When I got an email from the peeps at Imagine Childhood asking that I take a look at their site, I clicked over and instantly fell in love—like “WHERE have you been all my life”? love. Why? Because their site reminds me of my childhood, of being outdoors, of exploring and learning and playing and life’s simpler pleasures. If you haven’t yet heard about nature deficit disorder, you soon will. It’s a hot topic and one that plagues my mind when I think about my own children’s distinct lack of free time spent outdoors (mostly for reasons beyond my control). Imagine Childhood may not be able to fix nature deficit disorder but damn if it isn’t a great place to start trying because they carry so many things that are geared toward free, imaginative, explorational and outdoor play. And the books they carry? Pure awesomeness. I urge anyone with kids to hop over there and take a gander and also note that Imagine Childhood is not just a storefront. It’s also an inspiring blog totally worth bookmarking.

Find It Here: Imagine Childhood

Win It: We’ve partnered with Imagine Childhood to give away a super cool Nature Study Kit and the amazing book I Love Dirt. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter IC6 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are one of the five questions the folks at Imagine Childhood ask themselves when choosing new products? Enter by 6/22/09. $50 value. Open to residents of US. Winner will be notified by email. Contest closed. Congrats to Steven!

Some of my favorite times with the kids are the lazy days when we just stay in, relax and hang-out playing together. And on those days, I’m all about wearing comfortable clothing, which for me, means nothing with buttons, zippers, etc. That’s why I am now in love with a new shop - Rattled - that specializes in simple, mix-and-match children’s pieces in a variety of colors. Made of 100% organic cotton under fair-wage practices, these pieces are ultra soft and totally lounge-worthy. Choose from hats, pants, onesies and tees (short and long-sleeved). Perfect for layering on colder days…or lounging and cuddling on any day.

Find it Here: Rattled

Win It! Win a Short sleeve onesie and hat of winner’s size and color choice, courtesy of Rattled! Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter SR43 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: How does Rattled give back to the community? Open to US residents only. Enter by 1/19/09. $32 value. Contest closed. Congrats, Christina G.!

Stumped about what to stick in that cheery holiday sock (assuming coal is not an option)? Then Glee Gum just might be the green alternative you need to reward all the sweet-toothed members of your family—from the young to the young-at-heart on your “nice” list. According to the folks who make Glee Gum, not only is their gum gluten-free and vegetarian, but the chewy goodies (emphasis on good) provide employment to chicleros in Mexico and Central America who sustainably harvest the natural gum base, or chicle, to help create Glee Gum products. I was also delighted to learn that this gum contains no artificial preservatives or sweeteners such as aspartame or saccharin. You can choose from traditional flavors including peppermint and spearmint or try tangerine or triple berry. If your children are older than mine, you might also love Glee’s three “Make Your Own” kits, which allow you to cook up a lesson on teamwork, math, and chemistry, with a dash of rainforest ecology-nomics, all while testing tasty recipes for chocolate, gummies, or chewing gum! Mmmm…it’s educational and tasty!

Find It Here: Glee Gum

Who said being un-wasteful means being un-cool? Personally, we think the coolest lunch containers are not made of plastic. Take these fair wage/fair labor cotton lunch sacks from Print Pattern Paper. They come in a number of original prints, including some very cool robot designs for kids. Today we’re giving away a Print Pattern Lunch sack AND  a coordinating 100% organic cotton napkin, a reusable disposable 7″ Bambu brand bamboo plate, and a reusable bamboo fork, knife and spoon utensil set!

Win It! Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter “PP66” as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What is your favorite lunch sack design? Open to US residents only. Enter by 12/16/08. $30 value. Contest closed. Congrats, Lisa W.!

This Halloween, think green. Naturally, that means monster skin, toads — and chocolate. Chocolate! How can chocolate possibly be green, you ask? It’s easy with Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates. The chocolates crafted by this California company are 100% organic and fair trade. Sweet Earth offers everything from wedding favors to green gifts and Halloween-themed candies, including their 65% chocolate, which is also vegan and lecithin-free and are available in “Very Scary Halloween Chocolate” (the skull variety, of course) which sounds wicked good. I can’t wait to tickle my sweet tooth with these boooo-tiful chocolates!

Find It Here: Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates

Try as I might to avoid battery-operated toys, we still have several of them in our home. Not surprisingly, most of these toys don’t work because I’m notoriously bad at replacing batteries — hence, my love for anything not battery-operated. Plus (and I think this goes without saying) batteries are pretty ungreen and thus when we highlight toys on The Green Mom Review, you’ll pretty much  never see “batteries required” on the packaging. Take these finger puppets available from Best Baby Organics. If you’ve got fingers and an imagination, you’re ready to play! Now, that’s my kind of toy! Hand-knitted by Peruvian Artisans in the Andes Mountains, these fair-trade finger puppets come in over 90 different animal and characters including jungle, farm, domestic, exotic, ocean animals, insects, cartoons and more! You can designate which five puppets you’d like or let Best Baby Organics pick for you and be surprised.

Find It Here: Best Baby Organics

Win It! We’re giving away a $25 gift certificate to Best Baby Organics! Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter “BB65” as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What is your favorite eco-product available from Best Baby Organics? All readers eligible. Enter by 10/6/08. Contest Closed. Congrats, Susan!

