Who: PlanetBox – San Rafael, CA

What: PlanetBox Lunchbox

Where: Amazon – $59.95

Why We Love It: We are always on the lookout for lunch boxes that make packing, cleaning, toting and reusing safe and easy, and the PlanetBox delivers. It’s a tv dinner tray meets bento box with a compartmental design based on the general nutritional standards for children. So when packing up your child’s lunch (or your own lunch!), you’ll have plenty of space to pack a healthy, well-balanced lunch. Specifically a good option for picky who don’t like their foods to ‘touch’ where the top and bottom of the lids touch so there is no spillage between compartments.

PlanetBoxes are made from the same high quality food safe stainless steel that’s used in hospitals and commercial kitchens; free of lead, phthalates, and BPA so there is no worry of toxins leaching into your food. The steel itself contains up to 60% recycled content and is 100% recyclable. The collection of coordinating magnets to decorate your PlanetBox are made of a synthetic rubber material, not toxic PVC like most magnets.

Steel and metal sourced from Korea and Japan. Manufactured in Taiwan

Who: Mod Green Pod – Austin, TX

What: ‘Delight’ Wallpaper

Where: Mod Green Pod – $75/roll

Why We Love ‘Em: Very exciting news – just heard from the gals at Mod Green Pod that they’ve added a new print to their collection of chic eco-friendly wallpapers, and ‘Delight’ may just be our new favorite. Love the colors and the mod/art nouveau graphics of this print. Now just need to convince the husband that this is just the look for the master bedroom… mmm, teal and grey! Click to continue »

Who: Lotus Pad; Somerville, MA

What: Eco Yoga Mats

Where: Lotus Pad – $29-$34, on sale for 20% off through December 24th

Why We Love It: After rolling out our yoga mat and watching our nieces jockey for position under the canopy of our downward dog, we realized they might like their own, kid-sized mat. The hard part was finding one. After hours spent searching for eco-friendly alternatives to the toxic PVC* mats that are so prevalent in yoga studios, we discovered LotusPad.

Lotuspad founder, Katy Downy wanted to share the joy of yoga with her young daughter while reconciling the disconnect she saw between the earth conscious practice of yoga and the toxicity of the mats that most people had underfoot. So, in 2007, she began making her own kid-sized eco yoga mats and has since expanded the collection to include yoga mats for ‘adults, yoga bags and a collection of colorful and locally made mat slings to match.

Click to continue »

Who: Bloom

What:
Bloom Coco Baby Lounger

Where:
Modern Nursery – $199

Why: Perfect lounger for design savvy parents who want a mod rocker for their little one.The rocker has a cut-out in the seat area where the bamboo fabric seat pad is suspended to cradle your child while the self-rocking motion gently lulls them to sleep. Available in a myriad of contemporary colors and two finishes (espresso or natural) to match your contemporary style. Safe for use for children up to 26 pounds. Click to continue »

Who: 3form; Seattle, WA

What: Varia Ecoresin Organics Collection

Where: 3form; contact for pricing (our 4×8 panel was in the ballpark of $900, but if you have a small project or want a more economical option consider purchasing a piece from their reclaimed collection where you can find some great deals.)

Why We Love ‘Em: We have long been fans of this incredibly cool, dynamic and eco-friendly material (still dreaming of a kitchen back splash with the Seaweed panel…). We have seen 3form panels used for doors, hotel reception desks, light fixtures, light walls and all sorts of architectural installations.  This versatile material is completely customizable, you can add color and layers of texture and finishes to come up with a final result that suits your project. Click to continue »

Who: Iglooplay; Brooklyn, NY

What: Tea Pods

Where: 2modern -  $565 for the small pod, $1115 for the medium pod & $190-245 for the trays, free shipping on orders over $100

Why We Love ‘Em: Recently, our two little nieces came for a visit, which was awesome, but our home is far from baby-proof and we braced ourselves for the inevitable ‘ouwy.’  The culprit? The sharp corner of our coffee table,  fortunately recovery was swift. But it did get us thinking about a design by Iglooplay that we had seen a few months ago that would make a cool ‘corner-free’  coffee table. We have long wrestled with debate of ottoman vs. coffee table, but with the Tea Pods we’d get the best of both worlds. Click to continue »

Who: Helen Riegle, HER Designs; Marblehead, MA

What: Lily Purse

Where: HER-design.com, On Sale for $140, Chartreuse or Coral Rose Lining. (update June 22nd: the Lily in organic cotton and brown leather is on sale for $100)

Why: Clearly this purse was designed by a woman who understands that a bag needs to be more than just a pretty face; it also has to be functional. The lovely Lily delivers.

No more wrestling to keep purse straps in place;  the slim synthetic leather straps stay put.

No more fumbling for your phone; you’ll find it tucked in its own tidy little pocket.

No more wandering wallets; yours gets double wrapped – zipped then snapped.

No more guilt about adding another leather handbag to the shelves; the Lily is made of 100% organic cotton, PVC-free synthetic leather and recycled PET.

So, from the inside out, you will be (or at least look) totally pulled together.

Click to continue »

Who: Speesees; San Francisco, CA

What: Onesies & Bibs

Why: With five nieces, I am constantly in search of fun kids clothes that are neither pink (although am currently losing out to their “everything must be pink phase”……), nor covered in Laura Ashley florals, nor emblazoned with princess appliqués, oh, and are not laced with chemicals. Thankfully there is Speesees!!

Speesees (“species” in baby talk-even the name is cute!) is a remarkable company both in design and eco-mindedness. They specialize in comfy cotton stylings in splashy color combinations with hip funky plant and animal prints. Perfect for the fashion forward tot! I mean, honestly, what could be cuter than a tyke toddling around in a seal pup onesie? Well, maybe, the picture of Obama hugging that adorable little boy…… Click to continue »

Yup, that’s right, wallpaper. Honestly, wallpaper is making a comeback, but it is not your grandmother’s wallpaper (not that there is anything wrong with grandma’s wallpaper…). While the home renovation programs detail how to strip your outdated wallpaper and while my parents spent an entire day stripping their old wallpaper consequently insisting that I promise to never hang wallpaper, I, nevertheless, cannot resist the allure of today’s eco-friendly options. Here are some of my favorites: Click to continue »

Jeanne Haegele opted for a ‘life less plastic’ by trying to go without plastics–easier said than done.

More and more evidence suggests that plastics can be harmful to our health. Specifically Bisphenol-a (BPA), the chemical used to harden plastics found in most water bottles, linings of canned foots and plastic utensils, Phthalates, used to soften plastics and found in toys and vinyl shower curtains, and BPDE’s a flame retardent found in wires and cables. All of these have been shown to have adverse affects on our health.

Here are some simple ways to lessen your exposure to harmful plastics: Click to continue »