We don’t feature a lot of green stuff for the men here on The Green Mom Review. I’m not really sure why that is but I suppose it’s because we’re not men and what the heck do we know about guy stuff like power tools and beer and remote controls and cars? Do they even make green power tools and remote controls? Hell if I know… But Father’s Day is coming up yet again and we figure most men shave and most shaving stuff is toxic crap (no, really—it is) so why don’t we feature some yummy, non-toxic, organic, pamper-him-with-the-good-stuff shaving products. Hey, it’s better than neckties AGAIN or heaven forbid, a Billy Bass singing fish plaque. So anyway, I got my own husband to try  MiEssence shaving gel and after shave balm and while he’s not one of those metrosexual types that’s all IN to his  personal care and hygiene regimen, he really liked the MiEssence and I like it because I know he’s not introducing all kinds of toxic junk straight into his freshly shaven skin. Father’s Day is settled! He’s getting more MiEssence!  And just so you know, because only the best for my man—MiEssence products are pretty much the gold standard in USDA certified organic personal care products and are also guaranteed to be of organic food grade standard—meaning they are safe enough to go IN to your body, as well as go ON your body—not that you should eat them. But you could. Just sayin :)

Find It Here: Grand Strand Organics

Win It: We’re giving away a bottle of MiEssence Shaving Gel and a bottle of MiEssence After Shave Balm. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter MI6 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are three other MiEssence products you’d like to try? Enter by 6/24/09. $48 value. Open to residents of US and Canada. Winner will be notified by email.

Until a few years ago, bamboo was, to me, something that grew like crazy in my neighbor’s backyard and occasionally turned up in my Chinese food. These days, however, bamboo is turning up in all kinds of places like flooring, clothing, towels and sheets. Yes, I said sheets. Super soft sheets, in fact, because it turns out that bamboo fibers are very silky and yet strong and durable. But bamboo isn’t just soft and silky and durable. It’s also highly sustainable and renewable, requires no pesticides to grow, is fast-drying, hypo-allergenic and has remarkable natural antibacterial and antifungal properties. I’m thinking bamboo sheets are the ones I’d want to sleep on and the ones we want you to sleep on, too, which is why we’re giving away a set of fabulous, luxurious, awesomelicious Karen Neuburger bamboo sheets to one lucky reader!

Find It Here: BonTon

Win It: We’re giving away a set of Karen Neuburger queen/king-sized bamboo sheets to one randomly selected winner. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter KN5 as the giveaway name and answer the question: Do you have any other bamboo products in your home? Enter by 5/27/09. $130 value. Open to US residents. Contest Closed. Congrats to Michelle!

When I think of organic products, I don’t think hard liquor has ever sprung to mind—but lookie! Organic vodka brought to the masses by the good people at Square One Organic Spirits! Let it be known, however, that Square One is not your usual big name liquor company. Why? Well, for starters, Square One vodka comes from organically grown American rye—not mass-produced corn, potatoes, or grapes—and is made with a certified organic fermentation process developed especially for Square One. Additionally, founder Allison Evanow chose to start a company where the bottom line was not profit but social responsibility to the environment and a living a life of quality which is why Square One donates a portion of profits to environmental causes and encourages work-life balance through flex-time and virtual office options. It looks like high-spirited fun and sustainability can go together. Cheers to that!

Find It Here: Square One Vodka

We all deserve a little luxury once in awhile, don’t we?  What if that luxury came in the form of a delicious blanket made from super soft cashmere?  Oh, and even better, what if this one-of-a-kind gem was also eco-friendly?  No need to despair, dear reader, for you are most definitely not dreaming. Kistner Supply, a Chicago-based company, creates beautiful handmade cashmere baby blankets made from lush 2-ply recycled cashmere. Made in the USA and handsewn with pure silk thread by the mother of Elizabeth Brantley, each blanket is a patchwork of a color-combinations made of repurposed cashmere goodies that have gone on to live a second life as an heirloom quality blanket that your child (or you!) will treasure for years to come. Oh, and should your Kistner Supply blanket be, literally, loved to pieces, they will happily repair it for you!

