Top 25 Eco-Friendly Moms 2 of 9

What inspired you to start blogging?

I had been working in the field of green & urban for years as a writer, planner, and project manager. When I got pregnant I started doing a lot of research on what it meant to really green parenting. I started asking the same questions planners and managers ask about living: how do we increase our impact, what is healthy? what is desirable? I spent hours and hours researching sometimes basic questions: cloth vs disposable diapers, organic vs local, DIY vs Aveda. As I was a writer, I started publishing articles about some of my findings. This led to teaching classes like Green Parenting 101 and UNToxify the Nursery and in early 2007 I started publishing my my writings on my own website as well.

What are 3 things you can teach other moms to make their lives more eco-friendly?

1. Learn to read labels! By knowing just 12 chemicals commonly found in your beauty care products, you can drastically reduce your exposure to known carcinogens, neurotoxins, and hormone mimickers.
2. Know the dirty dozen most contaminated fruits and vegetables and the 15 cleaner options AND the other foods most important to buy organic. The Green Mama can also teach you tips for eating organic on a budget.
3. Did you know that just one baby crib can pollute the entire house so much that it can markedly increase your child's risk of asthma and even cancer? There are numerous ways to save money AND green your kid's rooms.

Where is your favorite place to shop for eco-friendly products?

At the second-hand store. In my friends' closets. At the farmer's market.

What are your 3 favorite posts?

1. Earth Day 2011: Top 11 Worst Green Faux Pas
2. What You Can Really Do to Green Your Child's Classroom
3. Organic Skincare and the Real Organic Brands

What inspired you to start blogging?

I started writing my latest book, Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World. It's a great handbook to keep around and refer to when you want to understand why action is important or what options you have. The blog has become invaluable for offering day-to-day tips, suggestions, and product reviews. Both are intended to reduce the confusion about what it means to "go green" and inspire moms to make changes big and small that will keep their families safe and the world cleaner and greener.

What are 3 things you can teach other moms to make their lives more eco-friendly?

1. Our motto at Big Green Purse is, "It's not how much money you spend, it's how you spend it." Shifting to greener products and services is one of the fastest, most effective ways to protect ourselves and our families from questionnable ingredients.
2. The first green rule of thumb is "Simplify." Even "green" consumerism has its impacts. Don't really need it? Don't buy it! Need it, but not necessarily new? Swap or trade, or get it from freecycle.org or ebay.
3. The Big Green Purse Shopping Principles:
4. 1) Buy less. 2) Read the label. 
3) Support sustainable standards.
 4) Look for third-party verification.
 5) Choose fewer ingredients. 
6) Pick less packaging.
 7) Buy local.

Where is your favorite place to shop for eco-friendly products?

I shop locally as much as possible: my local farmers market and food coop, the local hardware store, even the local video store rather than NetFlix. I also "shop" via our neighborhood list-serv. You'd be amazed at the deals I get by taking my neighbors' stuff off their hands (and vice versa).

What are your three favorite posts?

1. Little Girls are Worrying About Bras When They Should Still be Playing with Play Dough
   
2. What's in YOUR body, Mom?
3. Here's How You Can Afford to Spend 30% More on Organic Food

What inspired you to start blogging?

As a result of writing our book, Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family and starting the non-profit, Green Halloween, we realized how hungry moms were for information about the practical side of creating celebrations that are healthier for their families and the planet.
We realized that a blog would provide the perfect vehicle to inspire moms with fun, creative, quick, affordable and meaningful ideas whether they were new to green or confirmed environmentalists. We also knew that having a blog would enable a multi-way conversation, allow others to contribute their ideas, support companies whose products we believed in, and collaborate with other women, many of whom are on this list as well!

What are 3 things you can teach other moms to make their lives more eco-friendly?

1. Reduce the amount of food you buy by 25%. Since Americans toss up to 40% of what they buy, you'll save money and the planet.
2. Whatever changes you make, get your family involved rather than attempting to force them into it. Making change a fun, family activity guarantees you'll have an easier time of if than if you impose your "new green rule." For instance, if you're trying to buy items with less packaging, weigh all the packaging everyone brings home for one week. The next week, let them know if the family halves it, you'll make their favorite dessert!
3. Pledge to stop buying bottled water. Except in extreme circumstances, doing so is unnecessary, expensive and even if you recycle the plastic bottles, you're still not doing the Earth any favors.

Where is your favorite place to shop for eco-friendly products?

Locally, at PCC Natural Market. Online, we love Etsy because of many of the handmade items also are eco-friendly. But it's impossible to name one favorite because there are so many great online companies.

What are your three favorite posts?

1. Oprah's Favorite Things—just greener
   
2. Loving both your mothers this Mother's Day
3. Yes you can craft!