Forget slashing prices. What picky shoppers want this holiday season are gifts with meaning.

So merchants are scouting for items that are environmentally or socially responsible, whether that means produced locally, often with recycled material, or made in accordance with fair trade standards, which require that workers are paid a living wage in safe conditions.

“We look at what the company is about. What’s their mission statement? Do they help the Earth? Do they help women?” said Jayne Ertel, co-owner of Team Blonde Jewelry in Forest Park.

At a time when many retailers are reporting sales declines, some green merchants are bucking the trend. Team Blonde projects sales of about $450,000 this year, up 8 percent from a year ago.

“I’m doubling my sales this year,” said Maureen Dunn, co-owner at Mata Traders, a Chicago-based wholesaler of fair trade goods that sells to 70 shops throughout the nation.

The hot seller this holiday season is a $12 scarf made from repurposed sari material. Dunn has added winter clothing and jewelry to her line while being careful to keep prices down.

“If something’s too expensive, I have to figure out how to change the design to make it cheaper so I can compete,” Dunn said, noting that she designs the products that are made by women’s cooperatives in India. Besides wholesale, Mata Traders has a retail booth at the Andersonville Galleria.

Sales of green products are climbing because consumers increasingly are considering where and how a product is made, said Aimee Heilbrunn, co-founder of EcosceneInc.com, a Web site that reviews green products.

“People automatically think if it’s organic or green, it’s going to be more expensive, but that’s not necessarily the case. You can find some good alternatives that aren’t going to break the bank,” Heilbrunn said.

Heilbrunn conceived Ecoscene a year ago, after searching for an environmentally friendly dog bed. “I thought, if I’m a normal consumer looking for these items, there must be other consumers out there who are trying to make better choices,” she said.

Nearly one in four Americans, representing more than $200 billion in annual sales, are environmentally and socially conscious consumers, Heilbrunn said, citing figures from the Natural Marketing Institute.

“Consumers are starting to make choices that are cognizant that we are part of a global marketplace,” said Cheryl Middaugh, president of Mora & Mahogany, a company that helps clients raise money by selling fair trade products.

Mora & Mahogany plans to launch a catalog of fair trade products next year for schools and non-profit groups to use for fundraising.

It was that type of fundraiser at a Unitarian Church two years ago that inspired Cindy Pardo and two friends to launch The Fair Trader, a store in Hyde Park that opened in September 2007. “So many people in the neighborhood said, ‘Gee, I wish we could shop this way all the time,’ ” she recalled.

The store stocks only certified fair trade merchandise, including home decor, jewelry, apparel, paper and bath and body products. Most items range from $25 to $75.

Pardo is convinced the growing awareness of where products come from and how they are made is making a difference. More foreign factories are adopting fair trade principles because they know it will help them sell their products, she said.

Shoppers also feel good supporting local artisans, said Nadeen Kieren, shopkeeper at GreenSky, an Andersonville boutique offering green and one-of-a-kind gifts and home decor. “If people can find something functional or decorative that has a story behind it, they enjoy spending their money.”

About three-quarters of the merchandise Kieren stocks is from the Midwest, she said, though she also carries some international fair trade products. Products range from frames created from pencils, birdhouses made from reclaimed barn wood, repurposed woolens made into hats and scarves and jewelry from Michigan stones, she said. Prices range from $2 for a fair trade chocolate bar from Divine Chocolate to $70 for a sea grass handbag.

To keep up with demand at Team Blonde Jewelry, the business recently expanded to a 3,200-square-foot location, where the owners took care to reuse two-by-fours, wood moldings and drywall screws, said co-owner Heidi Vance, who drives a car that runs on biofuel. The new space includes a jewelry-making studio, where Vance and Ertel make items from recycled material, leaded glass from vintage chandeliers, typewriter keys and Scrabble tiles. Customers also can use the studio to make jewelry.

Vance and Ertel, trained in law and accounting, respectively, gave up professional careers to grow Team Blonde. Initially, they made most of the jewelry the store carried. As they found distinct items at gift shows that appealed to their environmental consciousness, they broadened their merchandise mix.

Products range from Vy & Elle handbags made from recycled vinyl billboards to Zulu grass necklaces from the Kenya-based Leakey Collection, which creates employment opportunities for women. Perennial favorites also are soap and bath salts from the Enterprising Kitchen, a Chicago non-profit that employs disadvantaged women.

“We like things that are unpredictable,” Vance said. “There’s always something new to look at. It gives people a reason to come back.”

By Ann Meyer

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-mon-minding-green-products-dec08,0,386691.story

With the holidays looming around the corner, eco-friendly consumers are on the lookout for companies selling sustainable and environmentally conscious products.

Featured in Good Housekeeping, Time and The Wall Street Journal, Eco-Artware.com’s unique products make cool gifts for environmentally conscious people. Earth911.com spoke with Reena Kazmann, founder and director, to learn more about how her company takes green art to the next level.

From Used to New

Eco-Artware was founded in 1999 with the notion of creating a place to showcase earth-friendly gifts made by artists who factor the environment into their work.

Products sold by Eco-Artware are created from recycled or natural materials. Funky items like sweaters or Scrabble tiles are used to make unique trinkets like children’s toys and cuff links, created by a diverse range of over 25 artists that believe in sustainable living and using eco-friendly mediums. They even feature high-back dining chairs made from retired traffic signs.

