Jill Cordes says Google and Walmart are two companies doing their part to help the environment. (Courtesy: Brighter Living)



We hear a lot about green trends and companies who say they’re serious about the environment, but who’s actually matching their actions with their promises? With record oil prices raising the cost of importing goods, some companies are changing how their products are made and how they’re transported. You might have seen that detergent is being sold in more concentrated versions. This means suppliers can use smaller plastic containers requiring less petroleum to manufacture and less space to ship. Fewer shipping cartons means more units on each truck or ship, which can reduce the amount of trips needed to get those units from the factory to the retail stores. Google has committed to several clean-energy initiatives, including helping enable technologies like plug-in hybrids on a large scale, and to accelerate the development of geothermal energy through direct investment. Walmart has actually highlighted more than 50 products this year, including T-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles, fair trade coffee, and recycled tire mulch. Go to Walmart.com and Google.org for more on how these companies are going green. I’m Jill Cordes.