Amidst my wedding research, I have some awesome blogs in my RSS reader, including A.Mountain.Bride…

who happens to be running a contest to win a sweet little classic white Cosabella lingerie number!

I dig that the company has a bamboo eco-friendly line of naughties too.  Hello Bamboo Lowrider Thong.  Hehahe

My favorites are the Sex & The City Line by Cosabella though.  I cannot figure out for the life of me what is SATC about them (and trust me, I am a devout SATC junkie, and nothing at all in the slightest is ever at any point in any episode looks even kinda like these items… so, uh???), but regardless, the happy purpleness of this Miranda Chemise.  So cute and sassy without being juvenile.

So, check out A.Mountain.Bride’s Contest post for more information on how YOU can enter to win the sweet white Cosabella chemise, a $118 win that will make you feel oh-so-lovely under your own wedding garb (or whenever!).

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

You know how I have difficultly finding shoes I like, but TOMS makes finding a shoe company I want to support easier with their One for One Movement.  You buy a pair of organic canvas or such shoes from TOMS, and they give a pair away to a child needing shoes.  Yes, they give a pair of shoes for each pair purchased.

TOMS has been really great at keeping me abreast of some of their initiatives and efforts.  I was happy to offer them the opportunity to explain in their own words what the initiative is.  Check it out:

According to UNICEF, every year, nearly 10 million kids in other countries die from preventable causes. More specifically, causes that can be prevented by simply wearing a pair of shoes. TOMS decided to do something about it – in fact, Chief Shoe Giver Blake Mycoskie founded the company solely (sorry, we couldn’t resist) to help counter that problem.  When consumers buy TOMS shoes, any pair at all, the company gives a pair to a child in need. They’ve already given more than 140,000 pairs of new shoes to children in need — in just 3 years. By the end of 2009, TOMS will give an additional 300,000 pairs of new shoes to children in need all around the world, including places in the US.  It was such a great idea that it worked and managed to help a whole lot of children in just its first three years. Not only that, but TOMS sells organic and canvas shoes — this not only teaches children a little bit can go a long way to help, but also the importance of organic materials in today’s world.

Thanks to several mothers and fathers who wanted to teach their children the power of giving and helping and the importance of organic materials, TOMS created their TOMS Youth Collection. This collection offers several styles for children, and buying any pair of shoes from the collection can support the One for One Movement.

The first collection of TOMS youth shoes, Tiny TOMS, will have nine different canvas styles for boys and girls. October might be a little late for back-to-school, but shopping for new shoes for your kids online with them, whatever the occasion, can help spread the TOMS One for One Movement and help get even more children who need shoes those shoes.

Just by shopping for TOMS youth shoes for back to school, a pair of shoes goes to a child who doesn’t have any. By wearing TOMS organic shoes, you – and now your kids! – can support the One for One Movement. Now that’s something that takes a step toward a better future.

Personally, I love this.  TOMS makes great shoes that are environmentally and socially responsible, as well as having vegan lines.  TOMS has a blog, a Twitter account, a Facebook page, and YouTube, proving they get what community means today in our culture.

Check out their comfy kicks and know you’re voting with your dollars for a company that cares about the world in which they are a part.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Gaiam is the new SIGG, in case you missed the BPA leaching heard ’round the world.

I am out on this one.  Twenty-times the leaching level as SIGG Bottles (manufactured before August 2008), and Gaiam did, indeed, market themselves as “BPA-free”.

THESE companies are why no one middle-America does not give a shit about “green” or “BPA” or “environmentalism“.  They feel they cannot trust the words or the promises. (Yes, I, who do not cuss, just went there…)

That is all you are getting from me regarding BPA.

You want more info? Check Strollerderby, JustGetThere, Mother Nature Network, and of course, Z Recommends.

Moving on…

I may have already shared my final thoughts on the SIGG debaucle, but Z Recommends gave me more food for thought.  Z is good, by the way.  I am not sure how I am only now becoming such a fan of the site.

First, Zrecs gave the full low-down on what sins really were committed versus what it seems to some.

