If you want to buy green gifts for your friends and family this holiday season, free coupons offering discounts can make them a lot more affordable.

Working with the free coupons site ChameleonJohn.com, as well as other companies we know, we’ve identified 9 companies that offer discounts on energy-saving, water-saving, non-toxic and organic products, plus low- or no-cost shipping.

There are many more retailers and manufacturers that offer discounts and free coupons. This list will give you an idea of the options you have for using discounts to reduce the cost of some green goods.

I’m a big advocate of shifting your spending to motivate manufacturers to go green. Discounts offer one way to get started.

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What You Need to Know Before You Sign Up for Free Coupons…

→ You will have to sign up for each company’s free e-newsletter in order to gain access to their discounts, but you can unsubscribe at any time.

→ Once you sign up, when you click on the discount, a code will come up that you will then paste into your shopping cart at the time of check out.

→ One advantage of a coupon aggregator like ChameleonJohn is that you can see the variety of coupons available on that day from many retailers.

→ If your store is not represented by ChameleonJohn, check the store’s own website directly.

→ Don’t miss the coupons delivered with your local newspaper.

Most stores offer coupons at one time or another. Sometimes they’re product specific, but often, they allow you to take a percentage off your total sale, or will give you $10 off when you spend $25, or some other arrangement.

  The Big Green Purse Shopping Principles can help you figure out what’s green, and what’s being “greenwashed.”  You can find them here.

[box] How to Find Eco-Friendly Products So You Can Use Free Coupons

√ Go to the website of the retailer or product manufacturer.

√ Find the search bar.

√ Type in whatever item you’re looking for, and hit enter. It will take you to the correct product page, if one exists.

√ If you decide to make a purchase, paste in the discount code you got from ChameleonJohn.com or the retailer’s own sites.

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9 Retailers That Offer Free Coupons
You Can Use to Buy Green Gifts and Other Goods

Overstock.com – Overstock offers a wide variety of coupons and discount shipping options, but there’s no telling what they have in their overstock inventory at any given time. Since they sell home goods and clothing, search for items like organic clothing or recycled furniture. I typed in “recycled cotton” and up popped this rug made of cotton recycled from the textile industry. Don’t buy just what they have, since you have many other retailer options to choose from. Stick to your search criteria.

Kohl’s – Like Overstock, Kohl’s sells housewares, bedding, clothing, and other household goods. However, unlike Overstock, they’re more likely to have a consistent supply of goods. I recently searched for “organic cotton sheets” at Kohl’s and found a good variety of options, plus organic cotton towels and mattress covers.

Gardener’s Supply Company – Compost bins, water irrigation systems, seeds, compost, garden ornaments, organic fertilizer – you name it, if it’s for the garden, Gardener’s Supply probably has it.

Take advantage of their holiday coupons to get ready for spring planting and gardening season.

Indigo Wild – If you’re looking for plant-based organic soaps and cleaning products, the Zum brand from Indigo Wild is a great place to start.

Nest -Nest is an amazing product that keeps your family safe from fire and carbon monoxide leaks. Nest can also help you lower your energy bill by allowing you to keep an eye on maintaining your usage when you are away from home. With the coupon offered on ChameleonJohn, you can save 50% on the Nest learning thermostat including free shipping on orders above $40.

Method – If you’ve wanted to try Method products and see what all the fuss is about, use a coupon. Non-toxic hand soap, laundry detergent, dishwasher detergent and other cleaning products come in stylish containers you won’t mind having out on your countertop.

BabyEarth – When you visit this site, click on the EarthFriendly icon. Then look for products like glass baby bottles, silicon forks and spoons, cloth diapers, and organic baby clothes. Be aware that other products listed on their “eco friendly” site don’t really offer any environmental or health benefits per se, so be discriminating when you shop.

Rubbermaid – Though this company is known for its plastic containers, its line of glass containers with leak-proof lids makes it a healthy and eco-friendly way to store food. Container sizes range from one cup to 11.5 cups. Remember, skip the plastic bottles and jars, even if they say BPA-free, and stick with glass.

Home Depot – From lightbulbs and lighting fixtures to home insulation and no VOC paint, Home Depot sells it all. Use their coupons to try LED lights that you thought were too expensive, or premium green cleaning products that are free of synthetic fragrances.

As you might imagine, most retailers these days sell at least some green goods. They almost all make coupons available, especially during the holidays.

If you’ve wanted to try the eco version of a product, or you want to give a green gift, you should be able to find a coupon or discount to help make the purchase affordable.

Sponsorship Disclosure: We worked with ChameleonJohn.com to bring you this information. All editorial opinion is our own. Sponsorships help us provide you with tips and expertise at no cost to you. Thank you.

