I recently had the opportunity to try out the Zerowater system. Zerowater is a water filtration pitcher, with a twist. It comes with a tester for your water – called s TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) tester.

The TDS meter helps put a number on what your taste buds already tell you about what’s in water. The higher the reading on the water, the more things dissolved in water. It shows the total number of detectable dissolved solids.

When I first received the pitcher, I tested the water from the faucet and it read 048 this is actually not bad – I had heard SC had some of the best water in the country and now I see this is apparently true. Now funny enough just before starting this review I was staging the pictures in this post and the reading was 094, we had rain all day yesterday so I am assuming it must have stirred up the well water a good bit. My Zerowater reading is 000 every-time to-date and the water tastes great!

What I loved most about the pitcher I thought was going to be it’s biggest flaw. The spout at the bottom of the pitcher was an instant hit for me, no more waiting for the tap water to run through the filter before filling my glass. Especially since this household seems to love cold air (putting the pitcher back in the refrigerator empty). However, upon the first fill up my daughter was calling me into the kitchen – water was pouring everywhere! The button had popped out and water was pouring out! Luckily we fixed it quickly and the issue hasn’t happened again.

I love that it holds much more water then my former competitors pitcher, less fills up. Granted it takes up a bit more room, but that’s an acceptable trade off.

I’m very happy with the results of ZeroWater and I’m sure you will be, too! Want one now? Use coupon code MC30, for 30% off a 10 Cup ZeroWater pitcher. Or why not take your chance at winning one first?? My readers have a chance to win one of TWO 10 Cup ZeroWater Pitchers!

To enter for your chance to win complete the mandatory entry below and additional optional entries plus comeback and share each day for additional points! Two winners will be announced 4/25/2012 Due to shipping restrictions, we request that your giveaway winners live in the continental United States. – Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of ZeroWater and received a water pitcher to facilitate my review, two pitchers to giveaway, and extra filters to thank me for taking the time to participate.”

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

ZeroWater Review & Giveaway {2 Winners}

The internet is a buzz with Earth Day Happenings including the Green My World Earth Day Giveaway! I hope you are leaving tons of great green tips, sharing the products you hope to win, and sharing the giveaway on all your social networks!

As we come to the final hours, lets give you a few more ways to enter! Below you will find some green tips and retweets to share on Twitter or Facebook.  Follow the giveaway sponsors on Twitter and share their green tips (comment on the giveaway post that you did and your twitter name):

Green Tip: @natgoodsoaps Indoor composting has changed my life. Try it, it is so worth it. http://bit.ly/gVRf7a

Green Tip: @GlassDharma Drink with a “Touch of Glass” http://bit.ly/gVRf7a

Green Tip: @erinely Don’t settle for organic impostors look for 3rd party organic certification to verify organic claims. http://bit.ly/gVRf7a

Gree Tip: @soapsbynature handcrafted soaps don’t contain detergents or phosphates – better for the skin and the environment. http://bit.ly/gVRf7a

RT @ecologicbrands Earth Day Giveaway 2011 Win one year of #7thGeneration Detergent – and more! http://bit.ly/gVRf7a

Win Big! 6 hours of Green Consulting – $900 Value from @infinitellc & much more Green My World! http://bit.ly/gVRf7a #earthday #giveaway

Follow all the other sponsors too: @GreenMarketGirl @nakedbinder @saferbrand @hellotogreen @grapeseedco

Good luck! I look forward to picking the person that shines the greenest to win all those great prizes!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Earth Day 2011 Green Tips & Additional Entries

Join The Nature Conservancy in their 2011 Earth Day campaign, called Picnic for the Planet.They ‘re asking people to celebrate the planet by rounding up some friends and taking the planet out to lunch. They already have a number of meetups going on around the globe;  just visit our map to find a picnic near you or see how you can start your own.

Like to do more? Visit their top 5 Earth Day action list below and spread the word!

