What: Best Buy’s electronic recycling program

Features: Did you know that Best Buy will take pretty much any electronic item off of your hands for recycling? From cell phones and video game consoles to big screen TVs, Best Buy will accept it. The web site offers program variations for each state, as well as information on how to dispose of the few items the program doesn’t accept. All US stores, (and stores in Puerto Rico, too!) run the program.

Green Factor:  Last year, Best Buy repaired, refurbished or recycled over 60 million pounds of old electronics. Recycling electronics helps keep toxic waste out of our landfills and water supply.

Bonus: Best Buy has several recycling programs in place as well as an informative FAQ page on their electronics recycling program. Check their web site for information,

Find It Here: Best Buy

What: Company that will pay for cardboard milk and juice cartons

Green Factor: MilkMuny keeps milk and juice cartons out of landfills. Considering that we throw away about 510,000 TONS of them away each year, anything that can lower that number is a big fat WIN in our book.

Bonus: Schools and non-profits can collect them and get 25¢ per carton PLUS prepaid shipping. You can also help support MilkMuny’s efforts by buying a nifty wallet made from those very same cartons.

Find it Here: MilkMuny

What: Meat Free Mondays

Features: The “Meat Free Mondays” campaign is getting worldwide attention as people become more committed to protecting the environment. Taking meat out of one day’s worth of meals is a simple way that we can help save the planet and adopt healthier eating habits, all at the same time

Green Factor: The UN has said that the meat industry dominates one-fifth of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Ouch! Going veggie one day a week or more would dramatically reduce those harmful emissions, and would save gallons upon gallons of water and gasoline

Bonus: The Meat Free Mondays web site is full of good stuff–there’s all sorts of information and recipes, including tips on which wine will best compliment your meal. Deee-lish!

Find It Here: Meat Free Mondays

On Our Blog: You Owe It to Your Kids to Care

What: Baby Earth’s Renew program

Features: Want to dispose of bulky baby gear without having it go to a landfill? Baby Earth’s Renew program is a great way to do just that! It’s simple: send them your unwanted strollers, car seats, high chairs and other big baby gear. You cover the shipping, and they take care of the rest!

Green Factor: Upon arrival, items are taken apart for recycling — fabric is sent to developing countries while metal, plastic and foam are put to good use via construction projects. If the item’s in really good shape, it’s donated to a family in need

Bonus: Use the Renew program and receive $5 off your next purchase; folks living in the Austin, TX area can drop items off at Baby Earth’s flagship store in Round Rock. Check their web site for more details!

Find It Here: Baby Earth

Made by women at a co-operative in New Delhi, these cell phone cases are fashioned out of antique saris that would normally be burned for their gold and silver. Each beautiful case is intricately detailed and completely unique. They’re equipped with a strap that can be hooked on to your purse, backpack or belt for safe keeping and are traded fairly from India. Choose from three colors – green, brown and turquoise.

Buying one of these cell phone cases is something you can feel good about. The women who create them earn the money they desperately need to raise their families and The Rainforest Site will preserve 1145.0 sq. ft. of land for each one purchased. So for just $16, you’re not only getting a one-of-a-kind case for your cell phone, you’re saving the lungs of our planet and putting gorgeous antique saris to good use.

Find It Here: The Rainforest Site Store

Here in our household, we’re gearing up for back to school. My kids hit the hallowed halls this week and I’ll be back to packing lunches and blowing my children curb side kisses within a few days. My kids are excited for school to start and I’m looking forward to the year that’s awaiting them, but with one exception: the fundraising.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m all for raising money for the school, but over the last couple of years I’ve often wished there was a fundraising campaign out there for schools that was a bit greener. I mean, I want to raise money for my kids’ as much as the next mom, but does it have to be by selling plastic bags or wrapping paper?

Enter Koru, a fundraising platform that not only benefits schools and their communities, but the environment as well. Koru offers natural, organic products that are fair trade and non-toxic. Their goal? To lead by example to inspire the leaders of tomorrow. Seventy-five per cent of Koru’s products – which range from bracelets and cosmetics to spices, household items and pet toys – are $10 or less, and all of them are green. They’re original items, too – you won’t find boxes of chocolate bars or packs of Christmas cards in Koru’s catalogue. What you will find, though, are unique products that you can actually USE. And that? Is reason enough to suggest greener fundraising with companies like Koru at your next PTA meeting.

Find It Here: Koru Fundraising

More:  EcoLabel Fundraising, Ecobags Fundraising

When I buy Basmati rice, I get it in the big, ten-pound bags that are outfitted with handles, a zippered top and a colourful, festive elephant on the front. When I get home, I dump the rice in a reusable container and save the bag – they’re sturdy and durable, and they’re great for lugging groceries around in.

With that in mind, I love the thinking behind these factory-reject rice bags that have been re-fashioned into fun and funky laptop bags! The Child Health Site has seen the potential these awesome bags have to offer and have come up with a great way to stop the duds from winding up in a landfill somewhere. Why carry your computer around in a dull black bag like everyone else when you can have a bag that’s not only unique and stylish but recycled, as well?

