Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

The Green Recessionista’s Guide to Beauty & Personal Care

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by Stephanie Rogers · 02/05/09

With the economy in shambles, it’s harder than ever to shell out $65 for face cream or upwards of $100 for a trip to the spa. If your pocketbook has been hit – or you’re just nervous and looking to save money – there’s no need to resort to using cheap, chemical-filled beauty and personal care products instead of safe, natural ones. Here are 7 super-natural and inexpensive ways to keep yourself looking and feeling your best that you can pull off even in the worst of circumstances.

1. A gallon-sized jug of castile soap is your best friend. Not only is it a fantastic face & body wash, hand soap and shampoo, you can also use it for household cleaning. It costs around $40 and will last for months and months.

2. Baking soda works wonders for clarifying oily scalps, gently exfoliating your face and keeping underarm odor at bay. I like to add a teaspoon or so to a few drops of castile soap as a mild face scrub as well as once-a-week clarifying shampoo. Washing with baking soda and water regularly also treats and prevents breakouts.

3. Mineral makeup lasts longer and is surprisingly affordable, even when you’re on a strict budget. Many of you already know that I’m a big fan of Everyday Minerals, which is inexpensive and great quality. Use an angled brush and some water to transform eyeshadow pigments into eyeliner, or mix pink, red and peachy shades with lip balm for cream blush or lipstick.

4. Embrace your natural hair color – or try henna. Expensive salon hair color is hard to keep up, especially when you need that money for more important things, like rent and food. Henna, on the other hand, is inexpensive, long-lasting and best done in the comfort of your own home. Henna has a bad reputation because of the metallic salt-laden cheapo versions out there, but body art quality henna will not damage your hair and is available in a range of shades. Since it tints your natural hair color, roots aren’t obvious. Check out the Henna for Hair page for more info.

5. A jar of coconut oil will last most people at least a year, and you can use it as an all-over body moisturizer or hair conditioning treatment. It’s thick and rich, liquid in warm weather and solid in cold – I like to use a wooden scoop when it’s solid and put it in a glass bottle with a pump in the summer.

6. Forget expensive disposable organic tampons and pads – you can purchase one DivaCup or Keeper for around $30 and it’ll last you at least a decade. The Keeper even comes in a natural rubber version. They’re hygienic and washable. (Check out this post at The Green Girls for more details). Organic cloth pads are also a frugal, green option – they’re available in some health food stores and all over the place online, including Etsy. Both of these ideas might sound weird, but they’re better for your body (many women report less cramping) and you get used to it quickly.

7. Get a book of DIY green beauty recipes or just search the ‘net. You can spend an evening pampering yourself in the comfort of your own home with products that you know are perfectly safe, because you made them yourself. Face masks, conditioning treatments, nail treatments, toners, scrubs – practically anything you could buy in the store or get done at a spa, you can DIY. I like “The Green Beauty Guide” by Julie Gabriel.

Photo credit: Flickr user Tedi [teodora doychinova]

Eco Beauty, Green Tips, Skin Care

Gorgeous Eco-Friendly Holiday Gift Wrap for the Style Conscious

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by Stephanie Rogers · 12/01/08

Holiday gift wrap can be a bit of a waste. Don’t get me wrong, I think the presentation aspect is important – nothing’s more enticing than a beautifully wrapped gift. But, all too often, that gift wrap is made of bleached brand-new paper printed with inks that are far from green, and it just ends up in the trash afterward.  Luckily, there are lots of options out there for the environmentally conscious.

If the kraft paper and raffia look isn’t your thing, check out these three amazing collections of eco-friendly holiday gift wrap: Amy Butler, Erin Ruth and my personal fave, Whimsy. It’s chic, it’s modern, it’s bound to make a huge impression – and it’s just begging for reuse. Save the scraps for handmade cards, decoupage projects, scrapbooking and other creative undertakings.

Here are a few other quick tips for holiday gift wrap that’s kind to the earth:

• Avoid wrapping paper with foil accents. Metallic and foil papers usually can’t be recycled, and in some recycling facilities, if they end up in the mix with other paper, they can ruin a whole batch, making it totally unusable.
• Put gifts in reusable bags, baskets or boxes. It’s classy, and it’s a whole other gift in itself. No worries about this sort of packaging ending up in the trash!
• Instead of bows, use ornaments, hair barrettes, brooches, key chains or other small decorative items that’ll get reused.
• Turn to nature for inspiration. Pinecones, branches, acorns and feathers can provide an unexpected decorative touch.
• While some people might think it’s an etiquette faux pas, I think asking friends and family for the unwanted used gift wrap after a gift-opening extravaganza is perfectly acceptable, unless of course they’re planning on reusing it themselves!

