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Etsy Finds for Valentine’s Day

Becky Striepe — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:00:43 +0000

Can you believe that Valentine's Day is less than a month off? We spend upwards of $15 billion on Valentine's Day gifts and getaways. Imagine the impact we could make if we channeled some of that money to independent artisans who use eco-friendly materials instead of blowing it at the big box store?

As a former Etsy seller, I can tell you that when you make a living from selling your crafts, there's nothing like seeing those new transaction emails in your inbox. It means that you can keep the lights on, and every sale takes a bit of the stress out of making ends meet. Not only do you get to bring a bit of joy to a crafter when you shop handmade for Valentine's Day, but if you choose goods from eco-friendly crafters, you do your bit for the planet, too!

On the hunt for just the right Valentine's Day gift for your sweetie? We've got a few romantic finds from Etsy that should do the trick.

This handmade lingerie set from Conscious Clothing is as cute as it is eco-friendly! She creates each set custom from a soy and organic cotton jersey blend fabric with sweet lace details. Choose the color you like, and she'll whip you up a custom set. It says it takes 3-4 weeks to deliver, so best to order now!

Keep your sweetie warm and cozy with a beautiful infinity scarf. Infinity scarves are super hip right now, and this one from Econica just screams romance to me. Way better than a dozen roses!

This customizable ring from One Loom Studio is another one that you should order now, if you want it in time for Valentine's Day. You can get this sweet faux bois ring engraved with any sweet message you like, but it does take 2-3 weeks to get to you. Instead of new materials, she uses a silver clay, which is made out of recycled silver and "organic binders." When she fires the sculpted ring, the binder cook away leaving a metal piece, like any other piece of jewelry.

Not feeling the shopping vibe? You can make your own gift instead! Try whipping up a batch of forever flowers or a romantic, organic coctail.

Green Living Tips from EcoStiletto

Becky Striepe — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 12:00:47 +0000

Have you guys checked out our pals over at EcoStiletto? We talk a lot around here about eco-friendly products and DIY ways to reduce your footprint, and EcoStiletto has some great resources for doing just that!

They focus on eco-centric fashion, beauty, health and celebrity advice, and there's also a column devoted to vegan style. Think lipstick without lead, conflict-free jewelry, and the hottest sustainable styles.

Because everyone wants to make a difference, but no one wants to give up the little things that they love.

EcoStilletto also has a free bi-weekly newsletter with green living tips, and new subscribers get entered to win more than $350 in sustainable swag each month. This week, they're giving away this awesome biodegradable (yes, really) watch--sign up, already!

Reader Question: Fabric Recycling Options

Becky Striepe — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 12:00:03 +0000

We recently got a question from a reader who manufactures upholstery and was looking for fabric recycling options for off cuts and other fabric scraps that they couldn't sell. It was a good question, and one that applies to crafters just as much as folks who work with fabric on a larger scale, so I thought I'd share a few resources here for fabric recycling and reuse.

When we talk about the 3 R's, there's usually a lot of focus on recycling, but reuse is actually a much better option, from a waste and energy standpoint. You can recycle fabric, but recycling should always be a last resort, which is why fabric recycling is at the end of this list.

Fabric Recycling and Reuse

Donate to your local Creative Reuse Center.
Donate to a school - kids can use these in all kinds of fun art projects!
Sell on eBay or Etsy - artists and crafters can use these in recycled sewing projects. Bundle your scraps and sell them for a few dollars each.
Donate to local Goodwill, Salvation Army, Value Village, etc - these stores sometimes sell fabric scrap bundles, and they can often recycle the fabric they're not able to sell.
Fabric Recycling - getting the scraps to someone who will reuse them is best, but if you can't, there are companies that recycle fabric. SMART is a great resource for finding textile recyclers in your area.

Are you stumped on how to reuse or recycle something that you can't bear to send to the landfill? Send an email through our contact page with your question!

Image Credit: Remixed Creative Commons photo by lovelihood

Waste Free Haircare: Shampoo Without the Bottle

Becky Striepe — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:00:42 +0000

Awesome Chicago duo Katya Siddall and Natalie Slater launched Greyslater, an online eco-boutique, to support local artisans, small businesses, and manufacturers of made in the USA products.

This is just the beta launch for Greyslater, so they're carrying just a select few products and Natalie was kind enough to contact me about the soft launch. She recommended their no-bottle shampoo from Gear Head. I do the no 'poo thing, but for folks who aren't ready to make the leap but want to reduce their haircare waste, I think it's a great option!

No-Bottle Shampoo

Shampoo bars are nothing new, but Gear Head Shampoo gives the shampoo bar a facelift with their super cute no-bottle shampoos. Like they point out on the site, it's a little bit ironic to spend the big bucks on organic shampoos that come in a single use plastic bottle.

