Yes to Carrots

I have found a yummy new lip butter I just love - Yes To Carrots' C Me Smile. It is all natural with extracts from certified organic fruits and vegetables, it contains no petroleum or phthalates, is paraben-free and is not tested on animals!

C Me Smile contains organic carrot, orange, pumpkin and melon extracts which provide
antioxidant protection; coconut oil, olive fruit oil, jojoba seed and sunflower oils to nourish & protect your lips; vitamin E and shea butter.

Why is organic lip butter a smart choice? According to Glamour Magazine's June 2002"Beauty Quickie Tip," "women inadvertently eat 4 lbs of lipstick" in a lifetime. Every time you lick your lips, eat or drink while wearing lip product you ingest a small amount of the product so be sure to choose organic products.

C Me Smile is available in five yummy flavors - Berry, Carrot, Citrus, Melon and Mint. Check out www.yestocarrots.com for more delicious info.

National Flip Flop Day

Be sure to slip on your flip flops and head to Tropical Smoothie tomorrow June 19th, to celebrate National Flip Flop Day with a FREE 24 oz. Jetty Punch Smoothie!

Not only is this a great way to kick off summer which officially starts on Sunday, but you can feel good that your lunch purchase will help support Camp Sunshine. Camp Sunshine provides respite, support, joy and hope to children with life-threatening illnesses and their immediate families through various stages of a child’s illness. The year-round program is free of charge to all families, and includes 24-hour onsite medical and psychosocial support. Bereavement groups are also offered for families who have lost a child to an illness.

When you head to Tropical Smoothie make sure you are sporting the latest in eco-friendly flip flops like the fun pairs from the following companies:

Simple Shoes whose flip flops are made with sustainable hemp, carpet padding water-based adhesives, recycled car tire and natural rubber. www.simpleshoes.com

Ocean Minded which make their flip flops with recycled plastic bottles and donates a portion of its proceeds to Surfrider Foundation. www.oceanminded.com

Zoe & Zac from Payless made with certified organic cotton, a recycled rubber sole, and eco-friendly packaging. www.payless.com

Sustainable Surfboards

A great Maine company has brought surfing back to its roots by constructing gorgeous wood surfboards. According to their website Grain Surfboards are committed to building, promoting and riding surfboards that have less impact on the environment and more impact on your surfing. Grain uses locally harvested, sustainably forested Northern White Cedar. They also reduce waste with their creative designs which use a third of wood in typical wood boards, they reuse waste products, and support small, family-owned sawmills in Maine. The wood boards are finished with zero-VOC epoxy, glass or bamboo cloth, and a high-gloss UV coating to protect the board.

Why make the switch to a wood surfboard? Traditional boards are made with petroleum based polyurethane foam which creates dangerous chemicals in the manufacturing process and after shaping the boards are glassed with toxic fiberglass laminate and polyester resins.

For more info on Grain Surfboards visit http://www.grainsurfboards.com

Ocean Friendly Sunscreen

With conventional sunscreens you are not only exposing yourself to dangerous chemicals you are also endangering the ocean's health. Researchers estimate that 4,000 to 6,000 metric tons of sunscreen wash off swimmers annually in oceans worldwide, and that up to 10 percent of coral reefs are threatened by sunscreen-induced bleaching. Choose sunscreens with plant-based ingredients and physical UV barriers which reflect UV rays, like titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. Some great choices are Caribbean Sol www.caribbean-sol.com or Soleo Organics www.soleoorganics.com

Remember these application tips for sunscreen to be the most effective -

1. Apply sunscreen 30 minutes before heading outside

2. Reapply every 2 hours or after swimming or sweating

3. Don't skimp on the amount of sunscreen you use, the American Academy of Dermatology recommends using an ounce (a shot-glass-full) of sunscreen for full-body coverage.