Top 5 Earth Day Actions (includes Tweets / Status Updates):

1.      Eat Smart. Learn what’s in your food! #picnic11
2.      Eat Local See where @Nature_org conservation work & food production intersect. #picnic11
3.      Eat Sustainably Why is choosing sustainable seafood important? #picnic11
4.      Eat Green Need tips on adding fruits and veggies to your diet?  #picnic11
5.      Eat Out Get ready for #EarthDay! Find a local Picnic for the Planet! #picnic11

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Picnic for the Planet 2011

Let’s get this party started!

Earth Day (Month) is here and Eco-Office Gals wants to get as many people as possible on board to grow a little greener.   If you’ve been wanting to, trying to, thinking about growing a little greener there’s no better time to do it then now! We don’t want to make you go it alone either. We have once again reached out to our great green cyberspace friends to bring you green products to Green Your World!

The past 2 years of Eco-Office Gals Green My World Giveaway were a HUGE hit and we will give it a go again!!

So, let’s get things started.  We’ll give you a chance to check out a few of the initial sponsors and a peek at the prizes coming in, look around their sites and get your creative green juices flowing.  So, lets get started!

Welcome all our Earth Day Giveaway Sponsors for 2011 and their generous donations to Green Your World (I will be adding to the list as sponsors come in!):

• Infinite Future, LLC – Six hours of Sustainable Consulting Time (Value – $900)
• Naturally Good Soaps – $75.00 Gift Certificate
• Green Market Girl – $45.00 Gift Certificate
• Naked Binder – Set of 4 Naked Binder Project Binders, Assorted colors, 1.5″ d-ring Roundbacks ($30 Value)
• GlassDharma – eGift Certificate $25.00
• Safer Brand – 1 bottle of 3-in-1 1 bottle of EndALL 1 bottle of Weed & Grass Killer 1 bottle of Oxygen Plus 1 bottle of Tomato and Vegetable Insect Killer ($50 Value)
• Ecologic Brands – One Year of Seventh Generation 4X Detergent ($200+ Value)
• HTG Paper Company – 10 Reams of HTG 100% Wood Free Multi Purpose Paper Letter Size ($64.99 Value)
• ElyOrganics.com – $25.00 eGift Certificate
• Soaps by Nature – Handcrafted Lip Balm Sampler ($17 Value)
• The GrapeSeed Company – Wine Bar & Butter Gift Set ($22 Value)

This list is growing by the day sooo…  here’s the deal, one person will win it ALL! Put your green recycled thinking caps on since  you will need to do a little work! You need to green up your act!  Absolutely, no “Thanks for the great giveaway” comments, they WILL be deleted.  DO NOT copy and paste someone’s comment as your own, be original.  You can enter as many times as you’d like as long as you follow one of the options below. For shipping purposes – US residents only, please.  Contest will end April 22nd Earth Day, at 12 noon (EST). One winner will be picked to win the whole thing! This will not be a random drawing, rather the person that really seems to put some effort towards making a difference in their life will be given the chance to make their changes with these great products!

• First & Mandatory! Pick a green step that will help the environment. Something new, that you are not already doing. Leave a comment about it, or if you post about it on your own blog, provide a link in your comment so we can check it out!
• Leave a comment about any progress and achievements in your green goals, too.  Let us know how it’s going!
• Leave a unique tip to be green, chemical free, etc
• Visit the sponsors and let us know how one of their products could help your green up your act.  Leave a link to the product so we can all check it out.
• Send out a tweet about the giveaway & consider using the #earthtweet hashtag – be sure to include a link to it.
• Use other Social Networking avenues to get the word out about the giveaway and let us know which ones you did.
• Add the giveaway button to your sidebar and let us know you did. Here’s the code:

<a href=”http://eco-officegals.com/2011/04/04/3rd-annual-gmw-earth-day-giveaway-2011/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://eco-officegals.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/earthday.png” border=”0″ alt=”Green My World”></a>

• Think a product is so awesome on one of our sponsors sites, you can’t wait to win before you buy? Leave 5 separate entries telling us what you bought from who — we will confirm.

Be sure to sign up for Eco-Office Gals RSS by feed or email.  I’ll be continuing to bring you information, tips and events from our sponsors and may just throw in a few extra ways to enter as we go along!

WE HAVE A WINNER!

