about another 15 minutes. If you have a crock pot, it is easier to put the beans and franks in it – that way if you are going to tailgate or a potluck, you can safely transport and keep this hearty healthy meal warm and ready!

I like to make batches and freeze a whole bunch. It keeps very well, and can be reheated in oven, on stove, or in the microwave. I think it is a great meal that warms your belly and keeps it felling full. Lowfat, organic, and scrumptious are my description for my submission. Thanks again for providing such quality ingredients! I love you, Applegate!

Jennifer O’Connor

At 3:00 pm I discovered these toilet paper rolls in the bathroom trash upstairs. Obviously recyclable. But nowhere near the recycling bin in the kitchen downstairs.

And at 3:05 I opened an email from Maryam, who has a solution. She submitted the following idea on Quirky and we love it.

Voting ends on Monday at Noon EST so don’t wait! Check it out and if you like it, please give it a thumbs up!

****Maryam’s Genius Idea****

You recycle in your kitchen, right? How about in your bathroom? Probably not. You need a Recycling Sorter that looks good in every room.

I came up with the idea one day when I was standing my bathroom, about to toss an empty shampoo bottle into my wastepaper basket, and I thought, “Why don’t I have a recycling bin in my bathroom?” Then I looked around for a nice, attractive combo trash/recycling bin and couldn’t find anything that didn’t look totally industrial. As I thought more about it I realized that just a divided bin wouldn’t work, it would need to be color-coded so that it was at-a-glance obvious which side was for which kind of waste. And that each side needed to be able to be emptied separately.

Maryam's design sketches

Maryam & Theo

Please click to Quirky (http://www.quirky.com/ideations/102536) to see more and vote (yes, you do have to register but it only takes a second and full disclosure: Practically Green gets absolutely nothing from this except the exquisite knowledge that we may have helped a wonderful innovation come to life.)

Maryam has been with Practically Green from the get-go — and we are delighted to give her idea some exposure.

I love Practically Green. It is the only site I have found that doesn’t give you just a generic list of green things to do, but truly personalized the action to you individually. I love that was you complete actions the site comes up with the next logical actions that you can perform. I find it very inspiring.  And very practical!

It’s been easy to pooh-pooh employee engagement as a soft, feel-good endeavor. You know: an annual Earth Day fair, a company campaign to recycle paper or use reusable mugs, or to carpool or take public transportation or bike whenever possible. Hardly the stuff from which profits and productivity are derived. And so employee engagement has been thought of as a nice-to-do activity to demonstrate a company’s concern, if not commitment, for the environment.

That’s changing.

So begins Joel Makower’s introduction to a new partnership between GreenBiz.com and the National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) that aims to transform corporate culture with sustainable practices. (Read the entire post, “Employee Engagement: This Time It’s Serious,” here.)

More on all of this soon… but first, what is NEEF?

"Staffers at NEEF practice what they preach -- the nonprofit's car is a Prius" -- Washingtonian mag

We were delighted to chat recently with NEEF president Diane Wood. Turns out NEEF is a group of 26 people in Washington who advance environmental education nationwide across a broad spectrum:

We work with teachers, pediatricians, public land managers. We collaborate with broadcast meteorologists, because when you think about it, they’re teaching science all the time. We developed Earth Gauge to support them. We have more than 200 meteorologists reaching up to 240 million households. At the end of the day people will change behavior when a trusted friend does so, and who is more trusted than your meteorologist?

See if your go-to meteorologist is on-board here.

And we work with business managers and corporate executives…. A few years ago we decided to learn from companies themselves.

NEEF formed a group of corporations, 20 or so – Cisco, Lockheed Martin, Ikea, Home Depot, Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft among them  – and created webinars. “It was essentially a safe space to share lessons learned, Diane says. “We made case studies from the highlights. Bottom line: employee engagement was the number one most effective thing a company could do to succeed on sustainable priorities.”

NEEF’s new white paper was released this week: “The report, ‘Toward Engagement 2.0: Creating a More Sustainable Company through Employee Engagement,’ examines how companies are going from primarily ad hoc and self-organized employee engagement efforts, to providing more organizational support and structure for environmental and sustainability education,” Diane says.

