Even though we’re not big shoppers, we love going to trade and craft shows where we discover clever or new-to-us ideas by people who are moving toward sustainability. Last year, at one show, we came such a company, Namaste Glass.

Loved the name and loved that they are making glass items on their property in rural Cottage Grove, OR, where their house and studio are powered 100% by the wind.

When we spied their gorgeous belt buckles from across an aisle, we were literally stopped in our tracks. They are literally show stoppers!

Co-owner, Holly Carrigan told us, “We have made the pledge to buy local and/or handmade components whenever possible and offer re-useable packaging. We re-purpose the scrap materials in our studio so that nothing is left behind, embodying the organic feel that is hand crafted glass.”

Another reason to love them.

In fact, Corey liked the buckles so much, she wanted to make the video below.

And we’re excited to announce that although it’s taken awhile, we are offering the Namaste sand dollar buckle in our OpenSky shop. Makes a great gift for you or someone you love.
Buy Now

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®. Hear them every Wednesday at 10 a.m. on Celebrate Green! radio.

Watch out! I’m on my soapbox today!

I’m 65 years old and delighted to be alive. Unfortunately, many friends didn’t make it this far, so I refuse to complain–much.

But something has me a bit upset lately.

It’s the lack of eco-friendly styles and clothing for women of a certain age and accompanying–normal, if Reubenesque–OK round–shape.

I’m not a clothes horse and in fact, really dislike shopping, but I do need to cover myself up lest I cause a scene when I occasionally venture out in public.

Over the last five years, eco-friendlier clothing options have exploded for almost everyone. Need to outfit a baby? You no longer have to dress her in cotton doused in chemicals. Every item of what we used to call a layette (do they still call it that?) can be purchased in organic cotton or bamboo, both so much better options for baby and planet. And companies like Green Edge Kids offer loads of choices for older children.

Teens and younger adults can choose from among dozens of companies with designs made from sustainable alternatives. From undies to bathing suits to jeans and jackets, even wedding dresses, it’s all there for the picking, many even at reasonable price points.

Yet for us older, but still-hungry-for-eco women. Close to nada. (Eileen Fisher has an eco-collection that comes close to fitting the bill, but not exactly budget friendly.)

There is no other way for me to take this than as one more example of the tendency of our society to ignore any woman over the age of 40 unable to maintain the body of Tina Turner.

I (unfortunately), did not own Tina’s body when I was 16 and I certainly don’t have it now.

Just because I’m white haired, 5’2″ (actually I’ve shrunk to 5′ 1 3/4″,  but who’s counting), and voluptuous, am I simply undeserving of eco-choice?

Evidently designers think so.

It seems pretty obvious that companies that make clothing for us older, but still-breathing (and still clothes-wearing-money-spending) humans, don’t think we care. Or that we’re worth the bother.

(I can just imagine a bunch of cigar chomping executives lolling around a conference table sniggering, “Hey, what’s the big deal? They’ve been eating, inhaling and dousing themselves in chemicals for half a century. Why waste organic cotton on them?)

Well, I can’t speak for my generation. I can only say that I, for one, do want eco-friendlier choices in styles that are, as so many these days inelegantly put it, age appropriate.

Am I wrong? Am I just not able to find the clothes? Are they out there? Is anybody listening?

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are a mother-daughter team and authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, and founders of Green Halloween®. Hear them every Wednesday at 10 a.m. on Celebrate Green! radio.

Organic eggplant in my garden used to make this dish. If you don't have eggplant or tomatoes in a garden, hit the local farmers market for fresh, sustainable vegetables. Both eggplant and tomatoes are in abundance at the end of summer.

Last summer, I threw this dish together one night and it was a  hit. What I didn’t know was that the ingredients are basically what are used to make a dish called Eggplant Napoleon. This summer, I’ve been seeing various recipes for Eggplant Napoleon all over the place. I think my version is a little easier than most of the ones I have seen.

This can be a side dish or a main dish served with a hearty salad or even a party snack. It’s really delicious.

Ingredients

• Eggplant sliced in 3/4 inch slices
• Tomato slices – the same number of slices of eggplant that you have
• Marinated mozzarella balls, sliced in half – you can buy them marinated or marinate them several hours ahead of time using this recipe (unmarinated mozarella can be used, but I think the marinated has better flavor for this dish)
• Dry, unseasoned bread crumbs with some salt and garlic powder added – enough to coat all your eggplant
• Flour
• Eggs
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Coat eggplant in flour, then dip in eggs that have been whipped with a fork, then coat in bread crumbs. For best results, do this an hour or so before you fry them in the pan. Place them in the refrigerator so the bread crumbs get a chance to stick well.
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
3. Coat the bottom of a skillet with olive oil over medium high heat. Place breaded eggplant in the skillet and fry on one side until brown. Flip and fry on the other side until cooked through. Remove. Add more olive oil to the pan if needed and continue to fry all eggplant until finished. Place in a single layer on a baking sheet.
4. Place one tomato slice on top of each eggplant slice and top of the tomato with mozzarella – go light or heavy on the mozzarella depending on your preference.
5. Bake in oven until tomato is heated through and the mozzarella melts.

