Image of Moma CFL courtesy of Flickr User Paul Keller

People are finally starting to realize that CFL (compact fluorescent lamps) light bulbs are a better choice than traditional incandescent bulbs.  CFL’s are 75-80% more energy efficient than their ancestors and can last more than ten times longer!  Even changing one single light bulb in a home can make a big difference.  Think of the savings if everyone on your block changed one light bulb or even everyone in your community changed one light bulb.  Now extend that energy savings to your town or city.  This is the idea behind the great promotion being held by the Rodney Strong Vineyards.

The Rodney Strong Vineyards is a family owned winery in California that is working hard to make a difference.  They have taken a hard look at their company to find ways both big and small to make a difference on a global scale.  They were the first Carbon Neutral winery in Sonoma county in 2009 and installed a huge solar electric system in 2003.  Now they are encouraging others to change their ways and are providing the tools for people to do so.  They are offering one free CFL bulb for people who take the pledge to make a difference by using it.  The only way they could make it easier is to come over and screw the bulb in!!  Take the pledge to make a difference by switching to at least one CFL in your home or office.  So far over 73,000 people (including me) have signed up.  Imagine what the energy savings just those bulbs will make.  Let’s see how many people will take the pledge, get a bulb and make a difference.  Of course, this is a limited quantity of free bulbs that they’ll be giving out.  However, the bulb is merely symbolic of realizing that the change starts with you.

Remember how important it is to stand behind companies that are globally minded like Rodney Strong Vineyards.  Watch for an upcoming post for more info about this great company and keep your eyes open when you’re shopping for wines for their label.  I know that the next time I buy wine, I’ll definitely be looking for them!

From a small grass roots movement to open people’s eyes to energy consumption to a global event in 3 short years…How will you be celebrating in Earth Hour this year?

Does your spouse have a bunch of dress shirts in his closet that he no longer wears??  Try sending them to Etsy seller allthenumbers.  She’ll take that little worn shirt and turn it into a dress your daughter will love to wear!  She even suggests that this would be a great gift for a new Dad or a Dad to be.  How about a Christmas gift for that new father on your list?  One day she’ll be big enough to steal his shirts from him anyways!

This Etsy seller has a ton of great listings for little girls on her site including peasant dresses or shirts that I absolutely adore, some beautiful A-line shift dresses that any girl would love, reversible pinafores that are as practical as they are gorgeous, some fantastic quilts (some include vintage fabrics!) and a range of ultra girly and comfy upcycled dresses.

This Etsy crafter is clearly gifted in the area of sewing and isn’t exactly a slouch in the creativity department either!!  It takes both creativity and skill to see these beautiful dresses from men’s shirts.  If you don’t happen to have any shirts laying around for your little one to wear, contact allthenumbers as she seems to be collecting them for just such an occassion!  She even has a few Mariachi tuxedo shirts around to make the dresses out of.  These are just simply adorable!!  These dresses are definitely going on my daughter’s Christmas list this year!

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

The winner of the giveaway is post 23, Anne-Marietvete.  Congratulations.

So, what’s a better solution?  How about a line of natural kids products made by a Canadian company??

That’s exactly what the Junior line of Green Beaver products delivers!  They have a range of the essential products for kids containing natural ingredients.  A percentage of the ingredients are even produced by organic farming!  They don’t need to be shipped thousands of miles either as the products are made in Canada and contain Canadian ingredients!  This line of Green Beaver products has even achieved the organic certified formula label from Eco-Cert.

Many people wonder why it is so important to use certified organic products or whether or not they even make a difference at all.  Green Beaver has a fact page about why organic is the best choice for the planet and for our health that is really full of some shocking numbers.  For example, did you know that a third of all personal health care products contain one or more ingredients that are classified as being possible carcinogens??  Or that 89% of the ingredients used in health care products have not been evaluated for safety??  Those kinds of statistics scare the stuffing right out of me, especially when it comes to my children!

Luckily for me, Green Beaver generously sent me the entire junior line to check out with my daughter.  This includes the conditioning detangler spray, lip balm, foaming hand soap, bubble bath, shampoo and foaming body wash.  She thought it was a birthday gift when it arrived as it was only a couple of weeks away!  All of the products have the same scent which is called Boreal berries.  I definitely thought that it smelled like raspberries and blackberries although my daughter swears it smells just like watermelons and bumble bees — I think she means honey but I can never be too sure!

My favorite product of the line is the conditioning detangler.  It does a great job of making brushing her hair a little less stressful.  When I use this product there is definitely less yelling and crying involved as the brush goes through her fine hair smoothly.  It definitely helps to get rid of the often severe bed head I find waiting me in the morning and cuts down on fly aways and frizzies.  I’ve also got to admit to loving the scent and knowing that what I’m using is natural and local.

