Growing a Green Family » Take Action http://www.growingagreenfamily.com Green living year round Sat, 11 Feb 2012 00:30:11 +0000 en hourly 1 Green Review: Artterro Art Journal Kits http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-review-artterro-art-journal-kits/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-review-artterro-art-journal-kits/#comments Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:40:48 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=11017

We’re in the middle of our Artterro Eco Arts & Crafts Giveaway so I wanted to fill you in on one of the great prizes, the Artterro Art Journal Kit.

art kits, Artterro, children’s crafts, crafts for kids, eco crafts, green art project, green crafts, Green Family, green holiday gift, affordable arts and crafts, affordable eco art, affordable art journal, eco-art journal, eco journal, green journal, art journalgreen product reviews

Use:

Crafty free-form fun that allows imaginative kids (or adults) to explore their artistic creativity through art journaling. Available in many different colors as shown above.

Cost:

A super affordable $12.95 at the Artterro online shop.

Eco-perks:

For general information on the eco-perks of these art kits, please read my Artterro company review, which discusses materials, eco-benefits and other stuff about the company. With only very minor cons, I gave this company 5 out of 5 trees, a perfect score. These art journals are made with eco-friendly materials. You can see a run-down of the sorts of eco-materials used by Artterro at their website.




What’s this art journal all about?

The Arttrro Art Journal is a wonderful, cost-friendly craft idea. Artterro has teamed up with Strathmore Artist Papers to create a these unique art journals. Kids may learn and experiment with fun doodling, drawing and collage techniques with the help of some inspiring materials.

Each Art Journal Kit Includes the following: Spiral-bound 6.5 x 8 journal with solid book board cover to personalize, 14 inspiring project pages, 5 pages of beautiful handmade decorative papers, 6 solid colored papers, artist-quality drawing paper, and a handy pocket folder to store pictures, scraps and found images.

Your family provide: Pens, pencils, markers, scissors, glue and any other art materials you choose.

Best perks of this art journal

When this journal first arrived both my 10-year-old son and my partner’s 13-year-old daughter thought it was a very cool idea. My son is already a fan of blank drawing books, doodling books and creative journals, such as Wreck This Journal so it didn’t really shock me that he felt this journal was an excellent idea, but he commented specifically about how he liked the prompts and unique paper choices.

I liked how the paper was high quality and gorgeous and I love the idea that no two kits are alike, meaning siblings or best friends will get different choices to experiment with. Or, if your child goes thorough one journal, you could always get him or her another without fear of the exact same paper.

Best of all, the affordable price was well below what most eco-art journals cost too, which was an excellent perk. In fact, I haven’t seen a free-form eco-art journal under $20 ever, so this is fun every family can afford to enjoy.

I couldn’t find any cons associated with this journal and neither could my kids. We all thought this would make a great green gift for just about anyone.

Beyond art journals, Artterro offers a huge wonderful selection of other eco-art kits. Read two of my reviews below:

Overall Score

art kits, Artterro, children’s crafts, crafts for kids, eco crafts, green art project, green crafts, Green Family, green holiday gift, affordable arts and crafts, affordable eco art, affordable art journal, eco-art journal, eco journal, green journal, art journalgreen product reviews

Five out of five little trees! This is a great journal if you’d like to encourage your child to think up creative art projects on his own but while using eco-materials. The beautiful papers will entice anyone’s imagination and you can’t beat the low price. I highly recommend this for schools or as a gift for any child.

See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-review-artterro-art-journal-kits/feed/ 0 Top Eco-friendly Books for Green Families http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/top-ecofriendly-books-green-families/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/top-ecofriendly-books-green-families/#comments Thu, 22 Dec 2011 17:14:28 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10561

If you’re scrounging for last-minute holiday gifts, a good book can’t be beat and is easy to find, even last-minute, so long as you have a local bookstore in town. I’ve reviewed many books, and below are some of my favorites – all are perfect for growing green families too!

