Built In Dishwashers vs. Hand Washing: Which is Greener?

Image credit: Getty Images/Sami Sarkis

For a while, when it comes to green impacts, the prevailing wisdom has been that built in dishwashers beat hand-washing dishes, in a runaway. By the numbers, according to one study at the University of Bonn in Germany, the dishwasher uses only half the energy, one-sixth of the water, and less soap, to boot. That sounds easy enough, but there's a lot more to it than and black-and-white comparison between your faucet and sink and the appliance under your counter.

For example: How do the results vary with model of dishwasher? What hand-washing habits are people using? How do you heat the water in your home? And how often do you do the dishes? Turns out all these factors can change the impacts; keep reading to learn what goes in to calculating the greenest way to do your dishes.

Water use, energy use, and carbon footprint

There are three big factors we'll consider: water use, energy use (for heating the water, largely), and the carbon footprint that results -- we'll save things like soap and dishwasher cooking for another post. And, of course, following energy-saving tips like running the "light" cycle and turning off the "heated drying" option will change the way the numbers work.

Built-in dishwasher efficiency

The average dishwasher uses 6 gallons of water per cycle; the average Energy Star-rated dishwasher uses 4 gallons per cycle, and their energy use ranges from 1.59 kWh per load down to 0.87 kWh per load. Using the Department of Energy's carbon dioxide emissions numbers of 1.34 pounds of CO₂ per kWh, that's 1.16 to 2.13 pounds of carbon dioxide emitted per load, to go along with 4 gallons of water.

Energy Star assumes each load in a "standard" dishwasher (usually 24 inches in size) has "a capacity greater than or equal to eight place settings and six serving pieces," so we'll go with that when considering how many dishes need to be washed by hand.

Can hand washing be as efficient as dishwashing?

The short answer: maybe. First, let's look at water usage alone. The average faucet flows at 2 gallons per minute, so if you can successfully wash and rinse eight place settings -- plates, bowls, forks, knives, spoons, glasses, etc. -- and those six serving dishes that your dishwasher can handle without running the faucet for more than 2 total minutes, then, you might be better off hand-washing. Assuming you're washing 54 pieces of dishware (that's 48 pieces of dishware -- 6 pieces per setting -- and 6 serving dishes), you've got about 4.4 seconds of wide-open tap water per piece, or about 9.5 ounces of water to wash and rinse each dish.

Impacts of heating the water

Let's assume you use warm water for both washing and rinsing -- half hot water and half cold water. Heating 2 gallons of water with a gas hot water heater (from about 60 degrees as it enters your house to, say, 120 degrees, set by the thermostat on your hot water heater) takes about 960 BTUs, or about 0.9% of one therm (100,000 BTUs), assuming 100 percent efficiency.

Gas storage tank water heaters

Gas water-heaters are usually more like 65 percent efficient, so it really takes 1477 BTUs, or about 1.5 percent of a therm, to heat that water. One therm emits 11.7 pounds of CO₂, according to the EPA (pdf), so heating the water with gas for each 2-gallon load emits about .17 pounds of carbon dioxide.

On-demand (or tankless) water heaters are closer to 80 percent efficient, which changes the numbers a bit; it works out to about 1200 BTUs, or about .14 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Electric storage tank water heaters

The story is a bit different when considering an electric water heater; while most electric water heaters use between 86 and 93 percent of their energy for heat (compared to between 60 and 65 percent for gas), electric heaters aren't as efficient at heating water. It still takes 960 BTUs to heat that much water; it just takes about .28 kWh (since, according to the EIA, 1 kWh equals 3412 BTUs) to heat 2 gallons of water at 100 percent efficiency, or about .30 kWh at 93 percent efficiency. Each kWh emits 1.715 pounds of CO₂, on average (thank you, EPA), so heating water with electricity for each 2-gallon load emits about .51 pounds of CO₂.

Built in dishwasher vs. hand-washing: And the winner is...

These numbers indicate that it's possible to be more efficient when hand-washing, but it's pretty tough. Can you successfully wash and rinse a soiled dinner plate in just over a cup of water? If you can keep the water use low, equal to an efficient machine, you'll require less energy, but doing an entire load of dishes in 4 gallons of water is roughly equivalent to doing them all in the same amount of water you use in 96 seconds of showering (using a showerhead that emits 2.5 gallons per minute).

