In early October, I spent an amazing weekend in Sonoma County with a slew of lovely ladies. Besides the great conversations, chilly fall weather and wine tastings in beautiful vineyards, I learned about some great new companies and websites that I hadn’t heard of before. My #1 new favorite? Foodzie.com.**

First off, I should probably tell you how much I love handmade, unique foods and gifts. I’m a total sucker for jam jars filled with fresh strawberry preserves and treats made with love. In fact, to this day, I dream of this wonderful horseradish cheese sauce and ancho chili chutney that was purchased near my grandparents’ home in Palm Springs. When we visit Palm Springs this winter, you can be assured I’ll get my hands on those two products again.

Well, this is the place** where you can find wonderful non-mass produced foods from all over America. In a nutshell, Foodzie** is an online marketplace where you can discover and buy food directly from small passionate food producers and growers. (Oh! But it’s so much more!) In fact, I challenge you to spend LESS than 5 minutes on the website. It is totally addictive. Cookies, coffees, jams, preserves, ethnic foods, cured meat, candies, you name it. (I’ve got my eye on the Bacon Potato Chips** and this Alfajores Sampler Box.)** Foodzie has it all, and the greatest part is that all of the wonderful food is produced by small producers and growers. You won’t be browsing through any bulk-wrapped “made in China” goods, if you know what I mean.

I highly recommend checking out this online marketplace, if not for the mouthwatering foods, but for the lovely guides Foodzie creates to help educate about products. This month’s guide about tasting tea** is full of tidbits on how to better understand the world of teas. If you are a tea enthusiast, I highly recommend taking a look!

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#1. LED Christmas Lights

Did you know that LEDs are over 100 times more efficient than standard lights? More than that, they’re more durable, safer and cooler. To make these twinklers even more eco-friendly, put them on a timer so they’ll turn off during the day and very late at night (after everyone’s fast asleep). LEDs come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and in every color you can imagine.

#2. Give Green Gifts

Search for “green gift ideas” in Google, and you’ll get a flood of options. Here are some ideas I came across:

• Green Gifts for the Home**
• Recycled Holiday Cards**
• Green Gift for the Cook**
• Tons of Green Gifts**
• Check out Treehugger’s 2009 Green Gift Guide**

#3. Wrap Those Gifts, Greenly

I actually find it charming to wrap gifts in newspaper. There’s something a little Depression-era about it, but in these economic times, it sort of fits. Ok, so if newspaper isn’t your thing, you can actually find a plethora of recycled wrapping paper vendors online. Finding paper like the one above is just a Google search away.

#4. Cook and Eat Local, Organic and Sustainable

If you’re like the rest of us, you always eat the same thing every holiday. There’s probably a big, roasted bird involved. A few casseroles here, some bowls gravy there. Same ole, same ole. Why not go green with this year’s feast? Start at your local farmer’s market for the produce, and build the meal around that. Buy an organic turkey, and if you eat on paper plates, by chance, maybe this year you can spring for real plates. Find a farmer’s market near you.**

#5. “Make” It green

Perhaps the best and easiest way to go green is to do something that doesn’t require a drive to the mall. Make your gifts out of things you already have. Turn old, soft sweaters into cute pillows. Give plants as gifts. Draw a picture, make a video of you singing a song or write the recipient a poem. Remember, it really is the thought that counts.

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Today, it’s all about greening your Thanksgiving. Check out the following great tips on making your Thanksgiving festivities a little more earth-friendly.

1. Serve local and organic food for Thanksgiving dinner - Local and organic foods reduce pollution and global warming emissions, as well as keep chemicals out of the environment.

2. Cook a vegetarian Thanksgiving meal - One word. Tofurky! Okay, for those of you who don’t find that option appetizing, how about a Thanksgiving full of sides? Mashed potatoes, stuffing, mac and cheese, dinner rolls, green bean casserole…that’s really the best part, right?

3. Decorate an eco-friendly Thanksgiving dinner table - Create your own eco-friendly decorations instead of buying new products for just a weekend’s use.

