Marc Jacobs Nylon Eco Tote

Exuberance First Love travel pack

Neo Speakers

Down to Earth Travel Pillow

A greener getaway - don't leave home without this eco-friendly travel gear.

 Haul it All

The hardshell casing of EcoCase by Heys USA luggage are made from 100 percent recycled plastic, and the set is equipped with wheels and piggy-back straps for a hassle-free getaway. $450 for three-piece set, heysusa.com

Get Charged

Juice your iPod, BlackBerry, or cellphone with the Magnesium Edition solar charger. An hour of sunlight gives you 20 minutes of talk or tune time, and the gadget comes with a rechargeable battery so you can power up anywhere. $169.95, soilio.com

Bag It

Say no to plastic: Stuff souvenirs, snacks, and sunscreen into the Marc Jacobs Nylon Eco Tote, which folds up into a purse-friendly pouch. $9, marcjacobs.com for stores

Lighten Your Load

Who wants to lug around a heavy travel guide? Download your destination info (the best restaurants, sites, activities) into your iPhone using the Sehat Rosny app. $.99-$2.99 depending on destination, apple.com/itunes

Primp on the Go

The Exuberance First Love travel pack comes with 10 luxurious organic face products - including eye cream and green-tea facial cleanser - in containers sized to sail through security.  $34, beautorium.com

Tune Out

Made from recycled materials, these compact Neo Speakers fold up for easy storage and portability. $14.95, fashionationstyle.com

Sleep More Soundly

The 100 percent organic cotton Down to Earth Travel Pillow by The Happy Earth is made from recycled memory foam to cushion your noggin on long car and plane trips. $22, amazon.com

3 WAYS TO TRAVEL AND PROTECT THE EARTH AT THE SAME TIME

> Stay in a green hotel

 TO find one, log on to www.environmentalfriendlyhotels.com and enter your desired destination. The site ranks hotels, motels, resorts, and B&Bs based on green amenities and human-friendly cleaning supplies, rely onalternative energ, and hiring local workers

> Fuel up at an eco-friendly time

The transfer of gas from the pump to your tank isn't airtight, so getting gas when temps are highest causes fuel to evaporate faster. Filling your tank in the early morning or evening, when temps are lower, keeps smog- and pollution-forming fumes from escaping into the atmosphere.

> Minimize your carbon crimes

When you drive or fly, you can offset some of the pollution caused by global warming emissions. Go to terrapass.com or carbonfund.com to calculate your carbon footprint and purchase credits, which will help support hundreds of pollution-reduction projects, such as wind farms

ECO CENTRIC - Q & A

I've heard that lawn-mowers are bad for the environment. Is that true? - Cora C., Devon, DE

If you're talking about standard gas-powered mowers, then yes, it's true. Mowing your lawn for one hour is the emissions equivalent of driving a compact car from Boston to New York (about 200 miles). Blame their inefficient two-cycleengines - they spew as much as 25 percent of the fuel as exhaust, and that sends clouds of hydrocarbons, and carbon dioxide into the air. Blech. Try mowing less frequently (longer grass makes for a healthier lawn - three to four inches is ideal) and changing your mower's oil regularly. If you're updating and older model, consider a quiet, emissions-free electric mower lke the Homelite 20-inch cordless electric mower ($329, homedepot.com) or a push reel maula mower (from $85.50, planetnatural.com).

 Is there such a thing as a "green tampon"? - Kim R., Miami, FL

Yes. You can find tampons made from 100 percent organic cotton that have not been chemically bleached. Buying organic products helps reduce the amount of chemicals leeched into the environment during the production and disposal of the materials. Look for Natracare organic all-cotton tampons ($8.29 for 16, organicdirect.com) or the chlorine-free organic cotton applicator tampons by Seventh Generation (seventhgeneration.com for stores).

Ask the Expert

womenshealthmag.com/experts

going green is simple

eco-guru Renee Loux shows you how

send her your Q's, and visit her at reneeloux.com

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