Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

6 attractive alternatives to everyday products that are better for the environment

Check out these sustainable (and cute) replacements that won't damage the environment.

Heidi Lux
By Heidi LuxDec 04, 2019
Heidi Lux
See Full Bio

Bans on plastic bags and straws can only go so far. Using disposable products, like grabbing a plastic fork when you're on the go, can be incredibly convenient. But these items also contribute to our growing plastic problem.

Fortunately, you can cut down on the amount of waste you produce by cutting down on disposable products. And even more fortunately, there are sustainable (and cute) replacements that won't damage the environment.

Coconut bowls


Who says sustainable can't also be stylish? These cute coconut bowls were handmade using reclaimed coconuts, making each piece one of a kind. Not only are they organic and biodegradable, but they're also durable, in case your dinner parties tend to get out of hand. The matching ebony wood spoons were polished with the same coconut oil as the bowls.

Cocostation Set of 2 Vietnamese Coconut Bowls and Spoons, $14.99; at Amazon

Solar powered phone charger

Why spend time looking around for an outlet when you can just harness the power of the sun? This solar powered phone charger will make sure your phone never dies as long as you can bask in the sun's rays. As an added bonus, this charger was made using eco-friendly silicone rubber. It's win-win all around.

Dizaul Solar Charger, 5000mAh Portable Solar Power Bank, $19.95; at Amazon, $19.95; at Amazon

Herb garden kit

Put some green in your life with this herb planter. The kit comes with everything you need to get a garden growing, including a moisture meter that helps you determine if your herbs are getting the right amount of food to flourish. All the seeds included are certified to be non-GMO and non-hybrids, meaning you can have fresh, organic herbs right at your fingertips.

Planter Pro's Herb Garden Cedar Planter, $39.00; at Amazonedar Planter, $39.00; at Amazon

Reusable Keurig cups

Keurig cups are convenient, but they also create a ton of plastic waste. These Keurig-compatible plastic cups are an easy way to cut down on the amount of trash you create without cutting down on your caffeine. Additionally, you won't have to keep on buying K Cups, which means you'll be saving money and the environment.

K&J Reusable Filter Cups, $8.95 for a set of 4,; at Amazon

Low-flow shower head

Low-flow water fixtures can cut down your water consumption, which saves you money while also saving one of the Earth's resources. This shower head was designed with a lighter flow in mind, which means you'll be able to cut down on water usage without feeling like you're cutting down on your shower.

Speakman Low Flow Shower Head, $14.58; at Amazon

Bamboo safety razor

Instead of throwing away a disposable razor every time you shave, invest in an eco-friendly, reusable one. This unisex shaver isn't just sustainable, it's also sharp-looking, which means it would make a great gift for the holidays.

Zomchi Safety Razor, $16.99; at Amazon

green productsenvironmenteco-friendlysustainability

The Latest

Woman falling in love over high-school sweetheart's 'mac & cheese soup' is pure romance
Culture

Woman falling in love over high-school sweetheart's 'mac & cheese soup' is pure romance

Mom leaves the coolest set of instructions for babysitter
News

Mom leaves the coolest set of instructions for babysitter

Sister wins brother's wedding after reading proposal he brother wrote when he was 9 years old
Humor

Sister wins brother's wedding after reading proposal he brother wrote when he was 9 years old

City lights visible from a NASA photo of Earth from outer space
Science

Astrophysicists reveal Earth once had 19-hour days for over a billion years

More For You

Man who created the first camera phone was using it to capture his child's birth
Cover Image Source: YouTube
National Geographic (A film by Conscious Minds)

Man who created the first camera phone was using it to capture his child's birth

Twenty years ago, inside a maternity ward at Sutter Maternity Center in Santa Cruz, California, Philippe Kahn’s Toshiba laptop computer sat on a desk alongside a C-section operating table where his wife was going to deliver their baby. Kahn, a French software engineer, also had a Motorola flip phone and a Casio digital camera stacked in his bag. He was nervous as he hadn’t been able to build the prototype he desired. He couldn’t find a way to connect the three things: camera, laptop, and web server. But while his wife, Sonia Lee, spent 18 hours in labor, she gave him an idea. The idea changed the photographic scene of the world forever. That day, on June 11, 1997, Kahn witnessed two births – one of his daughter Sophie and the other of the “world’s first camera phone,” a revolutionary beginning of instant photography, reported IEEE Spectrum.

Kahn had been working on his web-based photo technology for over a year. He called this technology by the name “Picture Mail.” The concept of Picture Mail was akin to what is today known as “sharing.” Users who wanted to share a picture and text with their friends and family were required to upload the picture on this web-based server. After the picture is uploaded, the server automatically creates a link to it on the web and sends it to all the people in the list through email alerts. The technology worked like a digital update system, quite similar to the social media notifications people receive today on platforms like X, Instagram, and Facebook.

Keep ReadingShow less
A dad holds his young daughter
man carrying daughter in black sleeveless top
Photo by Caroline Hernandez on Unsplash

Hearing impaired father watches 4-year-old daughter order food for him at drive-thru

Growing up with parents who have disabilities isn't easy for anyone and kids in such households grow up faster as they have more responsibilities at a young age. Zach and Courtney's young daughter Madison is one such child, and her life is often seen in posts on the family's Instagram account @oursignedworld. While the mom Courtney and daughter Madison are able-bodied, the father Zach is hearing impaired. In a popular video that gained over 9 million views on Instagram, Zach and Madison are seen at a drive-thru.

