“Relentless” photo by RunnerJenny

Things have been more than a little quiet here. Activity came to a complete stop over the last several months. But if there were ever a day for me to end the silence, that day is today. I am a member of the Green Moms Carnival, and today’s carnival is about something that hit entirely too close to home for me recently: cancer.

I still don’t like to use that word. In fact, I almost never say it. I don’t believe my daughter has ever said it, and she’s probably heard it only once or twice when doctors and nurses have slipped and said it. In case I have you completely confused, let me reveal something that I wrote about a while back over at Green Your Decor. In January, my daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. I’m not a fan of telling the story over and over, but if you want to know all the details, feel free to read the post over at GYD.

Today, I’m writing less about the details and more about what I don’t know. What I’d love to know. Simply put, why?

Not necessarily why in the “Why my daughter?!” type of sense, but why leukemia in the first place. The doctors have told us over and over that they don’t know what causes the disease, and also that there is nothing we could have done to cause or prevent it. But that begs the question: If you don’t know what causes it, how can you be so certain that it couldn’t have been prevented?

I have been obsessed with all thing green for a while now, clamoring for more and more information about the chemicals that we put in and on our bodies every day and going leaps and bounds to try to avoid them when I can. So my daughter’s diagnosis hit my family like a sledgehammer. It is no secret that some cancers have environmental links. It’s the reason we avoid lead and asbestos and the reason that some people who do certain high-risk jobs with lots of chemical exposure wind up with forms of the disease that others do not. But clearly, my daughter is in a household where we take exposure to these types of things seriously. So what could we have done differently?

Even if we’re never able to determine the cause of leukemia, I know this: I will do everything in my power to make sure that she, nor anyone else in my family, ever has to suffer from a disease that could be prevented simply by changing the way we live. It’s easy to make excuses about why we can’t change, banking on the idea that we don’t really “know”, scientifically, that some chemicals and products are bad for us. Preying on people’s skepticism about whether “green” is just another ploy to charge more money for stuff. I, however, won’t wait until everyone else decides it is time to change. I figure the only way to protect myself and my family is to make the change on my own, hoping to be an example to others who want to do the same. And hoping that if enough of us do this, the rest of the world will eventually catch on.

Because if the doctors had told us my daughter’s diagnosis was the result of some environmental factor we easily could have avoided, I’m honestly not sure how I would have reacted…

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

I have been wanting a dog for years. But for several of those years, our living situation didn’t make that possible. When we finally moved into our own apartment, my desire to have a dog was renewed, although my husband wasn’t too keen on the idea in such a small space. However, last week, he revealed to me that he planned to give me a dog for my birthday, which is next week. I had always wanted a Yorkie, but it was more important to me to adopt a dog than to buy one just because it was a purebred.

We wound up with the sweet little ball of fluff you see above and below, who we named Shiloh. We adopted him, though not from a shelter, and we couldn’t be happier.

The story

last Friday night, I started doing my research, trying to find a dog from a nearby shelter or rescue organization via sites like Petfinder and Petango. We did this with a couple of things in mind:

• We live in an apartment, and there are restrictions on the type of breed we can have.
• We also wanted a smaller dog for this reason.
• We wanted a medium-energy dog who would be able to live happily even without a yard to play in.
• We have a four-year old, so we had to have a dog who was good with kids and wouldn’t bite.

That wish list, small though it may be, proved to make our shelter search really difficult. What we found is that most of the rescue dogs were larger breeds, required a yard or had behavioral problems and weren’t recommended for kids. We did find one option, a Chihuahua mix named Laverne, but several other potential adopters had already filled out applications for her.

While we didn’t find our forever dog at a shelter, it wasn’t because we didn’t find dogs who were lovable. Their stories will tug at your heartstrings. There was a Chow puppy whose eye had to be removed because it was ulcerated. There was another mixed breed puppy whose owner threw him out of a moving vehicle and who, as a result, was very timid and didn’t get along well with people or other dogs. Seeing, and in some cases holding, all of them was a really heartwrenching experience.

They all really made me wish that we owned our own home so there would be fewer restrictions on the kind, and number, of dogs we could own.

We found him!

Later that day, fate would intervene though. We were on our way to go grocery shopping at Walmart, and spied a little boy holding up a sign for puppies. We headed over to him and his dad and little brother. Their dogs had six puppies, and they were trying to find a home for them. They had already found takers for three of them before we arrived, and I kept thinking I really wanted to adopt from a shelter. But when I saw the little puffballs he pulled out of the kennel, I was instantly smitten.

