In celebration of Arbor Day (US) and the month of Earth Day, I’d like to share a great environmentally friendly company with you — O’Bon.  They sent me an awesome package to review including a Cherry Notebook, Orange Notebook, pencils and colored pencils.  The best part — these stationary products are completely tree free!

The notebooks are sugarcane paper.  Sugarcane grows incredibly fast and the juice is used as a natural sweetener in many products.  The pulp that is left over after juicing is traditionally waste.  Not so anymore!  The pulp is used to make a beautiful paper that does not harm our forests or contribute to global warming.

The notebooks I received are a great size that is easy to carry around in a purse or briefcase to keep notes in.  The paper itself is more substantial than what I am used to and is very easy to write on.  I will definitely be looking for and using sugarcane paper from now on.

O’Bon sent me a box of pencil crayons and a box of pencils to review.  The shafts of the pencils are made from tightly coiled used newspaper instead of being made of wood.  Need HB pencils for computerized grading systems??  Not to worry, these are HB and tree free!  They also look pretty cool when they are sharpened as you can see the layers of newsprint.  The colors of the pencil crayons are vivid and named after different fruits like watermelon and dragon fruit.  A perfect fit with the fruit themed notebooks!

O’Bon goes even a step further.  For every purchase, a tree is planted through a donation from O’Bon directly to the Arbor Day Foundation!  I also really want to encourage people to plant a tree themselves in honor or Arbor Day.  Actually, plant two!  One on the American Arbor Day the last Friday in April and the Canadian Arbor Day on the third Wednesday in September.  Want to win your own O’Bon products??  Here’s how:

To Enter:  Read the O’Bon page about deforestation and tell me one thing that you learned.

Bonus Entries:

Moonrise Jewelry began in 2002 with a variety of core values that make both a great business while at the same time, ensuring that their profits hurt neither the planet or the people living on it.  Their lines are made up of pieces that are ethically sourced, support fair trade practices and that support their local environment.  Their pieces are hand made in their studio in Virginia to support their local and rural economy.

For review, they sent me these beautiful recycled glass earrings called Cobb.  These earrings look absolutely gorgeous on and I always get compliments when wearing them.  They are light, easy to wear and match with practically anything!  I am 100% behind eco-friendly jewelry but it still needs to be pretty and fun to wear — that’s absolutely no problem with these earrings or any of the other great designs that they make!

I would definitely recommend following both their facebook account where they announce some incredible sales and joining their mailing list for a $10 off coupon!

Want to try out a pair of their earrings for yourself?  Moonrise Jewelry has graciously offered a pair of pretty earrings called Abilene to one of my readers!  They are made of fair trade silver beads on sterling silver posts and feature purple lace agate.  I absolutely adore these earrings!  They would look great with everything from jeans and a tee shirt to a business suit and everything in between.

To Enter (One Time Only):   Leave a comment on this post about your favorite design at Moonrise Jewelry.  Good luck picking only one thing!  So many of their designs are eye catching.

• *Become a fan of Moonrise Jewelry on Facebook.
• *Join their mailing list (you’ll get a $10 coupon!).
• *Enter one of my other giveaways and leave a comment telling me.
• *Tell me how you heard about this giveaway.
• *Follow Green Colored Glasses on Twitter and ReTweet this giveaway RT @Green Colored Glasses Giveaway – Eco-Friendly Earrings From Moonrise Jewelry Giveaway (you can Tweet this once a day for Extra Entries)
• *Become a Fan of Green Colored Glasses on Facebook
• *Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post
• *Suscribe to Green Colored Glasses by RRS Feed

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 great binder shown here that is PVC free and has 60% recycled covers.  The colors and design are calming and cute and I love the recycled content.  I also like that it is professional enough to use at the office.

I was also sent the 1 subject notebook and personal book for review.  The 1 subject note book has a fun crossword puzzle in the back for long meetings in the board room and the personal journal has a link to find more green tips and eco-friendly living ideas.  The covers have 50% recycled content and the pages inside are 70% tree free!  The colors of this line would be suitable for both guys and girls that love the earth — browns, greens and yellows.  Subdued enough to use at the office yet fun enough to throw a little interest into your day.

