Blooming Wrapping Paper by Uncommon Goods $20.00 This paper is a gift in itself and creates no waste because you simply plant the paper add a little water and have yourself a wonderful bouquet of wildflowers in the spring.

Giant Santa Sack by Great Big Stuff $8.77 If you have a really big gift that you’d like to wrap this reusable red sack is the perfect fit.

Recycled Wrapping Paper from Redstamp $6.00 I love the alternative designs like skulls and pimp my sleigh. They are perfect for the teens on your list.

Peace Wrap by Zola Goods $5.99 This cloth-like paper is beautiful and made from shedding tree bark so no trees have to be cut to produce this paper.

Tis the Season Eco Bag from Sweet Organics and Naturals $4.25 This is an amazing bag that is made from post consumer, manufacturing fiber waste, and sugar cane manufacturing waste. I can’t wait to try these out myself. The site also contains other great gift ideas so make sure to shop around a bit.

So What Can I Do?

• Eco-wrapping can be a little expensive to get started so you can choose just a few pieces this year that you can keep in the family like wrapping for the kids or spouse. This way you get extra value out of your purchase. Not only do you get great eco-friendly wrapping alternatives but you also get to reuse them next year.
• If you’re anything like me you have a whole closet full of wrapping paraphernalia already so the thought of buying more sends shivers down your back. Good news though you can still think green even if your wrapping supplies are not. I just ask my family for any unclaimed gift bags, tissue paper, and good quality bows, ribbon, or wrapping paper to recycle. That way I can limit my out-of-pocket expenses and limit landfill additions by reusing cast-offs by family and friends.
• You can get cute shopping totes to package gifts for your friends that still have an addiction to the plastic bag. It serves two purposes by having a multifunction wrapping alternative while showing your friend just how practical the bags are and hopefully converting them one bag at a time. The Disney Store and Toys-R-Us have great ones for your more whimsical friends while Boarders and Barnes and Noble have some nice bags with a more classic twist. Be on the look out for my post on the best shopping totes available on the web.

These are not in order of importance because I feel that all environmental issue deserve our understanding and support.

• Plastic Bags: Nothing is ever really free (in the case of material things) and the cost of this one seemingly harmless item is higher than most people realize. Animals both land and more specifically marine animals treat these bags as food and most pay with their lives. Sea Turtles mistake the plastic bags as jellyfish and suffer needlessly until their inevitable death. You can read more about the issue here.




• Continuing Deforestation of the Amazon and Forests: There is a great article that was done out of the University of Michigan that describes why this is an issue that we should all be concerned with here. The obvious reason for the need for trees is to help cleanse the Earth. Trees have the ability to pull toxins out of the air and release the essential oxygen that we all need to survive. They are also home to hundreds of species of animals that are slowly vanishing from our world in our lifetime. You would think that our biggest culprit is the paper industry but in reality it is cattle farming. The Amazon has given way to it’s most significant amount of deforestation to make way for cattle farms because Brazil is the leading exporter of beef.




• Toxins in the essential products we use everyday. We are finding more and more that products made in the name of convenience and economically were done so with out proper testing. So now we are left with plastics that can cause cancers and pans that maybe easier to clean but can make us sick.




• Global Warming: National Geographic has a great fast fact article if you are interested. I don’t know if this issue is what we need to spend a lot of time with since the media has either blow it up or discounted it all together. Whatever you believe I think the fact that the weather is changing can not be argued but the cause of it may still be up for debate.




• Clean drinking water for all people. Thirst Relief International states that 1.1 billion people in the world lack access to clean drinking water. This figure to me is unbelievable because to me this is a basic necessity and is something that people should not have to worry about but because of contamination of ground water supplies and waterways this basic need is not available to people throughout the world. This can become an issue even in industrialized countries if contaminates leak into the ground water and it is not tested frequently.

