The Red, White, and Green

I know, I know: It appears we’ve reached a market saturation point with the eco-friendly tote bags. My own hall closet is bursting with them — cotton canvas, mesh, polypropylene, recycled PET — so many that I could probably pack up my whole apartment in them instead of boxes the next time we move.

Here’s the thing, though, about most of the reusable bags I’ve accumulated over the years: They’re fine for tossing in the car or for doing a quick marketing on my morning walk when I’m in my sweats and looking grungy, but they don’t look so cute when I’m out and about on the weekends, shopping with friends at the farmers market or the swap meet. I hate to sound vain, but I like to make green look at least a little bit glam. How can I convince other people to think reusable bags are cool if I’m schlepping a wrinkled and stained Trader Joe’s number?

Enter these adorable jute shopping bags from June Fifteen. I picture a très chic Parisian woman carrying one of these, which is exactly who I’m going to pretend to be when I stuff mine with bread, cheese, and flowers at the Hollywood Farmers Market this weekend.

What’s great about the bags is that they’re flat-bottomed, so it’s super easy to keep your purchases neatly organized. A couple styles come with built-in wine holders, too. What a perfect way to pack up a romantic picnic lunch for you and your sweetie!

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Don’t forget to wash the reusable bags you already own — they can be a breeding ground for bacteria. Toss your cotton totes in the wash (just don’t dry them on high, unless you want a mini tote), and soak your plastic-based ones in a bath of soapy water and a quarter cup of white vinegar. June Fifteen’s jute totes have a waterproof lining; use a damp cloth to wipe out the inside.

Related posts:
Neato! Reusable wine totes
Reusable produce bags

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A Sweetie Pie Baby Hat, made with a skein of Be Sweet Bambino Taffy (free pattern on label).

I’ve written before about Green Sheep Shop and its gorgeous, eco-friendly yarns, but I couldn’t resist posting about the online store’s featured yarn for the month of July, especially now that I’ve got babies (or should I say baby, due in August) on the brain: Be Sweet Bambino Taffy.

Made from a luxuriously soft organic cotton/bamboo blend, Bambino Taffy is perfect for do-it-yourself baby gifts. And it’s virtually idiot-proof: Each skein has five coordinating colors that self-stripe as you knit or crochet, adding pops of color without all the work of having to drop yarn A and pick up yarn B (or C, or D).

The Be Sweet company is also socially responsible, employing artisans in economically depressed regions of South Africa (including female members of the Xhosa tribe) to make its beautiful, eco-friendly yarns.

As you may know by now, I’m a big fan of of the do-it-yourself (DIY) movement that’s seen a resurgence since the US economy tanked, and especially, the home arts: sewing, knitting, gardening, cooking, etc. This type of know-how isn’t just financially beneficial, it’s good for the environment: Being able to mend your own pants at the first sight of a tear instead of running out to Target for a new pair, for example, helps reduce consumption. (Reduce — the first of the three R’s of the environment, remember?)

And what could be more self-sufficient and DIY than knitting and crocheting? You take a couple balls of yarn, a pair of kneedles, and presto! You have a hat on your head, or a blanket to keep you warm, or a cute outfit for your best friend’s new baby (hint, hint).

Be Sweet Bambino Taffy is available for 20 percent off on Green Sheep Shop throughout the month of July (click here to order). I’ll be snapping up a skein for the baby booties I’m hoping to finish for my little bambina.

–Jennifer Grayson

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[Watch Do It Gorgeously video on Vimeo]

This week, my HuffPost column focused on avoiding toxic chemicals in cosmetics; since then, I’ve received a bunch of emails asking for eco-friendly skincare recommendations. I’m happy to oblige, but here’s the deal: A lot of the truly natural, nontoxic products I’ve discovered (and I mean truly nontoxic, as in an EWG rating of 2 or lower) are also gloriously expensive.

I know there’s a market out there for high-end green beauty products, but I think the whole eco-luxury thing in a horrendous economy is a bit of a turn-off. People shouldn’t feel like going green is only for those who are privileged enough to afford it. If you have the budget to spend $120 on a certified organic anti-aging mist/serum combo, then great; otherwise, there have to be attainable solutions for the rest of us.

