Five Great Green Gifts for Kids

1. $9.35 – The New 50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth: This is an excellent book for kids with few cons. Part of the book was written with help from actual kids and the book is printed on recycled paper with soy inks too! Read my full review.
2. $20.00 – Eco Playdough: All natural art medium for crafty kids made with plant, fruit and veggie extracts. No chemicals, artificial dyes or metals and the containers are made from cornstarch and are 100% compostable. I saw this dough recently at the PDX green fair and it comes in totally brilliant and lovely colors of orange, yellow, green, and pink plus the containers are adorable. Note – the Bamboo Rolling Pin is sold separately.
3. $24.99 – idbids:  These soft toys come in three different styles – Scout the Cloud, Lola the Flower or Waverly the bright blue water drop. Each is handcrafted with 100% organic Egyptian cotton and colored with natural organic dyes. With the purchase of each kit, a child can enter an online code that will help protect the habitats of animal friends through The Nature Conservancy’s Plant A Billion Trees campaign, Adopt an Acre, or Rescue the Reef programs. Each kit comes with an organic cinch sack for the child to wear, a storybook printed on recycled paper with eco-friendly inks and a field guide.
4. $25.00 Wooden Giraffe Block Set: Adorable 16 piece block set in a giraffe drawn wagon. This toy is eco-cute, made with sustainably harvested wood, and finished with non-toxic linseed oil.
5. About $25 or less - Green Toys are made of eco-friendly recycled milk cartons, packaged in recycled cardboard, and provide hours of fun for both boys and girls. Most come in at under $25 a pop too, such as the Eco-Friendly Tea Set (shown above), Tool Kit, Dish Set, Chef Set and Recycling Truck.

Five Lovely Green Gifts for the Ladies

1. $16.00 – Lavender Caramel (6-piece)! Chocolate and lavender; way too girly and neat. Pretty little gift box of organic lavender infused caramels with Fleur du Sel salt.
2. $16.95 - My most favorite lovely reusable water bottles – Earthlust Water Bottles – oh so pretty 20 oz stainless steel bottles that won’t leach chemicals into water and cut down on plastic waste.
3. $24.00 - I’m totally obsessed with the Recycled Glass Pendants by Fanisong. In fact I blog about these often because they’re not only pretty but so unique and eco-friendly. Each handcrafted piece is made from 100% RECYCLED glass and a nature photo. The original photo is fused into the glass, then finished with sterling silver plated bail & ribbon cord. Amazing. The piece shown above is Look up to the Sky but there are many other cool designs available; another good one is Infinite Sphere.
4. $24.99 – Mini-Blossom Hummingbird Feeders: Pretty little feeder made with recycled blown-glass vessels with Flower Feeding Tubes in red glass. These look great in the garden and attract adorable hummingbirds with 4 oz of space for hummingbird nectar. Stakes included for mounting. Plus this purchase helps to support the National Wildlife Federation.
5. $12.21 -Big Green Purse: Use Your Spending Power to Create a Cleaner, Greener World: Great book covering lots of juicy green topics that matter to women. Teaches women how their actions, and how they spend their cash can make an eco-difference. Printed on recycled paper. I like this book a lot, but haven’t written a full review. My friend Peggy however has – read her review.

Five Handy Green Gifts for Guys

1. $20.00 – Vintage Record Coasters for the hipster guy in your life. Made with real recycled vinyl records but sealed so moisture won’t seep through to the surface. Comes in a set of six.
2. $19.79 – Whole Green Catalog: 1000 Best Things for You and the Earth: One of the best green living guides I’ve read in a LONG time. Packed with facts for everyone, but especially cool is the focus on green living for both genders. Many of the green books I read are geared toward women. Women will like this book too, but this one has facts for the guys as well. Read my full review.
3. $20.00 – Stonees All Natural Building Blocks: These rocks are meant to be a child’s building toy, but they’re also fun stress relief for adults when placed in a workspace. Build peaceful structures with these rock blocks made from crushed North American rocks and all-natural non-toxic pigments. Stonees are organic and smooth, and come in fun stacking shapes – square, triangular and cylindrical. Great for a workday break and good conversation starter too.
4. $14.99 – Wilson Rebound Fade-Green Basketball: This ball is Wilson’s first “green” product made from 40% Recycled Rubber and comes in a box made with 80% pre and post consumer board. Not bad on the eco scale and gets your guy outside and keeps him in shape.
5. $12.50 each – Green Family Kitchen Tools: A fun set of kitchen tools for a guy who loves to cook. All of these green family tools are made with a recycled plastic and wood blend for an attractive, functional, and eco-friendly design. At the end of a tool’s life-cycle, it can be recycled too. Way more fun than typical kitchen tools.

