Green Options

Do you usually bring wine when you are invited to a dinner party? Are you going to toast a little bubbly on New Year’s Eve? Perhhaps you are skilled at the art of making homemade wine?

While you are searching for the perfect bottle to share, here are some ideas to consider for the gift wrap:

1. Wrap a bottle of wine and champagne into something fun and festive by wrapping them in funnies (which will also work well for eco box wine) or any scrap paper for that matter.

2. Make a wine bottle sleeve. This is for that sweater that you can’t donate because of the holes in it or the fact it shrunk in the wash. Simply snip off a sleeve and tie with a ribbon. If it is cold outside, this will keep the reds at a good temperature as you travel to the party.

3. Fabric gift bags make extra special gifts themselves. These adorable presents are “easy to make and encourage the recipient to reuse the wrapping, instead of tossing it in the trash.”

Reduce paper waste and save trees with creative green holiday promotions. This article showcases the creative green holiday promotion of Von Glitschka, a small business owner, and offers tips for more sustainable holiday marketing.

Having a tough time trying to find that perfect gift for your ecopreneur? Below are just 4 oft-recommended books from a variety of topics that may interest the ever hard-to-buy-for ecopreneur. Best of luck on your holiday shopping and if you have any other books that you would recommend please let us know!

Against the Gods – A worldwide bestseller for the ecopreneur that would enjoy a very interesting, historical perspective on entrepreneurialism and the concept of risk. Google book describes it as a “narrative that reads like a novel, chronicles the remarkable intellectual adventure that liberated humanity from the oracles and soothsayers by means of the powerful tools of risk management that are available to us today. This is a richly-woven tale of Greek philosophers and Arab mathematicians, of merchants and scientists, gamblers and philosophers, world-renowned intellects and obscure but inspired amateurs who helped discover the modern methods of putting the future at the service of the present, replacing helplessness before the fates with choice and decision.”

Preview it at Google Books here

Triple Bottom Line – Andrew Savitz. If you have not already come across this book, now is the time. A must read for ecopreneurs, business managers, social responsibility managers, and consumers and investors. The Triple Bottom Line illustrates the connection between the financial, social, and environmental bottom lines of any operation and demonstrates that innovative and profitable solutions to the real problems companies face can come from sustainability. This book is becoming one of the essential pieces of literature guiding many of today’s top companies transition into a more sustainable business model.

Preview it at Google Books here.

Once upon a time, a not very long time time ago, Melissa Chmelar tried to bring a little bit of country to New York City. The Cordon Bleu Trained chef decided that New Yorkers deserved a sampling of the freshest organic produce that hands could pick.

Spoon Catering was born. After experiencing overwhelming success, Melissa developed Spoon storefront and TableSpoon. Since I’m not part of the super swanky New York set all of this has limited interest to me (my narcissism is well established).

What comes next is truly delightful. (big payoff after the jump!) —>

I just returned from an editorial meeting for a local magazine for which I write. The topic of “Holiday Gift Guide” came up and…how the economy will impact many people’s ideas on what to buy for the holidays…or not buy.

In the process of discussing this “consuming” issue, we mom writers started talking about some of the favorite ways we plan to save money this year. One idea that really struck me was how much waste we produce by giving each other…and you know we moms are guilty, not very useful gifts.