Green Products

Green Gifts for Little Foodies

scleaver — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 09:54:45 -0500

Looking for something for your toddler or young child this year that will satisfy their desire to cook and play pretend, but isn’t BPA plastic? Look no farther.

These green toys, including cooking and dining sets, are produced in California, using minimal packaging that’s recyclable. So, when they’re opened on Christmas day, they’re easy to open and ready to play with.

Pick up some play ice cream from Oompa Toys, you’ll get two double sided scoops of ice cream with two cones. Or, check out Lilly Bean for handcrafted play food, sandwiches, pita sandwich, pizza, doughnuts, and more.

For the real deal, Think Baby has kids’ tablewear that’s BPA free and their newly released six-piece feeding set has stainless steel bowls and storage containers covered with polypropylene covering.

Image from Eco Child's Play.

Coffee Cup Catastrophe

scleaver — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

If you’re like me, you drink a fair amount of coffee and throw the cups away without another thought. Well, according to Eat. Drink. Better. I should rethink my drink-and-toss practices: disposable coffee cups are responsible for taking more than 6.5 million trees each year, and in 2006, 16 billion (estimated) coffee cups were thrown away, creating 250 million-plus pounds of waste.

Starbucks has gotten a bad eco-rap lately (see the post In The Blue) and the international coffee Co hasn’t fully gotten behind this green issue either. In March, 2006, disposable cup with 10% postconsumer recycled fiber was introduced. But, 10% leaves lots of room for improvement, considering that Green Mountain Coffee uses cups made from cornstarches that are 100% renewable and Tully’s Coffee Corporation uses a compostable cup and collects used cups in stores to make sure they’re recycled or composted (from Eat. Drink. Better.).

Of course, the best way to avoid filling land fills with your used latte cups is to use a travel mug: ReusableBags.com has a BPA free, stainless steel model, and EcoProducts.com has a travel mug made entirely from corn. Whether you’re using recycled paper mugs or a corn-made travel version, bottoms up!

Photo from ReallyNatural.com.

Eco-Friendly Baby Gifts

scleaver — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 00:00:00 -0500

With all the discussion about BPAs in baby’s bottles and dangerous levels of chemicals in toys, expect to see an abundance of organic and natural presents for the younger set this year. So, to start the season off right, here are some adorable, organic, and healthy toys and snuggly items for the infants on your list.

Baby Earth has organic clothes, onesies, and other organic cloth products, including the adorable Bunny blanket friends from Under the Nile Organics.

Really Natural recommends the Sassy Cuddle Dolls from Sassy. The dolls are made with bright, textured fabrics, and scented with lavender to stimulate the sense of smell and calm them.

Organic Baby Wearhouse sells bedding, clothing, toys, and bibs like the sustainable bamboo tie bib and the super-adorable organic orange giraffe rattle.

Photo from the Organic Baby Wearhouse.

Teen Green

ellen — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 06:15:48 -0400

We asked our 16-year-old Summer Intern Izzie to post about what she thought was important in the world of sustainability. Her posts were thoughtful, interesting and informative. They were so great that we asked her to continue posting throughout the year (as homework, studying and extra-curricular activities allow of course).

Check them out:

and if you want to stay up to date with Izzie's posts click here.

Ellen

The Goods on Eco-Friendly Sunscreen

kbutler — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:00:00 -0400

So unless you are currently wintering on the moon, you’re probably slathering on sunscreen every time you leave the house. You follow the trends, you listen to celebrity dermatologists who mantra “sun block....sun block.....sunblock." (Shout out to my UCLA dermatologist Dr. Joan Wu!) And if you’re anything like me, you have an assortment of sunscreens – sunscreen for your hands, sunscreen for your face, sunscreen for riding in the car, sunscreen for serious hikes, sunscreen for serious hikes when you’re wearing a hat, sunscreens for sitting in a darkened room with the shades drawn while you rock back and forth, traumatized by so much sunscreen.

…Anyhoo, if you go buy what’s readily available, that’s a lot of chemicals to be pouring on your skin. Not to mention, if you’re into water sports, you’re transferring those chemicals into into whatever body of water you’re splashing around. For example, the Great Barrier Reef is negatively impacted by suntan oils, lotions and products. They affect the coral ecosystem because sunscreens cause the rapid and complete bleaching of hard corals, even at extremely low concentrations.

So what’s an eco-warrior to do in the sun? Check out below a great list of sunscreen brands that won’t kill you or the environment you swim around in.

There’s the Rare Natural Care product line. 100% vegan, natural with certified organic and eco-certified ingredients, their products are free of potentially harmful ingredients, synthetic chemicals, parabens, alcohol, and more bad stuff.

