Green Holiday Gift Ideas

BUDDHIWEAR APPAREL

BuddhiWear was started by a mom entrepreneur and yoga instructor who was tired of the boring organic options out there and wanted to create something that was fashionable, affordable, as well as environmentally conscious.   The shirts feel super soft next to your skin.  They are made from organic cotton and made in the U.S.A.  BuddhiWear’s clothing is fun, stylish and best of all green.  They offer casual and sportswear apparel for the whole family.  Their most popular women’s designs are Be the change you wish to see, Karma, Yoga Diva, Meditation Tree, Yoga Mom’s Rock, I’m Just Here For Savasana (this is the rest and relaxation pose at the end of a yoga class) ,Take A Seat (meditate), and Be A Tease (pilates teaser pose).  For babies Yoga Baby, Spread Your Wings, Let Me Hear Your Roar onesies are popular. They are adorable!  For children Go Green For Me, Yoga Kids Rock, Parade of Animals (animals in yoga poses), and Tree Hugger are popular.  One cooler thing about BuddhiWear is they plant a tree for every garment sold!  Let’s support moms and green clothing!  You can buy their clothing online at www.buddhiwear.com

SEVENTH GENERATION CLEANING PRODUCTS

Seventh Generation is committed to making products that are safe not only for the environment but are safe for you and your family.   They have a new line of kitchen and bath products called Free and Clear.  In the Free and Clear line each of the products are Non-toxic and biodegradable, hypo-allergenic, not tested on animals, kosher-certified and they don’t create harsh fumes.  I love the fact they don’t have harsh fumes and after using them I can guarantee they don’t.  It feels good to wipe the kitchen table with their kitchen cleaner and know that it is safe for my children to eat off of.  The smell of the kitchen cleaner, wild orange and cedar spice is refreshingly clean. They are not only safe, but they get the job done.  My counters and toilet bowl were just as clean compared to the products I used before.   I have to admit I hadn’t paid very much attention to ingredients in my cleaning product before, but reading the ingredients in Seventh Generation products and comparing them to my old cleaning products is certainly eye-opening.  You can view the list of ingredients in all of their cleaning products here.  I will not go back to what I was using before; I am a converted user of these wonderful products!  You can buy them online at www.seventhgeneration.com.

SARAH PINTO PLANNERS

Sarah Pinto’s 2009 Weekly Planners are a simple, functional and fun organizational solution. These durable planners measure 5” by 7” and are made with high-quality recycled paper, soy-based ink and they are printed and bound in San Francisco, California. With five unique cover designs, Sarah Pinto’s 2009 Weekly Planners are a stylish, eco-friendly answer to your busy everyday schedule.  These are a great Holiday gift idea for the person in your life who is on the go and cares about the environment.  They will appreciate the planner is not only eco-friendly but also stylish and small enough to fit in your purse.  The other great thing is they are designed by a busy mom who understands the need for a functional planner.  Sarah is also donating a portion of the proceeds from her pink tapestry weekly planner to CPMC Pediatric Cardiology. You can read here, her personal story as to why this cause is important to her.  You can buy Sarah Pinto’s planners at www.sarahpinto.com.

RETEEZ TOTE BAGS

What do you do with your old T Shirts?  Well ReTeez (don’t you love the name!) is giving new purpose to previously-loved T Shirts by transforming them into irresistible new items. From one-of-a-kind totes and handbags to funky pet products; and from fashion accessories to merchandise for the home, ReTeez re-makes old T shirts new again!

Their best selling  ReTeez Tote Bags would make an affordable and eco-friendly gift for anyone on your holiday list. And with hundreds to choose from – there is something for everyone to love! Each ReTeez item is handmade in North America and every part of the T Shirt is used – even the hems are made into dog toys! But ReTeez products are more than a gift to the recipient. They are a bigger gift to the environment. By up-cycling discarded T’s, they no longer end up as landfill seeping bleaches and dyes into the ground. Nor are they shipped overseas as cheap clothing – wrecking havoc on local economies.

“It’s an idea whose time has come” explains ReTeez owner Hope Milner. “We are all aware of the environmental effects of plastic bags and paper, but little has been done about discarded clothing and textiles. We hope that by creating fashionable and useful recycled products we can save up to 10,000 T Shirts a year from the landfill”.

I am amazed at what they can do with old T Shirts and I LOVE my ReTeez Tote Bag!  It fits my personality perfectly, don’t you think?  We always need bags to carry all of our junk to kid’s outings,   so why not buy some that are not only cute and trendy, but are great for the environment. You can buy them and the other eco-friendly products at www.reeteez.com

CALL 2 RECYCLE

This holiday season, while searching for something special for your loved ones, why not also gives the environment a small gift at the same time?  Squeeze in an extra dose of “green” while spreading holiday cheer by recycling the used rechargeable batteries found in portable electronics such as remote control toys.

Did you know rechargeable batteries can – and should – be recycled?  Instead of hoarding electronics stash after opening presents and upgrading to the latest high-tech gadgets, do something positive for the environment and answer the Call2Recycle^®!  Consumers can upgrade in an eco-friendly way by bringing their used rechargeable batteries and old cell phones on their holiday shopping trips to major retailers nationwide such as Best Buy, Target, Circuit City, RadioShack and Lowe’s that participate in the program. Drop your used rechargeable batteries and cell phones in the branded Call2Recycle collection box and you can feel good knowing that you’ve done your part to help preserve the environment.

Operated by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation (RBRC), a nonprofit, public service organization dedicated to recycling used rechargeable batteries, the Call2Recycle program is a simple and free way for consumers to be greener this holiday season and upgrade their technology in an environmentally responsible way. For more information the website is www.call2recycle.org.