During this election year many people are interested in being politically correct, no not the candidates. Well ring the bell and throw out the confetti because a wedding dress can now be politically correct, Green, and reusable. That’s right gals, after spending hundreds or thousands of dollars these dresses can be resurrected and ready to paint the town fantastic all over again. The reality is there are a variety of ways to recycle.

GET A LEG UP! Your gown may be a perfect candidate to have shortened. By shortening the gown to cocktail or tea length it is perfectly acceptable for after five, church, or just a nice dinner, of course if the train is detachable it will be far less complicated. If your dress is too extravagant for simply converting to a different length, do not despair.

DONATE IT! One of the hottest new trends is donating your wedding dress. Many organizations with causes from fighting Breast Cancer to helping inner city girls have a beautiful prom dress are accepting donations

DON’T KILL THE DRESS, DYE IT! Dying isn’t that difficult and can be done at home with warm to hot tap water. Products are available in many shades at local fabric stores. Dylon is permanent and easy to use. Black is never out of style and always welcome at a formal event or anytime after five.

Brides are gravitating toward dress colors that reflect their personality or wedding theme and straying from the very restrictive stark white.

Image Credit: Dogbomb

Gas is over three dollars a gallon and no on knows if and end is in site.nNow is a great time to think about conserving gas and storing some extra cash as summer approaches. We have adapted ten tips we found on Big Green Purse.

1. Avoid road rage or road race. Avoid sudden changes in speed, and use cruise control whenever possible.

2. Stop speeding - Remember – every 5 mph you drive above 60 mph is costng you an additional $0.10 per gallon.

3. Use human energy - Walk, or bike whenever possible. Ask your boss about telecommuting a few days a week. If you can’t walk to your destination combine your errands so you make the most of the gas and your time.

4. Park the SUV- Consider one of the new hybrids; or at least, if you are buying a new car look for the most fuel efficient model that suits your needs.

5. Make sure you keep your engine tuned, filters clean and your oil changed. You will improve your gas mileage by an average of 4.1 percent if you do.

6. Share the road - Natural Resources Defense Council, says 32 million gallons of gasoline would be saved each day if every car carried just one more passenger on its daily commute.

7. Use public transportation- You can ride the bus or subway all day long for less than the cost of five gallons on gas.

8. Don’t be a low rider- Improve gas mileage by keeping your tires inflated to the proper pressure. Replace worn tires with the same make and model as the originals.

9. Be a cheap skate- Buy gas from wholesale shopper’s clubs, or box stores that offer discounts to their shoppers, and using gas-company rebate cards. Check prices on the Internet based on the route you drive.

10. Endorse efforts to boost average fuel efficiency to at least 40 mpg. Support programs that promote research and development of alternatives to transportation systems based on oil.

Silk and Walmart have teamed up to save energy and promote alternative renewable energy in the home. Silk’s latest commercial features a mom and son on the beach and she is explaining why Silk Soy Milk is no ordinary milk.

As it turns out every time you purchase Silk from Walmart. Walmart will donate a percentage to wind powered energy. The commercial claims that if each of Walmart’s 200 million customers bought one gallon of Silk the donations from Walmart would in turn buy enough wind power to create electricity for every home in the United States for one year.

Wind power is a great source of renewable energy and is more cost effective per unit and cleaner to use. What many homeowners don’t know is that clean energy is already available in your home. Organizations like the Clean Energy Partnership are already selling clean energy and it is so simple to make the choice.

Walmart is too be applauded for making the effort, as a retail giant or box store it should be taking the lead. The truth is independent organic markets like MOMS (My Organic Market)were way ahead of the curve, even running their stores on clean energy and offering incentives to their employees, for buying hybrid cars, low energy appliances, recycling, or using clean energy.

Hopefully we are ready to view clean energy as a necessity and not a passing fad!

]]> http://ecozeal.com/blog/when-is-silk-as-cool-as-cotton/feed 0 http://ecozeal.com/blog/the-semi-greening-of-the-board-game http://ecozeal.com/blog/the-semi-greening-of-the-board-game#comments Sat, 03 May 2008 02:25:23 +0000 Analise http://ecozeal.com/blog/?p=11  

Well they say every journey begins with the first step, or in this case with the fisrt roll of the dice. Monopoly has seen the energy-saving, eco-friendly light and begun to think more globally.