That’s why I’m loving New York Times-bestselling author Sophie Uliano’s new book, Do It Gorgeously. In it, she shows just how easy, inexpensive, and gratifying it is to make eco-friendly beauty products yourself — including every indulgence from luxurious exfoliating scrubs to anti-aging face creams.

I know what you’re thinking — I’m not really the DIY type — but I’m telling you: Having read the book, this is not complicated stuff. In fact, a lot of it is what our grandmothers knew how to do, but what we forgot how to do over the past several decades of mind-numbing consumerism.

Once you see what minimal work it takes to make your own minty fresh mouthwash or a gift of gourmet herb salt to give to a friend (two of the many fun projects Uliano details in the book), you’ll never want to pay retail for them again.

And if you’d like to meet Uliano in person, don’t forget to buy your ticket for next weekend’s Women of the Green Generation Conference, at the Evo South in Downtown Los Angeles. (I’ll also be there, moderating a panel on environmentalism and the media — hope to see you then!)

–Jennifer Grayson

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You don't have to resort to toxic chemical-laden fragrances to smell like a dream; Agape & Zoe Naturals rely on pure essential oils for their scent, like from this lavender, above. Photo via Flickr: Limbo Poet

I’ve never been much of a perfume wearer, probably because it always seems to give me a horrendous headache. (I had a love affair with those giant bottles of Jean Nate After Bath Splash as a child, and since then I’ve pretty much subsisted on a dab or two of lavender oil for special occasions.) Last month’s news that top-selling designer fragrances like Calvin Klein Eternity and Chanel Coco contain dozens of secret chemicals that can trigger allergies or disrupt hormones only further cemented my aversion to the sweet-smelling stuff.

(Jean Nate, by the way, is ranked a “high hazard” by Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. Oops.)

But a new line of non-toxic, phthalate-free fragrances from Agape & Zoe Naturals may have me dabbing my pulse points for the first time in years. They’re made with only two ingredients — 100 percent pure essential oils and organic grain alcohol — and rank an absurdly low 1 to 2 (“low hazard”) on the Skin Deep scale.

Added bonus: The fragrances are completely free of the petrochemicals that most conventional perfumes contain, which is important for those of us trying to reduce our oil footprint since the BP oil disaster.

After sampling the line for a week (with no headaches, thank you very much), I’m partial to Green (how surprising!), a crisp blend of cucumber, mint, and mandarin orange, but all five of the fragrances are quite lovely. And at $5 for a 1/3 oz. rollerball, you could try all of them for about half the price of a bottle of toxic designer fragrance.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Whether in anticipation of future plastic bag taxes or to back up the brand’s eco-luxe bohemian aesthetic with some real tree-hugging action, no matter; I was duly impressed to see shoppers heading out with their Free People purchases in these reusable mesh fabric totes when I visited the store in Highland Park, IL, this past weekend.

Reusable bags have become a common sight at grocery stores (at least where I live, in Los Angeles), but retail shops are an entirely different matter. Even my friends who dutifully take their pile of Trader Joe’s canvas totes with them marketing wouldn’t turn down a glossy black Barneys shopping bag should they have the occasion to splurge.

Somehow, that Carrie Bradshaw moment doesn’t feel quite the same when you’re walking down Madison Avenue with a wrinkled hemp tote, does it? (Although it’s never stopped me: I admittedly don’t do a lot of clothes shopping, but when I do, I pack up my purchases in this expandable nylon number that I carry on my key chain.)

This Free People cutie is the perfect compromise: It’s cool looking, you don’t have to remember to bring it to the store, and most importantly, it’s not made of petroleum-based plastic.

–Jennifer Grayson

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May is Pregnancy Awareness Month (PAM), and no, it isn’t about informing people concerning the condition of pregnancy (I think we all know how nearly 7 billion people wound up on this planet); it’s about educating pregnant women and new parents about how to make healthy — and earth-friendly — changes in their lives.

To that end, the folks at PAM are throwing an amazing kick-off event this Sunday at TreePeople headquarters in Los Angeles that you won’t want to miss, if for nothing more than to see yours truly strut the runway in a fantastic prenatal fashion show presented by Expecting Models. The celeb-studded celebration will also feature:

• Panel discussions with pregnancy and green lifestyle experts, including filmmaker Ricki Lake, eco activist Anna Getty (PAM founder), renown pediatrician Dr. Alan Green, and Shift Your Habit author Elizabeth Rogers
• Makeup tips from model Josie Maran at the Holistic Mommy Spa Lounge
• Book signing with Trista Sutter and and Jessica Denay, authors of The Hot Mom to Be Handbook
• A performance by Scott Stapp of Creed
• More than 30 pregnancy and mommy vendors
• Raffle prizes
• Yummy organic snacks
• And much more!