So, as long as you don't often run your dishwasher when it's only half full of dirty dishes, or unless you are very miserly with your water use (or have an old, inefficient dishwasher), the automatic dishwasher is likely to be more efficient. That is to say, it's possible to use less water and energy by hand washing your dishes, but it's not easy. Of course, if you do it just right, it might just be a wash.

article found here.

Unused Clothes Are Ruining Your Life

A passionate plea for simplicity and smart consumption. And 30 Easy Ways to Save Money

The message was unanimous at the kick off to the 5th Annual "Readings on the 4th Floor" at P.S. 107 in Brooklyn last night: freedom is simplifying and getting rid of stuff we really don't need, to make room for the more important things in life. Sure, you may be thinking, "consuming less is going green, but easier said than done."

Well take heart, because last night's panelists have some simple suggestions to ease your way to greater fulfillment. The ebullient Helen Coronato, mother and author of Eco-Friendly Families, suggested going through your closet and dividing your clothes into three sections: things you never wear, things you can't live without and things you maybe don't wear. Take the "nevers" to a thrift store or donation center immediately, and give the "maybes" a month. If you don't touch them, get rid of those, she said.

"Those maybes are ruining your life," said Coronato. "Freedom is getting rid of stuff, not being attached to things. You'll be amazed at how your life will change by getting rid of things. Get rid of them and make room for the stuff we really want: time."

Coronato suggests donating gently used business attire to a nonprofit organization like Dress for Success, which distributes clothes to low-income women who need to look sharp to pass a job interview. Weighted down by too many stuffed animals that no organizations will accept? No problem! Coronato pointed out that nonprofit Project Smile will get them in the hands of children who have suffered through a house fire, accident or other trauma.

Coronato's suggestions echo the mission of the Center for a New American Dream, which aims to help people live happier, more fulfilling lives while simultaneously reducing unnecessary consumption. The center has recently updated its book Your Money or Your Life, which "helps individuals calculate hours wasted working to pay for unnecessary stuff--stuff that dents both pocketbooks and planet while failing to fulfill."

Brooklyn Panelist Elizabeth Royte, author of Garbage Land and Bottlemania (the book I should have written in 2003 but didn't, not that I'm bitter or anything), suggested that people pick up free placards from local businesses and government offices to display on their homes. The signs alert mail carriers that the home is a "junk mail free zone," and she says the notice on her Park Slope, Brooklyn place has reduced her inflow of unwanted circulars and offers by at least 90% (paper has a huge impact on the environment).

From Water to Fashion, How Refreshing

Royte has also been working with municipalities across the country to bring back public drinking fountains, which she says health studies show are safe, encourage people to stay hydrated, and buck the trend of reaching for a new plastic bottle every time we need a sip. She pointed out that a number of local governments have let their once-robust supply of fountains deteriorate in the name of cost savings, what with everyone buying their own water anyway.

Coronato added that it's important to remember that everything we use has hidden costs, be it underpaid child laborers who made it in other countries, heavy fuel use to transport goods across vast oceans, and toxic by-products we don't see. She said a good place to start is to think about other solutions to needs than just buying what's most convenient. Check out thrift stores and consignment shops, skip dollar bins in discount stores (which are packed with low-quality goods you probably don't need anyway), and to regift stuff you haven't used.

Panelist Starre Vartan, TDG contributor, blogger, Greenopian and author of the Eco-Chick Guide to Life, said to her one of the most important decisions in buying clothes is longevity. She said her goal is to buy only things she'll have to wear for years to come (even after that they can be repurposed for quilts, covers, and so on).

Starre also added that two-thirds of the energy that goes into keeping us clothed is taken up by how we treat the garments we have. She suggested line drying when possible (she said if everyone in the Northeast gave up their dryers we could shutter two nuclear power plants), washing with cold water, reducing detergent, hand washing delicates and only using "green" dry cleaners if you need professional assistance (find a directory of vetted local providers at Greenopia).

The panel's moderator, Treehugger founder Graham Hill, shared some of his successes with saving money by swapping out lighting with CFLs, drying his clothes on furniture in his small apartment, and even composting in a nifty device in his kitchen.

Is All this Worth It Compared to Bigger Problems ?