The post These 9 Companies Offer Free Coupons for Your Green Holiday Shopping appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Yet that’s exactly what Bonnie C., a 26-year old resident of Washington, D.C., has done. Bonnie is single, lives in an apartment, and works for the U.S. Government. Here’s her story:

“I read a blog post of yours last year encouraging readers to redirect $1000 in spending to green purchases.  This really struck me, and I decided to try it.  I hit $1000 in December when I installed my own programmable thermostat.  Here’s how I did it:

BONNIE’S BIG GREEN SHIFTS

Used furniture (sofa, dining table, patio table, TV, TV cabinet): $340, but the TV and cabinet were free!

 Used Bike: $250

Garden Plot, tools, soil: $200

Organic Food: $75

Glass food containers: $40

Organic Body Products: $5 (but I’ve only run out of toothpaste, so I expect this number to grow)

No VOC Paint: $40

CFL Lightbulbs: $20

Green Cleaning Products: $25

Programmable Thermostat: $34

Total: $1029

Even though I live in an apartment, I installed the thermostat and painted – I’ll change them back when I move out.

I think it’s also interesting to note that most of these purchases saved me money.  I’m 26, and I don’t have a large budget to reallocate, but by buying used items, I must have saved hundreds.  The lightbulbs and thermostat will save me money, AND I don’t have to get out of bed in a cold house!  I also bought a fuel-efficient Honda Fit that gets about 34 mpg on average for my typical commute, but 37-38 on long road trips.

This year I’m planning to shift more spending towards food and beauty products.  I’m also trying to get a roommate, which will not only cut down on expenses, but house 2 people using about the same energy as 1.

Most of these were really easy changes, but I’m still getting over sticker shock of organic food and beauty products.

Changing out the thermostat was surprisingly easy.  Yes, there were tons of poorly labeled wires, but we followed the directions carefully and it only took about 30 minutes.

Next I’m looking for a roommate!  I’m also going to try to get into composting.  And I’ll keep migrating to better food and beauty products.”

Bonnie’s also going to keep working on her boyfriend, who was helpful if skeptical. “He was reluctant at first,” she says, “but had a positive view after we finished those projects (installing the thermostat and setting up the garden plot).”  I’m still trying to get him into better toiletries and food, but he was a quick sell on green cleaning products!”

Thanks for blogging and motivating me!”
Bonnie

As Bonnie knows, every dollar you shift makes a difference. The way you spend your money is your first line of defense against products that contain toxic ingredients or waste energy. Just as importantly, buying “green” encourages companies to reduce pollution and use water and other natural resources with greater care. Plus, choosing more environmental options often saves you money immediately. For all these reasons, the Big Green Purse One in a Million campaign inspires people to set a goal of shifting at least $1,000 of money they’d spend anyway on the most environmentally-friendly products available.

Thousands of people have already committed to shifting their spending. Why don’t you? You can sign up here.

For more inspiring stories like Bonnie’s, start here.

The post Washington, D.C. Woman Shifts $1,029 of Her Household Budget to Go Green appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Businesses have long appreciated how much they have to gain by marketing their goods as “natural.” It’s why they’ve plastered the word all over products that, ironically, couldn’t be farther from their natural state…like “natural” cheese puffs, crayola-colored gummy worms, ice cream that contains partially hydrogenated soybean oil and cocoa processed with alkali, and cleansers, soaps, toothpaste, and make-up that contain lye or lead.

Products like these slide by as “natural” because no law prevents any manufacturer or retailer from claiming they are (unlike the label “organic,” which is strictly defined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and whose use is policed by both the federal government and consumer groups.) That’s why I and many other consumer advocates encourage shoppers to ignore words like natural, earth-friendly, or something else equally appealing but ambiguous. There’s no way to know what they really mean.

The Natural Products Association wants to clarify the debate. The group, which represents more than 10,000 retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors of natural foods, dietary supplements, and health/beauty aids has issued a Natural Products Association Standard and Certification for Home Care Products like household cleaners, laundry detergents, and concentrated and ready to use hard-surface cleaners (they’ve previously issued a similar standard for personal care products). Only products certified under the standard can bear the NPA natural home care seal, which is supposed to signal to consumers that the product can be trusted.

Can it? Or is the standard just a clever attempt by companies better known for harsh and toxic ingredients to greenwash their products and cash in on the “natural” craze?

Dr. Cara Welch, NPA’s Program Coordinator for Science and Regulatory Affairs, said the standard was borne out of “genuine concern by traditional natural-based businesses that the word “natural” had lost its meaning.” As more and more mainstream companies have begun using “natural” to describe their products, Welch said NPA “wanted to challenge every company to keep all ingredients as close to nature as possible.” In other words, NPA wanted to set a meaningful bar that was higher than what many companies might set for themselves while helping consumers make the right choice when they shop.

It’s a step in the right direction.

