The Green Mom Eco-cosm Revisited

by Melissa on August 31, 2010

I was recently invited to participate in a survey of green moms in social media conducted by The Social Studies Group. Today, the organization released a comprehensive summary of the report, The Green Mom Eco-cosm Revisited, and I wanted to just provide you, the readers of Raising Them Green, with a little insight into what other green moms are up to.

The Green Moment
Do you know your green moment, that time in your life when things switched from conventional thought to a more eco-conscious thought process? I do – it came shortly after I had my son. It turns out that I’m not alone. More than half of the green moms surveyed, 54%, stated that becoming a mom was their “green moment” – that tipping point in their life when their environmental consciousness took over. Other answers include an educational experience (21%), family illness (10%), personal illness (7%), and a brush with activism (7%). What is your “green moment”?

Facebook and Twitter Reign Supreme
While all of the moms surveyed are active bloggers, we all also participate in a variety of social media outlets. I’m not surprised to see that Facebook and Twitter are the two most popular social media outlets for green moms with 83% participation in each. Just behind those two are commenting on other blogs, news, and web posts with 68% participation. What do you do in the social media realm?

Blogging and Doing
An interest part of the survey asked us what environmental choices and activities we do vs. what choices and activities with both do and blog about. Nearly all of those surveyed factor environmental issues into voting decisions but only one-fifth (approximately) actually blog about this. I’m in the majority here as I definitely factor environmental issues into my voting decisions but I don’t necessarily blog about these decisions.

On the other end of the spectrum is buying local. Nearly everyone surveyed tries to buy local and more than 80% of these moms also blog about buying local. I’m in this camp also. I definitely try to buy local and I discuss it when I do. Do you buy locally and do you blog about it?

This is just a quick summary of the report, for more information about what green mom bloggers are doing, download the entire report: The Green Mom Eco-cosm Revisited – A Survey of Green Moms in Social Media (PDF).

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Waste Free School Lunches – Year Two

by Melissa on August 26, 2010

Last year I wrote about our switch to a waste free school lunch. The kids enjoyed having their reusable snack bags and my oldest actually understood the environmental reasons behind a waste free school lunch. We managed to not lose any of the sandwich or snack bags and although we’re short a few spoons, we survived the first year of waste free school lunches relatively unscathed.

Now here we are, old pros at a waste free school lunch, and we’ve run into a few new bumps. New being the operative word. Each child wanted a new lunch bag. Since I strongly encouraged (i.e. made them) that they reuse their backpacks from the previous year I acquiesced on this point and bought each of them a new lunch bag. They tried to squeeze in a request for new snackTAXI reusable sandwich and snack bags but they weren’t successful. Instead, I used it as a learning opportunity to explain the reuse concept in more detail. My oldest gets it; my daughter wants a new pattern. She’ll get it in due time, though!

I recently wrote about the topic for the 1-800-Recycling.com Blog and in that post I’ve challenged parents everywhere to commit to a waste free school lunch this year. Obviously if you homeschool this isn’t necessarily a daily commitment for you but I have friends in homeschool groups that get together for activities outside of the house. If this fits you then I encourage you to make these get togethers waste free if they involve a lunch or a snack. Everyone can get involved in this challenge! Are you in?

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Watch: Green Smoothies for Kids

August 24, 2010

I’ve been contemplating the green smoothie craze for our family. A few years ago I purchased some Berry Green powder (not the cool gels) and made green pancakes, green muffins, green smoothies, etc. The kids were OK with it for awhile but eventually started to boycott my green food. I’ve been reading a lot about [...]

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The Challenges of a Healthy School Lunch

August 12, 2010

With childhood obesity at an all-time high and still on the rise, a healthy school lunch is more important in today’s age than ever before. While some parents focus on packing a healthy and preferably waste free school lunch for their children, not all families have this luxury. The nation’s free and reduced lunch program [...]

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What’s on Your School Lunch Menu?

August 5, 2010

We’re furiously gearing up for back-to-school here in the Raising Them Green house and so I asked the kiddos what is on the school lunch menu and they quickly rattled off a few of their favorites. Here’s what we’re planning for school lunches this fall.

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It’s Back-to-School Clothes Shopping Time

August 4, 2010

This is the second in a series of posts on greening your back-to-school routine. This week I’m focusing on a more eco-conscious back-to-school clothes-shopping trip. The most eco-friendly back to school clothes are those that are reused. We all have kids and we know how quickly they grow. Depending on the kid, you can have [...]

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Watch: Recycled School Supplies

August 2, 2010

If you’re getting ready for going back to school, whether your kids attend the local school or you are a homeschooling family, now is the time to look at greening your back to school routine. I will be writing several posts on an eco-friendly return to school over the next few weeks. Today’s topic is [...]

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Lead in Your Lipstick and Mercury in Your Mascara

July 23, 2010

Did you know that your lipstick may contain lead and some brands of mascara have mercury? If not, learn more about lead in your lipstick and mercury in your mascara by reading my latest post at 1-800-Recycling, What’s in Your Lipstick? Attention makeup wearers: Do you know what is in the lipstick you wear? A [...]

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Green Teen Launches “Teenagers Care” Nonprofit

July 20, 2010

After reading through this press release, it is obvious that Matt Pierce’s parents bought into the importance of Raising Them Green. Pierce is a green teen that launched the “Teenagers Care” nonprofit organization to raise money to help animals affected by the Gulf Oil Spill.

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How to Become a Junior Park Ranger at Sunset Crater

July 19, 2010

We are now one week out from our tour of Northern Arizona’s National Parks and the kids are still excited about becoming a Junior Park Ranger at Sunset Crater. The process was fun but also educational and so I encourage anyone that attends one of our nation’s National Parks to complete the Junior Ranger process [...]

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