Tree Hugging Family » Recycled Goods

Ecosystem earth friendly planners and journals

Jennifer — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 03:15:15 +0000

ecosystem is a newer line of earth friendly planners and journals (or books as they call them) that are easily personalized. Ecosystem was further designed to empower environmentally aware product owners. Each book has a unique book ID number, which you can use to track a book’s origins, learn how they are environmentally-friendly, and to find out exactly how to recycle each book.

How it works:

You head to ecosystem and choose a book type – ecosystem Advisor, ecosystem Architect, ecosystem Artist, or ecosystem Author.
You choose a cover style.
You choose a size.
You choose the color. Current colors available include the ones shown below.
You customize your book with a variety of insets from calendars to grids to lists and more.
You get to see a picture of the finished product and if it’s perfect you purchase it.

All ecosystem books are made with 100% post consumer waste paper and the following environmental savings are achieved by ecosystem products.

ecosystem is great option if you like to create your own perfect planner or journal.

[images via ecosystem]

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The “is there a good recycled toilet paper out there” challenge

Jennifer — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 22:03:08 +0000

So, I haven’t always been perfect about buying fully recycled toilet paper. Mainly because of costs. With kids you go through a lot and recycled is almost always more expensive in my neck of the woods. However traditional, non-recycled toilet paper is terrible for the environmental so it is one of those products you should always buy green.

Secondly, when I do buy recycled toilet paper I don’t have major issues. It’s toilet paper not bedding. I don’t care that it’s not 100% cushy and mattress like.

That said I have a boyfriend who recently compared Marcal recycled toilet paper to a whole bunch of baddies; and I quote…

“It’s worse than a Brillo pad.
Poison Ivy leaves would be a step up.
Maybe we could use it to sand the coffee table.
It causes actual pain”

Note that I don’t agree. I don’t think Marcal was all that bad. Not as soft as traditional virgin toilet paper, but not sheer torture or even any sort of torture. My extremely picky son has also not complained. In fact, I’d probably buy it again BUT I have a live in boyfriend so nix that.

Also note though that my boyfriend is not the first to complain. I’ve heard plenty of people say they don’t think recycled toilet paper is soft enough; read all sorts of “recycled TP sucks” reviews, and so on. That said, I looked it up to see if there’s some issue that’s stopping recycled toilet paper from being manufactured in a softer way.

Grist, a green site I trust, notes that there are “Barriers to making it as soft as the virgin-tree-on-a-roll brands…The reason for this difference has to do with the fact that the texture of the starting fibers — whether virgin or recycled — influences the feel of the “end” product. Also, the fibers in paper shorten each time they’re recycled, making recycled paper less strong than the virgin variety. To compensate for this, some manufacturers use resins or mechanical means that help the recycled fibers stick together better. But making paper stronger also tends to make it stiffer.”

Other sites I found info on said much the same. So what to do? A challenge? Ok then. Here’s a round up of possible test subject choices:

These are the options I thought of. If you have an idea, let me know. I’ll maybe include it in a review and then later we’ll gather all the review subjects together for a round-up. And no I’m not installing a bidet at this time, so as green as it may be, please don’t suggest that. Oh and I don’t care if Walmart has some cream of the crop green toilet paper, I’m also not shopping there. Just an FYI.

Coming up soon some good reasons why you should used recycled toilet paper over virgin paper made toilet paper.

Have you liked any recycled bath tissues? Yes? No? Why or why not?

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10 things to do with old magazines

Jennifer — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 03:56:06 +0000

You can recycle magazines – even glossy mags, just toss them in your bins after checking with your local recycling center. However, since it takes energy and trees to make magazines and because it also uses energy to recycle them, you may as well get some good mileage out of them first. Following are some goods ways to reuse the magazines you’ve got…

Donate – many schools, community centers, homeless shelters, and other organizations would be happy to take your magazines. Don’t forget about your pals and family members too.
Make a nice full color cookbook on the cheap.
Help your kiddos to make a super cool DIY dollhouse.
Make some amazing coasters or bowls for your own home or to give as holiday gifts.
Grab a piece of recycled plywood, the pile of mags and make a chair or make a cool table.
Save them up and during the holidays choose festive pages to wrap gifts with.
Make homemade stickers for the kids.
Make beautiful homemade jewelry – it looks great I promise.
Save them, shred them, and use as packing material for a move or holiday gift sending – the benefit over newspaper is no stains on items. You can also simply crumple the pages for packing material.
Make the coolest garbage can you’ve ever seen – ironic because you’re keeping mags out of the trash by making it!

