Go Green Series

The Top 7 Green Products for your Money

By Marc Lallanilla, About.com

The whole concept of green living can be a bit overwhelming. Many people want to lessen their impact on the environment, but they think it’s too hard, too expensive, or they simply don’t know where to begin. Sound like you?

Well, I’m here to tell you that it’s not hard; it doesn’t have to be expensive; and to give you a good idea on how you can begin living an eco-friendly life. Following are the seven most cost-effective, environmentally-sound products on the market to get you started living green:

1. Compact Fluorescent Light (or CFL) Bulbs

These light bulbs can replace incandescent, halogen, and other light bulbs around your home or office, with great effects on the environment. Not only do these bulbs use less energy than incandescents, but they also have a much longer usable life. CFL’s use between 60%-80% less energy than their incandescent counterparts, and their usable life is approximately 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs, meaning they’ll save you energy and money, while also decreasing greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Low-Flow Shower Head

Early models of low-flow shower heads simply decreased the amount of water allowed through in order to conserve water. While this is still the case, manufacturers have concerned themselves with consumer satisfaction as well. Low-flow shower heads today combine air with water running through them to give the feel of high water pressure while decreasing daily water usage by up to 20%.

3. Water Purifier

Bottled water is one of the most wasteful industries in the world today. Not only does bottle production use up to 1.5 million barrels of oil for production in the U.S. each year, but 86% of all used bottles end up in landfills, and plastic is not easily biodegraded. By selecting a water purifier for your home, you’ll get the same taste as bottled water without the negative environmental impact.

4. Solar Electric System

Using the sun as a renewable energy source is not an entirely new idea. In fact, many renewable energy companies have been around for over a decade, though the concept is just now getting a lot of attention. Setting your home up to use renewable energy can be costly, but if you choose, it can replace your current energy source altogether, and end up paying for itself in the end.

5. Hybrid Car

A hybrid car is just that: a hybrid of electric and gasoline engine power. Though hybrids don’t eliminate carbon emissions by any means, they certainly decrease the amount entering the environment. These green cars are a little bit more expensive than more common models, but saving the consumer around $500 of gas a year and cutting carbon emissions by about 30% lessens the blow a little bit.

6. Organic Cotton

While organic cotton might seem like it’s hard to come by, it’s actually working its way into the mainstream, and for good reason. Conventional cotton is one of the most chemically dependent crops produced: in fact, approximately 1/3 pound of chemicals is required just to produce enough cotton for a t-shirt! Organic cotton, on the other hand, is highly sustainable, and it is grown without pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, or chemical fertilizers.

7. Baking Soda

Not only is baking soda a primary ingredient in most do it yourself cleaning recipes, it is an incredibly diverse substance that can freshen pretty much anything. Baking soda can take the place of teeth whiteners, laundry additives, and even deodorant if used correctly.

Obviously some of these items are a bigger investment than others, but you can always start small!!