When an audience member questioned whether it is really worth the time of the environmental movement to harp on and quibble about bottled water, line drying and sippy cups when the planet is facing serious threats from global warming, population explosion and other massive problems, the panelists tried to put things in perspective. "I have leared that everything we do really does matter," answered Coronato. "Every little decision. Ask if you're doing something because that's just what you did before, or if there's a better way you could be doing it. Change begins in each heart."

Royte pointed out that although consumer packaging and cast-offs are only a small portion of our overall solid waste stream, reducing that material can have a big compounding effect. "In the great book Natural Capitalism, Paul Hawken talks about how every barrel of waste we prevent from going out to our curbs saves 32 barrels of waste upstream, from all the processes that go into making the stuff we use everyday," said Royte.

Starre added, to nods from the audience, "I feel like we've gone momentarily insane over the last 25 years or so. It used to be standard to reuse things, conserve, and so on. Then everyone started thinking we had to buy all new stuff all the time."

Royte suggested that if we really want to focus on the three big areas of consumption that have the most impact, those would be: how we heat and cool our homes, how we get around and how much meat we eat.

For her part, Coronato says her goal this year is to make sure everything in her house is both beautiful and functional. With the right tips, you too can go greener, and live better.

Check these 30 Easy Ways to Save Money and Simplify

Photo Credit: Gerville Hall / Istock
found on www.thedailygreen.com

Organic Food: Healthier for You and the Planet

Though known colloquially as food that is grown to be more healthy (and is more expensive), in order for organic food to be certified as such, it must be produced under specific, legally-regulated standards and be subject to testing in order to retain certification.

Organic food: the definition
In agriculture, this means that crops were grown without the use of conventional pesticides, artificial fertilizers or sewage sludge, and that they were processed without food additives (like chemical preservatives). When it comes to animals, they must be reared without the routine use of antibiotics and growth hormones and fed a diet of organic foods. In most countries, organic produce must not be genetically modified.

Organic food "stores": a history
Historically, organic produce was almost exclusively available directly from small family-run farms or at community farmer's markets. Lately, though, organic foods are becoming much more widely available; organic food sales in the United States have grown by 17 to 20 percent a year for the past few years, while sales of conventional food have grown more slowly, at about 2 to 3 percent a year. This explosion in popularity has led the way for bigger companies, like Wal-Mart, to get into the organic food business and change the way that organics are perceived and, to a certain extent, the way they're produced.

Keep reading to learn more about the ins and outs of organic certification, the market for organic food and more. Click here for the full story on Treehugger.com.

Biodegradable Doggie Bags

When it comes time to pick up after your beloved pooch, choose a biodegradable bag instead of regular plastic. Otherwise, you are wrapping one of nature's quickest degrading substances in something that takes decades to break down.

The typical dog produces 274 pounds of waste each year, according to the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service. That's no small pile of poop. For neatness and sanitary reasons, most towns require owners to pick up after their pets, but what to do with it?

Unfortunately, if you put Lassie's waste in a plastic bag, it takes up to 100 years to decompose. Flushing it down the toilet is inconvenient, and can potentially cause problems in sewer systems because of its high amount of grit. Instead, use sturdy paper, or the biodegradable offerings from several companies. The corn-based BioBags, for example, are certified by the Biodegradable Products Institute to break down in a matter of days. They work very well in communities that have aerobic landfills that are churned up. True, biodegradable products don't work near as well in closed, anaerobic landfills, but they certainly won't hurt.

Even better is to compost the biodegradable bags, and their contents, at home or in a local community garden. Experts recommend keeping a separate setup for composting animal waste, and never use the resulting soil on anything edible, in case some pathogens survive the process. The best practice is to ensure optimum temperatures and layering, which you can learn about here.

Tip found at www.thedailygreen.com

Five Ways Obama's Inauguration Festivities Will Be Green

by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 01.15.09 Photo of the presidential seal by eschipul @ flickr.

Let's just say up front that nobody claims the Inauguration will be deep green - events like this, by their very nature, require a huge amount of car and plane travel, entailing a corresponding belch of CO2. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, reportedly says efforts to make the Inauguration green are just a joke. Just as Jimmy Carter did back in 1977, however, Obama is at least making an effort to follow some green event principles...you've gotta start somewhere, right?

Photo of green carpet by Adria Garcia @ flickr.

