Disposable plastic utensils are everywhere lately, frozen yogurt shops, any quick service restaurant, of course any time you get take out food and don’t forget all the tasting chefs do while cooking. Now think about the amount of those plastic utensils used multiplied by the 300 million people that are in the United States (we aren’t even counting the world here.) That’s a heck of a lot of plastic being wasted and possibly not being recycled. Perhaps there’s another alternative? I certainly think there is, by using EcoTensil: Future-Friendly Utensils.
These “spoons” are made from renewable paperboard, similar to milk cartons. Since these utensils are folded paper, they are already smaller and take up less room than standard plastic spoons for shipping and even storing. I think this is nifty because that also allows me to carry these with me if I wanted (and yes I would be the eco-conscience person that would rather bring her own utensils than use plastic ones, every little bit helps.)
I am way more surprised at how durable these spoons are, originally think that they would end up becoming flimsy once introduced to a liquid or wet food. They did not become less durable throughout eating an entire yogurt cup, even when I left the spoon to sit in the food in-between bites. I was even able to use their “SpoonLidz” which is created to fit as the lid for single-serve cups and unfolds to become your eating spoon. Just fold by matching the two printed dots together and you’ve got yourself a spoon.
EcoTensil offers several varaties of spoons, SpoonLidz as I already mentioned as well as EcoSpoon; a full sized spoon, and EcoTasters; used best for small tastes, in mini and mid sizes. The EcoTasters are super discreet for Moms to always have on hand in their bags for easy access whenever kids need to eat.
Since being made from renewable FSC paperboard they have the Gold Standard of Sustainable Forest Management. Though there are other “biodegradable” alternatives, these aren’t usually recyclable and may not be accepted at compost facilities.
I see no reason why these wouldn’t be a good idea for the earth and your lifestyle, if we all help a little bit it all adds up.
What do you think about these EcoTensils? Would you try them?
I have to honestly say I rarely wear make-up, but when I do I like it to be as chemical-free as possible while also enhancing the natural appearance of my face. I don’t like to walk around looking like I literally painted eye shadow, blush, or lipstick onto my face, so when I had the opportunity to try Eco Love Beauty eye shadow I was pleased that it fell into both criteria that I look for in cosmetics. I love that Eco Love offers a wide variety of shades depending on the look you are going for, and after careful consideration, I chose Fawn and Milk Chocolate as the two I wanted to try.
Eco Love Beauty is a company devoted to making you look beautiful while being kind to your body and the environment and I have to say that is exactly what I felt as I applied their eye shadow onto my lids. Not only did they both brush on smoothly while adding a nice shimmer, but they also last for several hours. Unfortunately, the Milk Chocolate was a bit darker than I expected, but it would certainly make a wonderful choice for an evening look, which is exactly what I will do the next time I head out for a date with my husband or a night out with girlfriends. The Fawn was a darker shade of purple, but I think you could still get away with it during daytime hours if you toned it down a bit by brushing it on really lightly or rubbing away the excess if it goes on a little too dark.
Something important to note is that Eco Love Beauty is a mineral eye shadow, which means it is similar to a loose powder and different than the pressed eye shadows I’ve mostly used in the past, but I think I actually prefer it in loose form since trying the Eco Love brand. Each eye shadow comes in a small plastic sifter with a screw-top lid, so you can use as little or as much as you want without fear of spillage. All-in-all I’m very pleased with Eco Love Eye Shadow, not only because it is eco-friendly, but also because I can look pretty while feeling good about putting make-up on my face that is free of chemicals and safe for the environment.
Sun protection for your skin has really been a big part of people’s daily routine of the last few years, more than it has been in the past 10 years. That’s why Sun Bum wants you to reduce your skin cancer risk by using their sunscreen. Their new formula of sun care products are created for people who live and love the sun. Allowing those people to enjoy their outdoor lifestyle while being protected from dangers of the sun. This SPF 30 sunscreen from Sun Bum has earned the skin cancer foundation’s approval, tested and recommended by them. None of Sun Bum’s products are tested on animals, which makes me glad they care about animal rights as well as skin care.