Here is the five-step process, detailed in the report, for establishing a culture of sustainability in a company:

1. Permit: granting employees permission to become involved in sustainability initiatives.

2. Educate & engage: providing employees educational materials and engaging them in sustainability activities.

3. Act: empowering employees to take action at work, as well as at home and in their community.

4. Embed: making sustainability a regular part of their organizations, including their human resource processes, operations, product or service innovation & development, and beyond.

5. Evaluate: measuring and evaluating employee engagement efforts to gauge impact, support continued integration into company culture and inform future employee engagement efforts.

*     *     *     *

Join NEEF’s National Public Lands Day on Saturday, 9/24 — not sure where the closest site is? Click here to find it. (There were 1,908 sites listed at this posting) Follow @NationalLandsDay and join them on Facebook: /nationalpubliclandsday. Find NEEF on Facebook and follow them @neefusa.

We’ll focus more on GreenBiz soon; for now you might like to sign up for their newsletter.

We love holidays! World Carfree Day encourages everyone to rethink transportation choices on September 22.

At Practically Green we’ve got a Low-Car Diet: see below of a few of the ideas and click here for the full set. You might consider some tweaks to your transportation regime: carpool, car-share, oreven look into a more fuel-efficient vehicle. (Pre-owned is good, too!)

My personal Carfree dream: FlyKly, a new electric bike. I can so easily imagine zipping around town on one of these babies: fully charged it can go 40 miles at 20 mph. Zero emissions. They’re currently available online, and you can test-drive one in New York City. More on that soon…

Electric FlyKly Bicycles. Craving.....

*     *     *     *

Walk your errands, by Andrea Learned

This suggestion sounds overly obvious, right?

My recent move from a small town in Vermont to a dense urban neighborhood in Seattle has re-ignited my enthusiasm for being strategic with my walked errands.  Plus, I have a dog.

I’m like most people in that I need to fit trips to the library, post office, grocery store and all those types of things in and around my working hours. (I am unlike some people in that I have no commute, and work from home, so this does make walking household errands more do-able).  My strategy is to stop each morning and think of the stuff I need to get done.  I then map out (in my head) three things, at most, that I can get done while also walking my dog.

Because I deliberately chose to live in a well laid out, mixed-use neighborhood when I moved here a few months ago, my errand runs include coming across clever pocket parks, a few hidden pathways between the waterfront and residential areas, industrial boat works blocks amid new coffee shops (this is Seattle) – all on the way to my car repair shop.  As well, I gain new insight for future bike routes that I might otherwise have missed in driving too quickly by. (as in: “oh.. so that little street flows into THAT bike route…” ).

"Teeny, one residential lot, garden-filled 'pocket park.'"

Once I start thinking about paths and doing errands in groupings that are walkable, I then keep challenging myself to be even more efficient or to find yet another new sight on future errand walks.  For me, walking begets walking.  I find myself extending what “walking distance” means (compared to “biking distance,” for one), because the slower, street scale pace, can be incredibly calming and enjoyable.  Clearing my head and getting exercise are extra bonuses in trying to live a more green life.

"Cool old building, which I noticed was being renovated ... because I was walking, could stop & ask one of the workers what it was going to be - a B&B!

Now, excuse me while I put the leash on my dog…

*     *     *     *

Andrea Learned is an author (Don’t Think Pink), blogger, and expert on gender-based consumer behavior, with a focus on sustainability influence and communication. In addition to her blog (http://learnedon.com), Andrea also contributes to the Huffington Post and Greenbiz.com. Follow her on Twitter @AndreaLearned

Have you ever thought of installing a wind turbine at your house?

Or are you worried that it would be impossible, deafening, or cost-prohibitive? And/or prohibited in your neighborhood or not worth the bother?

All of the above?