4. Choose eco-friendly dinnerware over paper plates and plastic cups - Use reusable plates and cups, as well as cloth napkins, this holiday.

5. Compost your kitchen scraps - If you can’t convince family members to take extras home in reusable containers, compost them! This keeps those food scraps out of the landfill and converts them into rich, organic fertilizer right in your kitchen or backyard.

6. Reduce your Thanksgiving travel carbon footprint - Instead of traveling halfway across the country over the holiday weekend, stay home like my family! Come on, you’ll probably see them in December anyway.

7. Go green on Black Friday - Take notice of the items you buy. Are they organic? Where we they produced? Also, instead of driving all over town, buy online. Some might call it lazy, I call it SMART and ECO-FRIENDLY.

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Don’t have a reusable bag to go with your reusable FilterForGood bottle yet? Then get some of the greenest reusable totes — FREE — from Green Bag Lady!**

You may have already heard of Green Bag Lady, a.k.a. Teresa VH-Granath, who makes bags from upcycled and sustainable fabrics then gives them away FREE to people who pledge to use her bag instead of disposable paper or plastic ones. Her generous work’s been featured on CNN and many other news outlets — and lots of blogs, since many happy bag recipients blog about their unexpected eco-gift.

Shelly at Vegetarian Foodie,** for example, got bag #879, and blogged “Green Bag Lady I celebrate your creativity and generosity!” And I too have seen Green Bag Lady’s generosity at work — when she donated 20 bags for the Blogger Beach Cleanup** a couple weeks ago. Many volunteers got to go home with a free, unique reusable tote — including my co-event planner Sara Bayles of The Daily Ocean,** who’s showing off her totes in the photo.

Green Bag Lady’s also inspired many eco-thinking DIYers to make their own bags too! Many crafters have been inspired to become green bag ladies themselves, creating not just bags for personal use but to give out to others in their community:

>> Andrea Pender** sent out an email asking for fabric remnants — and got a lot of responses! Now, she’s creating bags out of that fabric to give to her clients.

>> Melissa of Melissa’s Ramblings** got an old sewing machine out to create her green lady bags. Says she after creating a tote: “It was pretty simple even for someone who hasn’t sewn in ages.”

Want your own Green Lady Bag? You can enter the frequent drawings on Green Bag Lady’s site to win one — or make one yourself by using this pattern** and watching this instructional video.** Upcycling whatever unused fabric you’ve got on hand — whether it’s old curtains or a skirt you no longer wear — will keep perfectly good cloth out of the landfills while reducing disposable trash too.

Image via The Daily Ocean

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I’m addicted to TED** Talks. Seen them? TED is basically this conference where the world’s smartest people come together to talk about things. Lucky for us, they record the speeches, and post them online for free. It was while I was watching the latest batch of talks, that I came across the following video of Kevin Surace, EcoRock CEO, where he talks about inventing eco-friendly drywall.

(Please pull video embed code here)**

Traditionally, drywall’s been made of gypsum, and gypsum takes a lot of energy (and a lot of chemicals) to make. EcoRock is different because it uses 80% less energy to produce, mostly because instead of being cooked in an oven, EcoRock cures and dries naturally. It’s also made from 80% recycled materials.

The coolest part, however, is that the material is made with the end in mind. EcoRock can be used as a pH additive for soils, or can be used to make more EcoRock and other building materials. The bottom line is that EcoRock is landfill safe.

Living in New Orleans, we know a thing or two about mold. Following Katrina, most of the drywall in New Orleans homes turned black from the mold that grew in the warm, wet air. Too bad we didn’t all use EcoRock. It’s the most mold-resistant drywall by outperforming all other mold resistant drywall by 50%. As if this stuff isn’t good enough, EcoRock drastically reduces the quantity of indoor air contaminants over any other drywall, and generates 60% less dust.

Normally, I would ask you if you’ve used this product in your home, but I don’t think it’s going to be ready for widespread use until 2010. I have a feeling it’s going to change the game. Who knows, maybe after another 100 years, all our houses with made of this stellar stuff.