“We appreciate the imagination and creativity of our artists who take used or discarded (but perfectly good) materials and transform them into exciting, innovative designs,” said Kazmann.

She believes there is a greater shift toward eco-friendly products because companies are becoming more conscious of the “green” movement, and that consumers are now looking to buy environmentally friendly products.

Doing their best to leave a small carbon footprint, the company tries to limit its own waste by using packaging made of recycled materials, like their jewelry boxes composed of recycled paper.

Seeing the Light

For Kazmann, the best part of her job is “discovering a wonderful design that is eco-friendly and seeing the creativity of people who create eco-friendly designs. To these artists, it is not trash they are dealing with, but rather a work of art. As the saying goes, ‘one man’s trash is another’s treasure.’”Kazmann said she is “thrilled” to offer a unique selection of gifts that allow people to “live well, while lightly living on the earth.”

In the future, Kazmann plans on expanding Eco-Artware’s newsletter, the Recycling Rag, to include more on recycling and making products from trash. They also hope to create a series of videos on how you can make and use products from trash.

Favorite R

Kazmann’s favorite “R” is recycling. Due to the recycling industry, it has become much easier to find products that have been made from recycled material, creating more materials for the artists featured on Eco-Artware.com

If jewelry made from typewriter keys or tea lights from recycled bicycle freewheels and cassette cogs ring your bell, Eco-Artware.com has a host of perfect gifts for all the people on your “good” list.

by Brittany McNamara

http://earth911.com/blog/2008/12/08/new-choices-for-affordable-sustainable-gifts/

Want to give funky holiday gifts to your family and friends, but minimize the impact on the environment?

Andrea Fisher

http://www.montanasnewsstation.com/Global/story.asp?S=9477605

Sometimes a gift is not just a gift.

It also might be a way to help someone in a developing country make a living wage, support AIDS orphans or fund a museum that transports people into history, art or space.

Gifts that give a portion of their proceeds to a charity, cause or a civic organization are a hot ticket at a time when conspicuous consumption appears to be waning.

Often, gifts with a conscience go beyond the feel-good, earth-friendly standards of sustainable, recycled or organic materials. By sustaining an entire community, for example, batik print textiles or jewelry operations can help keep workers out of sweatshops or sex trades and keep children out of the labor force.

The purchase of a magic kit from the store inside The History Museum at the Castle in Appleton, meanwhile, can help keep the local institution afloat.

“Sale proceeds account for about 6½ percent of our operational revenue,” spokeswoman Tiffany Niederwerfer said. “The income is important to the museum because the dollars are unrestricted. Essentially, it helps us keep the lights on.”

As a bonus, some museum shops have unusual gift ideas. Make that highly unusual.

The small store in front of The Building for Kids, an Appleton children’s museum, includes stocking stuffers such as cheddar-flavored crickets, kazoos shaped like lips and chicken chuckers, all of which are huge hits with small kids.

“We try to have things you’re not going to find at the big box stores,” executive director Dorrie Hipschman said.

Fair trade

The term fair trade indicates those who made, grew or created the object were paid a fair wage and work in livable conditions. The term is common in coffeehouses that serve fair-trade beans.

Now it’s spreading to gift and import stores that want to continue what the coffeehouses started, namely a conscientious way to shop.

“Every single product in our store has helped someone retain a job in the U.S. or has given someone an opportunity to make a fair and living wage in a developing country,” said Genelle Van Heuklon, co-owner at Globally Sound, an Appleton gift and imports shop. “‘Fair trade’ is a guarantee that all components are made not using children or slave labor.”

They’re taking the vetting process seriously.

“It’s a difficult process,” said Van Heuklon, who opened the downtown shop with her mother. They wanted all goods in their shop to have a clear conscience.

They check to see that the baskets, beads and ornaments have documentation.

“A lot of it is based on certifications of different fair trade organizations and nonprofit organizations working with developing countries,” she said.

“If they don’t have the documents, we don’t buy it,” her mother, Germaine Millard, said.

Downtown Designs is another shop in downtown Appleton that places an emphasis on fair-trade goods.

“We’re going through the Fair Trade Federation approved and stamped sources,” said Sara Mahn, shop owner with her mother, Laura Vartanian.

They’ve stocked batiks from Ghana, jewelry from sub-Saharan Africa and baskets woven from recycled telephone wire by Zulu tribe members. Women in New Delhi make mosaic bracelets to earn fair wages, work in safe conditions and have access to health care. In jewelry, many pieces are made from tagua nuts, an alternative to ivory and elephant slaughter.

“Everything has a story,” Mahn said.

Museum shops

The beauty of shopping in museum shops is that gifts are often unique, local or educational.

Gift shops are typically found at the entrances of museums so shoppers can come in without paying admission. In the case of Hearthstone, shoppers can ask to go downstairs for free to the small basement shop that carries logo merchandise and art.

Most important, museum shops funnel their profits back into their operating budgets.

After expenses, the shop at the front of The Building for Kids, for example, will add $35,000 to the museum’s funding.

“It directly benefits the operations of the museum,” Hipschman said.

While that might seem like a drop in the bucket in the museum’s nearly $1 million annual budget, the shop is not just there to generate funds.

“It’s important because it’s a part of our mission to promote imagination, creativity and confidence,” she said. “We keep a lot of lower-priced items because kids often have $1 or $2 to spend. It enables them to make their own decisions. Part of it is just fun.”