Our advisor Jeffrey Hollender went ahead and installed one at his home in Vermont. We like to think he consulted Practically Green to clinch his decision! From the PG action:

Read the complete action here: http://practicallygreen.com/install-wind

Here is Jeffrey’s story:

The Wind Turbine is Up at Last, by Jeffrey Hollender

The Hollenders' back yard, with Wind Turbine

It took longer than expected, but my wind turbine is up and generating more C02 free electricity that we projected.  You may remember that back in June I embarked on installing a 10 kw Bergey www.bergey.com/ wind turbine. The Bergey Windpower Co. (BWC) has its origins in research activities at the University of Oklahoma dating back to 1970.  My plan was to take advantage of a new law passed this past summer by the Vermont Legislature that guarantees that any electricity generated by a residential turbine must be purchased by the local utility at $.20 a kilowatt hour. Not a bad deal considering that here in Vermont we pay between $.10 and $.13 for the energy we purchase.

Every time I look out my window and watch that turbine turn, I feel proud to be part of the solution to the single greatest challenge facing our planet. I know the investment is unaffordable to many, but just imagine the impact if everyone who could afford it committed to do the same.

The turbine will cost about $50,000 before rebates and tax credits. There is a cash incentive grant worth $12,500 lowering the net cost to $37,500, and then a 30% federal tax credit that will further reduce the cost to about $25,000. I had expected the turbine to generate at least 8,000 kilowatts a year but based on my first month I’m generating over 1,000 kilowatts a month, or 50% better than I’d planned.

Since I will sell all the electricity I generate back to the grid (something called net-metering) I will receive a credit against the electricity I use of about $2,400 a year. That means that it will take about 10 years to break even on my investment – unless the wind blows harder or the tax credits go up!

Note: Jeffrey co-founded Seventh Generation in 1987 and built it into a household word, contributing an integral component of the modern-day green-living movement. A prolific author, speaker, and blogger, he founded the American Sustainable Business Council to change the rules of business. Follow Jeffrey on Twitter @JeffHollender and join him on Facebook.

Learn more about Jeffrey and about Practically Green’s other advisors here.

*          *          *          *          *

Maybe you’re inspired to install a wind turbine at your house – or at your school, your company, your town! Maybe you already have one? Please share your favorite big-ticket energy improvement stories with us.

Eco Build: Greening Up My New Home, by Renee Heath

I was lucky enough to grow up in a house my dad built.  And my husband was fortunate as well to have a home constructed by his dad’s two hands.  So it only felt right that we carry on the tradition and develop our own property.  Little did we know what we were getting into…all the decisions (and money)!

From flooring types to paint selections and beyond, we’re spoiled with choice in this country.  What has helped us narrow down the options during our construction process are the following two sentences:

• Will this help our family live healthier and greener?
• Can we afford the selection, and if not, does it make sense to spend extra money now to save cash later?

I thought I would share the questions we are still working through to get your brain ticking over and to hopefully get your input as well as to what we should do before breaking ground!

Recycled Materials

New Jersey gets hot summers, cold winters and everything in between.  So we asked ourselves how we can set up for lower energy bills.  Insulation was the first thing that came to mind.  We found that the cheapest option out there is fiberglass insulation.  Economical but scary to think you have to wear gloves and a mask to install it as to not breathe in any glass fibers!  We really like recycled blue jeans and newspapers lagging for inside of the walls.  I still have to compare what the difference in the “R factor” would be compared to fiberglass.

A different option for the roof, we are looking into blown foam insulation made from a soy renewable product.  Then there’s insulating duct work, pipes and water heater, oh my!

Click here for seven ways to insulate your home

Renewable Energy

New Jersey also has the most amount of people per square foot of land than any other state in America!  So we want to make sure we consume the least amount of natural resources as possible.  We are researching three forms of renewable energy: geo-thermal, solar panels and wind turbine.

Geo thermal is a great option for a natural cooling and heating system.  Love using the earth’s consistent underground temperature to virtually heat our home for free!  This will lower our green house emissions for sure!  We know our winters might get too cold, so we are contemplating a wood pellet stove to top up our heat as it emits less harmful pollutants compared to oil or gas.  Programmable thermostat installed is a no brainer but not sure I can convince hubby to go >78 degrees in summer and <68 degrees in winter.

Solar panel water heater is a want at this point and not a must have.  I already know we need to keep whatever kind of water heater we go with around 120 degrees to be green.  And we want low-flow shower heads too!

Wind turbine for electric is another on tier two/nice-to-have right now.  Plus, need to see if my neighbors agree with seeing a large fan spinning around all day and night.

