What: Staple-free stapler

Features: This ingenious little tool stitches (up to five) pieces of paper together, eliminating the need for staples on packets containing five or less sheets. It’s cute, safe for smaller hands and it means that the days of having to pick staples out of page corners before recycling (or shredding) are over!

Green Factor: The staple-free stapler never needs to be refilled, makes paper recycling a bit easier.

Bonus: Greenraising offers eco-friendly fundraising items–check out their website for more information.

Find It Here: Greenraising

This Week’s Giveaway: LunchBots for Waste-Free Lunches

What: Tie Tote from Rebagz

Features: Rebagz produces one-of-a-kind handbags, totes, backpacks, wrist wallets and more that range from fun and funky to sleek and glamorous.

Green Factor: Each bag is hand-woven using recycled juice packs and rice sacks, which means they’re all completely unique.

Bonus:  All of Rebagz’s products are made using recycled materials, under fair labor conditions. As well as donating proceeds from their Statement Makers line to various organizations, they also give $1 from every order to Global Exchange.

Find It Here: Rebagz

Everyone in my household has sensitive skin to some degree and thus, I’m very picky about what kinds of soap I buy. The conventional deodorant soaps make my husband all itchy and both my kids will get little patches of eczema all over from anything that’s too harsh.

Aside from that, conventional soaps and body washes are typically heavily scented via phthalate-laden “fragrances” and contain a laundry list unpronounceable chemicals that have been linked to various health issues from cancer to hormone disruption to organ damage. You just don’t need all that junk to get clean. Read the rest of this entry »

What: Hemp coffee filters

Features: These reusable coffee filters are easy to use—simply rinse clean with water or a bit of soap and let dry between brewing

Green Factor: Think of how many times a year you make a pot of coffee. How many paper coffee filters are you throwing away each year? Using a reusable coffee filter—like these, which are made of all-natural, plastic and chemical-free hemp—means fewer trees are harvested and less waste is produced.

Bonus: Available in two sizes, for less than ten bucks!

Find It Here: Nubius Organics

What: Wooden trike

Features: I’ve always been a sucker for a red and white trike, but I’m head over heels for the fresh, modern look of this wooden one from Plan Toys! Constructed and designed with the toddler set in mind, this trike is fun, functional and built to last.

Green Factor: Made from all-natural, organic recycled rubber wood; decorated with non-toxic paints and finishes.

Bonus: Plan Toys was won over thirty awards for their innovative, eco-friendly, imagination-stimulating toys.

Find It Here: Amazon

What: Bamboo kitchen set

Features: Bamboo’s got a lot of good stuff going for it–it’s durable, lightweight and stain resistant. This six-piece kitchen set comes equipped with five handy utensils and a crock for storage

Green Factor: Sustainably grown without pesticides, fertilizers or chemicals plus it’s natural water resistance helps inhibit growth of germs and bacteria

Bonus: BuyGreen has slashed the list price by over $10, and offers a one-year manufacturer’s warranty

Find It Here: BuyGreen

What: Sketchbooks, notebooks, journals and more

Features: Stylin’ sketchbooks from ecojot have sturdy, durable covers and bright, funky designs!

Green Factor: All of ecojot’s wares are made with 100% recycled paper, free of acid and chlorine. They’re decorated with vegetable-based inks, protected by corn-based packaging, and no new trees were cut down to make them

Bonus: Check out their Buy One, We Give One campaign. With a goal to promote literacy in developing countries, ecojot donates a notebook for every sketchbook, journal and jumbo journal sold

Find It Here: Amazon.com

What: Weather Radio by Etón

Features: Stuck on a Father’s Day gift this year? The Solarlink FR600 Weather Radio is about fifteen different things all rolled in to one. It’s a radio (tunes in to AM/FM and Shortwave frequencies, as well as all seven NOAA weather bands) and a USB charger (perfect for phones or small devices). It’s got a built-in flashlight, siren and a headphone jack; its digital display (including a 12-hour clock with an alarm, sleep timer and snooze button) is illuminated by an LED backlight.

Green Factor: Charging the FR600 is easy – not only is it outfitted with solar panels, it’s got a hand crank, too! (Can also be charged by using a rechargeable battery pack or a with an AC adapter)

Bonus: For each Red Cross product purchased, The Etón Corporation donates .49-$1.00 of the sale price to support The American Red Cross. Also…it’s NOT another tie :)

Find It Here: Etón

What: Sustainable, sweet lookin’ shoes

Features: It may have taken a few years, but the folks at Simple Shoes have discovered their company’s focus: making 100% sustainable shoes. Simple shoes come in a ton of styles to choose from and range in sizes from infant to adult. They’re built to last, and I know that for a fact–my first pair of Simple’s lasted me well over a decade!

Green Factor: Simple uses recycled car tires (for soles), post consumer recycled paper, hemp, organic cotton, bamboo, natural latex and a host of other recycled and natural materials to make both their shoes and packaging

Bonus: Free domestic ground shipping on all orders!

Find It Here: Simple Shoes

What: Biodegradable pens and pencils

Features: From Paper Mate comes a line of pens and mechanical pencils that are almost completely biodegradable and compostable. While the refill and grip are not yet biodegradable, the outer casing, which makes up the majority of the instrument, breaks down in about a year.

Green Factor: Comes in plastic-free, all paper packaging. Made from corn-based materials and plant-derived sugar. Click here to see how they break down – it’s neat!

Bonus: These pens and pencils are refillable and thus reusable, too!

Find It Here: Paper Mate

Win It: We’ve partnered with Paper Mate to give away $25 worth of biodegradable pens and pencils to one lucky winner!

Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter PM05 as the giveaway name and tell us the four colors the biodegradable pens come in! Giveaway ends 05/12/10; $25 value. Open to US residents only. Official Rules. Giveaway closed.

On our Blog: The Pollution INSIDE Your Home

What: Think Baby Feeding System

Features: We love these products from Think Baby–colorful, durable cups, bottles and feeding sets for kids of all ages!

Green Factor: Interiors are made of food-grade stainless steel and are free of BPA, melamine, PVC, lead, phthalates and nitrosamines

Bonus: The set comes complete with a spoon and fork and the food containers come with lids; all items are dishwasher safe and the polypropylene shell helps insulate contents.

Find It Here: Think Baby

Win It: We’ve partnered with Think Baby to give away one of their BPA-free feeding sets! Click here to fill out our simple entry form. Just enter TB04 as the giveaway name and answer the following: What are three other Think Baby products besides the Feeding System? Enter by 04/23/10. $40 value. Open to US residents only; winner to be notified by email. Official Rules.

Also Check Out: Manny & Simon Wheelie Toy giveaway (ends April 14)

What: Wall Hook

Features: Check out these sweet wall hooks from FluffyCo! They’re screen-printed by hand on to blocks of Ponderosa Pine, with three hooks at the bottom to hang clothing, jewelry, keys or whatever strikes your fancy

Green Factor: Made by hand in San Francisco using locally sourced and sustainably harvested wood, water-based materials and American-made hardware

Bonus: Check out the Inspirations section on the company’s web site, which features cool snaps of what inspires the minds behind FluffyCo and photo tour of their studio

Find It Here: FluffyCo