This sunscreen does not make claims to be all natural as Sunology’s sunscreen which I have already reviewed does. But Sun Bum’s sunscreen may be a bit more wholesome than big name company products, as they created this product to protect their own children, families and friends from the sun. The SPF 30 is paraben free, oil and PABA free as well as hypoallergenic. Its (active and inactive) ingredient list is a bit unpronounceable, aside from water being its first ingredient. Many of these unfamiliar words worry me into thinking that I might be slathering man made toxic chemicals onto my skin. Yet a quick internet search helped to put my mind more at ease, as only 4 of the inactive ingredients had a moderate concern risk, while all others were low on the list of concern.
Besides the many complicated sounding ingredients, this sunscreen did exactly what it was supposed to and kept me from getting sun burned on another cloudless day. I even used only one application in the morning and it lasted all day. Though they do recommend reapplying throughout the day.
My favorite part of this sunscreen, besides its expected sun protection is its fantastic coconut scent. It reminds me of my younger years when the summer would be filled with scents of ocean salt breezes and coconut scented sun tan oil, but this is just a more helpful version of that type of product. If you want something more natural I would say go with Sunology, if you care more about what your sunscreen smells like, I’d say choose Sun Bum and enjoy the coconuts. They offer several different SPFs, lip balm and continuous spray sunscreen as well as the traditional lotion type.
Have a sun safe summer!
Eco-friendly product can be found anywhere, but one thing is that they can be found at NYC’s Green Festival. That is exactly where I met owner of Massachusetts based snackTaxi, Erin Kelly-Dill. I was easily attracted to her booth at the show by all of the fun and bright colors of her reusable snack and sandwich bags. I knew these products were a great idea when they reminded me of the reusable snack/sandwich bags I reviewed from ChicoBag. Curious to see what the differences between two types of bags were I was happy to be able to review their snack size bag in a great floral pattern. Their fabric options change often based on fabric availability, so my pattern isn’t available on their website but they have tons to choose from.
SnackTaxi has separate bags for snacks and sandwiches. As much as I tried, I was not able to easily use the snack size to hold a sandwich without it being squished. So unlike the bags from ChicoBag these aren’t as useful for double duty. To make up for that, they come in so many cute and fun patterns. Seriously, there are 100 snack bags to choose from on their website and about 60 choices for their sandwich sack. This snack sack came in extra handy when I packed a picnic and found that everything I brought was reusable, including my snack and sandwich bag.
What I found great was that they do offer organic cotton sacks for sandwich and snack, which are super soft on the outside but still lined on the inside like all other sacks with polyurethane coated nylon. Unfortunately the cotton that they source is manufactured in Korea as well as the nylon from Taiwan. This wouldn’t deter me from purchasing these products completely, but I do prefer to see companies in the U.S. create products that are entirely made here. Though they are looking for recycled nylon, so perhaps their next source could be in the U.S. What is good about the material they use is that they are lead, phthalate and BPA free!
Cleaning your snackTaxi sack is a breeze. I’ve simply rinsed or wiped mine out since I hadn’t put any food that would stain it. Turning it inside out and running it under water works great, they also say it can be machine washed (with unscented detergent) and dried in the dryer or air dried. It is good to not store food in it for long periods of time, as the fabric may absorb the oil from foods. In comparison this bag is just as similar to ChicoBag’s version, though these are a bit more pricey at $7.95 for one snack size bag and $8.95 for one sandwich size bag with their organic versions a bit more. Since ChicoBag offers a set of 3 for $15.99 ($5.33 each) and they can double as snack or sandwich size, though they don’t have a choice of colors and patterns.
One nifty feature snackTaxi offers is that you can order snack and sandwich size sacks that are labeled gluten free or nut free, helpful for kids in schools who need to designate such info. Also for those kids who are feeling creative, they can create their own snackTaxi with their “make-your-own” kit, including markers to decorate with.
SnackTaxi has a great idea that more people should become more aware of because it will save so many plastic bags from finding their way into landfills. Check out all their pattern options at www.snacktaxi.com
It’s no surprise to know by now that my favorite snack is popcorn (I’ve tried them all from Earth) as I’ve tried all three popcorn snacks from Earth Balance and wasn’t disappointed. Earth Balance offers a sweet popcorn snack, that I suggest you save as a treat because otherwise you might find yourself quickly addicted. P.B. Popps is popcorn coated in Earth Balance Peanut Butter and rolled in oats, along with a sprinkling of whole peanuts.
