Eco-Friendly Grocery Shopping Tips
Going green is a total lifestyle change that can seem overwhelming at first. In reality though, it’s pretty easy! This article contains seven ways you can go green at the grocery store by using less plastic, less resources, and being mindful of what is and is not healthy for our earth.
7 Ways to Go Green at the Grocery Store
- Bring reusable bags! You don’t need expensive, fancy reusable grocery bags. Affordable ones like these work perfectly! If you need to be even more frugal, some old totes from your college days will do, or you can save the paper/plastic bags from your prior grocery trip and reuse those. Reusable bags can also be used for produce and bulk items! When I use up a bulk item, I keep the brown paper bag and reuse it the next time I go to the grocery store. I have them labelled so they are used again for the same item.
- Speaking of bulk – buy your beans, nuts, rice, and other items this way instead of in the pre-packaged plastic bags they typically come in. (Buying in bulk is typically cheaper, too!)
- Opt to buy items in glass jars rather in plastic bottles if available. Glass jars can be reused and you won’t be contributing to the plastic pollution issue.
- Say “no” to your receipt if you know you’re going to throw it away anyway! Many stores now have the option to not print receipts at all if the customer does not want theirs.
- Shop less. This doesn’t mean buy less food, but rather use fewer resources by making less trips. I try to shop bi-weekly.
- Buy organic and non-GMO products. If organic isn’t always in your budget, go with the clean fifteen and avoid the dirty dozen!
- Purchase less meat and dairy products. Factory and dairy farming is a huge contributor to climate change. Meatless Mondays are a good place to start, but you could also consider going meatless for breakfast and lunch, or 3 days out of the week…or meatless, period. Check out my vegetarian and vegan Pinterest board for meal ideas.
Looking for more green living tips?
SleeperMan
Buy organic and non-GMO products? Isn’t any food organic?
Also, I think non-GMO is overrated. The thing about GMO people should be wary of is the possible impact on ecology. Otherwise, GMO-food is no different from any other.
Karissa
While all food is derived from “organic matter” in a chemical sense, “organic” also has another definition in terms of food labeling. According to the USDA, organic food is classified as food that is not genetically modified or grown with synthetic pesticides or herbicides, among other regulations. GMO plants are doused in these toxic chemicals, typically more-so than non-GMO plants. Some GMO plants are designed to contain glyphosate, a key ingredient in RoundUp and known toxin. Synthetic pesticides and herbicides are incredibly harmful to our environment and our bodies.
See:
https://www.ams.usda.gov/grades-standards/organic-standards
http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/
http://npic.orst.edu/factsheets/glyphogen.html
http://www.mdpi.com/1099-4300/15/4/1416
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/gmos-and-pesticides/
Thanks for your comment!
Shannon @ GrowingSlower
Great tips! I love that many practices for going green also help you save money at the same time!
Jenni
Great tips! looking forward to exploring the rest of your beautiful site 🙂
Karissa
Thank you! 🙂
Nell Regan Kartychok
This is a WONDERFUL list of ways to go green at the grocery store – love it!
Ashleigh
I am so happy to say I do all of these and more! <3 going green is easy once you make it a routine! Although I shop once a week since we are vegetarian, not all our produce will last that long…and Im not just talking about it's freshness….my family is known to be snackers and fridge thieves lol. Great post!
Karissa
True! I usually end up making an additional produce run, too.