Think More + Use Less #4: Mosquito Bites

Hey everyone!

Hope you all are enjoying your summer and are somehow managing to stay cool with all the heat we've had lately.  Down here in Florida, the afternoon thunderstorms have started rolling in with a vengeance. That's also meant lots of standing water for mosquitoes to hang out in.  If you're having problems with mosquito bites then we've got some creative "green", eco-friendly solutions for you.

Below you will see a chart from WonderHowTo that has some really great ideas for getting rid of those swollen, itchy bites.  We realize some of these are more "green" or organic than others. But keep in mind, you'll probably be saving yourself a trip to the pharmacy which will reduce your gas bill, keep some extra cash in your pocket an hopefully help with all the pain that those pesky mosquitos can cause.

Let us know if you decided live life green and tried any of these green home remedies. How did they worked out? We'd love to hear what worked for you and what didn't, so please comment below when you get a chance.

9 DIY Home Remedies for Relieving Itchy Mosquito Bites

Think More + Use Less #3: the "Dirty Dozen"


After reading yesterday's blog, were you inspired to go out and buy some organic food?!  If you were, you probably noticed (as if you didn't already know!) that organic foods carry a higher price tag than mass produced conventionally grown food. Bit of a downer, huh?


Don't worry.  If we all start consuming and demanding organic food the prices will naturally fall. It's basic supply and demand Economics and a long term process; but that isn't what this blog is about. What this blog is all about is presenting you, our reader, with information from Mo' Green on how to think more + use less = live life green.  So here's today's helpful tip: 

When trying to go organic make smarter choices. Mo' knows times are tough but if you've got a few dollars to spare try buying one or two organic products each time you go to the grocery store. The chart below will show you the "dirty dozen"- a list of 12 foods with the highest amount of pesticide reside and the "Clean 15"- a list of 15 foods with the least amount of pesticides.

Dirty Dozen Clean Fifteen EWG 2012 Shoppers Guide
Courtesy of the Environmental Working Group

A quick way to remember which foods to go organic on are tree fruits, berries and leafy greens. 

If you'd like to view the entire list of fruits and veggies, please click here.



Think More + Use Less Tip #2 - Organic Food



Hellooooo! from Mo' Green.  Hope everyone is having a great day living green. :-)

I understand yesterday's blog was a bit lengthy and and heavy on information, so today we're going to keep it super simple. Below you will find a chart that shows how much better organic foods are than conventionally grown food when it comes to nutrition. 

Let's look at something everyone typically loves - TOMATOES!!!  If we compare the iron in organically grown tomatoes vs. conventionally grown tomatoes, you will see that organic tomatoes have 1938% more iron than conventionally grown tomatoes. That's incredible! If you look at the rest of the chart you will see similar figures across the board where organically grown fruits and veg are way better for you.  

So take a second to think some more about this chart.  Hopefully, it will help you decide to use less of the chemically grown conventional foods and feed your body better, more nutritious food.  

Enjoy the rest of your day living life green

Think More + Use Less Tip #1: Organic Cotton

Why go organic?
When you think of going green, going organic is one of the first things that come to mind. But why? What's the big deal about organic products?  


Organic products are grown the natural way. That means, they are grown without the use of pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, genetically modified organisms, or ionizing radiation. In terms of animals raised for food like meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy products, these animals do not take antibiotics or growth hormones. 

The benefits of not using chemicals in products is that it is safe for the environment, but more importantly it's safe for you. There are so many harmful side effects to non-organic products that we could be here for day discussing them. However, let's keep it simple for now and start with cotton and the benefits of buying organic cotton vs. conventional cotton. 
What Are the Benefits of Organic Cotton Clothing?


Hazards of conventional cotton 
Conventionalnon-organic cotton "occupies only 3% of the world's farmland, but uses 25% of the world's chemical pesticides. In fact, the EPA considers 7 of the top 15pesticides used on cotton as "likely" or "known" humancarcinogens.

Ironically,it is estimated that less than 10% of the chemicals applied to cottonaccomplish their task, the rest are absorbed into the plant, air, soil, waterand eventually, our bodies. Sprayed from the air, these highly toxic chemicalscan drift into surrounding neighborhoods, poison farm workers, contaminate air,ground and surface water and cause major eco-system imbalances.

Asinsects gradually become resistant to pesticides, ever-increasing amounts areapplied to be effective, resulting in massive ecological disasters and cropfailures. These hazardous pesticides also pose an increasing danger towildlife. A 1993 EPA study estimated that 'one to twomillion' birds are killed annually by carbofuran, just one insecticideused on cotton! This is only one of many tragic effects on our wildlife.

It doesn't end there. Conventional cotton is also a major user of toxicherbicides, fungicides and defoliants. During processing, it is subjected tochlorine bleach, heavy metal dyes and formaldehyde resins (the hidden hazard of'easy care treatments'). The bleach is almost worse than pesticides, causingmyriad health problems and vast environmental damage.

Additionally,genetically modified cotton now accounts for 75% of cotton grownconventionally. It is no comfort that cotton is also a food crop: cottonseedoil is used in many processed and snack foods and cottonseed is used in cattlefeed.” (From:HAE Now, “Why Buy Organic” http://www.haenow.com/cart/whyorganic.php)

benefits of organic cotton 

*  Organic cotton representsa return to safe and sustainable practices. 

*  It is grown with naturalfertilizers and is free from toxic chemicals.

*  Organicfarmers rely on crop rotation to replenish and maintain soil fertility.

*  Mechanicalcultivation and botanical or biological means are used to control pests andweeds.

*  Afield must be pesticide-free for at least three years tobe certified organic, and the cotton must be processed according tointernational organic standards.