The cheddar-flavored crickets, which are edible, are also educational, she said. “It gives us an opportunity to tell people that in many parts of the world, this is a common food. It’s a teaching tool.”

Hispchman said the museum shop has items that relate to its current castle exhibition, like Schleich fairy, dragon and knight figurines. Kids wanted to play with them in the museum exhibit and take them home. The shop complied.

Likewise, the Stones & Stars shop next to the Weis Earth Science Museum and Barlow Planetarium “continues our educational mission,” museum director Joanne Kluessendorf said. “The items in the shop are curiosity-creating toys, posters, books on astronomy, dinosaur models, rocks, minerals and fossils.”

All profits from the volunteer-run glass shop at the Bergstrom-Mahler Museum in Neenah go into the operating fund, which is especially important given that the museum doesn’t charge admission. Besides the shop, it depends on endowments, memberships, grants and donations, manager Kathy Smits said. “We like to say it’s a shop with a purpose.”

Thrift

Another way to give a gift with a conscience, especially for collectors and fans of quirky or vintage finds, is to buy something from thrift shops that fund local social programs.

That includes Goodwill, St. Vincent de Paul or any thrift shop that gives a portion of its proceeds to charity.

St. Vincent de Paul, for example, recently opened its seasonal Christmas store in the Northland Mall’s interior corridor. The shop offers holiday decorations, figurines and artificial trees. Merchandise has all been donated and volunteers staff the store. Proceeds go to provide assistance to needy people in the Fox Valley.

Maureen Wallenfang

http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20081116/APC04/811160401/1029

Its the season for little black dresses, elegance and all that glitters with gold. Holidays also mean gifts, so this year why not give green? You can use your green backs to purchase green, clean, sustainable eco-gifts and fashions.The holidays are absolutely the time to get with the newest sustainable trends. Before you step into some trendy new style, lets talk sustainability. The philosophy of sustainable clothing goes quite nicely with the spirit of the season. Fair trade promotes good will towards men. Earth friendly raw materials and production create peace on Earth. These are consumer purchasing choices you can make to protect the planet, and that would make you a very good boy or girl.

In the not too distant past, seamstresses and tailors routinely took blouses or skirts apart at the seams, added bows or took off sleeves to update styles. This reconstructing of clothes is the most sustainable thing in fashion going.Its called upcycling. To upcycle clothes into second and third generation garments is a creative challenge but the fabrics are generally high quality, durable cottons, recycled polyesters, silks, wools, denims and leathers.  Sustainable designers use their creativity to make stunning new fashion statements.  These second generation designs’ new looks are achieved by changing buttons, collars, sleeves and hems, for instance. Environmentally, the energy used to produce an upcycled design is significantly lower because the designers are modifying a previously manufactured item so the production and energy used in the fabric, pattern and basic garment is already bought and paid for.

So when you shop for the perfect drop dead entrance maker, be on the prowl for eco-friendly fabrics and designs that are organic, Tencel, recycled, or vintage. For a great guide to green, sustainable and eco-conscious designers as well as for living and shopping in LA, look no further than The Urban Dwellers Guide to Green Living Los Angeles. Produced by Greenopia, this is the go-to green guide for Los Angeles. Green Living Los Angeles is not only  a guide book Angelinos can rely on, it also makes a super, eco-cool holiday gift in and of itself.

For our sustainable fashion shopping needs, Green Living guide nails it. Under the category, “Getting Goods,” browse the extensive “Clothing and Shoes,” list. When searching for the perfect holiday outfit, check out eco-designers like Stella McCartney who creates the perfect green jeans, and where you can also pick up gift sets of her organic skin products. Eco-shops like Tianello use Tencel fibers for their mens’ and womens’ clothing while VitalHemptations uses…well, hemp. Fred Segel Fun for men and women designs with organic cotton and bamboo. Menemsha specializes in sustainable accessories,clothing and shoes. Wolf designs men’s wear of organic cotton, hemp and recycled polyester. For darling children’s holiday wear or fun play clothes, shops like Ivy Greene for Kids offers sweet bamboo, organic cotton and hemp outfits as do Petit Ami and Papillon Baby. For holiday babies, many fine shops design gentle sustainable gifts and clothes for baby like Green for Baby and Green Cradle.For outdoor enthusiasts’ gifts, Patagonia and REI have some of the coolest gear in the outdoor recreation industry. For cute, green pet gifts,look in the Green Living guide under “Caring for Critters,” for green pet suppliers like Animal Crackers, or Bark Williams.

So this holiday season, in the spirit of the season, consume green. During this time of the year when we think about the future and make our resolutions, resolve to live lighter. Make earth intelligent consumer decisions and purchases. Make gift giving an exercise in eco-consciousness. Spread the word while you’re spreading the green.

For more Info: Greenopia.com,www.stellamccartney.com, www.Tianello.com, www.VitalHemp.com, www.FredSegelFun.com, www.Menemshastyle.com, Wolf:310-392-8551, Ivy Greene for Kids: 310-230-0301, Petit Ami: 310-459-0011, www.PapillionBaby.com, www.GreenforBaby, www.GreenCradle.com, www.Patagonia.com, www.REI.com, Animal Crackers: 310-658-1919, www.Bark-Williams.com.

  http://www.examiner.com/x-1440-Los-Angeles-Green-Life-Examiner~y2008m11d9-Make-your-holiday-entrance-in-drop-dead-gorgeous-green-style

Flowers, chocolates and diamonds will top many people’s shopping lists as Valentine’s Day approaches. Unfortunately, the items most associated with romance are also marred by environmental and social justice concerns.

