Green Options

I’ve been eying this fetching baby rattle over at the international wonderland that is Kiosk for ages, but I was a little turned off by the paint (even though they are kind enough to use non-toxic kind!) Well, someone must be listening to my silent hesitations because they’re currently offering two stripped down, all-natural versions in simple Vermont wood.

I’m always looking for baby clothing that’s organic and stylish.  A recent shopping find is the company Cozy Cocoon and their Organic Leopard Baby Bunting Cocoon available through eConsciousMarket.com.

This baby body sock for swaddling newborns is made from 90% organic cotton knit and 10% lycra which parents can roll up, tuck and hold their baby in.

Cozy Cocoon uses:

• Organic materials.

• Recycled, reused or resalvaged materials/fibers in production.

• Biodegradable materials/fibers in product line.

• Vegan or Animal-free materials/fibers.

Organic bedding and mattresses can go a long way to giving babies a healthier sleeping environment and new parents a good night’s sleep.

Take the Coyuchi Organic Cotton Percale Fitted Crib Sheet from Toronto-based Grassroots Environmental Products.

“Coyuchi bed linens are made from 100% certified organic cotton, which means the cotton is grown and processed without the use of pesticides, chlorine bleach, or chemical softeners,” explains the company.

Grassroots recommends washing the organic cotton sheets with baking soda or one of their Nature Clean products.

“Dressing your child is a fun thing for every mom, grandmother, aunt and family friend,” says Kim Barker. “Dads get into it too -  Who doesn’t want to hear that their child looks adorable or cute?”.    That’s exactly Barker’s goal behind her eco-savvy company Love Bug Clothing Co.

For the eco-conscious parent, the company features trendy organic children’s clothing and recycled vintage rock wear for girls and boys.

In her Vintage Rock section, the online store offers stylish vintage rock concert tees, rock tunics and dresses by diverse designers.

Fancy a new online store for eco-friendly children’s products?  Green product website Ambitious Green calls itself a “fun place to buy great products at the center of today’s environmental issues, concerns, and debates.”

Says Ambitious Green: “We think the environment and education are challenging debates worth having. Every time you make a buying decision you are telling manufacturers and the market what’s important to you.   We share the same frustrations you do - finding products that are natural, functional, friendly and fun. We believe that what’s good  for you can be good for the planet.”

Here are a few of the latest toys at Ambitious Green:

Dancing Alligator, $19.99 (shown above) “This award-winning, wooden alligator pull toy struts his stuff as he wiggles, bobs and click-clacks along.”  These toys are made in Thailand by Plan Toys, a green company that emphasizes socially responsible manufacturing.   It’s green because it’s made of organic rubberwood, non-formaldehyde E-Zero Glue, water-based dye, recycled and recyclable material and soy ink and water-based ink.

My favorite radio station is usually giving the news every morning just about the time I’m making my boys’ lunches. Lately, I’ve been flipping the station as soon as I hear the news start. It’s a variation on a theme each morning. The Dow is down. One bank or another is failing. The government is considering bailing out one industry or another. Consumer confidence is hitting record lows, and even the holiday season won’t reverse that. People will be spending a lot less than they have in previous years.

A study of Americans done by the retailer Plow & Hearth, however, shows that some consumers - green consumers - are willing to spend a little more to buy a product that is environmentally friendly. According to an article on Portland Business Journal the study found that

About two-thirds of those going green this year say they are willing to spend between 10 percent and 25 percent more to by ecofriendly holiday green gifts.

Here are a few other statistics that the study found:

• 55% of women are likely to purchase green products
• 45% of men are likely to purchase green products
• Middle-aged and younger people are more likely to buy green than older people
• Those who live in the West are more likely to buy eco-friendly than other parts of the country
• 34% said that money is the most important factor when it comes to deciding about purchasing an eco-friendly product

So what can we conclude from this?

Spring is right around the corner - the perfect time to refresh your home with a few new, eco-friendly items. Started by indie Canadian design blogger Jan, Poppytalk Handmade is like an online farmer’s market for handmade goodies (why didn’t we think of that!?).

As luck would have it, this month’s theme for the showcase is all about green:

Here we are, entering our 6th month at poppytalk handmade and we can’t think of a better way to ring it in than as an eco-themed market! As each market starts up, there’s always a bustle going on, and the anticipation to see everyone’s table come to life is my favorite part! We are thrilled to showcase this emerging talent with green spirits!

Unless you live a Compact-like lifestyle, you are going to be shopping on a somewhat regular basis. Whether it be home improvements, gifts, furnishings, crafts, gardening, fashions, babies, sports, pets or anything else you have going on, there is a green option to be found.

But where do you buy from? I’m all for promoting local businesses and buying from small stores right in your own town. Unfortunately, depending on where you live, you may have little to no options in that category. The easiest thing to do is log on to the internet (and you already have since you are reading this) and partake in the massive variety it has to offer.

After the runaway success with their first thepurplebook: the definitive guide to exceptional online shopping in 2000, authors Hillary Mendelsohn and Ian Anderson have released a number of specialized editions. Hitting book shelves in January 2008, thepurplebook Green: an eco-friendly online shopping guide is the latest of their incarnations.

Whether you’re new to the eco-lifestyle or so sustainably settled that you have a composting toilet and solar panels, thepurplebook Green Edition has something to offer everyone. Though the book is about shopping, it continually reminds readers to reuse what they already have. “The greenest thing you can do is to extend the lifespan of the products you already own,” says Hillary in the book’s introduction. “When it comes to shopping, it’s usually a matter of buying eco-friendly versions of the same products you already use.”

Thanksgiving is only a week away, which means the gift-giving season is in full swing. To make your seasonal shopping easier and more sustainable, I’m bringing you a series of green online stores that offer a wide variety of eco-gifts that would make anyone on your list feel appreciated. The first offering in this series was Max and Zane and now, for my second installment, I bring you Organic Style.

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