I know when I sit down to my dinner and look at the bounty in front of me and my family I will be thankful that the changes that we are making and continue to make will be moving us in the direction of a more environmental conscious family. I know that we are only one family and that overall what we do makes very little impact in the larger scope of things but if thousands of families start to make similar changes to the way they live we may start to get somewhere.

I think that Margaret Mead’s quote says it best:

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”

I would like to state that I am in no way compensated for my support of these companies or their products. I simply have an interest in sharing with you the companies and products that I have found and feel are worth checking out.

Today I’d like to share with you HearthSong. Started in 1983 they are a company committed to providing parents with quality products for their children. They are committed to reducing their carbon footprint which includes planting two trees for every catalog that is printed, they use 50% recycled materials for packaging their products, and are currently partnering with other companies to help Reforest America. You can read more about the company’s eco-policies here.

Here is a list of my top picks from HearthSong that are under $25.00. I want to keep the gift selections to a reasonably budget friendly amount.

Constructive utensils and plate $14.98-$19.99

Dino-Soars $7.98

Happyville Blocks $9.98-$27.98

Dripsticks set of 4 $19.98

Rolled-Paper Beads $15.98

Wheelie Zip Bin $19.98

Friendly Safari Animals $24.98

Sno-Baller and Snow Block maker $5.98-$8.98

Connectagons Treetop $24.98

Organic Bunny $16.98

Swaddle Wrap with hat $21.98

There are lots of other gifts on HearthSong’s website that are worth looking at and have gift search features by price, age group, or by type (ie music, arts and crafts, and science) to help you find the perfect gift for your little person. While not all of the gifts are eco-gifts per-say they are high quality and are less likely to end up in the trash come Valentine’s Day. So take a look and maybe you can cross of a few things from you list early in the shopping season.

This worked well for me until recently when I started looking at buying a new shower curtain and wanted to make sure my decision was more in line with my goals for living greener. So I did a bit of research looking for a shower curtain that was eco-friendly. What I found out about my current shower curtain was more than a little disturbing.

Currently the most common type of shower curtains are made with PVC (polyvinyl chloride). This particular compound can release harmful toxins into the air especially when heated. The Center for Health, Environment and Justice states that the chemicals are released in the most concentration when the product is first opened and for the following month after use. High heat conditions increase the release of the toxins. I’m not sure about all of you but some days the hotter the better is my shower preference. The other big concern is also that PVC can not be adequately recycled meaning that most products end up in the landfill or worse end up at recycling plants contaminating entire bins of recyclables. The code #3 means that it contains PVC and should have special consideration for recycling.

You can find the article by CHEJ here. You can also check out the study that CHEJ did here. The study lists all of the toxins that can be released from PVC products and what the consequences of exposure maybe.

The government does not feel that the exposure or the toxins released is anything to be concerned with that exposure is negligible and not enough to change manufacturing standards. I can agree that exposure is probably small on an individual exposure basis but what I’m more concerned with is continued small dose exposure over time. Our life is so filled with chemical attacks shouldn’t we do everything we can to limit the exposure that we can when we can?

I know for me and my family we have decided to phase out pvc where we can and we started with our shower curtain. The good news is that the major retailers are catching on and offering pvc free shower curtains at reasonable prices. You can check out the following retailers to help you make the switch:

• Wal-Mart PEVA shower curtains starting at $10.00




• Target PEVA shower curtain $15.00




• IKEA shower curtains for $4.00 (all selections are pvc free as they phased out pvc shower curtains 11 years ago)

You can also chose cotton or hemp shower curtains but need to be more cautious with mold for those options and you typically need a liner. The other option of course is glass doors or a walk-in shower that does not require a curtain.

So What Can I Do?

• Change out your shower curtain to a non-pvc style to limit your exposure. If you shower curtain is more than a month old the exposure is less of a risk so you can probably just wait until it’s time to replace before buying a new one.




• Limit your purchase of PVC products to not only limit exposure but limit waste since they don’t recycle well. Be on the look out for the number 3 on the products recycle code and make sure you don’t mix it with your standard recyclables. Check with Earth 911 to find local centers that handle #3 materials.