As the green movement gains momentum, and support from Hollywood heavy hitters such as Al Gore and Leonardo DiCaprio, consumers are becoming increasingly aware that the items they purchase might be obtained in ways harmful to the Earth and its inhabitants, according to experts in the diamond and flower industries. Frontline workers in Latin American countries, key suppliers of chocolate and flowers, and Africa, where the majority of diamonds originate, are most affected, dealing with hazardous working conditions and unlivable wages.

With diamonds, demand for conflict-free stones spiked after the 2006 movie “Blood Diamond,” which addressed the link between diamonds and political unrest and violence in Sierra Leone.

“People were shocked that for such a beautiful gemstone the history behind it could be so tragic,” said Beth Gerstein, co-founder of Brilliant Earth, a San Francisco-based company specializing in conflict-free diamonds. “More and more people are starting to ask questions about where products are coming from and demand a more socially and environmentally friendly product.”

The trend is rippling through the flower industry as well.

“People are getting more concerned about the broader implications of what they buy. I want to make sure my purchasing decisions don’t hurt someone else in another part of the world,” said Amy Stewart of Eureka, Calif., author of “Flower Confidential: The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful.”

There are ways to make Feb. 14 special for your loved one and still be environmentally and socially responsible. Here are some tips to consider.

Chocolates

Organic and fair-trade chocolate still has all the calories of regular chocolate, but at least it helps alleviate some of the guilt. Wild Oats-Whole Foods in Vancouver offers a variety of organic and fair-trade chocolate bars in several flavors. The store carries Alter Eco, a fair-trade label; Equal Exchange, organic and fair-trade chocolates; and Seeds of Change, an organic line. The bars range from $3.69 to $4.59.

Equal Exchange also offers a variety of organic, fair-trade certified chocolate through its Web site, equalexchange.com. Options include Organic Milk Chocolate with Ground Hazelnuts, Organic Mint Chocolate and Organic Very Dark Chocolate. A 3½-ounce bar costs $3.95, plus shipping, and a case of 12 bars is $40.50. The minimum order is $25.

Dagoba, an Ashland, Ore.-based company, also offers organic and fair-trade chocolate bars and syrup, hot chocolate mix and chocolate-covered ­coffee beans. Products can be ordered online at ­dagobachocolate.com.

Based out of Seattle, Theo Chocolate offers fair-trade, organic and vegan chocolate bars through its Web site, theochocolate.com.

The Uncommon Gift in Camas sells Moonstruck Chocolate Co.’s organic dark chocolate bar for $3.95. The regular bars are $3, but the extra 95 cents is worth it to some eco-conscious customers, said The Uncommon Gift co-owner Carrie Schulstad.

Flowers

Surprise that someone special with a bouquet not tainted by pesticides or imported from thousands of miles away. Many area florists buy from local growers whenever possible to support their community, know more about the products they’re selling and save on the fossil fuels and other non-renewable natural resources required to ship merchandise long distances.

Garside Florist Inc. in Vancouver gets its roses from Peterkort Roses in Portland, and buys tulips from Holland America Bulb Farms Inc. in Woodland.

Although most of Garside’s flowers come from Colombia and other Latin American countries, many of these farms are VeriFlora-certified for sustainable practices. Esmeralda Farms is one such operation, and supplies many of Garside’s carnations, poms and daisies.

For Valentine’s Day Wild Oats-Whole Foods will be offering organic roses from Biogarden.

To send blooms to a long-distance­ love, check out ­organicbouquet.com. The site sells certified organic and VeriFlora lilies, irises, roses and other flowers.

Diamonds

Diamonds are a girl’s best friend, but not if they come at others’ expense. Industry-wide, most jewelry manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers are aware of conflict diamonds and try through the Kimberley Process to maintain a pipeline of conflict-free jewelry, said Erik Runyan, owner of Runyan’s Jewelers in Vancouver.

Runyan’s has written guarantees from its vendors stating that their diamonds, to the best of their knowledge, are conflict-free. Most of Runyan’s diamonds are mined in South Africa and cut in Belgium, but Runyan’s also sells some Canadian diamonds.

Because it’s hard to track the origin of diamonds from mine to jewelry store, buying Canadian gems is the best way to assure an ethically sourced stone, Gerstein said.

All the diamonds Brilliant Earth sells come from Canada. Brilliant Earth also designs sapphire pieces using stones from small, family owned mines in Australia and Malawi. The yellow and white gold and platinum settings Brilliant Earth creates are recycled metals.

Other gift ideas

Give the gift of philanthropy. CharityChoice gift cards allow the recipient to choose a cause to support from among more than 100 charities. Charities range from the Sierra Club to the American Red Cross to Special Olympics International Inc. Electronic cards start at $5 and are tax-deductible for the purchaser of the card. For more information or to buy a card for your sweetheart, see ccgiftcards.org.

There also are many fair-trade gifts available locally and online created by artisans worldwide.

The Emancipation Network sells handicrafts made by survivors of human trafficking and slavery. The organization’s store, Made By Survivors, provides jobs for women and helps them become entrepreneurs. Products are available online at madebysurvivors.com and include beaded bracelets from Nepal ($10), batik scarves from India ($30) and handwoven cotton napkins from Thailand ($20 for a set of four).