1. Green Carpet That is Actually Blue

Obama will walk from the bottom of the U.S. Capitol's Rotunda to the West Front podium on an "environmentally-friendly" carpet runner, according to The Hill. He will also be sworn in on recycled blue carpet. The approximately 725 yards of carpet were put together by the employees at Chief Administrative Office.

2. Talking Trash

With the hordes in D.C., trash is going to be a major topic. The group Litter Free Inauguration was dismayed by the amount of trash clogging the streets of Chicago after Obama's Election Night speech, and came together to try to get Inauguration attendees (only those without tickets, as ticket holders are under security restrictions) to bring their own trash bag and pick up after themselves, instead of depending on the many volunteers offering to do some clean up. Special recycling cans, an uncommon sight in D.C., will also reportedly grace the Mall.

Photo of "Out of Service" police horse by Richard Masoner @ flickr.

3. Recycling Horse Manure, Too

Really. No joke! The incoming Obama administration knows the Inauguration has a huge carbon footprint from an estimated 4 million people traveling to D.C. to see the swearing-in and party. So different groups are doing what they can to make the Inauguration greener - and one thing the trash corp will do is pick up all the horse manure from horses walking in the parade and deliver it to a nearby farm.

4. Day of Service, With Plenty of Green Projects

Obama's call to action for Monday, January 19th - Martin Luther King Jr. Day - may end up being the long-lasting green to come out of the horrendously expensive (estimates around $50 million) Inauguration. You can get involved with a lot of different projects, many in D.C. but also all over the country, everything from delivering food to senior citizens in need, to helping the Sierra Club clean up streams, or join Ryan Bowen as he rides his bike into town after a 50-day cycling trek from L.A.

Grammy winner Wyclef Jean will host a Green Inaugural Ball. Photo Event Emissary.

5. Not One, But Two Green Balls

There's a Green Inaugural ball hosted by Planet Green and Wyclef Jean - this one is designed to have a minimal impact, and will among other things be located a block from a Metro station; the food will be primarily organic and local; LEDs will be used for decorative lighting. Al Gore is also hosting a private, invitation-only Green Ball at the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery.
Info found on www.treehugger.com

Personality Quiz Going Green - What Is Your Green Personality Quiz - thedailygreen.com

Personality Quiz Going Green - What Is Your Green Personality Quiz - thedailygreen.com

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10 Green Home Improvement Resolutions You Must Make Now

Most of us will make resolutions on January 1st. We'll vow to quit smoking, lose weight, go to church regularly, stop drinking and to quit loafing. Most of these resolutions will be forgotten or discarded after a few weeks, and we will find ourselves back on the smokes, cakes, football, booze or the couch.

Why not make some resolutions now that will help you lower your carbon footprint and increase the energy-efficiency of your home throughout the winter and for years to come. You know what they say, "If you can't change yourself, you can at least change the environment in which you live." Nobody actually says that, but I am sure they will once they learn about these 10 green home improvement resolutions.

Resolution One: Heating
The number one source of energy consumption in the wintertime is heating. Your first resolution should be to replace your inefficient heating system. If your furnace is over twenty years old, you should think about investing in a new one. Find a contractor who has experience with energy-efficient heating systems. He should be able to calculate your home's heat loss and prescribe the proper heater for it. Make sure to purchase an Energy Star heater.

Resolution Two: Improve Furnace Efficiency
You may have a top-of-the-line furnace, but it can always stand to be tweaked for further efficiency. The easiest way to do this is to keep your filters clean, close off rooms you do not use and keep baseboards and registers clear. Make sure that drapes don't hang in front of vents. Also, you might want to invest in sealing your ducts if not already sealed. This can reduce heat loss by twenty percent.

Resolution Three: Improve Your Insulation
When you hire that contractor, have him recommend the insulation that is best for your climate. Insulating spray foam and cellulose insulation are great ways to insulate the attic of your home without undergoing a complete renovation.

Resolution Four: Improve Your Windows
Your windows are also a source of wintertime heat loss. The best but most expensive thing to do would be to replace them with double or triple pane windows. Make sure the cracks between window and house are sealed tightly. Hanging blackout curtains is a cheap way to keep warm. These curtains can reduce heat loss by 25%. A loose window pane can be fixed with little muss.

