The Red, White, and Green

Image via COLOURlovers

Vintage-maps-as-wall-art seems to be a pretty hot trend these days. Design blogs Re-Nest and Design*Sponge have both run recent related posts, and there always seems to be a smattering of especially beautiful ones up on Pinterest.

I’ve always been a map fan; one of my favorite pastimes is to go through our Rand McNally Road Atlas and plot out backcountry road routes to not-yet-visited National Parks (really!).

Here’s an elementary school political map I recently scored at the Melrose Trading Post here in LA. The find was bittersweet, since it came via Detroit Public Schools, which is on the path to close half of its schools under a new “austerity” plan.

The map is now hanging in my daughter’s room, where hopefully it will inspire her to care enough about this country to one day find a way to help fix it.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Ah, the ubiquitous reusable water bottle. When my husband asked me last night for some recommends for a co-worker who wanted one she could drink out of at the office, I at first drew a blank; after all, it’s been years since I started using mine. I was reluctant, even, to post about this, thinking it would be akin to writing about tote bags. But then I thought, sometimes it’s nice to have a refresher course. So here, my faves:

The safest, health-wise (glass): Lifefactory

The classic (stainless steel): Klean Kanteen

Built-in filter (recycled PET): Bobble

Cool and collapsible for on-the-go (polyethylene): Vapur

Personally, if I were working in an office I would just do what I do at home: Drink out of that reusable receptacle that’s known as a cup. But hey — anything that helps put an end to the 20-plus billion plastic bottles thrown away in the US each year.

–Jennifer Grayson

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I made these little potted centerpieces last weekend for my friend’s baby shower, and I have to say — I’m very proud of myself. I’m not known for having the greenest thumb, after all. (That’s thanks to my mom, whom we affectionately refer to as “Black Thumb.”) But I’m hoping all that is going to change when we move to our new incredibly sunny apartment on the 18th (it even has an herb window!).

One other thing I have working in my favor: My recent discovery of Rolling Greens nursery, here in Los Angeles. This isn’t your typical potted palms and pachysandra kind of place; no, this is like the home store to end all home stores — candles, glassware, books, you name it — mixed with the most beautiful array of plants and orchids and vintage-y looking glazed pottery you’ve ever seen.

Photo via Apartment Therapy

Photo via Apartment Therapy

And it’s reasonable: My little living centerpieces cost around 8 bucks a piece  — $3 for the little mossy fern and $5 for each pot. Here’s how they looked on the table (don’t blame me for the un-eco decorations; I was in charge of flowers):

They also doubled as favors, which was nice. Who wants to waste money on cut flowers that you have to throw away two days after the party? I’ll definitely be making more of these for my new place — except using savories for my new kitchen herb garden.

–Jennifer Grayson

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I’m in the process of moving, so I’ve been scouring all my favorite eco-design sites (like re-nest) and magazines for inspiration for our new place. So the other day, when I was sitting on my couch, bookmarking links on my laptop and tearing out pages from old Dominos to tack up on my bulletin board, I had a eureka! moment: Wouldn’t it be great if there was a website where you could make a virtual bulletin board for all your favorite things?

Thinking I had just stumbled onto a brilliant new business idea, I did a quick Google search for virtual inspiration board. Lo and behold, someone had beat me to it! It’s called Pinterest, it’s a brand-new site, and it’s genius.

In addition to creating your own virtual “pinboards” (love saving trees), the site also incorporates a cool social media aspect: You can “follow” the collections of other tastemaking pinners, and pin their picks back to your own boards. (See how I’ve started mine, above.)

Want to start pinning (prediction: that word will become as ubiquitous as tweeting) yourself? You actually have to receive an invite to join Pinterest, but don’t worry — you can request one by clicking here.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Photo via bricoshoppe.com

This was first published on June 22, 2010; but yesterday, I got to visit Common Studio, meet Greenaid founders Kim Karlsrud and Daniel Phillips, and see how seedbombs are made. Karlsrud and Phillips are such an inspiring pair that I had to re-post. Stay tuned to see the video of my visit; in the meantime, look for me flinging seedbombs (the latest: edible arugula!) around my Los Angeles neighborhood this weekend.

