Looking for a new backpack for yourself or your child? Project Blue features PVC-free DAKINE Oceana Surf Packs:
DAKINE’s project BLUE packs are constructed with 100% Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) fabric and lining, which is made from recycled plastic bottles. The packs also feature recycled buckles and non-toxic Thermaplastic Elastomer (TPE) waterproof fabric backing. These packs feature a seam sealed wetsuit pocket, insulated cooler pocket and organizer pocket to keep everything separate and secure.
My daugher loves her Oceana Surf Pack, althoug it is a little large for her seven-year-old frame. I love how Project Blue supports our oceans through the Surfrider Foundation, one of my favorite charitable environmental associations. [read the full article...]
Have you ever had a need for custom printing? Now there is an eco-friendly company that can fulfill these needs. Ecoprintworks uses sustainable organic products, from t-shirts to totes, and water-based inks for their screenprinting. Ecoprintworks is one of the few companies that uses Permaset Aqua, a solvent free, water-based ink from Australia. Most printers use PVC-based plastisol ink. PVC is largely regarded as one of the most harmful of plastics. Permaset Aqua are Oeko-tex certified class I meaning they are safe for children’s garments under two years of age. [read the full article...]
by Jennifer Lance on March 21, 2009 · 1 comment
I’ve long been a fan of Maggie’s Organics, and I lived in their tights when I was pregnant. Now Maggie’s is venturing into stuffed animals. Like their sock monkey, Maggie’s Organics Penguin is made from excess fabric and slight irregulars, including the hat made from tie dyed socks! Unlike Mattel, that claimed Barbie was going green by making accessories from fabric scraps, I trust Maggie’s because they have always been a Fair Trade and organic company.
CONTENTS: Outside: made with 100% Organic Cotton. Filling: Post-industrial Polyester fiber (from mill scraps)
DESCRIPTION: The second stuffed animal in the Maggie’s Menagerie collection has come to life! Typically Penguins don classic black and white attire… but our Penguin has taken a walk on the wild side, sporting a colorful stocking cap made from our incredibly popular tie dye socks and legwarmers.
The animals are made from excess fabric and irregulars and stuffed with reclaimed polyester mill scrap. The Penguin’s embroidered eyes and securely sewn on hat make it safe for all ages.
[read the full article...]
We get a lot of press releases from companies big and small touting their green initiatives. I usually dismiss the ones from major corporations like Disney and Barbie as greenwashing, but I still pass them on to our writers. After much prodding and persuading from my online friends, I usually take up the issue myself, as I just can’t help myself. Disney….it’s your turn.
Disney has just issued the company’s first ever comprehensive corporate responsibility (CR) report. For a company that was founded in the 1920s and is the largest media and entertainment corporation in the world, this report is a long time overdue!
The long term environmental goals outlined in the report are:
- Zero waste
- Zero net direct greenhouse gas emissions from fuels
- Reduce indirect greenhouse gas emissions from electricity consumption
- Net positive impact on ecosystems
- Minimize water use
- Minimize product footprint
- Inform, empower and activate positive action for the environment
[read the full article...]
According to the National Action Against Obesity the girl scouts who peddle cookies each spring get 40 to 60 cents from each box sold. Roughly ten percent of each sale. Ask any mother whose living room has been taken over by boxes of cookies, any father who’s had to drag their daughter into work with a cookie order form, if that’s worth it. The Girl Scouts of America assert that 12% to 17% of each sale goes to the troop. At $4 a box that’s between 48 cents and 68 cents per box sold.
I know that looks impressive until you scroll down and see this.
I love Girl Scouts. My Mother was a Girl Scout, her Mother was the Troop Leader, but the Girl Scouts have been setting a terrible precedent. They’re asking young girls and their mothers to endlessly solicit from friends and family without adequately compensating them. If we’re raising our girls to be strong, let’s also raise them to be clever capitalists.
Okay Jessica, but what does this have to do with a sustainable lifestyle? [read the full article...]
One of the great organic candy companies has suffered the consequences of the economy and is going out out of business. College Farm Organic will soon be no more. This announcement is on their site: “On February 3, 2009, The Quigley Corporation announced plans to consolidate operations by closing the Simon Candy plant in Elizabethtown, PA. The decision was based on factors of increasing costs, competition from low-price imports, and the current economic situation. This closing will cause the discontinuation of the College Farm line.” [read the full article...]
Ten Thousand Villages is a fair trade retailer that carries handmade jewelry, home decor, gifts and much more. They work with over 130 artisan groups in more than 38 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Fair trade enables artisans to earn a fair wage and provides the opportunity for a better quality of life. The girls and I recently took to their local location and had a fantastic time. They have locations all over the country, in Canada and they have a wonderful selection online.
Everything is made with high quality and is unbelievably beautiful. We stayed in the shoppe for hours in awe, you could tell everything was made with such talent and love.
[read the full article...]
by Jessica Gottlieb on February 25, 2009 · 2 comments
I just finished reading The Mom’s Guide to Growing Your Family Green. I’ve got one word for you.
Yipee!
Finally, there’s a book for moms who are looking to go green that doesn’t make them feel like a failure. I’ve always been pretty green. It was recent that I realized that a lot of my peers don’t think about sustainable living. I’d just assumed that everyone went through the same processes that I did.
What I didn’t realize is that a lot of women (especially parents) felt like they had to do everything. By “everything” I mean everything from green cleaning products to the diva cup to growing their own food, and by being made to feel like a perennial failure, many parents are unwilling to attempt any part of a sustainable life, for fear of being mocked. [read the full article...]
