With more people working at home, a lot of unnecessary commuting can become a thing of the past for many.? But the home office environment is rarely a symbol of environmental efficiency itself.? Mountains of wasted paper across your desk.? The heater blasting.? A computer that never sleeps.? If you want to tighten up these glitches, here are 10 eco-friendly changes to make in your home office.

1.? Unplug Yourself from the Grid
Sitting in a brightly lit room with the curtains closed and blasting an air conditioner while a cool breeze blows across the yard?? All those hours stuck in the office can add up to high energy costs.? Open the windows for a draft or open the blinds to let in natural light and heat.? Make your work time less of a drain on the power grid.

2.? Bring Back the Paperless Office
The paperless office was once a dream and the future of the internet, but as the future has arrived it turns out our virtual lifestyles often end up creating more waste.? There are so many file-sharing, file-storing, and back up programs available now that there is really no need to keep paper records of everything as long as you use multiple storage medias, and our communication methods make most other reasons for printing just plain ridiculous.

3.? Maximize Your Paper
When you do print, keep it limited and use both sides of the paper sheets if at all possible. Buy recycled paper or papers made from.? When possible, be sure to recycle. Use a paper shredder to dispose of paper?you can even use it in your garden.

4.? Be a Computer Nerd
By becoming more tech savvy, you can learn more even more ways limit paper needs and increase productivity.? Organize things well online and there is less chance of losing files, which is often the reason a user prints out something out of frustration.

5.? Manage E-Waste
Dispose of e-waste properly to minimize environmental impact and before you replace something just because it is environmentally friendly, be sure you know the actual environmental trade-off of wasting the old model to buy the new.? Many times a computer can be recycled to make use of its spare parts or passed on to someone who needs it if it is still in working fashion.? Here is an idea.? Give it to a young person and encourage them to start a website about promoting green principles.

6.? Shut Your Computer Off
Just like your other appliances, you should always turn off your computer when you?re not using it so it doesn?t continue draining power.? According to the Alliance to Save Energy, $2.8 billion dollars is spent annually in America alone by people who simply leave their computers running.

7.? Use Green-Powered Online Services
Even our ?virtual? world has a physical impact on the Earth.? A web hosting server, for instance, is responsible for the same emission levels of a 15mpg automobile.? Fortunately, many companies are stepping up to the plate and using renewable energy resources to run their systems.? Hostgator and Green Hosting are two examples.? Find out what other online services you use for your business or personal life and identify the industry leaders who make the effort to be green.

8.? Learn Productivity Skills
Not only do productivity skills teach you how to make your time more efficient, but if you can learn to work better faster, than you spend less time on the computer, correct?? Not to mention the train of thought associated with productivity thinking spills over into other areas of life.? More efficiency is usually a good thing when we?re talking about out interaction with the environment.

9.? Use Recycled Furniture
Cheap office furniture is always easy to come by.? Forget about that stylish brand new office setup you want to buy so the people who never see your office think you are a professional.? Hit up your friends who are downsizing.? Check out craisglist.com for cheap purchases or freecycle.org for free furniture.? Hit yard sales and second-hand stores.? There is plenty of decent furniture out there to snatch up.

10.? Stop Being a Computer Geek
Are all those wasted hours online really necessary?? It isn?t doing much for those productivity skills you?ve been learning, and the chances are you are going to play around on that cool new site about picking up women for a few hours and never apply it to the real world, so save the trouble.? Instead, why not go outside and meet some real people?? Use that extra time you?ve created by doing something worth doing.? It?s better for the environment and better for you.

These are just a few things you can do to make the home office a greener room and a greener part of your life.? Just like any other area of you life, there are countless changes, small and big, to make you mark on the world less significant.? Get creative.? That is the real key.? And look through the habits you have created for yourself that are based on old foundations of thought.? Bring the green lifestyle into your office, make it a comfortable healthy place to work, and get on that computer to start making social changes.

One thing I spend a lot of time thinking about for this site is what it really means when we call a product, company, or service “green,” “eco,” “environmentally-friendly,” or “organic.” It seems that there are an increasingly large number of companies jumping on the “green” bandwagon, but how do we know if what they are offering is actually green or simply marketed as such?

When I research and write about green companies and products for this site, I try to pay attention to the each company’s environmental and human rights policies, look up sourcing information on the materials used to make products, and concern myself with the entire life cycle of a “green” product – from conception to delivery. In doing so, I’ve certainly thrown out some “eco” products that weren’t all that green upon further examination.

I’ve been reading more and more recently about the “Zero Waste” movement. Zero waste is a concept whereas all of the materials required to manufacture products are used in various ways. In doing so, the externalities of the manufacturing process are significantly reduced, waste is removed from the manufacturing process, and new goods are created using materials that would otherwise be tossed into a landfill or incinerator. By creating zero waste products and working within a zero waste manufacturing system, companies can ensure they are participating in the highest form of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” possible.

If you’re interested in finding clothing that’s been produced using the Zero Waste mentality, there are a few cutting edge designers and organizations out there in whom you might be interested. London-based designer Mark Liu rolled over his Singularity Point Collection at the London Fashion Week in February of this year. By employing a unique cutting technique, Liu saves over 15% of the fabric needed to create his designs, and therefore reduce the amount of fabric needed and waste produced in the manufacture of his high-end clothing line. Liu’s fashions aren’t cheap (they fall into the – “if you have to ask you probably can’t afford it” price range), but are fun, eco-friendly and very sexy!

Another of these cutting edge Zero Waste designers is Caroline Priebe of the 5 in 1 Studio in Brooklyn , NY. Priebe designs under the Uluru label, and works in cashmeres, silks and hemp fabrics. When creating pieces, Priebe saves every scrap of fabrics and “upcycles” all of the previous years’ scrap remnants into the details and finishings on her new garments. By ensuring that every possible piece of fabric is used in some way, shape or form, Priebe is able to bring her Zero Waste collections to market. I like the $200 Cashmere Dress (on the left). It’s made with 100% cashmere and finished with a black silk scarf that was most likely salvaged from the trash!

The Zero Waste philosophy of fashion design is still in its infancy, and the cost of these products reflect the fact that this may become the next big thing for high-end fashionistas. Like most fashion trends, Zero Waste clothing will probably come down in price over the next few years – and like most things – is most affordable if you can make create your own personal Zero Waste line! I’ve listed a few sites below if you’re interested in learning more about this emerging trend and finding out about other designers who are turning their minds to reducing waste and designing the most eco-friendly clothing possible!

Zero Waste – The Newest Eco-Fashion from Planet Green

Zero Waste Designers by Laurel House of White Apricot

Related articles by Zemanta

• How to Turn Unrecyclable Waste Into an Asset
• A Challenge For Toronto: Go Zero Waste
• Zero Waste: The Newest Eco-Fashion Innovation?