News Picks:

Think Green and Young: Children’s clothing and toy store Area Kids has a fabulous collection of eco-friendly duds for your little ones. The store is in Brooklyn, but offers products online. You shouldn’t have to sacrifice the “style” part of your “green lifestyle.”

Calling all Green Entrepreneurs: YouGoods is a design contest that challenges you to submit a product idea that is “practical, unique, and eco-friendly.” Act quickly, submissions are due on the 19th!

Are Chemicals Speeding up Your Daughter’s Childhood? There has been much talk in the news lately about exposure to chemicals such as BPA disrupting girls’ hormones. Hopefully the Safe Chemicals Act and the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act will help to put a stop on this disturbing trend. Click here to get PG points for your chemical free-cleaning.

Mulit-Media Pick:

Save That Stuff can help your business with its recycling needs by providing cost-effective alternatives to traditional waste disposal. See the video below for astonishing visuals of all the waste they recycle! The video is a little long, but everything worth seeing is in the first three minutes. Get PG points for recycling your stuff. Enjoy!

New and Cool Pick:

No more shoving a sponge into your Klean Kanteen: This cool brush made from recyclable materials will save you some serious time and effort. It’s hard to clean sticky drinks out of your eco-friendly reusable water bottle (my water STILL tasted like apple juice for at least three re-fillings), but this nifty brush makes it a breeze. It cleans both the inside and the outside at the same time.

Nancy Mims

Nancy Mims is a Practically Green Motherboard member who really knows her way around home decor. She’s a co-founder of ModGreenPod, an environmental leader in sustainable and fashionable design. Nancy has a thriving young company, two ingenious children, and a husband who we imagine is exceedingly content. When she told us about her passion for furniture makeovers, we asked her if she’d blog about it for us, and here’s the result, illustrated. Enjoy!

One of the perks of my job is seeing the great “before & after” photos and hearing the accompanying stories that our customers send us when they use our fabric on an upholstery project. It’s so satisfying to see a shabby old piece of furniture not only avoid landfill doom but be completely reinvented with fresh, new fabric through the skills of a local upholsterer. The result is a one-of-a-kind, locally produced piece of art filled with stories and soul.

Chair: Before

All of the upholstered furniture pieces in my house are vintage, and all were lovingly reupholstered and with Mod Green Pod’s organic cotton by my favorite two Austin upholsterers. Last year, when I went through the process of working with the very creative and capable upholsterers at Spruce to recreate the Victorian camelback sofa in my living room, I blogged about each step in hopes that I could demystify the process: http://modgreenpod.blogspot.com/search/label/nancy%27s%20chair. For that project, we salvaged everything that we could from the original piece and sourced the greenest materials we could for whatever needed to be replaced. It remains a great “how to” resource for working with an upholsterer, for those who have never done so.

Detail of restored chair

The most recent piece of furniture in my house is The Anticipate Chair, which Practically Green featured in its rather unfortunate “before” state in late spring: http://blog.practicallygreen.com/2010/05/home-decorating-with-ec-friendly-wallpaper-fabric/.

Seeing beyond the tattered brown exterior, I instantly loved the shape of the chair the second I spotted it at Room Service, my favorite vintage shop in my neighborhood. I‘ve learned from most upholsterers that furniture that predates the 1970s is usually built really well and can withstand much more time if properly refurbished. So I could see that it would make a gorgeous statement for a new pattern I had designed, Anticipate https://modgreenpod.com/item/52/.  I selected a lush but neutral medium grey for the ground color and a pop of citrus yellow for the center of the cream colored swirling motif. I had the opposite colors printed for a contrasting throw pillow. (For more information about ordering Mod Green Pod’s fabrics in custom colors, click here: https://modgreenpod.com/tep-user/i/customguidelines.pdf and contact us.)

"Anticipate" chair: after makeover

I delivered the chair to Sabrina at Under Cover Upholstery in Austin, and she measured and told me how much fabric to order. When the fabric was ready, I delivered it and she and I discussed the basic orientation of the pattern. Like most upholsterers, she had worked with a huge variety of prints and had great ideas about how the fabric should be laid out. A few weeks later, the chair was ready and WOW, did it exceed my expectations.  Even Sabrina was stunned by how well it turned out. It’s really amazing to look back at the “before” photo; I can’t even believe it’s the same chair.

The “after” result is fresh and modern but also elegant and timeless–the perfect combination for a side chair that is now a usable piece of art!

Follow Nancy on Twitter @modgreenpod and friend her on Facebook for terrific updates on all the new designs at ModGreen Pod.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1614917/traveling-pants-indeed-the-closet-exchange-program-thredup-adds-kids-clothes

ThredUP is a kids’ clothing swap site that lets parents exchange boxes of outgrown clothing for ones that fit, all in the convenience of your own home. Public relations and Marketing director Karen Fein opened up to PG about how the ingenious “Netflix for kids’ clothing” idea got started — and, of course, about what steps she takes to live a greener life!

How did you guys come up with this brilliant idea?