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Let’s see. You buy organic foods. You recycle. You’ve completely decreased your paper towel usage. (I’m still working on that one. Ahem. ) Maybe you even compost? What are some other steps you can take to become more eco-friendly in the one room many of us spend a decent chunk of time in? I found some really easy ways to decrease your “dietary footprint” in the kitchen on thedailygreen.com.**

Ditch the Bottles - Well, DUH. This is the FilterForGood website, isn’t it? Use what comes out of your tap and get a good filter to boost its purity.

Buy Local - Reduce unnecessary food shipments by purchasing products from surrounding areas. Check out my post** about localharvest.org for local purchasing options.

Dispose of Disposables - Use actual dishware instead of single-use containers. I know it’s not as easy, but the resources saved will really add up!

Get a Green Thumb - Add some plants around your kitchen. They can help rid the air of toxins that might be created by cooking.

Eat Less Meat - Modern meat is energy- and resource-intensive, and factory farms are huge polluters. Eating lower on the food chain reduces those problems.

Use Your Appliances Wisely - Unplug unused kitchen devices and get an energy audit on your appliances.

Cook! - Plan meals ahead of time so you aren’t scrambling to pick up something convenient, which is likely to be less healthy and wrapped in more packaging.

What are some of your tips for going green in the kitchen? The easier, the better!

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What did you do on Oct. 24, the International Day of Climate Action?** I was at the Blogger Beach Cleanup** on Santa Monica beach in Calif. — an event I organized with fellow eco-activist Sara Bayles, who writes The Daily Ocean.**

25 of the more than 100 volunteers who showed up got free FilterForGood reusable bottles — which many used at the event itself. Why spend money on disposable plastic water bottles that are bad for the environment, when we’ve got free water fountains right on the beach?

The trash we picked up really showed why we must use reusables. In just 20 minutes, the volunteers picked up almost 40 pounds of trash on the beach — and a lot of the stuff were disposable containers — including plastic bottles and Styrofoam cups!

Most FilterForGood blog readers have already taken the pledge to banish disposable plastic bottled water from their lives — which is why I wanted to talk a bit about Styrofoam — a.k.a. polystyrene. The cost of recycling Styrofoam / polystytrene is so high — and the logistics so difficult — that most cities don’t offer a recycling option for these containers. Instead, a number of cities have simply banned the blight that’s Styrofoam to prevent the tough-to-recycle trash from collecting in the first place.

Santa Monica, in fact, is one of the cities that has successfully banned Styrofoam. After all, because it’s a beach city, Santa Monica has even more to lose by letting Styrofoam into its borders. Besides overfilling landfills, Styrofoam makes its way onto the beaches and into the ocean — shredding into little pieces and creating an eyesore — which isn’t good for attracting tourists. Even grosser are the birds and other marine life that die and sometimes wash up on the beach because they’ve ingested too much plastic — which then prevents the animals from ingesting anything actually digestible.

But a ban on Styrofoam in Santa Monica alone won’t solve the Styrofoam pollution problem — not even on our own beach. Styrofoam’s still legal in Los Angeles and other surrounding cities — which means that every time it rains, Styrofoam gets washed down the gutters straight out onto the beach and into the ocean. We can’t stop the problem as a city alone because our environment connects all of us.

A bill to ban Styrofoam throughout California** was unfortunately pulled from consideration earlier this year, but the fight to keep banning the stuff in more cities and counties pushes on. What’s your city’s stance on Styrofoam? Get involved with local environmental organizations fighting against Styrofoam (in the L.A.-area, one nonprofit to join’s Heal the Bay)!** And while we wait for policy changes, we can all ban Styrofoam from our individual lives! Expand your FilterForGood pledge to reduce not just disposable bottled water waste but Styrofoam waste too!

