We have choices. When buying a stunning pillow or quilt for our nests, consider going the route of a company like Gianna Fair Trade – which literally rescues artisans in India, Laos and Thailand from a destitute life of poverty, prostitution or being sold as mail-order brides. Filling our homes with the stylish fruits of their labor takes decor to a deeper level, don’t you think?

Feast your eyes on the exotic bo-ho products they lovingly craft. Our favorite: the neckroll pillows ($58) in soft earthy shades and patterns, studded with swirls or embroidered with cotton leaves.

The founder, Gianna, knows from a challenging life, raised by a mother who was a mail-order bride from the streets of  Manila. After a brief marriage to a cattle farmer Texan, her mother moved to a women’s  shelter where Gianna spent her childhood. Her workshops offer artisans a way to make a living and thrive, and the products are responsible, hand-crafted of organic cotton and other good fibers.

Other fetching finds at the site: metal serving bows and platters, naturally-dyed quilts, spun cotton navy print napkins and rings and woven place mats. Think wedding and housewarming gifts! It’s a gift that goes a long way.

The post Gianna Artisans: Home Decor That Provides an Escape from Slum Life appeared first on EcoSalon.

But step inside, and it’s beginning to look a lot like Hanukkah. You want tinsel? We got tinsel. You want some banners and dreidels? Come in, come in, have a jelly donut, sit by the fire. We know from decorating for the holidays. We’re yuppie Jews who majored in art.

For me, getting in the spirit of the season isn’t limited to peeling potatoes for latkes and lighting the menorah. I like going that extra mile (oy, my back!) to hang ornaments, gather festive decor and make merry the Jewish way. Have a peek, darling:

Hang Blue and White Ornaments

Etsy Star of David Ornament

Large handmade six-sided star surrounded by copper band. Pattern created with clear and light blue faceted beads, highlighted with golden foil lined beads. Golden glitter on back. 4×3, $33.

Etsy Mosaic Peace Crane Origami

Beautifully handcrafted at Etsy, $6 each.

Recycled Blue Glass Balls from World of Good

Support fair trade and suspend these balls or collect in a pretty vintage mercury glass bowl. $9 each, handmade from glass bottles from restaurants and homes.

Put up a Banner That Screams “We’re Fun, Too!”

2009 Happy Hanukkah, $25 from eco-friendly Land of Nod

Spread the Wealth By Scattering Gold Coins

Fair Trade Chocolate Gold Coins, $5.25 from Global Exchange

The cocoa used in these chocolates is from Kuapa Kokoo, a cooperative of 40,000 cocoa growers in Ghana. Spread them around the menorah or dining table to add to the festive motif. No snacking until you’ve finished that grassfed brisket and kugel!

Gather Menorahs Old and New, Borrowed and Blue

This mixed media Moving Lights Menorah was hand fabricated by British sculptor Richard Miller with a base made of Vermont green slate and nine movable stone candle holders. The earth-friendly conversation piece is $85 at Eco Atware. Assemble it on a table with other menorahs loved and cherished through the years.

Recycled Galvanized Steel Pipe Menorah. $185 from Two String Jane, at Etsy.

The post Oy to the World! Decorating Tips for an Eco Hanukkah appeared first on EcoSalon.

Leave those disposable paper napkins in the grocery aisle and get busy adding style to the reusable pile!

Now that we are all invested in organic, reusable cloth (wash in cold, hang dry, of course), spruce up your table and thrill your guests with fun green napkin rings. Calories burned removing them? At least two. More if you juggle a set at the table for your guests.

Where to find ’em? Here are a few highly tactile circles we trust:

Ring around the Rosy! Hand forged iron floral ring, Rain Collection. $38 each.

Stainless Steel appeal, $19 for two  from Velocity.

Ivory organic crochet rings with amber glass bead fasteners, $10 set from Makalewakan.

Tanned Pierced leather rings with red wine ribbons, from Etsy’s Greenbelt, $20 for set.

Spotted Shell Rings, fairly traded from Indonesia, $16.50 from Green with Glamour.

I red the news today, oh boy! Love these recycled newspaper rings, $8 at Ecoist.

Fuzzy Friends encircle your napkins, $15 from Fuz Farm in eco felt or black rubber.

Main Image: Amazon

The post Circle of Trusty Style: Green Your Napkin Rings appeared first on EcoSalon.

If killing trees is murder, we need a darn good reason to commit the act.

In truth, it is very challenging to morph into a pulp-free society –  one that celebrates without greeting cards and wrapping paper, communicates without monthly statements and markets without catalogs. And there is nothing like holding a tactile piece of newsprint in your hands to stay informed.