This is never an easy decision, some of you have been leaving some great tips, sharing wonderful green efforts, and sharing the giveaway with all your might! Sometimes it may be easier to just pick a random winner, but this gives others great ideas and encourages us all to be friendly to the earth.

As in years past one of you has risen above the others, has taken the effort to share your green steps and promote the giveaway just a little bit more.  GreenEcoChick really seems to be making some great green efforts currently and is looking forward to new green changes in her future. She also took the time to share the giveaway consistently. All the way around she shone through the greenest! I hope you enjoy making your world even more greener with these great prizes! Congrats!!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

3rd Annual GMW Earth Day Giveaway 2011 (closed)

Earth Day is approaching fast and there are many giveaways out there to help you go green. We have two right here at Eco-Office Gals: The Green My World Giveaway and the Go Green for Free On Earth Day.

Do you have a giveaway? Share it will us!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Earth Day Giveaway Link Love!

Want to try out Eco-Chic Entertaining for Earth Day?  Try out one of the hottest new eco-chic entertaining solutions- www.cocodot.com – the latest in chic, well designed and easy to send online invitations and greetings.  A-list entertainers such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Brooke Shields, Courteney Cox, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck have all joined the cocodot craze and have made their parties “greener” by sending a cocodot invitation for their most recent soirees.

Cocodot allows you to save time, money and energy without comprising style and sophistication. With a gallery of over 6,000 exclusive images shot by famed fashion and lifestyle photographer Amy Neunsinger (she shoots the Target campaigns!) cocodot’s invites will inspire you to host your next dinner party.  Unlike other online invitation sites, cocodot is ad free and offers an advanced guest management and communication platform, event home pages and easy tools for linking invites and greetings to social networks.

While cocodot is subscription based ($19 for one party, $99 for an entire year’s worth of invites and greetings), they have invited Eco-Office Gals readers to create a COMPLIMENTARY cocodot invitation in honor of Earth Day by entering cocoEarth2010 at checkout, now through May 15th for a free party invite, which can be created, personalized and delivered to an unlimited amount of guests within minutes.

Some of the most iconic entertainers are going green with cocodot.com – take a look at what they’re saying:

“Paperless invitations are all the rage and Cocodot takes it to another level. With tons of designs to choose from, Cocodot’s invitations and greeting cards are easy to send and excellent for the environment.”
Gwyneth Paltrow

“Online invitations are the new eco-chic way to entertain and Cocodot.com is the ultimate destination for style and sophistication.”
Colin Cowie

“I love cocodot. The cards and invitations are easy to make, unique and beautiful. With so many different designs and options, I have an excuse to use cocodot for anything!”
Giada De Laurentiis

“Cocodot is the Bergdorf Goodman of e-vites.”
Robert Verdi

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Green Gem of the Week: Cocodot

We all know Earth Day is just around the corner so Coupon Craze and CarbonFund.org are teaming up to give three of our readers the chance to “Go Green for Free” this Earth Day. Both Coupon Craze and CarbonFund.org provide simple and affordable ways for people to go green. Almost exactly a year ago, online coupon code site Coupon Craze launched a Green Coupon Category to help shoppers find the best online coupons for environmentally friendly products and retailers. CarbonFund.org is a non-profit carbon reduction and climate solutions organization making it easy and affordable for individuals, businesses and organizations to reduce their climate impact.

In honor of Earth Day, these companies will be handing out two $50 CarbonFund.org certificates and one $100 gift certificate to the winners choice of  Origins or Patagonia. To enter, all you have to do is post a comment telling us what your favorite cost-effective green living tip is. To get your Earth Day juices flowing and help put these prizes into perspective, here’s some carbon offset information and eco-friendly budget shopping tips.

