Top 3 Black-Friday Shopping Tips for Finding Green Products

Posted on Nov 23, 2011 in Green Products by Matthew Speer 0 Comments

As the holiday season gets closer, one of America’s great traditions is upon us, a tradition that gets hours of airtime on your local news and brings people together in masses. You may be thinking about Thanksgiving, Christmas or Hanukah though you would be wrong, it is Black-Friday, the day that we are all a little more green by recycling our hard earned money. With all the flyers (please recycle them), online ads and media coverage, it can sometimes prove difficult to locate green products that help with energy efficiency and sustainable living. By following these 3 tips in finding green products, you can successfully go green on Black-Friday.

Shop Using Sustainable Standards:

How do you spot a green product? Before you stand in line to go after those door buster deals, you need to know how to spot a green product. First you need to ignore marketing gimmicks where the product might say “eco-friendly”,” all natural” or “green” and look for certification seals. Choosing products that have been certified sustainable can help reduce climate change, protect our air and water, preserve our natural resource and conserve water. Energy Star certification can be used to identify energy efficient electronics, appliances, lights and similar.

Green Product Websites Dedicated to Sustainable Living:

There are plenty of websites available for those eco-conscious buyers where you can participate in online Black-Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Amazon Green is a sub section of the popular website that focuses on the best green products and verifies their status prior to listing. Similarly, Buygreen.com and Eartheasy.com provide green product listings. A simple search on green products will provide numerous online retailers that specialize in green products, so maybe you can sleep in and shop online, saves gas as well.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle:

As you load up your shopping cart full of all the green products you have found during your Black Friday adventures, remember to look for cardboard, paper and other biodegradable packaging. Try to limit the plastic packaging that can add to landfill waste and pollute the environment. Make sure before you head to the checkout counter that you have reusable bags in hand, don’t waste plastic bags. A good reusable bag is also a great stocking stuffer; it is possible to even use them as gift bags. Black Friday deals are sometimes hard to pass up; you never know when you need a 3^rd TV with all the bells and whistles. Part of living sustainably includes consuming what you need and in the most efficient manner, think green before you buy, this may help your wallet as well.

Image: digitalart