Are you looking for an eco-friendly product for the fashionista on your shopping list this year?  Check out Beads for Change.  This program employs women of Uganda who live in hillside slums.  They are refugees after decades of war in northern Uganda.  Their only previous means of supporting their families was to crush rocks for approximately $1 a day.  Imagine having to feed, clothe and house your entire family on a dollar a day…  I simply can’t.  Their reality is completely unimaginable to me.

This program teaches their employees to make beautiful beads out of used paper that would otherwise end up in a scrap heap.  They make these beads into necklaces, earrings and bracelets that can be purchased and worn worldwide as a way of supporting women and the environment.

This program not only provides training and employment for the women involved.  The crafters receive a professional wage and training on financial management for long-term success, budgeting tips, savings tips, entrepreneurship training and micro-finance training.

Each piece of jewelery comes with a tagged picture of a woman who’s life you are helping to change.  You can pieces individually, have a house party to promote the products to your friends or even do a fundraiser for your child’s school or team activity by purchasing these beads.  It’s amazing how a purchasing decision can make such a huge difference!!

Of course the real question is why would a penguin need a sweater?  A recent oil spill in New Zealand (check it out in the Guardian here) has left the penguin’s habitat in shambles.  At least 50 tonnes of oil have been jettisoned into the waters absolutely destroying the area for the more than 85 species of seabirds.  The oil gets all through the penguin’s feathers which the penguin then tries to clean off by preening.  Unfortunately, these cleaning efforts can prove fatal because of the ingestion of oil.

Hence, the sweaters.  There is a call to action for knitters worldwide to make these tiny sweaters in 100% wool.  I’m not a knitter but urge anyone who is to get involved in these efforts.  The New Zealand yarn store Skeinz is organizing efforts and has a “how-to” guide on their site to help create these adorable, life saving sweaters.  Apparently these types of sweaters are very useful in oil spill situations involving the penguins and have been used in other instances.

Penguin Jumper in 8ply – Must be 100% Wool Yarn
1 pair 3.25mm , 1 pair of 3.75mm needles , 1 set of 3.25mm dpn’s or circular
Cast on 36 stitches using 3.25 needles.K1, P1 to end of row. Repeat this row 7 times. Change to 3.75mm needles and K2, P2 rib. Work 4 rows increasing at each end of every row. (44 sts)
Continue until work measures 15 cms.
Decrease 1 st at each end of every row until 28 sts remain.
Decrease 1 st. in middle of next row (27 sts.)
Leave on needle.
Make second side the same.
Transfer the 54 sts from both pieces to 3 of the set of 4 3.25mm needles.(18 sts on each.) and work a round neck in K1 P1 rib for 10 rows.
Cast off.
Stitch up sides to decreasing to 27sts (opening for flipper). Add elastic to the top and bottom to prevent the penguins getting out of them. Top: 15cm of elastic; bottom 17 cm (knots allowed). Flat elastic okay.

For more details, visit Skeinz’s website.

It’s definitely worth considering some of their other collections available including The Jungle collection made of rescued fabrics reminiscent of the sights and sounds of the jungle.  These ipad covers are made of vintage polyester, vintage silk organize and vintage polyester burnout chiffon.  I’ve also got to point out that the prints are much more lively than Bernie’s wardrobe.

If you’re looking for something a little more hunter-esque made of high quality cashmere, consider The Lodge Collection.  These cashmere fabrics are all inspired by ski and hunting lodges.  Maybe you could be a lumberjack and be okay carrying one of these 100% cashmere covers.

Regardless of the  pattern you choose, these covers are all made of rescued materials.  That means that these are made of essentially garbage — things that were “rescued” from landfills.  So regardless of the colour of these covers on the outside, they’re all green at heart!

Their pom pom pillows can really help spruce up a boring couch as well.  I can only imagine how soft and comfy these pillows would be — just as soft and comfy as your old favorite tee that’s perfectly worn in.  They’d also be great in a reading nook, bedroom or kid’s playspace.  Can anyone say pillow fight??  lol  My kids would be fighting over who would get the pom pom in the great continuing saga of Pillow Fight Wars 2011.  Yup, we are rampant pillow fighters around here.  Only to be interrupted by the occasional tickle fight.

These are a great way to repurpose all of those old tees that clog up vintage clothing stores and even worse, landfills.  Stylish, classy, soft and fun…Definitely worth checking out for your Christmas shopping this year!!

This is upcycling in it’s truest form — taking something that is headed to the landfill that no one wants and that has no value whatsoever and turning it into something beautiful, valuable and useful.  Her work is truly incredible and ranges from vases, side tables, lamps and frames being made out of unwanted books.

Each piece is truly unique making it a one of a kind object to treasure and enjoy for years to come.  The past life of the written words on the pages shines through the new forms of furniture truly making these pieces readable in instances.