Then, Zrecs shares an actual interview with SIGG CEO Steve Wasik, less than a month after Wasik’s admission of BPA in certain SIGG liners.

Zrecs also shared that independent labs actually show that the SIGG bottle liners in question DO indisputably leach BPA, and why it matters.

Finally, Zrecs shared their 2009 BPA-Free Water Bottle Showdown to give us educated alternatives to SIGG bottles.  After returning mine (I love you still), I walked out of REI with a store voucher instead of a new bottle.  I do not yet trust these new EcoCare SIGG liners (after reports of liners flaking off during normal use), and I hate SIGG’s new uber-cliche-themed bottle designs.  Lame.

Thanks to the BPA-Free Water Bottle Showdown, I actually opted for the 32 ounce, Made in Spain, Laken Classic water bottle from REI.  Yay!

Now, barring finding out that Steve Wasik is the real father of Gisele Bundchen’s unborn child instead of Tom Brady, I am finished.  I have a new bottle coming and will review it when I have it.

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

Just a quick moment to let you know about Jolly Green Girl’s fabulous new giveaway!  She’s partnered up with b.b.begonia to give away a stylish new tote!  I think that’s a fantastic idea!

Why would Jolly Green Girl Susie partner up with b.b.begonia?  It’s a perfect pair:

b.b.begonia brings you the latest in stylish and fashionable polyester totes to reduce our dependence on plastic bags and hopefully eliminate them completely in the near future. With modern and kitschy prints; you would be proud owners of these Eco-chic bags.

When you mix a chic with impeccable style and taste as well as eco-smarts with a responsible company also helping make a positive impact on the environment while remaining hip, you have a fantastic chance to win a fantastic bag!

Susie offers multiple ways to enter and increase your chances, so head on over to her post to find out how you can have that chance!  Plus, by carrying this modern eco-friendly bag, you can reduce your use of plastic and paper disposable bags when you shop!

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

Just like any other media story or corporate scandal that becomes overly saturated throughout the media (as niche as it may be), I am sick of hearing about the SIGG dramas.  If you want my opinions, I’m angry at the distrust caused, and I have stated it here, here, and here.

For an update, however, here is a post by Towns and Trails on REI responding to the SIGG issue.  I love REI for always standing 100% by their products.  Also, SustainLane discusses the embers remaining aglow from this highly unfortunate misstep of the company.

One quick point to remind people, however.  I do not believe the media has created a panic, as SustainLane states.  I, in fact, have seen nearly nothing regarding this when I watch CNN, FOXNews, or local news, all of which I watch lots of.  Instead, we the blogging-community media have expressed our concerns and frustrations.  We, the people, have a voice, and it is utilized for issues like this.  MarketingDaily does a great job explaining this as SIGG proving that consumers own brand.

Also, the argument that older versions of SIGG are safe is definitely questionable, as the “100% leach-free” tests for those SIGG bottles tested only to the parts per billion.  Some tests show that BPA can affect hormones at the parts per million level.  Where are those tests on SIGG?  Want to see two great (opposing) perspectives on this?  Check out this by Treehugger and this by Real Green Girl.  Spectacular.

Sadly, this leads me to say I cannot feel great about the new EcoCare liner in the newer SIGG bottles either.  I just do not have a choice but to assume well of it.

On that note, I am heading to REI now to return my old SIGG, which I am really sad I have to part with… We’ve had good times together.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

How very cool would it be to pick up your groceries in a 100% organic cotton ecobag with your original artwork on it?  Even better, how very cool would it be to have won it, free, in a giveaway competition?!  I think it sounds like a great way to kick your disposable plastic shopping bag habit!

Peter from EcoPrintWorks let me know about this awesome giveaway.  Check them out if you want to win a “custom print [ecobag] with your art using our amazingly soft, vibrant, and earth conscious water-based inks.  All you need to do is register or place an order” with EcoPrintWorks by the end of August, and you could win!  Visit their site and read more.

Good luck!