The puppies were Doxie-Chons, which means they were a mix between a Dachsund and a Bichon Frise. I cared little about his breed once I held him in my arms, though my husband did think to ask how big he will get (7-8 lbs. full grown). We want to be responsible dog owners, so once I got over my delirious happiness, we asked all the questions we could think of.

Was he a breeder? Are the puppies healthy? Are the puppies good with kids? Would they require a yard? Did he want an adoption fee, and if so, how much? And about a dozen other questions that escape my mind right now. Once we were satisfied that we would be doing a good thing by bringing home one of the puppies, we agreed to take one of the males, who they had dubbed Moonie for his habit of walking backwards (he looks like he’s doing the moonwalk).

Do I have any regrets? Not really, though I’d still like to go back to the shelters and perhaps become a foster parent until we’re able to own another dog permanently.  But at the end of the day, I’m happy that we were able to give a dog a home without going to a pet store and who didn’t come from a puppy mill.

So next time you decide to get or give a pet, head to a shelter first, or adopt from a family who can no longer care for them.

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

I will openly admit that I am no scientist. I don’t study temperatures or the minutia of the ecosystem, and I’ve never seen a polar bear or its habitat in person. Then again, neither have most people. That’s what makes the debate about climate change so interesting. As with all things, we are presented with the facts by the people who are supposed to know what they’re talking about and we each get to decide what we believe. And while there are many people like myself who believe not only that climate change is real, but that man is it’s primary cause, there is quite a crowd on the other side of the fence who decry the idea of global warming as little more than fear-mongering and alarmism.

And boy, did those skeptics find what they were looking for when “Climategate” broke news.

In late November, in the days leading up to the Copenhagen climate summit, a file containing more than 1,000 e-mails sent from or to members of the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit in England was allegedly hacked and posted on the Internet. Many say that the e-mails, from top environmental researchers, appear to question whether humans influence climate. And they were all the ammunition skeptics needed to contend that the messages prove scientists have falsified data to exaggerate the threat of global warming.

There’s just one problem with that assumption. It completely misses the point.

Let’s assume, just for one second, that climate change is nothing more than cyclical shifts in the the Earth’s temperatures that would happen without the influence of any outside factors. Let’s assume that humans live inside a bubble that doesn’t allow carbon emissions to get to the atmosphere. Even in this scenario, humans are still wreaking havoc on the environment in so many other ways.

We are flushing medicine down the toilet, which is in turn getting into our waterways and feminizing frogs and fish. We’re causing disastrous coal flyash spills like the one in Tennessee late last year that completely change the ecosystem in the immediate area of the incident. We have caused cities to be covered in smog, which on some days requires those cities to recommend that people stay indoors. We are throwing away millions of tons of trash, 80% of which is recyclable, which will eventually have to place to go but our parks and back yards.

What is there to question about those facts? Regardless of their impact on the climate, there can be no denying that these issues are real and will have an impact on the planet and the quality of life of its inhabitants. There’s also the huge tiny fact the Climactic Research Unit is far from being the only source of the science that shows global warming is caused by man.

Those who have jumped on the Climategate bandwagon have used it as an opportunity to deflect responsibility. They prefer to drive around in their gas-guzzling Hummers and SUVs, oblivious to the fact that the emissions from their vehicles ARE affecting the quality of the air around them. They prefer to continue living disposable lifestyles in which convenience is the motivating factor for every decision. And most of all, they prefer to continue lining their pockets by doing business and managing the government in a way that is destructive to the environment and latching on to any hope that what they’re doing is OK.

What frustrates me most about Climategate is that has started confusing the public, making them question whether global warming is real and whether the actions they have been taking have made an difference. It has the potential to make us regress, rather than move forward, because most people won’t separate the cause of one environmental problem from another.

All of this makes it incredibly clear that the result of the Copenhagen climate summit needs to be a decisive plan to combat global warming and regulations that mandate action. Because clearly, there are many people, businesses and government officials who won’t make any attempt to change on their own.

