Untangled Living

As a new(ish) mom, it's really hard to know what you're going to actually need for your kid. And when. And once you figure out that you need something, there's usually about 15 different versions of that thing, and you don't know what's really good until you get the chance to try it out, and then you end up with a bunch of said item that you don't like and one you do, so the one gets used and the rest get piled somewhere. (Much to the chagrin of my husband.)

So, I'm here to tell you, that here's one item you will love.

Untangled Living creates stainless steel children's dishware. They very kindly sent me a set to test way too long ago, ha. But at the time I received it, my kid wasn't interested in using cups or bowls or plates or utensils; only now at 13 months is she starting to show some indication that she gets the concept that things like food go inside other things like bowls as opposed to just flinging it across the room. Now that she can be trusted within some level of reasonableness to not just tip her cheerios out of the bowl the second I give it to her, we're able to use it. Hooray!

The set comes with a kid-sized square plate, little bowl, little cup and a knife and fork.  They're very simply decorated with either a little gecko or a little butterfly (score big points for tasteful kids' stuff!) and are perfectly sized for little hands. The plate I particularly love, because it isn't just a flat plate: it has a nice wide lip all around the edge to keep things from falling off (at least, not falling off *easily*). They're lightweight, dishwasher safe, totally non-breakable (hear that, glass?) and almost 100% perfect. The only downside: when they do hit the floor they're kind of loud. But my daughter sees that as an upside, actually, so.

The set retails for $44 CDN. You can order the butterfly or the gecko set (or both!) from their online store, or from one of their fantastic retailers.

But you know what? I have one to give you. Aww. Just go to the Untangled Living website and come back here and tell me in the comments what your favourite part of Untangled Living is by Wednesday, August 25. Make sure you leave me an email address (if you put it in the format name AT domain DOT com it can't be scraped by a spammer) or another way to contact you. Good luck!

SIGG: Making your water look good. And a giveaway!

Congratulations to cyndi who  said...Love,love love the butterfly jewel design. 
You're getting a SIGG bottle!

Did I mention that I think disposable plastic water bottles will be the downfall of our society? Have I mentioned that? Hmm. Well, if I didn't before, I did now. And truly, why would anyone want to use horrible petroleum-based plastic water bottles when you could carry your own water - costing you pennies from your own tap - in such style as these gorgeous design bottles from SIGG?  This 102-year old Swiss company started manufacturing their single-colour coated drinking bottles in 1980, and get this - the trendy, multi-colour coated bottle was admitted to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York in 1993. Now that's style!

Seriously - just fill your bottle (from the tap or your brita filter) and go. So easy! SIGG bottles are lightweight, fully recyclable, and are dishwasher safe although SIGG does recommend hand washing. They come in a variety of sizes and styles, and dozens upon dozens of designs.

And, guess what? Yeah, you guessed. I have one to give away. Wheee! Just head on over to SIGG and figure out your favourite bottle design (it'll take a while. there's lots.) then come back over here and tell me which one it is in the comments by Friday, April 30. (Note: the design of the bottle given away may or may not have any relationship to the bottle you like best, heh.) Make sure you leave me a way to contact you! I'll select a name at random and notify the recipient. Good luck!

Filter for Good: A Campaign To Reduce Water Bottle Waste. And a giveaway!

Congratulations to Anonymous who said

"We're going to get stainless water bottles for each family member...no more plastic!

 And to Sarah who said

"Sarah said...I have also been using a Brita forever, in fact, it might be time to replace it :-) I always drink tap water and I like how the Brita seems to minimize the chlorinated taste of Ottawa water."

You're each getting Brita pitchers!

It has been estimated that it takes three litres of water to produce one litre of bottled water.

Worldwide, it takes an estimated 2.4 million metric tonnes of plastic to bottle water each year.

The price we pay per litre of bottled water is comparable to the price of gasoline. 