 

If you’re looking for some books for a family that loves to prepare food together, check out my list of green and healthy cookbooks. There are also some books around that I haven’t reviewed yet, but I have read and recommend, that will also make great gifts, such as:

Some green-minded books for the kiddos:

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/top-ecofriendly-books-green-families/feed/ 0 Tips for a less consumer-minded holiday season http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/consumerfree-holiday-season/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/consumerfree-holiday-season/#comments Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:23:45 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10403

Previously I wrote about how the winter holiday season has been over-saturated with stuff and overspending. I’ve been meaning to do a follow-up about how to combat a consumer holiday, but sorry, I got a little behind here. Life has been nuts lately. There’s still plenty of December left though and that means many chances to have a less consumer-based holiday season. Take a look at the tips below. Maybe they’ll help you have a nicer, less consumer, more family focused holiday season.

CONSUMER-FREE ESSENTIALS

Come up with a plan

The best way to combat holiday consumerism is to think things through before hand and to have a solid family focused plan in place. This is tough for a lot of us, myself included. Try discussing the issue with your family and friends early on. Talk about what sort of holiday you’d like to have, plus stuff you’ve liked or not liked about holidays past. If you need some good celebration ideas read I’m Dreaming of a Green Christmas and Celebrate Green.

Start creating traditions when your kids are young

Getting older kids to convert from a stuff-based holiday to a more activity and family focused holiday is very hard. Kids raised to value stuff over people will obviously not value holiday celebrations. Encourage kids from an early age that holidays are about hanging out with family and giving over simply getting presents. It’s best to raise kids right from the start, rather than switch it up later. Keep in mind that discussing green holidays and family-based celebrations does not take away from the magic of the season.

Convert older kids and others

If you’ve spent years celebrating gifts and stuff vs. family time, you’ll need to adjust everyone’s train of thought. Discuss how consumer-driven holidays don’t appeal anymore and discuss ways to make changes. This is one of those times that you’ll need to fess up to your child that you’ve been wrong, especially if you’ve been over-showering the holidays with gifts galore up to this point. Change can happen, but don’t expect it to happen overnight.

GO EXTREME

 

Celebrate a Buy Nothing Christmas this year.

Yup, it’s way outside the norm, but also an excellent challenge and will still be fun to boot. If this seems to extreme, at least take the 2011 Simplify the Holidays Challenge, which allows you to scale back, without scaling back entirely. Need help planning your Buy Nothing Christmas? See the following:

GREEN GIFT GIVING ESSENTIALS

First, make a budget and stick to it this year. Then, before you buy another gift, make sure you have really thought about the gift shenanigans in this country.  Once you start thinking about it, you’ll likely notice that it’s a little out of control.