The latest version of Monopoly with replace Water Works and The Electric Company with Wind Energy and Solar Energy. This is an awesome first step and there will be more news announced until the arrival in August 2008.

Of course to even the newest of the eco-curious of friends there are still some issues. The cash is still made out of paper and the houses are still plastic. Okay so nothing is perfect. The other side of the coin is the cashless version of Monopoly where each player uses a credit card instead of cash.

Either way global warming didn’t appear overnight and so we shouldn’t expect it to leave immediately either.

Perhaps this mother of all board games will set a trend for other classic board games that we all know and love.

We all know that we should drink at least eight glasses of water a day! Although you only need a few glasses thre is no limit to the fun you can have drinking it. 

Plastic water bottles that are not reused clutter the landfill and due to the type of plastics they are made of they cuase long-term issues for the environment as well. If you are working on being eco-friendly or turning your friends and family green, we have found the perfect addition to your collection.

Mysigg.com offers swiss technology in the form of reusable water bottles and accessories. The water bottles are colorful, functional and considering they are reusable they are extremely affordable.

The Sigg bottles are so poprular that Madonna’s chldren use them and Time Magazine named it among the Most Amazing Invetions of 2005.

Whether you want to look cool or save the world one sip at a time the drinks are on Sigg.

Apparently you can now! The list of the most eco-friendly celebrities was announced on April 27th. Natalie Portman better known as Queen Amadala was at the top of the list. It seems that The Queen is also the Queen of Green. When she isn’t helping save the Gorillas in Rwanda, or showing her pearly whites off to pitch low-energy light bulbs she is design shoes for her new line of Vegan Footwear.

Not only are Natalie’s Shoes pricey and off-beat but it seems her Star Wars Days have inspired the strappy sandals. The name of the company and the site where Natalie’s shoes are available is té casan (tae-ca-sahn), and it refers to “A Woman’s Path”, is Gaelic and originates from the inspiration of a global name that represents no specific nation or language and refers to all women.

Natalie’s collection is unique in that there is only 100 pairs per size of each shoe.

Many parents are looking towards organic blankets, bedding, and clothing, and now they can focus their efforts toward teethers and toys as well. Industry experts say that eco-friendly toys are not just for play but help educate kids about the environment.  The appeal seems to be a change in lifestyle and not simply a passing fad.

With Earth Day on Tuesday we have selected some of the hottest sites on the Eco-friendly list for children:

Toys, rattles, and plush dolls from organic materials.

Wooden toys and bookends –promoting learning and play.

Organic Cotton Toys – try the veggie box, trust me the kids will want to eat them!

For a luxurious variety of organic bedding and nursery supplies try ABABY.

We have also compiled a list of Earth Day activities:

Google has created a giant Earth Day webpage for everyone to share their ideas and suggestions. Let everyone know what you are doing on Earth Day or find something to do nearby your piece of earth.

Earth day petitions, events, forums and a place to submit or find activities.

Kaboose has a rockin Earth Day Page with crafts, and tips for recycling.

Want to send a paperless greeting to celebrate Earth Day? Try No Envelope Greetings.

“Iconoculture has turned up four distinct shopping types: the Living Green consumer, who has embraced the whole concept of the environmental lifestyle and is driven by dedication, purity and awareness; the Core Fashionista who is rethinking and redefining her sense of style and eco-chic; the Walking Green consumers, trend followers who want to belong to a greater community; and the Spending Green profile, the shopper who connotes buying green with luxury.”

Eventually, Casasus says, as consumers become more educated about the complexities of the garment business, they will begin to demand the same level of transparency from clothing companies that they now expect from food.

Organic clothing is a trend that is sweeping the nation and the globe. Celebrities like Jessica Alba, Leonardo DiCaprio, Owen Wilson, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and yes even Britney Spears have turned their attention to organic products and eco-friendly lifestyles.

It has often been said if you are not part of the solution than you are part of the problem. This statement has never been more true. We can not turn back the hands of time an undue the damage we have created. We can now take steps to slow the damage down and us renewable energy and organic products that are less taxing on the environment.

Whether shopping organic is your mission or your cause celeb, the environment will thank you and ecozeal will be here to help.