Let’s face it – “going green” is a phrase that most of us have heard before. I know I’ve bought into the craze – there are reusable water bottles all over my house, I LOVE shopping at Whole Foods, my entire family brings our own cloth bags to stores when we shop, and I try not to purchase food or clothing that isn’t environmentally friendly.

But this “green” thing is more than a passing trend for young urban professionals. Today, it’s all about managing world resources, focusing on fairness and sustainability, and reusing, reducing, and recycling.

There are green products you can buy for your home or office, from cleaning supplies to furniture to supplies that work just as well as any you’d get otherwise. The food you eat can be bought fair trade or organic, and can often taste fresher and more delicious than other non-organic processed foods. There are so many ways to “go green,” whether it’s in your clothing, or you home’s electricity, or even your school supplies.

This recurring column will provide you with simple green tips and tricks you can use in your everyday life, as well as great green products that are out there, and, of course, to highlight the things that RB is doing to go green. Because going green can be really, really fun.

This Week’s Green Tip:
Did you know that roughly 1.5 million tons of plastic are expended in the bottling of 89 billion liters of water each year? That’s a lot of plastic water bottles. And because recycling rates are lower than trash rates, bottles are filling up our landfills really fast.

But there’s a green solution – reusable water bottles. It seems almost elementary. There are water bottles made out of materials such as thick plastic or metal that can be used more than one time, and don’t have a harmful effect on the environment.

SIGG, Klean Kanteen, Springwise, and Nalgene are all reusable water bottle brands, and many sports or outdoor stores such as REI and Eddie Bauer sell sustainable water bottles. When you shop around, you find that they come in a variety of colors, prints, sizes, and materials. There’s a green bottle for everyone, whether you like to know how much water you drink or you just want a stylish addition to your wardrobe.

Water Bottle Sites:
http://mysigg.com/
http://www.kleankanteen.com/