Sitting here toe-tapping and grooving to christmas music, surrounded by the many holiday craft projects the girls and I have started (but not exactly completed yet), I am inspired to finally sit and write the post I’ve been promising . . . the one with some ideas for greener gift giving.

GD Meg’s holiday rant
First let me begin by saying that the focus on the material and commercial aspects of the season is wearing thin for me and not just because my purse is thinner this year either. I personally just don’t need any more junk (BTW, good food and handmade gifts do NOT count as junk) to figure out how to use, store, recycle or re-gift without hurting any one’s feelings. Either people are lying to avoid my ranting, or most of my friends and relatives are feeling similarly.

I’m afraid to get started on the whole decorating thing . . . Look, I love little white twinkling lights and the smell of fresh pine and there is nothing like a sparkling christmas tree with the lights low and the fireplace glowing warm. But, what the heck is going on with these houses and yards covered in lights and every christamas character ever invented lit-up, with the exception of Jesus and his folks of course. And if I never see a blow-up Mickey Mouse santa bobbing and weaving on some one’s front lawn, I’d be a very satisfied scroogette.

Perhaps I’m a little bitter because we had a flood last year and almost ALL our decorations were destroyed. It was kind of hard to say goodbye to the stocking that was knitted for me when I was born and all the tacky and wonderful ornaments and things that were collected and gathered over the years going back to childhood. Oh well . . . a heavy sigh . . . letting go and moving on.

Now is my chance to practice the minimalist/simplest holiday I’ve been working towards.  For the past couple of years we’ve put up one REAL pine wreath on the back door (sometimes I breakdown and put one on the front too). We love the smell of pine, so I use pine boughs and garlands all over inside the house and leave the lights for the tree. The girls and I sometimes paint the huge windows in our room where the tree is.

Okay enough of ranting.

Simple, thoughtful and perhaps more sustainable gift ideas

Make It
We’re not all Martha Stewart, but if I can come up with reasonably easy and fun gifts to make, a baboon could do it. Trust me. Here are a few crafty gifts my tolerant family and friends have received from me over the years:

• Cranberry Chutney – if you want the recipe, you’ll have to write me for it (and I’ll have to dig it up), but it was relatively easy and everyone loved it (and it came in handy for holiday party gifts too).
• Kaluha – Yup. Made it from scratch. Back in my alcoholic days, I found a recipe and all I remember is that it involved a lot of vodka and sugar. Something about vanilla beans . . .
• Family Recipe Book – This was an ordeal 25 years ago when I did it, but with the advent of the Internet, email and cell phones, I think it will be a little easier to gather the best recipes from all the far-flung aunties, etc.
• Family Event Calendars – My sister started this one and did it by hand for years. With all our birthdays listed, I still managed to forget someone. I tried it by computer a few years ago and it was fun.
• Antique Tea Cup Candles – I had a few random old tea cups that were beautiful but chipped and I decided to buy some wax and make some candles in them. I collected more from garage sales and antique shops – the broken or chipped ones are cheap.
• Handmade Ornaments – We did this before it became as popular as it seems to be now! Fun to do with the kids.
• Handmade Soap – Gotta love Michael’s craft store – everything you need to make the basic soap. I added some things from the garden. You can get all kinds of healthy ingredients. Get creative.
• Knitted Stuff – My family got a lot of scarves and hats last year since that was all I knew, but with the right yarn and a little creativity, you can make these warm fuzzy gifts work. There are lots of patterns for useful items and people seem to LOVE them. Visit my knitting inspiration and friend, Yarny Old Kim for great ideas.
• Baked Stuff – I suck at the cookie thing, but I have a few baked items I’ve begun to master, so I’ve armed myself with some cute small loaf pans with lids and my unsuspecting friends and family will find out what that is about in a couple of weeks.

Share It
Instead of giving ’stuff’, perhaps giving to those in need is the best way to honor the reason for the season. Here are just a few of my favorite ways to share in some one’s name:

• Heifer International – The gift of livestock!
• Habitat for Humanity – Donate money, shop at one of their awesome ReStores
• FeedingAmerica – Formerly Second Harvest – A great way to help those that might be hungry this season
• E+Co – Healthy energy for developing nations
• Local Giving – Find you favorite local charities and keep it close to home!

If You Have to Buy It . . .