Founders James Reinhart and Oliver Lubin realized there wasn’t an efficient way to exchange clothing online. All of the outlets available to exchange clothing, such as Ebay, consignment shopping, and craigslist were just really time-consuming and inefficient. When a child outgrows one shirt, they outgrow their entire wardrobe, and if you think about putting all of that on Ebay, a parent has to list all of the items, take pictures of them, set the biddings, monitor the auctions, etc. Parents just do not have the time to do this every six months. The goal was to create an easy way for parents to exchange outgrown clothing for clothes that fit.

How did ThredUp get started, and what did people think?

The site originally started as a men’s and women’s shirt-swapping site. There were a lot of people that really loved it, but it was more of a hobby than a necessity. We realized we could use this same concept for kids to help families cut down on waste and consumption and we were shocked at the response we got! We found that because nothing like this had existed before, people were really waiting for it. People were really excited to share ThredUP with their friends and family, because it’s such an easy way to save time, money and help the environment.

Speaking of the environment, on your website you discuss teaching kids the importance of green living by creating a “thredbank”, can you explain this a little?

If you have an interest in helping your children learn about the importance of sustainable living, ThredUP can help with that. By telling your kids to set aside clothes when they outgrow them, they soon realize that these clothes can be exchanged for “new gifts,” or clothes that fit them. It reinforces the fact that you don’t always need to buy new things, you don’t always need to throw out old things, and that used clothing has value. We encourage parents to get their kids involved in the process and have them create their own “thredbank” of outgrown clothes. It can feel like Christmas morning to kids to get a box of new clothing completely for them, and they can feel proud that they took part in that exchange.

Ok, we want to ask, how green are you?

Our company is incredibly green. Personally, I take all of those simple green steps that everyone should take, like using a thermos instead of a water bottle, turning your water off when brushing your teeth, recycling always, or making sure to turn the lights out. From a clothing aspect, I take part in swap parties and shop at consignment stores. I use the options that are out there for adults right now, to promote sharing what we already have in order to cut down on waste and consumption, rather than shopping for something new and throwing clothes away. (Which I would never do.)

Now that you’ve told us some of your preferred green actions, we’re always curious to know what your least favorite green action taken you’ve taken is, or something you’re working on?

I haven’t quite made the transition to washing my clothes in cold water.

What more do you want to know about being green?

I think that for most people the main reasons they don’t take certain green steps is because they’re not necessarily convenient. It’s always good to learn about ways to go green that are not only incredibly easy, but can also save time and money. If you have those extra benefits, why not take the green option, and why not cut down on waste?

We couldn’t agree more! One last question, is there any way that you track the things you do everyday to be eco-friendly?

Not me personally, but ThredUP is about to start tracking how much waste we are saving in terms of kid’s clothing. We’re making an assumption that for every box of kid’s clothes, half of that box would normally have been thrown out and ended up in a landfill. 20 billion pounds of clothing and textiles end up in U.S. landfills every year, and every 3-6 months kids outgrow their clothing, making it a large part of that statistic.

Get PG “stuff” points for using ThredUP! Get five points for getting used clothing with this action, and get another five points for giving away/selling used clothing with this action.

You can find out more information and start swapping on ThredUP here.
Follow ThredUP on Twitter @ thredUP_Kids .

News Picks:

Trash-Free for an Entire Year: Could you live trash-free? We at PG are always trying to find ways to make less trash, and this couple is definitely a prime example. A couple in Oregon found that not only was it possible to live almost trash free for a year, it was “easy.”

Playground Safety Hazard: Please use caution when taking your children to the park for some summer fun. From the 1970s until 2003, some wooden playground equipment was pressure-treated with a substance that (shockingly) contained arsenic.

How Green are Your Favorite Brands: You might want to think before shimmying into a new pair of jeans. A new rating system has been developed for some 100 well-known apparel and footwear brands. Just as appliances have Energy Star ratings, the “Eco Index” will eventually tell consumers the environmental impact of their purchases. The Index hopes to encourage brands to be thoughtful of the environment when designing apparel, and it gives brands that strive to be eco-friendly the credit they deserve.

Multi-Media Pick:

The Environmental Impact of a Pair of 501s: View the life cycle of one of America’s most popular brands of denim. You may be as shocked as we were to find out that to make a single pair of 501s, 3,480.5 liters of water are used. This is the equivalent to running the garden hose for 106 minutes!

New and Cool Pick:

Energy Saving Night-Light: Skip the plug-in night-light to keep those monsters away for the kids and get them a cool, solar powered Sun or Moon Jar! The jar works by being placed in direct sunlight during the day (on a windowsill for example), and automatically illuminates in the dark.

Have a terrific Red, White, Blue, and Green long weekend, everybody! Here are a few snippets for a great holiday. First, of course, we hope you’ll head to PracticallyGreen and answer a few quick questions for suggestions of things you can do to make your life healthier and safer for you and your family — this weekend and anytime.