Each bag is hand-held and has two zippered compartments and compared to other options that I’ve seen elsewhere, are reasonably priced at $22.95. They’re made and fairly traded in Thailand, and not only that—with each purchase, The Child Health Site donates 20 cents to The Bamboo Watch Ring, an organization that benefits children who are infected or affected by the HIV virus.

Find It Here: The Child Health Site

Let’s talk about clothes, specifically those of the canine variety. I’ve long thought that doggie attire was kind of ridiculous—there is nothing sillier, in my opinion, than the sight of Aunt Mabel’s preshus little Shih Tzu prancing around town in a little blue novelty sweater. I had to suck that opinion up last year, however, once I realized that my German Short Haired Pointer, Foxy, was going to need a sweater. With a coat as short as hers, it became apparent very quickly that she required some extra protection for walks during the winter months. I had no other choice but to tuck my tail between my legs and admit defeat as I walked out the pet store with a thick, fuzzy winter coat for Foxy.

Since then, I’ve changed my opinion about clothing for dogs, because let’s face it: some dogs truly need an extra layer (like Iggy, my in-laws’ beloved hairless rat dog Chinese Crested). But when nine million tons of clothing winds up in landfills on a yearly basis, I have a hard time with the idea of buying a  sweater for Fido when the chances are it’s going to become a part of that staggering statistic, too.

Enter Scutte (pronounced ’scoot’), a new pet clothing company based out of San Francisco. The brainchild of Kira Stackhouse, Scutte creates unique sweaters, shirts and sweatshirts for dogs from vintage human clothing. Kira even recycles the leftover fabric, turning scraps in to cat toys and other accessories for our four-legged friends.

In addition to all of the aforementioned eco-friendly greatness, a portion of each purchase from Scutte goes to Muttville, a local senior dog rescue organization. So a purchase from Scutte not only helps prevent landfill waste, it benefits a rescue organization, too. Bow WOW!

Find It Here: Scutte

On Our Blog: Food, Inc ~ The Truth About What We Eat

When I was a teenager, my mother bought a bumper sticker for our car adorned with a cartoon Earth; across from it was the phrase LOVE YOUR MOTHER in big green letters. I loved that sticker – I thought it was such a clever play on words; a neat way to get such an important message across. I haven’t thought about it in years, but I was reminded of it while poring over the Smiling Planet’s web site earlier this week.

The Smiling Planet is a new green company that makes, among other things, the cutest earth-aware plates and placemats for kids I’ve ever seen. Not only are their plates are made from 100% recycled material, they’re completely recyclable, too. They’re toxin-free, dishwasher safe, stackable and scratch-free, and did I mention they’re really cute? Because they totally are. (They’re also priced right, which, as far as I’m concerned, is a real bonus these days.)

It’s not just plates and placemats that are available – the Smiling Planet boasts posters, books, t-shirts and onesies for children that send earth-friendly messages and are printed with water-based inks. All of the Smiling Planet’s merchandise is compliant with the Consumer Product Safety Information Act (CPSIA), and it’s all made in sunny California. The Smiling Planet is dedicated to reducing their carbon footprint while celebrating the world and her diversity, and that certainly shows in their (blissfully licensed character-free) designs.

Find It Here: Smiling Planet

Tonight (Saturday, March 28, 8:30pm your time) Earth Hour 2009 takes  place. My lights will be off for an hour while I read a few books by flashlight to my kids and then send them off to the Land of Nod. Why will my lights be off for an hour? Because all the cool kids are doing it! Oh, and to show that I support action against global warming. A symbolic gesture that started two years ago with the World Wildlife Foundation in Australia, Earth Hour has grown into a worldwide event with more than 100 US cities and towns agreeing to darken some of the nation’s most famous skylines in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, San Francisco and Washington, D.C. Around the world cities like Beijing, Berlin, Copenhagen, Dubai, Hong Kong, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, Paris, Rome, Toronto and Sydney will also be participating in this popular once-a-year event. There are also Youtube, Flickr and Twitter activities going on so that you can show your green spirit in other fun ways. Will you be participating? I hope so :)

According to the Breast Cancer Fund’s Pure Prevention Campaign, only 1 and 10 women with breast cancer have a genetic history of the disease, and science increasingly points to radiation and harmful chemicals in our everyday environment as factors for the high rates of breast cancer. Yet some people are still not aware of the environmental links to this terrible disease. During the month of October, The Breast Cancer Fund is focusing its breast cancer awareness efforts on the importance of prevention by asking a simple question: What do chemicals (like those in some of our food, make-up and cleaning products) have to do with breast cancer? Visit the Pure Prevention Campaign to find the research behind this link and why prevention is so important. Then check out their 5 Tips for Prevention and help spread the word by sending an e-card to share simple, everyday prevention steps with your loved ones.

Take Action! Send a Breast Cancer Prevention E-Card

Then action you shall have — earth-loving, socially responsible, conservation-minded action! The Sierra Club, one of America’s foremost environmental organizations has an Action Center that will satisfy your activist urges and it’s fabulous organizational style will allow you to peruse and act on an amazing number of important issues. Bookmark this one, let your fingers do the walking and talking and then give yourself a pat on the back for being so awesome!

Find It Here: Sierra Club Action Center

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