eco-chic design

reusable gift bags for a green holiday season

As I’m scrambling to get my last minute gift shopping done I was happy to discover the reusable LivingEthos gift bags through Organic Spa magazine. Not only do they make wrapping gifts easy without a need for scissors and tape but they are also an eco-chic alternative to traditional wrapping paper.

LivingEthos was founded by Josie Gaillard in 2008 to offer people stylish yet eco-conscious choices for their every day lives. Her modern looking gift bags are a smart way to go green with your gift wrap since you can reuse or regift them. They come in 4 different sizes so that you can wrap or store anything from jewelry, cosmetics to toys. The LivingEthos gift bags are made out of 100% cotton and the grosgrain ribbon is made out of 100% recycled PET like soda bottles. Her fun website lets you shop by occasion, giftee, style or color. As a big fan of modern eco-friendly design I love her contemporary fabrics such as retro squares, ripple stripe or martini that are all formaldehyde-free and AZO-free. The eco-modern gift bags come with a paper wraparound label made of 100% recycled paper and printed with soy based ink. It can be transformed into eco-conscious “to-from” tags for the gifts. I love that you can reuse the bags as well as the packaging. The tough part will be to decide if you want to give them away or keep them for yourself.

a green gift that keeps giving

Why not wrap your gift for mother’s day this year in one of these colorful and reusable Baby Baggu bags to save paper? They come in more colors than I knew even existed like rhubarb, electric purple or deep ocean. It won’t be hard to pick one of over 40 colors to either match your present or mom’s wardrobe. Or your own if you prefer.

Baggu bags are made from ripstop nylon, a super durable long lasting fabric and come in 3 different sizes. They are designed to minimize material waste and every Baggu comes in a pouch made from scrap fabric. Their website claims that you can replace 300 to 700 disposable bags throughout the year by reusing a Baggu. This makes sense if you think about all the places where you would normally leave with a plastic or paper bag in your hands like drug stores, grocery stores or bookstores. Since Baggu is a stylish alternative and easy to keep in your bag or glove box it should be a no-brainer to keep plastic bags out of landfills. This way you’ll be giving a gift to your mom and mother earth at the same time. I’ve to admit I’m a little late with my post this year and the standard size Mom Baggu is only available in black or white at this point since they are a limited edition. The good news is that either one will go with any color outfit that your mom might have.

green fall shopping

Mayor Bloomberg just proposed that shoppers in New York will be charged 6 cents for every plastic bag needed at the register. To me that’s a great incentive to shop more eco-friendly and stack up on RuMe’s reusable shopping bags.

RuMe was launched on Earth Day 2008 in Denver, Colorado to give the eco-friendly shopper a stylish and functional alternative. The designs are unisex and modern. The handle is big enough to be carried over any shoulder so that you can bring them easily to the grocery store, gym, ski lift or beach. They come in 3 different sizes and the smallest one is great for eco-smart gift wrapping. The RuMe Bags are made from 180 denier polyester with water-resistant coating. I love the rich colors plum, mustard and espresso of the fall in New York collection. I’m planning to always have one handy, since they fold up to fit into any purse.

for green dinner parties

It’s nice to know that spring is in full bloom on the other side of the globe, since it’s my favorite season. No wonder I’m a huge fan of Australia’s new blossom creations line designed by Erin Corvisy.  

She started her company out of a love for design combined with her passion for the environment. Her products range from notebooks and stationary made out of 100% post consumer recycled paper printed with soy ink to kitchen and table accessories made out of 100% hemp printed with water based solvent-free ink. I especially love her colorful table napkins and placemats with beautifully designed patterns inspired by sprigs, branches or figs. They would make any eco-host or hostess proud. And if you’re feeling really brave to bake your first pie for fall you might want to check out her cool aprons too.

bubbles for any occasion

Seltzer is an eco-friendly company based in Queens that sells fun greeting cards, notebooks and wrapping paper made out of 100% recycled paper printed with soy based inks.

Most of their greeting card designs contain their signature bubble. The bubble designs are as much fun as some of the whimsical greetings. I know it’s odd, but I always wanted a monkey when I was little so that I love the anniversary card entitled “monkey mates” and the baby card “little monkey”. My other two favorite cards with animal motives are the two birthday cards “hamster wheel” with the title “time to get a little crazy” that shows a hamster wearing a helmet on top of a wheel and the “pigeon skateboard” with the title “time to break out your best moves”. Make sure to check out their whimsical gift wrap with skulls, pugs, tumbler monkeys and multi-flavored ice cream patterns. 

happy mother earth day

In honor of mother’s day and last minute gift wrapping I wanted to feature rifferaff, a company that designs hand silkscreened wrapping paper. Of course it would still be more eco-friendly to not use any paper at all, but I personally like the surprise factor.

Every piece at rifferaff is handpulled, trimmed and packaged by Shanon Riffe. Her patterns are modern and clean ranging from jigsaw bead patterns to a dot patterns in bubblegum pink and all inks are water based. All papers contain 100% recycled content printed by french paper, a family-run paper mill that uses hydroelectric power. I was delighted to see that she’s selling gift cards and journals as well.