In a BBQ frenzy? Dive into Self magazine’s special burger section for mouthwatering recipes from beans, turkey, and spices. How about Rosemary-Sage Burgers With Apple Slaw and Chive “Mayo” or Portobello-Black Bean Burgers With Corn Salsa? YUM! http://www.self.com/about/burgers

Annie Leonard at a shoot for her new movie

Got sunburn? Stay indoors and watch The Story of Stuff, Gasland, Food, Inc. and get ready for Annie Leonard’s new movie, The Story of Cosmetics, releasing at the end of the month.

Kids bouncing off the walls? Plan a trip to your local library! Massachusetts libraries have a “Go Green at Your Library” summer reading program, featuring a special program for teens: tnk grEn (Think Green) .

Going on a trip? Ask if your hotel offers eco-friendly amenities, such as opting out of daily housekeeping service – for a $5/day credit! Read about two Phoenix hotels who’ve jumped aboard the burgeoning movement of green travel hosts.

Annika and Kerry

Beach reading: Eco-awesome designers Annika Sanders and Kerry Seager run London’s Junky Stylish fashion label. They make wedding dresses from men’s white button-downs and set up an O.R. in NYC last week to transform unwanted maternity wear, tuxes, kimonos, and pinstripes into high-fashion garb. Isn’t it somehow patriotic to remember our British cousins on Independence Day?  In the July 5 New Yorker magazine. Or pick up the book, Junky Styling: Wardrobe Surgery.

News Picks:

40 Uses for Baking Soda: Baking soda is cheap and free of toxic chemicals, so put it to use in multiple ways! We’ve always used it in the fridge to neutralize odors: why not use it to make homemade mouthwash!

Best Baby Bike Seats: The first day of summer is Monday, June 21st! Get outside and pedal off with your little one close by you in these stylish and convenient seats….

4 Kid-safe Bug Repellents: Everyone hates getting bitten, but we don’t want to spray ourselves (or our kids!) with harmful chemicals. These options are natural & organic.

Multimedia Pick:
Planet Green’s The Fabulous Beekman Boys: Discovery’s Planet Green aired this hilarious show this week. It had us in tears, it is so funny! Who knew city boys and goats could mix?

The Fabulous Beekman Boys from mike goubeaux on Vimeo.

New and Cool Pick:
Eco-Friendly Candles: Melo candles are made of soy and fragranced with essential oils, and they are hand-poured into unique containers. Our favorite is the Field Grass scent in a vintage glass.

Photo Credit: http://www.etsy.com/listing/49065057/large-vintage-soy-candle-field-grass

So early last month we celebrated mothers, but now we are getting ready to celebrate dads. Not only is he just our wonderful dad, he was the eat-all-your-food-or-it-will-be-wasted guy during our childhood and the turn-off-the-lights-to-save-money guy in our teenage years; he was one of our main green influences! Father’s Day is Sunday, June 20th and everyone at PG just picked their favorite Father’s Day gift idea…

Introducing, F. Rock Carryalls for men by our favorite new sustainable designer, Nicolé Keane.

F. Rock is a Boston-based brand that designs mens’ accessories, more specifically, mens’ bags. And we don’t mean man-purses (murses?), we mean carryalls–something your hubby, dad, or married brother could carry, put their things in and not be ashamed. It all started with the designer, Nicolé Keane. I actually had the pleasure of meeting her in person (by the way, I thought I was standing in front of Audrey Hepburn!) and got to hear about F. Rock’s journey.

Nicolé originally began designing women’s handbags, but after designing with menswear fabric for a few of the bags, she found she fell in love with the concept of sustainable carryalls for men–so she made the switch. What makes these bags sustainable? Nicolé was very passionate in this area…

First, I define the “sustainability” aspect of my brand not just in terms of materials, but as a 360 degree concept that dovetails product AND production. You can’t consider one without the other. The bags fabrics are either re-claimed or recycled factory scrap fabrics (that which hits the floor while stitching or vintage suiting). The leathers are either scrap from production (think booting, dress shoes or utility belts), remnant (inconsistent weights, color or thickness) or rejects from factory production. Much of the leather I use was made for top brands in the bag business or motorcycle world. My lining is all remnant from a top upholstery company that I buy from a family owned company in Boston. My padding is recycled blanket material. All of the hardware is either purchased in New England from New England companies or made right in Rhode Island. All of the bags are made right here in Massachusetts. I work directly with a small team of stitchers who almost all have family history in the skilled craftsmanship of apparel and leather goods.

Wow. I had no idea such a stylish bag could be so green. But it got better: 2% from each purchase goes directly to eco and arts programs for urban youth. It is bag bliss! Nicolé was proud to say, “The goal from square one was to create a user-friendly, high-end/low-impact carryall that would look conventional in its quality, but have an amazing story behind it.” But I wondered if her bags would be a good match for a dad like mine, a guy who likes quality, good value, AND style…

The F. Rock man appreciates value and a product that is as useful as it is attractive. He’ll hang on to his favorite jeans or cords long after they’ve frayed because nothing else he’s seen comes close. He’ll spend a lot on a pair of shoes because he falls in love with the look and craftsmanship and will re-sole them for years to come.