All this, when if we merely turn on our taps, we have abundant, clean water available for pennies. 

It's time to change our  habits. The popularity of bottled water is, to be blunt, the biggest crock in the world, the most amazing snake oil ever sold, the most enormous triumph of marketing over common sense. There are so many reasons not to use bottled water - the price, the environmental impact, the sheer lunacy.  But many people persist, because of the convenience or perhaps the belief that bottled water "tastes" better (despite the fact that some common bottled water brands are nothing more than municipal tap water).

Learn more about the issue at Filter For Good. Realize that our bottled water habit is killing us. And consider changing your ways - by, for example, bringing your own water.  Don't like the taste straight from the tap? Easy. Just go pick up a Brita filter, which will filter over 900 litres of water a year - the equivalent of 1,800+ 500 ml plastic bottles. Learn about their filter recycling program.  And, if you're in Toronto, you can go down to Yonge-Dundas Square on April 22nd from 11am - 7:30 pm to hang out, play games, hydrate, watch David Usher, and take home a free Brita pitcher from Filter For Good while supplies last. Nice!

Not in Toronto? Pity. Then you'll just have to sign up for the giveaway here on ecochick. I have two of Brita's Limited Edition Green Pitchers to give away to you, dear readers.   Just head on over to the Filter for Good website and tell me how you plan to change the way you drink water. Leave a comment by Wednesday, April 28 and don't forget to leave me your email addy as the recipients will be notified by e-mail. Canadian addresses only please. Good luck!

Awesome Otterbottle: Earth Week Giveaway #1!

And the lucky, lucky recipient of this Otterbottle giveaway is Stisso who said...

The blue tree is a pretty one that donates to cancer and represents both the earth/sea and green land....but it's not my choice. The green flowers are also pretty, and represent the beauty of nature, but it's not my choice either. My choice is for the alien, because we're all going to be living on Mars if we don't start taking care of the earth, and that would suck donkey balls.

Amen to that, girlfriend.

For the rest of you... venture over to Otterbottle to get your own... they're so amazing! Thanks for participating, and don't forget to check out the rest of the Earth Week giveaways.

**********************************************


You're thirsty. You don't want to use a plastic water bottle, because plastic sucks. But you're still thirsty. And frankly, you're also kind of girly, and you don't want to drag around one of those hideous water bottles that looks like a leftover WWII torpedo or something.

This is why you need an Otterbottle. Not only are these 100% recyclable stainless steel water bottles uber-lightweight and easy to carry... not only are they aluminum-free... not only do they come with two tops - a sport top and twist top with lid, to suit your needs... not only do they come with a clip to easily hook the bottle onto your bag or knapsack.. not only are they a Canadian company... but girl, they are hot. Really, really hot. In 950 ml, 700 ml and 500 ml sizes and a series of gorgeous designs, this water bottle will be the envy of your yoga class. I've been getting compliment after compliment on mine, which of course I smugly bask in.

So... you want one? You could buy one from their website. You could buy one from one of their in-store carriers. (And if you buy one, know that a portion of the proceeds from every bottle sold go to the David Suzuki Foundation.) Or, you could just comment on this post by Monday, April 27 telling me which one of their fancy styles makes the best eco-statement, in your opinion. Don't forget to leave me a way to contact you such as an email address (sorry, this giveaway is Canada only). And if you do that, I might just send you one. Good luck!

EcoWeb June 17

Don't worry, ecochicks: I have read the internet so you don't have to.

You a geek who wants to be green? Gizmodo showed us this new Monitor from LG that uses about 45% less energy than traditional models. Now you can feel a whole lot less Green Guilt about your WOW addiction.

Looking for a new source for green news? The Huffington Post, the US political commentary site named the World's Most Powerful Blog by the Guardian, recently launched a new channel: Huffington Post Green, with news, blogs, and commentary about all the latest green news. This one will have some clout!