Energy Efficient Products

Heat Map

I love seeing heat maps of houses showing where heat escapes; windows are always a major culprit.  We want dual-pane low-e windows (blocks radiant heat and prevents heat from escaping). Expensive but efficient, so think this is our spend-more-money-now to-save-later option.  Also there are thermal shades/shutters, weather stripping and window treatments, but to be honest, my eyes went crossed at this point!  I am still just getting my head around the NFRC (National Fenestration Research Council) window labeling system!

Any thought on our above options?  I know I took an energy slant as we are in pre-construction phase, but beyond formal building, there are options for fixtures, furnishing and finishing.  Do you have ideas on all-natural carpet, no-VOC paints and formaldehyde free furniture?

Note: Renee is Applegate’s Digital Social Media Manager, and you can follow her on Twitter @reneerants. Full disclosure: Applegate is one of our favorite sponsors at Practically Green; check out their Healthy Green lunch badge and enter their Sausage Contest!!

It may be impossible to calculate how many millions of people watch the US Open tennis tournament every year, but Lauren Kittelstad of the United States Tennis Association keeps a close eye on the estimated 60,000 tennis balls the event consumes.

Lauren Kittelstad of the USTA with Bina Indelicato of EcoEvolutions

The balls come in cans that are made of a combination of plastic (can, top, and wrapper) and aluminum (rim and pull top). And, as of 2011, the entire container is recycled.

Lauren explains that this is part of the USTA’s green initiative. She co-chairs the Open’s green task force, which plans year-round for the event.

“Over 700,000 people attend the event annually, and we have employees, players, and others. There’s a lot of waste, and we want to figure out how to recycle all of it properly.”

Tennis-ball cans collected for recycling

They’re making progress: “50 tons of food waste goes to compost. We’re piloting a fan-waste compost program this year. In 2010 we recycled 300,000 plastic drink bottles.”

If all those US Open fans checked-off the related recycling actions on Practically Green, we’d be awarding billions of points!

Challenges? “It’s not easy: the tournament has a relatively short duration. It’s a place to be at the end of the summer in New York City. It’s fast-moving and people have priorities other than waste and cleaning. We bring in workers from all over the country who may have different levels of environmental awareness.”

Cucumber peels ready for composting

Must-have Swag: US Open "EcoTote"

Lauren and her green consultant, Bina Indelicato, hold internal trainings for the concessionaires and other employees in advance. “Bina shows them the actual dirt that all the food waste turns into – the ‘black gold’ that gardeners love. It’s our fourth year of these trainings and they’re working. We try to make it easy to dispose of waste properly, with effective signage, convenient compost containers, the right equipment.”

And where do all those tennis balls go after the tournament? “We use them for USTA programs until they’re ‘dead’. Then, many of them end up in nursing homes to pad walkers and furniture legs.  We encourage local nursing homes and hospitals to let us know if they need some.”

Grab the Open’s mobile app, follow them on Twitter @usopen, and join them on Facebook!

Does this Back to School season have you thinking about freshening up your interiors? Today’s guest blogger introduces us to makeover experts in Colorado Springs for solutions on materials & finishes that make any room a great place to learn and create – at home, at school at work.

*        *        *        *        *

When I was asked to write an article about interior makeovers for Practically GreenI immediately knew I wanted to talk to Allyson Buck and Sarah Heinbaugh of Interilife Sustainable Interiors.

Just think about the rooms where kids spend most of their time. Many of the design choices we make can have very serious health implications, so it’s really important to choose nontoxic products. Paint, carpets and flooring can offgas dangerous chemicals that you do not want to breathe.  Luckily, there are healthier options, so you can create a great interiorwithout compromising anyone’s health.

Since times are tough economically I asked Allyson which 3 areas would be cheapest, easiest and have the greatest impact.  All of her are amazing for both the design and the health of your interior space — and can be completed without hiring expensive professionals!

Paint – Paint is cheap, easy and covers the largest surface area.  It is the most impactful change you can make to a room.  It’s the first thing people notice when they enter – both the way it looks and the way it smells when it’s new. If you only buy one nontoxic product for your makeover project, this is the one to make.

