Calling the Green Watch Dog

Monday, December 31st, 2007, 12:29 pm

Call me ungrateful but I’m a bit disappointed at some of the “Green” Christmas gifts I received this year. My feelings aren’t aimed at the gift givers – in fact – I’m deeply touched that so many people who bought me a gift this year recognized that I would prefer an eco-friendly product. I am upset however how easily well-intentioned “very light Greeners” can unknowingly buy something much less Green then they had expected.

-       &nb sp;  Harry and David’s online catalog seductively describes the Triple Treat Collection as “Super-premium fruit – selected by America's fruit authorities. You won't find fruit this wholesome and extraordinary at the supermarket.” The box included fresh oranges, fresh pears and fresh apples but then printed in small letters on the packing box: “coated with a food grade vegetable, petroleum, beeswax, and/or shellac based wax or resin to maintain freshness.” I kid you not. I could see my pupils in the shellac on the apples. I called Harry and David to inquire as to what exactly was in the shellac and neither Terry, the customer service rep, nor her manager knew but said that it was “simply there to make the fruit shiny and pretty and can easily be washed off”. She then kindly offered to research it and get back to me within a few days (by which time the fruit will likely have spoiled). Now Harry and David make no claims that their fruit is organic, and I realize they must be using approved shellacs, but I’m confident that my brother-in-law had no idea that his gift of fresh fruit would be covered in shiny chemicals.

-       &nb sp;  EcoExpress.com promotes their eco-website with this tagline “Uncommon Gifts for the Common Good”. Admittedly, some of their gift basket items are organic and some support rain forest conservation. But many of their products are simply fancy Gourmet goodies such as sun-dried tomatoes, Italian breadsticks, stuffed olives and dried portabella mushrooms. An avid label reader, I searched for what made these products eco-friendly or perhaps organic but to no avail. Yet I’m sure that my well-meaning brother thought that he was sending us a Green gift from this self-labeled “eco-minded” website.

-       &nb sp;  Barielle’s 10 piece natural nail care system:  Knowing that I blog about natural beauty products, a close friend sent me this “natural” nail care system. Surprise! Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep score is a high 7 (on a 1-10 scale) with 92% of other nail care systems having lower environmental toxicity concerns.  Nothing very eco or natural about that and then I realized that their “natural” means as opposed to “artificial” nails.  How confusing…

As pleased as I am that companies are now making an eco-friendly lifestyle more accessible to mainstream consumers, I’m concerned about how easily people with the best Green motivations can purchase gifts not knowing the full picture. Caveat emptor (which we all learned from The Brady Bunch is Latin for “let the buyer beware”) is more necessary than ever in a market where products labeled “natural” may not be and “wholesome” might mean covered with chemicals. And don’t even get me started on how many genuinely Green presents arrived packed in Styrofoam peanuts…

What were your Green gifts experiences this season? Did they thrill or disappoint? Please share your own stories as we walk this perilous Green path together.

Tags: gifts, eco friendly

Green Gift Wrap Mishap?

Sunday, December 16th, 2007, 7:57 pm

Feeling the call to Green more than ever this year, I vowed to be as Green as possible in how I wrapped our presents. For me this meant making a commitment not to buy any new wrapping paper, bags, bows, tinsel or tags. It just seemed more Green (and more creative) to “re-wrap” and re-use what I had been accumulating since last Christmas then spend energy seeking out companies on the web who could ship me eco-friendly wrapping paper.

But as I looked at my very large pile of pre-wrapped presents and my smaller collection of last year’s gently used holiday bags and bows, I realized that demand definitely exceeded supply. I would need to get more creative to keep my vow.

I ran to my closets for inspiration for my green re-wrapping goal.  What else could I use, as the paper supply dwindled? Sheets?  No, that was too radical. Dishtowels? Well, maybe. Magazines? Yes, I could see wrapping gifts in flashy fashion mag pages. But then I had a better idea - cloth eco-grocery bags! YES! And retired hair bows! Perfect. And how about Sarah Jessica Parker style Flower pins? Definitely.

Of course, my new approach to wrapping also requires some coordination between the gift and the re-wrapping so my brother doesn’t end up with the gift covered in InStyle Fashion holiday spreads with a huge Pink flower. In the beginning I mapped it all out before I dove in and began my re-wrapping adventure. As I neared the end of both my gifts and my re-wrappings, I realized that my 3 year old nephew wouldn’t likely appreciate his Scobby Doo DVD wrapped in the only item I had left…a navy silk scarf. And then I looked closely and saw a fish pattern on the scarf and convinced myself that he just loves fish.

Shortly into my re-wrapping, I realized that the re-use concept could easily be extended to the gifts themselves, so back to the closets in search of  very gently used “extra” items my dearly beloveds would love. I know re-gifting is generally considered tacky, even uncouth. So I decided to be bold and announce my re-gifts with pride in their eco- friendly repurposing. These were extra gifts anyway…so no one should feel slighted. Right?

