I just found this cool shoe compoany that donates a pair of shoes for every pair sold.  I've been looking for some simple canvas shoes... I just might get a pair.

Check it out:

 Tom's Shoes

Like most children, Halloween is one of my kids' favorite things about the month of October. However, it is a holiday that's celebration can have a real negative impact on the environment. From the disposable costumes and plastic candy wrappers that are littered throughout the neighborhoods, to the electrically lit pumpkins and blow up lawn decorations that are kept inflated night after night, Halloween can have a SCARY effect on our planet. Luckily there are many simple steps we can take as parents to make Halloween an eco- friendly holiday.

Costumes - I know this is a difficult one with all the commercialism and cartoon bombardment our kids get at every turn, but avoiding brand new store bought costumes each year can significantly reduce our carbon footprint. Costume ideas that are more eco friendly include renting a costume, passing on your older costumes to someone else’s kids or have someone else’s kids pass down their costumes to your kids. You can also make cute and simple costumes out of old sheets and clothing. September and October are also times of the year when thrift stores carry many costumes. These eco-friendly costume ideas not only promote recycling but will also save you a lot of money.

Treat bags - Instead of buying a new plastic bucket every year for your kids to collect their treats in, try using a cloth bag, a bucket from home, a pillowcase or a basket which you can decorate to match your kid’s costume. In September and October, you will likely find recycled Halloween buckets/baskets for sale at your local thrift store as well.

Treats - Try to buy treats that use as little packaging as possible or treats that use eco-friendly packaging. We as parents can also remind our kids and neighborhood trick-or-treaters to keep plastic wrappers and all other garbage off the ground and in the garbage. Some chidlren may even feel inspired to pick up wrappers found on their trick or treating route.

Pumpkins - If you are able to purchase your pumpkin from a local farmer instead of a large supermarket, your local farmer will receive a larger portion of the food dollar supporting endangered family farms and ensuring that healthy, flavorful, nourishing and abundant food will be available for future generations. Buying local keeps your dollars circulating in your community and builds a stronger regional economy. When your pumpkin has lost its Halloween flair, you can compost it in your yard waste bin and save precious space in our landfill.

Shopping “green” is not always an easy task. It only takes one trip to the supermarket to realize that companies—now more than ever—are making green marketing claims to sell their products. Phrases like “all natural,” “less packaging,” and “No GMOs” seem to take up more space on the supermarket displays than the products themselves. But it’s not always easy to tell which companies behind these products are “talking the talk” versus “walking the walk.” Truth be told, there’s probably a whole lot more talking out there than we’d like, but the good news is that many companies are starting the walk too. And for the environmentally-oriented mom, there’s a tool to help determine which ones are truly making a difference.

Climate Counts, a non-profit campaign that scores companies annually on their efforts to reverse climate change, is uncovering which companies are working to address their climate footprint. The Climate Counts Company Scorecard -- launched in June 2007 -- helps moms vote with their dollars by making climate-conscious purchasing choices in their everyday lives. What’s the goal? To put pressure on the world's most well-known companies to take the issue of climate change seriously. Climate Counts has currently evaluated 122 companies -- representing over 3000 different brands -- in fourteen major consumer sectors. Recently, Climate Counts scored the Toys & Kids Equipment sector to help you know what the makers of your children’s strollers, dollhouses, and diapers are doing to protect the long-term health of the planet your kid’s will someday inherit.

We know that you care about living sustainably. Check out their Company Scorecard to help make your purchasing decisions consistent with that goal. Download their free Pocket Shopping Guide for quick and easy information on-the-go.

 I heard about this on NPR and thought I would pass it on.....

I am happy to hear that "green" is going mainstream. There are some down sides to greening mass production that's done overseas ( as you will hear when you listen to this story), but I am still happy to hear about the direction we are slowly heading in.

  Zoe&Zac, the new "green" shoe collection from Payless Shoes, hit shelves last week on Monday, April 13. The collection offers shoes featuring organic cotton canvas, hemp, linen, EVA (non-PVC) foam beds, recycled rubber and water-based glues.