Loofah Kitchen Scrubber

For Mother's Day I got a great new eco-friendly gift - a natural loofah kitchen scrubber from Loofah-Art. The loofah scrubber is made from 100% naturally grown loofah and natural dye. The scrubbers are 100% non-toxic and bio-degradable and resist wearing.

The kitchen scrubber is gentle enough to scrub fruits and veggies, but tough enough to clean dirty dishes. I love it for scrubbing pots! The scrubbers are made from non-scratch fibers and are safe to use on a variety of surfaces including delicate non-stick surfaces.

You may wonder what exactly is loofah? Loofah is a vegetable closely related to the cucumber family. It originated in Asia and is grown in sub-tropical temperatures. Once the plant naturally dries on the vine, it is harvested and the outer skin is peeled off to expose the inner fibers, which form the natural loofah sponge.

Want more info, check out www.loofah-art.com

Thanks for the awesome green gift Mom!

Smencils

My daughter got some Smencils from her grandparents for Easter and loves them. What are Smencils you say? They are scented pencils made from recycled newspaper. They are a fun and eco-friendly product. Smencils are manufactured from recycled newspapers, environmentally friendly fragrances, recyclable ferrules and biodegradable erasers. While pencils that come in a plastic tube wouldn't seem earth friendly, the tubes are made of recyclable plastic and in the near future the tubes are going to be made from biodegradable plastic. Smencils are available in these delicious scents - Cherry, Cinnamon, Bubble Gum, Pineapple, Orange, Grape, Fruit Punch, Root Beer, Watermelon and Peppermint. Visit www.smencils.com to see how you can save trees, one pencil at a time.

Get Cozi...

Why not save a few trees by switching to a paperless calendar this year? Consider one of the free online planners, such as Cozi. The Cozi calendar allows you to personalize your calendar display with different colors for each family member. Cozi also has a family journal, shopping lists, Christmas Card list,a screen saver option from your personal photos, you can send emails to your family members, jot notes, store recipes, and it can even be synced with Microsoft Outlook. When entering activities you choose their frequency - daily, weekly, every Tuesday, etc. - eliminating the need to enter the same information multiple times. Depending on your child's school district you can even download school calendars onto your family calendar. I love the fact that when I have access to the internet, I have my calendar no need to remember to carry my planner with me and best of all nothing to recycle at the end of the year. Check out Cozi at www.cozi.com

The 5 Minute Shower

The change to the 5 minute shower was an intimidating one for me since I loved a long, hot shower and I seemed to get all my brilliant ideas in the shower. However once I started timing my showers I found it was pretty easy to get squeaky clean in just 5 minutes. Now I will confess there are still a few times that my shower runs long - just recently I had a bad head cold and boy did a steamy shower really help that out. As far as my thinking goes I still have plenty of time in the shower to brainstorm and I've taken to carrying a notebook with me and letting my mind wander when I am stuck at traffic lights, doctor's offices, whenever I have a little downtime.

Why is shortening your shower so important? Even if you have a low-flow shower head a 5 minute shower will use 7-8 gallons of water. If you haven't installed a low-flow shower, put this on your must do list as a 5 minute shower without one can use an astronomical 20 gallons of water!

Getting my daughter to take a 5 minute shower is one of my family's green resolutions for 2009. As little as she is I'm not sure what takes so long in there, but I know it requires a lot of singing! To help her with her goal I got a Shower Coach timer. This great timer suctions on the side of the shower and has a 5 minute sand timer. The Shower Coach makes easy for her to see how much singing time she has left.