  • Figure out why you give gifts: I don’t get why we choose specific holidays to give and get things. It really makes very little sense if you think about it and is a little arbitrary. Make sure you’re giving gifts that you want to give, not just giving gifts because it’s expected.
  • Consider not giving gifts at all: Celebrate another way. Will the world end? Probably not.
  • Don’t give hundreds of gifts to everyone: Just because you know someone, doesn’t mean they need a gift during the holidays. Teachers, co-workers, friends, family and more – it all adds up. Only give gifts to your immediate (IN THE HOUSE) family and see how that feels.
  • Don’t give hundreds of gifts to anyone: Kids don’t need a million gifts. No one does, but kids seem to reap the main bulk of gifts in my experience. One or two very much wanted items can easily replace 30 or 40 gifts.
  • Go thrift: It’s 100% okay to buy a gift from a thrift store. I’ve gotten many a cool item at a thrift store. Of course, not everyone agrees. In fact, check out the debate in the comments at Get Rich Slowly; but I’d bet my life that these folks are in the spend a lot more category of humans.
  • Re-gift: Some look at re-gifting as tacky. However, what’s more tacky in my opinion is a landfill full of junk that no one is using anymore. Re-gifting is not evil or even slightly bad. WHY hold onto something you’ll never, ever use? Why not give it to someone else who may like it. It’s tacky to keep all sorts of junk around your house just because you think you’ll hurt someone’s feelings or because you feel obligated to hold onto stuff. It’s much better to give an item to someone who will use it, then it is to keep it.
  • Don’t feel guilty: Tell people before hand that you’re only giving gifts to your immediate family, or just to the kids, and ask them to please not get you anything. If they still get you something, stick to your guns and don’t just rush out and buy some dumb guilt gift. If everyone on earth quit buying meaningless crap for people, think of how many resources we’d save.
  • Have a name drawing: Some families draw a name, and only give a gift to that one person. See if this could work for you.
  • If you have a baby: Ask that people don’t get your baby gifts. Babies don’t care about gifts AT ALL and yet, in my experience, they get more than anyone. Ask for free babysitting instead. That’s a gift you can actually use.
  • Just say no to gift cards: I hate gift cards as gifts under most circumstances. A gift card says, “I feel like I have to get you a gift, but I don’t know you well enough to pick one out.” Wow – why are you getting that person a gift again?  I feel like one exception is a gift card that’s necessary because it’s extra personal. For example, you know someone who likes LUSH but scented stuff is so personal that it’s tough to pick stuff out on your own. Or someone loves music but they have so much that you’re not sure what they already have, so an iTunes gift card works. Overall, though I do think that gift cards are very consumer driven gift – why not just hand out cash and be up front – i.e. say, “I have to give you a gift because the holiday mandates that I do.“

GIVE CREATIVE GIFTS THAT DON’T COST MUCH

Instead of giving expensive item gifts, try out one or more than one, of these ideas below.

  • Give mixed CDs to everyone. Make cool CD covers with art supplies you already have. If you don’t keep art supplies handy, use old magazines (25-50 cents at a thrift store) to make collage type CD covers.
  • Buy $20-30 worth of baking supplies, make cookies and chocolate covered cherries with the kids and give treat boxes, plates or baskets out.  You can easily snag a ton of recycled candy/cookie boxes on the cheap.
  • Organize someone’s photo collection for them – seriously, I totally need this gift.
  • Give coupons for free nights of babysitting, yard work or house cleaning.
  • Plant a tree in someone’s name – but take them along to do so.
  • Give gifts from around the house. Most typical American kids have lots of slightly (or never) used toys that another child might love. You can make up a box of excess art supplies for a crafty child, give an entire box of books to an avid reader or a collection of DVDs you rarely watch to a movie buff. The nice thing about giving stuff you already have is that you can usually give a little more – i.e. four used DVDs vs. one new one and it allows you to purge.
  • Give plant cuttings or saved seeds to a gardener.
  • Make a batch of homemade organic dough and make ornaments or magnets or any number of other creative things.
  • Host a dinner or lunch party, sans gifts. It’s better to hang out than give stuff.

GIVE TO OTHERS

You don’t have to give gifts to people in the family. If everyone agrees, you can all get together and make a huge impact by giving a gift (or time) to a volunteer organization. Such as…

Volunteer - Personally I’m not a fan of volunteering on holidays. Mainly because it feels false; like you’re only volunteering this day because it’s a holiday. I’d rather see, for example, people volunteering for Big Brothers & Sisters of American year round (I’ve volunteered with them in two different states, and it’s an excellent organization BTW, if you’re looking to get involved). However, you can volunteer on Christmas if you like – it’s still a nice way to give back.

Donate locally - If you donate goods or cash, I think you should donate locally whenever possible. Why? Everyone I know loves to send money overseas and you see people advocating for all sorts of charities for other countries, but we have major issues with child poverty, the environment, homeless youth and child abuse right here in the USA. Help your neighbors first, you know? Then we can better tackle other country’s issues. Plus, if you’d like to keep emissions low, it’s silly to send goods far away.In PDX, check out the following (if you’re not in PDX, see resources at the bottom of this section).