Aubrey Organics offers a great line of sun blocks that are environmentally safe and packaged in recyclable material. They are all natural, safe, and effective.

There is the Kiss My Face line, which is based completely on essential oils and eco-friendly ingredients. It also smells great aka you won’t walk around smelling like intense herbal remedies.

Finally, there’s the UV Natural line, which was has just been ranked #1 by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). UV Natural claims to be the safest and most effective sunscreen sold in the world. The entire range of UV Natural sunscreens protect against the full spectrum of UV light - UV A1, A2, B and C.

Want to Win a Fuel-Efficient Smart Car – Plus $1,000 Cash?

RiverWired.com — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:36:36 -0400

Smart cars are tiny – that’s why they are called “fortwo”. Get it? That’s also why they use so little fuel and are ultra-low in nasty emissions. The Walking Company is giving away four of these little Mercedes gems in August 2008. Plus $1,000 in cash. Green on top of green – how sweet is that?
So don't just sit there -- here's what you have to do to enter....Just click and go.

Freebie of the Week: Four Bikes and Camping Gear for the Whole Family

RiverWired.com — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 01:00:00 -0400

Isn’t it time you got out from behind that computer, quit reading your email (though do continue to peruse RiverWired.com for just a little longer) and take your family out into the big green world? NabiscoWorld Home & Away Sweepstakes is offering a Grand Prize for Outdoor Fun: 4 Schwinn bikes, a Wenger tent, four sleeping bags and other assorted camping gear to let the whole family have fun. Hey, it’s a great big green world out there. Deadline – 10-05-08.

Top 10 Green Products: From Solar Backpacks to Bamboo Bikes

RiverWired.com — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 02:04:24 -0400

Here at RiverWired, we pride ourselves in bringing you some of the most eco-friendly, economic, and all-around intriguing green items we can find. With that in mind, we’ve compiled this list (in no particular order) of 10 of some of our favorite products. Enjoy!

Click on each product for full description, price listing, and buying info.

1. Reware Solar Backpack

2. Vlatec CFL light bulb/air freshener

3. Baggu Reusable Shopping Bags

4. Calfee Designs Bamboo Bicycle

5. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Green Living

6. Wine Trio From The Organic Wine Company

7. Beko Energy-Saving Washing Machine

8. Natalie Portman’s Té Casan Footwear

9. Organic Soy Briefs from 2(x)ist

10. Elephant Dung Stationery

Green Freebie: How about a Toyota Prius?

RiverWired.com — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

Somebody somewhere is getting something green for free – why not you? Jet Blue Airways is making up for all those carbon emissions by giving you a chance to go green every day – with the Grand Prize of a Toyota Prius hybrid. Next prize-- $3000 gift card to Smith & Hawken, some of the most beautiful plants and gardening stuff around. And if you don’t get those biggies, you may still qualify for an Energy Star Sharp LCD TV, or an eco-culinary retreat for four – or a trip for two to an Arizona spa. I’m feeling greener already – how about you?

How to Green Your Gifts

kbutler — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 00:00:00 -0400

We’ve all been there – three bridal and two baby showers in a month, a graduation or two, and that thank you gift you somehow feel responsible sending your landlord’s cousin’s wife who once brought up your mail. Oftentimes, people are at a loss on how to keep giving without stepping on their green conscience. (Or at least for the purpose of this blog, they are.) After all, between Thanksgiving and New Years Day, the United States alone produces up to 5 million extra tons of trash. So the next time you’re trying to figure out how to give a gift without contributing to blatant consumerism, turn to these tips.

First, you can avoid the trap of trappings altogether. Offer your sister-in-law a night of babysitting; get those cute newlyweds a gift certificate to your favorite restaurant; give your best friend a month’s worth of free gardening, especially during the summer heat. If you do decide to go material, think about picking up a gift at a thrift shop or flea market. You’ll find a lot of well-constructed, high-quality merchandise – and it’s easy to add your new personal touch to any old-school item. Then there’s always the option to buy local and to avoid adding shipping emissions to your carbon footprint. And finally, there’s always hand-made gifts that can become friend or family heirlooms, like a knitted scarf or painted picture frame. (Or if you’re hopelessly uncrafty like me, you can try anyway and pass off your glue and glitter monstrosity as “It’s the thought that counts.”)

So now that you have the gift, how can you wrap it up without adding to the week’s recyclables? In high school, I was big on taking pictures and art from magazines and cobbling them together into a homemade wrapping paper. (Okay, so I was once a little crafty….once.) You can also wrap something in a scarf or, my personal favorite; use the ultimate reusable wrapping – the gift bag. Someone should stick a GPS device on one of those bags and see how far it travels from household to household.

So next time you’re in a gift quandary, just remember these simple tips and give green!