Sasquatch is now being offered at major retailers such as Target and Wal-Mart.  You can now also purchase the entire product line online at their new web store in honor of Earth Day!  Some of the Sasquatch products are even on sale right now — I’d definitely recommend checking it out as soon as possible!

Want a chance to win your own Earth Day Pack??  Just a couple little rules — US and Canada only who have not won any Carolina Pad products in the last 90 days.

To Enter (One Time Only):   Leave a comment on this post about your favorite collection at Carolina Pad.

• *Become a fan of Carolina Pad on Facebook.
• *Become a follower of Carolina Pad on Twitter.
• *Tell me how you heard about this giveaway.
• *Enter one of my other giveaways and leave a comment telling me.
• *Follow Green Colored Glasses on Twitter and ReTweet this giveaway RT @Green Colored Glasses Giveaway – Carolina Pad Sasquatch Line Giveaway (you can Tweet this once a day for Extra Entries)
• *Become a Fan of Green Colored Glasses on Facebook
• *Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post
• *Suscribe to Green Colored Glasses by RRS Feed

The winner of the EvoraPlus giveaway is:

Shanna Elizabeth

“I follow Evora Plus on Twitter”

Congrats Shanna!!  What a great way to start off a beautiful Earth day!  I’ll be emailing Shanna shortly and she’ll have 48 hours to confirm her win by sending me her shipping information.

I know I keep saying this but keep your eyes peeled for a ton of great green giveaways here.  I’m absolutely falling behind but will have lots and lots of great giveaways coming up.

Remember to enter the reusable dryer sheet giveaway here.  Thanks to everyone who is entering.  Remember that the more entries received means the more giveaways that I’ll be able to offer!  I’ve got one coming up that is worth over $100!!

MoBoleez is a Canadian company that has come up with a great idea — wide brimmed hats that the baby wears while breastfeeding.  The idea may seem a little bizarre to some at first but once you see how it works, it totally makes sense!  I’m not sure that it really needs to be explained why breastfeeding is the best choice but I’ll give it a quick go.

Breastfeeding provides the baby with all kinds of antibodies to babies leading to healthier kids in the long and short term.  Breastfeeding moms also benefit from breastfeeding.  They heal from the birth faster, spend incredibly bonding time with their babies and even have lowered incidents of breast cancer!  Breast feeding is recommended for at least the first 6 months of life as the sole provider of nutrition.  Recently, a research study suggested that huge amounts of money and lives could be saved simply by having more breastfed babies!

The impact on the environment is also huge from breastfeeding.  There are no wasted formula containers, no bottles, bottle liners, plastic nipples, no garbage created, no waste of any kind really unless you count the stinky bums!  The health benefits of breastfeeding also lead to benefits for the planet because less drugs would be used, less resources directed towards ill people, etc. etc.

Okay, now that we have a basic understanding of why breastfeeding is so important, lets get down to the fun stuff of the MoBoleez breast feeding bonnet!  For review, they sent me a gorgeous hat in blue.  It is made of 70% cotton and 30% bamboo which is a great sustainable choice for a fabric.  The hat is incredibly soft and easy to wash.  It can be thrown right into the washing machine and should be laid flat to dry.

I breastfed my daughter for 2 1/2 years.  Unfortunately for me, she never liked to be covered so it made feeding in public places difficult at best and usually completely impossible.  I always found that it was easiest to feed her in a quiet, calm environment with just the two of us.  As lovely as that is, it’s just not always possible.  We went to strollercize classes, playgroups and all different kinds of activities during the time she was nursing.  She would always get too hot and kick off any blanket that I used to shield her from distractions.

Also, although the world is changing so that breastfeeding is now more acceptable, I’ve found it is very slow to change.  More than once I’ve tried to breastfeed inconspicuously in the corner of a coffee shop and gotten a ton of dirty looks and rude comments.  This meant a lot of feedings sitting in hot cars or even worse, bathroom stalls.  Can you imagine if those uptight people were forced to eat their lunch sitting on a toilet?  People really need to lighten up.  It’s just a boob and that is exactly what it is there for!!

This hat would really come in handy with kids like my daughter who preferred not to be covered or who overheated quickly from blankets and covers.  It is an extremely breathable fabric and fits comfortably on a little one’s head.  This hat would also satisfy even the prudish prude out there as it absolutely covers the action.

