Green Options

There is a newly stocked eco fabric shop on Etsy called Naturally Modern.  Specializing in eco friendly, hand printed fabrics, Naturally Modern carries a variety of limited edition and out of print fabrics.  The selection includes prints from the original Mod Green Pod collection, from Lara Cameron formerly of Kirin & Co. (now Ink & Spindle), and Tenfold Organics.

Indigenous Designs is a fair trade, organic clothing company with apparel for the whole family!  I personally love the double layered skirt, but for my son, the organic Havanna shirt is super cool!  Made in Guatemala, this fair trade organic shirt is just like the grown up version, making your little boy look like a little man. My son will be wearing his Havanna shirt to his fifth birthday party this weekend!

Indigenous Designs is committed to:

• Supporting and preserving fair trade wages and artisan cooperatives
• Investing in natural and organic fibers and environmentally-friendly dyes
• Spreading the beauty of handmade, eco fashion

Many people eat organically grown food, but when it comes to their clothing, they forget natural and organic fibers clothing is just as important for our planet as it is for our health.

A couple weeks ago it had been windy for days on end. We were cooped up in the house and I decided we were going to get crafty.  In high school, I was a Recreation Leader and we did all sorts of crafting and played games to our hearts content during the spring and summer. Kids love to craft and when you’re in the comfort of you’re own home it’s even better! Why not reuse some plastic water bottles and make this quick, simple and fun eco-craft!

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Lava Lamp

Supplies:

Empty plastic bottles
Cooking or Vegetable Oil
Funnel
Water
Food Coloring
Masking Tape or Glue

I fell in love with these eco-friendly fabrics by Jenny Lee-Katz the moment I saw them (thanks Design*Sponge).  With nearly 50 designs to choose from each available on three eco-friendly base cloths, I am sure you can understand my excitement.  The designs feature vibrant colors and a contemporary seaside vibe.

I know, I know, it’s not very eco-friendly to get your children’s toys from across the Pacific Ocean; however, Soopsori wooden toys are beautiful and top quality.  Made from 100% natural wood without paint or bolts, these toys are safe, adorable, and ethically produced.  Made from 20 different kinds of wood, natural color and texture create variability in these toys.

‘Soopsori’ is much more of a public corporation chasing a common good than a commercial company. We here at ‘Soopsori’ provide you with lifelong memories in addition to wooden toys. As a result, we aim to dedicate ourselves to practicing an honest and reasonable management style. In order to realize this philosophy, we share our profits with environmental NGOs, as a company we feel socially responsible for contributing to a more eco-friendly society. From lumbers that are not taken artificially to making products without any chemical paints, we are aiming to build for an environmentally-secure future. This is our primary objective.

20 minutes before guests arrive we realize the balloon method is out the window! We put in a fair attempt but the drying time put a damper on things. We’re planning to try out the balloon method again next year. We may even get to do it sooner.

At this point, we’re scramming to get the supplies we needed for our paper bag pinata. The party was held at my in-law’s so we ran in circles locating everything. Once we put it together we realized that Tristan had sticker’s he received as a gift for Easter and added those to the pinata. We even colored on the front and back of the pinata.  What could you possibly need for a paper bag pinata? It’s really simple and easy.

Not all of us are lucky enough to be craft divas ready to whip up the perfect gift for Mother’s Day. For the rest of us there is Etsy where you can find a beautiful handmade gift mom is sure to love.  Whether or not you want to fess up to buying your handmade gift is up to you.

Flowers are a traditional fall back gift for mom, but this year consider a handmade floral-inspired gift that will last a bit longer.  Here are my top picks for eco-friendly Mother’s Day gifts.  All of the gifts in this roundup are floral-inspired and made from natural and sustainable materials.

We recently celebrated my son’s second birthday which happens to be on Earth Day. Being an “Earth Birthday Boy” we naturally celebrate in an earth friendly fashion.

One of the many traditions in my family is to break open a pinata at a child’s birthday party. Pinatas are a hit (pun intended) with children because they usually contain treats. What kid doesn’t want a chance at breaking open a pinata! As kids we loved being blindfolded, spun in circles and pushed towards the swinging pinata for a strike.

I knew the tradition could carry on but not without a green twist, of course. The idea of this eco-friendly mission is to forgo the plastic and create a healthy and environmentally sound party which includes a pinata. Growing up we never thought about how much waste a pinata created. We just knew that when the pinata was punctured we’d get loads of candy and maybe a few plastic toys.

Some people feel that advertising is garbage. London based Curb advertises with garbage. And sea water. And snow.

Calling themselves “The Natural Media Company,” Curb create advertising based on natural elements, the most recent being for the London Aquarium utilizing “sea tagging,” which is using sea water and a stencil to create temporary ads on the sidewalk. Sea water evaporates more slowly then water, but being a completely natural substance, no permit is needed to do it.

Another water based innovation [...]

Just in for spring Cicada Studio has added a new linen swatch to the shop.  The cheerful Forsythia swatch is printed on a generous 13 x 17 inch swatch of 100% Belgium Linen.  I first featured designer Michelle Engel Bencsko in the Top 10 Modern, Eco-freindly, Printed Fabrics on Etsy. One thing I love about indie fabric designers is there ability to come out with new patterns more frequently and Michelle never disappoints.

Her fabulous linen swatches are the perfect size for a multitude of craft projects.   Read on for some great ideas.

I’m not a big flashcard fan because Einstein Never Used Flashcards, but then again, we are not all Einsteins. Easy Going Green Flashcards are designed to teach parents and children simple steps they can take to live more eco-friendly lives.  52 flashcards make up a deck, which are printed on recycled stock with vegetable-based ink. The flashcard collection comes in a reusable muslin bag.

My favorite Easy Going Green Flashcard is “Wear the same clothes all day”.  I am constantly doing laundry, and I know part of the problem is the frequency with which my daughter changes her outfit. This has gotten better as she has grown older and would live in her pajamas all day.  When she was younger, it was not uncommon for her to have worn five outfits in one day when she first learned to dress herself.

Other great tips include “Eat seasonally” and “Don’t waste food”, as well as information on rainforests and cleaning products.