1. Fabric – ditch the rubber or plastic and instead choose a sustainable material such as a cloth case made of organic cotton, hemp, straw, bamboo, jute or canvas. These fabrics are all durable, light, flexible and when designed properly can look just as good (if not better) than the non eco friendly options available. Begin your search on Google for an eco friendly iphone 4 case and you might be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

2. Handmade – aside from the fabric or material a case is made of, another way to be more environmentally friendly is via the method of production. Handmade is usually always more lighter on the planet than heavy commercial machinery and output. Visit sites like Esty.com that specialize in handmade goods, including cases and covers for the iPhone 4.

3. Don’t Use Leather – securing cow hide is one of the worst practices on Earth, literally. With so many other wonderful, durable and high quality materials out there, it’s an absolute shame how some can only fathom leather as THE material of choice when it comes to certain fashion goods. Don’t get hung up on “old school” traditions, think outside the box and give other materials a try. Leather is wasteful in any and every way imaginable, let’s abolish this fabric once and for all.

4. Buy Local – is there a local cell phone shop in your town or even neighborhood? If so, give them a visit and see what they have on offer, as purchasing your cell phone accessory locally will save on transport and shipping emissions. Give them a try and score

5. Made in the USA – if you’re preferred iPhone 4 case or cover is made in China or other far off land, then it could very well not be eco friendly. Another point? The facility where the case is made could be a major manufacturing plant, it could use workers who are not paid a fair wage, and or the materials used could be heavy on the planet. If the accessory is made in the USA this at the very least means it didn’t travel a gazillion miles to get to you.

Keep in mind the five tips mentioned above and you’ll be on your way to a more eco friendly way of sustaining and protecting your beloved iPhone 4.

Eco-Friendlier Eating

When you’re a college student, chances are you don’t like washing dishes. However, you can start your eco-friendly lifestyle by using reusable plates, cups and silverware. Remember that disposable plates, cups and silverware will end up in the landfill and you just end up throwing away money to purchase more of these. Find kitchenware products that you can reuse.

You’re bound to get hungry during the day so pack yourself a lunch that can be free of garbage. Whatever you do, forgo the plastic bags. Instead, use reusable containers and make organic cotton bags your choice for lunch bags.

If you’re in a fraternity or sorority, make a pledge and campaign for a eco-friendly house. Make suggestions to the school that can help the Greek houses run more efficiently and be cost-effective when it comes to heating, electricity and water.

When You Live On Your Own

When you decide to move away from the residence halls, you’re going to be responsible for many bills including the electric bill. However, if you live green, you can make a strong impact on that bill.

You’re liable not to have many energy efficient appliances; ones that come installed with energy saver settings. Thus, you’ll need to be a bit thrifty. If you have a dishwasher, you’ll need to run it when it’s entirely full. Only wash clothes when you have a full load.

Always ensure that the door to the refrigerator is shut and using energy saving settings.

Be sure you find leakages of heat, air and moisture around your windows and doors; seal it if you find anything.

When you go grocery shopping, take along with you the reusable grocery bags; this is, by far, the easiest way to live eco-friendly.

Avoid using any kind of aerosol product. If you want your home to smell nice, consider fresh cut flowers or lavender.

Use Your Car Sparingly

When you live in the college campus, you really have no reason to drive from class to class. You may not realize it but for every gallon of gas you use, you sent out 25.3 pounds of carbon emissions, which is, along with nitrogen oxide and hydrocarbons, causing major damage to the ozone layer.

If you’re looking to keep pollution down, the safest bet is to ride your bike or walk. Don’t forget that you’re not only helping the environment but you’re helping yourself by getting exercise. When you’re walking home, consider using that reusable bag from lunch to pick up one or more piece of garbage. Don’t fret about the germs, as the majority of these bags can be cleaned.

The majority of universities are offering students a public bus service so that they can get to class and back home again; some universities are using bio-diesel fuel or pollution-free hydrogen power.

Look around at bulletin boards, local coffee shops, dorms, campus buildings and any other place that college-aged kids hang out to find advertisements for carpool rides. If traveling for a long distance, use buses or trains since they can offer students advantage cards and frequent traveler discount cards.

There’s no reason to spend money when trying to live eco-friendly. A few lifestyle changes can go a long way when it comes to saving the environment. Bear in mind that everything you do now and in the future will have an effect on the Earth, positively and negatively.

It is worth noting that tying the gifts in somehow with what you do will help your customers remember you and your brand. Following are five product types you might like to consider for your top clients.  Although they may not all be ‘eco friendly’ there is a better chance that they will remain in your customers’ possession than a lot of the ‘eco friendly’ gifts on the market.

Organic Clothing:  The promotional gift industry follows trends.  Many of the products that are available for promoting your business were popular on the high street first.  There is a lot of certified organic clothing on the market for promotion.  These garments look trendy which means your customers are much more likely to wear them.  Look around and you will find everything for attractive pullovers to top quality organic cotton jackets.

Promotional Tools:  OK, it will be difficult to find an eco friendly tool but tools are normally kept and used for a long time.  By tools, I mean anything from a high quality screwdriver set to a wine set:  products that are a means to an end.  When purchasing good quality tools, think to yourself, will my customer be using this next year or is it too gimmicky?  Remember, ‘kept’ is good, landfill is bad!

Alternative Energy Products:  These are products that are charged by water, sunlight or a crank of some sort.  Alternative energy products are the in thing right now.  People love to show off a clock that runs on water or an MP4 player that is solar powered.  There are hundreds of such gifts available so have fun finding the best ones. Order early as the most popular are likely to sell out early.

