Friday Eco-Fabulous Seller - Mary Ellen from Mary Zoom Boutique!

Mary Ellen sells handmade accessories that are not only functional, but sustainable.
Her designs are all handmade out of reclaimed natural fiber fabric that is 100% cotton, wool or linen. "As you can see from my shop, I repurpose thrifted and cast-off garments that would otherwise be destined to landfill oblivion."

As for her business practices, she has made the commitment to use what she already has. From Wrist Cuffs made out of recycled t-shirts to felt coasters made out of recycled sweaters, she offers a wide variety of sustainable product.

When shipping her products, she keeps pride in her presentation while still being eco-friendly. She uses sewing pattern tissue for wrapping paper and ties the package up with a pretty bow made from thrifted and reclaimed ribbon. She also makes stickers from out-of-print garden magazines and give them as a thank you gift.

Mary Zoom is currently having a sale from now until August 31. Buy any item from her shop at regular price and receive a wrist cuff wallet of your choice for 50% off PLUS free shipping.

Check her out now!
http://www.maryzoom.etsy.com

Friday Eco Fabulous Seller - Rosy Und Posy

Online Etsy boutique Rosy Und Posy is run by a mother / daughter duo from Vancouver Island in Canada (Yay Canada!) This is a boutique that really knows what it is to be green!

They handcraft and sell reusable cotton sandwich and snack bags that are lined with 100% unbleached muslin for a completely 'plastic free' alternative for packing your lunch in.

Not only do they sell these bags but also have cloth lunch bags and silverware caddy's so that there isn't any wasted when you are done your lunch. "Just pack it at home, wash it up and use it again tomorrow *grin*."

With the enormous amount of plastic bag waste that falls into our landfill each year this is a fantastic way to help reduce it. Rosy Und Posy have "Also started making cloth market totes as well out of jute which is an extremely versatile vegetable fiber known for its strength and durability :)"

You really need to check out this store. The bags are really trendy and cute! They also have really cute aprons for any chic who likes to spend time in the kitch!

You can tell that this boutique is passionate about creating a greener way to help reduce plastic waste produced each and every year!!!

Friday Eco Fabulous Seller - Melody from Kinder Cotton

Melody from Kinder Cotton makes eco friendly baby items. She sells bibs, shoes, burp cloths, hats, hooded towels, washcloths and wipes.

Her items are adorable, super soft and high quality. Most importantly, all of her items are made from fabric that is organic and fair trade certified.
Organic cotton is grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. Traditionally grown cotton accounts for 25% of the worlds pesticides.
Although fabric with a continence costs a little more, you can be rest assured that 'the people who produced the fabric we paid fairly and not exposed to harmful pesticides, fertilizers, or dyes.'

Melody is a work at home mom who started sewing for her baby when she wanted her to have cute, organic baby products. "I love the creative process and working with the fabrics, which meant that I kept sewing once I had plenty of supplies for her. I know that sewing your own isn't an option for most moms, so I hope that I can provide cute, practical, durable items for your baby, too!"

You can check out Melody's store at
http://www.kindercotton.etsy.com
Her prices are extremely reasonable, especially for using organic cotton!

Friday Feature - Eco Fabulous Seller Lolaness

Lolaness is an online boutique through Etsy that provides creative, custom Etsy kits and graphic design products created by a professional graphic designer. They sell everything you could think of to make your etsy shop and products as beautiful as can be. From stickers and labels to customized shop banners, this is definitely a shop worth checking out!

Lolaness makes their boutique green by printing every product on a minimum of 50% PCW (Post-consumer waste), and recycled paper. They also focus on offering products that require no shipping at all. If you have a good printer at home, you can "get away with printing your own packing slips and mailing labels from a beautiful custom design that was emailed to you rather than having it printed and shipped. It eliminates all the waste involved in shipping a product."

If Lolaness has to ship something, they always use recycled packaging in the form of recycled boxes and repurposed containers. They avoid using Styrofoam peanuts or other non-biodegradable materials.

Check out the Lolaness blog at
http://www.pixelboutique.blogspot.com/
You can also follow her on twitter at
http://twitter.com/lolanessdesign
And of coarse their shop
http://www.lolaness.etsy.com

Friday Feature - Eco Fabulous Seller - Mary from Herban Lifestyle

Mary sells high-quality herbal bath and body products (salts, balms, soaps, creams, and more) that are handcrafted in small batches using natural and organic ingredients, pure-essential oils, earth-friendly packaging, and made with Love and Gratitude.

By using 'Natural and Organic ingredients', it means all of her business' products are made from organic, fair trade and/or ethically wild-crafted herbs and essential oils, organic fabrics and fill. "We never use artificial preservatives, artificial colors, fragrances, or surfactants, synthetic, petroleum-based or other chemical ingredients."

Herban Lifestyle adheres to these standards as a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics. They always follow standards to Whole Foods' Premium Body Care Standards. They are also certified CRUELTY FREE by the Leaping Bunny!!

Herban Lifestyle is green in many other ways. When they are packaging their product, they use only 100% recycled paper labels, and all packaging and shipping supplies are recycled, recycleable, and/or biodegradable. "To ship, we only use the US Postal Service; did you know that the USPS holds “Cradle to Cradle”Certification at the Silver level for human and environmental health?"

To further ensure environmentally responsible business practices, Herban Lifestyle always offsets 100% of their carbon footprint through purchase of CleanCurrents and CarbonFund RECs, and they are an Environmental Protection Agency Green Power Partner, which means they purchase green power in amounts that meet EPA’s requirements.

