Green Options

Here in Los Angeles kids go back to school just after the Labor Day weekend. I’m finishing up the shopping for school supplies and clothes. Shopping for lunchbox items has been a little more complicated. It’s no secret that I’m a big Tupperware fan but Tupperware doesn’t fulfill every need in this house.

The good folks at Enviro Products sent over a stainless steel food container. I was a bit skeptical at first, because my son is the only one who packs a lunch and sometimes these things are too difficult to unlatch. It turns out I had no reason to worry, the latches are firm but easy enough for an elementary school boy to maneuver and there’s no metallic taste. It’s a large container, and I’d love to see one that’s sandwich sized, because that would keep the sandwiches from flailing around and falling apart. It’s perfect for pastas grains and fruits. My kids seldom want soft skin fruits like peaches or nectarines in their lunch boxes because they’re ruined (smashed) by lunchtime.

Mama bloggers get a lot of free stuff. And that was one of the issues discussed at BlogHer ‘09. There, I met many ladies who said the boxes of goodies would be piled high by the time they got home.

Companies look for cheap advertising in the form of positive reviews. And they often turn to broke mom bloggers with the promise of free stuff to lure them into a few kind words.

And as “green” has become the “new black”, many products are greenwashed, hocked to green-minded bloggers in the hopes that we’ll overlook some of the obvious faults and rebrand the crap the product for them.

Maybe you and I know to look for parabens and fragrance, but does the average blogger, who may gush over the “green”?

NPR’s All Things Considered looked at the swag issue on Monday.

Terri Bly, president of The Nature of Beauty, discusses why she loves Erbaorganics, an organic line of skin care for mom and baby. As a bonus, The Nature of Beauty is offering a Buy 1 Get 1 Special, with 25% off your second Erbaorganics product.

Terri Bly presents the Emerald Awards for Best Natural Hair Care, the fourth in a series featuring the best natural products, as chosen by a group of top natural beauty experts.

Terri Bly introduces the new certified organic lip trio from Nvey Eco, including a lip exfoliator, plumper, and treament.