Green Options

We had a chance to put together a Way Basics shelf recently. It really was as easy as they represented - at least it was for Woody the wonder dog and my two daughters Mary and Jessie.

I read about Way Basics and was intrigued. I needed some simple book shelves and figured I’d just go to a garage sale and find something, but it just hadn’t happened yet - didn’t realize how prized these things were! So, I was thrilled when they sent me a sample to play with.

Back to my office, where so much of my daily life seems to take place these days. This great bag is just one of the cool green products I’ve gotten to review that has been useful in making my work routine more interesting.

I’ve been using The Better Bag as my brief case since I got it a few weeks ago. It works great, but I feel better about the story behind the bag.

There’s always a story . . .

This is a picture of my ‘day job’ desk. Among the clutter of items, you will see my two favorite fluids and their favored respective containers - my tea mug with a caption that reads ‘tips for dieting: if you can’t lose it, decorate it!’ I find this strangely encouraging. The other fluid container is my new favorite stainless steel water bearer. This awesome insulated container is a Thermos. This hip update on a classic is called the Intak Fashion Vacuum Insulated Hydration Bottle - that’s a mouthful, huh? I’ve never liked the plastic straw containers, but this one is flexible AND it is BPA free!

“1.1 billion people on this planet lack adequate hydration due to a shortage of clean and safe drinking water”

- according to the HydrationForAll website.

I’m proud to be evolving into quite the eco-bag lady! I have amassed an amazing collection of various earth-friendly bags - canvas, bioplastic and organic cotton totes for shopping; a wonderfully useful computer bag made of recycled plastic bottles; and a couple of great purses that make a fashion statement while keeping all kinds of materials out of our landfills.

There are so many reasons to NOT use plastic or even paper bag for shopping and to adopt a few reusable bags to handle most shopping needs. There are also great reasons to buy some of these great funky stylish accessory bags that are made from recycled materials - keeping more non-biodegradable materials out of landfills.

The Eco-Bag Lady’s Picks for Best Eco-Bags of 2008

I got this English Retreads bag from one of my favorite green cyber-shopping spots, BuyGreen.com. I love BuyGreen.com because they do a fairly thorough evaluation of their products, reviewing and rating all aspects of a product’s sustainability.  This bag got 49 on its sustainability score (see the details of how this bag was rated).

This bag is very simple, compact and works for basics - small wallet, some makeup, keys and cell phone. While it doesn’t have all those organizational bells, whistles and zippers on the inside, it pays off in ‘feel good’ points.

Who would’ve thought to make something so cool from stinky used tires?

While eco-fashion is becoming more mainstream with an increasing number of environmentally conscious designers serving up sustainable styles and earth-friendly frocks, the runways are typically reserved for regaling the glitz and glam of overly indulgent attire.

But this week, Vancouver turns the spotlight on sustainability with its first ever eco-focused fashion night, Friday, November 7th, 2008.

Vancouver Fashion Week, a hotbed of haute couture and leading west coast designers, is one of the premier purveyors of popular pageantry, unveiling some of the world’s most sought after styles and trends.  This year, VFW is showing its support for the environment with a dedicated evening for designers to promote their leading edge sustainable artistry and eco-conscious craftmanship.  From eco luxury, showcasing the art of organic handmade silk, to the unique beauty of recycled fabrics like cashmere and wool, an impressive range of techniques and designs will be featured.

Have you been to the Vickerey online boutique?

Shown below are some eco Vic Picks for women:

here they feature one of our favorite body treats, Red Flower, and I’m pleasantly reminded today that

to Red Flower “Sustainability” means:

As I review more and more ‘green’ products these days, I’m kind of baffled that there isn’t more of a standardized rating system. I googled ‘green product standards’ and I found the Green Seal of course, which is great for paper products and cleaners.  The EPA even has a database for information on environmental products and services - if you go there and you can figure out what the standards are and actually find product lists, please let me know! It’s a little confusing.

What about standards for all this great stuff we find here on FeelGoodStyle.com? What about clothing manufacturing, which by the way is traditionally a pretty harsh industry on the environment? What about other textile products, great green designed kitchen gadgets, and what about all those awesome accessories - green bags/purses, belts, jewelry, shoes!?!

I found one promising standard system . . .
BuyGreen.com seems to have a rating system that works. It is a flexible system and offers an opportunity to become more educated about certain types of products and their inherent characteristics in terms of their basic product life cycle. It also seems to lend itself well across a very diverse range of products from clothing, to toys and yes, accessories! They even offer office products.

Summer picnic in sustainable style . . .

I’ve posted here about Wheatware, a company that makes biodegradable plastic alternative products, including disposable flatware, but Verterra’s got the disposable plate, bowl and platter thing down!

I brought some samples of Verterra’s thoroughly sustainable and thoughtfully produced plates and bowls to my office to give them a rough test drive. I’m a salad girl and I love to use a lot of dressing and mix up all kinds of mushy stuff with my green mess, so this seemed to be a perfect way to see how these products held up.

These simple, but amazing plates are like a sustainable fantasy product - ethically sourced, fair-trade made, 100% compostable, non-toxic, bleach-free, non-leaching, made from 100% renewable plant materials, microwavable AND dishwasher safe, reusable and made by wonderful green pixies . . . okay, that last one was me getting carried away.  But wait! There’s more!

Here’s an image of my youngest daughter Mary sporting one of my all-time favorite T-shirts that I fell in love with last summer, when I had the wonderful privelege of being a media sponsor to the Farm Aid concert. I’ve been backstage at other shows, but this one was particularly special for many reasons - the organic, locally produced food, organic beer, biodegradable plates and utensils, and oh did I mention the extremely cool people!?!?

While lurking around the food tent, I found myself engaged in a friendly conversation about just how wonderful the whole event was with a dude in this exact same shirt. I raved about the shirt and he told me where he got it, but I don’t write it down, so . . .

Later when Dave Matthews came on stage, there came my buddy with the great T-shirt with the powerful message ‘Stop Wars’ - it was Tim Reynolds! First, I felt stupid for not recognizing him, then I was glad because while I try not to be star struck, I’m a huge fan of Mr. Reynolds (obviously knowing his music better than his face!) and who knows what idiotic thing I might have come up with.

Other than their amazing musical talent, I admire most of the musicians that day for their effort to help raise awareness about the realities and challenges facing small and family farmers. Using great music to activate a crowd is a beautiful thing.

So, it goes along these same lines that using wonderfully designed rags to shout important progressive messages is another great form of creative activism.

Clothing Of The American Mind (COTAM) is a brilliant organization who brought that Farm Aid moment together for me so beautifully.