*  Thestandards also set strict guidelines for transportation and storage to avoidcross-contamination.

*  Inthe U.S., cotton labeled as organic has to be certified by an independentagency recognized by the USDA's National Organic Program.

*  Manualfarming and organic practices have a lower carbon footprint as the entireprocess consumes less fuel and energy and emits fewer greenhouse gases.

*  Notfrom genetically modified cottonseed.

* Eco-friendlyprocessing that does not compromise workers' health and helps reduce water andelectric use and toxic runoff, e.g. non-chlorine bleach, silicon-free softenersand low impact, azo-free dyes.

*  Stricttesting ensures the absence of contaminants like nickel, lead, formaldehyde,amines, pesticides and heavy metals.

*  Peoplewith allergies and chemical sensitivity especially benefit from organic cottonclothing, as conventional cotton may retain harmful toxic residues.

*  Evenif you don't have sensitive skin, organiccotton will just feel better against your skin.
References: http://www.haenow.com/cart/whyorganic.php (Awesome site on the importance of buying organic cotton)



where to buy organic t-shirts?

Duh!! LiveLifeGreen.org has the best looking organic cotton t-shirts out there. So go to www.livelifegreen.org and start living green today with Mo' Green. 

What is LiveLifeGreen.org

So you need to know how to start living green?

Then, you’re at the right spot. LiveLifeGreen.org was created to be your one stop eco-friendly destination on the internet.  Through Mo’s blog and livelifegreen.org, we will be posting as many tips on living green and sharing how others are living green.  Now we’re just starting off so bare with us as we get growing. But it’s our hope that with Mo’ Green and your help we can make going green mainstream and make this world a much better place to live in. 

If you have any tips are are interested in specific topics, lets us know. We want to share your ideas and thoughts.  And if we don't know about something, then we'll do our best to find out what the truth behind it is. 

So follow our blog and check our website for the latest on living life green. :-) 

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there!!

If you're reading this and just realized that you have forgotten to get dear-old Dad a gift, why not quickly order him an organic t-shirt to wear this summer @livelifegreen.org.  We know this is a bit of shameless self promotion but our shirts are worth it. If you don't believe us, here's an explanation...


Why buy Mos Eco-friendly t-shirts??
If you dig Mo’s message and are into living life green, why not buy one of his soft, 100% organic t-shirts?  Not only can you feel good about this eco-friendly shirt but you can look good while helping spread Mo’s message.  The more people we can educate about living life green, the better this world will be.

Shirt Facts: 

* 100% certified organic cotton (Certified under Oeko-Tex Standard 100
*  Preshrunk, 4.5oz, combed ring spun cotton (this means SUPER SOFT!! Not cheap and scratchy
* Features a TEARAWAY label (you don’t have to worry about a label flipping out or scratching your skin this summer)
* A percentage of the net profit from the sale of every Mo’ Green product will be donated to environmental causes
* You won’t find a better looking eco-friendly shirt.
* Guaranteed to put a smile on your face anytime you catch a glimpse of Mo'



How can you buy one of mos shirts and live life green?

So now you're convinced that buying a Mo' Green t-shirt is for you and you're not sure what to do.... You can buy one of Mo’s shirts at: www.livelifegreen.org.  We know going green isn’t the cheapest option, that’s why try to run as many promotions and sales as we can. So check back often or sign up for our email list and you’ll be the first to know about upcoming sales and discounts. Plus, by living green, you’ll be saving money on your other bills. And if you buy one of Mo’s quality shirts, it will last longer than the cheaply made shirts that crack and distort with wear and washing. 

TODAY'S SPECIAL: 20% for Father's Day
(use coupon code: Q9G86K6Y3)

When and How Mo' Green started

Just another day living life green...

As you can see, so far in this blog we've been writing about Mo' Green. We've told you who Mo' Green is and what Mo' Green Apparel is.  Now, we're going to tell you when and how Mo' Green got started.  


When did mo green get started?

www.livelifegreen.org
Original Mo' Green Sketch
Mo’ Green got started as a doodle from another family-run business of ours in 2007. We never did much with him other than smile every time we came across him for the next 4 years.  Occasionally, we’d throw the idea around about putting him on a shirt. But as usual, life got in the way- the economy tanked and our family run business went under. What can we say? The happy looking guy on the leaf could brighten our day but couldn’t save the day.

The funny thing is during this time, without knowing it we all were forced to live life green. We couldn’t afford to waste electricity, water, excess food, you name it. The budget was tight and we were forced to think more and use less. But you know what?  Life became a whole lot easier and less complicated. We started saving money on our electric bills, gas bills, food bills and life became better. We even became healthier.

It was then that we thought: wait a minute? Without knowing it we were living life green and benefiting hugely from it. So why hadn’t we gone green before? Why hasn’t everyone gone green already? It occurred to us that there is this big misconception that going green means making tough sacrifices or turning into some tree hugging, hippy. But it doesn’t. And that’s where Mo’ came into play.

Mo’ was so likable already, what if he could become the face of living life green? He looks as happy as we felt realizing how much better life is living green. It was then that we decided Mo’ needed to be put on a t-shirt and the world needed to know: Living Life Green = Thinking More + Using Less = A Better Life For EVERYONE.  And it’s such an important message because not only are we saving the world and our environment but we can make all of our lives better and easier by living green. Plus, the family needed a new business and people always need new clothes. So why not make good looking, environmentally friendly clothes that won’t irritate your skin. 

And that is the true story of Mo' Green. So if you dig his message and feel like wearing one of his shirts, please visit: www.livelifegreen.org and buy a shirt for you, your family or friends. :-)

p.s.  don't forget...LIVE LIFE GREEN!!!