Yup, that’s my dad all right. How green is Nicolé, though? Well, she puts me to shame, honestly. She grew up in a household in which everything was homemade (including a no-sugar rule!) and because of her eco-minded and natural upbringing it is second-nature to buy organic and locally-grown produce, make her own cleaning products and follow the weekday vegetarian eating regime. A few years ago she threw out the conventional stuff and has been cleaning her house with low-impact vinegar, lemon, water and baking soda ever since! Her beauty routine is all organic or homemade as well because she decided that if she didn’t know what an ingredient was or did, she wouldn’t use it. (I think this is a great rule)! She now swears by mixing olive oil, a douse of honey, and a teaspoon of organic wheat flour to create a daily face wash or body wash…she’s my idol!

So what will I be saving up for to get my dad in the near future? This 15″ Franklin model, perfect to put work papers in or protect a laptop. The bags can be purchased at bonobos.com (F. Rock will have a rolling 6 week offering of limited edition bags), FRockbags.com, bgreenlifestyle.com, capemac.com (where there will also soon be F. Rock iPad covers) and soon through shoebuy.com and greenandmore.com.

Do you like F. Rock as much as I do?! Tell me what other gift ideas you are toying with to get for the dads in your life this Father’s Day, I need some ideas for my stepdad, too…

OK, ok: there are worse addictions than cream, right? I’m not even talking ICE cream, or WHIPPED cream. I mean cream for your skin. I mean cream for your legs, arms, face, scalp, lips, and every other bit of myself. I have never once made it through the first floor of Saks without succumbing; I drift toward the Whole Body area at Whole Foods like a moth to wool socks. For me a product must be effective. It must smell nice. It must feel great.

The more I look into this, the more I value pure healthy ingredients. I love Dr. Hauschka. I love Weleda (Skin Food, especially: the name says it all). I love Aubrey. I love Jurlique (even though they changed their packaging and apparently got rid of the divine oatmeal cleanser scrub in a tube, grrr). And now you know it isn’t only cream. I fall for pretty much anything that Origins puts in a tub, especially now that they have Dr. Weil on board with his magic mushrooms. Sometimes I get so carried away that I try something that isn’t 100% all-natural and organic, like Skinceuticals, but there really is no reason to do that.

Which brings me to Leyla Bringas and Lunaroma.

Lunaroma is a tiny shop on an unassuming corner in Burlington, Vermont that can turn your entire life around. Leyla Bringas, owner and holistic aromatherapist healer, is an unflappable expert with a solution for almost any complaint, and she delivers with the customer’s scent preferences in mind. Think orange, jasmine, rose, peppermint, lemon verbena.

Dry skin? Oily skin? Acne? Insomnia? Cramps? New job? Saggy chin? Portfolio crashing? Baby coming?

“Let’s say you have a high-level of stress,” she explains. “Maybe you tell me you have trouble sleeping, you’re working fifteen-hour days, your muscles are tight, you have to drive an hour each way to work, and you’re so revved up it’s hard for you to unwind. So I might come up with a combination of ingredients and products designed to be calming, pain relievers, good for headaches, for skin problems, for boosting immune system. Something to help you sleep. All natural.”

The headache blend works like magic on me. What’s in it? “It’s made up of analgesics and anti-inflammatories,” Leyla says.  “The blend contains a combination of Lavender, Chamomile, Peppermint and other essential oils containing those qualities.  It is a favorite amongst people afflicted with headaches and sinus headaches the like.”

Why are Lunaroma products are so powerful?

“The trouble with synthetic products is that they’re made to be always the same.  The problem is they’re predictable. Well, the bacteria and viruses are made to be resilient as well. With essential oils, plant materials are never exactly the same. You know, during the time of the bubonic plague, the only people who were not affected were the perfumers. They were the ones who were exposed to the pure essential oils on a regular basis.

“I founded Lunaroma to make healthy products. The world of aromatherapy is all about concentrated herbal and aromatic compounds. These pure ingredients are beautiful, precious, luxurious – and they’re also practical. After all, it’s what plants use for their own health, their own immune systems.”

New Lunaroma store in Maui

Anything else?

“You can clean your house with essential oils, too. The only cleaning product I use that I don’t make is Clorox. Sometimes I like to use 100% Clorox diluted for making sure the bathroom tile is really clean. I use baking soda, vinegar. A while back the Swifter came out. Remember it? It was a wet mop. It had some liquid in it. Dogs were dying. Most of these cleaning agents are making your environment more dangerous, not less.”

In closing?

“When I take a shower, I don’t want to have to feel bad about what’s going down the drain. I love working with these ingredients. I am convinced that just being around them makes you healthier.”

Leyla and her daughter

For more information, go to www.lunaroma.com, email Leyla at info@Lunaroma.com, or call the shop at (802) 951-9714.

Next week: Lauren’s product review

News Picks:

Top 12 Non-Toxic Sunscreens: The Environmental Working Group recently assessed 500 sunscreens–only 39 were deemed safe and effective! Did yours pass the test? Check yours on Yahoo!Green and look for affordable alternatives.

