Green Products

Stuff A Green Stocking

scleaver — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 10:12:07 -0500

Stockings are one of my favorite parts of Christmas. When else do you get a sock full of little goodies and things you absolutely do not need?! So, how to create a green stocking?

First, the stocking. Love love love these green stockings, made from organic cotton, from Amenity.

A few quick ideas for stocking stuffers:

Shoppers at ThisNext.com, a site where online shoppers give tips and recommendations, have reviewed stocking-sized eco-starter kits that includes how-to info and a cute little animal to inspire the giftee to create a greener world.

Piggy Paint is eco-friendly nail polish for kids that promises to be non-toxic, odorless, and as “natural as mud.”

Also on ThisNext.com, eco-friendly play dough with play dough sets (rolling pins, etc). I like how the colors come two to a pack, like eye shadow.

For more ideas, check out a list of other green stocking ideas for adults from the Fit+Sage 2008 stocking guide or Great Green Goods, and for kids from Inhabitots or MamaDivas.com. And, no stocking is complete without candy. Order from The Natural Candy Store and don’t forget my favorite Terry's Dark Chocolate Orange.

Image from DesignPublic.com.

Wrap It Up

scleaver — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 11:58:22 -0500

Depending on how organized you are, you’ll be spending your Christmas Eve relaxing with a glass of mulled cider and a good book, or you’ll be frantically wrapping presents. Either way, present your presents in eco-friendly ways by using the familiar adage: reduce, reuse, recycle.

1. Reduce: Consider wrapping more than one presents in one box, or finding other, creative ways to reduce the amount of wrapping you use—decorative and re-usable bags and huge bows on larger presents come to mind.

2. Reuse: Rummage through old boxes and see what you can find to use as wrapping paper and, on Christmas Day or Hanukah night, instead of tearing into your presents, unwrap them carefully and you can save bows and paper for future gifts.

3. Recycle: Natural Health Magazine (www.naturalhealthmag.com) featured a wrapping paper company, Earth Presents (www.earthpresents.com) that sells recycled wrapping paper, tags, bows, and ribbons, a good way to encourage green innovation and the spirit of giving.

Image from Earth Presents.

NYC Water Gets Tap'D

scleaver — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0500

We all know that bottled water isn’t the best for the environment, partly because of the bottling, partly because of transportation, and partly because of all the hype about water sources (waterfalls in the rainforest cascading into bottles just for you, etc). But a new company in NYC, Tap'd, is tackling the clean water issue in a new way. Instead of importing water from flowing rivers that trickle down the mountains of Fiji, or wherever, Tap’d works with the NYC water department to purify the city’s tap water through reverse osmosis, bottle it, and sell it blocks away, cutting out transportation and giving New Yorkers a new water option.

Read more about the new company on Slashfood. Or, read the Tap’d Manifesto. Image from Tap'dNY.

Have Yourself an Eco-Friendly Christmas

scleaver — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 11:54:58 -0500

Christmas, Hanukah, and Kwanza are fast approaching, so as Santa gears up to deliver toys, menorahs are lit, and kids get increasingly giddy, here are five ways to have an easy and green holiday.

Buy a real green tree. The Scientific American reports that artificial trees may last longer, but they’re often made in China from nonbiodegradable plastics and ultimately end up in landfills. A real tree not only smells good, but it’s recyclable and biodegradable. Get your tree from as close to home as possible, and buy organic if you can. After X-mas is over, recycle it via a recycling program through Earth911. Or, take it a step further and get a tree with a bulb that you can replant after the holidays. The Living Christmas Tree Company “rents” trees for holiday revelers in Portland, OR, and will pick them up and plant them in a park after Christmas.

Light the tree with LEDs. LED lights last longer than your average lights and save energy, but according to EnviroMom’s experience, you’ll want to test them out first and find a brand you really like.

Go Online for Holiday Greetings. Either send online greetings this holiday or choose a waste-less holiday card.

Reduce outdoor lighting. In order to see your starry night, take a tip from the International Dark-Sky Association and use low wattage (40-watt) outside, add shields to point light downward, and add motion sensors.

Toast the season with cardboard. According to Scientific American two million tons of carbon dioxide emissions could be saved each year if 97% of us switched to boxed instead of bottled wine. That’s the same as the carbon emissions from 400,000 cars.

Happy Green Holiday!

Image from All Things Christmas.

Green Style

scleaver — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 09:59:55 -0500

Want your kids to send off positive messages? Check out the baby onesies, t-shirts and more at CoolGreenAttitude.com. Your little one will be sending off cool green vibes with t-shirts that have sayings like “I am infinite potential” or “I am love & happiness.”

There’s something for everyone at CoolGreenAttitude.com, though. For toddlers: “I am learning” and “I am kind & caring.” For three to seven-year-olds: “I am strong & brave” and “I am unique.” And, for the super cool 8 to 16 year olds, “Dream It, Believe It, Do It” and “Cool: Don’t follow the crowd.”

There are also tees and shirts for men and women, and accessories if you don’t want to announce your potential via t-shirt. But, the best message to send, all the clothing is 100% organic and sustainable.

Image from ReallyNatural.com.

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.