A ha! A rarely used tea kettle for my kettle-less “let’s make tea in the microwave” sister-in-law; a large wooden “looks like new” jewelry box for my brother’s wife; a never worn pink cashmere scarf/glove/hat set from last Christmas for my mother-in-law and a purple sweater my husband never wore for my Dad…

It all seemed like a great idea yesterday but as I look at my gifts this morning, I’m having second thoughts. Did I go overboard in my effort to be Green? Will my sincere efforts be appreciated or will my less Green family just think I needed to clean out my closets? Good thing I have a few more days before Christmas to mull this over. I can always make a mad dash for Bloomingdale’s where for $10.95 they will wrap anything.

Tags: gifts, christmas, green, presents, regifting

Green Stocking Stuffers

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007, 9:40 am

As a child, my favorite Christmas tradition was opening my stocking and seeing all the goodies Santa had brought just for me. As my hand went in the thrill grew since I had no idea what I would pull out because stocking presents weren’t ever on our Christmas lists…they were thoughtful items hand picked by Santa. Something special that he thought I just had to have. Sometimes I found a new shade of lipstick, a fun pair of tights or a new type of cocoa. Since Santa has that special way of knowing exactly what you need, the items in my stocking often became fast favorites and then regular purchases.

So this year I’ll play Santa and suggest my Green stocking stuffer “must have” ideas in hopes that soon they will become Green staples for those you love. Please check them out on my next blog below.

Tags: gifts, stocking stuffers, christmas

Green Stocking Stuffers

Tuesday, December 11th, 2007, 9:38 am

-       &nb sp; Pharmacopia: Lavender Hand Cream (all natural and organic) with yummy shea butter, the 1.7 oz size fits perfectly in your purse so you can re-apply throughout the day.

-       &nb sp; To-Go Ware: Organic Bamboo Utensil Set, a fork, knife, spoon and chop sticks wrapped in a holder that ties closed, travels easily, and is a genius way to avoid using plastic utensils when eating on the run.

-       &nb sp; Olivia Garden Healthy Hair: Natural Bamboo Ionic Massaging Hair Brush that looks elegant while it massages your scalp to activate blood circulation, stimulate hair growth and maybe even reduce hair loss.  This special brush also reduces anti-static as it restores hair balance and shine.  

-       &nb sp; Dr. Hauschka Skin Care: Daily Face Care Kit: everything you need for beautiful healthy skin including cleansing cream/milk, toner and day creams all in sample sizes that travel well. These trial kits are a perfect way to introduce folks to this fabulous line of organic skin care. Plus, a minimum of 25% of the proceeds go to Heifer International, a company supporting the world’s less fortunate with gifts of livestock and lessons on sustainable economic and agricultural best practices.  

-       &nb sp; World of Good: Hand Crafted Artisan Satin Beaded Jewelry Roll, fair trade from India with 10% of the profits donated to social and economic development in artisan communities.

-       &nb sp; Ecolips: wide variety of certified organic lip balm (spf 15, lemon, mint, rose quartz tinted) with a handy green carabineer that clips easily to your jeans or purse.

-       &nb sp; St. Dalfour Organic Tea: Classic Breakfast Tea from India and Ceylon tea gardens that use no pesticides or other chemicals to taint the drink with an acidic taste. Packaged in foil to maintain freshness, full of character, flavor but never harsh. Soft and soothing with a drop of raw cream, a great way to start the day.

-       &nb sp; Avalon Organics Deodorant: a great way to get those you love started on their natural beauty products regime, available in Peppermint, Wild Yam and Lemon Verbena.

-       &nb sp; NativeEnergy: a wonderfully innovative company that provides carbon offsets.  Two tons of carbon offsets for example equals a round trip ticket from NY to LA plus cab fare.  Working with Clean Air – Cool Planet, NativeEnergy renewable energy credits go towards planting trees and building wind turbines, and the organization helps us pay off our carbon debt, shrink our carbon footprint and help us feel better about all the extra energy we inevitability used getting ourselves ready for the holidays.

While I’m sure that Santa knows exactly where to find these stocking stuffers, please know that most of these products can be found at Whole Foods or your local health food store.  You can also check each company’s websites for locations nearest you. With this winter already being so cold, I think I’ll actually be praying for some coal in my stocking.

Tags: gifts, christmas, santa, stocking stuffers

A Green Christmas Feast

Sunday, December 2nd, 2007, 2:33 pm

The upcoming Holiday Season provides a great opportunity for all of us to enjoy the bounty of the earth and celebrate our green way of living.  In past years, my husband and I have done our best to celebrate a natural Christmas, but this year we intend to go all out. We “dark Greenies” will be traveling to my parent’s home in Florida for the holidays, not necessarily the picture postcard locale of snow colored New England hills we associate with the season. But we will be nonetheless making this Christmas if not white, very very Green.

We plan to give my wonderful “light Green” parents the Gift of Green so we’ve offered to help prepare the Christmas feast and celebrate with an organically Green spin on traditional holiday favorites.  I’ve worked hard thinking up the menu...Please see my next two blogs for the Christmas Eve and Christmas Day menu plans.

Mary Beth Gonzalez

Tags: food, christmas, organic, holiday, menu