Almost every morning, I go for a four-plus mile walk around my neighborhood. It’s my time to just connect a bit with nature (however sparse it may be in the middle of urban Los Angeles), before commencing my day of blogging, news surfing, tweeting and the like. But over the past several months, I’ve been growing disheartened at just how — how shall I say this? — ugly everything looks.

It seems like since the economy tanked, urban beautification has been the first to go. Abandoned lots overgrown and strewn with garbage, water-parched lawns lined with brown, streets overrun with potholes — individually, these things may not seem important, but in sum total, the lack of green (literally) can have a profoundly negative impact: Science has shown, for example, that violence is highest in urban areas without trees and grass.

Wouldn’t it be great if I could just wave a magic wand and make all the flowers come back?

Enter Greenaid seedbombs, from the urban ecology-minded folks at CommonStudio. Made from a mixture of clay, compost, and seeds, they make guerilla gardening easy: You can anonymously throw the little balls of plant power into sidewalk cracks, abandoned lots, parking medians — you name it. And how cool is this? They’re dispensed from adorable, strategically placed “gumball” machines.

Seedbombs may not change the world, but it’s a brilliant idea to help raise public awareness about the need for nature in urban environments. And they’re a heck of a lot healthier than gumballs.

–Jennifer Grayson

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Hardwood floors are great for people with sensitivities to conventional chemical-laden carpet; they’re not so fab, however, for little heads when learning to crawl and walk comes into play (ouch!). Enter FLOR eco modular carpeting. Made with recycled material (and fully recyclable themselves), the ultra-low-VOC FLOR tiles can be arranged to fit any space. They also come in a huge range of colors and super-stylish styles, allowing you to mix and match squares for your own custom look.

We chose Easy as Pie in Cream for our little one’s play area, and it was — as promised — a cinch to install: My husband put our whole new area rug together in about 15 minutes one morning before work. And for those questioning why in heaven’s name anyone with a child would choose a cream-colored rug, get this: The sustainable squares are also washable and easily replaceable. I’m in love!

–Jennifer Grayson

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Baby fever has struck. In the past year and a half, no fewer than 10 of my female friends and family members — not including myself — have become mothers. Since I’m the tree hugger of the bunch, I often get asked: What’s the most important thing to buy organic for my baby?

To that, I always give a three-word answer: Where. They. Sleep.

Babies sleep, on average, 15 hours a day. Whatever your child’s sweet little cheeks are slumbering against is what she’ll be breathing in — whether it’s the hormone-disrupting plasticizers in most conventional mattresses or the formaldehyde in the particle board base of the crib.

So when I had the chance to test out the Hushamok, a baby hammock made from 100 percent organic cotton and solid sustainable beech, how could I refuse? A newborn only gets one start in life, and between the all-natural materials and the promise that it could prevent the dreaded flat-head syndrome, I was sold. (OK, and I admit: It also didn’t hurt that its mid-century-modern-esque design fit nicely with our sustainably spare decor.)

More than anything though, I was curious: Americans, by and large, use cribs; but the baby hammock has been a mainstay of other cultures for centuries. Its gentle rocking motion is said to mimick the movement of the womb.

Womb-like, indeed. My little peanut of a daughter was so soothed in her new hammock home that at 2 weeks old (don’t hate me!), she was practically sleeping through the night. At 6 weeks, she was sleeping for nine-hour stretches, completely uninterrupted.

I would wake with a start at 2 in the morning, wondering why it was so quiet and worried that something had happened to her; I’d peer into the Hushamok from my side of the bed, just in time to hear her let out an adorably contented sigh.

True, we did have some setbacks: For one, my daughter is a real kicker (she turned my uterus into a punching bag for the entire last trimester of my pregnancy), so it took us awhile to find the right swaddling blanket to prevent her from wriggling her way to the bottom of the hammock.