The entire collection for women and girls is offered at a budget friendly price of under $30. The packaging is also eco-smart and uses 100 percent recycled shoe boxes printed with soy-based inks.

Also, for every Zoe&Zac item bought, Payless will contribute $1 to The Nature Conservancy's Plant a Billion Campaign.

Alice Walker Designs has put out an eco-friendly lunch tote that I think is great. It's stylish and durable and allows you to pack a lunch that will leave no waste behind. The lunch box is insulated to help keep hot foods hot and cold foods cold. It includes full size cutlery (fork, knife and spoon) and a cloth reusable napkin which all attach securely to one side of the inside of the lunch tote. The tote also includes three food containers with leak proof lids sizes small, medium and large. these containers could easily hold 1-2 adult meals or 2-3 kid meals inside. A stainless steel water bottle is  provided with an insulated bottle holder and strap/ carabiner if you wanted to take it somewhere separately, for instance on a walk or hike.

 The lunch tote is lead free and vinyl free and comes with a removable shoulder strap that is great for parents who are carrying arm loads of "stuff" everywhere. It allows one to sling the lunch box strap around the shoulder or across the chest for easy carrying. 

Chic, cute, and hip all describe the look and design of this lunch tote. The tote I received has a bright green interior on one side with a zebra print on the other. The water bottle is zebra print and the cloth napkin has a bright green and white polka dot design. The outside can be monogrammed in your / your child's initials for a customized look. The outside front of the lunch tote also has a small plastic window for you to include your address or phone number in case you leave it somewhere, which if you are anything like me, happens on a regular basis : ). 

I highly recommend this product for adults use in taking their lunch to work,  and kids to use for school lunches. It's purpose and design are appropriate for use by all ages and it's style and function make it a great buy for oneself or as a nice gift idea for a child or friend/family member. 

This eco-tote makes packing lunch and caring for the Earth fun! 

For more information on the Eco-Tote, please visit their website on the link above. 

I thought about posting a "Buy Nothing Day" post on Black Friday, which some people do in protest of our culture's consumerism which is symbolized in the biggest shopping day of the year (the day after Thanksgiving). But than I thought twice about it because I know these are very tough financial times for many people and maybe Black Friday  deals offer some people the only chance to afford Christmas gifts  this year.

 However, when I heard about the Walmart stampede and security guard's death on Long Island last Friday I was so saddened. Tens of people must have walked over this person without looking back to have something like this happen. Is a good deal really worth a life? Is our culture's pull toward consumerism so strong that we would trample a fellow human being to get a great deal on a TV, or a Barbie?

Starting our nations holiday season with a death like this should be a national embarrassment and  gives me even more reason to celebrate "Buy Nothing Day" every Friday after Thanksgiving.

Due to the economic down turn this year as well as just wanting to focus on family and friends and not gifts this year, our extended family has decided to fore go all gift giving this year. What used to be hours of opening gifts until near boredom and wasting reams of wrapping paper, we will spend this Christmas decorating cookies and filling out cards about what we are most thankful for and then read each others aloud. This was the perfect year to begin this (what I hope to be) tradition with the economy being so bad, it hasn't been hard to convince anyone to eliminate gift giving this year. And I think after the enjoyment and stress free Christmas we have this year with the focus being not on gifts but on one another, no one will want to go back to the "traditional" Christmas. 

The primary purpose of a Buy Nothing Day (in addition to having a terrific neighborly time out in the street) is to see what we can do as activists to urge and provide people with a period of respite, a pause for reflection from the incessant rigors of the consumption economy, which is the main thing that dominates the media and perhaps a few too many of our daily life choices and aspirations.

With the holiday season fast approaching, your mailbox is likely to get stuffed with catalogs from companies you have never heard of before let alone the usual suspects, most of which you will likely not open or not be interested in. 

If you are interested in reducing the amount  of paper wasted by way of catalogs mailed to your home, here's a website I found that will help you  do that.

In SF they have a nail salon called Mani and Nanny, they do manicures (and all that) while the kids are watched.  And they use eco friendly stuff.  Well, as eco friendly as nail polish can be I suppose...

