Xeko doesn’t just talk the eco-talk, though: it walks the eco-walk. All of the playing cards are made of recycled stock and printed with soy inks. In addition, players are encouraged to return their card wrappers to the company and earn Green Star points, which can be traded for free downloads. Furthermore, four percent of profits are donated to Conservation International for work to save the hotspots. What are hotspots? Hotspots provide the setting for Xeko missions, and are "the most threatened and species-rich places on Earth."

Currently numbered at 34, the hotspots contain 75 percent of the
planet’s most threatened mammals, birds and amphibians while covering
just 2.3 percent of the Earth’s surface. An estimated 50 percent of all
vascular plants and 42 percent of land vertebrates exist only in these
hotspots.

I found Xeko somewhat confusing to play, but I have never been one to enjoy games with complex rules (I don’t even know how to play chess). Players begin by matching their species cards to the hotspot card. If two species come into conflict, the players have a turf war. The species with the highest energy number wins, but boost cards can be played to increase your species’ energy number. There are other cards, too, like Xeko cards, that also come into play in the game. The game ends when one player runs out of cards; eco-points are totaled then to see who wins the game. I had to modify the rules and simplify the scoring to play the game with my six-year-old daughter. She enjoyed playing the game and asked to play over and over again. The game is definitely geared for older children, and I could see it as a fun way to learn about different ecosystems, such as Madagascar and Indonesia, in a science classroom.

Besides confusing directions, I dislike the fact that Xeko is a competitive game. I would like to see an eco-game along the same lines that was cooperative in nature. Part of why there are hotspots on our planet has to do with the competitive nature of business. The only way ecosystems will be protected is through cooperative effort, thus I feel the game should reflect this aspect of conservation.

Along with our Xeko game, we were given the cutest plush hairy-eared dwarf lemur. The lemur is made of soysilk, a material made from the proteins in soy. The hairy-eared dwarf lemur (Allocebus trichotis) was discovered in 1875 and considered extinct until 1966. It lives near Mananara, Madagascar, and its current population is estimated between 100 and 1000. It is listed as endangered due to deforestations and local inhabitants eating them. I hope the folks at Xeko will continue producing soysilk plush toys of rare creatures to accompany their trading card games. Endangered species toys are a great way to introduce young children to the diversity of our planet. I would also like Xeko to develop similar games for younger children.

The big question for an eco-friendly knitter is this: what kinds of yarn leave the lightest footprint? Many knitters steer away from acrylic for various performance reasons, but synthetic yarns are also bad for the earth, since they are made from petroleum. Vegans object to using wool, and, although great for many heirloom projects, are just not as sustainable as some of the newer options. Industrially-produced cotton brings with it a slew of environmental problems, including water and soil pollution.

Until recently, my LYS only had earth-toned organic cotton, which was beautiful for a baby blanket, but didn't allow for enough variety for a range of projects. Is there anything else out there that will allow me to make awesome crafts in a greener way?

Fortunately, eco-friendly fibers have exploded in the past few months. Some, like the organic cotton, take an existing fiber and green it up. However, a whole new crop of yarns are being produced using normally cast-off materials. South West Trading Company, of Tempe, AZ, makes yarns and fibers from soy, corn, bamboo, even milk and shrimp and crab shell fibers. Their SoySilk fiber is created from byproducts of tofu production (and is produced in a variety of decidedly non-earth tone hues). Bamboo (which, because of it's rapid rate of growth, is a popular green knitting needle choice) produces a soft fiber often compared to silk or cashmere. Hemp yarn is also gaining popularity beyond the granola-set of knitters, and recycled silk, spun from old saris by women in Nepal, is a unique fiber to work with. Most of these yarns can be found at Yarn Market.

But why shop online? If your LYS doesn't stock green yarns, just ask. Most will stock it if people will request it. At the very least, they'll order it for you. After I bought up most of the organic cotton at my LYS (hey, it was a bigger blanket than I had planned) I was pleased to find that not only did my store start stocking a much wider variety of eco-friendly yarns, but they even sponsored an event to promote their new lines.