To read more about the event, which is free and open to the public, click here. Hope to see you there!

–Jennifer Grayson

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Paul McCartney, the original veg celeb, is plugging the Meat Free Mondays campaign in the UK. Read below to see what other celebs are going meatless. Photo via Flickr: Sander Lamme

I try to keep things politically oriented on this blog, but when I heard that my favorite fashionista Kate Moss (yes, tree huggers care about style, too) had decided to give Meatless Monday a go, I thought, What the heck — let’s start the week off with a fluffy, fun celebrity piece. Admit it: As much as we all denounce the incessant celeb chatter for distracting us from the more important issues at hand, what Moss and other stars do and say have a resounding influence on the rest of us. And in this case, it’s for a good cause.

Here’s a look at some of the celebs who are now going meatless on Mondays:

Photo via Flickr: Deon Maritz

Kate Moss

The Brit beauty may be forever photographed wearing fur, but The Sun reported earlier this year that Kate will be keeping Mondays meat-free to appease her friend and longtime vegetarian Stella McCartney.

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Photo via Flickr: Nyer8

Gwyneth Paltrow

The Oscar-winning actress has long-since ditched her devotion to a mostly veg-based macrobiotic diet, but she’s still conscious of the environmental ramifications of meat consumption. That’s why she’s promoting the UK’s Meat Free Mondays on her green lifestyle blog, Goop.

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Photo via Wikimedia: Wiki edit Jonny

Simon Cowell

The American Idol judge is famously all bark and no bite — at least when it comes to eating burgers on Mondays: According to Ecorazzi, Cowell recently agreed to go veg one day a week at the behest of British pop star and devoted animal rights activist Leona Lewis.

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Photo via Flickr: Freedom to Marry

Antonio Villaraigosa

The dashing Los Angeles mayor is fitter than ever before: In a Los Angeles Times interview in January, he boasted about his recent 20-pound weight loss, thanks to regular yoga workouts and a healthy eating plan that includes Meatless Mondays.

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Want to find out what other movers and shakers are going meatless? Check out Meatless Monday’s Who’s Going Meatless? page.

–Jennifer Grayson

More Meatless Monday posts:
How Meatless Monday saves you money
Meatless Monday: Lean bean tacos

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I’m a big fan of the do-it-yourself (DIY) movement that’s seen a resurgence since the US economy tanked, and especially, the home arts: sewing, knitting, gardening, cooking, etc. This type of know-how isn’t just financially beneficial, it’s good for the environment: Being able to mend your own pants at the first sight of a tear instead of running out to Target for a new pair, for example, helps reduce consumption. (Reduce — the first of the three R’s of the environment, remember?)

With the risk of sounding pessimistic, these DIY skills — the skills that our grandparents and great-grandparents and every generation before them had — may prove essential if and when the $%#$ hits the fan with regards to climate change. One day, we may not be able to rely on industry to produce an endless stream of food and goods; our individual survival may hinge on our ability to be self-sufficient.

And what could be more self-sufficient and DIY than knitting (and crocheting)? You take a couple balls of yarn, a pair of kneedles, and presto! You have a hat on your head, or a blanket to keep you warm, or a cute outfit for your best friend’s new baby.

You’d think that the innate sustainability of knitting would mean more eco-friendly yarns out there, but I actually have a hard time finding a good selection at local knitting shops, even in Los Angeles. (Admittedly, I also kind of hate the shopping experience at most of them, thanks to the holier-than-thou vibes I usually get from the knitting gurus who work there.)

That’s why I’m so excited that the Green Sheep Shop has finally opened its online store, with beautiful yarns in all manners of eco-friendly: organic, fair-trade, vegan, naturally dyed — even a glistening multicolor one made from recycled Indian saris (not up on their website yet, but available soon).

I got a chance to check out the Green Sheep Shop’s goods in person at the Go Green Expo in January, and all the yarns are absolutely sumptuous — something that’s a bit hard to feel through the website, but the vivid colors and clear photos make the online shopping experience a breeze nonetheless.

