I’ve had this debate with myself for a while, to discuss the many versatile and gorgeous wall stickers/art/decorations for pretty much every room in your home. We had the Wall Candy Dottilicious stickers for a while, and my kids adored them. Here’s the rub - they’re made from vinyl, or PVC, which may look great on your walls, but is unsafe for your kids. Lo and behold - Mod Green Pod! Sisters-in-laws Lisa and Nancy Mims took a stand for fashionable yet sustainable design, and Mod Green Pod sets the bar high. Using non-toxic, water-based inks and glaze for their hand silkscreened wallpaper makes Mod Green Pod an innovator in wall dressing. The Butterfly Jubilee print in Raspberry/Honey got the ever popular “I want THAT in my room!” five-year old thumbs up; I think Mom might have other plans for it, however…
While you’re on Mod Green Pod, check out their selection of hand silkscreened, 100% organic fabrics as well. These seriously stylish prints are processed sans chemicals or finishing agents, giving the fabrics a truly natural quality that will enhance any form they’re transformed into. Have you used Mod Green Pod fabrics? Send me pictures and I’ll put them up to share with readers!
Since Mod Green hand prints their product, both wallpaper and fabric comes in limited quantities. Find a location near you for ordering or custom work.
All of a sudden I have so many friends having spring babies! I thought this week was perfect for a newborn/infant giveaway. I wrote about Blessed Nest pregnancy and nursing pillows a while back, and I got a great response about them. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that they’re organic, some completely organic inside and out, or that they come in a gorgeous variety of colors and styles. Or maybe it’s just thinking about cute little babies resting on pillows…I know when and if baby #3 comes around, I’ll definitely be getting my own Blessed Nest!
This week’s giveaway is for all the new nesting moms out there, or for someone you know who is about to have some long nights either getting ready for baby, or getting used to a new little one in the house. The winner can choose from three styles - the Kaleidoscope, Morning Glory (shown above), or Aqua Nest. All are beautiful, and at $84 and made-to-order, will make a very special gift, even if it’s for yourself! Rules remain the same - please leave a comment here with an answer to the following question by Thursday at midnight, PST. What’s the name of your favorite Nesting pillow (besides the ones up for grabs)? There are 12, so you have a choice! Good luck!
This contest is now closed! Congrats to our winner, Carrie Z! Thanks for entering, and check back on Monday for another great green giveaway!
Drug resistant staph infections are as nasty and scary as they sound, and they’ve unfortunately popped up in schools dotting the US. And remember those scary articles over the summer about kids passing out due to alcohol intake from antibacterial hand gel? Studies have shown that using antibacterial products are no more effective at killing germs than regular soap and water. In fact, the ingredient that makes products antibacterial - called ‘triclosan’ - can also prove toxic to humans in certain forms. Greaaaaat. Read about it in this informative article from The Green Guide; and, here are some suggestions for natural products your hands, home, and health will thank you for…
Did I have a “whew” moment when I found these CleanWell Sanitizing Wipes and Sprays. The “Ingenium” formula kills almost 100% of germs naturally, using the antiseptic herb thyme and other pesticide-free essential plant oils. They’re also alcohol free, and come in a great variety of sizes - even a travel pack that’s airplane ready. EPA and FDA approved for natural bacteria-busting power!
Mindful Momma (a new favorite blog of mine) has taken the leap towards homemade cleaning products. Check out her super simple and wonderful smelling sink scrub recipe, with antibacterial power and peace of mind that your home is cleaned by - you!
I stocked up on Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps (in liquid form) at Whole Foods before I came home, and they’ve been put to great use. Organic, fair trade, and made with coconut and olive oils blended with essential oils, these are the most versatile soaps I’ve seen on the market. The Lavender scent is a fav as bath soap for everyone in my home, and I use the Almond Oil soap for homemade hand soap. You can wash clothes with it, make home cleaners, and I’ve read you can brush your teeth with them too. There are a ton of varieties, including a mild “Baby” soap which contains no essential oils.
I know antibacterial soaps can smell great and look fun to use - in this case, I think “less is more” applies more than ever, especially when it comes to keeping ourselves and our kids germ-free!
