How does the economic environment affect green consumers? (A “green consumer” is simply someone who buys/uses green products and services). The Green Confidence Index is a resource that gauges green consumers’ views, buying habits, and more. From GreenBiz.com:

“The Index measures Americans’ attitudes towards and confidence in how leaders and institutions are perceived to be addressing environmental issues, the adequacy of information available to them to make informed decisions, and their past and future purchases of green products.”

Interestingly, the monthly survey found that when participants were asked what company came to their minds when they thought of a “green” company, Walmart and Clorox beat out companies like Whole Foods and Seventh Generation.

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Have you seen the amazing (and green!) treehouses made by the German company Baumraum? If you ever built or fantasized about the perfect treehouse as a kid, take a look at these. They are installed with great care taken not to harm the trees they’re built on and around, and Baumraum has a wide selection of sustainable materials clients can choose from for the making of their treehouse.

From the website:

“Baumraum is specialised in the planning and realisation of treehouses and other constructions in natural surroundings. We transform your individual ideas and wishes into ingenious and inspiring dwellings that combine versatility with craftsmanship of the highest quality and maximum safety standards. A major objective thereby is to handle the trees and their surroundings with the utmost care, ensuring their protection and preservation.”

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Looking for a little inspiration for spicing up your home? Take a look at Recyclart.org, which is a treasure trove of ideas and inspiration for creating your own recycled home decor items. It’s truly amazing how many forgotten items or things that our first impulse is to throw out can be made into unique, quirky, cute and beautiful decorations for the home.

DIY projects with recycled materials save money and energy, and, best of all, can be tailored exactly to the needs of your home and your vision.

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Ever wonder how, exactly, solar energy works? Watch the video for a short but sweet explanation of how the sun’s light is transformed into electricity.

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If you get a lot of use out of your home office, chances are it uses up a lot of energy. Here are a few tips and tricks to make your home office more sustainable and eco-friendly.

Use Dropbox to share files and projects. Download the application for free onto your computer and/or smart phone and access your documents and their most recent changes. This is a great way to eliminate unnecessary paper waste!

Trade in your planner for a computer or phone organizer. Some great alternatives to paper planners: Google calendar, iCal, Outlook, the Organizer iPhone app, Action Complete for Android.

Utilize natural sunlight as much as possible. When you need to turn on a light, screw in an LED lightbulb, which last longer and are much more energy efficient than regular light bulbs. Definitely worth the investment!

If you depend on sticky notes, try the recycled kind. Use biodegradable pens to write on them!

Recycle your printer cartridges. Many cartridges come with instructions for recycling on the box. For more information about recycling office supplies, visit Laser-Tone.com.

Instead of buying new office furniture, check out used options at cubicledepot.com.

Reduce your energy and your carbon footprint by cutting down on the electricity you use. Keep appliances and electronics that you don’t use often unplugged and only plug them in when you need to use them. When you turn things off, make sure they’re really “off” and not on “standby”–this setting still sucks up energy. Plug your computer and other often-used electronics into a Smart Strip, which monitors energy consumption and cuts off the power supply when your electronics aren’t in use.

It’s simple, but effective: keep a receptacle for recyclables in your office.

Use Skype or another video-calling service to conduct meetings instead of burning gas to drive to them.

Last but not least, eco-friendly and sustainable furniture and accents will complete your space. Don’t forget! There are only a few more days to use the Verde Lifestyles summer coupon code! Use summer2k10 to get 15% off of orders of $100 or more until August 1!

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For many, planning a wedding is stressful and time-consuming—so imagine trying to green the entire process! Luckily, Green Bride Guide is here to make the entire process easier.

Kate Harrison, author of the book The Green Bride Guide and founder of greenbrideguide.com, worked in environmental education and outreach after graduating from Vassar with a degree in Environmental Conservation and Sustainable Development. This year, she also started the first green wedding professional certification class, an online course, in conjunction with The Wedding Planning Institute. She knows what she’s talking about! Having planned her own green wedding, Kate’s book and website are a treasure trove of information and inspiration.

Among other things, the site features a vendor directory where you can find green bridal salons, photographers, spas, transportation, venues, and more. There’s also a shop where you can look for green wedding gifts, a blog featuring topics and information on greening your wedding, a planning section, and much much more (including a wedding cost estimator!).

There’s so much information here that you may feel a bit lost, but if that happens hop over to the Real Green Weddings section for some inspiration: you’ll find photos and accounts of actual green weddings and how they were done! This site is a must for anyone invested in planning a beautiful, eco-friendly, sustainable wedding.

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Greenyour.com

This website provides a ton of resources for making just about every aspect of daily life greener.

Earth911

This website is a great resource for finding recycling programs in your area, as well as news and information on recycling.

EcoBroker

Stop by this site if you’re interested in greening real estate! Connect with professionals in multiple related industries, learn about energy-efficient architecture, building materials, appliances, green financing, products, and more!

Local Harvest

Use their online map to locate local and organic farmers and farmers’ markets around the country.

Treehugger

Treehugger.com offers you all kinds of options for eco-friendly living and green information.