Resolution Five: Improve Your Doors
Any place a hole is punched in the thermal envelope of your house is a great place to look to for improvements. You can replace your old garage door with an insulated version. Garages are tremendous energy sucks, rarely built with efficiency in mind. Put weather stripping around your doors and windows to keep the cold air from coming in the crack. You can also purchase thick insulated doors for a few hundred dollars. These doors, like the garage doors, are filled with polystyrene.

Resolution Six: Improve Your Thermal Envelope
Warm air can escape through even the tiniest of holes. The electrical outlet is no exception. Foam insulating gaskets can easily stop this problem. An old fireplace may still have a cast iron flue damper. These flue dampers aren't known for being energy efficient. It might be time to upgrade to a modern damper. They can reduce heat loss by 90% when compared to the old-school cast iron models. Glass doors on the fireplace can also save energy.

Resolution Seven: Improve Your Water Heater
Now that you're all cozy and warm, you'll want to make sure that you have plenty of hot showers for those cold winter days. Water heaters can last about 15 years max. Replace your model with an Energy Star model. Also, you can put an insulating jacket around the tank. This has the potential to eliminate heat loss by 40%. Your water should be set at 120 degrees and make sure to insulate your hot water pipes as well as the length of pipe that leads into the heater.

Resolution Eight: Install A Programmable Thermostat
A programmable thermostat can save fifteen percent on your heating bills. On top of the monetary savings, it is good for the environment. While you are at work during the day, your heater will turn completely off or go down to the lowest setting to, you know, keep your goldfish and other fragile things warm.

Resolution Nine: Invest in a Pellet Stove
Tired of not having a fireplace? Why not get something better? Burn your bio-trash to stay warm. Spend the day roasting chestnuts on an open fire at Grandma's house. Spend the evening roasting chestnut shells for warmth in your pellet stove. Pellet stoves are a bit pricey, but they are cleaner than log-burning stoves, pump out the grip of warmth and put bio-waste to good use.

Resolution Ten: Go Solar
The best way to power your furnace and your water heater is with solar power. Solar power packages are expensive, but you don't have to buy them all at once. You can start with a converter and work your way off the grid. Each time you install a solar panel, you will eventually save money on it. Being that it is wintertime, the best solar investment may be evacuated tubes. These tubes are marvelous solar collectors that work even in cold and overcast climates.

article and image found HERE.

How to Go Green: Workouts

At this point, all those holiday cookies, cocktail parties, and lavish lunches are a distant memory—and the reality is that you're (at least) five pounds heavier than you were when you last stepped on the scale. With that post-holiday realization usually comes the equally depressing one that the wedding/vacation/other big event you thought was months away is now only a matter of weeks. It's all enough to make anyone jump right on the treadmill. But before you commit to a workout plan that depends on massive electricity usage, automotive transportation, and a slew of new gear, wait: There's a greener way.

For most of recorded history, people got their workouts the old-fashioned way: by getting outside. Of course, a lot of them were harvesting crops and tending fields, but you too can take your routine outdoors, add a modern twist, and still kill two birds with one stone. Walk to the supermarket, ride your bike to work, take up hiking or gardening—all of these ideas will have you fit and toned without the investment of a gym. If you are a gym rat, look for one that has eco-friendly qualities. And when you're looking at other exercise equipment—like sneakers, weights, and water bottles—choose green alternatives to traditional products. Who knows? You might even find exercising fun again—or, at least enjoyable enough that you can finally stick with your New Year's resolution. Read on to get started.

Top Green Workout Tips

Click here to check them out on planetgreen.com

2009 New Year's Resolutions: Make Green a Habit

The Daily Green and the Natural Resources Defense Council offer these new year's resolutions — 15 simple steps you can take each day in the new year to go green.

By NRDC Simple Steps


Switch to Reusable Towels

Cost: $6.95
No matter how you look at it, paper towels create waste. During your next trip to the grocery store, buy some reusable microfiber towels, which grip dirt and dust like a magnet, even when they get wet. When you are finished with them, toss the towels in the wash and reuse them again and again. They are even great for countertops and mirrors. When you absolutely have to use disposable towels, look for recycled products. If every household in the United States replaced just one roll of virgin fiber paper towels (70 sheets) with 100 percent recycled ones, we could save 544,000 trees.

TDG Editor note: Check out DIY green cleaning.

