Every day I pack my kids’ lunches (yep…even in the summer) and every day they need a spoon. Well, I learned a long time ago that sending them with silverware was a bit of a crap shoot. It might make it home. It might not. And that right there? Is why I love Pop!CornWare utensils. It’s like the plastic stuff in that it’s disposable but it’s NOT plastic. Nope. It’s actually made from corn and it’s totally biodegradable, non-toxic and petroleum free. You can just use it and pitch it (or lose it) and not feel one iota of plastic guilt. But this is where Pop!CornWare gets even better. We DON’T just use it and pitch it. We use it, wash it in the dishwasher, and use it again. And again. And again. It’s true. I got my package of Pop!CornWare probably 4-6 months ago and I took 4 spoons out to use and have been using them ever since in my kids lunchboxes. Now how they can lose silverware but manage to hang onto a Pop!CornWare spoon is one of life’s great mysteries but whatever… They’re green. They last. They rule!

Find It Here: 3 Green Moms

I know people who will NOT drink a beverage without a straw. One has very sensitive teeth and another refuses to drink without a straw because she has weak enamel, leaving her prone to cavities and stained teeth. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any alternative to offer my straw-addicted friends until recently when I was introduced to glass straws from GlassDharma. Though I honestly didn’t see how glass straws could possibly be practical, especially with children who break, ohhh, pretty much everything, I was intrigued by their “Lifetime Guarantee Against Breakage.” When my DharmaGlass straws arrived, their sturdiness surprised me. Apparently, they use the same strict, computer-controlled process that Pyrex uses to insure strength and durability. My kids don’t care about any of that, though. They’re just happy to have straws (because I’m mean and won’t buy the plastic kind) and use their beloved glass ones almost every day to drink smoothies. I use my delicate little one to drink water although it would be perfect for a cocktail if I ever had time to actually drink one. In any case, after weeks and weeks of regular use, none of our three glass straws have broken and I can’t help but think about how much plastic would be saved from the environment if everyone had a glass straw of their very own (they have the coolest little hemp sleeves and bamboo cases!) And my two straw-fiend friends? Well, you KNOW what they’ll be getting for their birthdays…

Find It Here:  GlassDharma

Another birthday party. Another bazillion gifts to add to the kajillion other things your child already owns. I know. It makes me cringe a little bit, too. It’s just…so much. But there’s another way. You CAN make your child’s next birthday party more meaningful—instead of bringing wrapped and packaged presents, guests simply RSVP and make secure online contributions that are pooled for the purchase of ONE memorable gift and to support ONE meaningful cause. Simply select an eco-friendly invitation, choose a cause and invite your friends. No Driving. No Shopping. No Wrapping.

Find It Here: Echoage

Yes, I know this is just one of a thousand Earth Day-themed posts but don’t leave! I’ll be brief, I promise. All I really wanted to say is that while this site is devoted to bringing you greener alternatives to the things we all need everyday, we still believe that buying less is the greenest thing we can do. That said, on this Earth Day, our challenge to everyone, ourselves included, is to buy nothing unless it’s secondhand or recycled. If it’s too late to do that today, then you can always do it tomorrow! We won’t tell :)

Happy Earth Day! Are you feeling creative? Feeling extra green? We hope so because now through May 15, Kroger (*and other stores under the Kroger umbrella) is inviting customers to visit to enter the Kroger Reusable Shopping Bag Contest. You can design your own reusable grocery bag with Kroger.com’s easy-to-use design tool. Then? Get your friends, family, random strangers etc. to vote for your design. Prizes will be awarded to the top 10 bag designs, with one lucky designer winning a $1,000 Kroger gift card and the chance for their bag design to be sold in stores. Judges will also select four finalists who will receive $250 Kroger gift cards and five runners-up who will receive $100 Kroger gift cards. Plus? Kroger has also partnered with Café Press so you can purchase a reusable bag with your design on it. This would be a really fun project to do with your kids and how totally psyched would they be to see their art on a reusable bag?! And finally, just to sweeten the deal a bit, we’re also giving away Kroger’s gift cards that can be used at any of their *stores to two lucky readers!

*Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Dillons, Smith’s Food and Drug, King Soopers, Fry’s Food, Quality Food Centers, City Market, Owen’s Market, Jay C Foods, Food 4 Less

Find It Here: Kroger Reusable Shopping Bag Contest

Win It: We’re giving away two $25 Kroger gift cards. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter KR4 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What are one of the energy-saving measures being taken by Kroger in their stores? Enter by 5/15/09. $25 value per card.

When it comes to buying books, I’m all about the cheap and easy. I could be talking about something else here, but, well, nevermind that… Today, I’m talking about Better World Books, which are cheap, easy, and green.  Sure, other people sell used books and that’s cool, but do they offer FREE shipping within the U.S. and only charge $3.95 to ship worldwide?  Maybe some do, but what about that pesky minimum purchase requirement? BWB’s free shipping offer isn’t just a promotional gimmick. It’s for real ALL of the time.  Plus, BWB books are up to 80% cheaper than new ones AND shopping at BWB means you don’t have to use any gas (and I’m sure the coffee is much cheaper at your place—BONUS!) Simply put, I’m all for anything that can be done right in front of this here screen. In regards to being green and socially responsible, BWB has  saved over 6,000 books from landfills and offsets their shipping environmental costs with carbon offsets from CarbonFund.org. They also share revenues with literacy organizations like Books for Africa. Personally, with options like Better World Books, I can’t think of any reason I would ever buy a new book at a store unless I needed it right away or it was newly released. But?  I’m cheap and lazy, so I could probably wait.  Oh, and did mention BWB sells new books, too? Yep. So…if you’re not at all like me (read: cheap, lazy, willing to wait) you can also buy your NEW books from Better World and feel not-so-bad about it. When you’re done with them? Sell or donate them back to BWB!

