As you celebrate Earth Day consider books which focus on Green and Sustainability issues. Whether your focus is on eco-friendly building and design or just easy every day solutions, we encourage you to take a look at some of our suggestions. Now there are more and more options to be eco-friendly without sacrificing style, taste or space.

It’s Easy Being Green by Crissy Trask
In It’s Easy Being Green you can learn how to make better choices for the environment. This is what the busy person needs to start making changes today. Get informative, comprehensive and practical information for adopting greener buying habits and identifying earth-friendly products; shopping for green products online; participating in online activism; and learning from over 250 eco-tips for cultivating a sustainable environment.

Some very simple tips include installing rain gutters and rain barrels to collect rainwater from your roof to use in the garden. Shifting appliance use to off-peak hours. Making your own household cleaners instead of relying on toxic commercial products. Or submerging a plastic bottle in your toilet tank to save one quart of water per flush and thousands of gallons a year.

This book concurrently presents a plan, tips and an Internet resources list that you can use to follow-through on good intentions. An extensive product labels list is also provided to help interpret how some foods are produced. If you haven’t invested in substantially greener behaviors, consumerism and politics because you didn’t know how or thought it was difficult, help is here: It’s Easy Being Green is a handbook for all those who aspire do more to protect the environment but want it to be simpler.

Microgreens by Eric Franks
This can become your guide to growing nutrient-packed greens. Microgreens-vegetables harvested soon after sprouting-are expected to be one of 2009′s hottest food trends.‚ With simple instruction, Microgreens teaches how to plant, grow, and harvest microgreens from one’s own garden. The small amount of space needed to grow microgreens-a porch, patio, deck, or balcony will do-allows anyone to easily incorporate them into their daily meals, and the greens’ nutritional potency make them a must-eat in a healthy diet. ‚ Some of the microgreens discussed include amaranth, arugula, basil, beet, cilantro, cress and mustard.

Green by Design: Creating a Home for Sustainable Living‚ by Angela M. Dean
In this book, Dean offers specific, hands-on advice for creating sustainable homes. The book’s four primary chapters cover design intent, design process, design strategies, and design specifics. Each of these chapters provides some information in the main text, then conveys a lot more information through detailed case studies. Although it is not a detailed reference guide, this book does provide a solid overview of green building for homeowners. So, if you are planning a remodeling in your apartment or venturing into buying a new house you can find out what options you have ‚ to create a environmentally aware home.

Calypso Studios, an eco-fashion company based in Richmond, Virginia, recently launched their new line of eco-friendly S.H.O.P Totes. With over 500 billion plastic bags used annually, the unique S.H.O.P. (Start Helping Our Planet) Totes are designed to make a difference bag by bag. Ed and Kathy Lawrence, founders of Calypso Studios‚ have announced their First Annual Earth Day Event with the kick-off of their S.H.O.P Totes giveaway.

The‚ business‚ has vowed to donate over $10,000 worth of their S.H.O.P Totes on the 39th Annual Earth Day. Today you can register on their website to win an Acts of Kindness S.H.O.P. Tote. The drawing ends on April 22, and the eco-friendly winners will receive their bag after Earth Day to accessorize their wardrobe and to support Calypso’s mission of re-using shopping bags.

With the collaboration of several American artists, Lori Siebert, Emma Hand, Robin Roderick, Tina Higgins, and Andrea Tachiera, Calypso Studios was able to launch their artistic collection to the world in January. The Start Helping Our Planet Tote not only eliminates the amount of plastic that our planet consumes, but is easy to carry, giving modern consumers a sustainable alternative to plastic bags. The totes easily roll up into a 2″ X 3″ size, and three of the bags fit into one convenient wristlet carrying case.‚ 

“In our ever growing eco-friendly world, we are proud to announce our Start Helping Our Planet Totes,” said Kathy Lawrence. “They are convenient, fashionable and can travel with consumers everywhere they go.”

Besides caring for the environment Calypso also works closely with American Artists, creating jewelry and accessories from earth’s natural elements that are fashionable, economical, and earth friendly. And, a percentage of all their sales go towards‚ ‚ environmental organizations the business is‚ involved‚ with. So, go ahead and enter your name to win that tote, maybe you will find an earth-friendly accessory to buy too.

So April is not just about the great looks you will put together with the great deals you will find at your favorite stores. No, April is also about caring for the earth and doing something special for Earth Day, April 22.

However, if you’re not the type of woman that plants a tree or join PETA we have a cute‚ alternative‚ for you so you can look the part. One of our favorite stylists at SalonCapri, Nick Penna Jr., has shared‚ some neat hair tips to create‚ dreadlocks, the easy way.

Start by sectioning off your hair into half-inch sized pieces.‚ Apply a wax to the section of hair smoothly. By using a comb, tease the root area of the hair and begin to twist the hair slowly.‚ Spray with a light hairspray and you twist and use a flat iron to hold the hair in place and move it up and down to create a “dreadlock” look. Not only will this look real but you won’t have to shave your hair afterward.

Now, in order to do‚ something‚ that will actually help Mother Earth, Penna also gave us these earth-friendly beauty suggestions, like skipping on shampoo to conserve hair products and save money on your hair.

Shower daily, but don’t always shampoo. Just wash out hair with water and dry it normally.‚ Three times a week use shampoo and wash hair thoroughly. By reducing the amount of times you shampoo a week, you can also save on fading your color.

“Washing your hair every other or every third day is fine and actually better for your hair. Invest in a good shampoo. While it may cost more up front, it lasts much longer and you don’t need as much,” Penna said.

Now that you got the look part down for April 22, start looking for a charity that will be hands-on protecting the environment so that you can donate some of the money you will save on those hair products.

There actually are some ways for you to take care of your hair while being green and reducing your carbon footprint.

Nicholas Penna Jr., of SalonCapri in Newton Highlands and Hyde Park, Mass., talked to Blast recently with some wicked cool, green hair tips

Create Dreadlocks (the easy way!):

• Section off hair into half-inch sized sections
• Apply a wax to the section of hair
• Using a comb, tease the root area of the hair
• Begin to twist the hair
• Spray with a light hairspray
• Use a flat iron to hold the hair in place and move it up and down to create a “dreadlock” look

Skip Shampoo to conserve your hair products and save $/ stress on your hair:

• Shower daily, but don’t always shampoo! Just wash out hair with water and dry it normally
• Three times a week use shampoo and wash hair thoroughly
• By reducing the amount of times you shampoo a week, you can also save on fading your color

SalonCapri was awarded “Best of Boston 2008″ by Boston Magazine.