Green Mother’s Day Gifts

May 8, 2009 By 1 Comment

Top eco-tips for Mother’s Day

1. Don’t assume you know what mom wants to do or as a gift. She may prefer a picnic over brunch in a fancy restaurant.

2. When buying gifts, think locally made.

3. Avoid using wrapping paper. Substitute fabric wraps you make yourself from scarves or other fabric you have on hand, or purchase from a mom-owned company like Bobowrap. These can be used over and over again.

4. Give the gift of yourself. Whatever you can do for mom most certainly will be appreciated whether it’s washing her car, cleaning her gutters, or sorting and organizing old photos. Find something you can do that costs nothing but your time. Repeat once a month for a year!

Top eco-picks for Mother’s Day

1. Many moms appreciate receiving gifts that give. Give her a gift card from www.tisbest.com and she can donate to any of more than 300 non-profits.

2. Organic flowers are best for mom and the planet. Order from a local farm or online from www.OrganicBouquet.com

3. If you don’t have a store nearby that offers sustainable gifts, try any of these:

About the authors:

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net

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Highlights of the Better Living Show

April 7, 2009 By Leave a Comment

I had am amazing time at the Better Living Show in Portland, Oregon a couple of weeks ago. What a great time! There was such a kinship in meeting new people with common goals and even seeing friends. I knew I was in for a great show when there were over 500 people in the lobby before the doors even opened.  It turned out, opening hours were the best time to find people and chat. The afternoons were packed and of course, Saturday was the busiest. I was delighted to see the attendance and I learned so much.

Among the highlights:

Lynn Cowell, Julie Bonn Heath, Corey Colwell-Lipson

Lynn Cowell, Julie Bonn Heath, Corey Colwell-Lipson

Celebrate Green- I finally got to meet Lynn Colwell and Corey Lipson-Colwell, the wonderful authors of “Celebrate Green“. These green-savvy and style-savvy ladies were an absolute delight to have tea with and chat about our green goals. And then they taught a great class on ways to take your green goals into your celebrations all year around. What hit me the most was the mantra “plan ahead”. This is hard for me at times but I agree with them that with planning ahead, you can make most anything green and more eco-savvy.

I know the candy manufacturers are counting on me scrambling at the last minute for Easter baskets (because I usually do) and packing them with candy. But although I have been busy this week and last, I have already put some thought into how to make our baskets more eco-friendly this year.

Biodegradable Bags- Earth-Centric LLC in Portland makes 100% biodegradable bags from cornmeal. They gave out samples at the show and I am very impressed with them. They are not only biodegradable but they are also durable and they have many options including garbage and shopping bags. They also make bowls from sugar cane and a variety of additional products.

National Garden Clubs, Inc- I spoke for a long time with Linda Nelson, Third VP of National Garden Clubs Inc. What an great lady. She is insightful about the industry and so kind. She, her kind “booth-mate” and I chatted a long time about gardening, marketing and getting the word out about the support that there is out there for gardeners-especially those in the organic industry. Thanks ladies for meeting with me!

It was a great show! I was very impressed with the vendors and attendees. I loved seeing new products and atttending the seminars as well. I will definately return next year!

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Eco-Friendly Weddings

March 14, 2009 By 1 Comment

Here are some great ideas for green weddings from the authors of Celebrate Green.

1. Choose invitations, place cards and thank-you notes from 100% recycled or treefree alternatives.twoofuscrpped1in

2. Seek out eco-friendly venues and assign someone the task of follow through with eco-activities like recycling.

3. Whether for the wedding itself, or events before and after, avoid using disposable paper goods such as napkins, table cloths and tableware unless they can be composted.

4. For favors, choose consumables or zero-waste items such as beeswax or soy candles, live seedlings or seed favors, or make a donation to a worthy cause in the name of your guests.

5. Rings, attire and accessories are available in an array of sustainable choices. But consider making old new again (and instilling some extra meaning in your day) by giving heirloom rings, dressing the bride and her attendants in vintage gowns, and using accessories that have been handed down from loved ones. (Lynn used fabric from her wedding gown to create custom accessories for Corey’s wedding.)

6. Disposables of any kind are bad news for the Earth and cameras are no exception. Instead of purchasing an individual disposable camera for each guest, consider renting from www.camerarenter.com. Guests’ photos will be uploaded to your own online album. From there, you can download and share the memories.

For more ideas on green weddings, email Lynn@CelebrateGreen.net or call 425-793-3590.

–

Lynn Colwell and Corey Colwell-Lipson are mother and daughter and co-authors of Celebrate Green! Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations and Traditions for the Whole Family, available at www.CelebrateGreen.net

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Celebrate Green! Start with Halloween!

October 23, 2008 By 2 Comments

I am taking a break from the Virtual/Green Office series to tell you about a wonderful book that everyone who wants to be greener needs. It’s called “Celebrate Green: Creating Eco-Savvy Holidays, Celebrations & Traditions for the Whole Family” by Corey Colwell-Lipson and Lynn Colwell. Corey is also the founder of Green Halloween.

This book is chock-full of information for holding green holidays and celebrations in and outside of your home. You will have to forgive me now for mentioning it a lot (because I will) but I tend to do that when I find something I am so passionate about. ALL families interested in being green, becoming green or learning more about green will find this book very helpful.

The chapter on Halloween features eco-friendly and non-sugar treats for trick or treaters, eco-friendly costumes/décor and very cool activities. It also tells about three eco-friendly Halloween initiatives including Trick or Treat for Unicef, Global Exchange Reverse Trick-or-Treating and of course, Green Halloween.

The book is well laid out with interesting side-bars and recipes as well. My favorite side-bar in the Halloween chapter is How to Make Your Own Perfectly Natural Face-paints. And for those curious, the recipe is:

1 tsp cornstarch
½ tsp water
½ tsp all-natural diaper rash cream
1-2 drops natural food coloring

Instructions: Mix water and cornstarch. Add baby cream and food color and mix a bit more.

It’s simple! And fun! The sidebar also recommends using Budget101 for their list of do-it-yourself, chemical-free or easy to alter recipes and costume requests.

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