Photograph by Janet Mayer / PR Photos.
Good Housekeeping Magazine has a fab article ONLINE HERE with interesting celebrity insights on going green. Julia Roberts, Kate Hudson, Sheryl Crow, Brooke Shields, Gayle King, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Jennifer Aniston all chime in with their green-living tips (and beauty tips to boot!). Here are a few highlights from the article that resonated with me….
Sheryl Crowe:
Photograph by A. Gilbert / PR Photos.
“When my son was 3 months old, I took him to the zoo. At the polar bear exhibit, Wyatt’s face lit up when he saw the baby polar bear. It was amazing for me to watch them connect — these living beings who share a planet. But I also felt panic and overwhelming sadness knowing the impact our environment is having on polar bears and on us.
“Yet I see something very hopeful in kids — the birth of new activists. Kids don’t just feel helplessness and panic but a sense of injustice, too. I sometimes think the thing that keeps adults from acting is cynicism, a belief that we can’t really change things. Kids aren’t like that. They’re awake to what’s around them, so they can actually do something about it. We teach our kids all these ideals: Let’s leave the Earth a better place than we found it. Kids are motivated not just by what’s in their heads but by what they actually see, like a baby polar bear. They can be the ones to motivate us, their parents, to change.”
Gayle King:
Photograph by Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos.
“It’s just about my biggest regret as a parent. Instead of letting them eat Ho Hos and Twinkies and saying, ‘If you’re good, I’ll let you have some ice cream,’ why couldn’t I have said, ‘If you’re good, I’ll let you have some apple slices’? I’m not saying that, if I had it to do over again, my son would never have gone to one of those ice cream birthday parties. But it’s about education and moderation.
“Kids learn manners from their parents; why shouldn’t they learn from them the beauty of asparagus? I’m not one of those mothers who could ever have grown her own garden. But if I had to do it all over again, I would really celebrate the joys of carrots and broccoli and spinach. I certainly would have felt better had I tried. And, of course, my children would have, too.”
Gwyneth Paltrow:
Photograph by Janet Mayer / PR Photos.
“My mom has always been conscious of the environment and health issues. When I was growing up, we would go to farmers’ markets and even had wheatgrass in the kitchen. She started a curbside recycling program in Santa Monica, CA, in the seventies, and each week I drove with her to the recycling center.
“It wasn’t until later that I understood the harm that can come from pesticides and other chemicals in food. As soon as I did, I tried to eat foods that were organic, grown locally, and not processed or full of preservatives. That was reinforced when I became a parent. When I’d read about what pesticides do to small animals, I thought, Why would I expose my child to that?
“Now, we also do other things to protect our family’s health, from installing a water-filtration system to using nontoxic shampoos. I try to open the windows in the day — an old-fashioned airing out — even in winter, because the air inside the house is often more polluted than the air outside.
“I just want my kids to be as healthy as they possibly can. And I feel like eating well is the best start for living well.”
Jennifer Aniston:
“Some things are important for the world to know…like how long I shower. Seriously. I take a three-minute shower. I even brush/wash — brush my teeth while I shower. Here’s why: I learned that every two minutes in the shower uses as much water as a person in Africa uses for everything in their life for a whole day — drinking, bathing, cooking, and cleaning — everything! When you become aware of all the things you do, and the effect those things have, you want to make small changes … When I found out that my cell phone charger still uses energy when it’s plugged in and it’s not being used, I began unplugging it. It all goes back to awareness and knowing better and then making a simple shift in habit. Eventually, it just becomes second nature. If we all begin to learn from one another and share some of the things we do, we just might be able to affect the world for the better through these little rituals.”
You know, I’ve tried the toothpaste in the shower thing? But, I find you use A LOT less water if you DON’T brush in the shower. When I brush (at the sink), I use a teeny bit of water just to wet the brush and rinse. When I shower, I’m using a whole SHOWER of water to wet the brush, etc., etc? I don’t get that. Also, I don’t get the 3-minute shower thing. I’m definitely conscious of how long my showers are, but 3 minutes seems next to impossible…. Maybe when I FINALLY shed my pregnancy poundage and LOOK LIKE JENNIFER ANISTON, it’ll take less time to wash me teeny bawd. We’ll SEE!!!
I hope you enjoyed the GREEN. What are your fave eco-tips, Gorgeouses??
