Now I may have to shop at Walgreens, instead of CVS or RiteAid. Walgreens has been instaling solar on their roofs since 2007.

Walgreens has partnered with a company named SoCore to do solar installations. By years end they are going to have 130 installations complete. This includes stores and distribution centers in Connecticut, New Jersey, California, Oregon and Ohio. This is great for the company as it offsets energy usage by 15 to 20 percent.

Most of the solar powered stores are in Ohio. There are 53 in all there, making it the largest solar user for one company in the state.

Walgreens has a long been reducing energy usage and expanding its renewable energy initiatives. The company became the nation’s first drugstore chain to install a geothermal energy system at one of its stores in Oak Park, Ill., last November. The company’s Mira Mesa, Calif., location became the first drugstore to receive LEED gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

See Walgreens for more.

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With increasing awareness about the eco-friendly products why should the divas limit their contribution to buying eco-friendly packaged beauty products. There are a lot of eco-friendly products in the world of fashion and beauty.

1. Cleanse your skin naturally
There are many skin cleaning agents available in the market. In case you are not aware about the kind of product to choose, always rely on the ingredient information. Check that the product does not use phthalates, sulphate cleansers, harmful preservatives or artificial synthetic scents. One of such products is Avalon Organics; they have shunned harmful artificial substances for natural preferences like, lavender, rosemary, peppermint, lemon, etc. You would love their shower gels.

2. Pamper your hair
Avalon Organics have variety of products for hair care. One of those is Tea Tree Scalp Treatment Conditioner and Shampoo that gently cleans and nourishes your hair. The conditioner protects the hair against harsh affects of pollution too. You can also go for products from Seed. They have a wide range of products such as shampoos, soaps, etc. Pick one that suits you best.

3. Smooth touch for your skin
There is no denying the fact that most people prefer more natural and eco-friendly products that are gentle on their body. If you are looking for such products, start from a very basic need, your moisturizer. Trust nature to take care of your gentle skin. You can go for a moisturizer which has no synthetic elements like paraben or even artificial colors and scents. Seeds claims to be using grape seeds in its products that keep your skin hydrated.

4. The green dose of beauty

If you are looking for some other skin care product you can go for Origins Brighter, which repairs skin of the sun damage like fine lines, ageing signs, etc. It is very light, non greasy and safeguards your skin.

To give your skin that hydrated and nourished feel you can pick Intelligent Nutrients Anti-Aging Mist, this is a spray and therefore quite convenient to use.

5. Go green with makeup
If all that you know about makeup products close to nature are the mineral shadows, rouge etc., hold on! There are lots of products to give your eyes and cheeks a very natural glow without using artificial colorants. Have faith, these are in no way less than any leading cosmetic company. Pick products from a company like Urban Decay. They have huge color options and create a very natural effect after makeup. And yes, they are so beautifully packed with eco-friendly material like bamboo and paper that gives the owner a sense of pride. They have lots of products like potions to makeup products and even makeup brush.

There are a few other brands too, you can go for No Miss Natural Mascara to shape and define your eye lashes. Even if you are choosing any other green mascara make sure that it has no propylparaben which is a highly harmful substance. All the veggie lovers would surely love the reddish tint that Cranberry Glow gives. It looks awesome and does not give cheeks a painted look.

6. Select eco-friendly clothing
Outfits of jute, organic cotton, etc., are getting popular due to the ‘eco-friendly’ label attached to them. Mission Playground is a brand that caters to eco-friendly fashion lovers and also uses merine wool, recycled polyesters, etc. You will find quite a lot of outfit options from sweat shirts to cowl neck tops, hooded shirts, etc.

It is not always necessary to search for a eco-friendly brand. What is important is that you do check whether the ingredient mentioned and packing, etc., is eco-friendly or not. Do not go just by green label!

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About the author: Amanda Kidd is a writer who is an ardent follower of environment friendly existence. Being an eco friendly enthusiast, she prefers to own only eco friendly items in her closet. She is currently busy in growing building her own greenhouse.

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Coca-Cola and Pepsi look out! Now you can be eco friendly and save money while enjoying delicious soda at home.

You don’t have to worry about carrying around heavy bottles of liquid and then having the hassle of recycling with SodaStream. A lot of times people get too lazy and these plastic bottles end up in the trash/landfill. More than 80% of plastic bottles don’t get recycled. They are so wasteful to produce and recycle.

With this product, which is the size of a coffee machine, one can create soda out of regular tap water. Soda is simply water, fizz, and flavor. The SodaStream machine adds fizz in the form of carbon dioxide from a carbonator. You then add flavor from the 25 different sodamix syrups.