It’s so easy to feel helpless in the wake of a natural disaster when you’re not at the heart of it. This week’s horrendous Southern California wildfires have been an unbelievable sight - it’s been tough to keep CNN on, not only because the devastation is so terrible to see, but because my girls keep asking me about the fires. Today, the group Save the Children, “a humanitarian agency that responds to disasters and works to improve the lives of children around the world,” announced they are sending a group of crises experts to San Diego to help families in need of support. Basically, Save the Children members will set up their signature “Safe Spaces” in evacuation centers around the area, to make sure children stay with their families in a calm and supportive environment. The children will also have Save the Children’s “safe play kits” (see semi-blurry photo above) - a large, preassembled container with arts and crafts supplies, toys, snacks, name tags, blankets, things to keep them busy and feel protected. Toys ‘R’ Us is also donating $250,000 towards Save the Children’s relief efforts.
Save the Children also has a tip sheet for helping children cope with questions and emotions regarding natural disasters. While it’s easy for me to turn the TV off and distract my little ones, others with older kids may be asking a lot of questions and have a tough time understanding the severity of the situation. Take a moment to check out Save the Children - they are a well-established, global organization - and if you make your way to their donation page, they thank you as much as I do.
Hazelnut Kids, an amazing natural toys shop, is featuring “Double Loyalty Rewards” Points now through October 31st. They’re also featuring the beautiful Anamalz collectible woodern animal dolls, made from organic maple wood, cotton, wool, water-based paint, and formaldehyde-free glue. Buy four Anamalz and get a free set of collector’s cards and a calico bag to carry them in.
The Silly Wagon is donating 10% of ALL SALES in October to the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Pick up a great wooden toy and know your money is going to help someone in need this month!
Mrs. Meyer’s is already getting into the holiday spirit by bringing back her Gingerbread scented products! Pick up a Gingerbread Clean-up Kit to get your house ready.
Urban Kids Play has launched a new website and shop in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle. Check them out! They’re offering free shipping over $65, and use the code “Shop20″ for 20% of your order, now through October 31st. The first place I’ve seen these supercool bObles open-ended play pieces/funky kid’s furniture!
Sign up with IdealBite’s weekday emails and tell a friend about them too by October 31st…you’ll be entered to win one of five $200 gift certificates from Certaintees, a bamboo/cotton blend and socially conscious (not to mention awesome) line of t-shirts that will be sure to spice up your Fall wardrobe!
Don’t forget to leave a comment here to win a global warming book for your kids or their school! Ends tomorrow!
In Panama, we have already received no less than FOUR holiday toy catalogs, each one filled with more plastic playthings than the next. It’s disheartening. But I fear not. I have to give the moms behind Cool Mom Picks credit - they are tireless researchers, product testers, and all-around amazing at looking out for the well-being of your kids through their just released “Cool Mom Picks Safer Toy Guide 2007″. I am on this thing every day, plotting holiday gifts, baby gifts (my friend Alison is having Halloween twin boys, HANG IN THERE!), and just coveting toys, dolls, pretend food, anything I think either of my kids might love forever. Or play with once. Whatever the case, this resource is a keeper not just for your gift shopping, but for the rest of your kiddie-shopping existence. They break it down from babies to toddlers, cuddling to music, building to knocking down. Guaranteed you’ll find exactly what you’re looking for, whether it’s organic, fair trade, or just overall high quality and long-lasting - without worry of a lead recall or small plastic part keeping you up at night.
Writing about being green and many other green-related topics to the blogosphere is fairly easy - when my five-year old daughter, however, asks me “what are going to write about today and why do you keep talking about the planet, Mommy?” - well, then it gets difficult. At five, she’s too little to really truly understand many concepts, but we’re trying to start her on the basics. Turn off lights when you leave a room. Don’t leave the water running when you brush your teeth. Hurricanes don’t happen all the time (we lived in Florida during the big 2005 season).
We decided to try out some books, since we’re all bookworms here. We started with The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming by Laurie David and Cambria Gordon, and This is My Planet by Jan Thornhill, mainly because they are brand spanking new titles. Laurie David was a producer for An Inconvenient Truth - so you have to give her some credit on knowing the topic. The book lists the appropriate reading ages as 8 and up, and I can see why. Snarky writing and a lot of pop culture references gives it a tweeny feel, although it has piqued my daughter’s interest - she’s in a big animal phase right now. Broken down into four major chapters - “It’s Getting Hot in Here,” “Weird, Wacky Weather,” “Extinction Stinks,” and “What You Can Do to Stop Global Warming,” The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming also has a great glossary of global warming terms, a directory of careers for future green crusaders, and many resources for kids to help make their voices known about how much they care about the planet.