Green Gifts, Green Tips, Holidays

Scare up a Green Halloween with These 6 Tips

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by Stephanie Rogers · 10/14/08

It’s finally October, my favorite month of the year – and that means Halloween is right around the corner. Like many other holidays, Halloween can be pretty wasteful.  There’s a lot of trash left behind once the holiday is over including candy wrappers and flimsy plastic costumes, not to mention the energy used to power electric decorations and the pesticides in conventional pumpkins.  You can still enjoy Halloween and avoid these eco-foibles, though – check out these 6 tips, which are chock full of resources for green Halloween fun.

Use what you’ve already got at home, or shop at the thrift store for costume components.  Never buy those cheap throwaway costumes that fall apart after one night.  You can easily put together something far more impressive just by getting a little creative with your materials, and you don’t have to spend a ton of money.  Get creative with scrap fabric, thrift store clothing and accessories, and even cardboard.  If you’re looking for some non-toxic, vegan Halloween make-up, Etsy shop Pink Quartz Minerals is a great place to start.

Buy organic pumpkins, and use every part of them.  Don’t let those seeds go to waste! They’re delicious roasted, or you can simply allow them to dry and leave them out for birds to eat – they’re a high-protein snack.  Once Halloween is over, break the pumpkin apart into pieces with a hammer and scatter them in your yard where wildlife can enjoy them.  You could also simply add them to your compost bin, if you have one.

Pass out healthy, fair-trade candy to the trick-or-treaters that come knocking on your door.  Endangered Species chocolate has a line of Halloween-themed candies including ‘Organic Dark Chocolate Bug Bites’.  Other ideas include organic fruit leather, dried fruit and fair trade chocolate ‘gold coins’. For more ideas, check out the ‘Eco Friendly Halloween’ post on the Nature Moms blog.

Don’t buy tons of plastic and paper decorations that’ll get tossed on November 1st.  Choose decorations that will last for years to come, so you won’t have to keep buying new ones. Use rechargable batteries to power battery-operated decorations, and check out a great list of solar-powered Halloween lights over at InventorSpot.

Give your costume away when you’re done with it, or trade it for a new one. Post an ad on a classifieds site like Craigslist.com asking to trade your costume with one in a similar size.  It might just help you get past that whole “I don’t know what I want to be this year” conundrum, because you’ll get all kinds of wacky offers.  This is also a great way to get new costumes for your kids – get hand-me-downs from friends and co-workers with kids that are a little older than yours.

Don’t drive the kids from house to house for trick-or-treating.  If you live in a neighborhood where homes are spaced far apart, you’re better off driving to a more densely populated neighborhood.  You’ll use less gas, and the kids will get the full experience.  Sitting in the car in between stops is not nearly as fun as walking down street, clutching their little treat bags and peering up into the trees, letting their imaginations run wild.

Photo by Flickr user Just-Us-3

Fair Trade, Green Tips, Holidays

Go Recycled & Non-Toxic: Green Up Your Arts & Crafts

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by Stephanie Rogers · 10/13/08

Whether you’re a professional artist, a hobbyist or just like to make crafts with your kids every now and then, if you’re environmentally conscious you’ve probably wondered how you can make your creative activities greener. Arts and crafts can definitely be a bit hard on the environment if you’re not careful – there are a lot of toxic ingredients in those paints, glue, varnishes and other materials, not to mention all of the trash you end up throwing away.

With the holiday season coming up, a lot of people are gearing up to create hand-made cards, gifts, ornaments and other crafty things, so it’s a great time to brush up on some eco-friendly arts & crafts tips!

Use recycled, non-toxic and sustainable materials. This one is probably pretty obvious.  Stick with recycled paper and pencils and other environmentally responsible materials like hemp sketchbooks, non-toxic adhesives and bamboo paintbrushes.  Look for the ACMI-approved seal on paints, which indicates that they’re non-toxic.