__________________________________

Robin Shreeves didn’t particularly like to cook until she started paying attention to how the food she feeds her family affects the environment. Once she started experimenting with fresh, organic and local foods, her outlook on food and cooking changed dramatically. When she’s not writing the eco-friendly food blog for Mother Nature Network or attending to her two personal blogs A Little Greener Every Day and South Jersey Locavore , she can often be found in the kitchen, playing with the food that she prepares for her husband and two boys.

As troubling as the addiction may be, at least we’re not addicted to plastic!

In Part 2 of this series, I talked about how much I crave bag systems and reviewed Blue Avocado bags. (By the way, if you’re reading this before August 31, 2010, you can still enter the giveaway for a set of Blue Avocado bags just by commenting on this post.) And I promised to discuss another bag system I love for different reasons. This one is from Esse.

One thing I really, really like about the Esse system is the size of the tote. It’s only 9″x4″, but because of the way the bags that fit inside are designed, it holds three large grocery bags plus an assortment of small ones, neat as a pin! The reason? I’m no engineer, but I think it’s because Esse shopping bags ingeniously snap together. I’ve never seen this feature before. Just fold, snap and slide into the tote. Awesome!

Another nice aspect of Esse’s tote is the four pockets where you can keep more bags, coupons, pen, teether, snacks etc.

So what’s it made of?

I always want to know about bag fabrics and where items are sourced so I asked Esse’s owner Holly Jordan, about these issues. Here’s what she told me.

“The tote and grocery bags that I sent you are made from our original fabric which is 100% recycled PET (post-consumer waste plastic bottles). We have decided to change the fabric to a 42% recycled PET and polyester for strength, durability and washability reasons. The new material will hold up and look brand new for many years!”

This is one of those trade-offs that most companies have to make. We’d always prefer 100% sustainable, but for a variety of reasons that’s not always possible. We have to weigh the value of using the bags for longer against the decrease in recycled material.

Another feature of the new version of the tote is a longer strap. Amen to that! Not that it’s hard to carry it by the handle, but I like the flexibility of being able to use my shoulder when my hands are full.

I also asked Holly why the bags are manufactured in China. As is true for so many entrepreneurs, it comes down to cost.  “After searching for well over a year here in the states, we came to the conclusion that a product like ours cannot be made here at a price that people can afford to spend on reusable bags. We made the hard decision to source overseas in China and feel we have found a great partner for our manufacturing. They produce the fabric and sew in house and abide by the guidelines set forth by ETI- Ethical Trade Initiative for fair labor practices,” she said.

“Upon receiving the bags, we work with Rebuild Resources (a rehab-to-work non-profit here in St Paul) to sew on all of our decorative panels, elastic and do all of our custom silkscreen work. We are also helping them to develop a stronger sewing department and hopefully will have some of the simple bags made there very soon! And we are working on a recycling program with them as well to turn worn reusable bags into Rebuilt Rugs,” she added.

All of this shows that Holly is committed to doing the right thing, to running as ethical and sustainable business as possible. That’s a huge positive for us.

A complete Esse shopping system consists of the carry-all, 3 grocery bags, 2 produce bags and one everyday bag. And right now, the system is on sale for a remarkable 40% off! Go here to purchase.

If you’ve used Esse bags, let us know what you like about the system.

Today I want to tell you that you can make baked potatoes in the slow cooker. I never have baked potatoes in the summer because of the amount of time they take in the oven. I don’t want my oven blasting away at 400 degrees for over an hour on a late summer afternoon.

Remember, not only does a slow cooker use less energy than an oven, it also keeps your kitchen from getting hotter and making your air conditioning switch into overdrive. It’s a great little energy saver in the summer.

Potatoes fair pretty well on the Environmental Working Group Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. They are number 39 on the list so if you can afford to buy them organically that’s great. If you can’t afford to buy them organically, it’s good to know they aren’t very high on the list.

When I read about making baked potatoes in the slow cooker, I was a little skeptical, but I gave it a try. It works really well, but since the temperatures of slow cookers vary and the size of potatoes vary, it’s difficult to give you an exact cooking time.

Here’s what you do.

• Scrub as many baking potatoes as you can fit comfortably in your slow cooker (don’t over crowd).
• Wrap each potato in aluminum foil (did you know there is recycled foil?).
• Cook in slow cooker from 2-5 hours on high; 8-9 hours on low until a fork easily passes through the potato.
• When done cooking, keep them in the slow cooker on warm until ready to serve.