If you have school-aged kids, then you’ve probably already experienced the joy of THE FUNDRAISER. Wrapping paper, books, candy, cookie dough and holiday cards are just a few of the typical items sold via school fundraisers and while the money is generally for a good cause (what school doesn’t need more money???) wouldn’t it be awesome if the products sold were organic, fair trade and sustainably-produced so as to help the school and do good in the world? Of course it would and that’s why we’re so psyched about Equal Exchange’s school fundraising program. Their eco-friendly program offers coffee, tea, powdered cocoa, hot chocolate, chocolate bars, nuts, dried fruit and more and all fundraising materials are printed on 100% post-consumer waste paper. Equal Exchange is a win-win for schools, farmers and the planet. Who could say no to that?!

Find It Here: Equal Exchange

Since 1988 Global Exchange, has taken a stand against exploitive, corporate-based retail and raised awareness about fair-trade activism, as well as environmental, political and social justice. Through their brick and mortar stores, Global Exchange has proven that purchasing from companies that produce fairly traded food and crafts items can be profitable. These same products are now available through their fair-trade online store. By remaining steadfast to their pledge of operating according to socially conscious fair-trade criteria, Global Exchange offers a wide selection of sweatshop free products and staples such as coffee, tea and chocolate can be delivered to your door, as well as various gift baskets, jewelry, books, crafts and clothing. Chocolate? Fair trade? Delivered? YES!!!

Find It Here: Global Exchange

While buying less is always preferable, we’re not completely immune to the joys of shopping. But remember, when you shop, your dollar speaks for you — whether you want it to or not. Enter Co-op America, a program that has tackled the noble task of teaching consumers how to shop responsibly with their Responsible Shopper program. By alerting consumers to a company’s practices you will become better informed and learn which companies are truly environmentally friendly and socially responsible. Take a stroll through the alphabetized list of companies on their site and get the scoop on the good and bad and the ugly of corporate America. If you’re struck with the urge to do something positive, check out the Actions page where you can join different campaigns like the Adopt-A-Supermarket Campaign, the Green Supermarket Pledge or Six Degrees of Exploitation, to name just a few — because as long as your dollars are speaking for you, they ought to be saying something worthwhile, yes?

Find It Here: Responsible Shopper

Ever since I heard that vinyl bibs contain lead, I’ve been backing off the plasticky bibs and going for cloth. Cloth bibs tend to be much easier on the eyes anyway. One of my favorites are these 100% organic cotton, soft terrycloth bibs by La Queue du Chat (aka The Cat’s Tail). We love this French company for their bib designs, but we love them even more for their commitment to fair-trade practices. Their bibs are manufactured in an Indian factory that works exclusively with organic cotton. Female workers make equal pay to their male counterparts (no children are employed), and all workers receive higher-than-average wages, a yearly bonus of one month’s pay, medical insurance, and free access to a doctor and a pharmacy for themselves and their families. Working conditions are safe and clean. But wait, there’s more! They even send a collection of their baby clothes to charities that provide assistance to homeless mothers. Wow. Suffice it to say that we’re hooked on them.

Find It Here: Comptoir d’Enfance

Congratulations to Debbie, winner of a fair-trade, organic cotton bib by La Queue du Chat, courtesy of Comptoir d’Enfance.

I’m really trying to buy more used items these days because not only is it better for the environment to not buy new stuff all the time, it’s also better for my pocketbook. But when I’m looking for natural and fair-trade toys and clothing, I’ve had trouble finding them used. So I was totally psyched (do people still use that word?) to find The Conscious Child. While The Conscious Child mainly carries brand new items, it is their small selection of gently used environmentally friendly baby and toddler products that made us fall in love with this unique online store. Browse their shop to buy, or sell some of your own items for cash upfront. While their inventory is sometimes a little low, you can find some good deals if you check back often - like this organic cotton Under the Nile baby gown priced at only $15.99 and available elsewhere for $22.00. Shop owner, Sarah, personally and fully inspects all used items for first-quality condition prior to selling them so you can feel confident in what you’re buying. So if you’re the type who loves to shop consignment stores, flea markets, garage sales, or if you’re just a closet Craigslist addict with a bent towards green living, then take a peek at the selection of gently loved items at The Conscious Child. But hands off the ecological wool booties, kay? Those are mine :)

Find It Here: The Conscious Child

Congratulations to Lily K., winner of a set of (3) handcrafted beeswax body balms from The Conscious Child!

When it comes to chocolate, I don’t usually need an excuse to eat some but now I have even more reason to indulge because I’ve found a green mom’s dream cookie company - Liz Lovely’s Online Bakery and Chocolate Shop. This socially responsible company specializes in fair-trade, non-GMO, organic, vegan chocolates, cookies, fruits, nuts and all kinds of other yummy and totally guiltless goodies. Almost every product is made from scratch in their very own bakery in Vermont. These are true artisan goods, made by real people instead of machines and free of preservatives and artificial flavorings. Their packaging is pretty darn eco-conscious, too, right down to the biodegradable ribbon and the compostable, “corn-tainers”, which biodegrade within 90 days. Check out their gift samplers, which give you a little taste of everything. As for myself, I think I see an Easter Treat-ster sampler with my name my kids’ names on it.

Find It Here: Liz Lovely

Congratulations to Julianne, winner of a $40 “Easter Treat-ster” sampler from Liz Lovely!