To celebrate the opening, the Green Sheep Shop is offering 10 percent off all orders through March 15 (use coupon code GSS10 at checkout). Sharpen those knitting needles!

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Want to learn how to knit? Check out the free tutorial videos on KnittingHelp.com.

Related posts:
How to prepare for global warming
Green Halloween: Super scary DIY costume

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Photo via Flickr: h3nro

Of the five wacky going-green tips I offered up on HuffPost last week, none has evoked as much of an “ick” response as #2: Stop using shampoo.

As it turns out, the friend who originally offered up that tip wrote me to say that she has since abandoned her efforts. Evidently, it’s a three-month adjustment period, and she just couldn’t stand looking like a greasy rat anymore. Her compromise, since she didn’t want to have to start buying plastic bottles of shampoo again? The shampoo bar.

I’m intrigued. The thing that’s always bothered me about “eco-friendly” shampoos is that although the formulations themselves are kinder to our bodies and our waterways, there’s no getting around that plastic bottle. Even if the bottle is made from recycled materials and is itself recyclable, there’s still an energy cost associated with both of those processes, and the fact remains that a whopping 73 percent of HDPE bottles are not recycled. (HDPE, also known as #2 plastic, is what’s most commonly used for shampoo bottles.)

It’s one of the reasons I use bar soap instead of body wash, which I think is just plain wasteful (my husband, who adores the scrubbing action of the body wash/mesh puff combo, strongly disagrees). So why not shampoo in bar form? I’m excited to test it out. Here are a few that look tempting:

Burts Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar
I’m big a fan of the Burts Bees bottled shampoos, which consistently have super low scores on the EWG’s Cosmetics Database (a low score is what you want; it means the ingredients pose little to no hazard to your health). Did I mention they smell fabulous, too? Rosemary mint sounds like the perfect scalp tingler to wake me up on those ultra-groggy mornings.

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Lush Hard Water Shampoo Bar
Evidently Lush, that chain of handmade soap stores I’ve seen in malls everywhere yet have always been intrigued as to how they stay in business (I’ll admit, I’ve never been in one), has been making solid shampoo since the beginning. There’s an unbelievable variety of shampoo bars on their website, but I really want to try out this version, since my hair has never been the same since moving to hard water Los Angeles.

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J.R. Liggetts Old-Fashioned Bar Shampoo
Designed for chemically and allergy sensitive people, these 100 percent vegetable oil formulation shampoos don’t strip the natural oils from your hair, so supposedly there’s no need for conditioner. And what can I say? I’m a sucker for anything that says “old-fashioned.” Each bar offers the same amount of washes as a 24 oz. bottle of shampoo.

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Stay tuned to hear how my foray into bar shampoo turns out. And if you already have a bar shampoo you use and love, please post about it in the comments below!

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: You may not be ready to give up your Pantene Sleek and Shine, but consider switching from bottles of body wash to bar soap. It’s pretty painless, and you’ll help reduce the more than 2 billion tons of HDPE bottles sent to the landfills each year.

Related posts:
Avoiding bottled water at the airport
Product review: Skin Free

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No, I’m not about to write about how to enjoy organic homemade treats on Halloween. This has been my favorite holiday since I was old enough to click together the hand-glittered ruby slippers of my homemade Dorothy costume, and you have my full permission to stuff yourself to the gills with Good & Plentys, candy corn, and mini Mr. Goodbars. Even environmentalists have to take a break once in a while.

If you’d like to green your Halloween just a bit, however, why not save a bunch of rubber masks from a landfill fate and make your own costume? And I don’t mean wearing your leggings with three pairs of scrunched-down socks and saying you’re an aerobics instructor from the ’80s, though feel free to steal that idea if it’s calling to you. I’m talking about a totally terrifying, crypt-robbing, little kid–sobbing, completely fabulous disguise.

[Watch video on YouTube]

Check out the ThreadBanger website for more incredible DIY projects. Happy Halloween!

–Jennifer Grayson

Do this now: Sewing is making a big comeback in this tough economy. What’s good for your wallet is good for the environment, too, since knowing how to mend and alter the clothing you already have helps reduce consumption. Click here for how to find sewing classes in your area.

Related posts:
Green goods
The careful consumer

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