What other ideas do you have for old magazines? Really the possibilities are endless. I’ve got a lot of other ideas in my head right now – tell me yours…

[image via stock.xchng]

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Brand New Spring Line of Green Toys!

Jennifer — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 20:22:19 +0000

Remember the very cool Green Toy Giveaway we had here last year? Well, Green Toys just introduced their new spring line, and they’ve got some great new toys available. I like the new line a lot because it really encourages your kids to get outside with fun toys like a jump rope with recycled handles and a recycled ecosaucer flying disc.

Like all Green Toys, this new collection is made with recycled milk jugs. Other new toys include a recycling truck, dump truck, and adorable play tool set. Go see all of them. Oh, and speaking of giveaways, we’ve got one coming up, where you can score green parenting reading material so stay tuned.

Images via Green Toys

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This Year Give Reusable Bags for the Holidays!

Jennifer — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 02:00:17 +0000

Reusable bags make awesome holiday gifts. You can stuff them with candy treats or cookies, and this is a gift that can be, and actually will be used for years and years. You can help your friends and family stay green or go green with a great bag.

I found some really nice reusable bag options – pretty ones that would make great gifts this year…

Wild Flowers Organic Cotton Eco Lunch Bag from Art And Philanthropy

Eco-friendly Hemp Bag with Queen Anne’s Lace (Pistachio) from Uzura.

Set of 3 Waterproof Eco-Friendly Snack and Sandwich bags from LMarcacci.

Peace Paisley Tote from Blue Monday.

Super cute Eco-Friendly Tote Bags from Mountains of the Moon which I first saw at The Greenset.

If none of these is quite your bag (pardon the pun) check out the Tree Hugging Family Green Holiday Gift Guide or read the following posts for more options.

Why yes, Tree Hugging Family DOES have a thing for reusable bags. Did you notice?

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Green Product Review: Revenge Is…

Jennifer — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:41:40 +0000

Product: Revenge Is... t-shirts

Basics: The Revenge Is… t-shirts I received were created with plastic bottles! That’s right folks, recycled plastic bottles. On their website, Revenge Is… notes that these shirts are recycled plastic bottles that have been melted down to become a fine yarn which is then blended with organic cotton. They also call their shirts “soft and silky” which is exactly what I would have told someone about them, if they hadn’t said it first. They also offer a 100% organic cotton t-shirts – which are supposed to offer a more relaxed fit; although, I thought the bottle shirts were pretty darn relaxed to begin with.

Packaging: T shirts are wrapped in brown paper made from 100% recycled material; and the ones I received were packed super tight in a tiny box – go them. This is a great way to save space and resources. This company prints on FSC certified paper using soy ink – and when they must use new boxes to ship, they are made from recycled material. Although, they note that “Frequently, your purchase will come in a reused box.”

Design: Simple, no fuss, no muss designs are on these shirts. The t-shirts are available with various text imprinted, each with a socially responsible message - Taking Back Our Country, Energy Independence (with OPEC X’d out in the lower corner) or Main Street At Work (with Wall Street X’d out in the lower corner). Colors available include black or charcoal. Something nice about the men’s t-shirt fit on a girl (me) is that the shirt was not all boxy, like some guys shirts. It fell nicely, and still looked like me in a shirt vs. me in my boyfriend’s shirt.

Here’s a look at the men’s t-shirt design (both front and back):

And for the ladies there’s a little bit more of a streamlined look going on…

What I think, plus the Revenge Is… happy tree score:

Pros:

I can not believe how soft and smooth these shirts are considering they started as plastic. Seriously, they feel like second skin. I didn’t want to take mine off (eventually I had to shower, but you know).

