Eco-Snipits

Sasquatch is the eco-friendly line of Carolina Pad which is a major stationary designer and retailer that is even appearing regularly in television shows like Glee.  Their fun and green designs go a long way to making Earth day last a little longer. For review, I was sent their “Earth Day Pack”.  It contained this [...]

This design by Arpro turns a television’s packaging into a very functional stand for the set.  The foam packaging that encases the television is stacked one piece on top of another with four smaller pieces of styrofoam that protect the edges of the television becoming the support to hold the two larger pieces of foam together.

The result is that the television have completely sustainable packaging with the tv stands being the result.  This is such an ingenious idea by an innovative company.  Other companies should take a look at this design and see what sorts of sustainable ideas that they can come up with for their own packaging needs.  This idea is fantastic, environmentally friendly, decreases waste and cost to consumers.  Fantastic!!

This coffee table is designed by Devon Wang to allow people to literally purchase green furniture.  The sleek coffee table has a green patch on it with actual growing vegetation.  The green comes from a plant called Tillandsia which is commonly called the air plant.

It requires no soil at it’s base or watering to survive.  Instead, it absorbs things found in the air as a food source.  Moisture is taken from air particles with ambient moisture in them and dust and other nutrients are used from the air to help it maintain life.

In this way, the coffee table not only looks great, it’s a source of air filtration as well!  They filter carbon dioxide, produce oxygen and remove dust and other particles from the air!  Imagine, a coffee table that survives from us spilling things on it.  Great design for families with it’s rounded corners and mess absorbing surface!

This rug was hand crocheted by Etsy crafter ScreamingCheeToes.  It is 5 x 7 feet in size and is made out of plarn.  Plarn is a special kind of plastic yarn that is made from repurposed plastic shopping bags.  You know, the kind you’re not supposed to be using anymore.

This rug uses an incredible 10,000 bags.  It takes what is essentially useless material and upcycles it into something that any homeowner would be proud to display either inside or outside.

This crafter says that not only is the rug machine washable and eco-friendly, it’s foot friendly too!  I expected that walking on a rug such as this would feel “crunchy” on the feet.  Not so, says the crafter.  It’s actually quite soft!

I think this rug would look fantastic in any outdoor living space.  Like my deck!!  She also makes a range of smaller rugs from plarn as well that are definitely worth checking out.

Check out the gorgeous hand crafted mobile from Etsy crafter atomicmiss.  The mobile is hung by natural jute fibers with bamboo or willow branches forming the bird perches.  The birds themselves are made from a variety of fabrics and stuffed with organic filling.  She’s got a huge range of fabric patterns available and is open to customizing the mobile to suit your decor.

Items such as this one are clearly crafted with love, care, an eye for detail and design.  A mobile such as this one would bring years and years of enjoyment to a child whereas a licensed mobile bought from a big box store would be junked within a year or two.  This elegant, nature inspired mobile could hang in a children’s room for years to come!  Handcrafted items such as this that are themed after nature instead of the latest cartoon are a much better investment.

This design was created by the artist making a mobile for her friend’s baby.  When the design turned out so beautifully, she was inspired to make more and offer them for sale in her Etsy shop.  I’m so glad she did!

These adorable bunnies and their stacking hill are made by Etsy crafter Imagination Kids who specialize in making handmade, eco-friendly wooden toys.  As a parent, I know how hard it can be to find toys that are “safe”.  Toy stores are full of made in China labels with toys that are constantly being recalled for having chemicals such as lead and barium being found in them.  It’s enough to scare the bejeebers out of you!

Imagination Kids takes all that worry away with their sweet and simply designed toys that kids will love.  This bunny family set would make the perfect addition to any Easter basket.  It comes with two adult rabbits and two baby bunnies although you can custom order more bunnies to reflect your own family.  They are hand made with sustainably harvested hard wood, non toxic paints and homemade wood polish of beeswax, jojoba and essential oils.  These types of toys will last through several generations of kids as well.  There are no fiddly parts to break or batteries to charge.  There’s nothing, in fact, to get between kids and their imaginations!

They have a whole range of toys like this in their shop.  There’s cars, helicopters, multi-colored blocks (imo best toy of all time!), fairy wands (which all little girls just must have!), a variety of wooden animals (from robins to narwhals), a fire stacker, an iceberg stacker, natural wooden eggs which would also be great in an easter basket and a rainbow stacker that I’m seriously considering buying in addition to a wand.

The colors are so bright, bold and beautiful that they are simply hard to resist!  Spring has been a long time coming here but this little rainbow really has got my hopes up that it will be coming sometime soon!!

Seriously consider buying toys like these that will be completely nontoxic, safe and last for years to come when filling up your kids Easter baskets this year.  I’m all for candy and chocolate in moderation but a holiday is no time to forget about the good of our planet and the health and safety of our kids.  Skip the dollar stores and walk right past those big box stores.  You really have no idea of where those products come from, who they are helping to support, what practices they use to make their products, what exactly is in that cheap plastic egg and stuffed bunny.  Shopping handmade from artisans takes all the worry out of the equation and helps to make Easter another sustainable green holiday for the good of the kids and all the bunnies in it!