Photos by Bryan Koch

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I discovered this company called, Atayne** (pronounced “attain”), that makes outdoor and athletic gear out of garbage, or recycled materials. Their reasons are simple. It’s better for people, the planet and performance. I contacted them, and asked if they would send me a shirt to run in. They did. Here’s what I thought:

The Shirt Review

The first thing I noticed when I got the shirt was that it felt just like the other athletic shirts in my closet. It felt a little rubbery and stretchy. It didn’t feel as light or silky as my other shirts, but it wasn’t heavy or bulky. On the run, I didn’t really feel any difference. It breathed nicely, and wicked moisture away from my skin pleasantly. All in all, I didn’t notice enough of a difference to prefer my other, non-trash shirts. In fact, because these shirts are made from recycled materials, I’m more inclined to go “trashy”. Check out their gear for men** and women.** Prices start at $24.

Wait! There’s More.

As if creating workout shirts out of garbage weren’t doing enough for the planet, they throw in some make-you-think eco collaterals just for kicks. First, a tag that spreads more of their company culture and philosophy. On one side, a question, “Why do all your tops have sayings, statements, and symbols?” On the other side, the answer, “We stand for more than performance. We stand for performance with a point of view. And we believe what Abraham Lincoln believed: ‘To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards of men’.” But, that’s not what I love about this tag. It’s cool because I can plant it, water it and watch wildflowers grow. How cool is that?

The other card in the package listed 10 tips to become a greener athlete. I’m sure they won’t mind if I share a few notables here:

1. Recycling two aluminum cans saves the energy equivalent of a gallon of gas.
2. Drop bottled water. Invest in reusable bottles and a water filter. (Honestly, it says that!)
3. Recycle your old running shoes at www.recycledrunners.com,** or www.soles4souls.org.**
4. Don’t wash your apparel after every workout. Rinse it in the shower, and hang to dry.

Do you own any Atayne gear? Comment below and tell us about it.

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I rarely do much to celebrate Halloween — because I’m usually prepping for my birthday the next day, All Saints Day! But while doing nothing can certainly make for a waste-free day, my green Halloweens aren’t exactly celebratory. Thus — here are fun ways from around the blogosphere on how to green this spooky day while having fun too!

>> For simple, practical tips on greening Halloween, look no further than Crunchy Domestic Goddess’ 10 Simple Ways to Green Your Halloween.** From scavenging a pre-loved costume to using all of the pumpkin, CDG’s got the 10 most basic tips for an eco-Halloween celebration.

>> If Crunchy Domestic Goddess’ suggestion to try your own hand at upcycling a Halloween costume has you stumped, here are ideas for 5 cheap and green Halloween getups** from Mother Nature Network, a site I also blog for. The Joker costume, for example, seems fairly easy to put together. Yes, you’ll need nontoxic face paint — but CDG’s post has a link to tutorial for making that yourself!

>> Crunchy Domestic Goddess also offers links to homemade craft tutorials. But for more scary ideas, check out these 5 spooky crafts for Halloween,** also from MNN. There, you’ll find directions for crafting everything from salt dough ghosts to angry tin can cats.

>> The Daily Green has its own list of Top 10 Ways to Go Green This Halloween** — including a reverse trick or treating plan to support fair trade chocolate and a tip to opt for more eco-friendly candles for your jack o’ lantern or tin can cat!

>> And although I don’t get that into Halloween, I have put together my own set of tips before — like The Procrastinator’s guide to a green Halloween** I wrote last year. If you’ve left everything off to the last minute like I tend to do, you can at least pick up a local, organic pumpkin at the farmers’ market nearest you — or carve up whatever local fruit you have on hand!

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Well, I’ve found a few inexpensive (some entirely free!) tips and tricks for making your skin look its best, thanks to an article at Treehugger.** Do you utilize any of these tips already?

1. Save your coffee grounds -A handful of moist grounds (organic is preferable, of course) makes a fantastic facial exfoliant or all-over body scrub. The grounds exfoliate your skin AND the remaining caffeine tightens and firms pores. (Has anyone tried this? I am super intrigued.)

2. Moisturize with a banana peels - According to Donna Maria Coles Johnson,** scrape off the inner peel of a banana, apply it to your face, and then rinse off after 15 minutes. Your face will be dewy soft and hydrated.

3. Wash your makeup tools - I know it can be hard to remember, but makeup brushes need to be washed regularly. All types of nasty bacteria can grow on them, which will make your face one big ZIT.

