Non Toxic, Eco Friendly Kitchen Cleaning – The Essentials

The kitchen is where you prepare meals, gather and often spend the bulk of your time. You can make your home safer, protect your health and the environment by choosing eco friendly kitchen cleaning products. Here are some great eco cleaning products for the kitchen including our sugarcane and bamboo kitchen roll towels: 1 – Nellie’s All Natural Automatic Dishwashing Powder – biodegradable and phosphate-free, this dishwashing powder is safe for the environment as well as your health. And the tin makes a great reusuable container after. 2 – Ecos Dishmate – Dishsoap – this dishwashing soap is concentrated with plant-derived cleaning agents. ‘Earth Friendly Products are formulated from the goodness of plants in facilities powered by 100% renewable energy.’ 3 – Ecos Hypoallergenic Hand Soap, Lemongrass – another winner from the Ecos line. This hand soap is blended with essential oils. It cleanses and softens your hands with non-drying, plant-derived cleaning agents. 4 – Caboo Sugarcane and Bamboo Paper Towels

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5 Innovative Products for Eco Entertaining

With the holiday approaching and US Thanksgiving around the corner, we’ve rounded up 5 great products to put on your shopping list for entertaining in eco-style. 1. Bambeco Maya Recycled Tumbler Glasses – Glassware hand-blown by artisans and made from recycled glass soda bottles. To buy: $25 for set of 4. Company: bambeco.com 2. Ecoaccent Green Dandelion Burlap Table Runner – Made from burlap providing durability but with the refinement of linen like jute. To buy: $40 per table runner. Company: ecoaccents.com 3. Eco Candle Co. 16 oz. Tumber Eco Candle – Hand-poured in Wisconsin using natural soybeans. Free from pollutants, toxins and carcinogens. To buy: $20 per candle. Company: ecocandleco.com 4. Caboo Table Napkins – 100% tree-free, made from renewable bamboo and sugarcane. Find retailers: cabooproducts.com 5. VerTerra Palm Leaf Bowl 6” x 8” – Made from just fallen leaves and water. They’re non-toxic, biodegradable, compostable and durable. To buy: $16 for 25/pkg. Company: verterra.com  

Natural Sunscreens – Our Top 5 Picks

Natural sunscreens are growing in popularity because they are safe to use and free of harmful chemicals such as parabens. Parabens mimic estrogen in our bodies and studies have shown links to breast cancer. Sunscreen chemicals are not only harmful to our bodies but to the environment as well. According to a study that appeared in Environmental Health Perspectives Journal, four ingredients commonly found in sunscreens – parabens,  cinnamate, benzophenone and camphor derivatives have been linked to the killing of coral reefs around the world. When choosing a sunscreen, look for paraben-free products and products that contain titanium oxide or zinc oxide – non-toxic ingredients. We’ve rounded up our top 5 natural sunscreen picks for you to enjoy a safe and healthy summer! 1. Badger Tangerine and Vanilla Kids Sunscreen Cream SPF 30 – This sunscreen provides protection with a nice scent and gentle enough for kids. 2. Kiss My Face Sunspray Lotion SPF

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Treeless Ways To Say I Love You

According to Hallmark Canada, approximately 132 million Valentine’s Day cards are bought each year not including packaged kids’ Valentines cards. After Christmas, Valentine’s Day is the second largest holiday for giving greeting cards in North America. That’s a lot of cards and trees cut down. This year show your love not just to your loved ones but to the environment as well. Here is a list of our favourite treeless valentine’s day cards: 1) Punchbowl digital Valentine’s cards that look like real stationary. You can customize many themes with your own photos and your text to make it personal. 2) Someecards makes humorous cards with a vintage theme.  Best of all it’s free! 3) Jib Jab creates personalized ecards and video cards by adding a photo of your face. 4) The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) offers donation ecards that help wildlife and nature. 5) Paperless Post creates beautifully designed, stylish ecards for every occasion with

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20 Ways to Conserve Trees

If you’re looking for tips on how you can conserve trees, here is a list of 20 easy things you can do at home, in the office or on the go. 1) Print less. Store information on your computer or phone. Invest in a portable hard drive to back-up your important files at home. 2) Opt for paperless billing. Request your bills and correspondence by email instead. 3) When buying wood products, look for FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) Certified. FSC is a third-party council that sets standards for forest products that have been sourced in an environmentally-friendly, socially responsible and economically viable manner. 4) Purchase paper products that use alternative sources in replace of tree pulp such as bamboo which is a sustainable resource. Bamboo and sugarcane are grasses not hardwoods and grow very quickly (reaching maturity in up to 5 years), requiring very little light and water. 5) Always print

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Hosting New Years – Eco-Friendly Style

Who doesn’t love a good New Year’s party? But like most parties, it can come with a lot of waste. As we end one year and begin another why not plan a party eco-style! Here are some eco-friendly party tips, decorating advice and food and drink ideas that will help you throw the best green party of the year! 1)      Avoid cheap throw-away decorations and look for re-usable decorations or ones that can be recycled. Candlelight and foliage go a long way to create a nice atmosphere. Remember not all candles are created equally. Look for one made of natural wax and essential oils. We like Canadian made Honey Candles made from natural beeswax. 2)      Use your tableware, cutlery and glasses if possible. If you don’t have enough consider a party rental service or opt for bamboo plates, cutlery and compostable cups that have less of an impact than paper

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