This sweet treat is vegan, gluten free, non-GMO and contains 0 grams of trans fat as all snacks from Earth Balance have. These P.B. Popps make me forget that I’m even eating popcorn, they are that tasty. It’s more like crunchy pieces of peanut buttery oats. I am surprised at how much I really enjoy these little clusters of sweetness, I promise you’ll want more and more of these, with the more you eat.
Try all of Earth Balance’s popcorn snacks, I doubt you will be disappointed – I certainly wasn’t. Check out my other reviews of their snacks: Vegan Buttery Popcorn, Aged White Cheddar Flavor Popcorn and Vegan Aged White Cheddar Flavor Puffs.
To me summer smells like sunscreen and coconut scented tanning oil. Or at least that was what I think it should smell like. Unfortunately if you use Sunology’s Natural Sunscreen it won’t smell anything like that. But you will be using a sunscreen that includes no chemicals that are normally found in sunscreen’s active ingredients, which is more important to me and my skin.
Sunology’s Crème for Face boasts an SPF 50 that is ultra water-resistant and contains natural vitamins (A, C & E) and antioxidants. It also contains no water, fillers or diluents, only 100% ingredients. This sunscreen is a concentrated form, which requires you to use much less than you normally might with conventional sunscreens. They claim a dime size amount is enough to cover your face and neck. I may have still used my usual (more than dime size) amount, since I wouldn’t have the chance to reapply it throughout the day. This was a great test to the quality of this product, as it truly left me sunburn free after a day in a cloud-free sun. I was sunburn free, with the exception of my nose, which I may not have put any or enough sunscreen on. Leaving it a bit redder than the rest of my face. Which is only user error, not a negative mark on the product’s performance.
Understanding that sunscreen blocks the sun is great, but also understanding that it usually does this by using unnatural chemicals in traditional sunscreens that may also bring along chemicals that can disrupt out body’s normal states without us knowing it. Sunology specifically lists many of the known chemicals found in traditional sunscreens, which it does not contain. I take my precautions about what I put on my skin the same way I do for what I eat. Striving to use those products that are natural organic or contain the least amount of chemicals as possible. It is my personal preference to not be dependent on man made chemicals in my daily life and for those who may share the same preference I believe you will be happy with this sunscreen’s chemical free ingredient list. Just don’t expect it to be a fantastic scent. Sunology also offers sunscreen lotion for kids, body and a SPF 35 sport stick. So be on the lookout for review of these other products as well in the near future.
I was completely smitten by this amazing vegan handmade bag. Being the first item I ever got from Etsy, I can understand now why Etsy is so successful. It is truly unique and precious to receive something that is handmade. Especially when it is so intricately and perfectly made.
When I opened my package to reveal my beautiful damask vegan hobo bag, my grin was wide and my jaw dropped. I was astonished at the details of the stitches and the way everything was sewn together flawlessly. As my hand slowly traced the details of the bag, my hand felt a soft, and fuzzy material as I traced the damask design. To my surprise, the bag is made from a vegan canvas fabric with a velvet print. It is also made cruelty free and from environmentally safe fabrics and materials.
As a looked inside, under, and all over my new vegan purse, I pictured this beautiful woman sewing together my bag- especially for me. This experience is something I could have never gotten from a mass produced product that I purchased, which was most likely made by slave workers in a depressing factory. As sad as that seems, that’s the reality of most products out there that we purchase. I can wear my vegan hobo bag proudly and with a guilty-free conscience.
This vegan bag has gotten me countless compliments; every time I wear it around friends who haven’t seen me use it, I get new compliments. This bag is unique not only in the way it was made but in its design as well. People have asked me where I got this bag multiple times and I’m super excited to tell them! I have used it everyday straight for the past two weeks and I can’t get enough of it.
I love that it matches all my outfits, it’s lightweight and that it’s big enough for me to fit all my things. I found that the three pockets it has is quite enough for my uses; one zipper and two slip pockets that both fit my iPhone with bumper. I used one pocket for my business cards and the other for my phone; which is great since I usually just drop my phone and my keys together in my bag and that does not make for a great mix. I like that the pockets are big and long in depth, so I can actually use them instead of being merely for decoration purposes like some of my other bags.
I love the other bags and clutches found on Estella’s Etsy store! It’s super fashionable and if you are looking to stand out and be different, while being environmentally friendly, then you need to check out her products!
Happy shopping!