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue

I couldn’t think of a reason to get these cute O.P.P. pencil cases from Target, but I caved and bought the Other People’s Plastic cases anyhow.  Two of them.  One for my art pens and pencils, one for my tech cords that I usually carry.

The “go green” movement has revived slogans from decades ago, appearing on T-shirts that exclaim “Green is the new black”, reusable water canteens that have “Make Love, Not War” and “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, and now using Naughty-by-Nature’s 1990’s hit “O.P.P.” to make pencil holders cool.

Indeed, if you are buying school supplies (or perhaps you are an office supply junkie such as myself) you may consider dropping by Target to pick up their $1 line of fun recycled supplies.

Terracyle has been taking a number of items such as drink pouches and empty snack containers, which they turn into nifty school folders and these crafty zip-pouches for your pens.

On the same end-cap, Target had these great recycled-paper-barrel pencils.

My indisputable favorite recycled item they carry is this “O.P.P. Other People’s Plastic” tie-dye effect recycled plastic pen cases.  If I could have thought of a single reason to buy yet another pencil case, I would have spent the $1 and been thrilled about the purchase.  I was disappointed the case does not indicate what percentage of recycled plastic it is, so it could be as little as 10% and largely not that green.  Further, the product was made in China.  I really do not want to buy “made in China”.  If it had been made in the US, I probably would have splurged and bought some anyhow.

Ultimately, before you buy anything, the greenest option is to decide if you really need it at all.  If you are only purchasing it because it is “the right price” or because the sexy green appeal, you are still contributing to unnecessary manufacturing, energy consumption, and waste.

Sustainably yours,  Ashley Sue

I decided to banish certain ingredients from my life, including a number of questionable or blatantly toxic chemicals that are common in the American woman’s beauty regiment.  In an order to eliminate formaldehyde and phthalates from my body, I donated my 40+ bottles of nail polish and bought a few bottles of the more eco-friendly SunCoat nail polish products.

While I am happy to cheer on the company, I have to decline the opportunity to give them a ringing endorsement.  The bottles are generally $8.99 for a two ouncer.  They come in a large variety of colors, which excited me, but at a price that steep, I picked two standby colors (cherry red and black), one bottle of top coat, and one $8.99 bottle of SunCoat nail polish remover.  Ouch.  At $40 with tax, I hoped to praise the product and company.

Well, after one coat on my finger nails, this is how it looks:

Yuck.  Cheap nail polishes full of toxicity tends to be thin and streaky on the first coat also, so no biggie.  I applied a second coat.

Then I applied a third coat… and a fourth… and finally it dried without looking streaky. I finally applied the top coat.

Three hours later, I took a shower.  Every single nail was chipped around the edges.  Seriously?  And the paint on my toe nails had taken on a weird grey, soft quality, which eventually dried back normally.  WTW?

By evening, after typing a bit, cooking dinner, and doing my normal ins and outs of domestic living, several big nicks had appeared in my manicure.

Disappointed, I grabbed the SunCoat polish remover.  Instructions say to liberally coat your nails with it, let them soak for several minutes, then wipe off.

Talk about major disappointment.  Not only was the nail polish uneven and easily chipped, but the polish remover does nothing.  Literally nothing.  After soaking, I rubbed and rubbed.  I coated a rag with more remover and rubbed.  I scrubbed.  I soaked a q-tip in remover and scrubbed.  I scrubbed some more.  Finally a little started to come off.  I gave up and tried using regular old acetone-based nail polish remover.  Same difference.

Thoroughly disappointing product line.  The only part of the product line I like is how all the colors look in their bottles, lined up like a happy toxic-free rainbow on the store shelf.  Of course, even that is a disappointment because it ultimately teases you, giving you such hope of how you might love your nails in such sparkly wonderful colors.  My advice is do not fall for the whispers you will hear as the brilliant little bottles ask you to pick them… just like a cheap one-night stand, they’ll tell you whatever you want to hear until you commit to them, take them home, and realize it was all cheap talk.

Still on the prowl for a quality nail polish…

Sustainably yours, Ashley Sue