Give one, get one: If you really still need to give gifts, try the following. Last year my sister had everyone give her a pair of child’s shoes for her birthday. After the party she donated all the shoes to the local foster care system. I think this is an awesome idea that you could try for Christmas too, choosing the charity of your choice of course. You could also do a name drawing so that everyone in the family gets a gift, then have everyone bring one gift for their person and one gift for a charity of your choice, such as a toy drive.

Resources:

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/consumerfree-holiday-season/feed/ 4 Green Product Review: Bubble & Bee Organic Lotion Stick and Lip Balm http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-product-review-bubble-bee-organic-lotion-stick-lip-balm/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-product-review-bubble-bee-organic-lotion-stick-lip-balm/#comments Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:44:37 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10333

Review summary:

A sweet USDA Certified Organic lotion stick and lip balm that both kids and parents will like.

Product

USDA Certified Organic Coconut & Lime Lotion Stick and Coconut & Lime Lip Balm both from Bubble & Bee. These products also come in many other yummy flavors, such as raspberry, peppermint cocoa, apple, orange, root beer, pomegranate, lavender, unscented and more.

Use

Use the lotion stick to heal and moisturize dry, chapped skin plus make your skin feel velvety-smooth. The USDA-certified organic, lip balm goes on smooth and cocoa butter, sunflower oil and beeswax heal and moisturize chapped lips year-round.

Cost

An affordable $2.99 for the lip balm and $7.95 for the lotion stick. There’s also a great deal on a Mini Gift Set, where you can get both a lotion stick and lip balm for $9.99.

Ingredients

Lotion stick: Organic beeswax, organic cocoa butter, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic sweet almond oil, organic lime essential oil, certified organic coconut extract.

Lip balm: Organic sunflower oil, organic cocoa butter, organic beeswax, organic coconut flavor, organic lime flavor, organic lime essential oil, stevia.

Eco-perks

For more information on the eco-perks of Bubble & Bee Organic, please read my Bubble & Bee Organic company review, which discusses ingredients used, green policies, eco-benefits and other information about the company. Other than a non-updated blog, this company had seemingly zero cons and I gave them 5 out of 5 trees, a perfect score.

My reviewers:

Cedar (age 10) and myself.

What we thought of these products

Honestly, I’ve been meaning to review these products forever, but my ten-year-old son Cedar kept stealing these products from under my nose and taking them to school. Meaning the products haven’t been with me, but my son, who oddly doesn’t want to write my blog posts for me.

The fact that Cedar is a fan is a big deal. Cedar has sensitive skin and eczema. If he doesn’t use lotion and lip balm he’ll get dry patches and break out, especially during the winter. The problem here is that he’s a ten-year-old boy. He’s VERY anti lotion and lip balm, because he thinks most are too girly. For example, he won’t use this pomegranate lip balm I have because it’s red – it doesn’t make your lips red, it’s just colored with fruit, thus red, but he refuses to use it. He also hates “weird” smelling lotion and anything with overly cute packaging.

However, he LOVES the Bubble & Bee coconut & lime collection. One, the products themselves are a non-girly light green color and the scent is tropical and very lime-based. He’ll eat whole limes if you let him, so he’s really into this stuff. The packaging, while attractive and cute in my opinion, is not, apparently, too cute for a ten-year-old boy. He’s just fine taking these and using these at school in front of all his guy pals.

Here are some of the benefits we’ve seen:

  • The lotion goes on smooth and the lip balm goes on amazingly smooth with NO waxy feeling whatsoever.
  • The carry along solid lotion stick is packed with product, (no water added) and yet fits in a tiny tube that you can carry in your pocket or purse. It’s very travel-friendly.
  • The scent is awesome. I’m not a huge coconut fan, but this scent is more lime and we both agree it smells great. It’s a perfect scent for boys or girls. I took the lotion stick to a family dinner, passed it around, and everyone said it smelled great.
  • The lip balm is sooooo smooth. I love that it’s so concentrated and it really lasts on your lips for a while, as compared to other other, less long-lasting lip balms we’ve tried.
  • My son hates getting his hands messy with lotion, and thus, these lotion sticks are the perfect solution. You never have to dip in or touch the actual lotion, just hold the container and rub it on.
  • Both products are VERY long lasting, I’m guessing, because they’re so concentrated. We’ve had these forever and they still have product in them.