• Products certified by the NPA can can contain no parabens, phthalates, petrochemical ingredients or formaldehyde.
• They must also be free of synthetic fragrances and colorances (though they may still contain anti-bacterials like triclosan which have been linked to antibiotic resistance in people and deformities in frogs and other wildlife.)
• They may not contain more than 5% synthetic ingredients and those ingredients may not be toxic to human health according to information checked against data bases maintained by the National Institutes of Health and Environmental Working Group, among others.
• They may not be processed using harsh ingredients and may not generate harsh by-products (though the word “harsh” is somewhat ambiguous).

But is it enough? No.

Why not?

• The standard is not mandatory. Only companies who want to get certified will. There’s still nothing to prevent those that don’t from continuing to use — and abuse — the word “natural.”
• The standard does not reflect the product’s entire life cycle,  which includes the environmental and human health impacts of manufacturing, energy use, waste, and disposal in addition to ingredients. As Mary Hunt has frequently pointed out, standards that focus on single attributes create a false sense of well-being about the entire product. But given how much we now know about resource depletion, water scarcity, climate change and packaging impact, how genuine is it to promote a standard that only focuses on ingredients?
• The standard has been developed by those who have the most to gain from it financially – the manufacturers and retailers of “natural” consumer products. There was little or no input from independent third parties, whether consumers or scientists not paid by NPA or its members.  Is this a case of the fox guarding the henhouse? Lack of consumer representation is a growing concern as more and more industry standards abound; businesses should take a look at the opinions posted by the members of the Green Moms Carnival if they have any doubts that they ignore consumer input at their own peril.
• It’s almost impossible to understand the ingredients that NPA considers natural or a non-toxic, permissible synthetic. An orange, consumers get. The tocopherol that’s a derivative of Vitamin E? What the heck is that? If NPA is going to list ingredients, it should at least explain what they actually are.

Dr. Welch said that the standard is a work in progress and will get stronger over time. But why wait to adopt several changes that would immediately address consumers’ concerns?

• Invite consumers and independent scientists to participate in setting the standard, not just the retailers and manufacturers who have so much to gain financially from legitimizing their use of the word natural.
• Make it mandatory. Of course, this would mean that the federal government or enough state governments would have to step in to legally define what natural means. But until they do, marketers will continue to greenwash their products using the word natural, whether they’re NPA-certified or not.
• Make it popular. Until NPA issued this standard for natural home care products, I had no idea the association had previously issued a standard for personal care products. NPA and its certified partners need to use public media and social networks to make sure consumers know what to look for when they shop.
• Get rid of antibacterials. Dr. Welch said that antibacterials continue to be allowed due to “health and safety issues” raised by manufacturers. Consumers and public health officials would argue it is healthier and safer to reduce the public’s exposure to the antibacterials permitted in NPA’s “natural” products.
• Expand the standard so that it includes the life cycle of the entire product. NPA should take its cues from the Sustainability Consortium and expand its standard beyond ingredients. Consumers want and deserve a “complete package” – one that is safe from the inside out. NPA — and any company or industry that’s thinking about setting its own standard — should aspire to that goal.

The post What Does “Natural” Mean? appeared first on Big Green Purse.

What makes these materials more environmentally friendly?

Natural fibers breathe more easily than synthetic fabrics, wicking away moisture if you sweat, and creating a layer of insulation when you generate your own body heat. Plus, organic and natural comforters and quilts do not contain ‘finishing’ chemicals like formaldehyde, a toxin that can irritate the skin, nose, eyes, and respiratory system (babies are especially sensitive). Plus, more environmentally-friendly covers will usually be colored with plant-based or low-impact dyes.

Some options:

Coyuchi environmental bedding is Fair Trade and made from 100 percent organic cotton, minus any solvents or resins.

Loop Organic provides a variety of hypoallergenic blankets and bedding that are also made with high quality organic cotton fibers free of toxic chemicals.

Sleep & Beyond makes classic organic comforters hand-filled with a USDA and WOOLMARK certified organic merino wool fiber called WoolGanique. The natural fiber allows the comforter to regulate and maintain stable body temperatures while keeping moisture away from your skin.

Dreamsacks/Bamboo Dreams blankets and bedding woven from organic bamboo fibers also adjust to your body temperature so they can be used year-round.

I’ve also found organic cotton and bamboo sheets at various J.C. Penney’s and Target stores. If you don’t see them while you’re shopping, ask the store manager to stock up.

Note: Bedding made from organic fibers is more expensive. You can afford it by saving money on energy when you turn down your thermostat.  According to the Midwest Alliance, for every degree you lower your heat in the 60-degree to 70-degree range, you’ll save up to 5 percent on heating costs!

Check out more home energy-saving tips and resources here.

The post Want to save energy? Cuddle up under eco-friendly bedding & blankets. appeared first on Big Green Purse.