Where to find it

• BuyGreen.com - One of my favorite green shopping sites. They have a great rating system that helps to understand the sustainability of a product from end-to-end. Check out the English Retread bags, the Vy & Elle bags, Mandala Record Bowls, and the many products for family, home and office.
• UncommonGoods.com- A great place to find unusual and crafted recycled and re-purposed goodies. Unique gifts for anyone. Love the organic cotton Pooh quote pillows and while we’re on the topic of poo . . . check out the Horse Poo Paper journals.
• VivaTerra.com- One of my very favorite places to shop for beautiful eco-friendly gifts. I buy natural crystal ornaments and give some of them (I keep some too) every year. They have great jewelry too.
• TerraCycle.net – This innovative company has found a way to turn garbage into great products. In addition to their signature worm poo fertilizer, they have a myriad of products for kids and adults made from old juice box and food packaging. Lots of very sustainably made gifts for home and office.
• SweetOrganicsandNaturals.com – A nice selection and variety of gifts, eco-friendly wrapping options.
• PeopleTowels.com- A new concept in personal hand-washing/drying. Great stocking stuffers!

Well, this could go on indefinitely, but I’ll quit there for now. May your holidays be filled with hope, great food, good friends and relatively sane family fun.

eat. blog. be merry!
gd meg

I drink two fluids – water and tea, which is mostly water. We all need water and safe, healthy, convenient water doesn’t come in a plastic bottle.

According to EndBottledWater.com, our landfills are overflowing with over 26 billion plastic bottles from water every year.  Aside from the negative effects of BPA that could come from ingesting water from plastic bottles, the manufacturing and disposal of these containers are stressful on our environment and natural resources.

I would love to have a great whole-house system, but we’re not there yet. I have a Brita filter container for the fridge and frequently refill my stainless steel containers, but recently, I’ve had the opportunity to review a few amazing personal water purification systems. See what I’ve discovered . . .

Restore Clear Water System
This counter-top, pitcher system uses a double filtration method.  Using a UV Clean Technology in addition to a more traditional charcoal filter, this clever pitcher removes bacteria, viruses and microbial cysts (ick) all while reducing heavy metals, chlorine (taste and odor), and some industrial and agricultural pollutants. For about $100, it is a reasonable investment that is easy to use (once you get used to the process).

Clean Water on the Road . . .

Wellness H2O
A personal, reusable water bottle AND filter system. This bottle is made of BPA-free plastic and has a 22 oz. capacity. The filter is good for one year or 150 gallons.  They are on a serious campaign to eliminate the need for water bottles and claim one bottles replaces 1100 plastic water bottles – that’s a lot of plastic and about $1000. Not bad for a $29 investment.

Ech20 by EcoUsable
Taking stainless steel water bottles to the next level, these bottles come with their own amazing filter! The BPA-free filter insert removes 99.9% of pollutants, including biological (ick again). The Ionic-Adsorption Micro-Filtration System allows you to refill with confidence almost anywhere. The filter is good for one year or 100 gallons. A great deal for $39.

AquaSafe Straw
This super straw removes 99.9999% of waterborne bacteria including pseudomonas, escherichia coli, staphylococcus, and fecal coliforms, plus parasitic contamination by cryptosporidium, and giardia – YIKES! It is designed for travel and is promoted for water safety in the event of disaster. Chemical-free, this slightly large straw seems worth owning at $44.95.

The Wellness Wand 
Not a straw, but a filter of sorts only slightly bigger than an average pen, this magic water wand removes chlorine and other harmful free radicals from tap water. A great device to keep in your pocket or purse for restaurant dining. It really does improve the nasty taste of some chlorinated water. A good stocking stuffer @ $30.

Remember, drink responsibly.

eat. blog. be merry!
gd meg

If you are like so many who are trying to avoid the swine or ANY flu this season, you may be on a handwashing frenzy. I find myself feeling terrible about using so many paper towels in my increased number of hand washing adventures in public bathrooms.

Mary Wallace and Linda Lannon have devised a simple and great solution – PeopleTowels! These little 100% organic cotton AND fair trade produced personal hand towels are a wonderful and sustainable way to save trees AND water while drying your hands in public places.

With great hang-tags for easy attachment to purse, backpack or belt, these little beauties are washable and built to last – and they come in 6 different cool designs. I’m partial to the one above!

In addition to playing some musical requests from some of our favorite listeners, we’ll be talking to Linda Lannon on the show tonight, so please tune in!

Thursday, November 12, 2009
7 – 8pm EST
HomeGrownRadioNJ.org

If you are anywhere near Union Square NY (Manhattan) this week, you will definitely want to stop in @ Paragon Sports to check out Icebreaker’s line of sport apparel and get a 26.2% discount AND a free pair of their wonderful socks.

This is fabulous, natural apparel — great for running (supposedly doesn’t get stinky, but I haven’t tested that aspect yet). Really great for NY weather and the base layer offers protection for those winds coming off the Hudson.

Icebreaker is an extremely sustainable sports apparel company based in New Zealand. Most of the clothing is made from merino wool and when you purchase Icebreaker products, you get to meet your sheep! Read more about Icebreaker . . .

I have no idea how they will do this, but if you bring your old synthetic running top with you, they’ll turn it into a reusable shoe bag for free!

Make sure to bring in this coupon to get this great discount.

