Who: Gina Michele – New York, NY

What: Whiskey Rock a Roller Bag

Where: Gina|Michele – $198 (also available in vibrant grape suede, on sale for $148)

Why We Love It: Skip black and neutral bags this summer and opt for a pop of tropical ocean, perfect sky blue with this deliciously slouchy tote – it’s pure joy. It’s your something old, something new, something blue, that’s likely to be something borrowed quite frequently….

Crafted entirely from upcycled fabrics – super soft vintage suedes and leathers recovered from old jackets, silks salvaged from vintage shirts – it’s topped off with a hand dyed rope strap for a touch of laid back beach style.

Who: Re:Tread – Cheshire, U.K.

What: Recycled Tyre Planters

Where: Amazon.com – $14.99-$69.99

Why We Love It: Finally a tire suitable to display on your front lawn… Am always somewhat ‘eh’ about upcycled tire products, but these are actually really cool and just the kind of hardworking rugged container to house garden plants and flowers. A lot less fragile than the terra cotta pots that need to come in from the cold every year. Thinking this filled with our old Charlie Brown Christmas Tree from last year would be quite handsome on our front porch.

Re:Tread salvages old beat up tires and inner tubes for their handcrafted modern home accessories (their picture frames are pretty awesome). The frost proof planter is hand crafted from 100% recycled tires for a super strong container that will not rot. Re:Tread also makes some pretty awesome picture frames entirely out of tires. Tire treads vary from piece to piece as does the size, albeit slightly, so you’ll have a unique garden piece. Also great for indoor use as well, a little something unexpected!

Who: Blue Lotus – Soquel, CA

What: Blue Lotus Green Bags

Where: Nubius Organics – $5.95-$14.95 in s, m & l

Why We Love It: Now that we – finally! – remember our reusable grocery bags on 9 out of 10 grocery store visits, we’ve turned our attention to eliminating the pesky (and wasteful) produce bags still plaguing us! Low and behold, we found several options for reusable produce bags online. Some of our favorites? Blue Lotus’s organic cotton canvas bags – plain or with some super cute prints (printed with non-toxic, water-based inks, of course…). Ideal for stops at the farmer’s market.

Now we can finally leave the grocery store feeling like we’ve really minimized our impact on the Earth. Pick up a few and stash them in your canvas grocery bags, your backpack, or your purse.

And for those messier produce purchases we really like the mesh bags that Flip & Tumble offer. You can wash and dry your veggies right in them – brilliant.

Who: Patagonia – Ventura, CA

What: Women’s Kamala Skirt

Where: Altrec.com – $47.19 – $59.00 (free shipping)

Why We Love It: You know how we love a 2-in-1 piece! This versatile garment transforms from a long flowy skirt into a knee-length halter dress and it’s wrinkle-free which makes it an ideal, care-free piece for summer vacations. Love the purple stripes, but this breezy skirt is also available in black, smoke, white stripes, and two floral prints.

It is made of a blend of 55% organic cotton and 45% Tencel® and can be ecycled through Patagonia’s Common Threads Recycling Program. Tencel is an environmentally friendly cellulose based fiber that has natural wicking properties, but because it needs to be mechanically broken down, yields a lower quality fabrics when recycled. Take a look at Patagonia’s Footprint Chronicles for more information on the eco-footprint of this product from waste generated to distance traveled to CO2 emitted. Pretty interesting.

Who: Nanimarquina – Barcelona, Spain

What: Digit Rug

Where: Spacify – $3909.11

Why We Love It: Designed by graphic artist Cristian Zuzunaga, this bright graphic rug reads like an optical illusion (see also the more muted, monochromatic version). Change your perspective, your proximity or the light of day and you’ll notice different patterns jumping out at you, different groupings of pixels rising to the forefront. It’s really very cool. Cristian has used this same technique of ‘decomposition of color through pixels’ to design sofas, pillows, bedding, wallpaper, scarves, too, and now he can add rugs to the list.

