A “Tree-Hugging Hippy”...yep, that’s what I get called by my friends…EVERY.SINGLE.DAY. And, I guess it does fit me, I mean my favorite perfume is called Hippy Fizz so…it’s sort of an understatement. But you know what? I don’t really care when my friends call me that, actually…I love every minute of it.

Ok so, I will admit, I can go a little above and beyond when it comes to being eco-friendly; I only use canvas bags, I buy organically packaged makeup ( yeah, I know that sounds kinda stupid), my room is painted green, and I refuse to buy the school lunches because they come served on foam trays that aren’t bio-degradable. Oh and I even bought this lipstick from Sephora that has its container made from corn and the box it comes in is made of 100% recycled paper with flower seeds embedded in inside the paper. So…that means when the weather gets a little warmer you can plant the box that it was sold in and a wildflower will grow. When I saw that I HAD to buy it because I thought that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. And of course, as you can imagine, my friends thought that was pretty amazing too; however they still did call me a “tree-hugging-hippy” ( It’s ok though, I’m very used to it by now). But you know what? That kinda got me thinking…what if there was a little “tree-hugging hippy” in all of us?...

…Alright so as stupid as that name sounds, what it would actually do for our planet is far from stupid. Actually, it would be one of the SMARTEST things that we could do. It’s also one of the easiest ways to make a difference on the planet. Think about it…its 2009, a new year, a new beginning right? So, this year, let’s ALL make a pact to start caring more and actually doing more for the planet. I decided to start doing that a while ago and every time I look at one of my canvas bags; every day I use that eco-friendly lipstick; every bottle that I recycle and every lecture that I give my friend Steph in lunch when she throws out paper bags ( She made up the hippy name if you haven’t guessed that already)…every time I do even just one of those simple things I know that I’m making a difference. Even if it’s just one bottle or one less piece of paper thrown out…it still counts doesn’t it? So next time you’re in the mall instead of getting one of those horrible plastic bags that are just gonna be thrown into some dump, bring a canvas bag with you; or the next time you’re throwing paper or a bottle out, how hard is it to just walk an extra step and put it in the recycle bin; maybe even buy some organic jeans? Ok…so I won’t pressure you to go THAT crazy because I know you’ve heard the “you have to care about your planet” speech MILLIONS of times and I think that’s what gives being eco-friendly such a bad reputation. It’s not as hard as some commercials or ads can make it seem so start getting involved in one of the EASIEST and most effective resolutions you could ever make- it sure beats the typical “lose 5 pounds” resolution doesn’t it? Yep, it sure does.

So this year, why don’t we all start caring more about the planet; go a little “green” and bring back those hippy days a little bit? Hmmm…I do love vintage. Except, nix the tie dye…we don’t really need to bring that back.