Save Water with Drought-Resistant Plants: This summer, save some much needed H2O by planting perennials that do not require watering. Gardening without the added effort? While conserving water and money? Sounds like a win-win to us!

Safer Hair Products for Curly Hair: This one is for curly-haired beauties! We understand that you want a product that works for your hair without all the toxins, so do we! Here are some great options…

Multimedia Clip:
Hanes Clothes ‘Future Green Generations’ Commercial: Okay, whether it might be greenwashing or not, this commercial is pretty funny. Today’s kids care about the environment–who doesn’t like that?!

New and Cool Pick:
Greenopia’s Greenest State Guide: A detailed and easy-to-use list to find out how your state ranks on air quality, recycling rates and renewable energy usage among other criteria. The greenest state? Washington. Least green? Louisiana.

Photo Credit: Screenshot of http://www.greenopia.com/NY/state_listing.aspx?ID=1&input=Name-or-product&Listpage=-1

As a girly-girl, I have always liked the look of a fresh coat of nail polish on fingers and toes. However, after taking this job, I learned that nail polish could be one of the most toxic things I put on my body. I have learned that it isn’t a coincidence that I get dizzy when I open a bottle of nail polish. Really, what IS that smell?? Well, folks, it is chemicals. Not just any chemicals: bad ones. In fact there are three chemicals in conventional nail polishes that raise some very red flags.

The first yucky ingredient is the scariest of all, dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which is added to soften the plastic and make the nail polish more malleable. DBP is said to have the potential to disrupt hormone levels, cause birth defects, and cause cancer. Yea, definitely not something I should be using if I want children some day.

The next yucky ingredients are toluene and formaldehyde. Yes, I said formaldehyde. Bring back memories of science lab in high school? It should, considering it is commonly used to preserve biological and anatomical specimens. Gross, I know. These two ingredients are suspected to cause organ damage and cancer as well as cause nausea and dizziness.

At first, learning all of this made me think I would never be able to paint my nails again. But of course, some brilliant green minds have come up with non-toxic solutions. So, I did some research, Sarah and I picked out 5 colors, I volunteered two of my roommates’ hands and I conducted another experiment.

I judged the following three brands based on the price, shipping, color, application, odor, number of coats needed and drying results.

First brand, Butter London.

Price: 2 colors, $14.00 each = $28.00
Shipping to Boston + Price = $36.50 TOTAL (yikes!)
Color: Come To Bed Red … very pretty! (One of my roommates tried this one)
Application: “It has an easy, smooth application.”
Odor: “It is rather smelly!”
Coats: “It only needed one coat, which is nice because it saves time and paint.”
Drying Results: “it dried smooth and shiny. It doesn’t feel like I can pick it off, that it a good thing!”

Color: British Racing Green (I LOVED this color, so I tried this one)
Application: A very easy application. Not very drippy.
Odor: It does have a strong smell like conventional nail polishes.
Coats: I could have gotten away with one if I had a more steady hand. But I needed two to cover up my mistakes.
Drying Results: It dried very nicely. It wasn’t very shiny though, the color got duller after one day.

If there isn’t DBP, formaldehyde, and toluene in Butter London’s formula, then where are the fumes coming from? I went onto their site to look up ingredients and couldn’t find anything! But I found the ingredients for British Racing Green’s formula on Amazon.com:

Ingredients
Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Isopropyl Alcohol, Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid,Neopentyl Glycol, Trimellitic, Anhydride, Copolymer, Trimethyl Pentanyl Diisobutyrate, Triphenyl Phosphate, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Diacetone Alcohol, Citric Acid, Dimethicone and Benzophenone-1. MAY ALSO CONTAIN: Aluminum Powder, Bismuth Oxychloride, Black Iron Oxide, D&C Red no.30 Lake, D&C Red no.33, D&C Red no.34 Calcium Lake, D&C Red no. 6 Barium Lake, D&C Red no.7 Calcium Lake, D&C Violet No. 2, D&C Yellow no. 11, D&C Yellow no.10, FD&C Yellow no.5 Aluminum Lake FD&C Yellow no.5, FD&C Yellow no.6, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyanide, Mica, Red Iron Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, D&C Red no.17 and FD&C Red no.4.

Next brand, Nubar.

Price: 2 Colors, $7.49 each = $14.98
Shipping to Boston + Price = $27.07 TOTAL (expensive shipping! It took very long to get here too…)
Color: Oh Baby Pink (I tried this one as well, and am still wearing it! Reminds me of Barbie…)
Application: It went on well. A little drippy, a lot goes a long way. It is very opaque.
Odor: It has very strong fumes.
Coats: It needed 2 coats, streaky otherwise.
Drying results: It stayed gummy for awhile. Drying took longer. I had to be careful but it doesn’t seem like it will chip easily.

Color: Camelot Blossom (My other roommate tried this one and loved the color)
Application: “It is very smooth.”
Odor: “It has a lot of fumes, but not too bad. It just smells like nail polish to me.”
Coats: “It looks better with two. With one, you could see the white tip of my nail.”
Drying Results: “It dried smooth, no trapped air bubbles, very shiny.”