Greening your Christmas Cards

If you're like me, you're torn on the whole Christmas card issue. On one hand it's a time honored tradition and on the other hand it's not very earth friendly - all the paper which rarely gets recycled, the chemicals in the photos, the gas used to transport the cards...the list goes on and on. This usually results in a yearly debate with my husband on whether or not I'm doing cards this year. In previous years I have done handmade cards with gorgeous photos of my daughter which some people still display, this does eliminate some of the waste issue but is very time consuming. Last year I rebelled and went the earth friendly route and didn't send cards - while this was better for our planet it felt like something was missing. This year I feel that I have found the perfect solution - Smilebox. Smilebox is an easy way to go green and send environmentally friendly digital photo scrapbooks with personalized messages to family & friends. There are tons of designs to choose from and customizing you scrapbook is super easy and best of all it's free. I personally upgraded our scrapbook to the premium package for just $2.99 - this allows my family & friends to watch my scrapbook free of commercials and for those who would like to have a hard copy of our scrapbook they can print the scrapbook out. To me this is the best of both worlds - no wasted paper, but for those on our Christmas list that would like to keep the photos they can. Best of all it's not to late to send your card - scrapbooks can be completed in just a few minutes and can be send via email immediately or even posted on your family's blog. www.smilebox.com

Green Gift Ideas Under $35

Give a great earth friendly gift without breaking the bank. Check out my great finds for under $35:

1. Tees For Change tees - these fabulous tees are incredibly soft and sport great 2 word messages on them like breathe deeply, live simply, etc. For every shirt sold the company plants a tree. The organic cotton or bamboo tees are $32 and the tanks are $28 www.teesforchange.com

2. Prepare a gift basket of eco-friendly and healthy beauty products. Include some wonderful all natural soaps from Sustenance Soaps www.sustenanceskincare.com some silky lotion from Pangea Organics www.pangeaorganics.com and some terrific cosmetics from Peacekeeper Cause-metics the first cosmetics line to give all of its after-tax distributable profits to women’s health advocacy and urgent human rights issues www.iamapeacekeeper.com

3. Give the gift of green knowledge in the form of a magazine subscription. Check out Positively Green a great new magazine with wonderful tips for going green. A one year subscription is only $16.00 www.positivelygreen.com or for those on your gift list with kids, Kiwi magazine is great for parents trying to raise their kids a little greener and you can't beat the price of $11.95 for a year's subscription! www.kiwimagonline.com

4. Want to give the gift of a little scandal? Check out Scent of Scandal's awesome candle line with it's great vegan soy candles with naughty little names like - Tighty Whities, Santa's Pole, and One Night Stand you are sure to find the perfect scent for everyone on your list. The company even has two candles that support organizations that work for animal rights - Farm Sanctuary and Sea Shepherd - the star of Animal Planet's new series Whale Wars.

5. Make a gift basket of little indulgences such as organic fair trade chocolate, locally grown wines, fair trade coffee, and fresh fruits from the farmer's market.

Unique Green Gift

I got a great gift for my birthday that would make a unique earth friendly present for someone on your holiday shopping list - Retro 51's Bamboo Tornado pen.

This pen is fantastic - it is lightweight, beautiful, and writes like a dream. The pen barrel is solid bamboo, which despite it's hardiness is not a wood but is actually the fastest growing woody plant. The pen has a cute picture of a panda engraved on it, as bamboo is a favorite treat for pandas. In addition to its eco-friendly bamboo barrel, the pen also is refillable which is much better for the environment than disposable pens.

Despite it's great looks the best feature of the pen is when you purchase the Bamboo Tornado you are saving 250 square feet of endangered rain forest through the Arbor Day Foundation's Rain Forest Rescue Program. This great program has already saved more than two billion square feet of rain forest. Why is saving the rain forest so important? Despite the fact that the rain forest only covers 2% of the earth's surface, it is home to thousands of plant species that may help us find a cure for cancer and other diseases.