The first time I tried this, my large potatoes needed closer to five hours than two hours in my slow cooker. They weren’t done in time for dinner. Instead of wasting them, I let them finish cooking, then I made them into twice baked potatoes and waited to do the second baking until the next night (I used the toaster oven for that).

I absolutely loved baked potatoes with steak, and now that I know I can do them in the slow cooker, we’ll be having them often in the summer with grilled steak.

Image: FotoosVanRobin

__________________________________

Robin Shreeves didn’t particularly like to cook until she started paying attention to how the food she feeds her family affects the environment. Once she started experimenting with fresh, organic and local foods, her outlook on food and cooking changed dramatically. When she’s not writing the eco-friendly food blog for Mother Nature Network or attending to her two personal blogs A Little Greener Every Day and South Jersey Locavore , she can often be found in the kitchen, playing with the food that she prepares for her husband and two boys.

I fell in love with Blue Avocado (not the name, the system), the first time I saw the bags because I love primary colors and bold patterns. When I received a kit from the company, I was wowed by the practicality of this product. It felt like I’d reached shopping bag nirvana!

First of all the bags are really big! And they are sturdy. Any straps not part of the fabric itself, are well-attached. This is important since I’ve been known to catch straps not only on door knobs, but on grandkids’ arms, lawn decorations (don’t ask) and other assorted protuberances and it’s extremely annoying when a broken bag spills all my perfectly ripe organic produce all over the parking lot!

I especially love Blue Avocado’s “Chil” (not a typo) insulated bag, something I’ve not seen elsewhere. Before I send my beloved to the store, I give him a few ice packs and our frozen foods stay rock hard instead of melting all over the floor of the car. (The bag is supposed to insulate up to three hours, but we’ve never tested it for that long.)

An added plus–on the Blue Avocado site, they tell you how many bags (made from recycled materials, by the way), you save by using each kit. You can multiply that out by how much shopping you do over the course of a year and discover the incredible savings to you (and the planet when you’re not taking home plastic). And their gro-pak bags are labeled with a carbon footprint label that highlights the impact (both plastic bags and carbon emissions avoided) per trip and per year.

In summary, these are quality bags that look great and wear well.

One down side is that you may not personally be attracted to the colors and patterns (there are six or seven available options depending on which bag system you choose), or perhaps you don’t need such large bags.

Then there is the price.

Paying $80.00 for the largest kit (the Grande), may seem like overkill, but honestly, I think it’s worth it. When you realize that this system replaces 16 plastic bags each time you visit the grocery store, add up all the times you shop annually, and compute the waste in bags, it’s not a bad deal, especially because the bags are so large and this kit includes the insulated bag as well as super size produce bags.

They do of course, offer less expensive kits, but if you’re giving a greenie or wannabe greenie a gift, the Grande will outfit her completely and for a very long time.

Blue Avocado bags are made from at least 50% recycled material. Of course, we’d love them even more if that were bumped up to 100%, but we get the issues. They do take back the products when their useful life (to the buyer) ends, for recycling and use the least amount of packaging possible. As with many small companies, Blue Avocado may not be perfect, but in our opinion, they’ve made a very good start.

Note: The giveaway below is over. Using Random.org, the winner from those who commented below is “Leah.”

Now here’s an awesome bonus if you like the Blue Avocado system as much as I do: Blue Avocado and Celebrate Green! are giving away a starter kit…

plus one of Blue Avocado’s brand new lunch totes!

Total retail value-$49.98!

To enter, in the comment section below, let us know why you’re dying to win this awesome Blue Avocado combo. Be sure your email address is correct so we can notify you of the winner. We’ll choose the lucky duck using Random.org and will announce the winner on Tuesday, August 31.

U.S. residents only on this one.

“I’m Lynn and I’m a shopping bagholic.”

Now you have to understand why this is such a peculiar addiction. I don’t like to shop–for anything. And aren’t I lucky to have a husband who happily does the majority of the food buying.

Keeping this in mind, you’d think that one or two shopping bags would fulfill my needs. And you would be right if logic held. But it doesn’t.  An addiction is called that because it’s close to impossible to help yourself.

So even though I own enough shopping bags to provide at least one for every citizen of a small country, (OK, that’s an exaggeration, but still, I have a lot!), I simply can’t say, “No, thank you,” when someone offers to gift me with more.

The other day a friend, knowing my aversion to wrapping paper, showed up with a gift in a pretty, reusable bag. I’m embarrassed to admit I was more excited about the bag than the present!

It’s a sickness.

But it’s not as if I’m buying them. It’s practically impossible to attend any kind of festival, seminar, large meeting or trade show without bringing home enough bags to last for decades! All I can say is, at least they’re not plastic (although some, happily, are recycled plastic).