• Become aware! I learn more and more each day on what I’m really being exposed to on a day to day basis and it amazes me. I know some of it may just be hype but knowledge is power and I want to be powerful and help you be powerful as well. Informed consumers are a force that can help to make change possible.

Essentially the Dirty Dozen ,as it’s called in the media, are all of the products that when available you should always buy organic because the non-organic versions are full of growth hormones, pesticides, and other nasty chemicals that we can certainly do without. You can read more about it The Daily Green or at TLC. However I’m going to give you a list of the top 12 you should by organic the sites will going into detail as to why.

These 12 items you should always buy organic if you can:

• Meat
• Milk
• Coffee (I had no idea that coffee could be full of pesticides)
• Peaches
• Apples
• Sweet Bell Peppers
• Celery
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Cherries
• Kale
• Most leafy greens like lettuce
• Grapes
• Carrots ( Europe is well on the way to banning use of pesticides on carrots)
• Pears

Potatoes (these have recently falling off the list but just recently)

So that is more than twelve but better to be safe than eating chemicals.

Here is the list of items that we could probably skip the organic label on:

• Onions
• Avocados
• Sweet Corn
• Pineapple
• Mango
• Asparagus
• Sweet Peas
• Kiwi
• Cabbage
• Eggplant
• Papaya
• Watermelon
• Broccoli
• Tomato
• Sweet Potato

Essentially the hardier the plant the less pesticides that need to be used and the less chance for the chemicals to be absorbed by the food. A good frame of reference would be if it has a skin that is not typically eaten then it’s probably ok to not buy organic. However that is just a rough frame of reference and my opinion.

So What Can I Do?

• Make friends with a local butcher and ask him about the farms that he buys from and if they are organic certified farms or if the animals are free range and grass fed. You can also try to find a local farmer uses organic methods and find out if he sells his livestock for public use and where he gets his meat processed. I actually just got ¼ of a cow from a friend who’s father-in-law owns an organic farm. He was selling the meat for 95 cents a pound!




• Grow your own vegetables especially the ones that are at high risk from contamination. This way you don’t have to buy the produce and you know exactly what it has been exposed while it was growing. If that isn’t an option seek out co-ops or community farms that practice organic growing methods.




• Be aware of what you are buying. I’m constantly amazed at the amount of unnecessary extras that are found in the food that we buy and eat. If I just took more time realizing what I’m putting into my family’s mouths I probably would make better choices.




• Here are a few sites that can help you find local farmers that sell meat and produce in your area. Local Harvest allows you to search by zip code and by what you are looking for ie farmers market or grocery. The Eat Well site also includes restaurants and Canada.




So this is my goal for the next year. A preemptive New Year’s resolution if you will. I will be more aware of what goes into our mouths. I’m sure my husband would say I should include being aware of what comes out of it but one small step at a time .

]]> http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/to-buy-organic-or-to-not-buy-organic-that-is-the-question/feed/ 42 http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/proud-to-be-a-bag-lady/ http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/proud-to-be-a-bag-lady/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 01:33:35 +0000 Jessica http://www.nearlygreen.com/?p=48 A couple of posts ago I mentioned an article that made me stop and think about my plastic bag use and put me on the path to a greener future and I wanted to share that with you. However, I couldn’t find that exact article but I did find several other posts that stated some of the same facts that I found in the article that I read a little over a year ago. You can check out Suite 101’s Say No To Plastic Bags article here. Or you can read Worldwatch Institutes’s article on plastic bags. Both of these articles give similar facts and both are enough to scare the heck out of me and put a twinge of guilt in my stomach over the last plastic bag I received. I think beyond the fact that it takes 1000 years for the bags to degrade is the fact that marine and wildlife think that these bags are food and then die painful deaths when they eat them. Plastic bags can resemble jellyfish in the ocean and often have food residue in them that entices wildlife to investigate and ingest.