Run a Fully Loaded Dishwasher

Cost: $0
If you have dishwasher, use it. Running a fully loaded dishwasher -- without prerinsing the dishes -- can use a third less water than washing the dishes by hand, saving up to 10 to 20 gallons of water a day. Simply scrape large pieces of food off your dishes and let the dishwasher handle the rest. And by using the air-dry setting (instead of heat-dry), you will consume half the amount of electricity without spending a dime.

TDG Editor note: In the market for a new dishwasher? Buy an energy-efficient dishwasher.

Lower the Temp in Your Fridge

Cost: $0
As one of the biggest appliances in your kitchen, the refrigerator is also one of the most power hungry, accounting for 10 to 15 percent of the average home energy bill each month. Get your fridge running in tip-top shape. First, set the refrigerator thermostat to maintain a temperature between 38 and 42 degrees (F). This temperature will protect your food from spoiling while saving electricity. Twice a year, clean the condenser coil at the back of your fridge. Condenser coils tend to get dusty, making them less efficient.

TDG Editor note: Remodeling? Check out these green and gorgeous kitchen appliances.

Stop Buying Bottled Water

Cost: $14.98 for aluminum water bottle
Did you know that it takes 26 bottles of water to produce the plastic container for a one-liter bottle of water, and that doing so pollutes 25 liters of groundwater? Don’t leave a trail of plastic water bottles in your wake! Stop buying bottled water. Use reusable water bottles instead made from materials like stainless steel or aluminum that are not likely to degrade over time. If you choose a plastic water bottle, check the number on the bottom first: Plastics numbered 3, 6 and 7 could pose a health threat to you, so look for plastics numbered 1, 2, 4 or 5.

Turn Down Your Thermostat

Cost: $0
Electric power plants are the country's largest industrial source of the pollutants that cause global warming. By snuggling under a blanket on the couch on a snowy winter night instead of turning up the heat, or enjoying the breeze from a fan in the height of summer instead of turning up the air conditioning, you can save pounds of pollution, as well as some money off your utility bills. Set your thermostat in winter to 68 degrees F (20° C) or less during the daytime and 55 degrees F (13° C) before going to sleep or when you are away for the day. And during the summer, set thermostats to 78 degrees F (26° C) or more.

TDG Editor note: See more winterization tips.

Stop Receiving Unwanted Catalogs

Cost: $0
Each year, 19 billion catalogs are mailed to American consumers. All those catalogs require more than 53 million trees and 56 billion gallons of wastewater to produce -- and many of us don't even know how we got on so many mailing lists! So grab that stack of catalogs piling up on your coffee table and clear out the clutter. Visit CatalogChoice.org to put a stop to unwanted catalogs. Within 10 weeks, your mailbox will be empty of unwanted catalogs. A less cluttered mailbox means less pollution, less waste and less of the pollution that cause global warming.

To view the rest of the list please click here and you will be redirected to thedailygreen.com.

5 Ways Marketers Can Help the Environment

Reduce Waste, Save Paper and Spend Less

1. Get your direct mail marketing materials printed on recycled paper. When you're choosing a printing company, look for one that says they offer recycled paper. And make sure your pieces are printed on it. You are the driver.

2. Get your marketing materials printed with environmentally friendly ink. Many printing companies are switching to it, especially for processes like offset printing, which require an ample amount of ink. This way, you will not have to sacrifice the low cost and high quality of offset printing.

3. Make sure that you and the companies you hire recycle. Some do not! Recycling paper is an easy way to make a big impact on the environment. Because businesses use so much paper it's important that all businesses have a recycling program in place and actively participate in recycling paper waste. If your business doesn't have a recycling program start one. Supporting companies that recycle by giving them your business sends a strong message. Be the change you desire to see in your world.

4. Use targeted direct mail advertising. Send your marketing pieces to customers who are likely to be interested. In today's marketing world there are tools called Saturation Lists. This is a list purchased from a database company that targets residents within regional areas; from whole cities to select zip-codes, even to specific mail carrier routes. You could even generate a list of residents within an X-mile radius around your business. It even gets better: after the regional selection, you can then target very specific demographics within that selection. Do this, and you will gain more for less, whichever way you look at it.

5. Go digital. Instead of submitting print copies of your marketing materials, photos and other graphics to a printing company use digital images and documents that can be sent through email or uploaded to a website. It's faster, cheaper, and much better for the environment. You may see this as trivial, but the small things add up.

The Postcard Pros Team

found on thedailygreen.com