I came across this brand while doing some online "window shopping". Unfortunately, this brand doesn't carry my width but I think they are really cute and all profits go to a great cause.

An ancient Chinese proverb wisely states, “Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Thanks to an initiative established by Lance Clark, sixth generation of the family behind the footwear company of the same name, this proverb is being put into action by Soul of Africa to help South African villagers affected by AIDS to help themselves.

Working with communities in the informal settlements around Durban in KwaZulu Natal, where the AIDS infection is highest, Clark and a handful of leading South African business people in the footwear industry have since been sharing their shoemaking expertise to teach local villagers how to make this simple yet comfortable hand sewn product for the Soul of Africa line.

Soul of Africa shoes are made by hand using supple leather and quality materials to create footwear that is flexible, durable, and soft. Incredibly comfortable, Soul of Africa shoes are simple, sleek, and stylish as well!

For every pair of Soul of Africa shoes sold, Clarks will donate all profits to the care and support of South African children orphaned due to AIDS. Additionally, each pair sold helps to provide an ongoing livelihood for the individuals who stitch the shoes. Since 2004, Soul of Africa has raised well over $1,000,000 since its beginnings.

Cameron and I have been looking for a new set of pots and pans since we have been borrowing my sisters during the last year and now need to return them. I bought a set for $185 at Costco today and then happened to check Craigslist just out of curiosity. It just so happened someone was selling the EXACT same set, hardly used, for $60 on Craigslist. I am so excited!! Not only do I get to save lots of money (over 60% off what I was going to pay) but I also can make the eco choice of not buying new, using new resources, etc.

Just reminder - that you all know anyway - to always check out the used option. It's not only great for the wallet but great for the environment too.

If you eat fish and ever wonder to yourself when buying it " Now .....is it the wild or farmed that's better for the environment (and you) and which fish are the ones heavy with mercury and which aren't and aren't salmon now endangered species?? and on and on, then this is a great resource for you.

It's a Seafood Watch Guide that tells you very quickly (for use in the grocery or wherever you are doing your shopping) when buying fish, which are the best choices of fish to buy in terms of our health and the health of the planet and which you should try to avoid buying for health and environmental reasons.

I liked this response on a Treehugger post, regarding big buy-outs of smaller eco companies. It can be frustrating when a good company like burts bees gets bought out by clorox, but the final comment makes alot of sense. What do you guys think of the big buy-outs?

What's wrong with "selling out", this is what happens in business. The big companies get bigger until they can no longer sustain yearly profits. Consumers get sick of it and start buying from the small guys, the small guy becomes bigger, more profitable and the cycle continues. I am just glad this time that the businesses that are currently "fashionable" are trying to be eco friendly. Let’s not out green each other here people. You can complain about big business while drinking your morning coffee out of a Styrofoam cup. At the end of the day, cow flatulence is going to lend a bigger contribution to green house gas emission then our tanned hyde leather shoes and coffee. Does that mean we boycott Ben and Jerry's for all the darn ice-cream? No, let’s encourage eco conscience behavior from all business big and small.

 I was listening to NPR's radio show Marketplace last night and heard about a new book called, Bottlemania:  How Water Went on Sale and Why We Bought It.

 I dont think I would buy or read an entire book on this one issue but the interview with the author last night was interesting. 

Here are some excerpts from the interview: 

Is bottled water necessarily better for us?

Water is a really local and individual issue and in general, I will say that bottled water is no better or worse for you than tap water. Bottled water has basically the same level of contaminants -- things in it -- that tap water does and that the government allows to be in it. Bottled water is much less inspected than tap water, so that is one big difference.

Why then are people in this country and all over the world willing to pay so much on a relative scale for water that comes out of a bottle?

