Ready for the next round of green gift ideas? Look no further than Greenfeet an online retailer that terms itself the “Planet’s Homestore.” In their Stocking Stuffers category, you’ll find items ranging from bamboo tongs, slotted spoons and utensils, to bicycle chain bottle openers, key chains and business card holders. The site has a huge variety of gifts for the whole family and priced for all budgets.
Taraluna is an online retailer selling fair trade, organic and green gifts for babies, pets, children and grownups. They sell beautiful handmade jewelry and purses, tote bags, toys, dolls, accessories, stationery and cards, baskets and kitchen decor, tea sets and organic tea and chocolates.
Branch … Sustainable Design for Living, an online retailer, has a category for gifts under $50, including woolen hand puppets and stuffed animals; nontoxic glazed cups and vases; wool felt wine racks; bamboo salad servers, bowls and cutting boards, and many other sustainable items. Gift certificates are available, too.
For the athletes on your list, Fair Trade Sports sells sports balls certified to be stitched by adult workers paid fair wages and ensured healthy working conditions. All of their apparel is sweatshop-free and the company’s after-tax profits are donated to children’s charities. Be a good, green sport and explore their products.
Techno-wizards will love the solar-powered flashlights, radios and chargers sold by Solar Style. Using one Solar Charger eliminates having to carry additional batteries for all of your digital devices and charges your cell phone, PDA, MP3, CD player, gaming device and digital camera. Simply someone’s life by giving them a multi-function Solar Charger and be kind to Planet Earth.
Nearly everyone has a person on their list who has everything … what do you get for them? How about a polar bear, moose, gray wolf or desert tortoise? The National Wildlife Federation’s adoption center offers packages starting at $30 for these and other imperiled animals. Visit the Web site (nwf.org) for details.
A gift option for the diehard environmentalist is to buy carbon offsets from Terra Pass. When carbon offsets are purchased, the money funds clean energy and other projects to reduce greenhouse gases to balance the impact of driving, air travel, household appliances and other carbon producers. The Web site has other green gift ideas such as a Smart Surge Protector that automatically turns off your computer and peripherals … even if you forget.
Along with the season’s holiday festivities comes a New Year filled with promise and possibilities … the perfect opportunity to use an eco-friendly calendar. House of Doolittle sells desk, wall and academic calendars made from 100 percent recycled paper with 30 percent post-consumer fiber and printed with soy-based ink. The company also sells planners in daily, weekly and monthly formats available with Earthscapes, Landscapes and plain styles.
The popular Page-A-Day calendars produced by Workman Publishing Company are printed on recycled paper with the back of each page designed for use as notes. Even the plastic backer and tray are recyclable. Visit the company’s Web site (workman.com) to select calendars for your family and friends. Living Green Page-A-Day Calendar 2008 is Eco Gal’s fav.
Rounding out these green shopping resources is Paporganics, which sells sustainable stationery and gift wrap. Use their hemp wrap, a 10 percent hemp/flax blend and 90 percent post-consumer fiber paper processed chlorine-free and printed with vegetable inks, to wrap all of your holiday gifts. Then use the 100 percent organic cotton cards to write thank-you notes.
Now, grab your phone or click your mouse and start green shopping!
Contact Eco Gal: ecogal247@yahoo.com