Wild Oats-Whole Foods carries World of Good products, a line of fair-trade jewelry and women’s accessories handcrafted in Colombia and other South American countries. Prices range from about $15 for a bracelet to $40 for a purse.

Vancouver-based Organic Products Trading Co. develops and imports organic and fair-trade coffees from around the world. Its Café Feminino line is fair-trade, organic and shade-grown. Roasters have agreed to donate a portion of the proceeds to either local women’s shelters or the Café Feminino Foundation. The beans are available locally at Trader Joe’s and Café Sip-n-Play.

If your paramour enjoys a romantic dinner brimming with fresh, locally grown ingredients, try a gift certificate to Roots Restaurant & Bar in Camas or 360° Pizzeria in east Vancouver near the Camas border. These restaurants, both owned by Brad Root, feature produce and meat from Northwest farms.

Or visit Seres, a new, upscale Chinese restaurant in east Vancouver. Seres emphasizes organic, local ingredients and boasts an energy-efficient kitchen and menus made from recycled paper.

For an elegant and educational experience heavy on local fare, get a group of four or five couples together and sign up for a demonstration dinner at Applewood Northwest Cuisine and Catering in the Cascade Park neighborhood. The dinners are offered Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. They last about two and a half hours and include four courses and wine. Meals are prepared step by step, and recipes are provided. The cost is $75 per person.

For an inexpensive but poignant gift, try a love letter. The Paper Lantern in Camas sells cards made from recycled materials, so you can save a tree and give your honey a note to treasure. And though perhaps not as romantic as an actual card, virtual cards are environmentally friendly. Sites such as greetings.yahoo.com and 123greetings.com allow people to personalize and e-mail electronic cards.

Did you know?

Fair-trade certification means that farms receive a reasonable price for their products, and that employees on those farms work in safe conditions. Forced child labor is not tolerated. With fair-trade goods, importers work directly with farmers whenever possible. Farmers and workers also receive a premium to invest in community development projects. Harmful agrochemicals and genetically modified organisms are eschewed in favor of environmentally sustainable farming methods. Fair-trade certification is available for coffee, tea, herbs, cocoa, chocolate, fresh fruit, sugar, rice and vanilla. Look for the Fair Trade Certified logo on products.

VeriFlora certification signifies that flowers and potted plants were produced in an environmentally and socially conscious manner. Look for the VeriFlora logo, or ask your florist if the wholesaler he or she uses works with VeriFlora-certified growers.

Kimberley Process certification regulates trade in rough diamonds. It aims to keep conflict or “blood” diamonds out of the retail market. Conflict stones, those that help fund civil wars, have been particularly devastating to central and western Africa. When shopping for diamonds, inquire about retailers’ policies on conflict diamonds. Ask to see a System of Warranties statement, a written guarantee that the diamonds come from legitimate sources and are, to the retailer’s and supplier’s best knowledge, conflict-free.

Products certified organic meet U.S. Department of Agriculture standards. Organic farmers emphasize the use of renewable resources, as well as water and soil conservation. Organic meat, poultry, eggs and dairy products come from animals that are given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic farming emphasizes biologically based pest management, as opposed to pesticides. In addition to the farms, companies that handle or process organic food on its way to restaurants and grocery stores must be certified organic. Any product labeled organic must be certified by a nationally accredited agency.

Sources: transfairusa.org; veriflora.org; kimberleyprocess.com; diamondfacts.org; ams.usda.gov/nop; David Granatstein, Washington State University sustainable agriculture specialist.

Mary Ann Albright

http://www.columbian.com/lifeHome/lifeHomeNews/2008/02/02062008_A-love-thats-sustainable.cfm

Many local consumers want to buy more environmentally friendly products — products that are green. Several retailers have opened up recently in the Twin Cities to serve those shoppers. The stores are clearly green. The question is: Can they end up in the black?

Minneapolis — When Christine Hanwick of Minneapolis went shopping for a gift for her mother recently, Hanwick knew her options were limited. That is because Hanwick was looking for something most retailers cannot sell her.

Something “sustainable,” she says, “that’s going to leave a smaller carbon footprint.”

Hanwick found her way to Twin Cities Green on Hennepin Avenue South in Minneapolis. The store offers a wide array of recycled, reclaimed and otherwise earth-friendly products: hats and mittens made from old sweaters, lamp shades created from discarded licenses plates, and the store’s top seller — toilet tissue made from 100 percent recycled paper.

Hanwick bought her mom a hat and pin for about $20, and felt she got a good deal.

“I think they’re very reasonable in terms of prices,” she says. “And there are some really great products here. There are hats, children’s goods, furniture, cleaning supplies, lots of neat things.”

Twin Cities Green is one of several green stores that have debuted in the Twin Cities in recent months. Other shops include Cool Planet Goods and Sunny Day Earth Solutions. The stores’ owners see an opportunity to serve green consumers who cannot find what they want at most big retailers.

Ryan North and his wife, Tina, own Twin Cities Green. Ryan North says they know it will be a struggle to establish their business. Most new small businesses fail, it seems, within four years. But North says their hearts told them to open the shop.

“Green is growing exponentially in this city,” he says. “It’s really a booming industry here in Minneapolis. People want more choices. People want to live their lives more sustainability, more green. And we want to help them.”

North and his wife are actors by trade. They met performing in the long-running “Tony ‘n Tina’s Wedding.”