I love that they’re tagless and I like the simplicity of the design. I got charcoal colored shirts and it’s a great gray color, not too dark or light, just about perfect. I washed one of the shirts about three times to see what happened. As recommended by Revenge Is… I washed on cold and hung the shirt to dry (I would have done that anyhow). There was no shrinking what-so-ever and only the most minor loss of silky soft – but not enough to notice unless like me, you were looking.

Cons:

I wish they came in other colors. I’m not a fan of black, and while I like gray, I might be more inclined to purchase a blue or olive colored shirt. I think guys will dig on the color choices, but maybe not girls as much.
I thought the fit was a little tight on the girl sizes. My size large fit fine and I’m an averaged size girl BUT if I had a bigger tummy or (excuse me – boobs) it would have been a too tight fit. For example, my sis and best friend are um, rather well stacked, and these shirts (in female) would not work out for them I don’t think. The men’s styles were sized well I thought.
Lastly, I didn’t love how the little logo on the back of the shirt lines right up on your bum. It sort of draws attention to your butt, which I suppose could be a good thing in the proper situation, but not all.

Revenge Is… final score:

Four out of five happy trees. I almost gave them a five just because these are some of the softest most comfortable shirts I’ve ever had on, but because they lack other colors, and because the girl sizes run a wee bit small, I knocked off a point. They did score high enough that I’ll be adding these to my green holiday gift guide. Overall, in spite of minor issues, this is a great shirt, an ethical company, and would make the perfect casual clothing gift for a friend.

P.S. Revenge Is… also offers some pretty cool looking eco-gear, like a HUGE reusable bag and a hybrid mug.

$38 – Revenge Is… t-shirts

+ Revenge Is...

November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…

[image via Revenge Is...]

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Reclaimed Soup Can Night Light

Peggy — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 11:00:05 +0000

I’m sure a light went off in MariposaAvenue’s head when she thought of this cute cupcake night light, available at Etsy.

The design is cut by hand from a soup can! Sweet.

I also adore this dainty flower night light.

Search MariposaAvenue’s shop for more recycled creations.

(Images via MariposaAvenue/Etsy.)

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in September 2008

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Recycled Earth Flag

Peggy — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 11:00:40 +0000

Remind those who pass by your abode what a beautiful planet we inhabit.

Progressive Kid offers this Earth Flag made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. Two sizes available.

Have you ever thought of hanging an Earth flag?

Flag image via Progressive Kid.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in August 2008

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Modern Recycled Cardboard Mounts

Peggy — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 11:00:26 +0000

Modern Recycled Cardboard Stag Deer Mount

Bizarre, right? I can’t decide whether hunters who went home empty-handed are really buying these. Maybe it’s folks like me who want to make fun of it. Hmmm, still not sure I could hang one in my living room.

Modern Recycled Cardboard Moose Mount

Don’t worry. They ship flat. Rhino is also available.

I found them on Great Green Goods — Trophy Kills from Recycled Cardboard. These beauties are available through Pop Deluxe.

What do you think of these recycled cardboard animal heads? Bad use of resources, or just fun?

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in August 2008

Images via Pop Deluxe.

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Recycled Birdhouses

Peggy — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:00:24 +0000

It’s only natural that birdhouses should blend in with the environment instead of taking away from it. That’s why I like recycled birdhouses so much.

Birdie homes made of recycled materials are available from a variety of sources. One interesting place to shop is the Recycled Birdhouse Company. The one-of-a-kind birdhouses are constructed from recycled materials by artists with disabilities, residents of Brown’s Foster Home in Maine. Here are a couple of the birdhouses:

I love the choices for perches. These houses look like something I’d feature on Junk Creation.

If you’re looking for a little something for the kids, you might try the birdhouse kit featured on Bird Sanctum. It’s made of recycled plastic and includes stickers so kids can personalize. And they also throw in a Audubon Birds plush bird with real bird calls.

I also like the EcoTough nesting boxes from Wild Birds Unlimited. They’re made from recycled plastic milk jugs.

Do you have a birdhouse?

Images in order of appearance via Recycled Birdhouse Company, Bird Sanctum and Wild Birds Unlimited.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes, and green challenges going on at Tree Hugging Family in August 2008

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