I know, I know. I’m a broken record on this subject (here, here and here among other mentions), but it merits repeating: Let’s stop using disposable water bottles! See horrible disposable water bottle facts here.  Especially when there are such pretty and inspiring options as that KOR One Hydration Vessels. I love that they are called “hydration vessels” as indeed, these can carry other liquids than water: flavored iced tea? Stevia lemonade? But the appellation of “vessel” elevates these beauties and the water they carry.  Indeed, KOR Water’s mission is to  “celebrate and protect water”.  Paul Shustak, co-founder describes the [...]

Grilling season is upon us. I just know that you are looking for an eco-friendly alternative to the fuel imbued charcoal briquettes. You probably also prefer that your food taste like food and not like gas? Well, you will want to know that coconut charcoal is the new cleaner alternative. Co.co.nut??
Indeed. Coconut Charcoal is made from the inner hard shell of a coconut.  When carbonized coconut shell is burned as charcoal, it achieves high heat and maintains that temperature for up to two and a half hours. The condensed fiber of coconut shells creates hotter, longer and cleaner burning charcoal [...]

Until I discovered someecards.com some months ago, I had been feeling very sad about the sorry selection of ecards (Please. No. Not another teddy bear, rainbow, balloons and cheezy platitudes). But, admittedly, someecards are perhaps a wee bit too irreverent to be appropriate for everyone and every occasion.
This is where VerveCards.com comes in: colorfully designed and clever with a great choice of very “appropriate” ecards when that is required. Nancy, co-founder of VerveCards, apparently as appalled as I by the dismal choice of reasonably decent ecards ( I know, it’s just totally outreageous!), actually did something about it. Her moment [...]

I know. Earth Day this, Earth Day that. Are we done yet? Unfortunately, I’m still in on the subject and am determined on fitting in one more Green, Earth-Friendly product line before the end of the week. Because I looooove it: the Sun & Earth brand of  home cleaning products. I first learned of this company through Alice.com, my now go-to source for all household product shopping. I was looking for alternatives to the usual natural cleaning product and the Sun & Earth brand popped up so I gave it a try, first with the fabric softener. I was so [...]

I have truly discovered the perfect sunscreen for everyone in my family. KineSYS. I love the microspray applicator. It makes the sunscreen so easy to apply as it prevents the sunscreen from overspraying and it helps provide an all over, uniform application. It is also fast drying and has no slippery oil or thick pasty feel to it. You hear people say in the promo video that it feels like air. It’s true!
Inevitably my girls will rub their eyes right after I apply sunscreen on them. With this product line, there are no more screams from sunscreen in their eyes. [...]

Straight from the dumpster? Yep. Tammy Roy, dumpster-diver par excellence can make scrap look good like it’s nobody’s business. Thankfully, One Eighty is her re-use design business.
Tammy trained in graphic design but went on a tangent after she realized that she couldn’t shake the dumpster-diving bug she inherited from her mom, also a recycle-based artist. She learned how to weld the reclaimed metal treasures that she found (metal disks, rebar and machinery parts from salvage yard and various waste from steel manufacturers) to design these wonderful and functional objects.
I’m seriously eyeing her Steel Pebble Holder to use indoors or out. [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor
Don’t you just hate those reusable water bottles that have such a small opening on top that makes them so hard to clean? Plus, when you drink from it there is a nasty metallic taste to the water. Well! I just discovered these stainless steel water bottles from Good Life Gear that I just love! The reason that they are so great is that you can screw off the entire top to effectively clean the bottle. Plus you can actually put ice in it (it’s the little things, you know…)!!! The bottles also have a [...]

I wrote about Kickstarter this past August. It’s a crowdfunding vehicle that matches creative projects/dreams with the individuals – people like you and me – who are willing to fund them. You can find all sorts of fascinating projects on Kickstarter; lots of film makers, musicians, writers and artists of all kinds have projects listed. I’m backing four of them at this moment and wanted to give a shout out to this particular one: Lumi Co.. because I’m quite certain that they will be revolutionizing the textile industry.
Indeed, take a look at Lumi Co. This brand new start up company [...]

By Audrey van Petegem, Contributing Editor

Just before Christmas I went to Chicago to visit my friend Anne-Marie.  She took me to the One-of-a-Kind show, which features artists from all over the States and Canada.  It was quite a show and discovered all sorts of neat things and met some very interesting people. One of the people I met was  Annie Duggan. She and her sister, Mary, started a company called the  DugganSisters that helps people transform their lives.
After both women recovered from various illnesses and injuries, they decided to share their amazing transformation stories and to dedicate themselves to helping [...]

School and routine are starting again. Time to educate our children on new environmental practices too. Some stats to get us motivated from WasteFreeLunches.org: “it has been estimated that on average a school-age child using a disposable lunch generates 67 pounds of waste per school year. That equates to 18,760 pounds of lunch waste for just one elementary school”.
This guide brings cool ideas to help us convert to easy & convenient litter-free meals: