1. Diapers: …and not just the cloth ones. Did you know that, on average, a baby will go through about six thousand diapers before they’re potty trained? Well, a company called ‘Knowaste’ makes disposable diapers that can be recycled.
2. Soap: That’s right — soap! A non profit organization called ‘Clean the World’ collects leftover soap and shampoo from hotels and donates it to those in need.
3. Caskets: This one nearly blew my mind yesterday and, you know, I don’t know why cause you’d think this was a no-brainer: Why not be buried in something that will easily biodegrade or is made from recycled materials? Seems silly not too, but I suppose that’s just my opinion. And besides being eco-friendly, it’s also much less expensive, too!
4. Running shoes: I am a big gym-goer so I own several pairs of running shoes, cross trainers, ones with shock absorbtion, etc. When you’re done with running shoes that are still in relatively good shape, they can be donated to the less fortunate. But the thing is, for me anyway, they’re so incredibly pricey that you can be sure that I use them until they can no longer be worn. The good news is, they can still be made into building materials. Check out RecycledRunners.com to find out where you can bring your old runners.

Recently I tried out Green Beaver’s “Rejuvenating Cranberry Shampoo and Conditioner for dry, damaged or colour-treated hair” (two separate bottles, to be clear). Picked these up from Topia Greenstop (Clyde and Woodward) right here in Ottawa, Ontario. These products are 100% natural, biodegradable, vegan and gluten-free. They do not contain: Paraben or hydantoin preservatives, sulfate detergents, artificial aromas, fragrances or dyes, phthalates, quaternium, EDTA, propylene glycol or petrolatum. All kinds of awesome, especially considering my hair colour.

I dye my hair regularly. But I don’t use just any hair dye — my hair, as many of you have noted — is quite a bright, fluorescent, unnatural red. Most over-the-counter pharmacy/grocery store shampoos and conditioners cause my hair colour to bleed out significantly. Because of this I usually limit myself to one good shampoo/conditioning per week. This plan works well, but isn’t ideal as by the end of the week my hair is getting oily enough that I can’t wear it the ways I would like to because it’s heavy and unmanageable.

I gave Green Beaver a shot because I figured that maybe, just maybe, the chemicals in ‘normal’ shampoo/conditioner are what strips the colour from my hair.

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