I think people are willing to pay more because they think that the water in the bottle is better. It took off because of very clever marketing that prayed on our ideas about health and wellness and beauty and weight loss and things like that and we were told that we needed to hydrate, hydrate, hydrate and drink 8 ounce glasses a day and so portability became really important and that marketing worked really, really well. It turned bottled water from a $150 million a year industry in 1990 to a $11.5 billion a year industry in 2007........Well, bottled water has been around for many centuries, but essentially, the bottle water craze in this country we can trace to that. It was 1977 when Perrier was introduced and it was very much a niche product at first. Yuppies drank it, it was an urban thing. Nobody was walking down the street with that pretty green glass bottle swigging it, but the water had a certain cache: it was French, it had those great bubbles and Orson Wells did the ads and so that started us thinking about celebrity and status and the big change, actually, isn't that dramatic. It was a technological innovation. In 1989, it became possible to put bottled water in bottles made of PET plastic -- that's the lightweight bottles -- and all of a sudden, it became much easier and cheaper to put water into these bottles and that's when the marketing tens of millions of dollars were spent pushing bottled water on us.

The kids and I went to the Goodwill today to do a little shopping and I noticed that the employees were wearing T shirts that read, "Goodwill, Not Landfill". I love that. They usually focus their marketing on all of their humanitarian efforts which are wonderful too and include education, training, and job placement programs for people with disabilities. But it seems now they are focusing on the ecological benefits of donating and shopping at thrift stores too.

I still cant believe how often I hear people say they went through their things and threw out everything they didn't use anymore.  I keep hoping they mean they gave it away but I have a feeling many times they REALLY mean that they threw it away. 

While at the checkout line, I found information on the Goodwill's new online store. What a great idea! 

Upon Jen A.'s recommendation, the kids and I went to:

PACIFIC STAR GARDENS

20872 County Road 99, Woodland 95773

Telephone: (530) 666-7308

Hours: Apr-Oct

Farm stand and U-pick operation selling apricots, strawberries, melons, mixed vegetables, lettuce, tomatoes, pumpkins, transplants, flowers and more! Field trips and farm tours also available.

while visiting family in that area. The entire farm is organic and the kids and I had a so much fun picking strawberries, apricots, leeks, garlic, and onions. Not only were the prices right but we got to talk to the farmer, learn a little history of the farm, and Noah got to ride on his tractor. You can't do that in a grocery store and you can't get organic produce for $2 a pound either.

I highly recommend taking time to visit farms this summer and fall  when there is so much to eat and see. It's also a great educational experience for kids who otherwise  might think that our food comes FROM the grocery store. 

For a list of farms in Somona County including their location, hours you can visit and what the grow, please visit farmtrails.org

If you live in the Sacramento/Woodland area, you can find more information here 

 If you live in a different area and have information on farms in your area please let us know.

The Downtown farmers market in Santa Rosa began last night.

FREE each Wed night 

May through August

5:30 - 8 pm along 4th street

Local farmers, vendors and activities for children.

A great venue to get local, organic produce, cheese, bread and meat. 

Found this article, thought you might like to read it. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24622667/

I bought V those wooden ABC blocks from a Made in USA company. I feel proud that I bought her a classic toy that was made in America.

The brand "Melissa and Doug" sell wooden toys, but they are Made in China. I will NOT support that company.

Here is my "Green Corner " contribution to my son' s schools newsletter this month. I know it's  an easy one but I still see so MANY plastic bags being used at the store, I thought I would remind us all of the importance of BYOB. Last month the Green Corner was on the environmental benefits of hanging laundry to dry  instead of using the dryer and the month before that , it was about composting. I should have posted those too but forgot to. Noah's school is out for the summer after this month but I am taking over the newsletter responsibility next year and will post all of my Green Corners for any of you who want to use the same tips for your school newsletters. It's an easy way to get the word out about simple changes we can all make and about GreenMommy.org too.

Paper or Plastic? Neither, please. Did you know that we use 8 percent of the world's oil supply to produce plastic, including BILLIONS of plastic bags each year? Not only is this a huge waste of resources, it results in lots of unnecessary long term landfill (each bag is projected to take nearly 500 years to decompose). It takes 14 million trees to produce the 10 BILLION paper grocery bags used every year by Americans. To help preserve our planet's resources and create a healthier environment for our children, try bringing your own reusable bags with you when shopping. (TIP: Leave a supply of reusable bags in the car to make it easier to remember)

Okay...ethical dilemma here. Let's hear what you all think....