And until she got a bit bigger, the soft sides of the mattress would curl around her face, making me concerned that she wouldn’t have enough room to breathe. (Though the materials themselves are completely breathable; the Hushamok has also undergone extensive safety testing.)

All in all, though, it was magical. While I gladly would have kept our little lady in those swinging slumbers for the full six months that the Hushamok is designed for, at 4 months of age our feisty little lady (still fully swaddled) began bouncing her way to the top of the hammock. One morning we woke to a yelp, only to see her inverted, feet pointing toward the ceiling; we moved her to her crib the very next day.

Still, for those looking for a truly eco alternative to the traditional bassinet, the Hushamok gets high marks. The $500-plus price tag is steep, but there is a less expensive aluminum stand version; you can also buy the hammock alone for $195 and mount it to the ceiling.

I’m not sure you can put a price on sleep, though — as much for you as for baby. Zzz…

–Jennifer Grayson

Note: After testing, the Hushamok was returned to the kind folks at the company so that another lucky new-mom/dad blogger can put it to the test.

Another note: Hushamok is based in New Zealand. All the more reason to support this small, family-run company in the wake of the devastating Christchurch earthquake.

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I don’t want to be one of those weird tree hugger moms who never lets her kid play with a toy (use your imagination, sweetie), but I have to admit: Those brightly colored, blinking light, hunk-of-plastic baby activity stations are a real pet peeve of mine. Aside from being generally tacky looking, they’re also nonrecyclable. And made from petroleum — something I’ve been making the extra effort to avoid since the BP oil spill.

But I’ve also got a whirling dervish of a daughter. So luckily, my husband spotted this Leka wood baby gym the other day at Ikea. At under $25, it’s an affordable, somewhat-eco alternative to cheap plastic. Granted, it doesn’t say on the website if the acrylic lacquer is low-VOC or water-based (it’s probably not), but the wood is actual plywood (no formaldehyde) and Ikea is working toward sustainable sourcing for all its wood.

Check out this cool modification to the Leka on Ohdeedoh — you won’t need to buy another toy until your babe’s out of Bumkins. Ikea run this weekend, anyone?

–Jennifer Grayson

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Last night, I wasn’t ashamed to be sampling a bottle of Three Wishes cab ($1.99 at Whole Foods — who could resist!?), but two sips in, I was seriously rethinking my purchase. Shall we say cherry cough syrup? Manischewitz has more sophistication.

There was one redeeming quality about the bottle, though, that I probably would have noticed earlier had I not been buzzed from swigging the sweet stuff down at a faster pace than usual: a special label printed with the words “Eco-Glass.”

This is the first I’ve heard of Eco-Glass, but the concept is so simple I can’t believe no one has thought of it before: Made with 25 percent less glass than standard wine bottles, Eco-Glass bottles hold the same amount of wine — they just weigh less. And because less weight means less fuel required for transport, the result is a lighter carbon footprint. Brilliant!

According to the American Association of Wine Economists, how wine is transported is an even more important environmental consideration than whether it’s grown organically. If that’s the case, I’ll drink to Eco-Glass.

–Jennifer Grayson

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I’ve written about PeopleTowels before, and how the little square of organic cotton can have a big impact on the planet: Use one instead of paper towels at work or in a public restroom, and you can save 250 gallons of water and reduce landfill waste by 23 pounds a year. So I was more than thrilled to be a judge in the recent PeopleTowels Big Green Dream Design Contest; this is the kind of consumerism I can get behind.

Take a look at the winning designs:

Popular Choice Award: "Love, Not Waste," by Fabiana Zacarias

Judges' Choice Award: "Dream Green," by Cristina Evans

Runner-up: "A Guide to Life," by Kelly Chapple

Already looking for green holiday gifts? The winning designs will be printed as a limited-edition set of towels later this month, with the designers receiving a stipend from online sales (added incentive: PeopleTowels is also a member of 1% for the Planet). Click here to pre-order.

–Jennifer Grayson

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