It does more than that though — it covers it in style!  There’s a range of cute colors and designs such as “The Milky Way” and a Teddy saying “Mmmmm”.  This hat is truly for the yummy mummy quite literally!  The sweetest touch that I saw was that if you peeked on the nursing babe by lifting up the brim, there’s a message going around the edge that says “Hi Mommy!”.  Adorable and it shows a true eye for attention to detail, humor and a love of breastfeeding.

I can’t say enough good things about this hat.  MoBoleez has come up with a truly ingenious product — simple, stylish, practical and fun way to celebrate the bond of breastfeeding!  Their wide selection of hats is available to buy online for only $29USD or $34USD for their couture line.  They also have a special line of small hats sized 0-3 that are available to purchase.  Half of the proceeds of these small hats goes to the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation which is definitely a great cause.  These hats would make a great shower gift or coming home gift for any new mom who intends on nursing.  What a different, cute gift idea!

Thanks so much for the great review opportunity.

Laundry is one of the top priorities in my house with a preschooler and a high schooler.  It seems like the pile(s) are absolutely never ending!!

As we strive to live a more environmentally responsible lifestyle, I found that laundry became one of my biggest concerns.  It seems as though the machines are constantly running and I’m always using up a ton of chemically loaded products.

Luckily, I ran into a great green laundry soap online with a name you’ve just got to dig — Rockin’ Green Soap.  It’s recommended as a great way to de-funk diapers and as a general laundry soap.  Luckily, we don’t have any diapers here at the moment!!

They sent us a sample of the Classic Rock soap.  This is their original formula that is great for regular clothes.  It comes in 10 hard to choose from fragrances such as Cherry Lemonade and Vanilla Buttercream or unscented.  I chose the “Monkey Snacks” scent which smells very similar to flambe bananas.  It seriously smells good enough to eat and luckily doesn’t smell like monkeys at all!

They also have soaps called Soft Rock (a more gentle version that is unscented only) and Hard Rock (specially formulated for use with hard water).  Our Classic Rock soap not only smelled delicious but absolutely performed wonderfully.  Some of our cloths — especially the teen’s — are quite dirty and stinky.  This soap absolutely worked like a charm!

Eco-friendly??  Yup!  It’s phosphate free, SLS free, dye free, filler free, animal byproduct free, biodegradable and never tested on animals.  Perfect choice for green family living.  You can even purchase your own sample pack just like the one sent to me for less than $3!  That is enough for 7 regular loads or 14 High Efficiency loads.  They have multipack sets of two bags of laundry soap packaged in reusable, eco-friendly bags that work out to approximately $0.13 a load.  Going green can save you some serious green too!!

Thanks for the great review opportunity Rockin’ Green!!

As a family trying to make more environmentally responsible choices, the laundry was one of my primary areas of concern.  We just have so darn much of it and so many of the products are full of chemicals.  I ran into this neat product called Static Eliminator online while I was searching for alternatives.  I emailed the company and they sent me a box to review as well as a box to giveaway!

The box contains 2 re-usable dryer sheets that will last for more than 500 loads.  The same amount of laundry would take 13 boxes of traditional chemical laden dryer sheets to dry.  So not only is this a more environmentally choice because they are re-usable, they are also super cost effective!

These sheets are made in Canada, are chemical free, safe for all fabrics and dryers.  They soften the fabric, reduce wrinkles and eliminate static.  They are scent free for people with allergies.  However, I’ve found that a few drops of essential oil on the static eliminator dryer sheets will give your clothes a nice fresh smell without the chemicals involved in dryer sheets.

When I really started to look into what traditional dryer sheets have in them, I was beyond shocked.  I had no idea that these harmless looking sheets were so full of dangerous chemicals.  Now, I don’t even let my kids touch them!  Once we run out of them in the house I will never be buying them again.  I had no clue that they removed the fire resistance of children’s sleepwear!!  The static eliminator sheets are safe for all fabrics, including kids sleepwear!  I’m wondering if I should re-make all of my daughters pj’s into a blanket and buy her a new set….  At least we now have a way to dry our clothes safely!  These sheets are available for purchase online at their site or at many retail locations throughout Canada and the United States.