Five Cool Green Gifts for Co-Workers, Pals, or Family

1. $5.72 – NRDC: Simple Steps Deck: A Healthy Home. A Healthy Planet. 50 Easy Actions:  This handy little deck of green living cards fits perfectly into a stocking and is printed on recycled paper. Great for folks new to green living. Read my full review.
2. $8.75 – Down To Earth Cookie Cutter Set – Celestial: Great hostess gift or last minute gift for a baker. BPA-free set of ten cute planetary-inspired foodgrade stainless steel cookie cutters that can be used for kid’s playdough or for real cookie dough. Sturdy and log-lasting plus comes in a compact storage tin.
3. $18.95 – “I Am Not A Paper Cup” – Thermal Porcelain Mug: Funny  and the perfect green gift for a co-worker or pal who loves organic coffee.
4. $24.00 - Beeswax Holiday Glass Gift Set: Pretty little candles made with natural beeswax and essential oils. three 3 oz votive glass candles included in the set (each burns for 24 hours) in holiday scents of Spice (Sweet Orange, Cinnamon & Clove Bud), Pine (Rosewood, Spruce & Fir) and Mint (Peppermint & Birch).
5. $25.00 - Plantable Seed Calendar 2010: This is the perfect green co-worker gift; handmade pages embedded with wildflower seeds so after each month the recipient can plant away with no paper waste. Comes in a reusable tin as well.

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20 Last Minute Green Gifts Under $25!

You’re a food checker – and not the kind in the store. Peeking in on baking goods is a great way to allow perfectly good energy to escape. In fact the NRDC notes that opening the oven door to look at cooking food can waste as much as 25% of the heat inside an oven. That’s a lot and it adds up. Don’t peek, instead use the oven light. If you don’t have on, open the door very rarely.

You always preheat and cook until the timer says stop. Unless I’m making baked goods I rarely preheat. Most ovens heat super speed nowadays so preheating is wasted energy in my opinion. I usually put the food in, cook, then turn the oven off about 5-10 minutes early. If you leave the door shut your food will continue to cook.

You’re a clean freak. Cleaning your oven is smart, because clean appliances run better. However, if you’re so clean-minded that you cover your oven racks with foil you’re one, wasting foil and two food doesn’t cook as fast when heat is blocked by foil. Ovens are easy to clean without chemicals even if you skip the foil. Simply sprinkle a little salt on a hot oven spill, let it cool, then wipe it up with a wet cloth.

You cook one little thing. One potato to bake is no reason to turn on an oven. A microwave or toaster oven is a better bet for single items when it comes to energy savings.

Your gaskets are too loose. Gaskets are located between the panels on the oven door (or on the frame). If you can feel heat escaping from the oven door then you need to tighten or replace your gaskets. This is a DIY project BUT make sure you unplug the oven before fixing them.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Reduce oven energy loss

The EWG notes that “PBDEs are found in the bodies of nearly every American.” Also they explain that “Laboratory studies show that exposure to minute doses of PBDEs can damage reproductive systems and cause deficits in motor skills, learning, memory and hearing, as well as changes in behavior.“Babies who are rapidly developing are at a serious risk for problems due to PBDEs. Studies have shown that just a single dose of PBDEs at a critical brain development point can cause lasting harm and record numbers of this toxin have been found in breast milk.

One problem is that few studies have been done on humans with regards to this toxin so we can’t know the full scope of the health issues BUT studies with laboratory animals do show that PBDE exposure before and after birth caused problems (some major) with brain development, including problems with learning, memory and behavior. PBDE exposure during development is also linked to problems with thyroid hormone levels and reproduction.

Besides being found in most human bodies at this point, levels of PBDEs in the soil and air have been increasing at a rapid rate.

How to avoid PBDEs

• Most PBDEs are found in polyurethane foam products manufactured before 2005, but just because you have a newer product doesn’t necessarily mean it’s free from PBDEs.
• Go through your home and locate items with PBDEs. Mattresses, mattress pads, couches, easy chairs, foam pillows, breastfeeding pillows, carpet padding, and other foam items purchased before 2005 are most likely to contain PBDEs and the same goes for vehicle seating, car seats, and office furniture. Since you obviously can’t ditch all your products at once think about replacing any baby or kid products that contain PBDEs first, since kids and babies are currently developing.
• When switching out bedding buy organic cotton bedding (cotton fibers aren’t treated with PBDEs).
• Buy mattresses – especially baby mattresses made without PBDEs.
• See a list about companies who are currently phasing out these chemicals AND get more more tips on preventing PBDE exposure at the EWGs PBDE site.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Household toxin – chemical flame retardant

For about $5 you can install some basic faucet aerators. The step seems small but one nice little aerator can save an average household around 6,000 gallons of water per year. A faucet aerator is simply a low-flow device that anyone can install to a water faucet. It reduces the flow and saves water. Your local Home Depot or other hardware store can help you find one.

