Being environmentally responsible doesn’t have to cost a fortune. In fact, conserving and protecting natural resources can often save you money. Check out these tips for cheap ways to go green.

3 Cheap Ways to Go Green

1. Use less water in your home.

Unless you have your own well, you’re paying for every drop of water that you use, which is a great motivator for learning more about water conservation. Low flow faucets and toilets can help, but you can reduce the amount of water you use without a single trip to the hardware store. Turn off the water while you brush your teeth and when doing dishes. Take quick showers instead of long baths, and consider turning off the water while you soap up. Check out the EPA’s Water Sense site for more tips for conserving water at home.

2. Use a smaller garbage can.

The less you throw away, the less you add to the landfill. But perhaps a better reason for throwing away less is to reduce the resources need to make new stuff. If you’re finding ways to reuse items instead of throwing them away, you eliminate the need for replacement items to be made, which can cut down on the production of plastics. Make a family challenge to slowly cut down on how much garbage you set out by the curb each week; you’ll be amazed at the creative ideas you come up with for reusing what you already have!

3. Enact a shopping ban.

Another way to get the creative juices flowing and immediately improve your household budget is to announce an embargo on shopping. You’ll still need groceries, of course, but see how long your family can go without hitting up the local big box market. Consider setting a goal and rewarding yourself with a special activity if you can go 30, 60, or 90 days without shopping.

These three small changes won’t cost you a dime and can help you save money and resources for future generations.

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While it’s true that most cities have recycling programs for plastic, many of us would like to avoid having plastic come in contact with our food in the first place. It’s also a good idea to discourage the manufacturing of plastic, and the best way to do that is by eliminating its use from our daily lives whenever possible.

But plastic seems to be everywhere!

Is it possible to get food from the source to your table without introducing plastic in some form?

Here are a few suggestions for removing plastic from your food cycle:

1. Start a garden. Even people living in small spaces can take advantage of container gardens and window sill gardens to grow vegetables and herbs. Herbs and spices are commonly packaged in plastic, but not when you’re snipping them off your own plant!
2. Pick your own food. Some local farms will allow consumers to come and harvest their own produce, eliminating the need for the clear plastic containers in which berries are often sold.
3. Shop at local farmer’s markets. Buying local cuts down on the resources that are used to bring your food to you, including gas and oil. Farmer’s markets are also a good place to find food that hasn’t been overly packaged.
4. Bring your own containers to the store. Use an organic cotton shopping bag to bring home your groceries and smaller mesh bags for your individual produce purchases.

Making a big difference in the world comes down to making small changes every day. These small changes, when made over time, can dramatically reduce the amount of plastic you use.

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Why should you use green sunscreen?

Many of the chemicals used in traditional sunscreens are considered “potentially dangerous” for your health. In some cases, research is still being done to determine for certain if the ingredients in sunscreen are linked to cancer or other health problems.

Why take the risk with your health, or the health of your family? green sunscreens use minerals and physical filters to provide protection, and some even offer a broader range of UV protection than traditional formulas.

Another reason to look for green sunscreen is to protect the environment. Chemicals found in traditional sunscreens have been shown to trigger a viral infection in coral that bleaches and kills the coral community. It’s estimated that about 10% of the world’s coral reefs are threatened by the 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of sunscreen that wash off swimmers into the oceans each year.

What if you’re not swimming in the ocean? Research has shown that chemicals used in sunscreens can build up in fish living in lakes and rivers, although it’s still unclear exactly how the fish are affected by the chemicals.

How do you know if your sunscreen is green?

Unfortunately, you can’t rely on manufacturers’ labels to tell you if a sunscreen is eco-friendly or safe for your body. Words like “natural” and “organic” aren’t heavily regulated within the sunscreen industry and can be very misleading. Your best option is to read the ingredients list.

Avoid:

• oxybenzone
• parabens (butylparaben, methylparaben)
• vitamin A (usually listed as retinyl palmitate)

Look for:

• zinc dioxide or titanium dioxide

The Environmental Working Group offers a full report on the best sunscreens that provide UVA and UVB protection with limited risk to your health. Some of our favorites from their recommendations include:

• Badger SPF-30 (the special this month at GreenBoatStuff.com!)
• Mexitan Biodegradable Sunscreen

Educating yourself about what makes a sunscreen potentially dangerous is the best way to make sure you’re staying healthy in the sun this year!

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For many of us, practicing green boating in the spring and summer months is an important part of protecting the land and water we enjoy so much.  It’s almost easier to remember to take care of the Earth when we’re surrounded by it’s beauty, soaking up the sun and wind during a great day spent outdoors.  But what about when cold temperatures, snow and ice force us inside for months at a time?

