The sad fact in today’s society is that change is often market driven. Big corporations don’t generally do things unless they are feeling pressure from consumers and they can make a profit. The good news is that as consumers, the more we show our concern for the environment, the more change for the better will occur. We can show companies and the government that we want change for the good of the environment by buying more of the environmentally friendly products that are available to us and shopping at stores that have green policies in place. I have compiled a list of eco-friendly products and their benefits. In no particular order, here they are:

Compact fluorescent light bulbs. By now I think everyone has heard of these and the benefits that they give. Compact fluorescent lighting in your home can cut the energy you use for lighting by 75%. They also last much longer than regular incandescent light bulbs.

Concentrated laundry detergent and cold water laundry detergent. Cold water laundry detergent uses less energy because you can wash your clothes without the extra energy it takes to heat the water. As for the concentrated detergent, it is better for the environment because it uses less. Walmart is planning to only sell concentrated laundry detergent by next spring and the move is estimated to save 95 million pounds of plastic resin, 400 million gallons of water usage, and 520 000 gallons of diesel fuel over three years. When looking for a laundry detergent check for concentrated, organic, bio-degradable, and cold water instead of the regular kinds.

Rechargeable batteries. Some rechargeable batteries have a lifecycle of up to 3000 charges. With regular, disposable batteries that would mean throwing away 3000 batteries instead of one. It is estimated that in the United States 3 billion single use batteries are tossed away every year. You can even recycle rechargeable batteries at places like this in order to keep them out of the landfills. Another great option for batteries is the solar powered battery charger that you can find at www.ccrane.com

Micro-fibre cleaning cloths. Micro-fibre cleaning clothes are a great cleaning product for eco-friendly people. They are very efficient and can reduce the use of cleaning chemicals in your home by up to 90%. This reduces the production of cleaning chemicals and your exposure to them, plus micro fibre cloths are very durable and can be used many times. To find these and other green cleaning products visit www.norwex.ca

The eco-friendly flash drive. These flash drives contain no lead, mercury, cadium, or other toxic chemicals, and they break down much easier than the traditional flash drive. Greenhome.com offers a great selection of these flash drives in lots of fun colours and they have made sure that there is no excess packaging and that all accessories also meet green standards.

The options for eco-friendly products are endless and looking for and buying these products over the traditional, not so environmentally friendly products, sends the message that we want more environmentally friendly products from companies who really make an effort to conserve resources. Some of these products are a little bit more expensive, but for the most part they last longer and the benefit to the environment makes it worth the extra cost.