While we’ve been on the subject of planting trees and saving paper, eliminating junk mail seems to be the next logical topic. That being said, I hope you’ve all been clicking on that bubbly box up top there. ProQuo is a free service to manage the unwanted junk mail that inevitably clogs your mailbox (and recycling bin!). When you sign up, ProQuo sets you up with a personalized dashboard, where you can pick and choose which publications you want to see - or never receive - in your mailbox. It includes coupons and weekly circulars; credit reporting bureaus; marketing lists; and various other junky directories.

My favorite part of ProQuo is their new service specifically for catalogs. Pick which catalogs you want to opt out of - or, if you’ve been itching to browse, say, the latest L.L. Bean catalog, sign up to have it sent to you. You can change your selections at any time, and add other members of your home or additional addresses. It’s a revolutionary way to manage the mail you never believed you had control over!

As the green movement has exploded, seemingly overnight, there’s an aspect of the green consumer universe I’ve noticed becoming more and more blatant to consumers these days. Known as “greenwashing,” it occurs when a company is claiming eco, but falling way, way, waaaaaay short, often for blatant marketing purposes. An SUV company plugging cleaner gas, with kids in the commercial? Yeah, right. I’ve been getting an amazing array of press releases lately, plugging products and services that may seem green, but to me, isn’t worth hitting the “write” button. But this one needed a mention.

Last week, Mattel announced a line of accessories for Barbie - plastic, twisty-tie-stuck-to-the-plastic-coated-box, Barbie - called the BCause Collection. This limited edition line “Reuses and Repurposes Excess Barbie™ Fabrics and Trimmings to Create Fashionable and Playful Handbags, Pillows, Diaries, Totes and Other Accessories”. Seriously? Was the release written on see-through paper?

Thankfully, other bloggers picked up on this as well, as did the New York Times, which ran a story about the release via Jennifer Lance’s post on Eco Child’s Play, as well as Mother’s Jones’ Blue Marble Blog. What’s the lesson here? While owning Barbie is not a crime (goodness knows my girls have a basketful of them), falling for corporate America’s ploys to make you (and your kids, this time around) feel better about buying more stuff should be. This, I think, is at the heart of why I started writing teensygreen - while I know certain toys or products will somehow find their way into my home, it’s finding that balance that takes the most work - and is the most rewarding payoff. It’s YOUR choice, not Mattel’s. Want eco-friendly Barbie clothes? Make them! Or, let them go naked. That’ll teach you, Mattel!

I hope everyone had an amazing Mother’s Day! We were lucky enough to spend most of the day outside, enjoying the beach and family. As my older daughter told me when I kissed her goodnight, “Every day should be Mother’s Day” (no really, she did!), I remind myself how my healthy, curious, enlightening children have become the best reason to help the planet, even through this little blog.

As many of my days wind down, I end up thinking about parenting, which eventually leads to thinking about writing and being green and on and on and on (insert smiley face here). I guess since I advocate for nature above all else, I talk to my kids a lot about planting trees, which leads me every time back to Eco-Libris, the green business that works with publishers, bookstores, even readers, to help the book industry balance out its paper use.

In April, Eco-Libris teamed up with Kedzie Press, an independent, “green” publisher that prints all books on post-consumer, chlorine-free paper, for Kedzie’s Million Tree-A-Thon! Kedzie Press is aiming to plant one million trees by December 2009. All you do is purchase any Kedzie Press title from their website, and Eco-Libris will match each purchase with a tree, and a pre-printed sticker on each title. Use the code “milliontrees” for 10% off any book!

This week, I’m thrilled that Kedzie Press is so generously giving away 10 copies of their latest release, The Green Parent. The Green Parent is a comprehensive guide to help ease your family into being cleaner and greener. It tackles topics such as money-saving, practical efforts for eco-ing your home; educating your kids and how to teach them to spread the eco-word; and green products you can use (and afford!) For each copy of The Green Parent sponsored for the giveaway, Eco-Libris will double the trees planted. This means a total of 20 new trees from this giveaway alone are going into the ground! So, get those thinking caps on, and enter - this contest will be open until midnight, PST on Friday, May 16th. Please leave a comment with an answer to this question - what do you think is the most important eco-tip to share with your children (or grandchildren, nieces and nephews, etc.)? Good luck, and I hope the winners enjoy the book!

My girls are big artists, and the concept of an “art contest” was intriguing and had them scribbling for a long time. One of the most beautifully globalized clothing companies, Tea, is hosting a contest for their Spring 2009 “Little Citizens” line for babies and toddlers. Tea is asking kids to draw their interpretation of what they believe a “citizen of the world” would represent. When I spoke with my girls about the contest, it led to some interesting questions about what a “citizen” is, especially one of the world. We talked about all the different kids around the world, how people look, dress, and play differently, and if there can really be a picture of one person to represent all of them. Kind of deep for a Monday morning, but it was nice to have their brains working to start the week!