Choose from regular, diet and caffeine-free options. The flavors are abundant from cola, lime, and root beer to sweet fruit flavors like orange mango and pink grapefruit…. energy drink, iced tea, and cocktail mixers. Each soda mix syrup bottle makes 12 liters of soda or about 33 cans! Imagine carrying all that around! The sodamix provides a healthy option too. They have less sugar, carbs and sodium than store bought brands.

Enjoy seltzer and sparkling water in reusable 1-liter PET bottle for just $.25 per liter and flavored sodas for about $.25 per can.

This has been a successful product. Already 10 million soda makers have been sold in 40 countries. Give it a review! The soda makers are sleek and fashionable too. This makes more a perfect eco friendly gift this Christmas

See SodaStream USA for more.

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What a way to reuse that old tube tv! Your cat can cozy up in style.

It even has a little toy attached to the antennae so the kitty can wack around.

It’s available at Etsy for a nice $130 though. There is only one left so you better get. It does look like a unique art piece. But for this much maybe you can make one on your own from your old tv. Just make sure you recycle or dispose properly all the electronic “guts” from that old tv!

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Check out the brand new Samsung Replenish with these awesome features:

* Made of partially recycled materials (The packaging is 100% recycled material at least!)

*Can be solar charged! Got to buy the charger separtely. I guess its another few bucks, but hey its free renewable energy for life!

*Get SprintID GREEN app pack bundle which are a some green apps and mobile content to help you live a greener lifestyle

*Powered by Android. Surf the internet. Get on the move with built in GPS and Wi-Fi.

This phone is FREE with a 2 year plan through Sprint. Get it in Pink, Blue or Black!

See Sprint Samsung Replenish for more.

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Most of us are upgrading from regular cell phones to smart phones with internet, gps, and digital camera capability. Don’t just trash your old cell phone as it ends up in a landfill harming the environment.

Sprint is offering a sweepstakes entry with your old cell phone turn in. You can win a stylish Vespa LX 50 or an eco friendly smart phone = the Samsung Replenish.

The Samsung Replenish is made of recycled materials and is solar charged. In includes the open source Android operating system

See Sprint Green on the Go.

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The solar bikini will charge your gadgets while sunning at the beach! And yes it is waterproof. You do have to dry it before using it with USB plugs. Charge your Ipod, Ipad, digital camera, or cell phone while getting some tan lines

A guys version is coming soon that will feature more surface are for the solar film. Guys do tend to have more gadgets.

No word on when this product is to hit the market. Via AndrewsJs.com

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Check this new invention. Its called the green cigarette. It is safe smoking as there are no tar or carcinogens. No smoke or ash to bother your friends with!

They produce no pollution as the “smoke” is simply water vapor. There are no cigarette buts to discard. Did you know 4.5 million cigarette butts are discarded every year! That is a lot of waste. They create an ugly looking environment to say the least. They accounted of 1 in 5 items in the International Coastal Cleanup Project.

With these electronic cigarettes you can smoke where normal cigarettes are prohibited. As they make no odor. There is no fire hazard and you can smoke at work, in cars, in airplanes and of course bars! Here in my state of Virginia smoking has been banned indoors so I could use this cigarette if I wanted to.

People who have tried to quit smoking have tried the gum, the patch, the pills, etc. The problem with these methods are that they don’t satisfy that desire to smoke socially. With the ecig it is a habit! Electronics cigarettes allow you to keep “smoking” while you quit with the habit. The cartridges come in different nicotine levels, so you can slowly reduce your intake. The cartridges come in different nicotine levels, so you can slowly reduce your intake. You can break your addiction while continuing your addiction.

The e-cigs come with different cartridges with different levels of nicotine. Electronic cigarettes will save you money in the long run. Each replaceable cartridge is the equivalent of 10-15 tobacco cigarettes. Refill cartridges can be purchased in quantities of 50. If you smoke a pack a day at an average cost of $5.00 a pack, then with the electric, the same amount of cigarettes can save you over $1,200.00 a year!

Electronic cigarettes come in high, medium, low, and no nicotine levels. They are also available in various flavors, such as traditional tobacco, menthol, marlboro, cherry, chocolate, etc.

Check the video and GreenCigarettes.com

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I can see it a little addicting twirling this phone around your finger. There is a model that spins around your finger pictured here. Another model is of the crank variety.

Well now you will have no excuse to have a dead cell phone battery. I wonder how quickly it charges?

Designed by Mikhail Stawsky. Found at YankoDesign.

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