This week’s Link Love is all about things we have a love/hate relationship with. From Ikea to energy bars and soda, coffee pods, cleaning out our closets for spring, and oh yes, vaccines.

Have a love/hate relationship with Ikea? Who doesn’t. But their new space-saving line might lean you more towards love. [via Inhabitat]

Speaking of love/hate…nutrition bar, anyone? We eat ’em because they’re easy But some are way better than others. [via Well+Good NYC]

Your coffee pod’s dirty secret. [via Mother Jones]

Finally (we hope!), the time has come to ditch the sweaters and salt-stained boots and make way for a whole new season. [via Elle]

SodaStream International has entered into an unfortunate strategic alliance with Bethenny Frankel’s Skinnygirl brand. [via Eat Drink Better]

Vaccines by the numbers. [via Mommy Greenest]

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Image via Elle

The post Link Love: Ikea Saves Space + Secrets of Coffee Pods + Vaccines by the Numbers appeared first on EcoSalon.

There is a mind-boggling array of branded waters on the market. The bottles come in all shapes and sizes, from the square Fiji option, with its dubious political connections, to the diminutive pink Evian vessel. It all adds up to a huge headache for the environment, which is why giving up bottled water should be a high priority for anyone aspiring to be green.

But not all plastic water bottles are eco-enemies. Now, a new type of container is entering the fray and it might just make tap water fashionable again. Could the so-called Water Bobble be a new superhero in the water wars?

I came across the Water Bobble via the Luxist and I must admit I’m completely smitten. It has a cute jelly-bean shape, comes in six jewel colors, and best of all, it has a carbon filter to purify the water that comes out of the tap. It launched just a few weeks ago and I can imagine it being a big hit this summer!

I’m lucky enough to live in San Francisco, where the tap water is good quality, but that’s not the case for everyone. More than 20% of the US water treatment systems have violated the Safe Drinking Water Act in the past five years, according to the New York Times. At just $9.95, the Water Bobble could be a stylish solution to satisfy both eco-concerns and fears over water quality.

These glass bottles in a colorful silicon sleeve from Lifefactory are also pretty cute, although they don’t have a nifty carbon filter attached. I’m probably less likely to carry glass around when I’m on the move but it’s an elegant solution for chilling water at home. Glass is eco-friendly and free of toxins and the wide mouth makes it easy to add ice, mint leaves or slices of lemon. Lifefactory make baby bottles as well.

Finally, if it’s fizzy water or sweet sodas that you crave, I highly recommend the Soda Stream. It is a small machine that sits on your counter top and lets you carbonate water out of the tap. There are a variety of flavors of syrup – from cola to root beer – but in our house we mainly use it for water as it’s healthier that way. It doesn’t use electricity and it comes with two reusable plastic bottles and a refillable carbon cylinder so it produces zero waste (except maybe for empty syrup containers, which can be recycled). I gave my husband one for Christmas and he declared it to be the best Christmas present he’s received since he was a kid. It’s green and definitely fun to use!

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