It’s just as important to practice green living during the winter months.  Use these simple tips to do your part all year long.

5 Tips For Green Living In The Winter

Don’t heat an empty house. Use a programmable thermostat or manually turn it down when you leave the house for several hours at a time.

Reduce your household water use. Install low-flow showerheads and faucet aerators. Teach everyone to shut off the sink when brushing their teeth.  Take showers instead of baths and use timers to limit how long your showers are.

Switch to green cleaning. Indoor air pollutants can be especially troublesome in the winter months when we don’t open the windows.  Avoid using harmful chemicals for everyday cleaning.  Opt for homemade or certified green cleaning products.

Say no to paper and plastic. Get in the habit of using reusable grocery bags instead.  Keep one in your purse or car at all times or purchase new ones at the grocery store when you forget you’re own (that’s a great way to encourage yourself to remember to bring your own).

De-ice with magnesium chloride. Sodium chloride (salt) and calcium chloride de-icers can damage your concrete, car and nearby plants.  Magnesium chloride actually works better, too, melting ice at temperatures as low as minus 17 degrees (salt stops working at 15 degrees above zero).

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that savvy marketers often take advantage of our desire to be eco-friendly in order to sell us their products.  They cover their old products with new labels decorated with pictures of leaves and words that sound good but don’t mean much.  What’s a green-conscious consumer to do?  Learn which words really mean green, and which don’t mean much.

5 Green Buzzwords To Ignore

1. Biodegradable – this word can technically be used to describe anything that will eventually break down in nature, regardless of what form the broken down compounds take or how long it takes to break down.

2. Green - yes, we use it on our own site, but the word green alone isn’t regulated in any way.  A John Deere tractor is green, but that doesn’t mean it’s good for the environment.

3. All Natural – this means nothing.  It’s as informative as the word great.

4. Earth-friendly - this is another word that isn’t regulated and is basically a matter of opinion.  There aren’t any specific rules about how to be “friendly” with the Earth.

5. Non-toxic – basically what this means is that it shouldn’t kill you if you ingest it.  However, that doesn’t mean that a product that is non-toxic is produced or disposed of in a way that isn’t harmful to the environment.  Also, use of the word non-toxic isn’t regulated by any independent agency.

What words should you look for?

Look for products that are certified organic or energy efficient by a third-party.  You can investigate organizations who grant certifications.  The Ecologo and EnergyStar labels are some of the most respected and recognizable.

Not all labels are created equal

When you’re shopping for protection for your skin and lips, be wary of products that promise to be “all-natural” or “green”.  There’s no regulation that limits the use of those terms and no consistent standard for what those words mean.  The most reliable way to know if your lip and skin care products are safe is to read the ingredients labels.

Chemicals to avoid in lip balms and sunscreens

Before purchasing a personal care product, including sunscreen or lip balm, read the ingredients label.  Look specifically to see if any of the following chemicals are listed.

Petrolatum, petroleum jelly and mineral oil – Technically, petroleum is a natural product because it comes from the Earth, but most experts agree that the petroleum (which can also be refined to car engines) is toxic to the human body. Petroleum is also a non-renewable resource and increasing demands for it can, as the oil spill that occurred in the summer of 2010 showed, indirectly lead to environmental damage.  The bottom line: if you’re trying to use less gas to help the planet, stop buying petroleum in the form of lip balm!

Parabens – You may see these chemical preservatives listed as Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, or, Parahydroxybenzoate. There is some evidence that parabens are linked to breast cancer.  It is considered an “Unclassifiable Carcinogen” by some health agencies and may cause skin irritations.

Oxybenzone – this chemical, which is found in most sunscreens, was really reported to be linked to allergies, hormone disruption, cell damage, and low birth weight.  The majority of sunscreens sold in the United States are shown to contain oxybenzone.

Artificial Fragrance and Flavor – Beware of any ingredient that is identified as simply “fragrance” or “flavor”.  Companies are able to conceal the exact chemicals that contribute to “fragrance and flavor” because they are considered trade secrets.  While they may not necessarily be toxic, avoiding unknown chemicals in general is a good habit to practice.

Effective and safe ingredients

So how can you be expected to avoid all these toxins while still protecting your skin and lips from the sun and wind during a day on your boat?  There are green sunscreens and green lip balms available that are both safe and effective.  The active ingredients in these products may include:

Zinc oxide or titanium dioxide – one or both of these ingredients are commonly found in green or chemical-free sunscreens. These products use a “barrier protection” against UV rays instead of a chemical protection.

