Green Apps for 2018

There are several tricks to a sustainable lifestyle, but sometimes it gets difficult keeping track of what you use, what comes from where, or what to pay attention to. We’ve come to the point where our smartphones are practically grafted to the hip, and it’s not necessarily a bad thing. Not when there are useful apps to help keep track of your glamorously green life. Today I’m listing a few apps to help you stay green in your day-to-day life.

First on the list is Cruelty-Cutter, available only for the android, is an app that allows you to shop for products that are animal cruelty free. You simply scan the barcode for the product in question and Cruelty-Cutter tells you right away if it’s safe to purchase it or if you should consider an alternative. What’s interesting about this app is the option to ‘Bite Back’ if a product turns out not to be cruelty-free, meaning you can share this information on social media, calling out the company. The app will also provide you with alternative choices if it turns out something you life isn’t cruelty-free. Overall? A free and handy app for any animal lover out there!

Next is something that I as a foodie can benefit from. Sift Food Labels is another app available for android only and it translates food ingredients into an understandable language. It’s designed to outsmart the tricky labels that food products sometimes have. By scanning the barcode, not only will the Sift Food Labels app find any potentially harmful ingredient in your food, it can also highlight ingredients in foods that work toward your diet. Eating vegan and gluten-free? No problem. This app can help you keep track of what to eat and what NOT to eat.

Having car troubles? Maybe the Commute Greener app can help you. Commute Greener shows you what your commute is like, meaning cost and environmental impact, and then provides options for improvement. The app is supposed to better illustrate your commute options by providing crowd-based traffic information, public transport time tables, map routing, ride share options, and even a CO2, health, and fuel cost visualization of your commute. What’s really cool is how the app challenges you to do better by rewarding your progress with badges and other rewards. I would travel everywhere on foot if I could, but I suppose a handy public transport app is the next best thing.

I’ve been in this situation before many times. You ever have an item you’re not sure if you can recycle or you have absolutely no idea where to go to properly dispose of it? iRecycle is a great app for the iphone that tells you where the closest facilities are to you, their contact information, as well as any restrictions and what else they’re capable of recycling. A simple, useful app, and absolutely free!

Locavore is app for both iphone and android, and it’s great for cooks and foodies who appreciate fresh-grown produce. The app helps to locate any food that’s locally grown and in-season, by pinpointing nearby farmers markets and farms. Feeling inspired after a successful shop? The app also provides in-season recipes. As someone who likes to cook, I’m excited to give this app a try!

JouleBug is an iphone app that acts like a little green mentor, giving you tips for a sustainable lifestyle and rewarding you when you do them. You can learn more as each tip provides even more information like impact stats, bonuses, how-to videos, and other helpful links. You can get even more involved by checking out local challenges and sharing your sustainable achievements with friends on social media. It’s like a real life rpg, only green and it’s free.

So there you have it! A few apps to keep your life on the greener side. I’m off to try some of these for myself and earn some sweet badges.