The Austin Recycle Games!

A 2015 independent study revealed that one Texas city haphazardly tosses away 46% compostable material and 44% recyclable material into its local landfill, leaving room for a meager 10% of actual landfill garbage and unwittingly throwing away an estimated $4.7 million in recyclables. That city, ladies and gentleman, is Austin, Texas.

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Handmade Lotions for Happy Skin

Anyone who has lived in South Texas for more than a year knows that snow is a rare miracle during our wintertime season. Dry, cracked skin, however? A Christmas-time regular. Instead of spending oodles of money on factory-made lotions and scrubs injected with artificial ingredients, hydrate your skin the way it was meant to be pampered…

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Nature’s Secret to Allergy Relief

The arrival of Fall usually results in a period of annual confusion for us in Texas: on the one hand, the summer heat flickers out to a cooler autumn breeze, a considerable amount of pumpkins go on display in neighborhood yards, and excited whispers of turkey (and football) fill the air; on the other hand,…

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The Recycling Handbook

While banning plastic bags in grocery stores may seem like a useless and inconvenient policy in the short run, take a moment to consider how many plastic bags you’ve seen floating around street corners and tangled in tree branches. About 2 million plastic bags are used every day around the world…each of them made from a…

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Green Supplies for the New School Year

Whether it’s rushing to eat their breakfast, hurrying to cram for that quiz, or asking for help with their math homework…it is officially that time again! With school almost in session and supply shopping in full swing, it can be tempting to turn a blind eye towards environmentally friendly and health conscious supplies in order…

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Trash, Recycling, & Waste: The Disposal Guide

We’ve all been there: standing in front of our garbage cans, holding some unusual item that may…or may not?…be disposable, recyclable, compostable, or- unbeknownst to you -classified as hazardous household waste. The world’s landfills are already overburdened with wasted food and irresponsibly discarded scrap, so in order to reduce carbon footprints around the nation, The…

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Green Gear for the Great Outdoors

Summer is officially in full swing, beckoning us out of our homes and into the splendor of the wilderness! While many assume that they must compromise their eco-integrity in order to enjoy an outdoor hobby, activities like running, hiking, swimming, and camping can now be easily enhanced with environmentally conscious equipment and apparel. Keep your body (and the…

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A Salute to America’s Greenest Hotspots

As unique of a city as Austin is, it only takes up a tiny corner of the map when it comes to the rest of this sprawling nation. To celebrate America’s 239th birthday, we at the Purple Fig want to pay homage to the exciting eco-friendly progress this country has made over the recent years by…

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Eco-Friendly Travel Tips

Planning a much-needed summer getaway this year? Whether you’ve only just begun hatching those vacation plans, or you’re already zipping up the luggage bag, don’t forget to keep your carbon footprint in mind during your travels! There are many simple and helpful ways to experience an amazing journey while still being kind to the planet.

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Urban Gardening for Beginners

As Austin continues to transform from a sleepy college town into a booming concrete jungle, there seems to be less and less room for anything– let alone plots of land to call your own. The average city-dwelling Austinite definitely doesn’t own a greenhouse, so what do you do when you want a productive garden in a teeny…

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