I think that these would make great gifts for any book lover, librarian or student.  The best part is that from a distance, you can’t even really tell what the new objects are made from.  Only upon closer examination does the true identity of page after page reveal itself.  Check out the far away shot of the reading lamp in comparison with the close up shot.  The details of the undulating pages in curved form are truly mesmerizing.

I really think that this is an up and coming artist that people will hear more from soon.  Her vision for taking something so ordinary and mundane as a used book and turning it into very useful and pretty household objects shows a talent and vision that so many are sadly lacking.  This lack of vision can clearly be seen when nearly any landfill is visited.

I totally dig the ribbon cable earrings that could signify your love of colour, electronics, geekery or even symbolize your support for the gay and lesbian community.  At only $18 these are surely a conversation starter that not every other person will be wearing.  Want a choker or necklace to match?  No worries — they’ve got that too!

The artists are the Girl Geek Boutique are actually engineers so if you want to know exactly how the electronics in your piece would work, they encourage you to ask.  That way you can add more geek to your chic when people comment on your fantastic piece.

Another piece that I’m over the rainbow about are these cascading resistor dangly earrings.  At only $39, they’re a great option for gift giving as well.  I think these would make an awesome gift for women working in the electronics industry and am definitely going to have to recommend this store to all the guys at my Dad’s electronics company.  Not to worry though, they have pieces suitable for men as well including business card holders, rings and cufflinks that will scream geek and tree hugger all at the same time!  Two of my favourite things all rolled into one:)

Their quality is absolutely impeccable with the garments looking brand new even after dozens of washes.  These are not items that you’ll be needing to replace anytime soon.  These are the ones that will be handed down through family and friends to last through several kids.  The fabric wicks away any moisturize from active kids that have been playing.  I’ve found these perfect for yoga, dance and gymnastics as well as good old fashioned romps in the park.

Their leggings are even made of bamboo — one of the best sustainable fabrics for kids in my opinion.  Bamboo grows without needing much water, quickly replenishes itself by growing 4 to 5 feet a day and needs absolutely no pesticides!  Beyond that, it’s soft, easy to wash, naturally wicks and resists odors even.  Another cool fabric they use is called Repreve which is made of 30% recycled polyester.  Absolutely loving the local companies that use green fabrics for my treehugging kiddos.

Keep your eyes peeled — there may be an upcoming review and/or giveaway in the foreseeable future with Agoo.  Would anyone love to hear about their bamboo leggings?  They’ve got a huge assortment of styles and at 70% off, you absolutely can’t go wrong!

Recently, I heard about an all natural lip balm that I’d love to try out from Keeki Pure and Simple.  I read about it on Natural Baby Good’s post: Keeki Pure and Simple Review and Giveaway.  She describes the lip balm as being completely organic and adding a bit of shimmer to the lips which is definitely something my little diva could get behind.  All that and it keeps your lips moist!  Okay, so she doesn’t care so much about that but our winter season is killer on lips.  They always end up cracked and dry at this time of the year.  I’m definitely entering the giveaway for the 3 organic lipbalms on the Natural Baby Good blog.  I really like reading this blog to find out about a huge range of natural baby products and some for moms too:)

Another product that Keeki Pure and Simple carries that I’d like to try is their all natural fingernail polish.  My oldest daughter is almost five so loves to have manicures and pedicures on a fairly regular basis.  However, you have to wonder what exactly is in regular nail polish with the harsh chemical smell.  I absolutely shudder when I see her put her tiny painted nails in her mouth!  She knows she’s absolutely forbidden to do so but does occasionally forget.  They also have an all natural nail polish remover so you don’t have to worry about inhaled acetone!  They have a special called “Club Keeki” that sends you a different color of nail polish every month.  That would be a great treat for a little girl’s birthday.  Hmmmm, I seem to have one of those coming up — off to shop!  All natural of course:)

Many of their pieces involve the use of watch movements being repurposed into the focal point of the entire piece of jewelry.  They’ve got a fantastic selection of rings available on their site featuring many different kinds of watch movements.  One thing that I really like about this site is that what is pictured is exactly what you receive.  It’s not similar to or like what’s pictured, it really is the actual item.  This means you know exactly what the piece you choose will look like!

They do custom pieces or you can choose from their ever expanding selection available in their store.  I use the term “store” loosely as they claim this is not a business.  Just two young people working together developing their craft!

The pieces are quite affordable as well.  The ring pictured here is priced at $35.  It’s a 17 jewel watch movement attached to a filigree adjustable band.  That’s a steal of a deal for the huge statement that such a piece would make!  The ring prices vary in range but all are extremely budget friendly.

They’ve also got a variety of necklaces, cufflinks and even earrings for sale that utilize various watch movements.  My favorite necklace is the one pictured here with the black flower.  What a stunning accent piece that would look good in everything from casual wear to the office to a beautiful necklace to go with that little black dress.  It uses a vintage watch movement mounted to a vintage silver setting.  The black rose is what really set it off though.