Avocado oil and beeswax – these natural and safe ingredients provide moisture without the need for petroleum byproducts.  Beeswax is especially popular in organic lip balms.

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Keeping your body clean is essential if you want to have a good time on the water. Unless you’re lucky enough to cruise on a vessel with huge fresh water tanks, twenty minute hot showers are out of the question for most of us.

Making the most of what you’ve got, however, it is pretty simple to feel human after a few days or more at sea.

If your boat has a pressure water system and can generate hot water, the simple Navy shower drill works great. Turn on the water long enough to get your body when, then shut down the tap, soap up, then rinse. With a little practice, a 2 minute shower can be a lifesaver.

If you don’t have fancy plumbing a portable solar water heater will do the job if you can find some sunshine. Just fill these big flexible bags with water, hang it in the rigging or somewhere suitable and let solar radiation heat your bath water.

The greenest choice you need to make when it comes to body care onboard involves the products you’ll use to get the dirt out.

Organic, plant based soaps and cleansers are the obvious choice. Sure organic costs more, but chemicals just don’t belong on the water if you can help it. We’ve ranted and raved before about the evils of chemical cleaners, so we won’t repeat ourselves in detail here. Just suffice it to say that if you wouldn’t pour it over the side don’t use it to wash your hair.  Even if you drain brown water to a holding tank and pump ashore when you reach the marina, you’re still just moving the nasty stuff from one place to another. Many marina pump-outs connect straight to a septic system with a drain field that lie dangerously close to the water.

In addition to the soaps you use, pay careful attention to all those accessories like conditioners, exfoliators, toothpaste, make-up,etc…  Believe it or not one of the ingredients used in some of the less expensive exfoliating agents are small pieces of plastic. Instead of using oatmeal or some other natural ingredient, some genius came up with the idea of adding tiny plastic beads to help remove dead skin and stuff.

Most toothpastes, especially the big name brands with fluoride, also have all sorts of nasty ingredients. We continue to be amazed that a product meant to be put in your mouth and sloshed around comes with warning labels on the box advising you of the dangers involved with swallowing it. 

Avoid cheap plastic brushes and combs, synthetic washcloths, towels, and other body gear that might go over the side and stay their forever. Use natural fibers towels, wood brushes and combs, along with other high quality implements instead.

When it comes time for the delicacies of feminine care, all sorts of chemical free, natural material options exist these days. Check them out and give them a try.

Remember that the same actions you take to keep your boat clean should apply to how you keep your body clean on the water.

As much as we all love a sunny day on the water, our skin can only handle so much exposure to the big bright circle in the sky. Life-giving sunshine can cause serious damage to our delicate bodies if we’re not careful. Overexposure to ultraviolet rays can cause problems as minor as dry skin and sunburn, or as major as skin cancer.

Studies abound with some pretty scary details about the harm that can be caused by too much sun. As a result, an entire industry has sprung up in recent decades promoting products that are supposed to protect us when we venture outdoors.

Many of the common sense ideas do a great job keep us safe. Grab a wide brimmed hat, wear long sleeves or a cover-up, limit your time outside, grab some shade when you can, etc…

For those folks who prefer a tank top and shorts, or, one of mankind’s’ greatest inventions – the bikini - the market has a solution for you too – sunscreen.

Slap this wonder product on your exposed skin, spread it around, and voila, you are safe from all that UV radiation.

Unfortunately, most sunscreen is brought to you by the major chemical companies who are responsible for creating some of the nastiest toxins out there.

Mounting evidence is showing that your typical, grab-some-on-the-way-to-the-beach sunscreen might be doing as much damage to your body, if not more, than the sun is.

Consider this, according to an article written by Rebecca Sutton for the Environmental Working Group, a “March, 2008 study by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) revealed that 97% of Americans are contaminated with a widely-used sunscreen ingredient called oxybenzone that has been linked to allergies, hormone disruption, and cell damage. A companion study published just one day earlier revealed that this chemical is linked to low birth weight in baby girls whose mothers are exposed during pregnancy. Oxybenzone is also a penetration enhancer, a chemical that helps other chemicals penetrate the skin.

Environmental Working Group identified nearly 600 sunscreens sold in the U.S. that contain oxybenzone, including products by Hawaiian Tropic, Coppertone, and Banana Boat (see the full list of 588 sunscreens here) as well as 172 facial moisturizers, 111 lip balms, and 81 different types of lipstick.”

