Green products are flooding the market, and a new term “green-washing” has come into use referring to products and services that suggest they are environmentally-friendly, but may not be. There are so many ways to protect the environment when you travel, but with all the misleading labeling, what’s an eco-conscious girl to do?

Well, lucky for you, I’ve done the homework for you. Below, you will find 20 simple travel suggestions that won’t hamper your trip, but will make you and the planet healthier.

PLANNING & PREPARING

1. Pack light. Every additional ten pounds per traveler requires an additional 350 million gallons of jet fuel per year.
2. Use online maps or your car’s satellite navigation system. Map paper is difficult to recycle because of all the ink used. Use old maps as gift wrapping instead of just throwing them out.
3. Take a break from Disneyworld and try hiking, biking, white water rafting, or kayaking for your next family vacation. Adventure travel encourages active engagement with new cultures and environments.
4. Avoid buying travel guide books that quickly become outdated. Research your trip online at travel web sites, such as Galavanting, and print out only the necessary pages. Only 18% of the one million guidebooks printed annually are recycled.
5. Become an ecotourist—responsibly travel to natural areas in ways that conserve the environment and improve the well-being of local people.
6. Always wanted to go on a safari in Africa? Choose safari operators who hire and train local people, support local operations, and take care not to harm the environment. Conservation Corporation Africa is the continent’s pioneer in sustainable eco-tourism, conservation development, and community empowerment.
7. Consider an eco-friendly sailing cruise rather than a vacation aboard a cruise ship, which can spill oil and sewage, disturb fish habitats, and uses thousands of gallons of fuel per hour.

TRANSPORTATION

1. Travel in groups. Share a cab to double the fuel efficiency, or even better, take a bus. A bus uses the same amount of fuel to travel five miles as a car uses to travel one mile.
2. Travel by rail in places like Europe and the U.K., where service is fast and convenient. Trains use less fuel per person than airplanes.
3. Rent a hybrid or natural gas vehicle. Enterprise Rent-A-Car, EV Rental, and Hertz are making hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles available for rent in select U.S. and European cities.
4. Look into carbon-offset flights. You pay a small extra fee via the airline to companies like Treeflights which plants trees in Wales and Peru, thereby withdrawing carbon from the atmosphere.
5. Opt for airlines that recycle the waste created when serving food and beverages to passengers. British Airways has a strong environmental program.
6. Use print-at-home tickets. You can print on recycled paper at home. The cardboard boarding passes handed out at the gate are more difficult to recycle because of the ink used and magnetic strips on the back.
7. Refuse disposable luggage tags at airports and use the one that came with your luggage. Eliminating disposable luggage tags for all U.S. travelers would save 60 million sheets of paper annually.

LODGING

1. While staying at a hotel, let Housekeeping know it isn't necessary to use a fresh set of sheets and towels every day. You wouldn’t do it at home, and it saves a tremendous amount of water, energy, and detergents. And, while you’re at it, turn off the AC/ Heat, lights, and TV when you leave the room.
2. Consider eco-friendly hotels that have facilities and programs to conserve energy. Greenhotels.com provides names of eco-friendly hotels in Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, and throughout the Americas.
3. Conserve water - a scarce resource in many vacation spots. Shorten your shower by a mere two minutes and you’ll save 10 gallons of water, on average. Imagine the impact if all guests in a 300 room hotel did this every day!

SIGHTSEEING

1. Use a digital camera instead of one that needs film. Solutions used to make prints from film are hazardous and require special treatment and disposal.
2. Support the economies of the sites you’re visiting by buying locally made souvenirs, rather than mass-produced items made elsewhere.
3. When diving or snorkeling, protect the reef’s ecosystem by not touching coral.

Think twice before printing this list, but if you must, please use recycled paper.

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Jennifer Moore Stahlkrantz launched her magazine writing career with her signature series, "How We Give," an intimate look at how individuals who work together can improve the lives of others. In her feature articles for American shelter magazines, she often takes readers inside fabulous homes and sits down for illuminating chats with celebs and ordinary folks, too.

Jennifer is the deputy editor of Bedford Magazine in Bedford, N.Y. and travels frequently with her four children and Swedish husband.