My daughter’s favorite product is the lip balm.  She is a complete girly girl princess and loves to wear “lip stick”.  I never let her wear any of the play make-up available at stores because you never know what exactly is in it.  So normally, she just gets plain old unscented, uncolored chap stick.  This lip balm is a huge treat to her because it smells so great and is a pink color when you look at it in the tube.  Not to worry — it goes on clear.  She doesn’t exactly color in the lines with her make up yet if you know what I mean! lol

The foaming hand soap has also been a big hit.  Normally she would use unscented hand made bar soap so the foam is quite exciting for a change.  It’s almost hard to get her to stop washing her hands which is a great complaint to have!  It’s foamy but not super duper foamy and you don’t have to use much to get nice clean hands.

The same goes for both the shampoo and foaming body wash.  A little can definitely go a long way!  She never has a bath or shower without these now.  I know I’m going to have to keep purchasing these items for her because she just loves them sooo much.  Luckily, the site has a handy store listing available so you know exactly which stores in your province carry what you’re looking for.  I think that the bubble bath will be what we run out of first as she likes to have enough bubbles in the tub to hide in.  It’s great to know that what is getting her clean is not harming the planet or her health.  Thanks Green Beaver for the wonderful review opportunity!  I think you’ve found yourself a couple of lifetime fans here!!  Now I’ve got to go and find some of their adult products to check out for myself!  They have hair, face, lips, body and oral care products as well as a separate line for winter skin care products.

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:

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

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!!

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

Here’s the winner of the Fairhaven Health sponsored giveaway of FertilAid and Fertile CM — entry #16!

Congrats to Emily B

I’ll be emailing you shortly!!  Emily will have 48 hours to respond to the email or a new winner will be chosen.

Don’t forget to enter the EvoraPlus giveaway that is running right now.  Also, stay tuned for more great giveaways coming up.  Hopefully some more will even be running tonight! 

I think it’d be great to celebrate Earth hour in the dark with soy candles, organic wine, fair trade chocolate and these awesome Earth inspired wine glasses.  It’d be great but with a 3 year old, a 15 year old and a dog in the house it’s probably more likely that we’ll play Guess Who by candlelight, have sippy cups full of apple juice and eat organic whole wheat animal crackers.  We can hardly find the teenager with the lights on and it’ll just be easier for him to hide with them off.  But come on, a girl can dream!!

These glasses are made by Hue Phoria and are the product of two friends who were raising their children.  They were apparently extremely crafty because they came up with this idea which helps people remember who’s glass is whose, started hand painting them in the kitchen and baking them in their own ovens!!  After a couple of years, they could no longer keep up to demand and had to go big time.  I think it’s an awesome idea and a gorgeous product!  Definitely worth checking out their entire line of glasses.  There’s a ton of great designs.

If you dig around on the net, you’ll find a few companies here and there that offer some extremely eco-friendly options for your big move.  Some companies even offer trucks completely powered by biodiesel!  This not only makes a huge improvement for the environment, it also allows the costs of being more green to be off-set by the fuel savings.

Reusable containers are also becoming a viable option for packing your things in instead of cardboard boxes that we need to cut down trees for.  Check out the company called Rent a Green Box that has come up with some truly amazing innovations.  These plastic containers are made from hard to recycle plastics that are taken out of landfills, formed into boxes and rented out to people moving.  They will even deliver the boxes right to your door in trucks running on waste vegetable oil!!  You don’t need tape, boxes or anything really.  Just your stuff and their containers.  When you’re finished with them, take them back.  Zero waste!

There is also 100% recycled, post consumer materials mined from landfills that are being made into more environmentally friendly packing materials.  Instead of using petroleum based bubble wrap, try a product called Geami (which means friends of the earth).  It’s made right in the moving trucks with their own eco-friendly power supply from cardboard sludge and is about half the cost of plastic bubble wrap.  Instead of needing tape to hold it together, it sticks to itself kind of like velcro.  It’s reusable and if you don’t need it after you’re done with it, they’ll pass it on to the next customer!  Again, absolutely zero waste.

There are also a range of other no waste solutions to replace packing items such as styrofoam popcorn, tissue paper, labels for the boxes, eco-friendly bags, pallets, moving dollys and zip ties.  The pallets are actually called poopy pallets because they are made from recycled, used disposable diapers that have been thoroughly cleaned — not to worry!  Who knew they could even do that?  It’s definitely worth looking into eco-friendly options before making purchases as a consumer.  I think that the “Poopy Pallet” is going to require it’s own complete article!

SECULAR NGO’s

Doctors Without Borders (aka Medecins Sans Frontieres or MSF)

Medical help and supplies are desperately needed.  This is an international group of medical professionals who work in chronically underserved countries, emergency sites and refugee camps around the world.  They are already in Haiti.   Unfortunately their facilities in the capitol have been badly damaged so they are doing triage and what care they can on the street.  Their spokesperson has indicated they will be bringing in a portable hospital and more doctors as soon as possible.  He reported many people with serious injuries like broken and crushed limbs, broken ribs and the like but they have at this point no ability to do more than first aid and stabilization. They spend less than 1% on administration and they’re on the ground already.

