Treat Your Dog With A Guffly Gift

I missed my dog Bamboo's birthday on June 28th. Yes I know, I should be ashamed of myself. I realized it on the 29th and I felt terrible about it. So I figured I should get him a new toy to make myself feel better. I went to The Good Dog Company to find him something guffly.

I found The Hemp Biscuit and it's made of natural fabrics. It's made of 55% hemp and 45% certified organic cotton. The biscuit is good for dogs that like to play fetch and catch; or just like to carry around comfort toys. Bamboo loves all of that so I really think he's going to dig it.

The Hemp Biscuit can be purchased from The Good Dog Company for $11.99.

Decor Freak

The thought of my big move, though still a few months in the distance, is one of the reasons why I haven't gone completely crazy lately. There's just something about starting fresh - especially when starting fresh means new, organic and natural decor for your new place.

I found some beautiful bedding at Amenity. This duvet cover is made of organically grown and processed cotton, and is printed with non-toxic, water-based dyes. Likewise, its printed and sewn in the US. The queen size duvet is $330. This isn't bad by comparison. If you look for duvets of the same size at Macy's or other department stores, you'll find that their prices range from $100-400, depending on the brand and quality. The store also offers free shipping on orders over $100, and allows returns if you contact them within 14 days of receiving your item.

Crotch Appeal

What area of your body needs the most organic love? Yes, the good ol' goodies. In fact, I can't think of any part that I'd want to keep further away from pesticides and chemicals. That's why I began searching for good looking organic undies. I came across a brand you should know about. They are called Green Knickers, and they are based in the UK. I like Green Knickers because they are really cute, and most of their pairs are 100% organic, and 100% fair trade. Unless you want to pay for international shipping, you can find Green Knickers on the Green Leaves portion of Figleaves.com (a webstore with all intimates). Green Knickers' various styles retail for around $28 on Fig Leaves, plus $4.50 for shipping.

Today on Etsy: Hot Organic Ts

Many people know about the loveliness that is Etsy. If not, you should surely check it out. Etsy is a site for handmade crafts, sold by the crafters themselves. I found two great organic Ts, one more masculine and the other more feminine, and wanted to share them with you. If you like them, too, support the crafter and make a purchase. It's as easy as pie.

Hot T #1: Briar's Garden Organic Cotton T-shirt by Alisontauber. This shirt comes in sizes S-L and will run you $28, plus $3 for shipping anywhere in the US. It's an organic shirt made by Alternative Apparel, and printed with a water based ink. Perfect for a day in the sun.

Hot T #2: Organic Cotton Bicycle Shirt by Vital. This shirt comes in M-XXL and costs $26, plus $3.50 for shipping anywhere in the US. It's made of 100% organic cotton. Plus, what could be more sustainable than wearing this organic T-shirt while actually riding a bike? Genius.

Smell like a Rich Hippie?

Do you smell organic?

Wait. Actually, I'm not sure if that would be a good thing. Organic-lovers have hard enough time overcoming the hemp-sack wearing, dirty-hippie stereotype. Nonetheless, smelling organic is actually a really good thing - especially if you smell like the organic scents over at Rich Hippie. Unlike your average fragrance, Rich Hippie is free from icky synthetic chemicals. Instead, their products are made only with organic natural ingredients like wine spirits and plant & flower extracts.

The company has various perfumes as well as unisex fragrances. A 1/8 ounce roll-on is $45, which is undoubtedly more expensive than your average perfume when you consider the size of the bottle. When ordering directly from Rich Hippie, shipping costs start at $14. However, one retailer who carries the product, Kaia House, sells the fragrances for the same prices and has shipping for only $7.

Balmy Goodness

I admit it, I'm a lipbalmoholic. Sometimes I apply the lip balm, wipe it off, and re-apply for no reason at all. Don't hate...I know some of you do it, too.

Yesterday I ran into the drugstore and picked up a fresh new tube of Burt's Bees, my usual. Burt's Bees is a very well known line of natural personal care products, and can be found at just about any drugstore - on or offline. My favorite product is their Honey Lip Balm (simplicity is genius, after all). The .15 ounce tube is usually about $3-4, and is 98% all natural.

Although I'm a completely happy customer, I figured I'd check to see if there are any other balms worth trying. That's when I found Eco Lips.


Eco Lips has several scents/flavors(depending on how you choose to enjoy your balm) - grape, kiwi strawberry, and coconut, as well as a color tinted, medicinal, and hemp based balms. Their products are competitively priced. The simple flavors are only $2, and orders over $15 qualify for free shipping. Best of all, the website gives a run down of exactly what's inside those little tubes and your lips will be happy knowing that each balm is made of 87-99% certified organic ingredients (depending on the product).

There is one other balm you must know about, because it is a life or death matter, after all. All the Better to Kiss You With by the Baby Bear Shop is so good I had to steal it from my sister - don't tell. Five bucks is a small price to pay for these creatively flavored, USDA certified organic lip balms that come in recyclable vintage tins.

Sustainably Stylish

Since my last post(Eco-Friendly Clothing 101), I've been searching for companies that sell stylish Eco-friendly clothing. I found a company called Livity, and they're based in Topanga CA.

I'd say that Livity is aimed at capturing the young adult, 18-30 year old market with their products. Livity's online store sells clothing for both men and women; unisex products like backpacks, hats, and laptop bags; and a wide selection of belts. All of Livity's products are made from organic cotton, bamboo, hemp, soy, straw, recycled plastic bottles, and vegetable oil-based synthetics (Read Eco-Friendly Clothing 101 for the benefits of using these materials).

Livity's products are stylish, fun, reasonably priced, convenient, and more positive than negative for the environment. And those reasons alone are why I'm writing about the company today. As for the product that I want--I'm eyeballing the white Re-Mix Painter Cap.

Good Beer

Happy St.Patrick's Day! In honor of this merry day, I thought I'd research some better options for beer and wine. So, if you have more drinking to do on this St. Patty's Day, or any other day of the year, try out one (or many) of these organic options when they're available.

Wolaver's Organic Ale is a line of organic beers produced by Otter Creek Brewing. They're a family-owned microbrewery located in Middlebury, VT and have been brewing up organic goodness since 1998. The company prides themselves on brewing all beers "in small batches to ensure freshness and consistent quality." Likewise, they use all domestically grown malt and hops. You can visit their website for information on their selection of beers. But once you decide you want to give them a try, there's a bit of a process to figure out where to find their beers in your neighborhood. You can start by calling up the distributor in your state. You can find a list of the Wolaver distributors here. These places should be able to tell you which retail spots have the goods. I know, not so simple. But, you'll be able to reward your hard work with a nice, cold organic brew.

Another small brewer with a selection of organic beers is Peak Organic located in Portland, ME. Peak uses barley and hops that are grown without toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The company began in 1998 when a group of friends bought brewing equipment and started making beer to celebrate "peak" occasions. Peak's mission is simple - "to make the world's most delicious beers, and to make them in a way that [they] can feel good about."

Another option for organic beer is Butte Creek Brewing out of Chico, CA. They began in 1997 and make several organic beers, including an organic yerba mate ale called MateVeza. "MateVeza was rated as one of the Top 25 Beers of 2007 by Draft Magazine, won a 2007 Veggie Award from VegNews, and received rave reviews from Beer Advocate and All About Beer." You can locate this brew through their website, and if there isn't a store near you that sells it, you can also buy it online.

If you know of any other organic beers, please drop us a line. We'd love to hear your reviews. Happy drinking.