Allyson recommends using Mythic Paint.  Mythic is a No-VOC premium paint with No-VOC pigments. People are often concerned that Mythic costs more than paint from, say, Home Depot.  However, Allyson says to make sure you are comparing paints of equal quality. Yes, Home Depot paints are about ½ the price of Mythic. But Home Depot paints aren’t premium paints and they aren’t No-VOC. They aren’t going to last as long as Mythic.  They aren’t going to hold up to crayon drawings on the walls, the rocking chair hitting the wall and all the rest of the wear and tear young children put on a wall.

If you compare the price of Mythic to a premium paint such as Benjamin Moore (still not No-VOC) Mythic is actually cheaper. And, you get the added benefit of it not releasing toxic fumes. Who can put a price tag on that!

Mythic paint is so safe you can touch it up while your baby is sleeping in the same room with no fear of toxic fumes.  A few years ago you could only get No-VOC paint in a limited pallet of earth tones.  Now Mythic comes in a wide selection of colors and it can be color-matched to your favorite color from another brand or your décor.

Flooring – The next easiest thing to change is your flooring.  Carpeting holds dust, allergens, heavy metals and anything else you track into your home.  Even the best vacuum can’t remove everything from carpet.   Babies crawl around, play and lay down right next to the particles in the carpet.  They put their hands and all their toys in their mouths exposing them to anything that’s in your carpet.  Experts often recommend hard flooring, especially with young children around.

Allyson says if you use floating, snap together Marmoleum tiles you can change the entire look of your floor very easily and with minimal tools.  They come in a wide selection of colors giving you many options.  And, when your baby grows up and wants something more grown up you can just pull them up and donate them to your local Habitat for Humanity ReStore or sell them on Craigslist so they can be used again on someone else’s project.

Marmoleum is true linoleum, made from linseed oil.  It is certified asthma and allergy friendly.  The top layer of the tiles is Marmoleum and the bottom is cork.  In the middle is MDF which is free of added urea formaldehyde, which is a carcinogen.

Wool area rugs – Allyson says the next easiest & most affordable way to have a big green impact upon your room is by adding 100% wool area rugs.  The rugs they carry and recommend are made by INDI B and have a cotton backing and are naturally dyed.  Wool rugs are very durable and these come in a wide selection of colors and designs.  When you are done with them they are easy to get rid of.  You can sell them on Craigslist or donate them to a store like Habitat for Humanity ReStore.

We love this 5 x 7' rug from IndiB!

Going nontoxic in these 3 areas can have a huge impact upon the design of your nursery without negatively harming your baby’s health.  Allyson says no matter what green design products you use remember that there are no products that are perfect ecologically or socially.  Try not to get caught up in looking for perfection.  Find the best product you can that meets your design needs, lifestyle and budget.

If you are in Colorado you can visit Interilife’s store in Colorado Springs for each of these products and more.  For other parts of the country go to the individual websites for a list of distributors or to purchase online.

Danika Carter is the beauty editor for Greenwala.

Blueberry Corn Cobbler from EatingWell.com: Y.U.M.!!

Labor Day: corn the cob, sticky barbecue ribs, blueberry pie, a round of s’mores (with HFCS-free marshmallows, of course!), chewy grilled peach/caramel bliss*. (Thank you for the *recipe, Karla Young; wicked tempting).

No offense, but this might be a perfect time to reconsider your flossing routine. Here are Tammy and Lyssie, aka the Nutrition Twins. I have met these sisters — and YES their teeth are for real and YES they are inspiring!

Switch to natural dental floss, by Tammy and Lyssie Fliakos

We’re completely obsessed.  And we do it at least four times a day. Floss, that is.

No, really.  We are the ones who aren’t fibbing when we tell our dentist this.  Our flossing obsession began in college when our friend Brett had told us that he was going to dental school and had given us an hour long lecture explaining why it was essential that we floss a minimum of three times a day if we wanted to have nice white teeth and healthy gums.  We certainly aren’t girls who want ugly brown teeth or irritated gums, and so our flossing mania began.  To this day we credit Brett for our good flossing habits.  Well, Brett… and the fact that no matter what we eat, we always manage to get something black or green wedged in between our front teeth.