Ten years ago, shopping bags were about as glamorous as socks (mostly they were made out of string imported from somewhere plastic bags had not yet taken over), and attractive ones were difficult to find even if you were ahead of the curve and ready to carry home whatever in your arms rather than succumb to the plastic and paper foisted on you.

Today, it’s easy to discover stylish, eco-fabulous bags that will tote almost anything.

I’m especially enamored of  bag systems ’cause I’m a systems type of gal. Don’t get the wrong idea. This does not mean I’m obsessively organized. (My son-in-law would say quite the opposite is true.) But I love the concept of a system–a bag for every need all packaged together in a nice tote of some sort. Unfortunately in my case,some bags mysteriously escape the system like wayward socks or wandering toddlers, but that doesn’t make the kits any less valuable!

In Parts 2 and 3 of this series, I’ll review my favorite two kits from Blue Avocado and Esse.

Do you have a favorite bag system? Tell me about it.

(Why waste paper when you can give a gift within a gift?)

Now Patricia has moved from brilliant to super brilliant with a super-sized wrap great for making a hobo bag or even, dressing yourself.

With just a few folds and twists, you can turn a square of material into an oh-so-chic beach wrap or halter top!

It may look like magic, but it’s so incredibly simple you won’t believe it.

Patricia purchases end lots of fabric that otherwise would be destined for the landfill.

Below is our take on how easy it is to wrap up a gift with Bobos.

We’re excited that we now offer Bobo’s jumbo wrap in our OpenSky shop.

Preserving herbs isn’t very difficult, you don’t need any special equipment, and there are several different ways you can do it.

Air drying. This is probably the easiest way to preserve your herbs. First, wash the herbs to make sure all dirt and bugs are off. Then find a dry place that doesn’t get a lot of light, bundle herbs together, and hang upside down. When they crumble between your fingers easily, they are properly dried. Store dried herbs in a sealed container away from heat and moisture. For more precise instructions, Vegetable Gardener has good information.

Oven drying. If you don’t have the proper space for drying herbs, you can dry them in the oven. In a very low oven, about 150 degrees F (my oven only goes as low as 170 and that works okay, too), place herbs on cookie sheets. Prop the oven door open a bit, and allow to dry for about 3 or 4 hours. Then let set out for a day to make sure all moisture is gone and store in an airtight container out of the light for up to one year.

Freeze on cookie trays. Some herbs can be frozen as is, but if you freeze them in a big bunch in a container, you’ll only be able to take the entire bunch out of the freezer at once. But, if you lay the herbs out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and place it in the freezer, you can place the herbs in a freezer proof container afterward, and you should be able to take only as much as you need out of the container at a time. The herbs may change color, but they should retain a good amount of flavor. Basil, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, thyme, and coriander all freeze well this way.

Freeze into ice cubes. Another way to freezer herbs and help them retain their color is to chop them up, add a couple of teaspoons into ice cube trays, fill with water, and let freeze. Once the herb ice cubes are frozen, pop them out and store in a container. They can be defrosted and drained later to use or popped right into soups and stews to add flavor.

Make them into herb butters. I recently had corn on the cob with herb butter for the first time. I thought I’d always be a corn on the cob purist – simply dripping with regular butter and doused in salt – but to my surprise the herb butter was wonderful on the corn. Herb butters are easy to make and be frozen in individual or small batches. Herbal Gardens has a few basic recipes for you to start with.

Image: Danny Joe

__________________________________

Robin Shreeves didn’t particularly like to cook until she started paying attention to how the food she feeds her family affects the environment. Once she started experimenting with fresh, organic and local foods, her outlook on food and cooking changed dramatically. When she’s not writing the eco-friendly food blog for Mother Nature Network or attending to her two personal blogs A Little Greener Every Day and South Jersey Locavore , she can often be found in the kitchen, playing with the food that she prepares for her husband and two boys.

In light of the fact we think he’s already partly on board, we  hope his family and friends are planning on gifting him with some great green alternatives.

For instance, we know the man is an avid reader and we’re guessing that many of the books that might be offered are not printed on recycled paper with veggie ink. So at the least, offset the purchase of the prez’s books via Eco-Libris where you can plant a tree for every book given.

What do you give to the family man who has everything (as we assume Obama does)? Something we strongly promote–opportunities to enjoy life with his kids. We know there’s a basketball court at the White House, but how about a camping trip? Don’t you just love the image of the Secret Service carrying tents and sleeping bags? But if the president insists on carrying his own backpack, at least it should be eco-friendly like this one made from recycled soda bottles.

If it so happens that you’re not on the guest list for tonight’s dinner with friends, you can still send him wishes with a very eco-friendly e-card.

We could go on and on, but you get the idea. If eco-gift giving is good enough for the rest of us, it’s definitely great for the prez!

What eco-gift would you give the president if you knew he’d receive it?