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

It took a lot of time to put together, but it’s finally done! The 2009 Green Gift Guide from Green & Gorgeous and Green Your Decor is officially live! In it, you’ll find great ideas for all the people on your holiday list. The categories are women, men, kids, teens, anyone, stocking stuffers, pet lovers, for the home, and gifts that give back. You’ll find nearly 100 ideas for gifts that will satisfy any eco-conscious gift recipient, but that will still please anyone else. This is a great opportunity to show all your loved ones how easy, and beautiful, green living can be.

Combine the gift list with our Cyber Monday coupon codes (some of which are still active) and longer-lasting deals, and you should really be able to get some bang for your holiday buck! But before you shop, remember two things: Buy only what you need, and buy gifts that are meaningful that the recipient will actually use. Let’s use this season to show manufacturers that we really care about sustainable products!

Have a suggestion for a gift you think should be on the list? Submit your idea, and be sure to specify it is for the gift guide. Feel free to submit green coupon codes as well! Need help finding a green gift for someone on your list that you couldn’t find in the gift guide? Click here to ask for help!

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

It’s late in the day, I’m stuffed and my husband is asleep I figured now would be a good time to take a minute and say Happy Thanksgiving to all the wonderful readers who have stuck with me, Green & Gorgeous and Green Your Decor.

I appreciate all of you more than you know, and I have a whole lot to be thankful for.

Head over to Green Your Decor tomorrow for a heads up on Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals from the best green retailers on the web. If you can, ditch shopping on Black Friday altogether and spend time with your family instead. But if you must buy, buy green!

Enjoy the rest of your day! I know I have enjoyed mine!

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

I used to be one of “those” people. You know. The ones who would sneak out while cooking Thanksgiving dinner and go to three or four different stores trying to find the newspaper with all the latest Black Friday deals. I would bundle up and head out 4 a.m. or earlier, going toe to toe with all the other aggressive shoppers trying to snag the best deals on toys or clothes or jewelry or whatever. I even had a plan for what stores I’d go to first, then a backup plan to go to other stores for the leftovers. Then I’d get home around noon, or whenever I was done, and flop into bed for the better part of the day. It wasn’t pretty.

Luckily, I’m no longer that person. I’m no longer enticed by the draw of “incredible deals” or the “biggest sales of the year.” And I’m definitely no longer wooed by the pushing, shoving and general craziness that ensues when some big box store is offering a Wii for 50% off. I am now a more enlightened shopper who has put the rampant overconsumerism behind me. Besides, if I’m really honest with myself, I’ll admit that those the gifts I wasted so much energy trying to snag were little more than temporary distractions that the recipients neither needed nor really wanted. To make it worse, most of them were made of non-recyclable materials made in faraway countries and likely destined to end up in a landfill somewhere.

It’s been a few years since I’ve done the Black Friday thing, so I have no idea how many shoppers temporarily lose their minds to brave the crowds, but I’m sure there are millions. I have a plea for as many of those shoppers as will listen. Do me a favor.

Don’t shop on Black Friday.

Sure, there are great deals to be had, and retailers are looking to make up for a lackluster year because of the economy. Don’t fall for the hype. First ask yourself whether you really need to be buying any of those marked-down items. Does your son really NEED that plastic Power Wheels car, or would he be happier with a gift of your time and undivided attention. Does your wife really NEED those diamonds that some child probably lost a leg or arm over, or would she be just as happy with a gift you made yourself or one handmade by a local artisan? I’m willing to bet they’d be equally as, if not more, happy with gifts from the heart than ones from the pocket.

Photo by Beth Rankin

But if I still haven’t convinced you, and the draw of Black Friday sales are too good to resist, do me one more favor.

Buy green.

This means supporting local stores instead of big box giants. It means buying items that are energy efficient, made with FSC-certified or otherwise sustainably harvested wood, or renewable materials. It means personal care and beauty products that are made with 100% organic or at least natural ingredients (ie. NOT your average cosmetics or perfume). It means clothing made of sustainable fabrics like organic cotton, linen or hemp. It means toys made of wood or recycled materials instead of plastic and ones that will stimulate the mind and imagination. It means shopping for vintage or handmade jewelry and goods that come with character instead of mass-produced “stuff.” It means buying gifts the recipients need and will actually use instead of ones they’ll discard in a hurry. And all of this applies as you’re doing ALL of your shopping for the holidays and throughout the year — not just on big days like Black Friday and Cyber Monday.

Need help finding green gifts? Take a walk downtown in your city or through your own neighborhood and venture into small, locally-owned stores you’ve never been to before. If you prefer to shop online or you’re looking for good deals, check out the coupons page over at our sister site, Green Your Decor. There, you’ll find coupons good for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond.

