Labor Day will officially mark the end of USA summer, which means college students will return to their respected campus-life. While college may be a place to learn about a particular subject so that you can go on and become successful in whatever it is that you want to pursue, it is also a time for self-discovery and reflection. It is often during this time of \”reflection\” however that some students come to the realization that they need to do more to help sustain the environment and therefore decide to live in a more eco-conscious way.

While wanting to do your part is great, it can be hard for a newbie to just dive right into living a green-lifestyle. Thankfully (in addition to educating yourself on the subject) there are some neat apps that may just be able to make the transition a little bit easier. To read about the top smart phone apps that may teach you how to be green and to make sure your efforts are paying off, check out the apps listed below.

1. Eco Buzz widget. This free app helps you be \”in the know\” about environment-related news so that you are aware whether the condition is improving or continuing to deprecate. In addition to supplying you with constant \”eco\”-related news stories from different parts of the world, it will also provide you with tips on how to live more eco-friendly; for example, it will show you where to purchase \”green clothes\” online or provide a list of stores in your area that sell organic clothing. It will give you tips on how to purchase a vehicle that will do the least damage to the planet. This app is only available to Android users.

2. Whole Foods Market recipes. Going organic is usually the first instantaneous reaction that newly converted eco-friendly people tend to have. While purchasing organic ingredients is a good start, knowing what to do with those ingredients can sometimes be difficult. This free app makes it easier by offering an array of healthy recipes that you can make with ingredients purchased at Whole Foods Market (or off-brand versions sold at other stores). You can search recipes through categories which are perfect for any college student pressed for time or funds since recipes are filed under \”budget\” friendly and \”quick and easy.\” Vegetarians and vegans can even look for recipes specifically tailored to their needs. This app is available to both Android and iPhone users.

3. True Foods Market. This free app is a tad similar to the Whole Foods app, but instead of focusing so much on recipes, it is more or less designed to educate you about various ingredients and the labels associated with them—including common labels such as free range, grass-fed and organic foods. It will even provide you with a listing of some good brand names to watch out for (as well as which ones to avoid). This app is available only to iPhone users.

4. Carbon meter. This free app basically measures your activity and lets you know how much you are \”personally\” contributing to saving (or killing) the planet. How? It first monitors all of your planet-saving activities, such as walking and biking as opposed to driving. What makes this app super neat however is that it gives you points depending on how prominent your efforts are—you can then redeem those points in exchange for convenient coupons for eco-friendly products etc. This app is only available to Android users.

5. Be nice to Bunnies. Lastly, while this app is more or less tailored towards female college students, this can help male students too—especially those who use skin care and hair products. What it does is let you know which major store-brand beauty and cleaning products test or do not test on animals so that you can avoid purchasing those items accordingly. And since cruelty-free usually goes hand-in-hand with sustainable living, you\’ll know that your using products that won\’t harm the environment. This app is available to iPhone users and costs $2.99

By-line:
Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to [email protected].