Consider a composting toilet. Composting toilets aren’t considered so kooky anymore and can save you loads of H2O. In fact a composting toilet can cut your water use by 50% (more than a low-flow toilet) and cuts actual water storage up to 60%. Most are very nice too, these aren’t outhouse style toilets. People are misguided about them but they’re a great way to save.

If you can’t make the leap to composting, try ultra low-flush toilets. Federal law already requires that all currently manufactured residential toilets use no more than 1.6 gallons per flush BUT if you live in an older home that hasn’t been recently updated you may have an old toilet. If you have a toilet designed before 1994 it may not meet new water saving standards. And you could be losing a lot of water – the older styles waste four to six gallons more water than newer ultra low flush toilets.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Three easy ways to save water

Parker and Stone recently built an environmentally friendly mansion in western Colorado (Steamboat Springs). The $5 million home has eco-friendly features such as ceilings made of Douglas fir timbers salvaged from a rail trestle that once spanned Great Salt Lake, recycled carpet, in-floor radiant heating, and of course nature.

This pricey vacation getaway is going to be featured in an upcoming edition of Architectural Digest. The only issue I have is that a home valued at $5 million has to be bigger than the average home, which by the way is not eco-friendly, BUT, if you’re going to go bling, at least it’s nice when you do use reclaimed supplies and energy efficient features like the South Park fellas.

Image via: Jennifer Chait – picture drawn by her eight-year-old son Cedar during his “I’m obsessed with South Park stage” (AND before you all slam me, no I don’t let him watch the very inappropriate episodes; thanks.)

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South Park Tree Huggers – Who Knew!?

Totally Bamboo Cutting Board Set

A better, more eco-friendly choice is wood. However, with wooden cutting boards often comes the safety concerns. Is is safe? Will bacteria settle down into the board? How can you safely clean it? Plastic doesn’t mean safer though – studies show that wood and plastic both can hold onto bacteria if you don’t clean them properly. The Food & Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Code even states that “hard maple or an equivalently hard, close-grained wood” is a suitable material for safe cutting boards and other restaurant food equipment.

Wooden cutting boards are a safe and sustainable choice so long as you follow some basic rules.

• Look for wooden cutting boards made with rapidly renewable wood-like material such as bamboo or get one made with sustainably grown wood.
• Own two (or more cutting boards) and divide them up task wise. One for meats and one for produce.
• Never leave your wood cutting board sitting around wet or allow it to steep in water. Wetness makes for some fun bacteria growth.
• After each and every use wash in the hottest water possible with a good natural soap and dry with a clean towel.
• Protect your board with an eco-friendly wooden cutting board oil.

5 eco-friendly cutting board choices.

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Is it safe to use wooden cutting boards?

In the nursery – paint the walls with non-toxic, low VOC baby safe paints.

In the bathroom – Quit buying new plastic containers of soap. Get a reusable, refillable hand soap pump and refill it with bulk soap when necessary.

In the dining room – Stop with the paper already. Buy cloth napkins. They feel better, save money, and is a super tiny way to get started with green living.

In the home office – Electronics left plugged in are still consuming energy and wasting money. Buy a good power strip, plug all your gear into it, then you’ve just got one thing to unplug when you leave the room.

In the kitchen - Use your microwave. It cuts down on energy use and saves you money and time.

In the bedrooms – Buy organic sheets. The chemicals in conventional cotton harm your body and the planet. The more you hang around conventional cotton the worse it is for your health. When you consider how much time you spend in bed, you’ll see that organic sheets offer a huge green bang for the bucks in the bedroom.

In the living room – Bring in some plants to improve your air quality.

In the laundry room – Switch to a biodegradable, non-toxic laundry detergent. I like Vaska and Biokleen detergent best.

In the garage – Set up a dedicated shoe area. Because of the rampant use of pesticides in outdoor lawns along with all the daily pollutants we run into (car exhaust, gunk in the streets, toxic cleaners in the workplace) shoes should be a no no in the house. We drag all these chemicals in on our shoes so leave them in the garage or by the front door when you get home.