Sustainablog brings us news about Power of Green Consumers working together through Earth Aid Group Buys: Groups of consumers combining their purchasing power to buy in bulk and get better prices on green goods. Take the power into your own hands! They also posted a great article on Low Impact Living: 10 ways to cut energy consumption. What changes can you make?

Inhabitat featured several cool stories, including these awesomely funky Lamps made with recycled bottles, cool Solar Curtains that shade your home from the sun while absorbing energy, and an uber-useful Crank USB Battery that you could use right away to generate power, and that you will need to surf the web in case of the apocalypse.

At Treehugger, they featured this cool Lettuce Billboard, the Whippy Light (hide your CFL bulbs no more!) and these recycled plastic cutlery cases to curb your need for take-out cutlery with your pad thai.


There was also one piece of ironically good news: the high price of petroleum means that the Cost of Petro Plastic is Skyrocketing, forcing companies who rely on petro-plastics to find alternatives - natural rubber vs. synthetic rubber, reducing plastic packaging, and looking to increased use of recycled materials. While the price of petroleum is hard on the wallet, it's forcing industry to make changes that make things easier on the planet - which in the end, is good for everyone.

Oh, muffin - is all this gloom and doom getting you down? Don't worry: the Budget Ecoist has a great list of 5 Great Organic Wines for Summer to help you through.

Got any ideas for ecoweb? Send 'em to me at talk at ecochick dot ca!

Shop Solio and Plug into the Sun

These days, we carry innumerous gadgets. Laptops, phones, iPods, digital cameras, video game players, tons of other things, all of them requiring one simple thing: Power. Without a power source, your gadget ends up a very expensive brick before too long.

End your reliance on the little plug on the wall with a Solio Universal Hybrid Charger! The Solio charger is a sleek little unit that spreads into a full solar panel array at need. It will accept power from a wall socket, sure, but it also will charge from simple exposure to the sun, either directly or through a window. You can either leave it to absorb a full charge, or put it in the sun, plug your dead gadget in, and power it up as you use it. And at 4.6 ounces, it's a no brainer - and no effort - to chuck it in to your bag and take it on the road, especially since it replaces the 4,246 separate chargers you'd otherwise be carrying.

The Solio Hybrid charger is available at their online store, accessible by clicking the link.

MacBook Air: Apple's moves towards eco-responsibility

With this week's announcement of the MacBook Air, the new item of lust for Mac geeks everywhere, Apple is taking a few significant steps towards making their laptops more environmentally friendly. To wit:

• The shiny aluminum case is fully recyclable;
  
• The display mercury-free
  
• The glass in the monitor is arsenic-free
  
• The circuit boards are bromide-free and PVC-free
  
• The Air packaging is 56% less than that of the MacBook, while still having that awesome New Mac smell.

With the introduction of these green initiatives, it begs the question: How the hell did I not know there was arsenic and mercury in my laptop?

Iqua Handsfree Bluetooth Solar Headset

You know when you see obnoxious people in suits walking down the street with borg-like devices in their ears talking to what appears to be nobody in particular? Those gadgets in their ears are what's called Bluetooth devices, and they hook up with your mobile phone and other devices to allow you to talk hands-free. By nature of the beast, these Bluetooth devices spend most of their time exposed to light.

Finnish company Iqua has taken advantage of this, and has slapped solar panels on the front of the Iqua SUN BHS-603 model so as to recharge it as you walk. Capable of up to 12 hours talk time on a full charge, it will absorb light from any source - indoor or outdoor - to power the device.

Comparable in size and capabilities to traditionally powered Bluetooth devices, the Iqua Sun won't save the planet on its own, but what it does do is illustrate a brilliant environmentally friendly technology that will actually cause the product to have an advantage over its competitors: Its ability to remain continually charged as long as it's exposed to light means it's one less detail for very busy and important people to worry about in their very busy and important day.

The Iqua Sun will be available in stores shortly.