Mommy Goes Green

I’m sure you have at least one (if not all) of Eric Carle’s books.  The Very Hungry Caterpillar or The Very Busy Spider ring a bell?  I had no idea that his collection has over 70 books- we are missing quite a few of these wonderful books in our library! These days, you can find Eric Carle involved with a lot of different children’s products like flash cards and toys, as well.

This week, we got a box of the Eric Carle Eco Series art pads to try out and as soon as we opened the book, we were thrilled!   The covers are beautiful illustrations from his children’s books and the quality of these art pads are top notch.  These are definitely the best art pads we’ve used and will be making great gifts for the birthday parties coming this year.  They are even affordable, from $2.50 – $5.50. 

The art pads are made by Canson on acid free paper made from sustainably managed forests.  90% of the Eco Series line is made from recycled material.   The company even has a “pledge to the environment” which encompasses:

1. Made from sustainably managed forestry
2. Reduced Energy Consumption
3. Low emissions to air and water
4. limited use of harmful chemicals
5. Recycling of waste material

I’m super impressed by these art pads, they will definitely be my first pick when choosing art pads for our kids and their friends!  Environmentally friendly, high quality and affordably priced.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

Buying produce at the grocery store often requires those awful plastic produce bags that are hard to clean and reuse because they are so flimsy. There are many options to reduce your use – find one that works for you:

1.  Choose paper produce bags.

2.  Take a large basket, bag, or wagon to the farmer’s market and store produce there until you get home.

3.  Encourage your local grocery store to carry the BioBag– a biodegradable, compostable produce bag. Compared with plastic, they have a greenhouse effect reduction by up to 49%.

4.  One of choices I’ve made to get rid of plastic produce bags is to use reusable bags. I’ve been using Bag the Habit bags, courtesy of Abe’s Market, for several months now. They are heavy duty – they’ll hold several potatoes – without breaking or stretching. They have a wide opening for bigger items like a head of lettuce and a draw string to keep everything inside. Not only are they great for putting your produce in, but you can also use them for your bulk purchases like beans, raisins or pretzels. My only complaint is that I don’t have more of them!

5.  If you’re crafty, make your own reusable bags with these instructions from Mother Earth News or Instructables.

If you do use plastic produce bags, here are some options to reuse them:

• Packing material
• Pick up doggy doodoo
• Put in the diaper bag for dirty diapers
• Line garbage cans

If you don’t want to reuse them, make sure you dispose of them properly by recycling them. If your curbside recycler doesn’t take these bags, many grocery stores take them back like Fred Meyer, Walmart, and Whole Foods – search for local locations here. Every couple months, I drop off any plastic bags I have ( shopping, produce or packaging ). The collection bin is usually near the entrance.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

Stubby Pencil Studio is one of our favorite resources for unique, eco-friendly gifts for children.  It’s also a great place to pick up quality choices for your Easter baskets.  Here are a few fun finds:

Washable Markers – I know Kate, the owner of Stubby Pencil Studio, has searched high and low for eco-friendly markers.  So far, these are the best she’s found.  They are non-toxic, made in the USA, and manufactured with 25% recycled plastic.

Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops – we tried these out months ago and totally agree, they are YUMMY!

Sparkle Star Crayons – These multi-colored, star shaped crayons are made from 100% recycled crayons. 

Wooden Bead Necklace – I’m always leary of buying cheap jewelry for my daughter as it’s often found to be tainted with lead.  This wooden necklace relieves my fears as it’s painted with non-toxic nitro-cellulose paint tested and found to be safe for children and non-polluting in natural water sources.

Envirosax Animal Planet Bird – I love Envirosax and this bird bag for kids is adorable!  It would make a great reusable Easter basket.

Wooden Harmonica – every child loves playing the harmonica.  This wooden one is painted with non-toxic nitro-cellulose paint tested and found to be safe for children and non-polluting in natural water sources.

WIN IT!

CONTEST CLOSED – Congratulations to the winner, Lori from Massachusetts!

1 lucky winner will get an Eco Easter Basket from Stubby Pencil Studio with over $60 worth of fun finds:

• Reusable rattan basket
• 6×9 Frogs Ecojot Sketchbook
• E-color-gy Washable markers
• Forest Choice Color Pencils
• 4 recycled cedar Pencils
• Soy Crayons
• Mary’s Softdough Rainbow Tub
• Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops
• Wooden Wind-up Bunny
• Wooden Dragonfly Spinner
• Pack of Color ‘n Kids Easter cards

You can enter to win in any of the following ways:

• Leave a comment telling us what your favorite Stubby Pencil Studio product is!
• Follow us on twitter @mommygoesgreen.
• Retweet this contest.
• Blog about this giveaway and leave me the link.

Leave your comment by Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 11:59pm PST. Contest open to all U.S. and Canadian residents, ages 18+. We will choose 1 winner, at random, and notify them by email. Privacy Policy.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

Reusable gift bags are a great eco-friendly and cost saving alternative to gift wrapping and paper gift bags.  They are made of cloth so they don’t get bent up and out of shape like paper gift bags and don’t require extra packaging supplies like scissors, tape, tissue paper or ribbon.

Lucky Crow stocks 24 fabrics, including several organic cotton and children’s prints.  Save money by purchasing a collection of bags.  The gift bags come in 4 different sizes with prices ranging from $4-$12 and are manufactured in the USA.

Living Ethos has a huge collection of fabric choices for gifts from baby showers to birthdays. The bags are cotton and the attached grosgrain ribbon and care labels are made from 100% recycled PET (soda bottles).   While the fabric is imported, the bags are assembled and sewn in the USA. A set of 4 different sizes is $28.

Gratitude Gift Bags come in 4 different sizes and prices range from $4-$8.  The gift bags are manufactured in the USA and a portion of all proceeds are donated to select charities focusing on cancer research and environmental concerns.  Use code ‘PRESS’ for a 10% online discount.

WrapSackscome in 6 sizes and prices range from $4 – $11.  They are ethically sourced in Indonesia where the batik fabrics are made.  You can follow the journey of your wrapsack goes by using their ‘track a sack’ feature.

Bring It In A Bag reusable gift bags are made from natural jute and come in 3 sizes ranging from $3 – $15.  They are lined with a laminate coating to make them easy to keep clean and have a cane handle.

DIY – If you’re crafty, you can sew your own custom gift bags with this pattern from Better Homes and Gardens.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.

If you’re at all crafty, you should pick up the latest copy of Green Craft Magazine. There are over 100 projects for taking your trash to treasures, from books made out of coffee sleeves to vintage paper decor . To complete the package, the entire publication is printed on recycled paper.

WHERE TO BUY: Find a local store here.

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosure policy.