Amazon.com says This is My Planet is for kids ages 9 and up, but it was a much easier read for us at first. Award winning Canadian children’s book writer and illustrator Jan Thornhill provides information in small, concise boxes with a ton of beautiful photos. Thornhill breaks down her book discussing the Earth in general first, then through three specific environments - the ocean, land, and polar regions. Neither book shies away from the seriousness of the subject - this is why I think they brand the books towards older kids. We do, however, take the time to explain that yes, polar bears can’t live in warm weather, but no, the Antarctic is not going to turn into Panama anytime soon.
What does this all mean for you? It’s a lot of information to take in, so I thought this week I would sponsor my own giveaway, by offering one copy each of The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming and This is My Planet to two different winners. You can also purchase these books through the teensygreen Eco-shop. Simple rules this week - leave me a comment and my five-year old future green builder (she’s going to work with Daddy, she’s already decided) will choose the winners at random! You have until Thursday night at midnight, PST, to enter. Also, if you have suggestions for other books, please let us know! We love expanding our library, and I hope you will too! Good luck!
This giveaway is now closed. Congrats to Blythe for winning “The Down-to-Earth Guide to Global Warming” and Jennifer Barr for winning “This is My Planet”!
This is not a man-candy post, although the press photos from CNN’s upcoming two-part series Planet in Peril may leave you a little globally warmed. (Sorry, couldn’t resist). Seriously, I actually have been really looking forward to seeing Planet in Peril, and not only because we get CNN at home with no Spanish subtitles. From the press release:
“Offering first-hand accounts of environmental strife, Cooper, Corwin and Gupta traveled across the globe to explore these changes and reveal what they mean for each region and the world at large.” CNN anchor Anderson Cooper, chief medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta and Animal Planet host and wildlife biologist Jeff Corwin will focus on four main issues that threaten the planet and its inhabitants today: climate change, deforestation, species loss and overpopulation. Filmed across four continents and 13 countries, Planet in Peril airs on CNN/U.S. on Tuesday, Oct. 23, and Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. (ET/PT) and globally on CNN International.
We’ve been seeing snippets of the show on CNN all week, and let me tell you, it’s pretty amazing. Aside from the stunning locations, the topics are both far-reaching and heartbreaking. From a family in the US who was tested for chemical exposures with frightening results, to tagging precious polar bears who are also losing the fight against global warming, this is sure to be an eye-opening experience. I warn you that it’s probably not best to watch with young children. If you’re reading this, you’re probably not sick of hearing about Earth’s issues, many of them which hit closer to home than you may think. Leave comments here after the show and let me know thoughts, feelings, and ok, even if you just want to say you think AC looks pretty good in that t-shirt…
All photos are credited to CNN Worldwide - All Rights Reserved 2007
Best Green Blogs asked to do a Q & A with me this week about teensygreen, and it was just posted today. Check it out! I had a great time writing about how, when, and why I started teensygreen, and it gave me a lot of inspiration for future ideas. And don’t forget to stay awhile at Best Green Blogs - they are a wonderful resource for finding all things green, whether it be for parents, gossip, activism, philanthropy, etc. Thanks for reading the interview, and of course for reading teensygreen!
Yes, yes, we’re all talking about how to green up Halloween, but seriously - avoid the candy? You know it’s not happening. You know you want to dig into that Halloween bag too. The least you could do is find an organic, more natural alternative hiding in candy form. YummyEarth organic lollipops and candy drops to the rescue!
YummyEarth lollipops were invented by two dads who were college buddies first, then concerned dads when their kids started to become of treat age. But mainly, they were lollipop fans. The decided to ditch the fructose and create their own favorite candy, and YummyEarth was born! YummyEarth come in flavors like Mango Tango, Cheeky Lemon, and Pomegranate Punch, and are made without processed sugars, artificial flavors, pesticides, or chemical colors; they’re also peanut and tree nut free, as well as wheat, gluten, dairy, egg, soy, and casein free as well. They are certified kosher parve and totally vegan. They use fruit and vegetable dyes such as carrots and red cabbage for colorants, and fruit oils and extracts for the punchy flavor that make them so edible.
Find YummyEarth near you, or send some to your favorite lolli fan from teensygreen’s EcoShop! And remember to shaaaaaaare…
And, don’t forget to sign up at Divvies allergen-free cupcakes and goodies shop for this week’s giveaway! It ends TONIGHT at midnight, PST!