After years of using regular floss without thinking twice about it, we were surprised when we learned that not only may there be harmful chemicals (many flosses contain chlorhexidine which is an eye and skin irritant) in our floss, but our floss doesn’t biodegrade since it’s made from plastic.  The pitfalls of flossing were completely off our radar.

So we set out to find if we could find floss that is safe to use and that also doesn’t harm the environment.  After all, this seemed like a pretty easy change to make assuming that a biodegradable, safe floss exists.

And guess what?  We found several.

Tom’s of Maine was already on the case—they make a few (Anti-plaque Spearmint Flat Floss & Anti-plaque Unflavored Round Floss), as well as Desert Essence (Tea Tree Oil Dental floss). Tom’s of Maine Anti-plaque Spearmint was the first one we tried, and since we liked it, we didn’t look for others. The part that got us hooked is that as soon as we opened the container we smelled the great minty scent that smelled like it could sweeten the worst of breath.  The scent actually made us reminisce about growing up and chewing Doublemint gum, our gum of choice back in high school.  (We say that with cheesy grins on our faces and realize it’s a bit corny, but growing up that was the gum that our Mom got for us.  Being twins, it seemed fitting. And we still enjoy that flavor and taste although now we don’t chew that gum. )

This was such an easy change for us to make.  We encourage you to make the change too!  It’s easy, painless and can help your health and the environment, (and quite possibly, your breath) can’t beat that! J

Join Tammy & Lyssie on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @NutritionTwins

Meet Lori Alper: blogger, lawyer, mother – and passionate traveler. Here she is with her family in Paris, sigh. We asked for Lori’s Green Family Travel Tips and she doesn’t disappoint — her post hits on 8+ PG actions. Enjoy!

Fly non-stop rather than connect 20 points

Fly one of the top green airlines 5 points

Bring a reusable water bottle 10 points

Low-car diet 5 to 200 points

Keep your showers short 20 points

Shut off the water when brushing teeth 10 points

Turn off the lights when you leave a room 10 points

Contribute to the local community/economy 10 to 50 points

And we just had to add this one, partly because we loathe the red-eye and also because it’s worth a surprising 50 points:

Fly during the day, and not at night

*        *       *       *       *

10 Tips for a Green Family Travel, by Lori Alper

Traveling has always been in my blood. It began when I was very young. I took my first plane ride when my family packed up and moved from New York to Wisconsin. I spent most school vacations traveling by plane to visit my grandparents in Florida. Now living in Boston, traveling has remained an important part of my life. I travel with my family for vacation and to visit cousins, grandparents, aunts and uncles that live in far off places.

As a self-proclaimed “greenie” I have given a lot of thought to my frequent travels. I know that the most eco friendly means of travel is to stay put or to travel by foot, bicycle or public transportation. When we stay local this works. But for long distance travel we need a plane. Fortunately, there are many ways us eco-aware tourists can make our travels green.

10 Tips for a Green Family Travel

Eco friendly skies

1. Fly non-stop. Thankfully new non-stop flights are popping up to more remote locations. Flying non-stop reduces carbon emissions since much of the fuel burned on airplanes occurs during take-off and landing.
2. Fly one of the top green airlines. Practically Green has a great list of airlines that have made an effort to reduce their impact on the earth.
3. Use a mobile boarding pass. This will save many trees from being used as paper. The only problem I have found with mobile boarding passes is that each family member needs to have a smart phone to download their pass. My young children don’t have their own phones so I haven’t been able to use this feature when traveling with my family.
4. Reduce waste. Sometimes when I travel all of my green habits are thrown by the wayside. I have been making a conscious effort to bring along my reusable water bottle. Although it can’t be filled when going through security it is nice to have along for the trip. I pack it empty and fill it later. I always try to avoid buying plastic bottles of water-they create waste and the plastic is harmful.
5. Once you’re there take public transportation, walk, or bike whenever possible. By choosing public forms of transportation you will keep your carbon footprint to a minimum. Sometimes there’s no better way to see a city then to walk or cycle.