The winner of Tea’s contest will have onesies and tees printed with their design, as well as a $200 gift certificate to Tea. As with the current collection, up to 50% of the sales from the onesies and t-shirts will go to The Global Fund for Children, an organization that provides grants to community groups helping venerable children worldwide.

Entries must be sent in by May 8th, so have your kids whip up their best drawings ASAP! The contest is available to children eight years old and younger only, and all contest details can be found when you scroll down here. Good luck!

One thing I absolutely love about writing teensygreen is the amazing amount of moms (and some dads, but mostly moms) I’ve been meeting, either through working with eco-products; communicating with readers who make comments; or being directed to other bloggers. Social media networking has blown up this past year, expanding well beyond Facebook into much more mature, intellectual realms that people can really share with. Here are just a few social networking sites I can’t go without on a daily basis! Let me know if you’re on them too, would love to connect with more readers!

Twitter - You’re a parent, so you have plenty of time on your hands to communicate with thousands of people at once, right? Yeah, right. Twitter is the ultimate ADD outlet. Write thoughts, post a link, vent, have a conversation - the catch is, you only have 140 characters per tweet to do it. Sounds complicated? It takes some getting used to, but once you get the hang of it, Twitter can be highly addictive. You can “follow” what other people are saying, and vice-versa. I’ve met people from all over the globe, and for many interests - going green, parenting, love of cereal - seriously. There are tons of Twitter tricks that I won’t get into, but believe me, you’ll either be thanking me or hating me. If you need a place to start to find friends, Wendy Piersall of Sparkplugging just posted the “Ultimate List of Moms on Twitter” - and received over 200 more moms who commented with their Twitter names! Dads, we didn’t forget you! Here’s the “Ultimate List of Dads and Husbands on Twitter,” just for you!  PS - my Twitter name is ‘teensygreen’.

Hot Moms Club - If you haven’t clicked through the big pink button on my sites column, go now! Hot Moms Club is the newest and hottest mom-only social networking site buzzing everywhere. Put up pics, videos, links, join groups, make friends, show off your kids…all with the HMC magazine providing you with amazing articles about being a modern mom in an upside down world.

Blogher - “You say it. We share it.” Blogher is a deep, vast website for women who want to write, learn how to blog, or simply read from the 10,000 other blogs to discover. Get political, find a book club, or even going green - Blogher is the grandmommy of blogging sites, and is well worth exploring. There really is something for everyone here, as well as a calendar of conferences and BlogHer events to meet up with other women who have lots to say!

It’s tough not to get bogged down by new organic clothing lines these days. As with anything else green, just because it’s organic doesn’t make it worthwhile to buy. But, Baltimore-based organic clothing company Uglyfish Organics is anything but ugly - in fact, I was blown away by the rockin’-themed designs, earthy colors, and empowering approach. Mom and entrepreneur Seema Reza began Uglyfish with the idea that “All great people start small,” and ran with it. Uglyfish’s designs are simple yet unique and if I may say, wicked awesome. They come in either Pima cotton or hemp/cotton blends with nonreactive dyes. My girls have been wearing the skirts nonstop - girly yet functional, they have three pockets that are definitely stuffed full by the time we come home. Each piece of clothing comes with a hangtag shaped like a musical note, and made from seeds. Soak it, plant it, and you have your own little wildflower garden.

This week, I’m so psyched to be giving away four complete outfits, one each to four winners. If you win, choose which tee shirts and skirt/shorts combo you think best matches your child - it’s not easy! Just leave a comment here with an answer to this question - which Uglyfish tee do you think your kids would rock out in? This contest will run until next Thursday, May 8th, at midnight PST. And for everyone as well, Uglyfish is offering 20% off its Spring/Summer collection! Just type in the word “teensygreen” at checkout. And, shipping is always free! Good luck!

This contest is now closed!  Thanks to everyone for entering! 

I have to admit, I’m having a bit of green burnout these past couple of weeks (if you couldn’t already tell from my lack of postings). Aside from my internet being down right smack in the middle of Earth Week, I’ve just felt my topics to be a bit repetitive lately. Also, all of a sudden every PR firm from NY to LA is sending me emails about this green product and that green event, whether it pertains to kids or not. So, needless to say, it’s been a bit hectic. When I finally started to get out from under the mass emails, I opened one with the subject “something a bit different”. As a skeptic, I skimmed it. Then I read it again. And, voila, here I am writing about it. What is it, you’re wondering? What could have possibly gotten my tired fingers typing again?