Nubar’s formula had a very strong smell as well, so I did another search. Their ingredients were very easy to find on their website:

Nubar Nail Lacquer Ingredients

Ethyl Acetate, Butyl Acetate, Nitrocellulose, Adipic Acid/Neopentyl Glycol/Trimellitic Anhydride Copolymer, Isopropyl Alcohol, Triphenyl Phosphate, Trimethal Pentanyl Diisobutyrate, Butyl Alcohol, Stearalkonium Hectorite, Citric Acid, Benzophenone-1, Dimethicone May Contain: Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Black Iron Oxide, Red Iron Oxide, FD&C Yellow #5, Ferric Ammonium Ferrocyde Anide, Bismouth Oxychloride, D&C Red #7, D&C Red #6, D&C Red #34

Last brand, Aquarella.

Price: 1 color, $18.00 each = $18.00 (Most expensive color yet)
Shipping to Boston + Price = $18.00 (No shipping cost though! Thank goodness!)
Color: Incognito (One of my roommates tried this on her other hand. I loved the navy color!)
Application: “I had to keep redipping, going back for more paint.”
Odor: “It has a nice smell. Not a normal nail polish odor. The smell is more pleasant.”
Coats: “It feels like it could flake off with one coat.”
Drying Results: “Good color! But it already flaked…”

Incognito had a nice smell that wasn’t as strong as Butter’s or Nubar’s. So what is in it?

Ingredients: Acrylic polymer emulsion, Water, and non-toxic colorants (No FD&C)… (Hmm. Interesting.)

So far, so good.
Whoa…. wait a second.
When one of my roommates began washing her face before bed, the Incognito chipped right off with the warm water…Bummer.

And when I tried to take off British Racing Green, it stained my nails highlighter yellow only after 2 days of wearing it!… Double Bummer.

I think I will stick to the pink…

Actually, a lot of big name brands are eliminating DBP, formaldehyde and toluene from their formulas, which is great. You can now find some safe formulas in brands like Honeybee Gardens, Urban Decay, Revlon, and Avon, just to name a few.
Next project, non-toxic nail polish remover. I’ve heard Almost Natural Nail Polish Remover smells like vanilla. But does it work? Have you tried it?

Whether you loved it or hated it, went with the cutest boy on the football team or the dorkiest boy from 5th period Calculus class, EVERYONE has a vivid memory of their Prom. However, Prom is often an event of excess–excess glitter, hair spray, makeup, spray tan, flowers, jewelry, and–in my sister’s case–braces. (Don’t worry Lily, you will still look like Kate Hudson in How To Lose Guy In Ten Days this Saturday.)

As my little sister’s first Prom approaches, it’s a perfect time to re-evaluate this monumental event of our youth and find ways to make it more green. YOU might not be going to a Prom, but you most likely have a little sister like I do–or a niece, or a daughter or a friend’s daughter–so pass this along!

Let’s start with the dress. How can you green it?

This is Lily. Sixteen years old and a freak of nature–tall, blonde, athletic, curvy AND a size 0. Yes, as her older sister, I weep that I didn’t get those genes. However envious I am of her, I do acknowledge that finding a dress was the hardest part for her. She doesn’t fit into any of my dresses, our step-sisters’ dresses or our friends’ dresses. So unfortunately she had to buy a new one.

If she was a more typical size, she could have borrowed a dress from someone or searched at our local consignment shop. There are seriously good finds in those stores. I found a beautiful dress (with the tags still on!) for $10 at our local consignment shop and wore it to my mom’s wedding a few years ago. If you don’t know where the closest consignment shop is, you can search directories online like ResaleShopping.com and Consignmentshops.com. If you want to get more specific searching for Prom dresses online, check out PreownedPartyDresses.com or Buyselldress.com. If you are handy with a sewing kit, you could design and make your own dress like our CEO, Susan, did in high school. I have heard stories of girls making dresses out of duck tape too… maybe give it a try? That seems like a lot of duct tape, though…

Want a high end option? Try Wear Today, Gone Tomorrow, a company that rents designer dresses by big-name labels (see this dress by Nicole Miller) and uses organic dry-cleaning methods. Or try Rent The Runway, which will actually send you a dress in two different sizes “just to be safe”.

Next, accessories. Lily is using a handbag and shoes from our step-sister and borrowing jewelry from me. I have also been known to rummage through my mother’s accessories for items, so ladies, look in your closets! Look through your mother’s closet! You might be surprised how well that gold-sequined clutch goes with your daughter’s blue-and-gold dress… Don’t be afraid to snip an 80’s foo-foo bow if it ruins the entire purse!