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It seems like almost everyone owns a smart phone these days. Check out these great (Free!) apps for Apple and Android devices. Greening travel, shopping, and staying up-to-date on green news and trends is now easier and more convenient than ever. Don’t own one of these devices? Keep your eyes open for a post coming soon about green Internet services and applications.

Dropbox: (for both iPhone and Android phones) eliminate the need for printing several versions of a document or making copies by syncing files between multiple computers and devices with this file sharing service. Edit a document on your laptop, save it in your Dropbox folder, and review it on your iPhone or Android phone with the Dropbox app. Use shared folders to collaborate on projects with multiple users or share resources. You can also access your files by signing into your account on the internet.

Ecorio: track your carbon footprint with your Android phone as you travel! The app uses GPS to measure your carbon footprint, and can calculate what it would be annually. It even suggests alternatives for making your footprint smaller!

Carbon Tracker: similar to Ecorio, and for the iPhone. Track your carbon footprint as you travel and commute, and set goals for maximum carbon emissions each month.

Get Green: another iPhone app, Get Green simply offers you one green tip a day. This is great for people who are just beginning to explore how to green their lifestyle!

Juice Defender: allows you to monitor wi-fi connection and power usage on your Android phone, so that your phone takes up less unnecessary energy to operate.

Eco Buzz Widget: provides news on the go to your Android phone about green products, trends, and current affairs.

AnyStop: this Android app utilizes Google Maps and any GPS information available from public transportation vehicles in most any city. See real-time arrival times for bus stops, bus and train schedules, and more.

GoodGuide: download this app for your iPhone to help you make green, sustainable, and ethical choices while you shop! This app has a database of over 50,000 products and their social/environmental impact so that you can make educated choices about the groceries, clothing, and leisure items that you buy.

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Are you an interior designer looking to incorporate green products into your design schemes? Do you have a client who’s interested in urban green decor? Verde Lifestyles is your one-stop shop for sustainable products and green interior design. Our new Design Partners Program offers a unique opportunity for interior design firms and individuals who want to go green and save some money. All of our interior design partners receive a 10% + discount with a purchase of $1000 or more. Additional discounts and free shipping are available, depending on the volume and frequency of your orders.

Keep an eye out for these green trends in interior design:

-Eco-friendly paint. Not only is this great for the environment as a whole, it’s great for those who live in your home environment: toxins in many paints can cause a variety of health concerns, including asthma, headaches, breathing problems, and even cancer.

-Sustainable wood furniture. According to Natural Home Magazine: “Seeking comfort, people will move away from dark, cold woods and stone in favor of warmer colors such as honey and caramel.”

Image from re-nest.com

-Natural light. Big in 2009, people still love the fact that skylights and windows help reduce electricity usage by flooding the home with gentle, calming sunlight.

-Flat, minimal rugs. Also from Natural Home: “Messy, shaggy rugs that trap and hold dirt and dust mites are out. Flat, woven rugs are in.” Bamboo rugs, anyone?

-Patterned and brightly colored fabrics. Stock up on colorful, sustainable accents like organic cotton pillows to add some liveliness to your spaces.

-Unique textures. Add some intrigue to your home with pieces that present interesting textures and shapes or are made from unusual or unexpected materials. Check out artwork and accents made from recycled materials (like recycled steel).

Feeling inspired to become a Verde Lifestyles design partner? Please contact Danielle (danielle@verdelifestyles.com) or Ryan (ryan@verdelifestyles.com).

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Have an old cell phone (or three) that you don’t need and don’t know what to do with? Here are some safe, environmentally friendly ways to put your old phone to good use and keep it out of a landfill:

-Donate it. Mail your old phone to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. This organization uses the proceeds from selling refurbished cell phones to fund its programs, which include providing cell phones to victims of abuse so that they can call 911 in emergencies. If you mail your phone to Greenphone (the shipping is free, they provide a shipping label), they will repurpose it, or, if they must recycle it, will plant one tree for every phone recycled. Cell Phones For Soldiers sells the phones you donate to Recellular and uses the money to buy calling cards for soldiers overseas. Check in with Call2Recycle to see what programs they offer for you—and your workplace—to keep old batteries and cell phones out of landfills.

-Recycle/Repurpose it through the manufacturer or service provider. Most service providers and phone manufacturers how have programs for recycling and/or refurbishing and selling old cell phones. Check with your carrier or the company that made your phone to see what they can do for you. Some are teamed up with charities and nonprofit organizations.

-Sell it. If your phone is still functional, sell it to someone who can put it to use. The benefits here are obvious—your gets reused, you get paid, and if you sell it locally you probably won’t have to worry about shipping materials or costs.

According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, E-waste is increasing at a rate higher than any other category of municipal waste. Greenversations, the EPA’s official blog, states that the average cell phone is used for only about 1.5 years before it’s replaced. With companies competing to produce smarter, sleeker, more versatile cell phones and cell phone upgrades offered every couple of years upon contract renewal, many of us find ourselves replacing our phones more and more frequently. Add to this the fact that cell phones themselves are often not built to last longer than two years, and it’s no wonder that e-waste is on the rise. A startling statistic from Greenversations: “150 million cell phones are taken out of service each year, if Americans recycled just 2/3 of those cell phones, we could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 630,667 tons of CO2 and save enough energy to power more than 194,000 U.S. homes for a year.”

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