And soon to come is the Green & Gorgeous/Green Your Decor Holiday Gift Guide, filled with ideas that are sure to make the people on your gift list — and Mother Earth — smile. And trust me — these are no Birkenstocks or tie dyed shirts. These are gifts that come with style AND substance. You won’t be disappointed.

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

I started my journey toward natural hair waaaay back in January, and I am finally where I want to be.  Nearly three weeks ago, I strutted into a local salon with a head full of two-textured hair, and I walked out au naturale. Well, almost. I still had about 1-inch of relaxed ends in the front because the new growth there wasn’t quite long enough as the rest of my head. Still though, I felt like a new woman, literally.

The whole way home, I kept running my fingers through my curls, only barely able to believe that they were all mine — not modified by chemicals or trying to be anything other than what they are. I felt more free than I ever could have believed. For a while.

Then I got home and had to look in the mirror. Understand, friends, that I had been seeing myself with straight hair for 20 years. As I mentioned in my first hair post, without even realizing it, I had wrapped my perception of beauty up in my hair. Bone straight meant flyy as hell. New growth meant ponytails until I could get a fresh relaxer. So it took some time for me to appreciate my new look.

It didn’t help that I still had those relaxed ends, albeit only an inch or so of them, taunting me from the front of my head every time I looked in the mirror. Because of those ends, I felt like my first attempt at styling — a twist out — was a disaster. While most of my hair curled and twisted happily, the straight ends stuck out like sore thumbs, refusing to be coaxed into submission.

As happy as I was about my decision to BC (big chop), I was even more disappointed in myself about the way I was trippin. For a few days, I really felt like I wasn’t attractive. At. All.

Thankfully I have a husband who was only too happy to take on a new role as cheerleader. He loved my new hair from the very second I had it cut, and he wasn’t shy about letting me know that. His optimism and compliments helped a lot, but to make the transformation complete, one final step was required. A few days after my cut, I pulled out a pair of hair scissors and I went to town on those relaxed ends.

Yes. I cut them off. Myself. And it was the best thing I could have done for my hair. Yes, the front of my hair is now slightly shorter than the back, but my hair is so tightly curled that it’s almost impossible to tell the differences in length. And I feel better because all the processed hair is gone.

Since then, I have learned not just to accept, but to love my newly natural hair. In fact, I’m having a full on love affair with my low maintenance TWA (teeny weeny afro). I can wake up in the morning and run my fingers through my hair with some coconut oil, fluff and be done. That is the best feeling in the world.

More than anything else though, I feel like I’m seeing myself — really seeing myself — for the first time. So everyone, meet the new Jennae. She’s happy to be happy in her own skin, and finally, in her own hair

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

Call me crazy, but I’ve never been one for makeup. In part, it just seems like too much hassle to spend that much time painting my face, but also because I never really learned how to apply it. That doesn’t mean I don’t like a little glamour here or there, though. For me, a little glamour means adding a flower to a flyy hairstyle or painting my toenails in a color that makes me feel good. The latter is my favorite way to make myself feel a little dressed up, but I had all but given up on it because I couldn’t find any non-toxic nail polish. For that matter, I knew even if I found non-toxic polish, I’d eventually have to take it off, and traditional nail-polish removers aren’t exactly environmentally friendly.

So when I stumbled upon Spirit Beauty Lounge, an online store dedicated to offering safer, greener cosmetics and personal care products, I found a renewed sense of hope that my search for a great, green nail polish was finally over. I’d seen recommendations for green polishes that are removed simply by peeling, but I didn’t want to go that route . I was afraid a peel-off polish would come off too easily. Spirit offers a great alternative: Priti non-toxic nail polish.

So what exactly makes Priti non-toxic? This is a “three-free” polish — meaning it is free of toluene, formaldehyde and Dibutyl Phthalates (DBPs) — three of the main chemicals that make traditional nail polish so toxic. This is not to say that Priti is made of all-natural, organic ingredients. After all, it does contain ingredients like butyl acetate and polyester resin as well as dyes to create the color. But as nail polishes go, it’s definitely a more sustainable alternative than most, particularly if, like me, you don’t use it often.