And the Norths remain closely connected to the Twin Cities artistic community. Local artists and craftsmen make many of the goods at Twin Cities Green, recycling things that would otherwise likely end up in the trash.

Small shops like Twin Cities Green are not alone in pursuing the green market. Even mega-retailers, including Wal-Mart and Home Depot, are going green to some extent, offering an increasing supply of green — or at least apparently green — goods.

“In the past, green was a niche,” says green marketing consultant Jacquelyn Ottman. “It was the purview of the hippies. Now it’s very mainstream.”

Ottman says there’s a lot of opportunity these days in going green, both for big retailers and manufacturers — and for small businesses. Ottman says that is largely because more green products are available and they work. “We’ve really seen green products come a long way in the last 20 years from a standpoint of quality,” Ottman says. “And, of course, that makes them much more appealing to a mass audience.”

Seeing the likes of Target and Wal-Mart selling green products leaves Ryan North with mixed emotions. He hopes there will still be room left for small retailers. “When Target and Wal-Mart start offering green things, I’m kind of torn,” he says. “I’m like, ‘Great. Good. That’s more green things getting out into the world.’ But I hope people will see the value of shopping small, shopping local.”

Chances are many of the goods North sells will nott find their way into big retail stores. That is because they don’t lend themselves to mass production and they are made locally.

Stacy Janiak, vice chair of retail for the Deloitte consulting firm, says small green retailers can benefit greatly from their community connections. “The green concept is something that is very appealing to a local market because it tends to add something back to the community,” she says. “That green concept, particularly for a smaller shop, would be a fantastic marketing tool.”

A recent Deloitte survey found 20 percent of shoppers said they intended to buy more environmentally friendly products this holiday season. And Janiak suspects the desire of consumers to shop green will grow as more retailers go green and more green products become available.

That would greatly please shopper Christine Hanwick. “A lot of people are getting very excited about this concept,” she says. “There’s lot of interest. There just needs to be more options.”

Some retailers have already turned green concepts into solid nationwide businesses. Whole Foods has nearly 300 stores across the country now. Ten Thousand Villages, which sells crafts made by third-world artisans, is widely considered a true green business. There are now more than 160 Ten Thousand Villages retail outlets in North America.

http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2007/12/21/green_retailing/by Martin Moylan

By JESSICA ROYER OCKEN
Gifts in the perfect shade of green – organic, nontoxic, sustainable and otherwise good for the planet – are everywhere this season. The best of the new generation of eco-friendly merchandise is beautifully designed and often understated. Unlike eco-minded merchandise of the more strident, Save the Earth school, these new products tend to lead with good design and relegate their eco claims to the fine print.

“Green is the new black,” says Anne-Marie Luthro, vice president at Envirosell, a New York City-based market research firm that studies the ways people shop. Luthro and other retail gurus believe there’s a growing awareness on the part of shoppers that the choices they make can have an impact on the world.

This season, more friends and loved ones on your list are likely to be captivated by a gift that indulges them and also walks softly on the earth. You won’t have to work hard to find lots of intriguing items.

“Green products, eco-friendly products are more widely available and more palatable,” says Gwynne Rogers, business director for The Natural Marketing Institute, a market research firm in Harleysville, Penn. that specializes in new product development. “They’re more enticing on their own, apart from being just green.”

A reduced environmental impact is not necessarily the main selling point here. The goal of gift giving is to match the people on your list with something they’ll truly enjoy. If your list is not comprised solely of Sierra Club members and Al Gore, you’ll want to consider more than carbon footprints as you shop.

Find gifts you’ll feel good about giving and that will delight the recipient, committed environmentalist or not. Everyone on your list – as well as the earth – will be thrilled.

Fashionistas

Although your mental picture of earth-friendly fashion may involve a lot of braided hemp, there are more-beautiful options. And, these items’ green-chic mystique will increase their appeal among makers of fashion statements. “Designers who are developing organic cotton [clothing] are spending a lot of time to be sure the fabric will be something people love,” says Straus. And that goes for other sustainable fibers and jewelry, too.

Bamboosa’s bamboo-fiber clothing is exceptionally soft and silky, and claims to be breathable and hypoallergenic, too. The bamboo is grown without the use of pesticides. The company behind the line, The M Group, Andrews, S.C., makes all its products in the U.S. and supports sustainability, recycling and nontoxic alternatives. Bamboosa clothing comes in simple styles to suit a variety of tastes. Its bamboo socks ($7-10), long-sleeved T-shirts for men and women ($26), and women’s sleep slips ($28) – touted as being as comfy as sleeping in the nude – fly off the store shelves around the holidays. Soft blankets ($25) and cuddly hooded towels ($28) from BambooBaby are also popular gifts. Bamboosa and BambooBaby products can be found at boutiques and gift stores.

Designers at Lucina Jewelry, Portland, Ore., collect a variety of natural materials from around the world – gemstones, nuts and seeds, and hand-forged silver – and transform them into captivating accessories. Fiery red jewelry made of the red, corn-like choclo seed from Columbia, like the top-selling Berry Coil Bracelet, made of the choclo strung on a coil of recycled Columbian pesos ($46), will please the most discriminating accessory-lover this holiday.