Working with Nanimarquina, a renowned Spanish rug manufacturer devoted to promoting sustainable ethics in production, design and fair labor practices. Many of the rugs are biodegradable and masterly handcrafted using traditional techniques in their Fair Trade facilities in India. The Digit rug is made from hand-knotted wool sourced from New Zealand.

Who: TryCycle Glass – Wrightsville, Georgia

What: Nico Bottles

Where: TryCycle Glass – $14/pair

Why We Love It: If only we discovered TryCycle when we were on the hunt for a simple, functional, pair of rectangular olive oil and vinegar bottles which you’d think would be easy to find, but no…. TryCycle makes just the right pair for your olive oil and vinegar (or simple syrup or soy sauce or liquid soap… ) and it’s made of 100% recycled glass, 100%!

Inspired by a trip to Europe and the signature ‘green’ glass found there, TryCycle created a line of glass bottles, jars, carafes, tumblers and more, all with classic, simple silhouettes, all high quality, all affordable, and all handblown in Spain in one of the few factories in the world that can produce high quality recycled glassware. The glass itself is recovered from European recycling bins, and that signature, subtle green hue is a result of the recycling process.

Who: Kalon Studios – Los Angeles California

What: Stump

Where: AllModern.com – $85 (See also Trunk – $145)

Why We Love It: So yes, we may have spent the better part of the week removing stumps from our front yard, but now we are ready to put them back in. Well, at least Kalon Studios interpretation of the ‘stump.’

Their nature inspired stools provide a welcome respite for weary bones and bring warmth to your space whether indoors or out. We also think they’d make great side tables too providing extra seating when needed.

The ‘stumps’ are cut from the green wood of a FSC-certified, USA-grown maple and ash resulting in the natural splits that run up the base. It is left untreated, in raw wood form. Each piece is handcrafted by New England craftsmen.

Who: Native Honey – Trabuco Canyon, CA

What: Leather Tumbleweed Handbag

Where: Native Honey – $165

Why We Love It: We discovered this laid back handbag at an adorable boutique in Laguna Beach (La La filled with the most relaxed beachy textiles, bedding and apparel, it’s absolutely dreamy…). The bag immediately caught our eye amidst a sea of beautiful things and gave us a whole new appreciation for those old fabric scarp throw rugs. Love how Native Honey took a relatively humdrum material and made it incredibly cool, country, yet modern. Click to continue »

Who: Canvas – New York, NY

What: Covered Jars with Chalk Surface

Where: Canvas – $49 -$74 & save 15% on all orders of $300 or more with code CANVAS300

Why We Love It: We just discovered this store, Canvas, and are swooning over their collection of country cool, laid back home goods. One of our favorite pieces from the store is this trio of covered jars. The jars are American-made and mix this really organic feeling matte white ceramic upper with a dark modern chalkboard glaze finish on the bottom. Love the result and the fact that you can write in your own contents, so that oversized flour jar can easily become a cookie jar! Also, would look great paired with Side by Side’s Chalk Napkin Rings…

Canvas collects their wares from around the world, gravitating towards products rich in texture and material and guided by fair trade and sustainable designs.

Available in small, medium and large.

Who: EcoFirstArt – Santa Barbara, CA

What: Spoon Lamp S

Where: EcoFirstArt – $600 (also available in XL for $800)

Why We Love It: Can’t think of a more fitting centerpiece for a dining room than one made of recycled plastic spoons. This funky pendant lamp/art piece was designed by Claudio and Telma as a way to reinvent the mundane into something modern while creating a dialogue about the waste we generate on a daily basis. It’s actually quite startling when you stop and think about it….

This piece is just one of the many functional art pieces featured on EcoFirstArt – a site after our own heart, dedicated to connecting conscientious designers, architects and consumers with inspired products with sustainability in mind without compromising style. You’ll find furniture, jewelry, apparel, lighting and more.

The small lamp measures 16″H x 16″D and the XL measures 24″H x 24″D.