This is our furry baby Bonsai.  Pets truly do become a part of your family.  That’s why I was so pumped when I ran into this Etsy shop Joyful Canine.  I’ve been trying to live a green-er life as a family but that can be a little harder when it comes to taking care of the family’s furball.

Joyful Canine has a huge range of natural products available for both cats and dogs at her store.  Everything from aromatherapy Calming Dog Mist to SLS free shampoos are available there.  And everything inbetween like motion sickness drops, Boo boo healing spray, litter box deodorizer, all natural tooth powder to brush their teeth with, flea and tick powders, massage oils, breath fresheners and a whole lot more.  This store is definitely worth dropping by and checking out!

This Etsy store is a subdivision of Joyful Girl Natural who I’ve already featured a couple of times.  The owner of Joyful Canine has a pitbull named Chuck.  This month she is honoring people who rescue pitbulls by sending them a care package.

I know that mainly humans in the household are the ones who are getting all natural aromatherapy products but if chemical laden products are not good enough for you (and the planet), then why should they be good enough for your pet?  My daughter calls Bonsai her “furry brother from another mother” so his health and safety is extremely important to the entire family.

Clean lines, bold colors and eye catching graphics are what dominate this line by reiter8.  This company makes a range of bags, purses, wallets, pillows, totes and even Christmas stockings out of used sails.  The company name was chosen because it means to say or do again which is exactly what they are doing with these sailboat sails — reiterating their value.

These are a great eco-chic find for every green design fan looking for something different.  Many of their items feature the original sail seams as part of the design — check out the green stitching on the blue star pillow for example.  Better yet, if you have an old sail taking up valuable storage space, donate it to reiter8 for them to reuse.  They’ll even send you a bag made out of the sail that you send.  Pretty cool keepsake if you ask me!

They’ve got their own Etsy store and blog running which would definitely be worthwhile checking out.  They’ve even got durable luggage tags made out of the small bits of sail left over.  Great practical use for small pieces of the material instead of just wasting it!!

A few months ago, I featured Etsy seller Joyful Girl Natural as my Hump Day Etsy find.  She is an extremely wonderful (and talented!) woman who has been making organic products for over 20 years and selling them for 4 years.  To thank me for my feature, she sent me a bottle of this massage oil for kids.  By the way, totally not necessary for people being featured to send me a gift but I probably won’t refuse! lol

The massage oil is safflower oil infused with the essential oils of organic chamomile, lavendar and spearmint for added aromatic benefits to the massage.  My daughter is nearly 4 now and has been a handful to get to sleep since before she was even born.  Fiesty is really how I’d describe her at bedtime if I had to use one word.  This massage oil is fantastic at getting the fiestiness out of her a little bit so that she’ll lay still long enough for the sandman to find her.

This oil is great for kids that love massage — she’s definitely a massage lover!  The scent of the chamomile and lavendar have the natural effects of sedation while the oils are warmed by skin to skin contact.  Kids especially enjoy the power of touch constantly wanting hugs, cuddles and kisses.  Massage is a natural extension of the need for touch with even the most traditional of doctors now recommending infant massage.

I love, love, love this massage oil and so does my daughter.  It’s non-greasy and I don’t have to worry about what kinds of chemicals are seeping into her blood stream through her pores.  The bottles used by Joyful Girl Natural are made from PET (recycled plastic) containers that do not leech into the oils inside.  The bottles are easily recyclable as well as reusable if you want to refill them with another product when they’re empty.

She now has her own blog that you can check out to keep up-to-date with this Etsy seller and her extensive (197 items for sale!) line of products.  The customer service is excellent but I do need to warn buyers that it may take some time for you to receive your order.  This is simply because each order is custom made instead of being made in big batches and then sitting on the shelf for months before reaching you.  Definitely more than worth the wait!!  Thanks for the great products Shelly!!

Daniel Michalik has an incredible range of furniture made entirely from cork wastage from the bottle stopper industry.  Cork is an extremely important element in eco-friendly design because it can be harvested from trees without cutting the tree down.  The trees will continue to grow even long after the cork has been harvested.  Cork can be used in many design situations from furniture construction to flooring applications.  It’s pliability makes it an extremely versatile material that is sustainable, recyclable and in supply in a great abundance.

This lounge chair is made entirely from cork and is called the Cortica.  This piece shows the materials incredible ability to bend in two different directions simultaneously.  This bent sheet is 72″ long to cradle the recliner’s entire body and allow total support.  The cork suspends the seated person so that they feel entirely weightless.  The bends in the material allow the resting person to rock from side to side as well as forwards and backwards.  In this manner, the user becomes entirely buoyant as if they are floating on the ocean.

Cork is 100% natural waterproof quality as well as the feeling Cortica gives the user sparked the imagination of the designer.  He set off with two test subjects, two cork lounge chairs and a camera to the nearby local beach.  The resulting movie is pretty incredible to watch and can be seen on his web site.

His work is incredibly resourceful, full of humor and functionality while still making over designer’s drool with envy.  Daniel Michalik is sure to be featured here again and I’ll certainly keep an eye on his up and coming designs.  His work is currently being featured at Voos Furniture design.