Eco Desktop Products:  Whatever your budget, you should be able to find an eco friendly desk tidy or pen pot.  Again, just because a product is being sold as eco friendly does not mean it won’t find its way to your customer’s bin.  Look for useful products you know they will like and keep.

Promotional Bags:  Jute shopper bags are the bag of the moment.  They are inexpensive and a good eco friendly way of carrying the Christmas groceries.  But did you know there are also a lot of other eco friendly bags on the market that might be more appropriate depending on the business you are in?  There are good quality conference bags, laptop bags, suitcases etc that are manufactured in biodegradable and also organic materials.  Give your customers a quality bag and they will use it regularly.

Bamboo

Bamboo fabric has a good reputation from the benefit to both human and earth in the clothing industry. Bamboo fabric has a soft touch and a stronger fabric. Due the fabric’s structure, the fabric is very breathable to stay cool in the summer and warmer in the winter. Also, it can absorb 3 – 4 times more water than the traditional cotton fabric without sticking to your skin. It is very good for sports wear or casual wear. At the same time, the benefits of bamboo are abundant to the earth. It grows very fast to be ready for harvesting in four years. It does not require replanting because of the robust reproduction ability from its root networking. Moreover, bamboo naturally grows with no irritation, poisonous pesticides, and fertilizers.
However, the above pros are only part of the bamboo fabric life. The whole fabric process includes material planting and the process to make the plant into a fabric. Two ways are to process bamboo to make it into a fabric: mechanical or chemical. The mechanical way is by crushing the plant and then enzyme-breaking the fibre into a mushy mass so that the fibers can be mechanically combed out and spun into a yarn. This way is really eco-friendly process. Very little bamboo fabric is processed with this way because of intensive labor and higher cost. Most of bamboo fabric are made with the chemically manufacture process. The mushy mass to comb out the fibers is made through an intensive chemical cooking process. The chemical soaking and multiple bleaching processes gives some feel how green the bamboo fabric is.

Organic Cotton

In wiki, organic cotton is defined as cotton that is grown without pesticides from plants which are not genetically modified. The biological controls are implemented as an alternative to pesticides. The reduced chemical is also benefit for the air and water. Shoppers do not expose their skin to the chemical. Also, the eco-friendly cotton has a stronger, more durable fabric from the extra-long fibres.
The planting of organic cotton is at a developing stage and even experimental process. Also there is no standard third-party monitoring to guarantee the planting process.

Silk

Silk is well-known with lots of excellent features for a long time. It is a natural protein fiber so it is good for the person who has allergic skin. The production process is eco-friendly. Silk is the first choice in the fashion world for its smoothness and draping well feature.
The high price and special care is the obstacle for its popularity. Even with new technology of silk setting for washing machine, there is no way to try the silk in your dryer.

Buy or not, which one to buy – that is your own choice. At least, you know it before you buy.

House-Wear, a brand founded by Laura Sansone has created eco-friendly paper clothing instead of the usual organic cotton. These lightweight clothing are made up of flame-proof washable, breathable, recyclable paper called Tyvek.

Here is an example:

http://www.inhabitat.com/wp-content/uploads/yukahousewaresdress.jpg

Firstly, do you think it is a fresh and interesting idea?
Secondly, would you purchase such paper clothing to help save the environment?

Thanks!

Eco-friendly Rose : Give her roses which are grown without any harmful pesticides. Because an attempt to smell your hidden love inside the ordinary rose may make her feel dizzy.

So make her feel your love in a green way and gift her an organic rose. Buy a Valentine rose with VeriFlora Certification. This certification ensures that it was grown organically.

Eco-friendly Heart-shaped Candles : Go for eco-friendly candles for the candlelight dinner. Paraffin candles made of petroleum residues, are very hazardous for the environment. Hence, switching over to eco-friendly candles is a better idea.

The conventional candles add more to an already polluted environment. Smokeless and biodegradable organic candles are so much useful. She can light some of those on this Valentine Day romantic dinner. Try some organic candles available in heart shapes. Also you can have candles made of veg-based wax, soy wax or beeswax.

Eco-friendly Pillows And Sheets : Sheets made of organic cotton and bamboo fabrics are also a wonderful idea for Valentine day gifts. Nothing could be better than to sit on these smooth sheets hand in hand. These organic sheets feel very comfortable. Even you can gift her a pair of organic pillows to make a perfect setting for green love. Go for a green pillow fight.

Eco-friendly Jewelry : Nothing could be better than giving her a beautiful range of organic fashion jewelry made of recycled metals and glass. In this recession period, they are a hit as no jewelry is as cheap as these are.

These affordable jewelry are available at almost all the jewelry shops. They look colorful and sophisticated. Moreover, gifting her jewelry made of natural things such as beads and seashells could be an exciting idea too.

Eco-friendly Fashion Apparel : The comfort of hanging out in organic clothing has got no parallel, if you compare the sheer elegance of various fabrics. Gift her some beautiful and colorful dresses made of bamboo fabrics or soy fabrics or organic cotton and ask her how she feels like. “It feels next to your smooth and kind touch,” could be the answer.

Believe me, you will see no dearth of these organic clothing. Buy her a dress or a tunic or a jeans or whatever you can. They are dyed using organic hues.

Eco-friendly Accessories : Gifting her a range of organic fashion accessories could be an icing on the cake. Buy her an organic designer belt made of completely green materials.

Even the buckles of such belts are made of recycled metals. You can also give her handbags, handkerchiefs and scarves made of organic materials.

Eco-friendly Reading : Last but not the least, comes a book. I don’t know which type of paper Jodi Helmer has used to print this book. But one thing I am sure of that anybody who reads “The Green Year” will instantly become a dedicated follower of green lifestyle. So make her read this green book this Valentine Day and see her developing into an aware and conscious green citizen.