Read more at Charity Nnavigator.org

Direct Relief International

They have already sent a 40-foot container of ongoing aid to arrive today.  As Relief Web states “Direct Relief’s partners in Haiti include Partners in Health, St. Damian’s Children’s Hospital, the Visitation Hospital, Christian Aid Ministries, and Feed the Children. St. Damian’s and Partners in Health are particularly active in emergency response and have received pre-positioned materials for hurricane season, which ended November 30, and are designed to support ongoing patient care if needed. Since 2000, Direct Relief has provided more than $60 million in medical material aid to Haiti.”

Oxfam International

Provides assistance to victims of emergencies and ongoing disasters throughout the world.They are mobilizing to provide emergency assistance to victims in Haiti, and your donations will also help people in places like Darfur as well. I haven’t been able to find a link to direct your donation specifically to Haiti on their website.  Here is a direct link to support Oxfam’s Haiti relief effort.

Red Cross

The International Committee of the Red Cross is of the standard of emergency response throughout the world.  Though the US Red Cross took a hit for administrative costs in the wake of Katrina, few NGO’s have the reach or the resources of the ICRC.  The American Red Cross is pledging an initial $200,000 to assist communities impacted by this earthquake. They expect to provide immediate needs for food, water, temporary shelter, medical services and emotional support. They are accepting donations through their International Response Fund.  Text “HAITI” to 90999 and you will be charged for a $10 donation to the red cross relief efforts.

Read more at Charity Navigator

Other SECULAR NGO’s

• ShelterBox USA, which provides prepackaged shelter.  They’ve raised the $1000 for one box and are working on their second.
• AIDWATCH Aid Watch blog is a project of New York University’s Development Research Institute (DRI).  Note as well that 100% of your donation goes to relief, as they recently got a large bequest that funds all their expenses.  Read more at:  CharityNavigator
• National Nurses United are sending 1500 volunteer nurses from across the United States.
• California Nurses Association call for volunteers
• Portlight Strategies, gearing up to help Haitians with disabilities in the wake of the disaster.
• Yele - cell carriers will contribute $5 send on a $5 donation on your account if you text YELE to 501501.
• Mercy Corps is preparing an aid mission.  Mercy Corps also allows you to donate through PayPal, Google Checkout and Amazon Payments, if this helps. They are actively moving to help already.  They always partner with local organizations and they have no ego about coordinating with other NGOs.  Their flagship programs are directed at children and families, and children are always the the most vulnerable population in any disaster scenario.
• PanAmerican Development Foundation as they are the natural disaster relief arm of the Organization of the American States, the world’s oldest regional organization dedicated to democracy, human rights, security, and development started in 1890.  The PADF are in the Haiti right now as I write this passing out tents, water, food, medical care, etc and are making an appeal for donations to help move more supplies in through their Dominican Republic location and replenish them ASAP so as to continue their efforts.
• Save the Children already has offices in Haiti and are already there and taking action.
• Partners In Health is accepting donations of as little as ten dollars online.   their particular expertise in administering health care in Haiti. You can donate here. Partners in Health, or in Haitian Creole Zanmi Lasante, has been the largest health care provider in rural Haiti. Earthquake Haiti is a group now up on Facebook that Rachel Maddow just mentioned on her show.
• Lambi Fund is a secular nonprofit whose mission is “to assist the popular, democratic movement in Haiti. Its goal is to help strengthen civil society as a necessary foundation of democracy and development. The fund channels financial and other resources to community-based organizations that promote the social and economic empowerment of the Haitian people.”  They support “projects that embrace the following principles: non-violent, non-partisan, community-based, promoting the advancement of women, using education and training for empowerment, and promoting the overall democratic movement.”

GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

• USAID
• UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) has been on the ground in Haiti since 1949 and has people, experience and infrastructure to make effective use of resources.  Word is that their headquarters is down and many missing.  At a glance: Haiti
• World Food Programme is another major food and water donor in disaster and relief areas and they are already on the ground in Haiti providing food and water.  They are working with Wyclef Jean’s organization, Yele Haiti, to provide food, employment, and micro-enterprise grants.  Haitian Relief page.

RELIGIOUS

• American Friends Service Committee (Quaker) has a stellar track record of aid.
• Catholic Relief Service have already pledged $5 million and have people on the ground there in a country that is 80% Catholic.
• Church World Service is the relief arm of the National Council of Churches.
• Convoy of Hope, a nonprofit that networks with churches in the community where need exists.  Provides necessities like food and water.  Has Charity Navigator’s highest rating year after year and was already in Haiti when the earthquake struck.
• Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, which has started a Haitian Earthquake Relief Fund. According to the website, 100% of funds collected will go to aid – JUF will absorb all administrative costs.
• Little by Little which has been making trips to Haiti for the past 4 years.  Their mission is to bring experienced nurses and nursing students to haiti to establish free clinics for the Haitian people.  They are currently in Haiti helping as much as they can and could use our support.  You can donate to this organization by clicking here.
• Presbytarian Church (USA) is already involved in responding to the earthquake. The Action by Churches Together (ACT) secretariat in Geneva, Switzerland, is now coordinating a global response involving its member churches to the catastrophe.
• United Methodist Committee on Relief which uses 100% of donations for relief.

Some Advice from AidWatchers