Jewish is going greenish.

It’s a phenomenon I like to call Oy-Soy, the marriage of ethical Jewish values with eco alternatives – everything from the artifacts that help color our heritage to a back-to-nature approach to living more sustainably.

I guess it’s all in line with the goals of tikkun olam, the repairing of the world, which we Jews perform in a variety of ways, from donating to our communities with charity and acts of kindness to taking stock in our resources.

Is being green a blessing? Try these out and see:

Recycled Ketubah

The wedding contract, called a Ketubah, often emerges as a gorgeous work of art which couples frame and hang on their walls. This exquisite design on handmade recycled paper features pressed wild flowers and ferns, along with embossed plants for a touch of the early garden. $195.00 from Ahuva (shown above).

Eco-suede and Fair Trade Kippots

For greener coverage, try a golden kippot made of eco suede, the friendly vegan alternative to a suede-leather. These yarmulkes are made of recycled cardboard. $2.50 each from A-Zara. Or, opt for colorful crocheted, fair trade head coverings made by sixty Maya artisans working in the Guatemalan highlands. With the purchase of the woven caps, you are dong a mitzvot by helping women artisans earn a steady income for their families. $16 each at the Globale Exchange Store.

Fair Trade Challah Cover

Bring some exotic Boho flair to your Shabbat table by covering your  organic holiday bread in this handwoven, fiesta blue cloth embellished with a bright colored star and borders. 15″ x 20″. 100% cotton. $38 at Artistor.

Guilt-Free Organic Nosh

Nosh like an eco fresser with the organic bagels from Rudi’s Bakery (multigrain, honey wheat, white and cinnamon raisin); Nancy’s organic cream cheese (thick like you mean it); top with Vital Choice kosher, wild sockeye salmon Nova Lox. Head to your local farmer’s market for the tomato and onion and gorge without guilt!

Organic Kosher Wine

Such a blessing, the organic fruit of the vine, like Hafner Queen Esther Reserve Pinot Noir ’04, which is produced under the strict supervision of Rabbi A.Y. Schwartz in Vienna. $11.08 for a bottle at Online Kosher Wine. Or open a bottle of  the Baron Herzog Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve, $29, made of grapes selected from vineyards in California’s Central Coast areas of San Luis Obispo and Edna Valley and the northern coastal areas of Sonoma.

The post Nu? Eco Ketubas, Kippots, Bagels and Wine for Repairing the World appeared first on EcoSalon.

From organic cotton garb to reusable serving ware, they have raised the bar in San Francisco this week as more than 1,500 Jewish teen athletes from 40 U.S. cities and four international countries (Mexico, Guatemala, Israel and Canada) compete in the Maccabi Games 2009.

This year, for the first time, organizers introduced a Green Team – a committee chaired by Miriam Gordon, an environmental activist, and games director, Jackie Lewis. Their game plan: a zero-waste event that completely circumvents the dreaded landfill.

Instead of the usual bottled water and other plastic beverage containers supplied to thirsty players, the participants have been issued reusable stainless steel water bottles to be refilled throughout the week of competition.

Garbage cans at every venue, from the polo fields in Golden Gate Park for soccer matches to the ritzy Meadow Club for golf – will be called eco-stations with recycling and composting labels for dispensing with waste.

“It’s a whole new way of doing the event,” Gordon told the Jewish News Weekly, adding that in addition to the reusable bottles, the Jewish Community Center of San Francisco (the event sponsor) will serve athletes kosher meals on reusable/compostable plates with reusable utensils.

Apparently, this will also cut down on a huge litter problem on fields and event sites witnessed at past games held throughout the country.

Lewis says it’s not unusual to see water bottles scattered on the ground or thrown in the garbage because the kids are so preoccupied with matches, they aren’t thinking about what they are doing (ahh, yes, those clueless days!).

But greening the event reinforces the message that the kids must learn to be the stewards of the planet and do their part to conserve resources and consume wisely. In other words, be keen green teens!

Other gold medal eco moves:

The transportation company hired to drive the teens uses buses that run on biofuels, posters have been printed on reclaimed cardboard, volunteer tees were made from organic cotton and the food served to athletes will be mostly organic and locally-produced. The organizers also made an effort to produce fewer paper programs and notices, and whatever they did print was double-sided and on post-consumer, recycled products.

Not to miss a beat, even the pins (above) that the San Francisco delegation was issued to trade with other athletes were forged of recycled PVC-plastic.

There’s also an online component that allows spectators and participants to calculate their carbon footprint during the week of games. They can offset the pounds of carbon produced by making a contribution to the Jewish National Fund or the Carbon Fund.

Images: Luanne Bradley

The post Jewish Teen Summer Olympic Games Reach for the Green appeared first on EcoSalon.