Eco Friendly Product Guide

The SideWinder Cell Phone Charger is an excellent way to ensure that you will always have power for your phone no matter what. The nice thing about this charger is that it’s friendly to the environment. Instead of wasting energy charging the phone, the energy used is spent by turning a hand crank. Therefore, you are doing the environment a service, and cutting down on your energy costs.

Not to mention, it would particularly come in handy if you are out camping in the woods and something goes wrong. No need to worry about an outlet or a dead cell phone wherever you are, just make sure you have the Sidewinder with you, and you are in business.

Be advised…if you are using a Motorola Razr or a Motorola Q, the adaptor will not work with your phone. Consider going phone shopping before going on that weekend trip to a cabin in the woods if you have one of these phones and are not very MacGuyver-ish when it comes to camping.

The Sidewinder Cell Phone Charger is available through GreenFeet.com and costs $29.95. It typically ships the next business day, and works with the majority of phones out there.

Electric bikes are an excellent way to get around the city or a quiet suburb. They might not yet be ideal for highway traffic, but if you are living the Urban Lifestyle, they are perfect. Especially if you are one of the many who waits to take the bus from one end of the city to the other every day, this is an excellent way to go.

UrbanScooters.com sells a wide variety of electric scooters for purchase. A fun sporty model is the X-Treme XB-508 Electric Bike. Totally environmentally friendly, the XB-508 has a speed of 20mph and a driving range of 20 miles, but you can also pedal as well, reaching faster speeds and longer distances when necessary. This is also a nice feature, because if for some reason or another you unfortunately run out of power, you always have the pedals to fall back on…no getting stranded roadside with the XB-508!

It’s nice, quiet and comes with all of the standard features that one would expect. A nice feature is also the locking rear cargo box and a cargo rack. It’s an excellent way to get around, and is certainly a nice addition to your already green lifestyle.

Be nice to the bike, however. Any Andy Samberg style stunts a-la Hot Rod are not recommended.

This bike costs $1,069.95, and is available in blue or burgundy from UrbanScooters.com.

During the spring and summer, mosquitos and other insects can be somewhat of a nuisance. That’s when people start bringing out the bug spray. Of course, there are some wonderful environmentally friendly solutions to insect repellent.

Buzz Away insect repellent products are DEET free and are all natural products. They are chemical free, and do an excellent job repelling insects from mosquitos to files, to even ticks and gnats!

Check out the list of products available from Buzz Away. You can send yourself or your family out into the elements, and still retain protection…just in a chemical free, all natural way.

The prices of the different insect repellent products vary, depending on what you are looking for. For example, a 4 oz. spray bottle of Buzz Away Extreme insect repellent goes for $8.09, and a 20 hour Buzz Away Cintronella Candle will typically cost $6.89.

The French are no strangers to style and fashion. So when you combine a french designer with some organic cotton, you end up with a knockout pair of jeans…not to mention ones that you can feel great about wearing as well.

Dyed with real indigo, this dark wash “Martingala” jean has a signature “M” embroidered on the back pockets that have a buttoned flap, much like the non-organic True Religion jeans we’re used to seeing here in the States.

If you are looking for designer and eco-friendly jeans, this is a surefire bet. Might as well look good while trying to save the world at the same time.

Available through the people over at The Oko Box, the Organic Martingala Jeans are certainly not cheap, they run about $145 a pair. However, if you are a fan of designer clothing, this price isn’t too off the radar. You can also shop at the designer’s website, http://www.machja.com. Keep in mind the prices on machja.com are all in European currency, not American.

The brown-bag lunch has long been an American staple, from school kids to even the office worker throwing his/her lunch in the fridge at work (commonly also with things such as “Steve’s lunch…DO NOT EAT” written all over it).

In keeping with the green lifestyle, lunchbags should be a simple thing to come by. The Recycled Paper lunch bags from NaturalValue.com are a great alternative to the traditional brown paper lunch.

Take your lunch to work, or send the kids to school with these bags. Doing so will provide a good feeling, knowing that even something as simple as packing up that lunch can be good for the environment. When you are done, you can just toss the bag in the recycle bin and send it back to which it came. It’s the perfect lunchtime scenario, really.

These recycled paper lunch bags are available through Greenfeet.com for only $1.79 per 50 count of bags.

Household cleaning products. You think of them, and automatically, you think of a lot of chemicals…definitely not “all natural” and “made with plant based ingredients.”

Luckily, with the recent trend of green and eco-friendly products on the rise, Ecover.com has stepped up to meeting the challenge of environmentally safe, all natural cleaning supplies.

From the floor soap, which is made from plant ingredients and features quick and complete biodegradability, to the Laundry Wash, (which is also from plant based ingredients, is color safe, safe for your skin, and is completely biodegradable), there are a vast array of cleaning products for your home. Another advantage? No animal testing.

Check out the list of products on their site, and upgrade your cleaning products to ones that are environmentally sound.

Check out their where to buy section for a list of retailers.

Cali Bamboo has found a great, eco-friendly green solution to that backyard fence. They manufacture Bamboo Fence Products that will spice up the look of your lawn.

While it is true that normal fences come from wood, bamboo is sustainable resource, and a little bit more environmentally friendly than that stained wood fence you have in the backyard that is just rotting away over time. Not to mention, a bamboo fence will be unique, and you will become the envy of all your neighbors.

Start the new trend. You can request a quote off of the Cali Bamboo website when you look into their fencing. It’s a green solution to that tired old fence you have wasting away in the backyard.

More than just handbag fashion, the Coupe Handbag is made from 100% recycled tire inner-tube.

This product is eco-friendly simply for that reason: it is made entirely of recycled material. What a great idea, turn those old truck inner tubes into a fashion statement! As is any handbag, it’s perfect for holding all of your valuables/products of interest when you hit the town for the evening. In addition, it’s got a bold look to it.

The Coupe costs $115.99, and is another environmentally happy product that you can add to your wardrobe.

Parents are constantly concerned about their children, especially when they are just babies. There is always the question of which products are safe to use, which chemicals can harm the skin of a baby…the list can go on and on, and any parent will tell you it is an issue of great concern.

These shampoos are perfect for sensitive skins, and the all natural ingredients are ideal for your baby. New Born Mom has a wide array of natural and organic shampoos that are perfect for baby skin. Soaps such as the Angel Baby Shampoo and Wash will cost $13.95 a bottle and are made from all natural ingredients. Other products, such as the Baby Fresh Shampoo and Wash will cost a little bit more ($40 per bottle), but are made with wheat protein, oat ammino acid, lavender and roman and german chamomile.

EcoBag makes a lot of products that are eco-friendly. With a name like EcoBag, this should be no surprise. Not only are their products environmentally friendly, but they are manufactured according to fair trade and fair labor practices. You can’t go wrong with such a combination.

You can even buy the products straight from the EcoBag website. One cool bag in particular is the EcoBag Organic Cloth Sack, which is perfect for carrying small items, or even bringing back fruits and vegetables from the local farmer’s market!

If you are curious about some of the other products offered by the company, cruise around the EcoBag website. You might just be able to find that sweet tote you were looking for to use on your beach getaway.

This bag in particular varies in price, starting at $3.75 per bag. The more bags you buy at once, the cheaper the price per bag is…kind of a nice way to do business, really.