For more information on this gift that you, the recipient, and the planet can all feel good about visit www.retro51.com

Reusable Shopping Bags

Fortunately for the environment, more people are using reusable bags instead of plastic bags when they head to the grocery store. Natural food stores like Trader Joes and Whole Foods have been selling great reusable bags for years and now most mainstream grocery chains such as Publix, Walmart, and Target have joined the cause with inexpensive bags available at the checkout. I know a lot of people who are great at remembering to bring their bags when they are grocery shopping, but still end up with a bunch of plastic bags from the craft store, mall, drugstore, etc. Until you train your brain to remember a reusable bag every time you shop at any store, I have found the perfect solution - the Reuse Bag from 3G. The Reuse bag is larger than a standard plastic bag but folds up into a great carrying case that you can throw in your purse. The Reuse bag even has a clip that you can use to attach the bag to your keychain and at the low price of $5 a bag you can through a few in your purse for your next shopping spree.

Greener Lunch Options

As back to school time approaches, be sure to make green choices for your kid's lunches this year. Using plastic bags for sandwiches and other lunchtime goodies can have a major impact on the environment. Plastic bags are the most dangerous type of litter found in the ocean, when they float on the surface they are mistaken for jellyfish and are ingested by sea turtles and other marine life.

So what are safer options? For sandwiches check out Wrap-N-Mat reusable sandwich wraps which double as placemats - www.wrap-n-mat.com For the other goodies, use reusable plastic containers, just make sure the plastics you choose are BPA free. For a great lunchbox system, check out Laptop Lunches www.laptoplunches.com the lunch system comes with containers that are lead, phthalate, and BPA free and they fit perfectly in the lunchbox - no more searching for a container that fits!. For drinks be sure to use a reusable stainless steel or aluminum bottle.

As far as greener choices for the lunch itself - be sure to pack healthy fruits and veggies from the farmers market or the organic section at the grocery store. Try making some delicious wraps made with whole wheat tortillas or even leftovers can make a delicious lunch.

BYOB...Bring Your Own Bag!

Kudos to Whole Foods! Joining San Francisco, China, Australia, IKEA and others in an effort to cut back on plastic bags, Whole Foods announced that they won't be giving out plastic bags in their stores anymore. After testing it out with good results in stores in San Francisco, Austin, Texas and Toronto, they'll ban the bags in all of the chain's 270 stores starting on Earth Day, April 22. Whole Foods estimates that this action will keep 100 million disposable plastic bags off our planet just from April 22nd until the end of this year!!

Why is it so important to stop the use of plastic bags? Here's 3 great reasons:

1.It can take more than 1000 years for a plastic bag to break down in a landfill and when the bags do break down they release toxic substances which leach into the soil and enter the food chain.

2. Plastic bags can endanger and kill wildlife especially sea turtles, sea birds, and marine mammals.

3. Plastic bags are made of polyethylene, which is a petroleum product. Increased oil demands lead to increased gas prices.

So next time you head to the store - remember your reusable bag!

Cloth Napkins

My family has been using cloth napkins for years. Two great reasons why - they are better for the environment and are cheaper in the long run. Americans use an average of 2,200 paper napkins per person per year, that's a lot of trees, as well as water and chemicals to process the napkins. You can save a lot of money over time - it's cheaper to wash cloth napkins than to buy paper ones. I buy good quality napkins on sale and they seem to last forever - one set of everyday ones we've been using for 8 years! I have also made some cute napkins from fabric scraps - all you need to do is run a hem all the way around the square. My friend uses nice dish towels instead of napkins and says they clean up great.

Saving the planet one bulb at a time...

Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) are great: they use very little energy, give off very little waste heat, and last for years. Compared to a standard incandescent bulb, a CFL uses 60% less energy, saves on the production of 150-300 lbs. of carbon dioxide a year, cuts lighting costs by 75% and lasts at least 8x longer per bulb. With incandescent bulbs, 95% of the power used to light them is wasted as heat. If every US family switched to CFL bulbs we would reduce the carbon dioxide produced by more than 90 billion pounds. Unlike when CFLs first appeared on the scene, they are now widely available and are reasonably priced. A lot of concerns have come up recently regarding the mercury found in CFLs. Like all fluorescents, CFLs contain mercury and shouldn't be tossed in the trash when their day is done. Some stores, such as IKEA have recycling programs. Need to find out where in your community you can recycle your used CFLs check out www.earth911.org