In addition to oxybenzone, all sorts of awful stuff can be found in most of the sunscreens you’ll find in your grocery store or big-box retailer.  Octyl methoxycinnamate, psoralen, p-aminobenzoic acid, ethylhexyl salicylate, menthyl anthranilate, butyl-methyoxydibenzoylmethane, and all sorts of other scary sounding and truly toxic ingredients are common ingredients in this stuff that is supposed to “protect” us.

Considering that most medical research suggests that up to 1/3 of the sunscreen we apply is absorbed through the skin, it is frightening to think what this stuff could be doing to our bodies.

Hormone disruption, allergy problems, reproductive system damage, the creation of free radical reactions, an increased risk of birth defects, cellular damage and DNA disruption are just some of the things that can happen from exposure to this stuff.

To add insult to injury, the US Food and Drug Administration requires hardly any testing from the chemical peddlers who are pushing this stuff!

Just as they have with cleaning products and so many chemical compounds, big business has lobbied successfully to keep consumers in the dark when it comes time to disclose what their products contain and what they might do to our body.

Worst of all, what is it doing to our kids?

Worldwide, the greatest rise in skin cancer has been experienced in countries where chemical sunscreens have been heavily promoted, primarily the United States and Australia. A study several years ago in Queensland Australia, where the medical establishment has aggressively promoted the use of sunscreens for years, revealed more incidences of melanoma per capita than any other place on Earth. Recent research in the USA suggests California is closing the gap.

So what are we to do the next time the sun is shining and the water calls?

For sure, sun protection garments are a great beginning. On a hot summer day though, getting in the water or soaking up a few rays is just part of the deal for most boaters.

In addition to common sense, why not try some non-toxic sunscreen? Like most problems that need solving, Mother Nature has created a host of ingredients that do the job without all the harm. Naturally occurring plant and mineral compounds such as Coconut Oil, Green Tea Extract, Shea Butter, Titanium Oxide, and Zinc Oxide, do a great job of protecting us from the sun without damaging our DNA.

A growing number of non-toxic sunscreens are on the market today. At www.greenboatstuff.com we carry several.

Just like we have advocated with cleaning products, one of the keys to determining if the sunscreen you choose is good or bad is to look at the label. Plant and mineral ingredients are usually safe to consider. Avoid products with ingredient lists that sound too much like a chemistry set.

And of course, use the Internet to check this stuff out on your own. If your reading our blog you’re just a Google search away from seeing the evidence for yourself first hand.

After you take care of yourself and your loved ones, please consider the effects toxic sunscreens are having on the environment.

It might sound silly to think that a glob or two of sunscreen could cause significant harm to something as massive as the Ocean, but think again. Anybody who has spent time in Coastal Mexico or the Caribbean in the past few years has probably come across a new policy at many of the most popular swimming and snorkeling spots.

On a recent trip to a beautiful lagoon near Tulum, Mexico, we were forbidden from using any sunscreen other than those specifically labeled “biodegradable.” Security guards actually confiscated people’s chemical sunscreen, forcing folks to go without or spend big money on a tiny bottle of the good stuff in the gift shop.

I love Mexico, but it is one of the last places I would expect to encounter the long arm of the law over my sunblock. The reason the rules were enforced, though, is simple. This gorgeous swimming hole, which is a big money maker for the locals, is dying.

Years of Coppertone and Banana Boat mixing with sea water have done incredible damage. In addition to the problems caused at the microscopic level by these poisons, the physical characteristics of the chemical sunscreens have taken their toll too. The ingredients in most plant and mineral based sunscreens are broken down and flushed from the aquatic system much easier than the synthetic compounds found in traditional sunscreen. The chemical stuff often lingers in the ecosystem, blanketing plants and animals with a stubborn, slimy film that inhibits growth and disrupts the natural way of things. Sheltered coastal areas that are not regularly swept by the full power of the Sea are especially vulnerable.

On a final note, consider the overall impact that the creation of these chemical compounds has on the Planet as a whole. An industrial complex far removed from the tropics is the likely source of the toxic ingredients found in the average tube of sunscreen. Now picture the manufacturing process itself, with all the toxic byproducts created and somehow disposed of, either properly or just as likely, flushed down a drain.

Once again, mankind’s quest for a solution to one problem has led to unintended, yet still serious, consequences for the Earth and it’s many inhabitants. So often the challenges we face in dealing with the messes we have made seem overwhelming for the average person. We ask ourselves, “What can one person do, how can I make a difference?”

Next time the sun comes out do something simple that can make a difference. Use your common sense, grab a hat, and replace your toxic sunscreen with the good stuff.