So I have vowed to officially become a bag lady. This wasn’t all that hard of a stretch for me since I love bags and purses of all kinds and this gave me a reason to buy super cute recyclable tote bags all in the name of greener grocery shopping. I know that it isn’t really financially reasonable to buy all the bags you would need to get all of the groceries that you need any given week especially if you buy groceries like I do. What I did was buy one bag each week with my regular grocery shopping. Wal-Mart and Meijer both sell bags for 99 cents that work well with their bag holders (that’s so the cashier doesn’t grumble too much when you bring your bags). I have also found that most other major retailers are now selling their own branded recyclable bags. My favorites though are from the Disney Store and Toys’R'Us with bright fun prints and favorite characters I love showing them off. Their prices range from $1.99-$5.50 and are completely worth it to me. I have also washed all of my bags at least once and I have to say that they are holding up nicely although they won’t last forever they are completely recyclable.




If you prefer getting all your bags at once you can take a look at Cheap Totes and Tan’s Club both offer a variety of cotton tote and grocery bags sold in bulk or singles. You can also take a look at ebay for deals on totes.




So What Can I Do?




• You can start by changing out one plastic bag for one recyclable bag each week until you have enough bags to complete a week’s worth of shopping. You can also not have them bag the bigger items like laundry soap, milk, and tp paper to save on space and bags. It may mean a few more trips into the house from the car but I always like a bit more exercise.




• Take a large bag with you to the mall when you shop so you can simply tuck your purchase in your bag verses taking a store bag. I always put the receipts in my purse so I can make sure nothing gets lost.




• Help your friends make the switch by using cute totes to wrap presents in this holiday season instead of gift bags. It makes a simple gift that much better by giving a two for one present. I am going to be making Santa sacks this year for my kids instead of wrapping their gifts from Santa. I’ll be posting this craft possibly later this month so stay tuned.
]]> http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/proud-to-be-a-bag-lady/feed/ 16 http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/bpa-should-i-care/ http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/bpa-should-i-care/#comments Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:20:20 +0000 Jessica http://www.nearlygreen.com/?p=43 I never really gave much thought to all the hype about BPA when it came out a few years back. This was mostly because my son was done with bottles by that time and when I needed to get bottles for my daughter almost everything was BPA free or at least claimed to be relatively free. I never thought I would have to worry about the food that I was eating until I read a recent article that I found here. (thanks for Detroit Moms for posting the link) It talks about a recent report that lists the levels of BPA in some very popular can goods. The worst culprit is Del Monte Green beans, Cambell’s condensed Chicken Noodle Soup, and Progresso Soups. (For the complete report that is available online go here. )




I’m not typically one who gives into all the hype about the latest thing that is found however,I am paying more attention to try to limit the amount of chemicals that my family ingests because we are trying to live a more organic lifestyle. I did want to find out a little more about why BPA is getting so much attention. I found an article at the Nutrition Action website that does a pretty good job explaining why we need to pay attention to this particular chemical that is found in everything from aluminum can linings to automobiles. The article details the National Institute of Health’s findings that explains that the continued exposure to BPA has led to cancer and reproductive organ deformities in lab animals specifically breast cancer and prostate cancer. According to the FDA there is no need to panic and what we are exposed to is not anything to be concerned with overall. We do have to take this statement with a grain of salt though because their findings are based on testing that was done in the early to mid 80’s and a lot more research has been done since then.




I know that overall it would be impossible to completely limit my family’s exposure to chemicals and with regards to BPA most people are just taking a better safe than sorry approach. I find myself wondering however if the fact that girls and boys are hitting puberty at a younger and younger age every generations isn’t because of some of the chemicals that we have exposed ourselves to during the course of our lives. I also worry about those families that may have a history of breast or prostate cancer and what effect BPA has on their chances of actually presenting with the disease. There is a whole branch of my children’s family history that is unknown to me so I think that I’d much rather play it safe.