CarbonFund.org is leading the fight against global warming by helping people neutralize their carbon footprint.  You can purchase an offset that represents a reduction in carbon dioxide (CO₂) somewhere else, like a renewable energy or reforestation project, to balance out the emissions you cannot reduce. For example, $50 of CarbonFund.org credit is equivalent to 5 metric tons of CO₂ or:

• More than 5 roundtrips from Los Angeles to New York
• Approximately the emissions an average American passenger vehicle emits in a year
• Over half the emissions from the average American home’s electricity use
• The amount of carbon sequestered by an acre of pine forests in a year
• The amount of carbon produced by 208 propane cylinders for home barbecues

To help promote green, organic and eco-friendly retailers and products, Coupon Craze has a green coupon category where shoppers can find codes and deals from over 100 retailers such as TOMS Shoes, Origins, Patagonia and ZipCar. It’s the perfect starting place for people who are looking to pickup some eco-friendly shopping habits. Check out some tips that will help you go green on a budget:

• Shop on Earth Day, 4/22: April, and of course Earth Day itself, draws the most attention to eco-friendly, green and organic products. Retailers take advantage of this by offering huge savings throughout the month and specifically on April 22^nd to generate awareness. Make sure to check out Coupon Craze’s Green and Eco-Friendly category on Earth Day –  there are over 100 offers planned to go live exclusively on that day.
• There’s Less Fine Print: Green retailers are still relatively new to the coupon industry, so offers tend to have less fine print than coupons in other categories. For example, many of these coupons don’t have a minimum spending requirement, which means that shoppers can save regardless if they spend $20 or $500.
• What to do the rest of the year: There are some retailers such as TOMS and Gaiam that offer coupons year round; however, the savings in the Green Category tend to peak in the spring and the fall.

So for the change to do your part this Earth Day without breaking the bank, enter the Go Green for Free giveaway!

Giveaway Info:

• To enter, comment on this post and tell us your favorite cost-effective green living tip, and/or:
• Follow Coupon Craze, CarbonFund.org, and Eco-Office Gals then comment with you Twitter name that you did.
• RT this giveaway on Twitter and comment below with the status link.
• The contest runs from now up until April 22nd at 12 noon EST and the three winners will be announced on 4/23.
• Two winners will be chosen at random and awarded a $50 CarbonFund.org donation in their name. One grand prize winner will be chosen at random and awarded a $100 gift certificate to their choice of Origins, Patagonia retailers from the  Coupon Craze Green and Eco-Friendly Coupon Category.
• The three winners will receive their prizes no later than Tuesday, 4/27 at 5:00 p.m. EST.

Don’t forget to get your entry in on the Eco-Office Gals Green My World Giveaway, too!

And here are the random picked winners!

Here are your random numbers:

123 – marc-andre taillefer $50 CarbonFund.org donation in their name
30 – Virtual Receptionist $50 CarbonFund.org donation in their name
85 – Theresa D $100 gift certificate to their choice of Origins or Patagonia

Timestamp: 2010-04-23 13:00:37 UTC

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Go Green For Free on Earth Day! {Giveaway}

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bloomingdale’s. All opinions are 100% mine.

With Earth Month still going strong here is a fun activity to celebrate the Earth.  Put your fun creative skills to the test and design a Tote-ally Green Tote for Bloomingdale’s!

Check out the Tote-ally Green design contest to design your own Tote contest, from Bloomingdales and famed handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff.  What’s your style? Modern? Whimsical? Simple? Splashy? Anything goes, just make it yours! Then share it with everyone you know and get them to vote for you, who knows… you may even get some green to go with your green bag design!

Now that’s my design to the right.  Maybe a little too simple, but that’s ok I can go make another one, and another….

Or if you like my simple design, feel free to vote for it, I’d be honored!

A chic reusable tote is the perfect accessory for any activity! Grocery shopping, picnic, day of errands, the beach, etc. Every little bit can help us conserve and look chic doing it! Be sure to leave a link to your design in the comments below so we can check it out and vote for our favorite, too!

CONTEST INFO:
- Contest runs from April 7- April 25, 2010

- One winner will be chosen everyday, based on Bloomingdales favorite submissions, and will receive a $100 Gift Card

- Submissions will be whittled down to 50 favorites based on user votes

- Grand prize winner who will receive a $2,000 shopping spree and the winning design will be sold exclusively at bloomingdales.com.

