Eco Friendly Shopping, The 7 Step Guide

How can I select the right eco-friendly shopping sites? Exactly where do I get the ultimate product? These are questions that i have been asked again and again in the last couple of months so I thought it was time to provide a richer answer to the question and provide you with an industry insider’s viewpoint on eco-friendly shopping.

There are tons of claims going around pertaining to eco-friendly shopping. Several of those claims you need to certainly investigate a bit closer. Operating a company that at it’s core is eco-friendly is not without it’s challenges, nevertheless I have put together the

7 things to look for in your eco-friendly shopping:

– Is the item likely to have a long life-cycle in its own right, to lengthen time before it requires updating? If it’s “eco-friendly” but needs replacing soon, what’s the point?

– Is the impact on the environment minimal in production of this product? Look at the complete production cycle; nearly all modern products have a substantial amount of steps involved.

– Do you truly need this? The first place to trim down certainly is the items you don’t need to buy to start with. Perhaps this approach seems radical, but it really ties back to the initial point.

– The packaging-is that either re-useable or recyclable? Smart manufacturers know to package so in which the packaging itself is useful, or simply just goes into the recycling bin to produce fresh cartons or bottles.

– How about delivery-is it direct to you? A substantial amount of resource is wasted in the traditional retail distribution cycle plus a astonishing amount of product is simply thrown away during that chain. Picking direct shipping cut down on this waste in a direct manner.

– Does this product itself have an eco-friendly impact? Precisely what do I mean by that? What if buying a product helps educate individuals in how to be more eco-friendly by caring for their natural environment. Some producers give direct from their revenues to support the environment or education.

– At the end can you re-purpose or maybe recycle the item? Not every product is a good prospect for repurpose or recycling, many are. Practically every product comes to an end of its useful life-cycle, and it’s time to either re-purpose or get rid of.

Remember when you’re on your eco-friendly shopping spree that the above is an ideal list-and many producers and brands are still working hard towards many of these goals. But as consumers we can all do our bit. Do not forget that through your choice of shopping you’re sending a clear signal to the brands on the market about your thoughts about eco-friendly shopping.

In the end don’t forget this: It still needs to be fun! I believe eco-fashion could in fact be equally as fashionable as any other sort of fashion. So whenever you go out in style, make sure you go out in eco-style.

Mike Boorn is the founder of http://GeboMana.com and has started the Gebo Foundation to help spread education in sustainable practices to underprivileged children. GeboMana stands for handmade fashion T-shirts that supports the work of the Gebo Foundation.