Shop

eBay opens green shopping hub

From Green Right Now Reports

eBay, that giant online garage sale, announced today that it will offer a new green shopping hub.

Mandala Record Clock made from an old vinyl album, and sold on eBay

The hub will help shoppers identify products that are green by virtue of being vintage or used; made of sustainable materials or designed to save energy.

The new shopping hub was formed as a response to eBay’s “Green Team” shoppers who’ve taken a pledge to be green. This online community, which eBay says is about 150,000 strong, has “committed to making greener lifestyle choices.”

Concurrently, eBay is partnering with Team Earth, a coalition of NGOs and private sector companies, to protect rainforests. For the first 250,000 people who pledge to reuse on eBay through its “Green Team Challenge” the company will protect an acre of rainforest in their name.

More >>>

Green stores spring forth, from New Jersey to California

Earth Goddess sells eco-goodies at its new store in Allentown, N.J.

By Barbara Kessler

Everyone knows you can’t shop your way to green. A true greenie is always looking for ways to reduce and reuse. That line of thinking generally doesn’t propel you to the mall, at least not often.

But (you knew there was a but…) eco-conscious consumers still have needs. Their motivations are just different. They look to buy lower impact, organic products from like-minded companies and retailers. They want fairly produced goods to create a less-toxic home environment, with healthful food, that supports sustainable practices.

More >>>

Green Goods: Desert Essence Organics debuts new hand washes

By Barbara Kessler

The last time I picked up some “natural” hand soap, I got burned. It turned out to be natural in only the most nominal way. It had a couple of herbal ingredients, but these were far outnumbered by a fleet of synthetic preservatives and unpronounceable components that included parabens.

Solutions have been coming. Many health conscious cosmetic companies are offering new, non-toxic hand soaps (see this list at Skin Deep) for those of us getting away from discredited antibacterial formulas and other unnecessary additives.

Desert Essence is among the latest to step up with a purer line of hand washes. The company’s new Organics hand washes that are moisturizing and free of parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, phthalates, artificial fragrances or colors, silicones, EDTA, glycol or petroleum based ingredients.

The new hand washes come in four varieties: Grapefruit, Lavender, Coconut and Vanilla Chai. Each is affiliated with an outcome, with Lavender being calming and Grapefruit energizing, and so on.

More >>>

LG monitor first to earn new UL Environment certification

From Green Right Now Reports

An LG monitor will be the first to carry the new UL Environment Sustainable Product Certification mark, a green leaf encircling the familiar “UL” initials.

UL Environment, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Underwriters Laboratories, announced today that LG Electronics is the first company to earn UL Environment’s Sustainable Product Certification for high tech equipment. LG’s new 23-inch class E2350VLED LCD computer monitor, which will be introduced later this week at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, is the first product to complete UL Environment’s independent, third-party certification for meeting the IEEE 1680 environmental performance benchmark for consumer electronics.

More >>>

Books for greenies, DIYers, wildlife lovers, wonks and everyone else

If you’re planning to kick back with a cider and want something edifying to curl up with over the holidays, or you still have gifts to buy, or you just enjoy a good book list, here are some of our picks for green reading from the 2009 offerings (with one from 2008). Cheers!

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife With Native Plants

By Douglas W. Tallamy

This book explains better than any we’ve seen how native plants support a healthy local ecosystem, providing birds and insects with the best foods so that the entire natural chain of wildlife can thrive.

If you’ve ever wondered why some people make such a fuss about native plants, this is a book that will give you a macro, micro and mini-micro look at your backyard and help you see why. Tallamy, chair of the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware is well informed but never preachy. He shows us how we’ve unwittingly turned our yards sterile, inhospitable places for birds, butterflies and wild life by following thoughtless suburban trends. We put in acres of foreign turf grasses that require chemicals to maintain and “decorate” the perimeter with non-contributing flowering bushes. We get what we think we want – a land without insects — but undermine the food chain, creating a system that requires constant care and propping up. Our yards become chemically dependent.

More >>>

Food gifts that make a difference — and they’re yummy, too

By Barbara Kessler

Food, it’s the perfect, practical holiday gift — and you can support the causes you care about with a gift of food that’s either Fair Trade, organic or comes from a shop designed to help workers gain job experience.

Here are some of our picks for the season.

More >>>

An Earth-friendly, eco-chic gift guide for him and her

By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

Men and women who are big on green style and earth-friendly substance have discovered that the Web is littered with natural and free-trade clothes and accessories. You can get vegan shoes for hundreds of dollars, or hoodies and Ts for a lot less.

We’ve combed through online shops to create a very merry Green His and Hers Gift Guide.

HIGH STYLE

Deborah Lindquist uses both “reincarnated” and new Earth-friendly fabrics for her creations. From her current collection, “Goth Girl Goes to the Country, ” is a vintage cashmere crewneck floor sweeping dress, $394, and silk long-sleeve T-shirt underneath, $185 (above). You can buy Lindquist’s edgy styles in stores, or directly on her Web site.

More >>>

Gifts you didn’t know were green

By Barbara Kessler

Let’s shop green without being obvious about it, OK? You can, you know. There are many ways to tweak the holiday list this year to skew it toward recycled, socially conscious, energy-conserving goods. Of course, we don’t like to advocate lots of consuming. We definitely don’t buy that theory that it’s our patriotic duty to purchase our way out of the recession.

On the other hand, we are going to exchange gifts this holiday season. With that in mind, here are a few humble suggestions for keeping it green (and affordable), subtly.

More >>>

Nine ideas for a green Halloween

By Barbara Kessler

Planning a low-impact, money-saving Halloween is so much more rewarding than trying to turn some other holidays green. You don’t have to argue with relatives about whether or not to have a turkey, or disappoint the kids with gifts to humanitarian causes in their names at Christmas. All you really need to do is think creatively, get holistic about your pumpkin, maybe dust off the sewing machine and take it easy at the store.

Here are our best nine ideas to help you get started.

Halloween Chico Bag

1 - Get A Reusable Halloween Bag

This is a no-brainer, the equivalent of buying CFLs. If you can’t do this, hang up your werewolf mask right now. We like this Chico Bag. It is reusable, affordable and designed by kids. Buy it at Greenfeet for just $5. Or find a pillowcase for treats. Either way skip the clunky orange plastic pumpkins, unless you’ve already got them, then: reuse, reuse.

More >>>

Fair-trade fall fashion: stylish, warm and oh, so earthy

By Melissa Segrest

Rummaging through sweaters? Trying on last year’s jackets? Tired of that same old gray hoodie? It is possible to make a fashion statement this fall and express concern for artisans of the world with an assortment of fair-trade apparel. Your choices range from high-end big-name designers to small, globally conscious entrepreneurs. We’ve piled up a lot of crisp, autumn goodies for you to sort through.

More >>>