So What Can I Do?




• Limit the amount of canned groceries you are buying for your family. Look for items in paper or glass containers. Even juice in plastic containers is better because heating the plastic is what puts you most at risk.




• Use glass and ceramic dishes to reheat or cook items in your microwave. I found a good starter set of pyrex glass storage bowls here.




• Try canning your own produce or blanch and freeze your veggies this year. I will be doing both this coming summer and plan on sharing with you my successes and failures.




I think in the end even if the amount of BPA we are exposed to turns out to be harmless this issue has made me more aware of what I’m putting into my family’s mouthes.

]]> http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/bpa-should-i-care/feed/ 26 http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/starting-your-holidays-off-on-a-green-foot/ http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/starting-your-holidays-off-on-a-green-foot/#comments Tue, 03 Nov 2009 02:13:48 +0000 Jessica http://www.nearlygreen.com/?p=38 I can not believe that it is already November it seems like the years just keep going by faster and I keep trying to shove more into the weeks between Halloween and New Year. Usually this time of year any thoughts of the environment get thrown out the window right along with the black licorice. That’s when I stumbled upon Celebrate Green and realized that I already do environmentally conscious things during the holidays and most of it is in the name of saving a bit of money. I know this is a little early in the season for this kind of information but I’m a planner and for me I start thinking about Christmas in July so consider this the first of many upcoming holiday ideas and thoughts.




I know there are a lot of people that for them it wouldn’t be Christmas without a real tree and I do get that and while there is a case for both sides of this debate my big motivator was always saving money. You can save money because artificial trees can be used for up to 10 years or more if you store them correctly making the cost about $17.00 a year for a good one. I only had real trees when I was married to my ex and it was at his demand. I never liked the smell, the mess, the clean-up, and for me personally I have never liked having living things in my house I prefer them in the yard. There are some really wonderful artificial trees that look very realistic on the market now the vast majority even come with fiber-optics so you don’t even have to hang lights if you don’t want. You can check out Balsam Hill (they offer a personalized tree finder) they are pretty top of the line but do offer some great deals in their clearance section. Also take a look at Tree Classics (they also offer a tree selector) these are much more reasonable priced. You can also look at Target and Wal-Mart which always offer a selection of artificial trees and offer free shipping to the store. If you do plan to get a real tree consider purchasing it from a responsible tree farm and recycling at the end of the season. You can check out Earth 911 for information on programs in your area now so you are ready after the New Year.




The other thing I always do at holiday gift giving parties is scavenge all of the unclaimed gift bags and tissue paper. I’ve always done this just to save money for next year but it really is a very basic recycling technique. There are a lot of your fellow party goers that wouldn’t mind giving up or giving back any packaging material that they don’t want. It’s pretty much a given at my family Christmas get-togethers that everyone folds up their bags and hands them to me to use for next year. It’s almost a running joke in my family but hey it works for me.




I’d love to hear what you are doing to make your Holiday more green this year? Any creative ways that you have always done things and just never thought “Hey this is helping the environment”?



So What Can I Do?




• If you celebrate Christmas have a plan on how to make your tree a little greener this year by either recycling your real tree or investing in a artificial tree. If it is time to upgrade your tree consider donating your previously loved tree to a needy family. Sometimes this is the only way some families have trees during the holiday season.
• Take stock now of your wrapping supplies so you know what you already have that can be reused. If you go to early holiday parties aquire the unused wrapping supplies to use for later parties and always recycle for next year. Think of the money you can save when each bag can cost anywhere from $1.00 to $5.00.
• Check out Celebrate Green and back here with me for more tips on Greening up your Holidays.
]]> http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/starting-your-holidays-off-on-a-green-foot/feed/ 28 http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/what-happens-to-teddy-when-the-love-stops/ http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/what-happens-to-teddy-when-the-love-stops/#comments Sun, 01 Nov 2009 23:56:50 +0000 Jessica http://www.nearlygreen.com/?p=32 Is your house currently being overrun by invaders of he cute and fuzzy? I know that mine is and I didn’t have a clue what to do with all the stuffed creatures that are currently occupying all of the closets, shelves, and baskets in my house. That was until I stumbled upon Stuffed Animals for Emergencies that excepts new and previously loved stuffed animals, books, toys, and baby blankets to distribute to kids that have been the victim of natural and domestic emergencies.