Spirit sent me the Priti polish in purple daylily to review, a deep purple that’s nearly black, and I was definitely impressed. It performed as well as all my old, toxin-filled polishes, no better, no less. But that was the point — to find a replacement for all the old brands I used to use. At that, it did an excellent job. Even, smooth coverage in one thick coats and it lasted for more than a week before I started to see any fading or chipping. The photo below was taken right after I applied the polish for the second time. And I can’t believe I just posted a photo of my feet

More impressive, however, was the Priti soy-based polish remover that Spirit Beauty Lounge also included for review. It was the winner of Lucky Magazine’s Best of Green Beauty title, so I was intrigued.

I admit, though, that I was little skeptical that a nail polish remover that contained only coconut surfactant, soy esters, lemongrass oil and antioxidant could really be effective. But lo and behold, it got the job done. It wasn’t as fast as traditional acetone and non-acetone removers. I had to do some extra rubbing and leave it on my nails a little longer, but that’s a small price to pay for a product that doesn’t strip my nails and dry them out and that doesn’t smell like the inside of a lab. In fact, the Priti remover smelled pretty great, with the lemongrass giving it a light, pleasant fragrance that stayed on my nails and fingertips for quite some time after use. I also spilled some of it in my leg, and because it has a slightly oily consistency (and so few ingredients), I didn’t hesitate to rub it into my skin. It acted more like a moisturizer than a nail polish remover, which makes it a win in my book.

(review)

Why It’s Green:

• Priti polish is three-free: Free of toluene, formaldehyde and Dibutyl Phthalates (DBPs) and contains no petroleum-based ingredients
• Priti nail polish remover is biodegradable and contains only coconut surfactant, soy esters, lemongrass oil and antioxidant

Price: Polish, $12.50/ea.; Remover, $11.25-22.50/ ea.

Want to Win?

Spirit Beauty Lounge has generously offered four lucky readers of Green & Gorgeous the chance to win a bottle of Priti polish in the winner’s choice of color. So how to you enter? Visit the Spirit Beauty Lounge site. Then come back here and leave a comment telling me something you liked or learned about the company that was NOT mentioned above. It could be your favorite pick from the products in their collection or a fact about the company. It’s that easy! You have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 5, 2009.

Want more chances to win? Do any of the following after you complete the first entry method to receive additional entries. PLEASE be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry so they will be counted accurately:

1. Subscribe to Green & Gorgeous via email or RSS. Email subscribers MUST confirm their subscription for their entry to be valid. Leave a comment letting me know that you subscribed.
2. Stumble any page at Green & Gorgeous, and leave a link to your StumbleUpon profile so I can verify your entry.
3. Blog about Green & Gorgeous and leave a link to your blog post here.
4. Fave this blog on Technorati and leave a comment with your user name.
5. Become a fan of Green & Gorgeous on Facebook and leave a wall post.

You have until 11:59 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 5, 2009, to enter. U.S. mailing addresses only! A winner will be chosen via Random.org and contacted via email. Good luck everyone!

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

Grocery shopping has never been fun for me, but not long ago, it used to be quick and relatively painless. Now, if and when I walk through the aisles of my nearest store, it feels like I’m walking through a minefield, trying desperately to avoid being blown to pieces by a hidden device. Except in this case, the mines are made of high fructose corn syrup.

The corn industry’s ridiculously deceptive TV ads will tell you that HFCS is “OK in moderation” and that it’s no worse than sugar. The problem is, how do you moderate your intake of HFCS when you don’t realize you’re consuming it? And how exactly do they define “moderation?” Is there a specific amount I should aim to stay within every day? Clearly, many people have trouble moderating their intake of sweets, or this conversation wouldn’t be necessary. The print ads like the one shown below are worse, implying that only doctors can have a say on health care, as if the opinions of regular people don’t matter.

Image from SweetSurprise.com

High fructose corn syrup extends the shelf life of processed foods, and is also cheaper than sugar, so it has become a frequent ingredient in soda, fruit drinks and other processed foods, including in many foods where you wouldn’t expect to find it.

To make matters worse, a recent study revealed the presence of mercury in 17 of 55 tested brand-name food and beverage products that contain HFCS. These products included barbecue sauces, condiments, dairy products, beverages, nutrition bars, snacks, including Smucker’s Strawberry Jelly, Hunt’s Tomato Ketchup and Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. Pardon my sarcasm, but isn’t this lovely to know?