The hotel

1. Find a hotel with sustainable practices. Hotels throughout the world are becoming more and more eco friendly, but some are doing a better job than others.  Before you book a hotel room check with a hotel rating site like Eco Hotels of the World, and find places to stay that take environmental issues into consideration.
2. Take advantage of the linen reuse program at hotels. Many hotels offer these programs to guests, encouraging them to reuse towels and linens. This on average saves the hotel 11 to 17 percent on hot water and sewer costs.  Although the hotel is directly saving money, this program has a large environmental impact by reducing the amount of water needed and detergent used.
3. Keep your showers short, and shut off the water while you’re brushing your teeth.
4. When you leave your hotel room don’t forget to turn off the lights, air conditioning/heat and television.

One more green travel tip: Contribute to the local community. Wherever you are, make an effort to shop at local markets and use local businesses. Buy local, seasonal product rather than imported products.

The good news is these tips are incredibly easy and don’t require much effort or sacrifice when traveling.

Are any of these tips already part of your family travel? How do you make your travel green?

Author note:  Lori Popkewitz Alper is the founder and editor-in-chief of Groovy Green Livin, a site dedicated to sharing simple green living tips and current information on sustainable living with individuals, families, schools and businesses. Connect with Lori and Groovy Green Livin on Facebook /Groovy Green Livin, via Twitter @groovygreenlivi.

There’s nothing like a serious storm to help you appreciate ho-hum conveniences like electricity, hot showers, flushing toilets, chilled food, drinking water, and windows that don’t leak.

Scene in Huntington, Vermont (from The New York Times via the Burlington Free Press/AP)

Practically Green is full of ideas to make life super-efficient, from dual-flush toilets to dual-pane windows to Energy-Star rated appliances and solar-powered or renewably-energized almost-everything. Click here for a comprehensive set of Home Energy actions to consider — and please let us know of others to include.

*          *          *

Rebecca Sama is the type of person who always has some cool thing in her hand, around her neck, or on her bod. She’s Practically Green’s product specialist, and she’s got a few après-Irene items to consider. They’re all available on PG; simply click on the related action link to peruse and order!

Rebecca’s Better-Safe-Than-Sorry Necessities

• AREAWARE WOOD TORCH

There’s something about a wooden flashlight that makes me smile and always a good to have an LED flashlight on hand should the power happen to go out… no fun to be left in the dark!

Switch to an LED or solar-powered flashlight

Klean Kanteen Reflect Stainless Steel 27 Ounce Water Bottle with Bamboo Cap

• KLEAN KANTEEN REFLECT

And it’s the perfect excuse to add yet another reusable (and irresistable) water bottle to the collection, what with the storm coming and with that shiny finish and cute BPA-free bamboo top…

Switch to a reusable water bottle

• AIGLE RAIN BOOTS

Of course we wouldn’t want to miss out on post-storm puddle-jumping, so we’ll need to ‘boot-up’ with these natural rubber, PVC-free classic rain boots. (Available for kids and grown-ups!)

Purchase eco-friendly shoes

• ALEX ELMAN WINES

And with nothing but rain and 23-foot waves on the horizon, there’s no better time to hole up with a delicious bottle of organic wine from inspirational and renowned wine connoisseur, Alex Elman. (Goes well with the KK bottle?)

Drink eco-friendly wine

Alex Elman herself!

Rebecca blogs at urbansherp.com, where you can see her complete Irene post. Follow her @UrbanSherp on Twitter.

Fresh Market Gimlet

Hurricane, earthquake, back-to-school craziness: it’s been quite a week! Time for a stiff drink? We say Yes, and with a tasty & healthy twist. Now that we’re in the habit of scrutinizing ingredients in shampoo and soap, why not pay attention to what’s in our cocktails?

Fortuitously, we just met the women behind Square One Organic Spirits, a Petaluma, California company that makes amazing vodka infused with pure ingredients like basil and cucumber.

*                      *                       *

Bringing A Culinary & Eco Focus to the Cocktail Bar, by Allison Evanow

There are so many options for consumers today, especially more environmentally and people friendly products. But the options aren’t always easily visible. I’m thrilled to have discovered Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Guide via my first perusal of the Practically Green “Quiz.” Sure, when I looked at my cosmetics, I noticed the long list of unfamiliar words that covered the product’s side panel, but never thought of it as a contract that I was signing. But that’s what I was doing, agreeing to the terms of the side panel as soon as I applied the product to my skin.

