If only cash sprouted as easily as backyard weeds, we'd all be cheering. But greening up your wallet is still doable.

In homage to Earth Day on this week's calendar, we've harvested some Earth-friendly money habits you might want to adopt.

Green donations

It's grown from a Bay Area brainstorm into a global campaign to get businesses into the spirit of environmentalism. Buy a shirt, a chocolate bar, a beer – even fencing supplies or legal services – and 1 percent of the company's gross sales are pledged to environmental nonprofit groups.

Since launching from a California Patagonia store in 2002, the "1 Percent for the Planet" program has now spread to some 1,138 businesses in 38 countries, said Terry Kellogg, the Vermont-based CEO of " 1 Percent of the Planet."

"It's a very tangible way to make a very discrete impact. If I make this purchase, I know that X amount of dollars will go to a cause I care about," said Kellogg.

The participating companies range from big retailers like Sony to independent jewelry sellers. Among the California companies are: Sterling Vineyards, Patagonia and Clif bars.

The recipients run from high-profile nonprofits like the Sierra Club to tiny grassroots groups. Based on company audits, Kellogg said more than $42 million has been contributed to environmental causes in the past six years.

For details, go to www.onepercentfortheplanet.org.

Green funds

One way to feel environmentally good about your investing dollars is with so-called "green mutual funds."

The GreenMoney Journal recently released its new Top 10 list of mutual funds that invest in companies devoted to alternative energy, clean water, organic products and those that avoid alcohol, tobacco, gambling or weapons.

The annual list is a mix of new funds and those that have changed or enhanced their investment mix to be more environmentally conscious, said Cliff Feigenbaum, founder and president of the Green Money Journal, based in Santa Fe, N.M.

"The funds represent different ways people can align their money with their values," said Feigenbaum, who has published the journal since 1992. "Our goal is to make money and make a difference."

His list of mutual funds that are "greening it up": Appleseed Fund, Integrity Growth & Income Fund, Wells Fargo Advantage Social Sustainability Fund, Dreyfus Global Sustainability Fund, Calvert Large Cap Value Fund, Calvert Global Water Fund, Pax World Global Green Fund, Pax World International Fund, Pax World Small Cap Fund and Firsthand Alternative Energy Fund.

For more details, go to www.greenmoney.com.

Green banking

All kinds of companies, from banks to your local utility, are urging customers to switch to electronic billing, statements and payments. The notion: Pay online, save a tree. Or two.

(It also saves companies the payroll and overhead costs spent processing paper accounts by mail.)

PayItGreen is a coalition of financial services companies that promotes electronic billing. According to the coalition, if the average U.S. household switched to electronic payments, it would annually:

• Save 6.6 pounds of paper.

• Save 0.079 trees (not a whole tree, evidently).

• Eliminate 4.5 gallons of gasoline (consumed by mailing and delivering all those paper payments).

• Prevent 63 gallons of wastewater released.

• Eliminate 171 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions (the equivalent of 169 miles of driving or conserving 24 square feet of forestland).

A handy calculator at www.payitgreen.org lets you compute your "financial paper footprint." Type in how many checks you write and how many bills you pay by mail each month and it'll add up how much you'd save the planet by switching to electronic payments.

Another proponent, eBill Place (www.ebillplace.com), puts it more personally. By its "Cash & Time" calculation, the average family would save $50 a year in postage and five hours of time spent writing and stuffing checks into envelopes.

Green plastic

Have a personal finance question? Contact The Bee's Claudia Buck at (916) 321-1968.