Promotion starts today, October 5 and runs for a week until Monday, October 12.

See you there!

eat. blog. be merry.
gd meg

We had a chance to put together a Way Basics shelf recently. It really was as easy as they represented – at least it was for Woody the wonder dog and my two daughters Mary and Jessie.

I read about Way Basics and was intrigued. I needed some simple book shelves and figured I’d just go to a garage sale and find something, but it just hadn’t happened yet – didn’t realize how prized these things were! So, I was thrilled when they sent me a sample to play with.

Way Basics use their own zBoard, which is made from post-consumer recycled paper into extremely light yet strong boards. They’re ‘keep it simple’ philosophy includes basic designs and colors all sustainably sourced with low-impact materials. I was drawn to the whole ‘no tools’ message . . . and so was Wayne. You can buy pre-designed packages or get creative in a number of ways.

With a cradle-to-grave thoughtfulness, these versatile cubes are also recyclable, so when their time comes, they go back into the cycle of sustainable life. Of course, I’m no where near ready to put mine in the recycling bin!

For all I can tell, this company really lives and works the values they represent, being members of the Sustainable Furnishings Council, they have taken many steps to ensure a low-impact office as well as sustainable manufacturing practices. And if that isn’t good enough, they also work to give back by offering contributions to folks who may have serious needs for furniture, such as natural disaster victims or women and children rebuilding their lives from domestic violence. Read more about this ‘way’ great company and their concepts.

Prices are very reasonable starting with the basic cube @ $20. But they have an awesome sale going on so visit waybasics.com to get your sustainable shelving now! I’m going to purchase more to go with my lonely little cube.

eat. blog. be merry!
gd meg

It was an interesting week to say the least. By the time the Lexus pick-up team arrived to retrieve their prototype, I was clear that I would likely measure all hybrid vehicle test drives by this first one. This was not my first hybrid test ride, nor do I hope it is my last, but I found myself more attached than I wanted to be as I saw its sleek yet short silver body reflect brilliantly for the last time. Yes, I am waxing (or waning perhaps) poetic for a car . . .

I come by it naturally as my father had a love for cool cars and gadgets – the Lexus HS 250h hybrid presented a satisfying blend of both.

A few of the ergonomic and gadget-type features that I loved had little to do with the hybrid or eco-factor. However, a couple of things in particular stuck with me and I suspect will be incorporated to some degree in most hybrid cars – or they should be for at least one model generation:

1.  The in-dash computer screen showing the live-action drivetrain and energy consumption value screens was highly educational and helpful in retraining driving habits to conserve fuel. I know Toyota does this, but I’m not sure if all of them include this nifty, informative feature.

2.  The gauge that replaces the normal RPM gauge also helps to moderate driving to accommodate a more fuel conservative approach to acceleration from a light or dead stop.

It became somewhat of a personal game to see the green light come on the dashboard ‘EV’ indicating I was, for the time the light was green, not burning fuel or emitting carbon dioxide.

As you can see/read from my posts, I’m not well-versed in the technical side of hybrid vehicles, nor do I really want to be. I want to have a comfortable, safe ride that offers a better deal for the environment than many cars available today. The Lexus 250h may not be the most efficient of the new eco-tech cars coming out, but it is a great transitional vehicle that is likely to be dependable as it is backed up by a major car producer. I’m all for these wonderful new independent companies that are emerging with fresh ideas, but for now, I think many folks just need a low-stress vehicle to cross the bridge as new companies and technologies emerge on the far, but not too distant horizon.

BTW, my average mileage was 30.9 MPG. It only made it to the open highway once and I probably had the air conditioning on the ENTIRE time, so I have no doubt I could’ve done better. I was told the vehicle can get into the high 40s, but I didn’t get there in 5 days.

The number one question out of everyone’s mouth was, ”How much?” I didn’t know at first and we all tried guessing. I would’ve guessed between $45 – 50k. I was impressed when I found out it was just under $35k for the base model, which I believe has most of the bells and whistles I got to play with.

Look for this fun eco-ride by the end of next summer . . .

eat. blog. be merry!
gd meg

In sleep we are all equal - Spanish Proverb

On this week’s show we’ll be talking to Walter Bader, author of Toxic Bedrooms, Your Guide to a Safe Night’s Sleep. Mr. Bader is also the founder of OMI (Organic Mattresses Inc.). He takes chemical-free sleep very seriously, and if you read his book, you will too.

I’ve had the true pleasure of sleeping on one of OMI’s organic eco-wool wrapped, natural shredded rubber pillows for about a month now. It’s a little heavier than my other pillows to be sure, but it is extremely comfortable. The shredded rubber is made from the most eco-friendly natural rubber, which apparently is not always the case when the term ‘natural’ rubber is used.

