Interested in Green Bargain Shopping Tips?

Please allow me to introduce myself: I am the bargain shopper and, recently, have become the green bargain shopper as well. There is something immensely gratifying about finding a great deal on a great green product. There is also something immensely gratifying about passing along these “finds” to others.

Target (http://www.target.com/) is my go-to for bargains and, in a recent blog, I revealed the exceptional Method (http://www.methodhome.com/) and Flor (http://www.flor.com/) deals I found there. I returned to Target this week and found additional green bargain shopping deals:

· Natura (http://www.naturaworld.com/) pillows. For around $40/each, these good-for-you and good-for-the-earth pillows are a steal.

· Burt’s Bees (http://www.burtsbees.com/) products. We all know and love Burt and his bees and their wide range of natural lotions and potions. When I was in the store earlier this week, they all happened to be on sale.

If you don’t live near a Target store, check out the eco friendly page on their site (http://www.target.com/b/?node=357202011&ref=sc_iw_l_2_2) with all kinds of products to reduce, reuse, recycle (from recycled dinnerware to solar powered items to Energy Star appliances) . . . bamboo, hemp, and jute products (from rugs to yoga gear to pet supplies) . . . organic products (from bedding to apparel to toys) . . . natural beauty products (from Avalon Alba to Juice Organics to Jason) . . . and pre-owned products (from iPods to TVs to videos).

Switching stores, I've also found that many TJX stores (http://www.tjx.com/) like TJ Maxx and HomeGoods carry well-made and well-priced organic goods. I just stocked up on organic towels at TJ Maxx—and all on super clearance, of course.

In an ideal world, we’d all support our local stores—especially health food stores—and we’d ignore the giant retailers. But every dollar counts in an economy like this. My suggestion is to shop green at Target and TJX (and all others that carry green products) while also spending as much green as you can at your local stores . . . even the green bargain shopper pays retail once in a while when I know my money is helping my local economy.

Question of the blog: Where do you find your best green bargains?

Are You a Green Bargain Shopper?

Yesterday, Mark and I needed sunscreen and dashed into our local Target (www.target.com) to pick up a fresh supply. While there, we couldn’t resist participating in what we call “perimeter patrol.” Any of you who regularly shop at Target know all the sale items are generally displayed at the end of each aisle, around the perimeter of the store.

During our hunt for green bargains, we found lots of Method (www.method.com) products on sale. We’ve been using Method’s eco-conscious soaps and lotions for some time now and we’re always happy to see its products on sale. We were even happier, however, to find another product on sale: Flor (www.flor.com) carpet tiles. Flor is a great product that lets you be creative with carpet tiles you can mix and match and use in any pattern you desire.

And here’s the green part: Flor tiles are made in the USA, most face constructions are nylon or natural fibers like hemp or wool, and backings are a composite, made up of some recycled materials. They also have the lowest VOC (new carpet smell) in the industry . . . and they are recyclable.

All this and they were on sale at Target. Actually, they were on super clearance. Each box of six tiles normally retails for $59.99 and we bought four boxes for $7.49 each. So much for green costing lots of green.

I’ll end this with a shopping tip from me to you. The Flor boxes were actually marked $41.95, but one box had a sticker that said $7.49. Since Target has all those scanners around that tell you the price of an object when you scan its barcode, we took all the boxes over and found they were all $7.49. Not wanting to be greedy, we put half the boxes back on the shelf--even though we really wanted them all (hey, I believe in Karma!). Before we walked away, I noticed a woman came over, looked at the tiles, saw the $41.95 price tag, and put a box in her cart. “You know,” I said to her, “They actually ring up for $7.49. You should get all of them.” And she did.

Question of the blog: What’s your favorite green bargain shopping story?