The shampoo itself is organic and totally vegan (or "totes vegers," as my pal Rob likes to say), so you can feel as good about the shampoo bar as you do about the packaging. It's also handmade in Chicago, which means that you're supporting a handmade artisan when you wash your hair with Gear Head.

Greyslater carries the Gear Head citrus shampoo and conditioner bars along with other ethical and reusable goodies.

Handmade Holiday Resource Guide 2011

Becky Striepe — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:00:09 +0000

We published a resource guide to help you have a handmade holiday last year, and since giving handmade gifts is very important to us here at Green Upgrader, we've updated the guide for 2011!

The holidays are so close I can practically taste the stuffed mushrooms! That also means you're probably working on that holiday gift list. This year, instead of shopping at a big box store, use your holiday dollars to support local, independent artists or your crafty skill to fashion unique gifts for the lucky folks on your list.

Whether you're looking to make by hand or buy handmade, here are some resources to get you going!

Craft Markets

Craft markets used to be full of cornflower blue wooden duckies and tons of raffia, but no more! Sure, there are more traditional craft shows out there, but as the indie craft movement has gained steam, more and more shows featuring modern handmade goods are popping up!

If you're not sure what shows are going on in your area, CRAFT is a great online resource. They publish a list each week of upcoming craft markets, and they have an online craft market calendar, too. Are you an indie crafter looking for markets to sell your goods? Their weekly lists include calls for applications, too!

Pop Up Shops

Pop up shops are nothing new, but there are more indie pop up shops than ever this year. Unlike a store that's open year-round, pop up shops open seasonally for a few weeks to a month or more. I don't know of any online resources for finding pop up shops in your area, but you can often find out about them by visiting local craft markets - pop vendors at those markets who are also participating in pop up shops will often have fliers to give you. You can also try Googling "pop up shop" along with the name of your city and see what turns up.

Still can't track down a pop up shop near you? Here are three that are happening this season in different parts of the U.S.:

The Indie Craft Experience's pop up shop is open here in Atlanta, GA from December 1st-24th (Full disclosure: I'm selling some of my wares in their shop!)
Craftland has been doing a pop up shop in Providence, RI for 10 years now! What started as a seasonal event morphed into a full time store. They're still doing the pop up shop thing, though, through December 31st this year.
Handmade Promenade in Indianapolis is running a pop up shop until December 31st.

Do you guys know of any other indie pop up shops that I missed? Please tell us about your local pop up shops in the comments!

Online Shopping

Can't find a market or pop up shop in your area? Looking for something specific that you haven't been able to find at local markets? There are a ton of great online resources for handmade holiday shopping! Etsy, of course, is probably the most popular, but there are a slough of other online, handmade marketplaces worth checking out:

Cosa Verde - While this is more of a showcase than a marketplace, you can find all sorts of handmade vendors here, and they all focus on eco-friendly products!
Artfire - You'll find quite a few Etsy sellers on here, as well as handmade artists using this as their primary shop. Artfire is getting very popular!
Indie Fixx Galleria - This is almost like an online, juried craft show. Indie Fixx chooses the best applicants and showcases their shops.

Did I miss your favorite online handmade shop? Share away in the comments!

Brick and Mortar Shops

Not all brick and mortar shops sell big box goods, and more and more cities have shops opening up that sell indie crafts! Smaller boutiques often sell handmade goodies from local designers, so next time you're out and about, ask around! Here are a few of my favorite indie DIY shops:

Young Blood Gallery and Boutique here in Atlanta
Crafty Wonderland in Portland
9th Life in Baltimore
Urban Fauna Studio in San Francisco
ReForm School in Los Angeles
Leo Handmade Gallery in Chattanooga
Foundry in Asheville

What's your favorite local boutique for buying handmade?

Make it Yourself

Of course, if you have a very specific idea, your best bet might be to try making it yourself! If you're looking for ideas, our Craft Recycled archive here is chock full of eco-friendly projects from the simple to the complex. Sites like Crafting a Green World are also excellent resources for tutorials and handmade gift ideas.

Do you guys have any handmade gifts in the works? I'm thinking about making home-steeped bitters for some of the folks on my list this year (Shh! Don't tell them!) Let's share more ideas in the comments!

Image Credit: Creative Commons photo by kate*

Sustainable Goodies from Conscious Box – a review!

Becky Striepe — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 12:00:12 +0000

I am a total sucker for eco-friendly snacks and goodies, so when the folks at Conscious Box offered to send me a sample of their November box of goodies to review, I jumped at the chance!

The Good

It was super fun getting a goodie box in the mail. It reminded me of when mom would send me care packages when I was in college full of my favorite treats. The box even included a sweet note, just like the ones from mom!