This is definitely an Etsy shop worth checking back into again and again.  It sounds as though items are added almost daily.  They currently have 273 items for sale and I love almost each and every one.  Some of my favorites are the Lolita gothic hair clips that they have available in vintage silver settings.  Absolutely adorable!!  I love the flower designs and the skull designs.  You can even have them made in a different color to match a certain outfit!!

This site, like most of the CSN store sites, has an easy to use function on the main page’s tool bar called “Go Green”.  All of the eco-friendly options available from that site are shown with the simple click of a button.  That makes it easier for those of us trying to live our lives in an earth friendly way to shop.  I really respect a site that offers their customers easy and clear ways to find exactly what they’re looking for.  There are many green options for you to change your lifestyle with your buying power.

When you click the “Go Green” button and look for laptop messenger bags, you get quite a lot of cool options.  One of my favorites was this recycled sail messenger bag by Ella Vickers.  Her company saves over 20,000 yards of sailcloth every year from landfills and upcycles them into gorgeous bags.  She is inspired by her days of sailing as a first mate on an American Cup winning boat.  Her first bags were made by herself and for herself.  She carried them to the regatta and people around her literally bought them right off of her arms!  Each bag is slightly different depending on the sail it came from.  This gives your bag a sense of individuality and personality that anyone would be happy to pack around.

Another green option available on CSN luggage site is the Tubus bag made by the Krejci company.  The founder began by making bags out of grey industrial felt but then received a bag of old deflated innertubes as a gag gift at Christmas.  This joke gift sparked her creativity and the new line of innertube bags was formed!  This material, much like the sailcloth, proved to be extremely durable and practical.  It also gives the bags an eye catching look.  I love products like this that speak of their previous lives.  It will lead people to ask you about it and open up the door to talk about recycled and repurposed materials.  This is a great way to help deliver the message of changing choices to promote a healthy planet through simply carrying around your messenger bag!

I look forward to another review opportunity with CSN stores in the upcoming days.  Maybe next time I’ll be reviewing eco-friendly toys or eco-friendly cookware.  That’s right, you can buy that through a CSN store too!  Definitely worth checking this company out.

I love the erotic and retro nude pin-up girl used on the card the brooch is clipped to for sale.  It’s intriguing that the naughty bits of a book is covering the pin-ups naughty bits!  This etsy craft rescues books from dumpsters, yard sales and library sales to make these sexy pins. 

She also makes a line of wallets and purses that re-purposes books in bad condition as well.  These sorts of second life products would make great and original Valentine’s gifts that will declare your love (& desire!) for your special someone as well as your love for the planet.

The brooches come in a range of phrases that are carefully cut from trashed trashy books.  This ensures that the pin you receive is a virtual one of a kind creation which is mounted to wood and varathane to ensure that the pin is protected.  There are pins listed such as “being deep inside”, “slowly stripped off” and “her orgasm hit”.

The giveaway winner is Anne. Thanks to everyone who participated!

There’s nothing that a girl likes receiving more than jewellery.  Every woman likes a different style, for sure but jewellery is always a great gift for the special women in your life.  That sounded a little wrong — I didn’t mean the wife and the girlfriend — lol.  More like your wife, daughter, sister, mother, aunt, etc.  Jewellery with heart designs on it especially signify your deepest feelings for the women that you love.  I think that heart jewelry in particular, has a special significance to it. Especially a heart shape filled with diamonds!  I especially love this diamond and pink sapphire heart shaped pendant.  It’s just different than most other designs that you see women wearing which makes it even more special and romantic.  Truly a gift from the heart.

One thing to really watch out for when shopping for jewellery though is to make sure that the diamonds and gemstones that you buy are conflict free.  In 1993, more than 15 years ago, an agreement was reached between various governments and the diamond industry to insure that the flow of the world’s so called blood diamonds was put to a halt.  This agreement is the Kimberly Process Certification Scheme, also known as the KPCS.  Before you buy any diamond (or gemstone at all for that matter), insure that the buyer strictly follows this agreement and checks on their suppliers of diamonds.  Jewellers should have a zero tolerance policy in regards to conflict diamonds for the sake of the entire planet.  Diamonds are beautiful and wonderful but not on the blood and war of people.

Check out these cute and functional wallets made from upcycled cassette tapes by Marcella Foschi.  They’re available for $39 on Design Boom and would make a great Christmas gift for all those eco-friendly girls on your Christmas list this year.  Yes, I know that Christmas is still months away but it really does pay off to shop ahead!

Imagine how many of these tapes have been tossed into landfills around the world with the advent of the CD.  There’s probably enough tapes sitting in the garbage to fill all the purses of even a shop-a-holic purse lover!!  These are definitely worth checking out.  As they are each handmade, each one is different.  You could get anything from an Alvin and the Chipmunks cassette to a Slayer cassette to the Beach Boys!  You’ve got to absolutely love something so entirely random…

Thanks for the link Bibi!!  Check out her travelling adventures blog Flash Nomad.  She travels the world with an eye for style, design, grace and elegance with a camera in one hand and a laptop in the other.

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.
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