Foodies

Everyone likes to eat, especially during the holidays. Those who appreciate fine flavors may be naturally drawn to smaller farms and artisanal or organic options, notes Michael Straus, owner of Straus Communication and childhood resident of an organic dairy farm. Delight your hungriest friends and family with these delicacies:

Chocolate truffle tea blends from Mighty Leaf Tea, San Rafael, Calif., feature whole leaf teas, spices, herbs, and fruit, plus chocolate chips and cacao nibs, to produce rich, complex flavors like Mayan Chocolate Truffle that even cocoa-lovers will enjoy. Find them specially packaged in a handmade Abaca tea box ($42) or reusable mini tins ($28.95) for the holidays at specialty gift and food stores and upscale department stores.

For those who like to cook (not just eat), an assortment of organic spices, tsp spices from Baltimore-based The Seasoned Palate, will get the culinary juices flowing. Each tin comes with 12 packets, each with a 1 teaspoon of the spice (hence the brand name.) The line was awarded Best in Show at the 2007 Gourmet Housewares trade show in Las Vegas. Select a gift set ($20 to 45) to jump-start your favorite cook or mix and match flavors from lemon zest to ground ancho chile ($10 for 12 teaspoon-sized packets). Don’t forget to note in your gift card that the spices’ metal tins are the perfect size to be reused as iPod holders. You’ll find the line at high-end grocers and specialty stores.

Teens and Tweens

This group is notoriously hard to buy for and may also be unimpressed when you tell them their gift is “good for the earth.” But what if they happen to love an earth-friendly item?

Captivate your favorite young gadget hound with Solio, a portable solar-powered charger and backup battery ($99.95). Open the Solio’s wings to collect and store 10-12 hours of energy for cell phones, iPods, Game Boys, digital cameras, GPS systems and virtually any handheld electronic device. Once charged – either via the sun or a wall socket – the Solio battery holds its power for up to a year, so they’re great for back-country trekkers and emergency situations, too, as many a hurricane disaster relief worker can attest. Solios, by Better Energy Systems, Berkeley, Calif., are available at select sporting goods chains, department and specialty stores.

The Los Angeles-based Box Girls do their good deeds behind the scenes, contributing some of their profits to charities that support families and children and slyly sneaking topics that promote actual connection and communication into their “Box of Questions” games. Despite the do-gooding, all the recipient sees is fun! Choose The Girlfriends, The Slumber Party or The Girls Night Out question sets (“If you could trade a body part with someone in the room, what would it be and why?), with cards that double as coasters, or special editions just for the holidays. The Thanksgiving Box of Questions (“What are you most thankful for this year?”) features an added reason to give thanks: It’s printed on recycled paper with soy inks, and a portion of its proceeds will benefit the environment. The Hanukkah Box of Questions (“What miracle have you witnessed in your life?”) comes with two wooden dreidels. The Box Girls boxes can be found at Whole Foods, Saks Fifth Avenue and gift stores.

New Parents or Parents-to-Be

Newly minted parents are one of the fastest growing subsets of environmentalists. “As new parents, they are thinking increasingly about the world around their children,” says Christine Lim of Straus Communication, a San Francisco public relations firm that specializes in sustainable products and issues. But these gifts offer more than a brighter future:

Designed and created by nurse/herbalist/mama in charge Melinda Olson, Earth Mama Angel Baby products meet needs moms-to-be may not even know they have, and they soothe baby with organic ingredients. The Clackamas, Ore., firm uses certified-organic herbs and oils for teas, bath herbs, handmade soaps, salves, lotions and massage oils, all free of fragrance, dyes and preservatives. This holiday, find “special delivery” gift sets with natural stretch oil, Happy Mama aromatherapy spray, and herbal lip balm for moms or bottom balm, baby lotion, and baby oil for little ones ($15.95) at upscale food and department stores.

For Coyuchi, the Point Reyes Station, Calif.-based purveyor of organic cotton sheets and bedding accessories, any item designed for babies – from embroidered bedding ($55 to $139) to T-shirts ($18.75) to hooded bath towels ($44) – is a perennial best seller. Also popular are the company’s big-people bedding separates in shades of rich pomegranate or acorn sateen ($32 to 98). Coyuchi products can be found at specialty stores.

Party Hosts

How many little somethings are you going to need for the holiday gatherings on your agenda? These treats make great stocking stuffers, too.

Products from EO/Small World Trading Co., Corte Madera, Calif., include only essential oils (that’s the EO in the brand name) and other plant-based ingredients. The results are scents like calming French lavender, stimulating grapefruit and mint and refreshing lemon verbena in lotions ($7.99), shampoos ($7.99), and all-purpose soaps so gentle you can use them to clean vegetables, your pooch, or your vehicle ($7.99). Look for new bubble baths and foaming soaps this season, and find EO Products at natural food stores, independent grocers, salons and spas.

The snazzy design and delicious aromas of Method’s products will likely have their recipient hooked before she even realizes they’re non-toxic and biodegradable. The San Francisco-based company creates a wide array of cleaning sprays and wipes – all-purpose home cleaners, dish soap, laundry soap, hand and body soap – and accessories including candles, aroma sticks and cloths. Select from the latest scents of the season – cinnamon bark, hollyberry and peppermint vanilla – in soy candles ($9), air fresheners ($8 to 15), or hand wash ($4). Find these and other Method products at mass merchants and drug stores.