Upcycling

What is upcycling? Upcycling is the use of waste materials to provide useful products. Which basically means using items that would end up in the garbage to produce "new" usable items. My daughter loves to visit our local recycling center which accepts items from companies and individuals which it then sells by the bag to local families and schools. We have found items for our Girl Scout troop's projects, we made a craft at her birthday party out of recycled items, we have made books out of mat board and paper we found at the center, as well as great containers we use to store craft items. All it takes to successfully upcycle is to be creative and look for new uses for recycled items. Here are some companies which sell upcycled products:

www.ecoist.com
www.terracycle.net
www.etsy.com - an online community for sellers of all things handmade

Or you can get creative and make your own upcycled projects. :)

Eco Easter Eggs

For a fun experiment my daughter and I decided to color our eggs without the regular Easter egg dyes and to try a do-it-yourself alternative. We used free-range eggs from a friend's chicken farm which we hard-boiled. We used raspberries for pink, spinach for green, cumin for yellow, paprika for orange, and blueberries for blue. I used 1/2 a cup of berries or vegetables & 2 Tbsp. of herbs per cup of water. In a saucepan, bring the mixture to a boil and then add 2 Tbsp. white vinegar and simmer for 15 minutes. Submerge the eggs in the dye and allow to sit for 15 minutes or until your desired color is reached. Have fun experimenting with foods and spices in your home. :)

Nail Polish

Regular nail polishes contain a large amount of toxins that can stay in your system. The CDC found that every person they tested during a recent study had some level of these toxins in their systems - and women of childbearing age had the highest levels of all: due in particular to nail polish use. Fortunately there are several alternatives out there that do not contain toluene, formaldehyde, and phthalates, which have been linked to birth defects and cancer. Check out some of these great products:

PeaceKeeper Nail Paint – www.iamapeacekeeper.com

Honeybee Gardens Nail Enamel – www.honeybeegardens.com

Priti Nail Polish – www.pritiorganicspa.com

Anise Professional Nail Color – www.anisecosmetics.com

Suncoat Water-Based Nail Polish – www.suncoatproducts.com

Go Natural Nail Polish – www.gonatural.biz

For more information on the safety of your nail polish and other cosmetics go to – www.safecosmetics.org

Great Uses for Baking Soda

You don't need tons of toxic cleaners to get the job done. Check out all the cool things you can do with that box of baking soda in your pantry!

1.Clean fruits and veggies. Wash in a large bowl of cool water with 3 Tbsp. baking soda or clean firm fruits & veggies by scrubbing with baking soda sprinkled on a wet cloth, rinse with water.

2.Clean Formica with lemon juice & baking soda. Apply juice and leave on for a 30 minutes, then sprinkle with baking soda. Scrub with a cloth, rinse, and dry.

3.Use as a nonabrasive cleaner for sinks.

4.Open a clogged drain. Pour 1 cup baking soda down drain and then add 1 cup hot vinegar. After waiting 10 minutes, flush drain with a quart of very hot water.

5.Clean bathroom tub & sink with a paste of baking soda and hydrogen peroxide. Let paste sit for 10 minutes before rubbing.

6.Scrub the toilet bowl.

7.Clean crayon off walls. Gently scrub with baking soda on a wet sponge.

8.Shampoo carpet with ½ cup baking soda mixed with warm water.

9.Carpet deodorizer. ½ cup baking soda, ½ cup cornstarch, 15 drops of favorite essential oil. Use rosemary, pennyroyal, or citronella oil to kill fleas.

10.Stain remover for clothes. Make a paste of 4 Tbsp. of baking soda and ¼ cup warm water. Rub on spot and wash.

11.Rinse pool chlorine out of bathing suits in a sink of water with 1 Tbsp. baking soda.

12.Clean toothbrushes. Soak brushes in baking soda & warm water overnight.