Walmart now carries a wide range of organic products and food. With lower prices than most (if not all)  other venues.

Do you feel it is ethical for you to shop at WALMART to support the organics they now sell? 

Or, is the idea of shopping at WALMART for organic products a paradox? 

What do you think? 

This was the title of a recent NY Times article on the rising price of food around the globe and particularly organic foods.

It is an interesting and complicated subject because there are so many factors involved, i.e. a growing middle class around the world demanding more meat and dairy, global warming effects on crops and farming, U.S. economic slow down in every area,  higher fuel costs, rising demand and a tight supply of the grains needed for animal feed and bakery items, etc etc.

........demand for organic wheat, soybeans and corn is so great that farmers are receiving unheard-of prices. But people who have to buy organic grain, from bakers and pasta makers to chicken and dairy farmers, say they are struggling to maintain profit margins, even though shoppers are paying more. The price of organic animal feed is so high that some dairy farmers have abandoned organic farming methods and others are pushing retailers to raise prices more aggressively. Several organic manufacturers worry that sales may slow as consumers cut back......

Americans spent $16.7 billion on organic food and beverages in 2006, a 126 percent increase in just five years, according to the Organic Trade Association, an industry trade group. Organic sales account for about 2.8 percent of food and beverage sales in the United States, the group says.

The United States had 4.1 million acres of organic farmland in 2005, triple the amount in 1997, according to the Department of Agriculture, which regulates the organic industry. But farmers and grain buyers say the growth of new organic acreage has slowed, falling short of rising demand and causing organic grain prices to soar.

Here is what a few organic consumers said in the article on how they will deal with rising prices or food (organic in particular) "

At the Mississippi Market Natural Foods Co-op in St. Paul, Shaun Hainey, 26, said he had quit smoking and cut back on drinking and “superfluous recreational spending, like going skiing.” But he and his wife, Cassandra Hainey, have not cut back on organic food.“We don’t foresee a price level at which we’d stop shopping organic,” he said.

But Scott Cordes, a 33-year-old budget analyst for the city of St. Paul, has found the high prices hard to bear. He now buys conventional 1 percent milk for $4.09 rather than spending $6.99 on a gallon of organic milk. Still, he does not expect to forgo organic foods altogether.

 So what do you think? I know for almost all of us , paying extra money for organic groceries is really a strain on the budget and especially now that food is rapidly becoming more and more expensive. 

-Which oragnic foods / products (if any) are a must for you?

-Which could you live without?

-What creative things do you or will you do to afford organic foods/products ? 

I found this site today while browsing the internet for something unrelated. It's a bit unseasonal I know, but I think the concept can be applied to any occasion (i.e. Hanukkah, Easter, anniversaries, birthdays, etc)

Some of the alternative gift ideas that I really like are the collective family recipe book, making a book on tape for someone and collecting quotes that make you think of someone.

As green -minded people try to lighten their carbon foot print by consuming less "stuff", this is a good way to gift give during the holidays or special occasions that will have less of a negative impact on the environment but will be just as meaningful if not more so than a store bought gift. Many of the gift ideas not only have a neutral impact  in the environment but some ideas listed also pass along the gift to the recipient as well as others in need.

 Some other websites concerned with American consumerism are:

http://www.newdream.org/kids/

 http://www.xmasresistance.org/

What other alternative gift giving ideas do you have or have you used in the past? 

I LOVE a beautiful journal.  I found a company that makes journals that are lovely to look at and that you can feel good about buying.  

You can check out more at Paper Blanks, but here is an excerpt from their website: 

With respect to the production of our journals for example, all our paper is acid free and derived from sustainable forest pulp, and our binder boards are made with 100% recycled materials.

I'm trying not to buy any new leather this year, so I was disappointed to see that some of their journals are leather.  But the majority are not leather.  And the quality is suburb.  They seem like a very socially conscious company too.  I only have a few more pages to fill up in my old journal and I can't wait to start using my new Paper Blank one.  Oh, and they also make the nicest looking planners I have ever seen- I'm getting one for 2009! 

 You can find them locally at Copperfield's.