Written on
January 27, 2009 by
SusanC
Every week we use this space to feature a recycled note or three from some of our favorite online sources. This week I thought it might be fun to feature envelopes only: creative and 100% recycled (and repurposed!) alternatives to standard letter carriers you can use to transport the smallest or largest of notes.
Below are some of my favorites (And please feel free to link to your own favorites in the comments, too!):
Romeo & Juliet Envelopes
Send a little Shakespeare mail to your favourite literature buff or teacher or student or Shakespeare enthusiast or actor or playwright or really anyone who likes to read or write!
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Written on
January 26, 2009 by
SusanC
Congratulations! to sito, commenter #112. You are the winner of our EcoStore USA giveaway!
Thanks to everyone for participating, and remember to check out Ecostore USA’s great line of eco-friendly products for your home and beauty needs.
Also be sure to check out Anne’s great post below, laden with tips on how to stay warm (and green!) during these winter months.
Happy! Monday, all.
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Written on
January 21, 2009 by
SusanC
Have you ever felt overwhelmed by the environmentalist’s charge to “eat local?” Think the term “slow food” means “not McDonalds?” Intimidated by the 100-mile diet, or clueless when it comes to constructing weekly menus that highlight in-season foods from your neck of the woods? (Seriously, who has the time to plan menus?).
Then breathe easy, because you are most certainly not alone.
We are all the products of more than one generation of industrial food conditioning. (Example: As a child, I once asked a grade school friend where the apple she was eating came from, and she said, “the store”).
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Written on
January 20, 2009 by
SusanC
This week’s Recycled Note Of The Week comes from Small Square Design and features a prominent kitchen appliance.
Exhibit: The Toaster Recycled Letterpress Card:
The only time I ever received a toaster as a gift was after I registered for (an awesome) one for our wedding, but apparently, “the retro toaster is a unique way of saying congratulations to someone, anniversary, graduation, new job, new house…”
Who knew? (Maybe you did!)
The listing above is for one A2 size letterpressed card, which also comes with one kraft color envelope. Both the card and the envelope are recycled, and both come packaged in a biodegradable clear sleeve.
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Written on
January 19, 2009 by
SusanC
Why is it that beauty products are seldom packaged in recyclable containers?
Even when their containers are plastic, they seldom have recognizable recycling symbols on them. Sometimes they have what I assume are European symbols on them.
Did you know that this symbol:
The German ‘Green Dot’, has no environmental significance at all? It only means that the manufacturer has paid a fee towards the packaging recovery system in Germany.
Is the beauty industry too upmarket to put the little triangle on the bottom of their packaging? Do they think their little packages would make the symbol too tiny to read?
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Written on
January 15, 2009 by
SusanC
Don’t you just love purchasing handmade goods, that on the by-and-large are naturally green and eco-friendly by the fact that they are created with love in peoples’ own homes and workshops? Especially those cute toys and custom accessories and apparel that can be found on such fun sites as Etsy.com and Hyenacart.com?
Well, as of February 10, 2009–less than a month away–nearly all such shops manufacturing hand-made toys will be forced by law to close their doors due to unreasonable third-party product testing mandates Congress passed this past August.
It is called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, and at its heart it has good intentions: to monitor mass-produced children’s products to ensure they do not contain lead or phthalates.
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Written on
January 15, 2009 by
SusanC
I’ve been seemingly bit by the Valentine’s bug early this year, as I’m already finding myself strangely drawn toward hues of pink and red, shapes of all sizes and varieties that resemble hearts (admittedly not typically my favorite shape), or really anything that shouts “Hey! Valentine” with sugary sweet artistic lips.
It’s perhaps no surprise then, that I was smitten with this very romantic sea-dwelling shape, adorning this Heartopus card from Tofu Nutloaf’s Etsy shop:
From the seller:
Thea Heartopus is a rare freshwater cephalopod. It frequents deep, slow-moving rivers and lakes, and seems to prefer living near humans. It has been theorized that at least part of the Heartopus’s sustenance comes from human love vibes, although some scientists consider this theory bunk.
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Written on
January 14, 2009 by
SusanC
In an article that came out last week on ScienceDaily and many other places around the blogosphere, researchers from Baylor University in Texas used coconut fibers taken from the husks to create molded composite board similar to the polyester version used on door bottoms, in trunks, and on floors of some cars.
Why, though, would you use coconut instead of polyester? We will do a comparison with a few simple questions and equally simple answers:
Where do they come from?
Polyester is an inexpensive, man-made fiber and can be made anywhere. Coconuts are inexpensive seeds that come from trees in the tropics.
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The holidays are behind us, and we’re moving into the time of year when lots of people are facing the daunting twin tasks of finding places to put all the Christmas presents and getting ready to do some serious Spring cleaning.
If you’re like me, you may even have made a New Year’s resolution that seemed like a good idea at the time, but now seems a bit daunting: “Take care of the clutter problem.”
I suspect de-cluttering is harder for those of us who hate to add things to the waste stream. The thought of putting something into a landfill that someone else might get use out of is bothersome, but how do we find someone who needs or wants our old stuff?
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Written on
January 12, 2009 by
SusanC
What better way to start the second full week of the new year than with a great review and giveaway for some helpful green home and beauty products?
This review and giveaway comes courtesy of Ecostore USA, whose eco-friendly, plant-based household cleaning products are as effective as the leading supermarket brands, and their body and baby care products are gentle on your skin, natural, and non-toxic.
From Ecostore’s website:
All of our products are made from plant and mineral-based ingredients, free of toxic chemicals that bring people closer to nature with non-toxic, environmentally safe solutions that also help to reduce our carbon footprint.
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