At Big Green Purse, we advocate shifting your spending to the greenest products and services available. That also means buying from companies that make a difference when it comes to protecting our health and the health of the planet.

As part of our Earth Day service, we are partnering with sustainable food innovator Hampton Creek Foods to shine a spotlight on 5 eco-friendly companies you may not know about.

LOLIWARE

This company was formed in response to the huge amount of waste generated by food and beverage packaging. The zero-waste idea is that you can actually eat the party cups the company makes rather than throw them away.

The cups are made of plant-based ingredients, including seaweed, organic sweeteners, and flavors and colors derived from fruits and vegetables.

Although an edible cup may seem too perishable to be useful, LOLIWARE claims each container can hold a beverage for 24 hours without disintegrating. The product, which you can compost if you don’t want to eat, comes in several different flavors, including tart cherry (pictured above), citrus, matcha green tea, and vanilla bean, as well as an unflavored option.

I haven’t tried LOLIWARE yet myself, but have requested samples for review on Big Green Purse. I’ll let you know how I like it.

Salty Girl Seafood

Do you wonder which fish you can eat without totally depleting the species in the wild?

Salty Girl Seafood wants to help you make sustainable choices. The California-based company sells fish that are wild caught in environmentally responsible ways and “traceable,” which means that they can tell you both where the fish came from and how it was caught.

Salty Girl also partners with FishWise.org, an organization that promotes sustainable business practices that will help ocean ecosystems recover.  All the seafood it sells traceable, sometimes down to the vessel that harvested it, by means of a high-tech tracking code attached to each package.

The company sells both frozen and smoked seafood, in packages like “pacific rockfish with garlic fresh veggies” and “black cod with sweet & smoky teriyaki.”

Sungevity

Sungevity is a solar electricity company that leases, installs, and maintains solar panels on the roofs of homes and businesses.

The idea behind leasing solar panels is simple: many people who would love to make the switch to a sun-powered home or office lack the funds needed to purchase and install the equipment in the first place.

With Sungevity’s lease option, building owners can switch to solar and do the earth some good without investing a lot of money at the beginning. The fact that Sungevity maintains its leased equipment makes the process more feasible for many homeowners.

In addition to conserving the earth’s resources by promoting solar energy for daily electricity needs, Sungevity collaborates with many eco-conscious nonprofit organizations. These partnerships help to spread the word about the benefits of solar power, and they help raise funds for the nonprofits involved. Sungevity also works with Powered by Light, a charitable organization that helps off-grid schools in Zambia and other places make use of clean, sustainable sources of energy.

Better World Books

This online bookstore is doing its part to reuse and recycle on a global scale.

In addition to its drive for green business practices, Better World Books is on a social mission to increase literacy worldwide.

The company rescues books that would otherwise be headed for a landfill and either sells them online or donates them through its many partner programs. For every book purchased through its online store, Better World Books donates a book to a literacy-focused nonprofit, such as Books for Africa.

Hampton Creek Foods

Hampton Creek Foods has been breaking ground in the sustainable food market.

What is Hampton Creek It is not a geographical location or a farm stand, as the name might imply. It is a high-tech food company, pioneering research in plant-based alternatives to traditionally animal-based foods.

One of Hampton Creek’s core ideas is that, if the company creates a great-tasting, affordable product, making the switch to sustainable, healthy foods will be the natural choice for the everyday consumer.

Hampton Creek’s Just Mayo product, made without eggs, is one of its most popular products for these reasons. The company also produces various salad dressings, cookies and even cookie dough that’s safe to eat because it doesn’t contain eggs.

Happy Earth Day!

Creating a more sustainable world happens one step at a time, one eco-conscious decision at a time.

The next time you are in need of a specific product or service, come back to biggreenpurse.com, where you can learn more about all kinds of companies that are making green choices as well as giving back to their communities.

And remember, use your purse and pocketbook to make a difference. When you switch your spending to the best products and services available, you protect yourself, your loved ones and the planet – and you help motivate companies to do the right thing!

The post 5 Eco-Friendly Companies You Should Know About appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Maybe you already eat organic produce. You’ve cut down on meat. You grow your own lettuce. That’s  great! But what else can we do, especially when it comes to the food we buy and eat?

Danielle Nierenberg of The Food Tank suggests 13 important ways we can reduce the environmental impact of growing, processing, marketing, and disposing of our food. Take a look at the list. I hope you’ll add your own recommendations!

1) Eat more colors.
The colors of fruits and vegetables are signs of nutritional content. The American Cancer Society reports that richly colored veggies like tomatoes can help prevent cancer and heart disease. Eggs that have brightly orange-colored yolks are also high in cancer-fighting carotenoids, and are more likely to be produced by healthier chickens.