"In the everyday running of our business, we are conscientious about being green as well. We use fuel-efficient vehicles, compact florescent bulbs, cloth bags when shopping, and we reuse, recycle and compost everything we can, from paper, ink cartridges and packing peanuts, to herbal waste and compostable trash bags!"

Herban Lifestyle is also a member of Green America and the Sustainable Business Network of Washington. They pledge to practice ethical business and labor standards. Everything they sell is handcrafted in Falls Church, VA. They do absolutely no manufacturing! In their efforts to be conscientious members of their community they also donate 5% of gross revenues to charity, including Feeding America (formerly America’s Second Harvest), Sierra Club, Herb Research Foundation, and Martha’s Table. They donate goods to local charities (such as EcoVentures and Common Good City Farm) for their fund raising efforts. They additionally purchase their 800 number through Earth Tones, where 100% of their profit goes to grassroots environmental causes. Their website is hosted using 100% solar power via AISO.net. Solar-powered servers use 60% less energy and generate 50% less heat than conventional servers.

This is definitely a shop worth checking out. Not only are their products sustainable, but they are committed to practicing a green lifestyle through their business endeavors.
Check out their yummy goods here!
http://www.herbanlifestyle.etsy.com

Product Review - Conscious Boutique

After blogging about the Eco Friendly Etsy store, Conscious Boutique, the owner, Jason, was very kind to send me a little gift from his store. I received the coolest notebook ever! I am so impressed! It is so well made! Mine is in a pastel green, and has a lovely upcycled picture of some flower buds and butterflies! It is the perfect size - I can slip it into my purse (the big purse or the small purse LOL!) yet it is still big enough to make notes - whether it be inspirations, important information, or sales tracking for when I am at craft shows!
The packaging it came in too is so unique! It came in a pink fused plastic envelope! Instead of using wasteful tape to seal it, it has been stitched together! It was so pretty and thoughtful that I didn't want to open it!
These little notebooks are not only great for fellow crafters, but would also be great for gifts (everyone always needs stationary!)
A highly recommended Etsy shop!
Check his store out here at
http://www.consciousboutique.etsy.com
You'll be glad you did!

Friday Feature - Eco Fabulous Seller Jeanna From Beans Things

Jeanna sells One of a Kind (OOAK) nature inspired jewelry and home decor.
All of her images included in her items are upcycled from various printed venues. "I constantly keep my eye out for anything that I think would make a great pendant or magnet set. When I find something that works, it is like Christmas morning for me! I choose each image thoughtfully and spend much time on each item from start to finish."
Jeanna is flexible with custom orders and encourages them. "It is so great to see the creative process unfold…it all starts with an image from a magazine/catalog and ends with a beautiful nature inspired piece of art!"

Jeanna has been creating since she was a child. "At a very young age I was made aware of the impact that we have not only on our environment, but to our earth’s animals too."
She re-uses all shipping materials and sometimes makes her own shipping envelopes out of cereal boxes. "All of the wrapping I use to wrap my items after purchase have been up-cycled as well. I re-use everything!"

You need to check out this store! Prices are extremely reasonable (From $1.50 to $12.00)and her items are truly unique and inspiring!

See her Etsy store at: www.beansthings.etsy.com
See her ArtFire store at: www.BeansThings.artfire.com
See her Facebook Fan club: http://tinyurl.com/d2z6x3
Follow her on Twitter at: www.twitter.com/beansthings
See her Flickr at: www.flickr.com/beansthings

Friday Feature: Eco Fabulous Seller Jason from Conscious Boutique

Jason, from Conscious Boutique has always been into making things.
A few years ago, he began a quest to minimize his personal impact on the earth. This led him to the wonderful world of recycling, upcycling, and making things out of
discarded or surplus items.

His shop features bags made from recycled billboard vinyl and notebooks made from discarded office supplies, surplus paper, and images clipped from old found books.

His shop motto is "Handmade. Responsible." His goal is to think about
every aspect of the things he creates, and to be as responsible as he can
possibly be when creating them, from the materials, to the tools, to
the process.

"My current passion is to reinvent things we use everyday so that they
are made from recycled material. This is something that lots of
eco-etsians have done. Etsy has become the Wal-Mart for recycled
everyday products!"

He happens to live near an amazing source of surplus materials, The
Black Hole (http://boozhoundlabs.com/grothus/). This is a Mecca of
materials for the nerdy maker of things. "Every time I go here, I am
inspired to create something new, or to use a different material for
something I have been making."

Jason would love to sell something to someone who is not a personal friend or relative. (I think every etsy seller has been there at one point!!) He has great plastic fused mailers that he has made himself from scratch, and is super excited to use them!!

This is a store you really want to check out as there is a lot of thoughtful products. The prices are very reasonable, products range from 5.00 to 40.00. These eco friendly products make some great gift ideas!
Lets show some support to eco-fabulous sellers like Jason! See his store at
http://www.consciousboutique.etsy.com

Ashley Markus - Off The Hooks

GREEN BUSINESS OF THE WEEK!!

Off The Hooks sells a variety of items such as crocheted and knit accessories, yarn and eco friendly goodies!

Shop owner Ashley spins her own yarn, often from local producers and farms. She upcycles and reclaims a lot of yarns for many of her items. She takes unwanted fabrics and turns them into "fabric yarns". She hand dyes her fibers and yarns with non-toxic dyes. She also uses minimal packaging when shipping her product, and loves to reuse packing materials. Not only is this shop eco-friendly, but it supports the local economy!!

Off the Hooks is participating in the YART SALE on Etsy sponsored by Team ESST. Art + Yard Sale = Yart! Check out her YART SALE section in her store!
http://www.offthehooks.etsy.com