Want a chance to win??  I’ve got a box of 2 re-usable Static Eliminator sheets up for grabs.  A random winner will be chosen from the entries on May 2, 2010.  Here’s how you enter:

To Enter (One Time Only):    Leave a comment on this post about one way you’re trying to live green-er this Earth week.

Bonus Entries:

• *Tell me the retail location nearest you that sells these sheets — check it out here.
• *Tell me how you heard about this giveaway.
• *Follow Green Colored  Glasses on Twitter and  ReTweet this giveaway RT @Green Colored   Glasses Giveaway – Static Eliminator Reusable Dryer Sheets (you can Tweet this once a day for Extra Entries)
• *Become a Fan of Green Colored Glasses on Facebook
• *Blog about this giveaway with a link to this post
• *Suscribe to Green Colored Glasses by RRS Feed

Check out this adorable tee from my favorite organic kids wear company Barley and Birch.  It’s a 100% organic cotton t-shirt printed with water based inks.  Not only that, it promotes awareness of a huge misunderstanding of pitbulls as a breed.  Even better, 100% of the proceeds from the sale of these shirts go to US pitbull rescue foundations.  Yup — I said 100%.  That’s just how this company rolls and why I’m so partial to it!

The shirt is called “Pit Bull” and is available as onesies or lap tees for 3-24 months or t-shirts for bigger kids size 2-8 for only $25.  No kids or want a matching one?  They’ve got adult ones for $30 or will even print the design on your own favorite shirt for $25!  Pretty sweet deal and I know how much my kids love it when I dress like them!!  Well, my 4 year old daughter loves it.  My 16 year old son — not so much.

Definitely check out these tees.  Many companies have products that give a portion of the proceeds to charity.  Very, very few have products that send 100% of the proceeds to charity — especially organic, eco-friendly products.  For Barley and Birch, that’s just part of how they do business.  Even their regular items have 15% of the proceeds going to carbon-reducing initiatives to offset their manufacturing and an additional 15% of the proceeds going to charities around the world to improve people’s lives.  When you buy from them, you’re making a difference in both the eco-friendly quality of the products and the social good of various charities.  Definitely a win-win!!

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Bloomingdale’s. All opinions are 100% mine.

Okay, so my design maybe leaves a little (or a lot!) to be desired but you get the general idea, right?  Bloomingdale’s is having a great green contest right now.  You can design your own reusable tote bag on their site for a chance to win some great prizes.

You can enter the Tote-ally Green design contest as many times as you like between April 7 and April 25, 2010.  There are daily winners of a $100 Bloomingdale gift card.  The grand prize is a $2,000 Bloomingdale shopping spree and they’ll actually produce and sell your design!!  I think that’s pretty darn cool.  There’s also a $1,000 gift card up for grabs that will go to the designer with the most votes.

I definitely recommend that everyone enter this contest.  It’s really easy to digitally upload a picture or design to their site or you can design away with the tools available on the contest site itself.  Easy, fun and green with a chance to win some great prizes.  Share your designs around with your friends (including me!) to make sure that your bag gets some votes.

If my family is ever blessed enough to bring home another baby, this is definitely the cradle I’d want waiting.  The lines of it are absolutely stunning in their simplicity and symmetry.  Many pieces of children’s gear are so bright and garish that they stick out like an ugly sore thumb in any decor.  This cradle would look calm and mellow just about anywhere!

It’s the Seed organic cradle.  The wood stand of the cradle is made of recycled birch plywood.  The cradle itself is organic cotton and the mattress of the cradle is 100% natural organic latex.  This means that the mattress is anti-microbial (fantastic for possibly damp cloth diapers) and hypoallergenic for a newborn’s sensitive little system.  There is no need to worry about chemicals with this cradle as it is organic.  One less thing to worry about as a new mom!

The cradle has a natural swaying motion which is surely more soothing than the battery operated contraptions I had for my kids when they were babies.  Even the sound of the vibrators in the baby chairs were enough to set the kids to crying sometimes!  This cradle is simple, beautiful and natural.  What more could you want for your new little bundle?  Definitely going to be on my baby registry next time!