I’ve learned almost more than I want to know about the hazards lurking in my bedroom from seemingly innocuous things like my nice, expensive mattress! Mr. Bader’s book is full of wonderful sleep-related quotes as well as resources on the types of toxins in everyday bedding and other elements of a bedroom that we normally don’t think too carefully about.

There are several studies carefully sited and interpreted, such as ‘Mattress Emissions Studies’ on page 58. Who knew our mattresses were emitting potentially harmful VOCs!?!?

Please join us tonight to learn about solutions for a healthier more natural sleeping environment.

Thursday, May 21, 2009
7 – 8pm EST
HomeGrownRadioNJ.org

You can join in by calling us at the studio during the show 908.362.6622, IMing us during the show (IM information is on HomeGrownRadioNJ’s homepage in top left corner) or leave us a comment here.

Green Diva Meg showing off her English Retreads bag

I got this English Retreads bag from one of my favorite green cyber-shopping spots, BuyGreen.com. I love BuyGreen.com because they do a fairly thorough evaluation of their products, reviewing and rating all aspects of a product’s sustainability.  This bag got 49 on its sustainability score (see the details of how this bag was rated).

This bag is very simple, compact and works for basics – small wallet, some makeup, keys and cell phone. While it doesn’t have all those organizational bells, whistles and zippers on the inside, it pays off in ‘feel good’ points.

Who would’ve thought to make something so cool from stinky used tires?

Heather English, founder of English Retreads, came up with the idea while floating in an inner tube down a river in Colorado (all great ideas come from pure, relaxing moments like Heather’s!). Heather was and presumably still is a devoted vegan and wanted to find a great purse that didn’t involve leather. Taking the seemingly endless supply of tire inner tubes that plague our landfills and turning them into useful and stylish items is a brilliant stroke of recycling creativity.

In the 2 or 3 months I’ve been using this bag, I’ve had some pretty interesting conversations with strangers. WARNING: Don’t wear this bag if you don’t want to meet people! Actually, a few of my friends have already been inspired to purchase bags by English Retreads!

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

TerraCycle has done it again . . . Tom Szaky and his talented wife, Soyeon Lee have managed to make used Frito Lay bags into CD covers for Soyeon’s latest release, Reinvented.  

Soyeon is a classical concert pianist, with an impressive Julliard, Carnegie Hall performance history who may be the first to bring the eco-cause into the world of classical music. In her effort to bring classical music and environmental awareness together, she turned to husband and garbage-to-gold entrepreneur Tom Szaky, CEO of TerraCycle to help design the new CD cover for Reinvented. As it turns out, he had just come home with a sample of new composite board made from – yup, you guessed it – tossed out Frito Lay bags!

They thus created the first garbage-inspired, Frito-Lay CD cover. I have one and you can even see the name Frito on one of the tiny shreds!

The music is beautiful, but the real inspiration is the marriage (pun intended) of eco-clever re-use of garbage and musical artistry.

If there were a contest for eco-power-couple of the next generation, I would vote for these two.

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg

As I review more and more ‘green’ products these days, I’m kind of baffled that there isn’t more of a standardized rating system. I googled ‘green product standards’ and I found the Green Seal of course, which is great for paper products and cleaners.  The EPA even has a database for information on environmental products and services – if you go there and you can figure out what the standards are and actually find product lists, please let me know! It’s a little confusing.

What about standards for all the great stuff we find on sites like AlternativeConsumer.com, FeelGoodStyle.com and of course TheGreenDivas.com? What about clothing manufacturing, which by the way is traditionally a pretty harsh industry on the environment? What about other textile products, great sustainably-designed kitchen gadgets, and what about all those awesome accessories - eco-bags/purses, belts, jewelry, shoes!?!

I found one promising standard system . . .
BuyGreen.com seems to have a rating system that works. It is a flexible system and offers an opportunity to become more educated about certain types of products and their inherent characteristics in terms of their basic product life cycle. It also seems to work well across a diverse range of products from clothing, to toys and yes, accessories! They even offer office products.

The four main categories are designed to rate a product from ‘cradle to grave’ and represent a product’s basic lifecycle. The categories used are: source material, manufacturing, use, and disposal. Every product offered on their website uses a rating box, which has all four of these categories represented by an icon. If the product meets or exceeds that categories requirements, it will be displayed in color. If not, it is there, but in grey.

There is also a number rating for overall green attributes 1 – not so many: 100 – lots of good green attributes.

You can see an example of this in the image in this post. Note that this hemp blouse has a fairly good rating. The ‘use’ icon is not highlighted. Not really sure what that is about exactly. But, if you want to learn more, you can go to their informative standards page and understand what their rationale is.

I’ve seen some very rudimentary attempts to rate products, but this one is by far the most detailed and perhaps most useful one I’ve come across. Go BuyGreen.com!

eat. blog. be merry!
GD Meg