Your house is full of small appliances---from the toaster you use every morning to the alarm clock by the side of your bed---and the vast majority of them are plugged into the wall, where they suck up energy (even, sometimes,
when they're not in use).
Eco-friendly small appliances are designed to use less energy and are often made from greener materials, like
recycled plastic. For nearly all
eco-friendly small appliances, the most important thing to look for is
Energy Star certification (unless the type of
eco-friendly small appliances you're looking for aren't certified by the program). Some
eco-friendly small appliances, however, are so obviously green that you won't have to look for certification (like hand-crank blenders!). When it comes to
eco-friendly small appliances, though, one of our top picks is the
AeroGrow line of AeroGardens, which
help even the gardening-challenged grow excellent organic goodies while conserving water and energy.