Moving on to makeup. Search for the best-rated cosmetics on Cosmetics Database or see how the products you already have measure up against this safety-rating system. Personally, I focus on the products with a 0-2 Low Hazard rating. Bare Escentuals bareMinerals Makeup, Physicians Formula, and Origins are some of the well-known brands that qualify. If you are worried about spending too much money on makeup, just go with three main products: mascara, concealer, and blush/bronzer. Less is more for a Green Prom, ladies…

Green your transport. Steer away from the Hummer stretch-limo. It is bound to dent an unlucky chaperone’s car in the event parking lot. (That happened at my Junior Prom. Oops!) How about renting a school bus? It would be cheaper, retro, and you can fit more of your friends. For my Sophomore Prom (yes, I went all four years), a group of us rented a small Jitney bus that has room for probably 10-15 friends. You could always make a scene and take public transportation. Or drive a hybrid for the night.

Greener hair? And, no, I don’t mean the awful green Lily’s hair turns whenever she takes a dip in an over-chlorinated pool during summer. I mean, how about less hair spray? Less hair glitter? Check out the Good Guide for a less-toxic hairspray. Don’t worry, Susan had to make the same switch. Not sure if there is a greener way to curl hair though… Any ideas?

Finally, flowers. Every girl loves to get flowers the night of their Prom, so why not suggest purchasing a bouquet or corsage from Organic Bouquet? Or make your own boutonniere using flowers from your garden!

Have you been to a Green Prom? Are you helping someone close to you prepare for Prom in a green way? Any more ideas for Lily?

Photo credit: http://www.weartodaygonetomorrow.com/Nicole-Miller-Gown-Silk-p/nm1000l-pb.htm
Jitney Bus

See our friend Heather? We love her fresh effortless look. We prodded for her beauty secrets, and she told us this story the other day. Well! Are we ever impressed by her Sharpie technique for getting the job done!

Two years ago my husband and I made the decision that we were going to eat organic whenever possible. We weren’t going to go to extremes or stop eating out socially but when we ate at home we were going to buy organic produce, meats, and products. This stemmed out of concern for our own bodies as well as the children we would someday have.  Who knows what causes severe food allergies or autism but we were taking chemicals and preservatives out of the equation, or so I thought.

One day my husband, reading an article, peered over his Macbook and said “huh, did you know half of the chemicals and preservatives in your (women’s) system are from your healthcare products?” and then nonchalantly went back to reading. Whoa, WHAT!? I never thought of that. I guess it makes sense, I thought: you can receive medications topically, I guess you can also receive harmful chemicals and preservatives topically as well. When I started thinking about the breadth of that statement I got incredibly overwhelmed. On a regular basis I use face wash, body wash, skin toner, face moisturizer, eye cream (thanks to my 30’s), deodorant, body moisturizer, sun screen, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, shaving cream, face mask,  the list felt like it went on forever and I didn’t know where to start!

After some searching I found Skin Deep’s cosmetics safety database, where I could type in the brand and name of my products and they would rank them on a scale of 0-10 (0-2 low hazard, 3-6 moderate hazard, 7-10 high hazard).  As I sat with every product on the kitchen table and a sharpie I marked each product with its number.  Anything above a 7 got thrown out immediately, 3-6 I’m keeping until it runs out (let’s face it, this stuff is expensive!) and anything 2 or below I will keep and replenish as needed. (See photo of Heather’s medicine cabinet.)

As I’m finishing my “moderate hazard” products I am having so much fun finding and learning about alternatives!  Whole Foods stores are a great resource and some of their larger stores have full make-up lines with people who know what they are talking about.  My favorite face regimen is by a company called Skin Organics, which includes face wash, toner, weekly scrub, day and night moisturizers, and eye cream.  Works incredibly well and very reasonably priced.

I’m so glad I made the switch…every little bit counts!  Now if I could find an organic toothpaste my husband didn’t think tasted like saw dust we’d be great!

Heather K. Margolis is an entrepreneur, part-time foodie, and founder of Channel Maven Consulting. A proud alum of Babson’s MBA program, Heather grew up in Massachusetts, a 6 time Pan Mass Challenge rider who can be found riding, hiking, or attempting to tear up the slopes when not helping her clients reach their channel goals.  Heather and her husband Simeon (also an eco-friendly entrepreneur and Babson MBA) live in Newton, MA.

Links: Heather’s company:  http://www.channelmavenconsulting.com Twitter:  http://twitter.com/HeatherMargolis LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/heatherkmargolis Simeon’s company:  http://www.themonkeybed.com

A few years ago, I came to the last of my Garnier Fructis XXL volume hair spray and realized that this was probably another “unhealthy for me and the environment” habit I just needed to kick.  I had already given up on the aerosol version twenty years ago, but I still relied daily on hairspray to be able to see easily out of both eyes.  A check on the Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetics Database confirmed my suspicions.  Garner Fructis XXL Volume, Extra Strong is a high hazard or “red” product coming in at a 7/10.  Ugh.

I KNEW the healthiest thing would be to just pin my hair back, get bangs, or survive with it falling in my face all day. But I’m a creature of habit and I liked my hair the way it was and out of my face.  Hair spray stayed.  But what to do to be healthier?!

