Looking for a green gift idea for the eco-chef in your life??  Check out these kitchen spice racks available in bamboo. Bamboo is a great wood to use because it grows extremely quickly with little water and no use of pesticides required at all.  Bamboo has been known to grow as much as 6 or 8 feet a day!!  This renewable resource is perfect for daily use because it is extremely hard and durable as well.

A spice rack makes an extremely good gift because they are constantly in use.  Even the most amateur cook will have a wide range of spices on hand to help concoct their dishes.  You can get spice racks that sit on the surface of the counter or a wall spice rack for kitchens without any extra counter top space available.

Whichever version you choose, it would be a nice touch to have some of your home-grown, organic dried spices on hand to fill the jars with.  This gives the gift a personal touch not available in big box retailers.

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!!

Courtesy of Flickr User That Angela

I’ve got to admit that I live in the middle of a city fueled by oil.  Make no mistake about it, Calgary is definitely an oil town.  We’ve got a terrible reputation as red necks with out Stampede and a myriad corporate offices full of planet polluting, pipe line building, suit wearing “cowboys”.  However, there really is room in this city for even a major tree hugger like myself.  Even the never ending construction boom builders are beginning to realize it.  Us greenies are here to stay!

There are now starting to be more and more Calgary apartments for rent that take eco-living and social responsibility into account.  The Calgary Homeless Foundation movement is finishing renovation construction on 16 apartments downtown that will welcome homeless veterans an affordable housing option. These apartments will be provided with minimal rent to veterans who have served our country bravely and have suffered from long term problems of homelessness.  Although I couldn’t seem to find any articles about it online, there were clearly energy star appliances in these renovated apartments.

Green building technologies have soared in the last few years and this oil town has embraced them with both arms.  Everything from dual flush toilet kits, low flow shower heads, energy efficient furnaces, solar panel technologies, composters, rain water barrels and even gray water systems are extremely popular both in new builds as well as renovations on existing apartments and homes throughout the city.  We may have been one of the last cities in Canada to have gotten curbside recycling programs in place but they are finally there and being utilized.

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!

Often, money is not what is needed.  Rather, it’s ingenuity, skills and ideas that are required.  That’s what I really love about this simple project — it takes something common (an empty pop bottle) and brings light with little to no cost to anyone, anywhere who needs it.

The idea is simple.  Take a dark room and drill a hole in the ceiling.  Insert a two liter bottle half full of water with a little bleach in it to kill anything that might tend to grow and murky up the water.  Voila, when the sun is up — there’s light.  Natural, free, light in a space where there was previously none.  The water refracts the light and produces a glow that puts even the eco-friendly LED lightbulbs to shame with it’s energy savings.  Definitely check out the video below to get a real feel of what I’m talking about here.

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!!

Okay, so we all know that smoking is a problem but cigarettes are very hard to quit because of the addictive properties found in nicotine.  Have you ever heard of the e-cigarette as an alternative to smoking or perhaps help in quitting?  It gives users the same look and feel as traditional toxic cigarettes without the harmful fumes to worry about.  You also don’t have to worry about what to do with the hot cigarette butts without an ashtray to put them in because there is no flame necessary for the e-cigarette.

These e-cigarettes are definitely worth taking a look at if you or someone you know is trying to break the habit.  Check out this fun quiz below to learn more about e-cigarettes and how they can help you.

I’ve got to say that these games are brilliant!!  There’s hopscotch, an amazing maze and a distance throwing game to make picking up litter as fun as your hard to put down Smart phone.  Great idea thinking outside of the box to draw some attention to a problem that makes the community look shabby.

What makes for a sustainable cattle farm?  Well, there are many factors that go into that.  The smallest amount of grazing area per pound of meat is ideal.  Mini-cows eat only 1/3 the amount of their heftier cousins.  This means that only five acres of land, you can have 10 mini cows which produce as much as 6,000 pounds of meat as opposed to 2 full size cows which produce around 2,400 pounds of meat.

The cows should also be grass fed as opposed to grain fed.  Grain fed cows not only eat a resource which humans could be consuming in a global food crisis but they produce more methane and require more antibiotics than grass fed cows.  Studies have even shown that cows grazing on fields of grass help to maintain the biodiversity of species of grasses.  It also means that grain does not have to be shipped hundreds of miles wasting fossil fuels and creating even more air pollution.

If the movie Food, Inc. taught us anything at all, it’s that huge scale industrial farming practices need to change for the good of all.  Maybe thinking in a small scale with these mini cows and sustainable cattle farming practices could end up making a huge difference for farmers who sell their meat locally and maintain small herds.

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.

It really makes you think out of the box — or maybe more out of the shell — at how you look at things.  Is it garbage or art?  Waste or masterpiece?  I’m definitely going to check out more of his work in the future…Strangely compelling pieces made out of virtually nothing and turned into something eye catching, intriguing and occasionally bizarre…  Just how I like it!

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:)

Image Courtesy Flickr User Kate Sheets

1.  COMPOST – This can be done on a large scale and be a huge pile in the corner of a field or on a small scale like a plastic bin with ventilation holes drilled in it sitting in the basement.  Either way, don’t forget that red wigglers are a great addition to compost as they help to decompose the materials more quickly.  Great additions to compost piles are egg shells, coffee grinds and filters, newspapers, grass clippings, veggie peels and fruit peels.

2.  RAIN BARRELS – If you have downspouts on your house, you have a quick and easy way to catch the rain and make use of it in your garden.  Rain water is best for your garden because you don’t have to worry about anything that’s been added to it such as fluoride and it’s always at the right temperature!  Don’t forget to elevate your rain barrel to make use of gravity when you’re filling your watering can.

3.  EDIBLE GARDEN – Plant what you can eat regardless of the space you have to garden.  A herb garden can easily grow in one or two pots on a window ledge and provide you with flavourful dishes for months!  I am extremely envious of those who have space to grow row after row of carrots, radishes and lettuce but make do with pots of tomatoes, peppers and lettuce growing on the deck in the suburbs.

4.  ORGANIC – Grow organic regardless of what you are growing.  This means using no pesticides or fertilizers to artificially get rid of weeds and bugs or to make your plants grow faster.  There are many more natural ways to make plants grow stronger without resorting to the use of chemicals.

5.  LOCAL – Grow local varieties of plants.  Species that occur naturally in your area are more likely to grow without the need of chemicals, use less water and are more likely to grow strong and healthy season after season.

It might not be a very attractive looking cleaner at this point but check out the blog Vinnie Pearce Right Now to download some very pretty labels for free to put on your bottles of homemade cleaners.  All you need is paper, scissors, modge podge and your DIY sensibilities.  These labels will have your chemical cupboard looking as pretty and organized as anything you’d see on a store shelf.  And, if you make it yourself, you’ll know exactly what’s in the cleaners and what’s not.

Vinegar can also be used as an air freshener  by boiling equal parts of water and vinegar on the stove top to deodorize the air.  You can also use it to clean your coffee pot or tea pot of hard water stains without worrying about what kinds of residues are being left inside.  It can be used to clean and sanitize make-up brushes by soaking them in one part vinegar to three parts of water.  Make sure that you keep vinegar in stock at home and comment here with any other great green uses for it!