Here are some, but not all, reasons for and against ending our paper chase:

Good uses of a paper

1. Love Letters

Image: Mark Hillary

Romantic missives are simply warmer when penned by hand on recycled notepaper, a cocktail napkin, the back of a Southwest Airlines ticket folder, anything but e-mail. Electronic personals can feel disingenuous. When my dad died a couple of years ago, my mom brought out a stack of letters and poetry she had inspired in him. My children hold dear the letters they receive from loved ones at summer camp and store them in their treasure boxes. Need help composing an old-fashioned love letter? Check out Write Express for unblocking your deep, profound and horny (whoops, I mean desirous) sentiments.

2. The Daily News

Image: Matt Callow

As a graduate journalism student at the Medill School at Northwestern U, we were coaxed into the broadcast program by the faculty’s admonishment “print is dead.” Well, it is in a terminal state as many major dailies fold, but the industry is still kicking. Most of my cronies are New York Times die-hards, still quoting sections of the feature pages at dinner. True, the web is a vital source of news and information, but it will be a sad day when the presses stop running for good.

3. Bathroom

As far as I can tell, there is still no better alternative on the market than recycled toilet and tissue paper. Just wish they could make a green one that is soft. We’re not baboons, you know. Well, at least most of us.

4. Photographs

Image: Luanne Bradley

True, we could manage to print out fewer of them, but photos are archival art most of us can afford. Anyone still buying costly original art during the recession must be in the military business. But a photo wall  – now that’s doable for the thrifty eco set. While most of us store our pictures in our document folders, we tend to print the ones that have the most meaning or tell the story of our past. I cannot live without them, except of course for the ones that make me look old and fat.

5. Fiction

There’s nothing stranger than reading moving fiction, like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, on a small screen. I admit ebooks from vendors like Books on Board are a helpful adjunct to bulky books when traveling and avid readers can download dozens to peruse all summer long. But the concept of “pleasure reading” denotes taking the time to immerse one’s self in another place and time. It is difficult to become an armchair traveler when the arms are connected to a task chair. Again, it’s the tactile pleasure of making friends with your novel and lovingly embracing it, turning and folding its pages and coming back to it for more pleasure when you desire it.

Bad uses of Paper

1.  Disposable Paper Goods

Everything from paper plates and cups to paper napkins, towels and trays should be banned. If you must use disposables, we now have biodegradable serving dishes made from corn starch and other materials like bagasse (above), which is residual sugarcane fiber leftover from juice extraction. The plates are soak proof, have no plastic or wax lining applied and can be used for both hot and cold items. You can get them at World Centric and other sites. In terms of napkins, switch to cloth. You can wash and dry them in cold water to save energy and keep using them for years. One of my kids does art on gently used paper napkins, but in most cases, they are simply tossed out, and that makes me sad.

2. Catalogs

Don’t just recycle the paper for these. Phase out printing and sending them. Neiman Marcus should be ashamed of its extravagant self. Those glossy catalogs (a.k.a. The Book) the luxury retailer persists in sending through the mail are like images of dead trees. They are ridiculous, as are all catalogs still coming through the mail, on new or recycled paper. True, the companies that have switched to recycled paper are making a better choice. Support your favorite catalog companies in their transition efforts by making purchases from their websites. The web is ideal for marketing products – time to embrace it!

3. Greeting Cards

Image: Shoebox

I’m not opposed to recycled event invitations on handmade paper because of the social tradition of marking an milestone (weddings, births, B’nei Mitzvas), although more consumers are switching to electronic invites. But when it comes to the Hallmark marketing schemes (Halloween cards on sale in September), we are wasting vast amounts of paper on cards for absurd occasions. Happy Boss day? Save us! The real pressure is Valentine’s Day. Say it with a love letter that will last. Not a card someone else wrote for you, someone weird sitting in a card-writing factory. Make your own birthday notes as works of art that can be framed. And on the holidays, if you must send a greeting, send a photo that friends will keep. Apologies to Shoebox Greetings, but I’m not sure we need shoe boxes, either.

4. Monthly Bills and Statements

Apart from cyber-challenged senior citizens, most of us can receive and pay our monthly bills online. Anyway, seniors use less paper since most of their bills have been reduced over time. The banks make it easy to do online banking so why not get this dreaded chore done quickly, the paper-free way? Even if you are a big record and file keeper, you can store your stuff on a disc. I’m so tired of the paper piles. Aren’t you? Also, there are sites like Lending Tree to guide you if you’re interested in doing online banking.

5. Homework

Image: Apdk

In my house, we call it busywork. It’s bad for our over-stressed, childhood-robbed children, and it’s bad for the planet, too. The majority of k-12 schools assign work on loose paper copied from textbooks, rather than giving children their own textbooks during the year. Waste, waste, waste. The work is done on paper (think math sheets, essays, reports, displays on poster sheets and foam core, creative projects to accompany academic learning) and you’ve got schools across the globe cranking out the paper, rather than using textbooks and computers. And don’t forget report cards, also done on paper!

Image: llimllib

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