What: Goodie Boxes

Features: The crowning touch at children’s birthday parties? The goody bags, of course. But more often than not, those bags are filled with cheap, plastic junk from the dollar store that no doubt winds up in a landfill somewhere. Check out this greener alternative: Goodie Boxes!

Green Factor: Each re-usable box is made from recycled cardboard and is printed with soy ink

Bonus: There are several different patterns to choose from and Green Party Goods also carries a great selection of non-toxic, fair trade and earth friendlier goodies to put in your Goodie Boxes

Find It Here: Green Party Goods

What: 2010 Linen Wall Calendar

Features: This unique, hand-illustrated calendar is a cool way to commemorate the start of a new decade! Printed in navy, with two eyelets for easy hanging

Green Factor: Made with naturally sustainable linen and printed with water-based inks

Bonus: Made in the US of A!

Find It Here: Linea Carta

Healthy Child Healthy World has put together an impressive list of 200 great green gifts for the kiddos. Be sure to check it out before you start your shopping and while you’re at it, make sure to also check out this list of Unsafe Toys of 2009

Find It Here: Amazon.com

What: Wine.com

Features: Green wines made with sustainable, organic and/or biodynamic practices and a fabulous, very reasonably priced organic wine and food gift set.

Bonus: 1¢ shipping on orders over $99 for a limited time. Use promo code “1cent” in the shopping cart. in the shopping cart1cent

Find It Here: Wine.com

Our friends at Funky Green Machine are having a fabulous sale on some great green goodies. Stock up on gifts or just stock up for yourself!

They’re offering 40% off the following brands:
Circles and Squares: Ultra-hip onesies and tees made with fair labor
Fierce Hugs: Whimsical organic onesies and tee
Klean Kanteen: Stainless steel bottle with no BPA or leaching
The Spoiled Mama: All natural, organic, cruelty-free skincare products
thinkbaby: Baby bottles and feeding sets that are BPA-free, phthalate-free and lead-free
Tilvee: Eco-ethical skincare
Tiny Revolutionary: Onesies and tees

Use discount code welovegreenfriday. Discount will be taken off during checkout. Offer ends on December 2, 2009. While supplies last.

Find It Here: Funky Green Machine

While I don’t really fish anymore, I used to go fishing ALL the time as a kid. I’d frequently fish in the lake by my house with my friends and my family fished down in the Florida Keys at least once a month for years and years. So now that I’ve proven that I know a thing or two about fishing, let me show you how ignorant I am by admitting that since I no longer fish, I’ve never once thought about the possibility of earth-friendly fishing gear. Well, as it happens, green fishing gear DOES exist and it’s a good thing because a lot of fishing tackle still contains toxic lead or is made from non-biodegradable materials such as plastic. Obviously, lead is a danger because, well, it’s LEAD and all the non-biodegradeable junk being left behind in the oceans and waterways is not just pollution—it’s also deadly to wildlife. Fortunately, companies like Green Tackle are tackling the problem—they carry, among other things, lead free weights, all sorts of biodegradable bait and lures and most awesomely awesome, fishing line that will biodegrade instead of hanging around for the next eleventeen hundred years further damaging our fragile ecosystem. Pssst…keep Green Tackle in mind at Christmas time when shopping for your favorite fishing fanatic.

Find It Here: Green Tackle

When I’ve gone to my local party supply store, I was always struck by home much themed, matchy-matchy, character-driven junk they carry, none of which appears to be made from recycled materials or eco-friendly inks. It begs the question…What the hell am I doing in here?  In recent years, I’ve tried to avoid the party store altogether and find more unique and thoughtful ways to celebrate. One really neat thing I recently learned about are Big Day Chains kits; they contain everything you need to make a classic 30-day paper countdown chain in anticipation of a big event such as a birthday or a wedding. You simply assemble the links, which are 100% post-consumer waste recycled paper and printed with soy ink and hang it on a wall or from a doorway. You then tear off one link each day as the big day beckons. It’s especially fun for little ones to watch the big day get closer as the chain grows shorter!  For extra fun, the birthday links are printed in full color on one side and on the other side, have outlined birthday shapes ready for kids to color as an added activity. Recycled paper, soy inks and thirty days of old-fashioned countdown excitement makes Big Day Chains so appealing to us that we’d like to share them with one lucky reader! See below for details.