In the clip, Madison can be seen ordering for herself even though she is only 4 years old. The caption of the video clarified how Madison was only ordering for herself and how Zach usually places his orders. "As a Deaf person, I usually type out my order on my phone and show it at the window when I go through the drive-thru. But honestly, it doesn’t always go smoothly. However, Madison wanted to try ordering for herself this time, so I let her—and she loved it! She felt so proud of herself and like such a big girl," the caption read.

Keep ReadingShow less
Elderly couple and a police officer in uniform

A couple struggling with loss had a great idea after seeing someone who looked like their son.

Representative images via Canva

Couple struggled to cope with son's loss. Dad had an idea after spotting cop who looked just like his son.

Police officers are supposed to keep people safe in the streets but some cops go out of their way to help them cope with grief and trauma as well. One such police officer is Jiang Jingwei, who selflessly continued to play the part of a grieving couple's deceased son for more than a decade for a special reason. According to the South China Morning Post, Xia Zhanhai and his wife Liang Qiaoying lost their son after a gas leak in 2003. The couple from the Shanxi province of northern China were affected terribly by their son's death.

Representative Image Source: Chinese senior woman looking outside. (Photo by Pamela Jo McFarlane for Getty Images)A Chinese elderly woman at the window (Image source: Pamela Jo McFarlane for Getty Images)

Keep ReadingShow less
Incredible reason why millionaire invited a homeless couple to live in his $4M mansion
Cover Image Source: YouTube I @BBC

Incredible reason why millionaire invited a homeless couple to live in his $4M mansion

It's not every day that a homeowner in the Bay Area's Piedmont neighborhood opens up the doors of their home to the needy. However, in 2019, property developer Terry McGrath did just that. He offered a homeless couple, Greg Dunston and his wife Marie McKinzie, a place to live in his $4 million mansion in California, per the San Francisco Chronicle.

Representative Image Source: Pexels I Photo by PixabayRepresentative Image Source: Pexels I Photo by Pixabay

Keep ReadingShow less
Family posts a very chill note to neighbors explaining why their dog is on the roof
Dog Sitting on Roof
Reddit

Family posts a very chill note to neighbors explaining why their dog is on the roof

While strolling through a quiet neighborhood, you might do a double take if you spotted this majestic sight. Concerned for the welfare of a dog perched on a roof, you’d likely approach the house and say, “Uh, I’m not sure if you know, but there’s...a dog on your ROOF."

Well, the family inside is aware that there's often a dog on their roof. It's their pet Golden, Huckleberry, and he just sorta likes it up there.

Keep ReadingShow less
Engraving by Hendrik Hondius portraying three people affected by the plague. Work based on original drawing by Pieter Brueghel.

The "dancing plague" remains a mystery 500 years later

Engraving by Hendrik Hondius portraying three people affected by the plague. Work based on original drawing by Pieter Brueghel.

A plague that made people dance for 3 months straight remains a scientific mystery 500 years later

Documentaries, books, and even songs have been written about the day a woman got up one day and danced, but couldn't stop.

Her name was Frau Troffea, and she lived in Strasbourg. One day, in July of 1518, she simply started to dance. There was reportedly no music. No drumbeat. Just a woman dancing in the middle of a street for days on end. She, according to an article in Historyfacts.com, "danced alone and continuously for an entire week before several dozen others found themselves overcome by the urge to dance as well."

Keep ReadingShow less
“No LGB without T” protest decries trans erasure on the Stonewall National Monument website

At the “No LGB without T” Protest

Elyssa Goodman

“No LGB without T” protest decries trans erasure on the Stonewall National Monument website

It became clear on Thursday, February 13 2025 that the National Parks Service had removed any mention of transgender individuals and the word queer from the Stonewall National Monument’s website–the Stonewall National Monument is the site of the famed Stonewall Uprising, a foundational event of the fight for queer civil rights, of which transgender and gender nonconforming people were an essential part. New York City activists and local government officials quickly assembled a “No LGB without T” Protest for the next day.

As the famed Stonewall Inn, site of the Uprising, and its corresponding Stonewall Inn Gives Back Initiative shared, “This blatant act of erasure not only distorts the truth of our history, but it also dishonors the immense contributions of transgender individuals–especially transgender women of color–who were at the forefront of the Stonewall Riots and the broader fight for LGBTQ+ rights.”

Keep ReadingShow less
Adam Sandler plays guitar and sings during a live comedy show

In a resurfaced live video, Adam Sandler plays a hilarious and impressive cover of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door."

Screenshot from Just for Laughs YouTube video

Adam Sandler hits the high notes in resurfaced 1992 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' cover

Comedy and music are have always been joined at the hip, and that especially applies to performers from the sketch-comedy institution Saturday Night Live. (For a real deep dive on that subject, check out Questlove’s excellent documentary Ladies & Gentlemen … 50 Years of SNL Music.)

One of the show’s definitive two-way talents was Adam Sandler, though a lot of casual fans forget about his musical skills. Now they have a reminder: In a newly resurfaced clip from the 1992 Just for Laughs festival in Montreal, the "Sand Man" performs a solo acoustic snippet of Bob Dylan’s 1973 folk-rock classic "Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door." His take is hilarious and technically impressive, drawing both cheers and laughter as he channels the snarling Guns N’ Roses version.

Keep ReadingShow less
© Copyright 2025