And take heart. According to the experts, in the coming years everyone will be giving and receiving green gifts. “Global warming is trickling down,” says Diana Dawson, senior project manager at Envirosell. “We slowly see that [awareness] broadening, and gift giving will start to reflect that. Green is around to stay.”

http://www.phillyburbs.com/pb-dyn/news/282-11282007-1447837.html

Product claims of being friendly for the environment often not what they seem

By Alex Breitler

So you want to save the planet this holiday shopping season, but you’re perplexed by a plethora of products:

“Green,” gloats one label. “Environmentally friendly,” flaunts another. “Nontoxic,” trumpets a third.

What isn’t green these days?

So what’s a shopper to do?

The Federal Trade Commission has set standards to discourage greenwashing.

• Look for labels that signify certification by independent third parties like EcoLogo or Green Seal. (See www.ecologo.org or www.greenseal.org. )

• Ask questions in an attempt to uncover any of the six sins.

• Remember that there are no perfectly “green” products, only those that are greener than others.

• The California Department of Conservation sponsors an online Green Gift Guide listing products made from recycled goods. Check it out at www.greengiftguide.com..

One study by a Canadian-based marketing firm suggests that most of the goods on your gift list - and much of the regular stuff you buy year-round - isn’t as Earth-friendly as their makers claim.

Of the 1,018 products analyzed at a half-dozen big-box stores, all but one “made claims that are demonstrably false or that risk misleading intended audiences,” says the report by TerraChoice Environmental Marketing.

“Some are accurate, certified and verifiable, while others are just plain fibbing to sell products,” said company President Scott McDougall.

And so it came to pass that the company this month published the six sins of “Greenwashing,” as follows:

The sin of the hidden trade-off

Your new printer says it’s energy efficient, but is it compatible with recycled paper or toner cartridges? Does it contain hazardous materials that would harm the environment?

More than half of the sampled products had hidden trade-offs, the survey found. They boast a pretty nose while carefully concealing acne.

The end result? A greener image of the product than closer study would suggest.

PRODUCTS FOUND: Paper, lumber, insulation, office technology, detergents, air fresheners, cleaners and pesticides.

The sin of no proof

A lamp carries a tag claiming it is energy efficient but offers no evidence.

More details of a product’s claims should be available at the store or on the product’s Web site. Yet more than a quarter of the products researchers encountered offered no such information.

PRODUCTS FOUND: Lamps and lights, shampoo and conditioner, facial tissues and paper towels.

The sin of vagueness

The hair mousse says it’s “natural.” So is arsenic.

Garden insecticides claim to be “chemical-free.” But researchers note even water is a chemical. More than 10 percent of the products checked made vague claims that are “utterly meaningless.”

PRODUCTS FOUND: Insecticides, hair products, kitchen wax paper, household cleaners.

The sin of irrelevance

Some green claims may be true, but they don’t tell us much about how this particular product can be distinguished from the one next to it.

A can of shaving gel may be labeled as being “CFC-free.” Chlorofluorocarbons, when released to the upper atmosphere, can burn through the ozone layer, the Environmental Protection Agency says. But they’ve been banned for nearly three decades.

So everything on the store shelf should be “CFC-free.” This is hardly a “green” attribute by today’s standard.

PRODUCTS FOUND: Gels, cleaners, disinfectants, insecticides.

The sin of lesser of two evils

Wanna smoke? Cigarettes rolled with organic tobacco are a “greener” choice.

But the benefits gained from using organic rather than traditional tobacco hardly outweigh the larger risks from smoking in general, including personal health and secondhand smoke, the researchers say.

The sin of fibbing

To be fair, only a few of the products tested outright lied, the researchers said.

Most of them - shampoos, a caulking product and detergent - claimed to be certified through watchdog agencies, but they in fact were not.

http://www.recordnet.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071129/A_NEWS/711290331

Those of us not blessed with that creepy “I get all my holiday shopping done by Thanksgiving” gene are likely currently in crisis mode, facing overcrowded malls, credit card meltdown, long lines, bad music, and the kind of time-is-running-out panic that drives us to spend hundreds of dollars on useless crap that nobody wants to find under their tree. But before the most wonderful time of the year turns you into a Scrooge, check out these tips for smarter, saner holiday shopping.

1. If the environmental assault of the season’s frenzied consumerism is what’s got you down, check out TreeHugger’s gift list (treehugger.com). The choices are ranked from light to dark green depending on how Earth-friendly they are, and conveniently broken down according to whom you’re buying for. Jet-setter? Check. Outdoors lover? Check. Fashionista? Checkety-check.

2. If you got stuck with your third cousin twice removed in the annual family gift exchange, and the only detail you can recall about her is that the last time you saw her she had a distinct fondness for My Little Pony, consider a universal gift certificate from giftcertificates.com. They can be exchanged for credit at several different retailers, so you can let cuz choose where to spend it. Spafinder.com offers a similar service; their gift certificates are accepted at more than 4,000 spas worldwide.

3. If you must hit the mall (cringe!), be smart. Clothing retailers usually get new stock on Thursdays, and that’s when they mark down the old stuff and move it to the back of the store so they have room for the new shipments up front. Shop Thursday nights for freshie markdowns, and look in the back for the sale racks. Department stores tend to do the same thing on Saturdays, making room for the new goods advertised in Sunday newspapers, so hit those guys on Saturday nights for the best sale selection. Bonus: If you’re shopping on a Saturday night, it’s entirely appropriate to follow it up with a cocktail.

4. Hibernate until New Year. As long as the eggnog’s flowing, no one will miss you.

By Shannon Kelley Gould
http://www.independent.com/news/2007/nov/29/smarter-shopping-holidays/