4. Massages aren’t just for your back - Massaging your face increases circulation, thus improving the firmness of your skin. Rub in small circles while washing your face and/or applying moisturizer. (Or your new found banana peels.)

5. Steam clean - A weekly steam facial can flush out toxins and open pores. Bring water to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, drape a towel over your head, lean over the pot and let the steam do it’s magic. Just be sure to keep a safe distance. We don’t need anyone scalding their eyelashes off, mmkay?

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The ecoATM** is built to basically gobble-up your portable electronic devices (especially cell phones), and spit out some form of payment. That’s right. Payment. I’ve got several old cell phones hiding in my house, and I’ve never thrown them away because something inside me just felt bad about it. Now, not only do I have an option, but one that pays.

Why the ecoATM Matters

Think about this the next time you get a new phone, and go to throw out your old one. Each year, 75,000 tons of old cell phones end of in landfills introducing vast amounts of arsenic, cadmium and mercury into the ground.

All consumer electronics contain nasty heavy metals like lead, mercury, and arsenic. The kind of stuff you don’t want ending up in your tap water. So, the ecoATM helps us avoid the landfill by either recycling or re-using our old cell phones.

Here’s how ecoATM wants us to re-use:

Most consumer electronics and mobile phones are retired when they still have about three quarters of their useful life remaining. The products have been designed to last, but have been upgraded for newer features, performance or size. The used devices have a market, but are not currently remarketed due to the supply chain. Note that often times these devices are worth only 10-20% of their original value and in many cases less than the cost to mail them to another potential user. By creating a convenient and aggregated method of collecting/shipping devices, ecoATM can efficiently get them to their next user. ecoATM ships devices for re-use in volume to refurbishment companies that sell them to consumers worldwide. We ensure that our products do not enter unsavory recycling (materials reclamation) by only selling devices at 300% of their gross material value.

Here’s how ecoATM wants us to recycle:

At some point in the lifecycle of a device, it no longer has any usability as a device. There are many reasons for this, ranging from water damage to technology evolution to malfunction of key components. These devices can be mined to extract precious metals, spare parts and other materials that can be re-used. This material re-use is a key component to solving the eWaste problem. However, there are environmentally damaging methods to extract the precious metals, which are more cost effective than doing it right. As such, ecoATM sends portable devices for recycle to umicore** that operates an internationally recognized eco-friendly smelting facility for materials reclamation. Note that large devices are often logistically managed by our retail partners recycling channels and in those cases we do not control this flow of goods.

Where can I find an ecoATM

They are just getting started, and they launched their first machine in Omaha. Would you use something like this if it were in a shopping mall near you? Even better, do you live in Omaha and have used or could use the ecoATM? Comment below and tell us all about it!

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That, I think is the reason that many people still don’t get, for example, why the environmental organization 350.org** is called, well, 350.org. What does the 350 stand for?

In short, 350 stands for 350 parts per million (ppm) carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. And that number is what scientists are saying is the level we need to get to. We’re actually above that number now — at 390 ppm — but we need to bring things down to the 350 level if we want a chance at avoiding catastrophic climate change.

I know, I know — Despite the seriousness it represents, 350 still isn’t a sexy name for an environmental movement. But getting people behind this number will affect all of our futures — which is why we should all get behind the International Day of Climate Action,** happening Oct. 24!

On that day, individual activists, grassroots groups, and established green organizations across the nation will hold events to mobilize people to get behind this 350 number — and to get world leaders to get behind it too. International Day of Climate Action’s planned to get people — and their elected representatives — thinking hard about environmental issues before December, when the Copenhagen Climate Talks** will happen and a new agreement — to basically replace the Kyoto Treaty — will be signed. To make sure that new agreement’s meaningful, we have to make sure our voices get heard.

So what are you doing on Oct. 24? I’m planning a beach cleanup** — and if you’re in the Los Angeles area, I hope you’ll join me! Otherwise, organize or attend an event happening in your area! You can find out what’s happening near you at 350.org.**

Image via 350.org

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