Archive for October, 2008
Elsewhere on the Ecosphere
Date: October 31, 2008 | Category: Lifestyle, Media
Here are today’s picks for what’s wow in green. Enjoy!
It pays to go green in a down economy.
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A Festival of Green
Date: October 31, 2008 | Category: Events, Lifestyle, Travel & Leisure
If you live in or around San Francisco, then you’ve likely been to the Green Festival, a joint project of Global Exchange and Co-op America.
But the demand for fun, informative festivals has grown and so has the reach of the Green Festival. There will be one at the Washington, DC Convention Center Nov. 8 and 9 and at the San Francisco Concourse Exhibition Center Nov. 14-16. The nation’s longest-running green lifestyle event, features everything from lectures and workshops to yoga classes, music and over 400 exhibits. It is also a great time to buckle down and get some earth-friendly holiday shopping done before the crush at the mall begins.
Both events will feature delicious treats from Fair Trade, organic, and natural food and beverage vendors and lots of samples and giveaways of eco items. The green festivities will also reach Seattle, Denver and Chicago this year. For more information on those events, click here.
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Soleful Mission
Date: October 31, 2008 | Category: Fashion, Men, Shoes, Stores & Resources, Women
When in need of a quick pick-me-up, we often find ourselves indulging in retail therapy as a pastime. A genuinely rough day may call for a beeline straight to the shoe department. But all too often the pendulum immediately swings back and we are stung with shopper’s guilt (how can I possibly justify these? Even if they are eco-friendly?). Now you can offset your inner Carrie Bradshaw splurge by donating a pair of outdated shoes for every new pair you buy. (more…)
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Chipotle Dishes Up Green Stuff
Date: October 31, 2008 | Category: Featured, Food, Food & Drink, Lifestyle
Fast food is often a dirty word in the eco world given the “mystery meat” they commonly serve, the pervasive smell of fresh VOC’s (at least, I think that is the smell) and the massive amount of waste they produce.
Chipotle Mexican Grill is looking to change all that by expanding on its existing green practices to create products and restaurants that are beneficial to both its patron and the environment. From a local produce program, to cooking with sustainable meats, to building restaurants that qualify for LEED certification, the chain hopes to take the bellyache out of fast food. (more…)
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Finally, Good News from the Stalk Market
Date: October 30, 2008 | Category: Food & Drink, Kitchen, Lifestyle
If the only thing more depressing than reading about the state of the economy while you eat your lunch is the plastic cutlery you’re using to chow down with, check out these 100 percent compostable knives, forks and spoons by StalkMarket.
StalkMarket is a line of tableware and packaging made from sugarcane waste recovered from sugar refineries. The crushed stalks, which are normally disposed of by burning, are taken to a processing plant where they are converted into paperboard that is completely safe for your food.
The lines includes a wide array of plates, bowls, serving trays, to-go containers, sandwich boxes and cups all made of the sweet material. All of the products are said to be microwave safe and can handle boiling liquid.
StalkMarket can be purchased by the case at Branch Home or in stores nationwide. So while the news from Wall Street may not bring a smile to your face, maybe your lunch will.
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It’s for the Birds
Date: October 30, 2008 | Category: Featured, Garden, Pets, The Home
Even if ornithology isn’t your thing, it’s hard not to be lured by colorful fluttering outside a window.
Outdoor birds can provide hours of watch-time (for both you and your cat) so why not provide them with digs that are just as green as your own? Check out this birdhouse from Doctors Foster and Smith, which is made of 100 percent recycled milk jugs and suitable for any small bird to nest in. Particularly perfect for wrens and chickadees, the roof can be opened for cleaning and the house comes with a wire hanger to dangle from branches.
The recycled birdhouse retails for $19.99. Certainly less expensive than investing in the indoor alternative and guaranteed to be better for all!
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Elsewhere on the Ecosphere
Date: October 29, 2008 | Category: Lifestyle, Media
Here are today’s picks for what’s wow in green. Enjoy!
Safeway bans baby bottles containing BPA.
Site helps you plan a green vacation to Hawaii.
Company expands its eco-friendly wine line.
Post Katrina: A solar-powered emergency response studio.
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Green Art, the Easel Way
Date: October 29, 2008 | Category: Furniture, Kids, Toys
Got a budding artist living in the house, one who will draw or paint on any surface within her reach? There are really two choices as we see it: repaint your pad when your kid turns 18, or inspire your tiny Twombly to create in the right place.
As a mom of mini Dalis, I love this EcoTots Art Time Easel by InModern designs. It assembles and disassembles quickly without tools, and the easel (like all of the company’s furniture) is made from 100 percent renewable FSC Certified Smart Wood and boasts a non-toxic water-based finish. To make the easel even more thoughtful, it is shipped flat to conserve packaging and reduce waste. Maybe I’ll even re-learn to express my artful side…
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Jar O’ Sun
Date: October 29, 2008 | Category: Home Furnishings, Lifestyle, Tech
Need a night time pick me up? Try a Sun Jar. No, it’s not a new cocktail, sorry.
Made with a traditional Mason jar packed with a highly efficient solar cell, a rechargeable battery and low-energy LED bulbs, when the jar is placed in sunlight the solar cell creates an electrical current that charges the battery over a few hours. This energy is then used at night to light the jar, which glows in either blue or orange. The Sun Jar makes a great nightlight, or can be used outdoors in the garden, or as part of a camping or emergency kit. Better yet, tell trick-or-treaters that there is ghost jelly in the jar.
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Dining with the Haute Hounds
Date: October 29, 2008 | Category: Featured, Kitchen, Pets, The Home
The Bambu Diner from the Haute Hound has clean sophisticated lines and is handmade using solid bamboo, with a water-resistance finish (of course your dog is far too classy to splash when lapping up agua but still nice for wash time).
The bowls are stainless steel and hold up to 1.6 cups of food or water, big enough to reward even the hardest working rescue dogs. The dining unit measures 14″L x 6-1/2″W x 4″H and retails for $79.95, a small price to pay for making your canine connoisseur a legit eco member of the family.
Or for the mutt on a less extravagant leash, go for the bamboo-less version, ironically from Just Bamboo.
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