Wear Green.

First, Happy Earth Day!  Found a great article from LearnVest about the benefits of wearing green clothing. Here are a few:

Protect Your Skin.

Have you ever gotten a rash from your clothes? It’s no wonder. Conventional clothing often is coated with a variety of chemicals, but sustainable apparel manufacturers avoid these irritating and dangerous additives.
Look for: Natural dyes, 100% organic.
Avoid: Wrinkle-free fabrics (which use formaldehyde), and flame and soil retardants.

Protect Our Water.

Conventional cotton uses more carcinogenic and toxic pesticides than any other crop in the world. These toxins find their way into waterways, groundwater, and even animal feed in the United States and elsewhere. Manufacturing synthetic materials like polyester and using synthetic dye also release toxins into rivers and streams.
Look for: 100% organic cotton, linen, flax, hemp, kapok, 100% natural latex, lenpur, mohair, jute, sisal, PET recycled fabric, reclaimed fabric, and soy.
Avoid: Conventional cotton, “all-natural latex,” polyester, nylon, acrylic, polyvinylchloride (PVC), olefin-polypropylene and polyethylene.

Lower Your Carbon Footprint.

Organic cotton is not grown with synthetic nitrogen fertilizers, which contribute to climate change. Sustainable designers avoid synthetic textiles like nylon and polyester, which are derived from fossil fuels and are energy intensive. And some sustainable brands, though not all, power their facilities with renewable energy or manufacture their goods in the United States so they don’t have to ship containers halfway around the globe.
Look for: Wind power, solar power, carbon neutral, low water use, and made locally.

Support Other Women.

Most sustainable clothing labels strive to provide good working conditions and wages for the people (who are usually women) producing the apparel, no matter what country they are in. Online retailer LivLuna, who makes supporting women its core mission, knows that earth-friendly attire is a must.
Look For: Made in the U.S.A, sweatshop-free, or Fair Trade

You can visit the full article here where they give you some earth day discounts for eco-friendly retailers.  Another great reason to wear green!

Numbers Game.

Do you find those little stickers on fruit annoying? I do.  They often get stuck to my kitchen sink, trash can, counter top, etc.  But, I recently learned that those little buggers can tell you a lot, besides the occasional marketing message (I recently saw the new animated movie RIO being advertised on an avocado).  The trick is to look at the numbers.
If the numbers begin with:
9 - the item you are about to buy or consume is organic! enjoy!
3, 4, or 5 - it's conventional (think pesticides and then put it back)
8 - it's genetically modified (size shouldn't matter!)

So remember the next time you're grocery shopping, keep an eye out for those stickers and reach for the 9's.  Now, orange you glad I told you?

Thank you to Ali Shapiro for sharing this wonderful information with me!