Everything in my Conscious Box was vegan, which is a big plus for me. It's such a bummer to get samples of food and beauty products that I discover I can't try out. Here's what was in my November box:

A vegan cookie from Mary's Gone Crackers. I may or may not have eaten that while writing the first paragaph of this review.
Two samples of vegan lotion from 100% Pure. These little packets won't travel well, so I'll try them out at home instead.
Dried pineapple from Funky Monkey. That may or may not also already be in my belly.
CocoaWell energy caps. Dietary supplements for energy.
Two Kind bars. Kind makes vegan, whole food energy bars. They're delicious!
A juice pack from Honest Tea. This looks almost like a Capri Sun, but without the sugary juice inside. The tea is juice-sweetened, but the pack has only 40 calories, which is much less than those sugary kid's "juice" drinks.
Samples of Glee Gum. All natural chewing gum.
Mini bottles of vegan lotion and body wash from 100% Pure. They'll be great for next time I'm traveling!

I was definitely impressed with the caliber of products in the box and with Conscious Box's minimal packaging.

They do think quite a bit about waste, as well. Here are some deets on their packaging, from their FAQ:

As a company, we strive to operate with zero-waste. Every box contains recycled tissue paper and is made of recycled materials with soy-based inks. We encourage our users to upcycle their boxes or even send them back to us, where we’ll put them to use or have them sustainably recycled.

They also are members of 1% for the Planet, which means they're dedicated to giving back.

The Less Good

A couple of things about the box gave me pause. First, it's not terribly eco-friendly to have a monthly subscription of anything that you're shipping out. I looked through their site for information on how they offset the carbon from that shipping and couldn't find anything. That doesn't mean they're not doing it, but I didn't see that information out there.

While Conscious Box itself does a great job addressing the packaging problem, there was a lot of packaging in the box when it comes to the goodies inside. This comes with the territory when you're sending out samples, right? Smaller sized items still need to be protected from damage when they travel, so a box of tiny things is going to have a lot of wrapping. There was more plastic in my Conscious Box than I would have liked.

The Verdict

Overall, I was pretty happy with this box. While I'm not sure that a monthly subscription is the greenest choice, it would be a neat surprise to send to a friend or family member that needs a treat. I shared a photo of my Conscious Box at the top of the post, and I'd love to hear what you guys think, based on the photo and the list of goodies!

Don’t Replace! Repair Old Shoes to Save Resources and Cash

Becky Striepe — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 12:00:49 +0000

Footwear is one of those areas where I have a hard time. As a vegan and someone concerned about my environmental impact, it's tough sometimes to find shoes that are as green as I want them to be. Shoes can have quite the eco-footprint (get it?). From the fabrics and dyes to the glues and labor to make them, it's tricky to find eco-friendly shoes.

One easy way to make your shoe shopping low impact is to buy used shoes. The boots on the left in the photo above are a pair I snagged on eBay for $25. They're Earth shoes, and I've had them for six years now. The shoes on the right are not second hand, and honestly they're not the most eco-friendly, either. They're a pair of vegan boots from Moo Shoes. The materials are all man-made, which means they're probably petroleum based. They're a great pair of boots though! Warm, comfy, and they've held up for about as long as those Earth Shoes.

Why Repair Old Shoes?

When a pair of shoes starts to go bad, your first instinct is probably to replace them. If the sole is falling off or the zipper pops, you can't keep wearing those suckers for long. When these two pairs of boots started to go, I decided that instead of shopping for new shoes, I'd find a cobbler and get them repaired.

Repairing instead of replacing is a much greener choice, but I wasn't sure if it would be a hassle or not. I mean, do cobblers even still exist?

Finding the Right Cobbler

Finding a shoe repair place wasn't too difficult. There were probably half a dozen shops near my house that do shoe repair. If you're looking to have soles repaired or scuffs buffed out, you can probably look on Yelp or even just Google a shoe repair shop and pop in unannounced.

If you're looking to get zippers repaired or replaced or do anything else that's more complicated, I'd definitely call ahead. I called every shoe repair shop near my house and couldn't find one that worked on zippers! I finally found the shop that's fixing my shoes up now pretty much at random - it's in the same shopping center as the Whole Foods, and I popped in just to see if they did zippers. Persistence is key here.

My shoes will be ready next week! Not only was getting my shoes repaired quick once I tracked down a shop that could do the repair, it was cheap! Fixing a zipper on each shoe and re-attaching the soles on one pair cost me $35. That's much less expensive than buying a new pair of boots! Now, I just need to figure out how I manage to destroy the zippers on my boots.

Don't you love it when the eco-friendly choice is wallet-friendly, too?

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