Find It Here: Big Day Chains

Win It: We’re giving away a Big Day Chains kit (winner can choose from the birthday or new baby kit). Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter BDC4 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: To which charity does Big Day Chains donate 5% of their profits? Enter by 4/27/09. $14.95 value.

We’ve mentioned this in the past but it bears repeating…even stuffed animals, which look so cute and harmless, can be toxic. Naturally, I find the idea of my children snuggling up to poison very disturbing but luckily non-toxic and eco-friendly plush toys are out there. and right now I’m quite taken with the Eco Stuffed Naturally Bunnies from Celery Street. Extremely soft and totally huggable, they’re made and filled with an eco-friendly alternative to traditional synthetics that is made from 100% soy fiber and the stuffing is 100% kapok, a golden silky fiber known for its hypoallergenic softness.  Additionally, kapok is a sustainable rainforest crop that comes from the seed pod of the kapok tree. Green and yet affordable, these adorable bunnies would look perfect in the center of an Easter basket but little ones (and their moms) will love them long after the Peeps tummyaches are but a distant memory.

Find it Here: Celery Street

Win It: We’re giving away two Eco Stuffed Naturally Bunnies. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter CS4 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are the names of the three colors of Eco Stuffed Naturally Bunnies? Enter by 4/11/09. $30 value. Contest closed. Congrats to A.

If there’s one thing we dislike about Easter time, it’s those awful baskets. You know the ones, right? Not only are they kind of um…ugly but they’re PLASTIC! This time last year we featured cool fair trade baskets handwoven in Africa (we love handmade stuff!) and this year we’re featuring these awesome handmade, hand-embroidered baskets made from reclaimed fabrics and buttons. Whimsical, adorable and reusable year after year, these one-of-a-kind baskets are a fun alternative to the plastic junk that’s available in most stores at Easter time and guess what? We’re giving one away!

Find it Here:  Devzbagz

Win It: We’re giving away a Devzbagz Easter ‘Bag’sket. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter DB3 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What four designs does Devzbagz offer for Easter? Open to US and Canadian residents. Enter by 3/18/09. $25 value. Contest Closed. Congrats Deanna!

There is something about picking out the perfect Christmas card and sending it with a personalized note, that I really love to do around the holidays. Maybe it’s because I treasure the ones that I get from friends and family that show that extra special care. This year, I found my perfect Christmas card at Print Pattern Paper. Made by Wisconsin mother and designer Rebecca Peragine, these holiday cards are made of 100% recycled cardstock and come in five designs - comfort (pictured), snowflake, peace dove, peace tree, and peace star. Her original designs are made with found papers, usually from magazines, newspapers, and foreign text books. And yeah, sending an e-mail greeting *might* be the greenest way to say “Merry Christmas”, but sometimes a special greeting is in order. Plus, it is recycled cardstock after all. :)

Find It Here: Print Pattern Paper

Deal! Receive 15% off at Print Pattern Paper, using code “GMF08″. Expires 12/14/08.

The Christmas season is almost here again and out of all the holidays we celebrate, I’d say that’s the one most in need of some greening. One good place to start is with greeting cards because with millions upon millions of cards being sent every holiday season, well, that’s a LOT of trees. Additionally, the photo paper used for photo cards is not made from recycled fibers, nor is it recyclable. Lucky for all of us, there are alternatives such as the cards from ElanInk. ElanInk’s stylish custom holiday cards are printed professionally on a digital press (no toxins released) on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified paper from responsibly managed forests. Envelopes are also FSC-certified and at least partially recycled. ElanInk also donates $1 of every purchase the World Wildlife Fund for the support and protection of forestry and eco-systems around the world. Who says the ideal white Christmas can’t be green and earth-friendly, too?

Find It Here: ElanInk

Win It: We’re giving away 25 custom holiday cards (like the one featured above) from ElanInk. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter “EL25” as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: what is the name of your favorite ElanInk card design? Open to US residents only. Enter by 11/23/08  Congratulations to Erinn, the winner of the ElanInk card giveaway!