It's easy to feel guilty you're not doing everything green. Maybe you drove to work today, or maybe you took an extra-long shower so that you could wash your hair twice (I'm guilty of that one).

At the end of the day, none of us is perfect...we all make mistakes and slip up, but the key to green living, in my humble opinion, is to keep forging forward and trying better the next day and with the next choice you make. To paraphrase either Laurie David or Ed Begley Jr. (or probably both), You don't have to do everything, just do something.

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The greenest air freshener, of course, is fresh air itself. Throwing open the windows to "air out the house" like they did in ye olden days helps to release some of the pent-up pollutants in your indoor air, and it's free.

I've tried that chez moi, and frankly, it hasn't worked. You see, I live in an old, unrenovated Edwardian house once occupied by an elderly lady who lived there her entire life. The house smells like it's been through a lot. More succinctly, it smells old. Plus, due to my outdoor allergies, I need to keep the windows closed on those delightfully breezy early summer days. (more...)

As I've mentioned in a previous post, bottled water is bad for the environment – the better choice is to drink tap water (filtered, if necessary) and pack your own bottle when you're on the go. But sometimes situations come up when you don't have much of a choice, and at those times, it's good to remember that not all bottled waters are created equal: some companies are making decisions that they can be proud of.

One such company is Fiji Water, which has become a presence in many retailers with its simple and distinctive square bottles. (I first tried it in the airport in Fiji almost a decade ago, and kept the bottle around the house for years to water plants.) Your first instinct may be that it's ridiculous to buy water from so far away when we have plenty of water to drink in our own country, but Fiji Water has a set of eco-friendly policies that likely make its carbon footprint lower than some of the local options. (more...)

I recently found out about a new shaving product for men by Canadian company Cromwell & Cruthers. It's a shaving oil – a blend of natural oils including avocado, sweet almond and sandalwood, plus menthol, aloe vera and vitamin E – and comes in a tiny 15 mL vial that retails for $4.50 (you can buy it online at Mountain Equipment Co-op).

15 mL may seem small, but you only need 4 or 5 drops at a time, which means the whole bottle lasts for up to 100 shaves – and that, plus the natural ingredients, is what makes it eco-friendly: less product, less packaging, and less waste. My tester gives the product a thumbs-up, especially as he recently took a trip and loved how little space it took up compared to his old shaving cream. And as a side note, there's no reason the men have to keep the oil to themselves – it will work just as well on legs as on faces.

For the greenest shave, pair the shaving oil with a recycled-plastic razor from Preserve, available at homedepot.ca.

Read more:
• 6 tips on choosing eco-friendly beauty products
• Green beauty companies we love
• 7 steps to eco-friendly shopping

Today's post is by Katie Drummond, health intern at Canadian Living.

Eating for your own health is one thing – making sure your food is also good for the planet can seem overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be, according to Jae Steele, a vegan holistic nutritionist who has worked on organic farms and writes a food blog called Domestic Affair. Now, eco-eaters can pick up Steele’s first cookbook, Get It Ripe.

As a longtime vegan, I thought I knew the ins and outs of my food choices, but the first 100 pages of Steele’s book offer information that would be new to even the most seasoned vegetarian. In this guide to optimal health – both your own and that of the planet – Steele explains the politics of a vegan lifestyle, gets in-depth about nutrition, and even dishes on bettering your carbon footprint through local and organic dining.

All that, and mouthwatering recipes, for everything from homemade granola bars to fettuccini “no-fredo” and chocolate-dipped biscotti. Steele avoids packaged “convenience” foods, but also keeps ingredients simple and easy-to-find, even for the great-aunt who lives in fear of natural food stores.

Whether you just want a new recipe for fabulous muffins, or are desperate to prove to loved ones that eco-friendly vegan eating can taste good, Get It Ripe will be your go-to cookbook. It’s already become mine – banana pancakes and maple tempeh strips were a definite success on Father’s Day for one very lucky dad.

Related content:
• 101 vegetarian recipes
• Vegetarian and vegan cookbook reviews
• Veganism 101
• Canadian Living vegan recipes

A study has been released by the US-based Center for Health, Environment and Justice that says that PVC shower curtains - those plastic ones with the accompanying plastic smell – release toxic chemicals that can contribute toward a number of health problems.

Looking for a replacement? Try to find options that are PVC-free; Grassroots offers a curtain made of hemp, and if you prefer plastic over fabric, IKEA carries a range of curtains made from PEVA, an alternative to PVC, as well as polyester and polyester/cotton-blend curtains.

Read more:
• Make your bathroom eco-friendly
• Raise your baby the eco-friendly way

I recently attended the Canadian launch for Israeli beauty brand Yes to Carrots, which is now available exclusively at Shoppers Drug Mart. I haven't tried everything yet, but I'm already a big fan of the Body Moisturizing Lotion, which is nice and lightweight, perfect for humid Toronto summers. Other products available in Canada include day and night cream, body butter, shower gel, shampoo and conditioner, and they range from $8.99 to $15.99, a steal when you consider how large some of the packaging is (the shower gel is priced at $8.99 for a whopping 500 mL).

But what really impressed me about the company is their eco cred: they're making concrete choices that reduce their environmental impact, without the greenwashing that's so common these days. I spoke with CEO (and "Carrot Lover," his other official title) Ido Leffler about what the company does for the environment – here are just a few of their successes. (more...)

Last year, the concept of choosing foods that are grown and produced locally became hugely popular, thanks in part to the success of books such as The 100-Mile Diet. This year, eating local has gone a step further. The "zero-mile diet" – i.e., growing your own food – is now touted as the ultimate in eco-friendly eating. (Check out this zero-mile diet seed kit from Salt Spring Seeds, unfortunately sold out for this year.)

I've been going through a Michael Pollan obsession (more about that later), and one of the things that appealed to me in his book The Omnivore's Dilemma was farmer Joel Salatin's success with keeping healthy, happy chickens that make a major contribution to the ecological sustainability of his farm. Around the same time, I heard of a Canadian writer who was embarking on keeping chickens in the city for the fresh eggs, so I asked her to write about her experiences in keeping chickens in her backyard.

The story was just posted on the site, and I hope you'll all find it interesting. In the meantime, what do you think about keeping chickens in the city, and of the concept of the zero-mile diet? Is it a bourgeois fantasy akin to gentleman farming, or a necessary step toward living an ecologically sustainable life?

This past Saturday, I (senior web editor Helen Racanelli here) attended the Greenmom spring market in Toronto. I loved that this market had all the green products I've been reading about for babies (I'm expecting my first child in October) but haven't yet seen up close.

One of my favourite products that I came across was the G Diaper, which is a cross between a disposable and cloth diaper. The outer breathable shell is cloth, with cute velcro tabs that fasten in the back, and the disposable part is a refill you stick inside. It's compostable, toilet flushable pulp fluff from farmed trees.

Of course I have no actual idea how well these will work, especially what with my experience changing, oh, maybe three diapers, but I bought a starter pack anyway, including two covers and about 8 refills for $30. This isn't a perfect solution (more...)

Whether you're at home or travelling, it can sometimes be hard to find restaurants, grocery stores or other retailers that sell locally produced and/or organic foods – they're often a well-kept local secret.

One site that will make it easy for you is the Eat Well Guide at eatwellguide.org. (Thanks to Plenty Magazine for the tip.) Type in a Canadian or U.S. postal code or zip code and press search, and it will come up with a listing – with details and contact information – within the distance specified. (If they're missing your favourite spot, you can suggest a listing.)

Now that summer's here (it is, right?), this is the perfect chance to increase your consumption of locally produced goodies. Enjoy!