- Entrant with the most votes can also win $1,000 shopping spree

So give it a go readers! Design an adorable tote that you would love to show off, and have the whole world show off too! Happy creating!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Tote-ally Green Tote Contest for Earth Day

EarthTalk® 
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine

Dear EarthTalk: How effective have plastic bag bans and restrictions been on reducing plastic litter and other problems associated with their proliferation? And is it really better to use paper bags, which will just lead to more deforestation? — Peter Lindsey, New Canaan, CT

Plastic bags, first introduced in the 1950s as a convenient way to store food, have since developed into a global scourge, littering roadsides, clogging sewer drains and landfills and getting ingested by animals and marine life. And in recent years we’ve discovered how they are so prolific that they now comprise a significant portion of the plastic and other garbage that has collected in huge ocean gyres far from land.

A few countries around the world—Bangladesh, China, India, Australia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Israel, South Africa, Taiwan and Mumbai, among others—have taken stands against plastic bags through taxing their usage or banning them outright. The environmental think tank, Worldwatch Institute, reports that China’s decision to ban free plastic bags in 2008 has cut demand by some 40 billion bags, reduced plastic bag usage there by 66 percent, and saved some 1.6 million tons of petroleum.

In March 2007, San Francisco became the first (and is still the only) major U.S. city to implement an across-the-board ban on plastic bags. Large supermarkets and pharmacies there had to ditch plastic shopping bags by early 2008 in favor of paper bags or those made from all-natural biodegradable cornstarch-based plastic. Environmentalists are particularly fond of the latter option for those who don’t bring their own grocery bags, as these cornstarch bags offer the biodegradability of paper without the deforestation as well as the convenience of plastic without the damage to ecosystems. San Francisco officials had originally tried to work with retailers on reducing plastic bag use voluntarily. But after a few years of little or no cooperation, they decided to just institute the ban on anything but biodegradable bags. The result has been a 50 percent drop in plastic bag litter on the streets since the ban took effect.

Los Angeles followed suit and its city council voted in 2008 to ban plastic bags beginning in July 2010—but the ban will only take effect if the state of California doesn’t follow through on a statewide plan to impose a fee on shoppers who request plastic bags. City council members in L.A. hope the ban will spur consumers to carry their own reusable bags and thus reduce the amount of plastic washing into the city’s storm drains and into the Pacific Ocean. Several other U.S. cities, including New York, Philadelphia and Baltimore, have considered outright bans like San Francisco’s, but each settled instead on plastic bag recycling programs in the face of pressure from the plastics industry and retail commercial interests.

While increased demand for paper bags in the wake of plastic bag bans could lead to more deforestation, most paper grocery bags in use today are made from recycled content, not virgin wood. Also, an added benefit of paper over petroleum-based plastic is its biodegradability.Americans go through some 92 billion disposable plastic bags each year, and only five billion paper ones. If the nation banned plastic bags it is likely that paper varieties would only make up a small part of the difference, in light of the proliferation of reusable canvas shopping bags as well as the availability of biodegradable cornstarch plastic.

CONTACT: Worldwatch Institute, www.worldwatch.org.

SEND YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTIONS TO: EarthTalk®, c/o E – The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; earthtalk@emagazine.com. E is a nonprofit publication. Subscribe: www.emagazine.com/subscribe; Request a Free Trial Issue: www.emagazine.com/trial.

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Plastic Bag Bans: Will we just use more paper?

This is Eco-Office Gals 2nd Earth Day in the blogosphere and I’m very pleased to be here! In case you just recently found EOG, I thought I would dig up last years Earth Day Articles, so we can have some insight on what Earth Day meant to EOG last year.  Read, Enjoy, Share… and don’t forget to enter this year’s Green My World Giveaway!

• History of Earth Day – The When, Why and Where of Earth Day’s Past!
• 10 Things You Can Do In The Office for Earth Day – That speaks for itself, no?
• Coca Cola Promotes Use of Plastics for Earth Day? – Yep, I am an admitted Diet Coke fan, but this was a BIG Ooooops that I brought some attention to last year. On the cusp of Earth Month The Good Human points out this years Coca Cola’s Greenwash, too! We’ll keep an eye out for more Green wash blunders used to promote Earth Day this year! BE WARNED!
• Earth Day Is Over… Now What? - What to do? What to do?

I look forward to another great Earth Month this year as well!

Post from: Eco-Office Gals

Earth Day Redux