See this very tall, very in-shape woman? Her name is Colleen Smith - she’s a six foot six inch, professional volleyball player who has taken the initiative to help kids learn about climate change and going green. I love what Colleen is doing for two reasons - one, she’s using her celebrity to promote green initiatives; but she’s also inspiring kids to be active and get their bodies moving. She uses her height for education by wearing a temporary tattoo of a wave at her one meter mark (right at her bathing suit), to start a conversation with kids about rising sea levels due to global warming, and engages them about being proactive about helping the Earth. And what kid wouldn’t want to talk to someone who is probably the tallest person they’ve ever met? Colleen is also working on making changes at volleyball tournaments, such as sponsoring recycling bins and replacing paper cups for players with more responsible ones.

For your other sports enthusiasts, here’s a great article about more sports celebs doing good for the planet. Thanks to Steve Crandall for your email about Colleen - and for getting me back to the keyboard!

Happy Belated Earth Day! Of course, it would happen that my computer/internet would give out on me on the official “greenest” day of the year. I looked at it as having my carbon footprint reduced just a touch…

But, time to get back to business! A couple of weeks ago, Amazon.com launched “Amazon Green: Your Green 3″, an interactive community of eco-conscious consumers who share their most favorite three green products. This can be anything - from books to lightbulbs, shampoo to bikes, baby gear to home goods - anything from Amazon’s website. This is NOT as easy as it looks, for me anyway. Who can choose one product over another? It’s all about what’s important to YOU, as a parent, consumer, builder, or just a human being. There are also discussion pages, FAQs about green products, and a running list of the most voted on products.

So, what’s your “Green 3″? When you search for a green product through the Amazon Green search engine, you can vote for it from the page. If you don’t mind commenting here after you vote, I would love to see what you choose. I’ll of course let you all know when I make my official vote as well. Remember, in order for your Green 3 votes to count, you must have an Amazon.com account (and signed in), have made a purchase on Amazon, and have a Pen Name associated with it (which you create when you pick your first product). And, if you’re wondering about Amazon’s commitment to the environment, here’s a great FAQ section about how they are reducing packaging waste, saving energy, and overall keeping eco-consumers in mind.

I love when large companies think outside the eco-box - it’s surprising and refreshing. I think the last time I wore Timberland boots were in the early 90s at sleepaway camp, when “Tims” waterproof boots (we had a different name for them, but this is a G-rated blog) were all the rage for the rain and mud. What a pleasant surprise when I found out they’ve launched an eco-line of shoes for men and women, called Earthkeepers, and take a strong stance of corporate responsibility towards the environment and human rights.

Timberland may feature a lot of leather items, but they’re making an effort to balance it out. Last October, when Earthkeepers was launched, an ad campaign with large billboards was featured around Boston and Providence. Now, the billboards have been recycled into reusable tote bags that are waterproof, sturdy, roomy, and all around awesome. I’ve been trying mine out with library books (and with my girls, that’s many, many books), the beach, and gymnastics gear. It’s a great bag, and I’m happy to be able to give away one bag each to five winners this week! These bags are only available at Timberland stores for $25, and they’re limited edition, so you can be sure that you’ll be carrying an eco-bag that most people won’t have.

Rules stay the same - leave a comment here with an answer to this question: what would you put into your Timberland billboard tote? This giveaway will be open until next Thursday, April 24th at midnight PST. Please remember that comments are moderated, so they won’t show up immediately, unless you enter while I’m glued to my computer (which is very likely). Good luck!

Thanks to Erica for all your help!

This contest is now closed!  Thanks to everyone for entering, winners will be announced soon! 

We’re getting ready for Passover this week, which isn’t as easy as it may seem. We’re cleaning, donating, separating, trying to bring in this important holiday as fresh as possible. Passover, which this year falls from Saturday, April 19th through Sunday, April 27th, is the ultimate celebration of Spring. Getting ready for Passover means literally upending your house, and having a green Passover is a great way to welcome Spring into your home. Here are some general tips to greening your home, and holiday -

• Cleaning with eco-products, such as Mrs. Meyers, Seventh Generation, or homemade concoctions to clean and disinfect, especially your kitchen (the idea being to remove every last crumb from every last surface before Passover begins)
• Buying meat and produce from local sources, such as farmer’s markets - and organic, whenever possible
• Using regular dishes instead of disposable ones during the seders, to cut down on waste
• Get creative with leftovers! Passover dinners can easily turn into great lunches the next afternoon

If you’re looking for more inspiration, The Jew and the Carrot provides a wealth of information regarding food (for Passover and in general) and sustainability. For Passover, find sustainable seder menus, a kosher organic wine list, and many other resources. PETA also has a wonderful article called “Celebrate a Compassionate Passover” with many vegetarian recipes and resources, and why going veggie benefits the earth and animals.  Happy Passover!