Find It Here: Kistner Supply

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

It seems as if every time I read the news, there is some new report about BPA in our plastics, oxybenzone in sunscreens and a whole bucketful of various chemicals in our mattresses, not to mention the beauty industry’s slack guidelines concerning what they put in personal care products and cosmetics. I’m fed up with all of it but I’m not ready to give up taking care of myself just yet, especially when I can make my own personal care products. Organic Body Care Recipes by Stephanie Tourles contains over 175 different homemade herbal formulas for glowing skin and a vibrant self. In fact, there’s a recipe for just about everything you could ever need: natural bug repellent, facial steams (yes, you need facial steams), makeup remover, body butters (great for stretchmark prevention!) In addition to the recipes, the book gives primers on essential oils and how to use them; harvesting herbs; basic information on hair and skin and nail care as well as a basic ingredient dictionary. In fact, it’s very likely you’ll already have most of the ingredients right in your cupboard. And no, you don’t have to use your chocolate stash unless you really, really want to — we know some things are sacred.

Find It Here: Organic Body Care Recipes

After running after my kids all day, the only thing I usually feel like doing when I finally get to bed is sleeping! However, I can often be persuaded to stay up just a bit longer for a nice back rub, especially when accompanied by a little Midnight Oil, my favorite new body oil. Developed by GratefulBody, a family-owned, green skin care company out of Berkeley, California, this oil is great for men and women, especially for those who need a little help de-stressing at the end of a long day. You might also like to know that Midnight Oil is a vegan product and gets a great safety rating from the Cosmetic Safety Database. Try it out and I can almost guarantee you that your body will be grateful.

(P.S. It works wonderfully as a baby massage oil as well!)

Find It Here: GratefulBody

Deal: Save 20% off your order from Grateful Body with code “GREENMOM20″. Expires 5/31/08.

Congratulations Stacey M., winner of a bottle of Midnight Oil!

Okay, it isn’t organic. But it is local and they say that eating (and drinking?) locally and thus decreasing your carbon footprint is a big piece of the puzzle. So I’m giving myself a solid pat for having discovered a local wine that I could drink by the barrel — Andrew Rich Wines. I just opened (really easily, because bonus! A screw top!) a bottle of the winery’s Mesalliance, a decadent mix of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Syrah.

Sure, I could have paid a little less for a decent bottle of red; this one was about $14 and looked comparable to an $11 bottle from Australia. However, in weighing the slightly higher cost vs. the egregious addition of greenhouse gases to our already challenged atmosphere? No contest.

The point is, I’m pleased as red-wine punch that I selected the one I did. Guilt-free drinking is not a thing easily come by. If you, however, are not so fortunate as to live in a wine-producing region where you can procure the local bounty, attending a local wine event might be the next best thing. Check out the amazingly comprehensive Local Wine Events site to see what’s happening near you; perhaps even within walking distance!

Cheers.

Find it Here: LocalWineEvents.com

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! 

Sheer Bliss may sound like some decadent new beauty product but we think you might want to eat it rather than wear it. You see, Sheer Bliss is actually a new all-natural gourmet ice cream with no artificial colorings, flavors, or preservatives that comes in a nifty tin instead of a dioxin-laced cardboard container. With flavors like Freedom (vanilla with blueberry and pomegranate swirls), Mediterranean Coffee and California Pomegranate, you might have a hard time choosing a favorite. But you know what? That’s okay. You can love them all!

Find It Here: Sheer Bliss Ice Cream

Is great taste really possible with wheat and gluten-free products? It is when Pamela’s Products makes them. From their organic cookie line, the peanut butter chocolate chip and double chocolate chip cookies absolutely melt in your mouth. I don’t know how they do it but their cookies are truly divine. For those sensitive to gluten, Pamela’s gluten-free cookies and mixes and myriad other products are produced on 100% dedicated gluten-free machinery. Pamela’s Products can be found throughout North America in natural food and traditional grocery stores, and are available through mail order and internet sales.

Find It Here: Pamela’s Products

SLO Chai is a small family-owned tea company based in California that pays close attention to the ecological and social impacts of their business and commit 1% of profits toward sustainability education. Their fair-trade and certified organic products include sweet and spicy chai blends of Green Tea, Honeybush, Yerba Mate and Black Tea as well as Vanilla Spice Latte, Brew-Your-Own Chai Mix and Chai Chocolate. Yes, you read correctly. SLO Chai makes a 65% Fair Trade Organic chocolate blended with the authentic SLO Chai spice mix. In their words, “a sweet and spicy treat!” In addition to tea and chocolate, their website offers a variety of chai gift assortments, tea presses, recipes and SLO Chai gear featuring their groovy red elephant on organic cotton t-shirts.

Find It Here: SLO Chai