Unfortunately, very few “low hazard” options existed at the time.  Even worse, I couldn’t seem to find the words “EXTRA STRONG HOLD” anywhere in the low hazard items.  Almost everything was “natural hold”.   “Natural hold” would last for about 30 minutes with my hair.  One was called an “LA Hold” spritz, but LA conjures up beach hair and natural locks.  If I want a strong hold, I would prefer a NY Hold,  a get-out-of-your-face-and-stay-out-of-your-face-spray.

Once I decided I would go up to a Level 3, which is a “medium hazard”, but still a major improvement from a 7, options started to open up, including an Aubrey Organics brand that says “Super Hold” and J/A/S/O/N naturals which were both available at Whole Foods. I decided on the J/A/S/O/N brand for the road test, putting aside concerns that it still contained Retinyl Palmitate, which is either banned or deeply restricted in Canada.   I just kept thinking, “Hey–it beats the 7!”

I was NOT a huge fan of J/A/S/O/N.  It sort of worked, but the smell was awful even though it’s technically fragrance free.  And of course now I was stuck with a bottle of the stuff.  And still spraying myself every morning with Retinyl Palmitate.

sunglasses as headband, a toxin free style

Six months later, I just gave up.  I grew out my hair by another 3 inches so I could tuck it behind my ears, invested in a few hair clips, learned how to use my hair dryer a little more strategically for volume on those big nights out, and stopped with the spraying. Instead of a hair spray habit, I developed a “flip hair out of eyes” habit  in the winter and a chronic “wear sunglasses as a headband” habit in the summer.

Because I broke the habit completely, I failed to notice until recently that there has been a boom in choices for a healthier hair spray over the last few years.  Granted the Good Guide has different standards than the Environmental Working Group, but there are now FIFTEEN options that get a “10″ health rating including a Clairol brand that has the words “Maximum Hold”.  And there are at least some choices now in the 0-2 category from the Environmental Working Group.

This weekend, I found myself wandering down the aisle at Whole Foods and stopping briefly by the hair spray–perhaps it’s time to cut my hair and redo that road test? After a brief inner debate, I decided after all that hassle, it was a habit I wasn’t in the mood to unbreak that day.  And when and if I do unbreak it, I would prefer a few friends to weigh in on the options to avoid a J/A/S/O/N like experience.

So–if anyone IS using a healthy super hold–do share!  Those people who have to see the flip about 15 times a day would appreciate it immensely.

News Picks:

13 Spring Produce Items and Ideas of How to Cook Them: You can find these ‘in season’ fruits and vegetables at your local farmer’s market, but do you know how to properly store and cook them? Here are some great ideas and recipes from the Daily Green.

Text (& green) your gift giving: A new company, Giiv , just launched a new way to purchase and send gift-cards, from your phone, without ever needing the little plastic card.  It’s got the added benefit of being instantaneous for those procrastinators in the bunch.

Animal-Proof Your Compost: Afraid to compost because of the possible raccoon encounter that leaves a mess in your yard? Here is an article with great advice for protecting your compost while being friendly to curious critters.

Multimedia Link:
Glamology offers 10 tips for figuring out how to make sure your cosmetics are eco-friendly and safe. It offers a list of most harmful toxins and we here at Practically Green learned a lot from their review.

New and Cool Pick:
Method Home has just announced the world’s first Cradle to Cradle certified laundry detergent.  Practically Green likes it for three reasons:  the tiny, adorable bottle that uses 50% less plastic than a standard bottle and the pump that rids us of the mess that goes with a cap; the transparency of ingredients and the fact 95% are all-natural and renewable (even the fragrance oil is phthalate free) — although we will be getting the free & clear version for the kiddos); and we’re intrigued by the patented new clean technology and hopeful that it will finally get those spaghetti stains totally out…

News Picks:

Is Organic Food Worth It?: Real Food author Nina Planck explains why it is worth it to buy organic food.

“Pre-washed” Salad Precaution: A Consumer Reports test found bagged salads may not be as clean as you think.

Tax Rewards for Going Green: Good NYTimes summary of the expanded tax credits that make energy-saving purchases more affordable right now.

Multimedia Link:
Because it’s Friday and I want to pretend that my wardrobe consists of more than work clothes and yoga pants. The best moments of New York Fashion week’s Green Shows.

New and Cool Pick:

Prepeat Printer can erase and reprint on the same paper.

OK–this is by the far the coolest concept we saw this week. The paper is made of plastic (bummer), but if you only need a few pieces, it will save lots and lots of trees (yeah!).

News Picks:

• ‘Desertification Danger’: A new report suggests 38% of the world’s land is at risk of ‘extreme deterioration’ due to human activities.

• Weather Chaos for Winter Olympics: Warmest temperatures on record in Vancouver threaten winter games due to lack of snow.

• NY Fashion Week Goes Green: For the first time ever, New York Fashion Week will have net-zero emissions levels.

Multimedia Pick:

HGTV’s Green Home 2010 recently posted an Outstanding Features Slideshow that has great ideas for green home design.








New and Cool Pick:

Swedish and American researchers are working together to create affordable energy-efficient glowing wallpaper using plastic panels and electrode technology.