Archive for the ‘
Green ’ Category
Monday, December 6th, 2010
Has your kid outgrown a board game? Or is there a stuffed animal collecting dust in the corner? Instead of throwing them away or holding a garage sale, swap them this year or all year round on ThredUp.com.
ThredUp.com is an online exchange marketplace where parents can conveniently trade gently-used clothes with each other to save money on items their children no longer need or want. This holiday season, ThredUp.com is encouraging parents to swap gently-used toys along with clothes–this way, parents can save time on shopping, reduce their shopping expenditures, and go green by cutting back on wasteful spending.
Members of the website browse for a box of toys and/or clothes they would like from another parent, then pay a flat fee of $5 plus shipping to receive that box. ThredUp.com then provides a shipping label and schedules an home pick-up of the box to be sent. Or the box can also be mailed at the local post office. ThredUp.com wants to help budget-conscious parents save $500,000 this year through the toy and clothing swap.
Finally, you can get rid of that fire truck with the annoying siren and find a more unique (and, perhaps, quieter) gift to give your kids this year.
Categories: GoodyBlog, Green, Holidays, Shopping & Gear, Solutions | Tags: clothing exchange, eco-friendly, Go Green, going green, green solutions, holiday, holiday gifts, holiday shopping, Holidays, online shopping, online store, shopping, thredup.com, toy exchange
Monday, November 22nd, 2010
If you’re looking for an eco-friendly gift for a loved one this season that can really make a difference, check out Water.org‘s limited edition Camelbak Better Bottles. One hundred percent of the profits from these BPA-free Triton and Stainless style water vessels go directly to helping people gain access to clean water.
Did you know that 884 million people lack safe water supplies or that a child dies every 20 seconds from a water-related disease? Show your support and go to gift.water.org to learn the facts, get involved, and make a donation.
Prices for Water.org’s Camelbak Better Bottles range from $19 to $25.
Friday, October 15th, 2010
It’s almost five o’clock, but before we head out for a weekend of apple picking and haunted hayrides, we wanted to make sure we left you with a little food for thought to tide you over until Monday.
Earlier this week, Stonyfield Farm, the organic yogurt manufacturer that whips up YoBaby, YoToddler, and YoKids, became the most recent company to hop on the sustainable-packaging bandwagon when it debuted the first yogurt cup made from plant-based plastic.
“Moms trust us to do the right thing and that’s something we take very seriously,” explained Gary Hirshberg, the company’s president and CE-Yo.” We’ve worked hard to produce a plant-based cup that’s an easy way for moms to ‘pay it forward’ to their kids.”
The cups look and feel just like the old ones (unlike attempts from Sun Chips, whose noisy biodegradable bag has been pulled from shelves), cut carbon emissions by 48 percent, and – the best part – are available in multipacks without any price increase.
We want to know what you think about sustainable packaging: Do products like these inspire the way you shop, or are they just another gimmick? Let us know in the comments!
For more information about this project, check out Made from Plants, a short film about sustainability, here.
Categories: Green, News, Your Life | Tags: eco-friendly, Gary Hirshberg, green solutions, Stonyfield Farm, Sun Chips, sustainable packaging, YoBaby, YoKids, YoToddler
Tuesday, August 10th, 2010
First, there were incandescent lightbulbs. Then, more efficient CFLs stole the show. But now’s there an even more eco-friendly light in town – the LED. They’ve been popping up in our homes around the holidays in the form of twinkle lights for a few years now, but LEDs are just starting to make their way into our living room lamps and front porch light fixtures. Shaped like traditional incandescent bulbs, these 6 Watt LEDs by Pharox pack 25 years (yes, years!) of warm white light and are lead- and mercury-free, so they’re much safer for the environment and our homes. Plus, they can be recycled! The catch? Each bulb costs nearly $50. But if you’re willing to shell out now, you can save up to $237 over the lifetime of the bulb. No need to replace every light in your home in one shot, but you should start now because in 2012, the United States plans to begin the phase-out of incandescent bulbs. As a bulb dies, replace it with an LED and you can save money and help keep traditional light bulbs from clogging our landfills and poisoning the planet. Now, that’s a bright idea!
Tuesday, June 15th, 2010
I love the idea behind Lucy Kid’s eco-friendly one pieces (not to mention the designs are absolutely adorable). They’re made from sustainable bamboo and the appliques on every garment are handmade from salvaged fabric scraps! Because each item is crafted from a fabric scrap that has been rescued and recycled, there are limited quantities for each design. Head here to nab a darling one piece or dress for your little one now. Prices range from $18 to $28.
Tuesday, May 18th, 2010
These recycling bags are the best. No, really. If ever there was a green product that you should immediately add to your shopping list, this is it. These extra-large, waterproof bags ($18 for a set of 4 at crateandbarrel.com) will not only help you recycle more efficiently, they’ll make lugging your bottles, cans, newspapers and clippings to the curb a whole lot easier. (So easy, in fact, that I’ve been using them to tote my groceries home from the store – 5lb bags of potatoes and all – for over a year. Wear and tear? Not even a visible stretch where the handles meet the bag!)
Each bag is a different color and has an image of what to place inside on the front (gray is for metal, green is for organic materials, and so on), which makes teaching your kids where to place the milk jugs opposed to the cardboard cereal boxes a cinch. Line them up in your garage or mud room using the Velcro connector tabs and let the recycling begin!
Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Like many of you, I’m good about making sure that I recycle bottles, cans, magazines–the usual suspects. But when’s the last time you recycled something from your medicine cabinet? For me, never. In fact, I have trouble even keeping up with all the expired products in there. Melrose Place star Josie Bissett is teaming up with Neosporin to help us go greener. She’s heading up the Neosporin Tube Brigade, a TerraCycle-based group that encourages people to recycle antibiotic tubes. We recently chatted with the mother of two to find out about the green thing.
What’s your advice for people just starting out?
“We often feel like we have to go completely green to make a difference. And that can be intimidating, so often, we don’t do anything. But tiny steps make a big difference. I really believe that in all areas of my life. I used to be into working out hardcore, and now it’s like, if I can just get to the gym occasionally, I’m happy. Nothing has to be overboard. And I look at recycling the same way. Just do what you can because every little bit helps.”
Does your family have a special Earth Day tradition?
“Our neighborhood and school do have a picking up litter type of thing each year in honor of Earth Day. But if we’re ever walking down the street and my kids see anything on the ground, they’ll pick it up. They have a real incredible recycle program at our school. And my kids actually teach me things.”
Cool! What’s one thing from your kids that has really stuck with you?
“They talk a lot about water conservation at their school. I LOVE taking baths. And my son [Mason, 9-years-old] the last year or so gets in the tub and he fills it a fourth of the way full. I’ll say, ‘Honey, you can fill it all the way.’ And he’s like, ‘No, Mommy, I don’t want to waste water.’ He’s literally bathing in a little bit of water. I think it’s adorable. And even if I’m brushing my teeth and leave the water on a bit too long, he’ll come turn it off for me. So now I’ll take a shorter shower or less baths because of the kids. It’s like I said earlier…it’s just little baby steps. Those things do matter and they do count.”
If you’re interested in taking part in the brigade with Josie, click here to sign up to receive prepaid postage labels and collection materials. And Happy Earth Day!!!
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
The Crafty Crow is doing a great series of posts asking the question “What can you make with ______?”. These are the perfect eco-crafts for, you guessed it, Earth Day! (That’s tomorrow if you forgot!) Now go root through your recycling bin and get crafty!
Beautiful bottle cap crafts.
Egg-celent egg carton crafts.
Precious plastic crafts.
Whimsical wine cork crafts.
