Best Eco Stuff

Go Green This Easter with Eco-Friendly Egg Dye and More

There’s nothing eco-friendly about plastic grass. In fact, why is it that Easter has gotten so plastic-centric altogether in recent years? Plastic baskets, plastic eggs… what’s wrong with willow baskets and real eggs, anyway? Ditch the disposable junk and celebrate this holiday the way it’s meant to be celebrated – with appreciation for the bounty of nature as life is ‘reborn’ after a long winter’s rest.

First up: natural Easter Egg dyes. It’s easy to make the switch from artificial colors to natural dyes. Skip the commercial store-bought egg dyeing kits and try the instructions from this tutorial by Crunchy Domestic Goddess.  It goes through two processes of natural egg dyeing, and includes a list of all the great colors you can get form natural sources like red from beets, yellow from turmeric and blue from a head of red cabbage. And hey, use cage-free organic eggs!

You’ve probably already got a great woven wicker or willow basket hanging around your house. Natural baskets are way prettier than those pastel plastic monstrosities on the store shelves, anyway. Eco guru Danny Seo recommends raiding your attic or checking secondhand stores, and decorating the baskets you find with petals from silk flowers. You could also use ribbon, construction paper cutouts or whatever else you’ve got handy.

For eco-friendly basket fill, shredded paper is way better than messy plastic grass, and you won’t be finding bits of it in your home for months to come. Check your junk mail pile for colorful pieces that will give your basket a spring-inspired look.

For décor, simple is best. If you’ve got tulips or spring blossoms in your yard, you’ve already got all the decoration you need – just snip a few and put them in vases. Paper bunny, egg or chick garlands made with recycled paper and some twine are also a fun touch.

And finally, there’s your Easter meal. Save the heavy, gut-busting foods for the winter holidays and lighten up with a healthy Easter menu that makes use of fresh spring produce. Check out my light Easter menu at Greenopia.com.

Posted by stephanie on 04.13.2009 at 8:35 am// Tagged: eco friendly holidays , eco tips, Holidays // Have your say »

Easy Commute with the SwissBike TX

This bike came to our attention about a month ago…pretty slick, pretty cool…take a gander…

SwissBike TX is a full-size bike (26″ wheel) that folds to fit in the back of a Mini Cooper.

The whole philosophy behind this bike is that it offers the full-size stability and ride quality that is needed for a good commuter, while still having all the benefits of a small wheel folder.

In short, it can go anywhere. Terrain is not an issue. How cool is that?!

In terms of energy, the bike is obviously human powered, but the creators of this bike perceive that the SwissBike will go far in getting more people out of cars and onto bikes for their commute, drastically reducing one’s carbon footprint.

Here’s how…

According to the creators of this bike, with the concept of “Drive and Cycle,” if your commute is a long one or through an area that is not conducive to riding, leave a SwissBike in the trunk for part of the drive and when you hit traffic, ride the rest of the way in.

Ok, um, but then what…you just leave your car???

They say…”The ability to commute how you want at any given moment on any given day, goes a long way in removing some of the obstacles that keep people from commuting by bike. This is a concept most of our office including our CEO uses daily and while it is not as aggressive as those who commute 40 miles/ day, at this point it is a great step in the right direction.”

We agree, every little step helps, every little thing you do DOES make a difference…but, um, you just leave your car???

This is a super cool bike and riding instead of driving at any point in your commute DOES reduce your carbon footprint so feel free to use the coupon code “bestecostuff” at chekout and get a free carrying case with your bike purchase.

Posted by sonya on 03.11.2009 at 1:11 pm// Tagged: Eco Product Spotlight , Bicycle, Carbon Cycle, Carbon footprint, Commuting, Environment, Mini, Ride quality // Have your say »