First celebrated 51 years ago on April 22nd, Earth Day was a holiday born of civic-mindedness, meant to celebrate nature in all her glorious forms, and to take one rotation of the Earth to give something back to her.
Sustainability was not so much a buzz word then as it is now, and we were unlikely to see Earth Day sales on recycled rugs or buy-one-plant-one offers back in the ’70s.
Today though, Earth Day has a whole new connotation, since caring for our rock is becoming more important than ever before.
This year, GNN has gone out and found some great deals for responsible splurging—ways to treat yourself, your wallet, and the planet.
1) Buy-1-Plant-5 on recycled smartphone cases
A couple of 100% biodegradable plant-made smartphone cases are a great way to reduce plastic pollution. Incipio makes such phone cases for all Samsung and Apple phones, and for Earth Day they’ve partnered with Eden Reforestation to offer customers a way to allow their consumer spending to aid in regrowing the biosphere.
Throughout the month of April, Incipio will increase its donation from one tree to five trees for every Organicase sold, contributing to reforestation in places like Madagascar, Haiti, Nepal, and others.
2) Plan the Greenest-Possible Funeral
Better Place Forests allows people to leave behind a legacy of conservation by reserving of a memorial tree in their unique “memorial forest preserves.”
At a fraction of the cost of a normal funeral service, one can reserve a tree in some of the most beautiful forests in the U.S., around which ashes can be scattered. The costs of the service go to preserving the forest in the highest possible standard forever.
Partnering with nonprofit One Tree Planted to help reforest America, for each memorial tree that is reserved, Better Place Forests plants anywhere from 25-400 Impact Trees, in the customer’s honor, in areas that have been impacted by deforestation or forest fires. This month, in honor of Earth Month, Better Place Forests will be looking to plant 25-50 additional Impact Trees for every person who schedules a tour with them before Earth Day.
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3) An American holiday classic: a Mattress Sale
My Green Mattress started when a mattress crafter wanted to design a superior mattress for his child who suffered from eczema and allergies. Now they offer Certified Organic mattresses made from organically grown and responsibly sourced materials.
Right now they’re offering $100 off a twin or larger-size mattress, with the coupon code broadcast on their website.
4) Those ocean plastic bracelets
The famous maker of bracelets that pulls plastic out of the ocean is offering a special Earth Day bracelet. Pairing with a non-profit that plants coastal trees, the normal deal of one pound of marine trash per one bracelet sold is also including a $1 donation to tree planting.
Their limited edition bracelet comes with two charms, one for 4Ocean and the other for SeaTrees, the non-profit, and features green beads in addition to blue ones.
GNN featured 4Ocean’s efforts last year, when they reached 8 million pounds of diverted ocean garbage, to try and show this brand is actually making a huge difference.
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5) Tentree: seriously sustainable
The money it costs to be a seriously sustainable fashion company these days can be recouped by the demand for responsible consumerism. Therefore we picked the most sustainable fashion brand we could find, and came up with a company that uses wood pulp, hemp, organic cotton, and recycled polyester—and only recycled packaging materials.
Tentree’s fashion staples also plant trees for every one sold, which has so far resulted in 55 million planted. Each purchase you make comes with a code which you can enter on their website to see where in the world your trees were planted.
For the whole month of April they are supporting projects from other sustainable brands as well as offering big savings on their items, and if you use the promo code SAPLINGS10, you’ll get an additional 10% off.
6) Wearing clouds
Made of post-consumer recycled plastic water bottles and organic cotton, Soft Serve Clothing’s hoodie and joggers get rave reviews all saying the same thing: It’s like wearing a cloud.
Allegedly as soft as a baby chinchilla, all of their products are ethically produced in sweat-shop-free manufacturing environments, and the materials come sourced in a sustainable fashion that is eco-friendly and free from any harsh chemicals. Get $10 off when signing up for their email updates.
7) Walk the earth
Earth Shoes do things differently in the world of footwear. They use water-based, non-toxic adhesives in all their shoes and packaging. They also cut out chemicals in their tanning process, using vegetable tannins instead.
They also help reforest the Earth, through their partner treesforthefuture.org, which has so far planted over 1.7 million trees.
Sorry lads, this Earth Day sale is only for the gals, but you can get up to 50% off a large variety of footwear, from boots to sandals.
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8) A new linen cupboard
If you are in need of new linens, Simply Organic Bamboo bedsheets, bedspreads, throws, duvets, and towels are a great way to give the bedroom a sustainable spring cleaning. Bamboo grows extremely fast and stores little carbon, so it is perfect for many different uses, including linens.
Naturally antibacterial, softer than cotton, and better at remaining cool overnight, it’s a great alternative to less sustainable options.
They have a deal going on now where the coupon code: CUDDLY gets you half off the price of a bamboo throw blanket to give as a gift, if you buy one.
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9) K-cups that are now recycled and reward charities
While K-cups and Nespresso pods are convenient for making a hot cuppa joe, they are not easily recyclable, and just create far more waste than normal coffee brewing. However, in a new partnership with GNN’s favorite recycler, Terracycle, you can not only ensure your morning coffee is not adding to landfills, but that it’s actively contributing to important causes.
Don Francisco’s coffee is delicious, and if you buy their K-cup and Nespresso pods, either directly or through Amazon, they will give you a pre-paid shipping label to mail them back all your coffee-pod waste, and earn points towards donations to charities of your choice.
Also if you use the code EARTH20, you’ll save 20% off of your coffee orders.
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