The EWG Cosmetics Guide is an easy to use cosmetics research tool. It truly was my guide in this area of chemistry that I know nothing about. In a few quick searches, I learned about the cosmetics in my bag and found that many of them scored well, while others didn’t do so well. With the information in hand, now I can make some very easy, informed changes.

{Click here to Check your cosmetics on the Skin Deep database}

Many of us are already avid reviewers of the ingredient panels on our foods. In the summer, we frequent our local farmer’s market and we do most of our shopping on the outer perimeter of the grocery store, where fresh produce, breads, fish and meats reside — and we spend less time in the center of the store, where the aisles and aisles of processed foods are usually found.

I recommend staying in that outer perimeter when you’re ready to mix cocktails too.  For your next gathering with friends and family, try creating a signature cocktail for the event and look to the produce aisle or the farmers market, not the mixer aisle, for your cocktail ingredients.

The ready-made cocktail mixes (ie Margarita, Mai Tai, Cosmo or Mojito) tempt us with a promise of ease and success but they frequently list high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors and artificial colors among their ingredients. Plus, considering the additional packaging and shipping involved when producing a ready-made product, the simple cocktail is no longer that simple. You can have a better tasting cocktail by selecting fresh ingredients and with flavored syrups or the addition of another herb, you can create a signature cocktail that is all your own.

{Click here to Find out which foods you buy regularly contain high-fructose corn syrup}

Getting thirsty? Peaches & Herb cocktail

Start simple, fresh, and organic. The same creative impulse that lies behind everything culinary, whether it’s served on a plate or in a cocktail glass, begins with the best ingredients that you can find.  Pick up a few fresh limes, a bunch of fresh basil, and a bottle of agave nectar along with organic vodka and you already have the makings for a Fresh Market Gimlet; a delicious, culinary-inspired cocktail. You can give the recipe an Asian twist by using Thai Basil and infusing the agave nectar with ginger or try the cocktail with your own favorite herb in place of basil.

Many top restaurants across the country are now giving their cocktail menu as much attention as their food menu. And what a welcome change that has been! Instead of serving up overly sweet cocktails made with artificial ingredients, mixologists are creating new, flavorful cocktails like the Fresh Market Gimlet and in many cases, working with the restaurant chef to create new syrups and source local produce.  It is this renaissance of the American cocktail that inspired me to start Square One Organic Spirits. An avid foodie, I wanted to create organic spirits that were capable of inspiring contemporary culinary cocktails and in hopes of seeing America drink better, and, whenever possible, organic cocktails.

Artificial sweeteners, colors, and flavors are found in spirits as well.  Distillation removes many of the spirit’s impurities, however, after distillation, many spirits, particularly vodkas, add sweeteners, synthetic flavors, glycerin, or other artificial flavor enhancers to improve the spirits taste on the palate or to re-create popular flavors in a spirit.  But unlike food and cosmetics, the spirit companies aren’t required to list all of their ingredients on the bottle.

Allison Evanow

When choosing organic spirits, the USDA organic seal provides objective 3^rd party validation that the company hasn’t tinkered with the natural ingredients of their spirit. The quality experienced on the palate is the direct result of the genuine elements that make up the spirit. The spirit’s genuine taste is ready to mix with those over-ripe peaches you have sitting on your shelf. And while you’re enjoying that Peaches and Herb cocktail, you know you’ve left a lighter footprint on the earth with a spirit that has harvested its grain without the use of pesticides.

If you’re inspired to create your own culinary-style organic cocktails, you can find recipes with varying degrees of complexity at our website: SquareOneOrganicSpirits.com. If you find something that you like, but also want ideas to change up the recipe, drop me a quick email and I’d love to share some ideas with you. The options are endless, and just plain fun.

Allison Evanow is the CEO and Founder of Square One Organic Spirits. Follow them on Twitter @SQ1Organic and check them out on Facebook. Email Allison at info@squareoneorganicspirits.com.