Upcycle ‘junk’ into works of art.  Next time you start a project, think about the supplies you need and whether you can find them around the house, at the thrift store, on Freecycle, etc. Try making your own artist canvas by applying gesso to an old cotton or linen sheet.  Refinishing thrift-store frames can be a budget-friendly option as well.  There are a million and one opportunities to upcycle ‘junk’ into jewelry, décor and other items.

Make your own paintbrushes. Leslie of The Öko Box eco boutique demonstrates how on her blog, using a twig, human hair and a rubber band.  She also experiments with plant-based pigments, turning a bunch of poke berries growing in her yard into a lovely fuschia liquid that she used to paint a picture and even dye an old shower curtain.

Don’t throw away scraps of paper and fabric.  Most types of paper and natural fabrics like cotton, silk, linen and wool can be composted.  Encourage kids to use scraps of construction paper by creating ‘stained glass-style’ art with them.  Larger, higher quality scraps of fabric can be re-used in quilts or made into wall art as shown on Apartment Therapy’s green sister site, Re-Nest.  The rest can be given new life as stuffing for toys or pillows.

Wash oil paints from your hands and brushes with an eco-friendly, phosphate-free dish soap instead of solvents. Dish soap won’t harm your paintbrushes, and it dissolves oil paints better than harsh, often-toxic solvents like turpentine.  Some artists also use vegetable oils to clean and maintain their brushes.

Crafts, Green Tips

Traveling in Earth-Friendly Style: Accommodations, Gear and Other Tips

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by Stephanie Rogers · 09/22/08

Just because you’re jetting off for a holiday of relaxation and fun doesn’t mean you’re taking a break from being environmentally responsible, right? In a society where convenience almost always trumps eco-friendliness, it can be challenging to stay green on the road.  There are disposables everywhere, it’s tough to find eco-friendly travel gear and racking up a whopping carbon footprint from all those travel miles is all too easy.  That doesn’t mean it can’t be done, though.  Guess what, ladies and gentlemen – you can be just as green on a weekend getaway as you can at home, without sacrificing quality or style.

Find green accommodations online through one of the many directories and resources on the web.  Green hotel ratings aren’t yet available for every city, but they’re much easier to find now than they were a few years ago.  Check out Sustainable Travel International, which offers a searchable directory of eco-friendly lodging and other tourism services, as well as Green Seal, which lists lodging properties in the U.S. that meet its Green Seal certification standards.  Another place to check is the Green Hotels Association, which maintains an international directory of earth-friendly hotel members.

Keep your luggage to a minimum to make taking public transportation, walking and riding bikes way easier (because naturally, that’s how you’re going to get around, right?).  It’s really no fun trying to lug insanely heavy, bulky luggage around, let alone fitting it into the tiny compartments offered by trains and buses.  Think about everything you’re putting in your bag – are you really going to use that? Is there a real need to pack four pairs of shoes for a single weekend trip? A few things that should definitely go in your bag include a reusable water container, your own mini toiletries (leave the ones the hotel provides behind!) and your own little tableware set complete with a cloth napkin, fork, knife and spoon.

Pack your gear in an eco-friendly suitcase or travel bag like the Joy Travelbag by Mandarina Duck, pictured above.  The entire Mandarina Duck ‘Joy’ line is made from DuPont™ Sorona®, a renewably sourced polymer partially made from corn.  It’s greener than nylon – DuPont™ Sorona® takes 30% less energy to produce and emits 63% less CO2 emissions during production.  The Joy Travelbag comes in brown, black or natural.  Since chic, stylish, affordable travel gear is still hard to come by (come on, designers!), vintage luggage is a great option for the budget-minded.

Eat, drink and shop locally while you’re there.  Why not enjoy your destination to its fullest? Immerse yourself in the local culture by enjoying local restaurants, sampling regional specialties and purchasing items made by the people who live there.  Buying locally-made souvenirs is a great way to support the local economy of the place you’re visiting.

Conserve resources in every way possible.  Browse brochures at the display in your hotel and then only take the ones you really need (or type the info into your cell as a note, to save paper).  Ask the hotel staff not to wash your towels every day – use them a few times.  Make sure you turn off the lights and air conditioning/heat in your room when you’re going to be out, and bring recyclables home with you if there aren’t any facilities available on your trip.

Eco Travel, Green Tips