2) Buy food with less packaging.
Discarded packaging makes up around one-third of all waste in industrialized countries,  impacting the climate, and our air and water quality. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s analysis of different packaging for tomatoes found that polyethylene terephthalate (PET) clamshell packaging increases tomatoes’ associated carbon emissions by 10 percent. What’s better? Choose foods you can buy in bulk, and bring your own bags – even to the produce aisle.

3) Choose seasonal produce.
Many farmers markets, including the New York City Greenmarkets, offer guides about which products are in season. Locally sourced, seasonal products can also be found at major grocery stores. Or sign up for a weekly CSA, which provides a mix of fresh, seasonal produce throughout the year. Other programs, such as Siren Fish Co.’s SeaSA in San Francisco, offer seasonal meats and seafood.

4) Get in touch with agriculture.
A great way to skip the crowds, save money, and get both children and adults in touch with agriculture is to book a farm-stay through World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF). WWOOF runs networks in most countries around the world, offering individuals and families the opportunity to directly support small-scale family farmers. Participants spend a few days or weeks living with a host family and helping with tasks around the farm in exchange for free food and lodging.

5) Get creative in the kitchen.
Shopping at farmers markets, which often have a wide selection of less-ordinary produce such as celeriac, sunchokes, or kohlrabi, can prevent “food ruts” by helping consumers try new foods. Here are a few cookbooks I love.

6) Invest in perennial crops.
Perennial plants—which grow back every year—tend to hold water in soil more effectively than annuals and help prevent erosion. Their extensive roots also allow them to better access nutrients and water, reducing the need for artificial fertilizer. Or grow your own year-round in a hoop house. Here’s how.

7) Reclaim abandoned spaces.

As populations continue to expand, especially in cities, reclaiming unused land and buildings for food production can help meet growing demand. One new model is The Plant, a former meatpacking plant in Chicago that has been converted into an indoor vertical farm. The Plant currently runs an aquaponics farm, growing plants without soil using waste from its man-made tilapia pools. It also offers shared kitchen space for small businesses, and other services.

8) Build local and global food communities.
A great way to get involved in food and agriculture issues is with Slow Food International, an organization with more than 1,300 groups around the world called convivia. These groups support healthy, sustainable diets and traditional food cultures. Or join forces with  Meatless Monday and pick a day a week to eat less meat.

9) DIY.
Many Do-It-Yourself (DIY) food projects are easy and fun. Turning old t-shirts into produce bags to save plastic, starting seeds in eggshells, which can then be crushed for transplanting into the soil, and DIY foods such as homemade oat or almond milk and can all add a creative twist to healthy eating and sustainable agriculture.

10) Cook in batches and freeze for later.
Planning meals in advance can help reduce stress around cooking. It also helps reduce food waste, which is a big problem in industrialized countries. Preparing large amounts of food at once saves energy during cooking, while freezing helps prevent nutrient loss in fruits and vegetables. (Pictured left is what it looked like in my kitchen when I made a batch of homemade organic tomato sauce.) Tools such as the Love Food Hate Waste menu planner shopping list can help organize grocery trips.  

11) Brighten your outlook.
At the recent Warwick Economics Summit in February, Warwick University Economics Professor Dr. Andrew Oswald presented his research on health and happiness, focusing on the link between happiness and consumption of fruits and vegetables. His team of researchers found that eating more fruits and vegetables directly improves a person’s mental well-being, separate from other variables such as income level and how much meat a person ate. This research is supported by a similar study from the Harvard School of Public Health, which found a link between patients’ blood-level of carotenoids, compounds commonly found in colorful fruits and vegetables, and their feelings of optimism.

12) Rotate crops.
Crop rotation is an important way to preserve soil nutrients, prevent erosion, and protect against crop diseases and pests. In the central Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, agronomists at Agro Norte have developed new varieties of rice and dry beans that are well suited to the region’s tropical climate. By incorporating rice and beans into their yearly harvests, local soybean farmers can reduce the spread of soybean rust and nematodes, two of the biggest threats to their crops. The system also improves soil quality and provides jobs at times when soy and corn are not harvested.

13) Have fun around the table.
Talking and laughing while sharing food is a uniquely human experience.  The Barilla Center for Food & Nutrition considers convivial food culture one of the most critical aspects of food and agriculture, alongside health, hunger alleviation, and sustainable development. Researchers from Cornell University and the University of Minnesota agree, reporting that the noted benefits of family dinners on children’s mental health and achievement levels depend on engagement with their parents at these meals.

About Food Tank
Food Tank: The Food Think Tank (www.FoodTank.org), founded by Danielle Nierenberg and Ellen Gustafson, is a think tank focused on feeding the world better. The non-profit organization researches and highlights environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable ways to alleviate hunger, obesity and poverty, and create networks of people, organizations, and content to push for food system change.

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