These days many of us want to save money but many of us are are also becoming conscious of the “green” movement. We all want to contribute to the sustainability of our planet yet conserve money at the same time. How can the ways we shop impact our planet?
Well, of course, one of the easiest and most obvious things is to bring your own reusable bag. Plastic bags are meant to be used for a minimal amount of time, just the time it takes to bag your groceries and go home. Yet these same plastic bags will remain within the waste system for an estimated 1000 years or more as plastic does not biodegrade in the natural environment.
Plastic kills thousands upon thousands of marine birds and mammals and it is a huge threat to our oceans, lakes and waterways. Many stores have recycling bins for plastic bags; however, plastic has long had a low recycling rate. It is responsible to try to avoid as much plastic as you can. Plastic bags are something that you can easily do without. Just bring your own bags.
Another thing to consider as you shop green is purchasing items in bulk. If you will use the products you buy in bulk you will save money and save the environment. Larger packages use fewer plastics than single use items of the same product. Makes sense to purchase the larger package if you are going to use it plus it is usually cheaper to do so.
Recycled products are also better for the environment. Did you know that many paper towels are made from virgin wood? That means that the wood to make the paper towels came straight from the trees. Is that really necessary for a product that you use to dry your hands? Recycled paper products work just as well as the other products and they are much more environmentally responsible.
You can be more green by using your computer. Check out the sales and plan your shopping trips by visiting store websites before hopping into your car. You will save time, gas and money.
Coupons are a great way to save money but [traditionally|in the past coupons have only been found in newspapers. Consider this, The New York Times Sunday Edition is printed on virgin paper and if they used recycled paper for just that one edition it would save 75,000 trees each week and a staggering 3,900,000 trees per year. So in order to be more environmentally responsible, why not find the coupons you want online? Print out only the ones you need or better yet, use coupon codes at the cash register and forget the paper completely.
Be aware of your shopping choices and how they affect our environment, because after all, we all live and love on Planet Earth.
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