SAFE (smart acronym) is currently supporting AdoptaPlatoon for their Operation Crayon where they give small stuffed animals to children in the areas that we are currently supporting as a humanitarian gesture. There is also Beanies for Baghdad that excepts beanie babies for similar humanitarian operations.




Personally, my niece and I are going to try to plan a teddy drive in our area to help before the holidays. If I can get things organized I’ll post details and pictures of the event. I think that this is a wonderful way to recycle all those teddy bears that are in need of a new home. Let me know if you plan on donating or have donated in the past to either these organizations or one I haven’t heard of yet. I’d love to hear your thoughts.



So What Can I Do?




• Collect all of your gentle loved stuffed creatures, children’s books, and baby blankets and then find your local SAFE chapter to donate.




• Start a teddy drive or beanie baby drive to collect and donate.




• Contact your local homeless shelter, American Red Cross, or women’s shelter to see if they accept gently loved items.
]]> http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/11/what-happens-to-teddy-when-the-love-stops/feed/ 80 http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/10/reconomy-wait-what/ http://www.nearlygreen.com/2009/10/reconomy-wait-what/#comments Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:56:25 +0000 Jessica http://www.nearlygreen.com/?p=28 So I’ve been throwing around the term Reconomy a bit lately and most of you already do this but never had a term to put to what you are doing just like I did. You may have an a-ha moment once I explain.




Reconomy is a recently emerging term due to the fact of the current economy and the state of the American family and as Americans we like to label everything. The Urban Dictionary describes reconomy simply as a recession economy and while this makes sense I don’t think that it fully explains what this term means. The Reconomy blog does a bit better job by explaining that reconomy is reusing, recycling, and reselling. This is the definition that I’m going to use as I highlight different interesting ways to reuse, recycle, and resell all the things that I have in my life.




If you are a mom or dad this isn’t new. This is a way of surviving in order to afford the very pricey task of raising children. I’m not sure about you but most of my kids clothes have either been bought through ebay, garage sales, thrift stores, or hand-me-downs. Even the vast majority of my own clothes have come to my closet from these paths.




One of my earliest memories is going garage-sailing with my Grandma. We would wake up early, chart our course, and discuss what we were looking for during the course of the day. I didn’t realize at the time but I was learning very valuable lessons about recycling and economics. Economics because I learned to never pay retail unless you absolutely had to and recycling because I learned never to throw away what someone else could put to use. These lessons are ones that I still live by and ones that have gotten me through some very lean times without having to technically go without. I cherish these memories and still look forward to garage sale season every year.




Ok now that we are on the same page, with this soon to be everywhere term, in future posts I will share with you the best ways I’ve found to maximize my own personal reconomy.




SO WHAT CAN I DO?




• Vow to shop thrift stores, goodwill, garage sales, ebay, and other reselling sites for the majority of your clothing needs over the next year. (The exceptions I’m making is undergarments, gifts, and absolute must haves that I can’t find anywhere else like shoes for my growing kids)
• Donate, resell, or give away all of the clothes that no longer work for you. Goodwill will take all donations regardless of quality and if they can not resell it they send it to 3rd world countries.
• Locate the local freecycle user group in your area and join. Freecycle is a email group that allows you post haves and wants to people in your local area. You can place any stipulations that you want on the post and really lighten your load. I have personally used to donate baby clothes, get rid of an old entertainment center, and disperse my yard sale leftovers. In all cases the people that wanted the item came to my house to pick it up and everything can be done via email. It’s a wonderful resource.
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