What: Bamboo Veneerwear  by Bambu

Features: Available in sets of eight, these single-use plates come in three sizes (appetizer, salad and dinner plate) and are far sturdier (and more attractive!) than their disposable counterparts

Green Factor: While simply washing regular plates is the greenest option, if you require something disposable or less fragile, Veneerwear plates are made of 100% organically grown bamboo, peeled right from the stalk. They’re also compostable, biodegrading within four to six months, and FDA approved food-safe

Bonus: Veneerware was named Best Product Design by Fortune Magazine in 2004!

Find It Here: re:modern

What: Whoops Bunny Natural Makeup Sticks

Features: Five twist-up tubes of brightly colored makeup for your little bunnies to play with, worry free!

Green Factor: Unlike most kids’ play makeup that’s loaded with nasty and sometimes toxic chemicals, Whoops Bunny is made from all natural, biodegradable ingredients such as raspberry extract—and the plastic tubes are recyclable, as well.

Bonus: Whoops Bunny makeup sticks are made right in the USA and manufactured with wind power.

Find It Here: Whoops Bunny

What: Coconut Palm Bowls

Features: These brightly colored coconut shell bowls are absolutely delicious! Once the coconut meat and milk is harvested, the shells are cleaned, polished and coated with a food-safe lacquer. Each bowl is uniquely shaped; sets of four come in Mango, Cayenne, Basil Green and Spearmint Blue

Green Factor: Turning coconut shells from by-product waste to pretty dinnerware is a brilliant way to use what would otherwise be sent to the landfill

Bonus: These babies come from a totally renewable, sustainable resource and would make a fabulous wedding gift for your fave green couple!

Find It Here: re:modern

What: Nature Babycare disposable diapers

Features: Earth friendly, award winning, high performance disposable diapers.

Green Factor: Nature Babycare diapers are made from chlorine-free absorbent materials and they contain no plastic, latex, fragrance or TBT (tributyl tin). They feature a 100% natural, biodegradable back sheet and come packaged in 100% compostable consumer packaging. The top seller on the ‘green diaper’ market, they’re competitively priced with conventional diapers.

Bonus: ecomom offers free shipping on orders of $75 and more within the US. Check their web site for details

Find It Here: ecomom

What: Sketchbooks, notebooks, journals and more

Features: Stylin’ sketchbooks from ecojot have sturdy, durable covers and bright, funky designs!

Green Factor: All of ecojot’s wares are made with 100% recycled paper, free of acid and chlorine. They’re decorated with vegetable-based inks, protected by corn-based packaging, and no new trees were cut down to make them

Bonus: Check out their Buy One, We Give One campaign. With a goal to promote literacy in developing countries, ecojot donates a notebook for every sketchbook, journal and jumbo journal sold

Find It Here: Amazon.com

What: Sustainable, sweet lookin’ shoes

Features: It may have taken a few years, but the folks at Simple Shoes have discovered their company’s focus: making 100% sustainable shoes. Simple shoes come in a ton of styles to choose from and range in sizes from infant to adult. They’re built to last, and I know that for a fact–my first pair of Simple’s lasted me well over a decade!

Green Factor: Simple uses recycled car tires (for soles), post consumer recycled paper, hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, natural latex and a host of other recycled and natural materials to make both their shoes and packaging

Bonus: Free domestic ground shipping on all orders!

Find It Here: Simple Shoes

What: LiceLogic

Features: If you’ve got kids, there’s a fair chance you will eventually have a run in with head lice (if you haven’t already) and the only thing worse than having a case of it in your household are the conventional treatments used to get rid of it. I mean, who wants to dump a bunch of nasty chemicals on their child’s head? Enter LiceLogic and their line of non-toxic products, designed to not only treat head lice, but prevent it as well.

Green Factor: LiceLogic products are enzyme and plant-based, non-toxic and pesticide-free. They’re biodegradable, safe for infants and meet all FDA guidelines

Bonus: Ingredients such as peppermint and lemon mean no nasty chemical smell! And? LiceLogic makes house calls! Check their web site for details

Find It Here: LiceLogic

What: Biodegradable pens and pencils

Features: From Paper Mate comes a line of pens and mechanical pencils that are almost completely biodegradable and compostable. While the refill and grip are not yet biodegradable, the outer casing, which makes up the majority of the instrument, breaks down in about a year.

Green Factor: Comes in plastic-free, all paper packaging. Made from corn-based materials and plant-derived sugar. Click here to see how they break down – it’s neat!

Bonus: These pens and pencils are refillable and thus reusable, too!

Find It Here: Paper Mate

Win It: We’ve partnered with Paper Mate to give away $25 worth of biodegradable pens and pencils to one lucky winner!

Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter PM05 as the giveaway name and tell us the four colors the biodegradable pens come in! Giveaway ends 05/12/10; $25 value. Open to US residents only. Official Rules. Giveaway closed.

On our Blog: The Pollution INSIDE Your Home

What: Sun Chips in greener packaging

Features: Did you know that the small bags of Sun Chips are now packaged in a completely biodegradable bag? Each 10.5 oz bag will fully break down in about 14 weeks when composted.

Green Factor: In addition to creating compostable packaging, Sun Chips has started using solar power as opposed to fossil fuels in their Modesto, CA plant

Bonus: Less packaging guilt! Also, you can watch how the new Sun Chips bag decomposes here—it’s pretty neat.

Find It Here: Sun Chips

What: Old Fashioned Milk Paint

Features: Milk-based paint, the oldest form of paint known to man, is vibrant, vivid, durable and natural. The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company boasts twenty different colors in powder form, which can be mixed for maximum creativity and desired thickness

Green Factor: According to this company, green is more than just a color. This paint is biodegradable and non-toxic, and is 100% safe. It contains no lead, chemical preservatives or petroleum derivatives and is made using earth pigments, such as ochre, umber and iron oxide

Bonus: The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company stands by their product, offering a full money-back guarantee (including shipping and taxes) if you’re at all unsatisfied

Find It Here: The Old Fashioned Milk Paint Company

What: Green Wax

Features: Skiers, snowboarders and surfers alike have been known to wax their equipment, which not only enhances their ability and execution, but protects expensive gear against the elements as well. Green Wax, an all-natural performance wax, is made in small batches and then poured in to recyclable tubes, bypassing the need for extrusion machinery and further reducing energy consumption and waste

Green Factor: Unlike most of its competition, Green Wax doesn’t come equipped with harmful toxins. It’s non-toxic, biodegradable, and contains neither PFC’s nor petroleum

Bonus: Endorsed by a third-party environmental research firm based at Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, and made here in the United States

Find It Here: Green Wax

What: Paper Loop Greeting Cards

Features: L.A.-based Paper Loop is an eco-friendly, wholesale stationary company that offers up a variety of fun and funky greeting cards for all occasions

Green Factor: Using recycled paper and envelopes, biodegradable sleeves, wind-powered printing and domestic suppliers are ways this company keeps it green

Bonus: Can be found in the US, Canada, the UK, Chile and Japan; will ship via buyer’s preference

Find It Here: Paper Loop