Find It Here: Better World Books

Wouldn’t it be nice to have little reminders around the house to help everyone remember to be green? Not for you, of course, but you know, for the kids or maybe your spouse? I can’t even begin to count how many times a week I have to remind my kids to turn off their bedroom lights when they leave the room and well, it does get a bit tiresome which is why I’m really digging Ecominders. They’re these cool little stickers that you can put all over your home and office to remind everyone to “stick” to being green. Reusable and removable, they help you remember to do things like turn off lights, keep the thermostat at a certain level, turn off electronics when you’re not using them, turn off the water when brushing, use less toilet paper etc. They come in Kids & Schools versions, too. My kids think they’re really neato and are already turning the lights off more often than they used to so I’m giving Ecominders two green thumbs up—one for saving electricity and one for cutting down on my nagging!

Find It Here: Ecominders

Win It: We’re giving away a 5 pack of the Home & Office and Kids & Schools Ecominders along with a reusable tote and an Ecominders organic cotton T-shirt. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter EM4 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Ecominders donates 1% of their profits to what organization? Enter by 4/15/09. $70 value. Contest closed. Congrats to Stefanie!

Some women collect shoes. I collect stainless steel reusable water bottles. It’s true. As soon as I find a new line, I get super excited. No, it’s not as sexy as a new pair of Louboutins or Manolos but I love finding new and interesting reusable drinking bottles made of stainless steel - especially when they come with cool designs, like these from Otterbottle. Available in small (500 ml), medium (750 ml), and large (900 ml), these canteens are made of 100% 18/8 stainless steel inside and out, which means no BPA to worry about. The only downside? They’re not available for sale in the U.S. (yet), but the good news for our friends up North is that they are available in Canada. So Canadians, you’re in luck! We’ll try not to be jealous, and in the meantime, we’ll keep an eye out for these babies to be available in the States.

Find It Here: Otterbottle

Plastic baggies…we know they’re convenient for packing lunches because, well, we’ve used them. I mean who hasn’t, right?  There’s just one problem…they aren’t recyclable. The end result is that every day of the 180 day school year, millions of plastic baggies are thrown away and will live on for hundreds of years in a landfill. But it doesn’t HAVE to be that way. There  are lots of reusable options available for packing waste-free lunches and one that we especially like are Fresh Snack Packs. I like them because you can see what’s inside them but equally awesome is the fact that they’re phthalates, PVC and BPA and lead free. Oh, and did I mention they’re reusable? Yeah, they are and we think they’re so groovy green that we’re giving away a couple sets of Fresh Snack Packs to one lucky winner!

Find It Here:  Fresh Snack Pack

Win It:  We’re giving away two sets of Fresh Snack Packs (4 snack and 2 sandwich packs) to one winner. Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter FSP3 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: Fresh Snack Packs are made of what material? Enter by 3/25/09. $29 value. Contest closed. Congrats to Tammy!

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!

I’m pretty good about remembering to bring bags from home when I go grocery shopping, but when I get to the produce aisle I always feel really guilty reaching for the plastic produce bags. In fact, I really detest the plastic produce bags because I have to use so many of them, and because, well, they’re plastic! I mean, how can I bring a reusable tote to the grocery store and then fill them with plastic produce bags? It’s just not right! That’s all changed now that I have found these reusable produce bags by ECOBAGS. Made of cotton, they are machine washable and come in a variety of sizes with a drawstring closure. Get them in organic cotton or regular cotton, and then pair them with a few shopping totes for a totally guilt-free waste-free shopping experience.

Find It Here: ECOBAGS

Okay, so just in case we haven’t made it abundantly clear, we LOVE non-plastic food and lunch containers. Why? Because plastics (and plastic bags) are made with a variety of toxic chemicals (not to mention fossil fuels) like PVC, bisphenol-A (BPA) and phthalates, all of which can interfere with human hormone functions and are suspected human carcinogens, which means they’re believed to cause cancer. I know…not exactly what you had in mind for lunch, right? That’s why we dig LunchBots 100% stainless steel lunch containers so much. They’re made from the highest quality, lab certified lead-free stainless steel and contain no plastic whatsoever. When you have containers this cool, packing your kids a toxin-free (and waste-free) lunch is a no-brainer!

Find It Here: LunchBots

Win It:  We’re giving away a pair of awesome Lunchbots (the Uno and Duo) containers!  Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter LB02 as the giveaway name and provide the answer to this question: What type of stainless steel is used in LunchBots? Open to US residents. Enter by 2/27/09. $30 value. Contest closed. Congrats to Skila!