In the pantry and fridge – Make sure you’re buying at least some organic food. The best to buy are the Dirty Dozen.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Green Every Room of Your House

• Don’t use it at all. Microwaves cook faster while using less energy than an oven. When you can use the microwave.
• Keep the door shut while food is cooking. Each time you open the door to peek at that cake, the oven releases energy.
• Clean your oven regularly. A dirty oven is less efficient.
• Turn it off early. I always turn my oven off about ten minutes early when cooking something that takes more than 30 minutes. By then the oven is hot, if you don’t open the door food will continue to cook.
• Forget preheating except for the important stuff. Sometimes you should preheat, but for a non-necessary item, like french fries, pop them in right away. They’ll still start cooking and turn out fine.
• Thaw foods safely before cooking to cut down on cooking time.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Super speedy green oven tricks

Now, why would you have these in your home; around clothes and other textiles you use? Good question? To avoid musty clothes and pests is what most people would say, however there are other options.

• Lavender sachets and sprigs of lavender will keep clothes fresh but won’t get rid of all buggies. Also, cedar wood blocks or shavings will help keep clothes fresh and help scare off pests but without the toxins. However, cedar alone also won’t scare off all pests, although, if you have a super tight seal on a cedar chest that will keep pests away. If you use cedar or lavender to freshen your closets or drawers, also make the sachet below.
• Make a homemade sachet of dried rosemary, dried lavender, dried mint, dried thyme, whole cloves, and dried ginseng. Place your mixture into a small reusable cotton baggie or wrap in a cheesecloth. Place the bags in places you want to keep fresh and pest free.
• Place clean clothing into an airtight bin which will get rid of all bug issues.

[image via stock.xchng]

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Alternatives to Toxic Mothball

BASICS:

Seventh Generation is arguably one of the most well-known green companies around. They were one of the first self-declared “socially responsible” companies and have been around for 20 years. The company makes a slew of products, some that are very green and some that could be greener, but all in all, they offer some great product choices for green households in various categories…

• Laundry Products
• Dishwashing Products
• Household Cleaners
• Household Paper & Supplies
• Products for Baby
• Feminine Care

ECO-PERKS OF SEVENTH GENERATION:

• Seventh Generation notes that they’re committed to helping consumers make informed choices and I’d say that they’re doing a good job in this area. They fully disclose all ingredients at their website and on their packaging plus offer MSDS sheets. If you want to know what’s in your Seventh Generation cleaner, they make it ultra easy to find out, unlike some eco-companies.
• Some of their packaging is made with recycled content (2 bottles (18%) are 75% PCR; remainder are 25% PCR; 1/3 of our boxes are 100% PCR; remainder are 30–40% PCR). Almost all their packaging is easily recycled and they disclose when it’s not.
• They donate 10% of profits to non-profit community, environmental, health, and responsible business organizations working for positive change.
• They recently eliminated synthetics in all fragrances.
• They make non-toxic products with zero chlorine bleach, phosphates, dyes, NTA or EDTA.
• Because the company makes recycled paper  products and less toxic goods, the company helps to save scads of trees, water, petroleum, and energy yearly.
• No animal testing.
• They have green corporate office policies in place – for example using recycle paper and recycling.
• Also, this is an eco-company that works. For example, while there are plenty of eco-companies around, but they’re only as good as their outreach to consumers. You can easily find Seventh Generation products at just about any store and in online shops. They promote their products and have actually built up a brand, which is something I wish more green companies would work on, because if consumers can’t locate products, if they can’t learn more about a company then they won’t buy those products, they’ll maybe buy other more toxic products. They’re also affordable and offer coupons often.

COMPANY NEGATIVES:

• They make disposable diapers that do not biodegrade. They also make diapers with SAP which is a questionable green debate right now – i.e. it could be ok, but maybe not. Their baby wipes also do not biodegrade.
• There’s non-biodegradable synthetic polymer in their auto dish powder and gel.
• Their new labels on cleaners rock – info wise. However, all of them peel off right away and then leave a lame sticky area on the back of the bottle. Annoying.
• While their cleaners are less toxic than many conventional cleaners out there, you’ve still got that new bottle to recycle. It’s still more eco-friendly to make your own cleaners, although, of course some people will always want to simply purchase cleaning supplies.
• They use plastic backing on their feminine care products; which yes, is made out of oil.
• Some cleaning products could be improved – for example, I’ve tried a few green dishwasher detergents that clean better than Seventh Generation’s brand.

OVERALL:

It’s hard to give a company a full on green rating, because I’m just one green girl with one opinion, but overall, I’d give them a…

3.5 out of 5 little trees. They’re a fairly good green company with many products that work well, a few that don’t and they could make some eco-improvements. However, I do love their disclosures and the fact that they’re continually setting and meeting new eco-goals. Stick around for some product specific reviews coming up.

MORE LINKS:

• Follow Seventh Generation on Twitter.
• Join them on Facebook.
• Read their blog.
• Read their latest corporate responsibility report online (flash). You can also read this report in pdf.

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Green Company Review: Seventh Generation