I am admittedly a lazy cook who once was more likely to shop in the freezer aisle than the produce section if given the chance. I’m working on that, but I still have my weak moments. The result is that I would wind up buying a lot of foods that contained added HFCS without realizing it. This isn’t a healthy trend for me or my family, no matter what the commercials would have us believe. But even for parents who enjoy cooking from scratch and try to avoid processed foods, this ingredient has become so pervasive that it is showing up everywhere. Think salad dressings, yogurt and even pickles and toothpaste. Really? My toothpaste, which is supposed to clean my teeth, needs a sugar substitute?

It’s sad to say, but to this point, my family has been losing the battle against HFCS. My insatiable sweet tooth certainly doesn’t help matters. Of course, I now wonder if the reason I love sweet foods and drinks is because I’ve become so accustomed to consuming added sweeteners.  HFCS alone isn’t to blame for that, but it doesn’t help that this cheap ingredient is being added to what seems like everything. Can’t I just get a pickle, with no additives?

In any case, there’s no point in laying blame. This is just another reason why eating organic foods has become so vital in my household. If we eliminate processed food altogether, it stands to reason that we’ll also be able to eliminate, or at least drastically reduce, our consumption of HFCS. Now I just need to work on getting motivated to cook rather than just sticking a frozen pizza in the oven. Thankfully, my husband has been putting his amazing culinary skills on display and cooking more often than not, so I really have no excuse.

Post from: Green & Gorgeous

When we moved into our apartment, we had a major snafu. We live on the second floor, accessible only by a very narrow staircase with a 180 degree turn. In other words, it’s not the easiest unit to move into with large furniture. Thankfully, our entertainment center was the only casualty, because it was just too big (and heavy) to make the turn in the stairwell. After several frustrated hours of inching along, screaming and beating our heads against the wall, we finally gave up and donated the unit to the Salvation Army thrift store.

Of course, that left us with no entertainment center, and a large, heavy 36″ tube TV that is still sitting on the living room floor. We haven’t been able to unbox our home theater system or any movies or video games because we have no place to put them. It also left us without a place to display our family photos and the beautiful decorative figurines we had bought years ago.

So we began our hunt for a replacement. The problem is, everything we can afford that is remotely eco-friendly is also designed to hold a much lighter flat panel TV. Looks like noone is making furniture for heavy tube TVs these days. We scoured through thrift stores and Craigslist looking afor an older piece, to no avail. We’re tired of looking at all these boxes and watching TV on the floor way below comfortable viewing height, so we decided to sell this TV and replace it with a flat panel model.

Of course that made my football watching husband happy, but it made me happy too because — let’s face it — flat panel TVs are a lot nicer to look at. Not exactly justification for replacing a perfectly good, fully functional TV, but at least both of us are happy with the decision.

Finding a TV that’s both green AND affordable, however, is a tougher task. We found some reasonable green options, like Phillips’ EcoTV (which apparently is no longer available new), Sony’s BRAVIA EcoSeries and Samsung’s energy efficient LED series, but we’re not really in a position to shell out 4 figures for a TV. Not even close. So we started looking into buying a used or refurbished TV. After doing a lot of research, however, we learned that might not be such a good idea. LCD and plasma TVs are pretty costly to repair. So much so that many companies recommend replacing rather than repairing them. That made my green spidey senses start buzzing, but apparently this is a problem with all newer TVs, regardless of brand, so we don’t want to take the chance of buying an already defective used TV. We also don’t want to buy an off brand TV, which often come with poor or nonexistent customer service or warranties.

The top 3 brands recommended to us? LG, Panasonic and Sony. Next, we started narrowing by energy efficiency and other green characteristics. Where many of the more expensive green options are energy efficient AND have features like using fewer heavy metals and recycled, recyclable packaging, the more affordable options don’t have those features. In fact, the only truly green component is that most of them are Energy Star qualified.

Good, but not good enough for me. I want to know whether they use energy while on standby, which is a big reason TVs are such energy hogs. I want to know how far they were shipped and whether the packaging contains styrofoam. I want to know if they have auto-dimming features that maximize energy use by dimming the backlight based on the level of lighting in a room.

Suffice it to say I have turned what could have been a simple TV buying experience into a crusade to find the most sustainable option. I’ve officially become a crazy green shopper.

Does anyone have any suggestions for finding a greener TV? I’ll take any help I can get, and I know my husband is ready to get on with this process. Feel free to share your experience in the comments below. I’ll be forever indebted to you

Post from: Green & Gorgeous