Any cons?

While I do like solid lotion sticks and other solid lotion products, I don’t often use them because they’re time consuming. They take longer to use than say, a pump lotion or cream. I feel like Bubble & Bee lotion sticks are good for a quick moisturizer on the go, but not great for overall use in the morning after your shower. If I went with a lotion stick, I’d choose Silky Soy Moisture Bar instead, although the Silky Bars aren’t certified organic, which is a downside.

My son would choose this Bubble & Bee lotion though. My son like the lotion stick a little more than I did, maybe because there’s less of him to lotion. I also thought the lotion didn’t last as long as other lotions, once on your skin, but again, my son thought it worked great.

Overall score:

4.5 out of 5 little trees. I scored these down half a point because I didn’t think the lotion stick was a realistic all body type lotion and it didn’t seem to last as long after putting it on. However, my son is a huge fan and he noted that there are no cons for him. Overall, these are awesomely scented products that we think most people in your family will love. Bonus, Bubble & Bee offers affordable, not outrageously priced organics.

Learn more:

See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-product-review-bubble-bee-organic-lotion-stick-lip-balm/feed/ 0 Green Product Review: Artterro Wool Felt Bug Kit http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-product-review-artterro-wool-felt-bug-kit/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-product-review-artterro-wool-felt-bug-kit/#comments Thu, 08 Dec 2011 18:53:32 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10247

Review summary:

An excellent buggy art kit that requires almost zero parent help – although, you’ll probably want to make a bug too!
art kits, Artterro, children’s crafts, crafts for kids, eco crafts, green art project, green crafts, Green Family, green holiday gift, green product reviews

Product:

Artterro Wool Felt Bug Kit

Use:

Crafty buggy fun for creative kids – and even adults.

Cost: 

An affordable $19.95 at Amazon or at the Artterro online shop.

Eco-perks:

For more information on the eco-perks of these art kits, please read my Artterro company review, which discusses materials, eco-benefits and other stuff about the company. With only very minor cons, I gave this company 5 out of 5 trees, a perfect score. I’ve also reviewed three other Artterro Kits – Collage Jewelry Kit, Creativity Kit and Paint With Wool Portrait Kit. Read that review.

art kits, Artterro, children’s crafts, crafts for kids, eco crafts, green art project, green crafts, Green Family, green holiday gift, green product reviews

Oh, since those previous reviews, Artterro has added some more green practices to their company though. For example, before, Artterro kits came in reusable bags. Now they come in recycled boxes that can be re-purposed by your child, by turning the box into a frame for finished artwork. There’s still a re-sealable plastic bag is perfect for storing extra materials after doing a project.

My reviewers:

Cedar (age 10), Katana (age 13) and myself.

What’s included:

This new bug kit is perfect for kids ages 7 and up and includes: Natural 100% wool felt shapes, glass beads, wooden beads, sequins, ribbon, craft thread, needles and ideas sheet. There are enough supplies included for 7 fuzzy art bugs. You simply provide scissors and glue, and you’re ready to make a bug world.

What we thought of the Wool Felt Bug Kit:

I wasn’t sure how the kids would take an art kit about bugs, but they both thought it was adorable and fun. Both were super excited when I pulled it out, tossing around words like, “Cool!” I thought it was one of the more creative kits I’ve seen from Artterro. The kit contains plenty of colorful wool felt, which as it turns out makes the most delightful little one-of-a-kind creepy-crawly friends. The Ribbon and beads that were included made great wings, eyes and antennae for our bugs.


The kids especially LOVED the bonus recycled box project – i.e. you can turn your product box into a frame for your finished artwork. My kids decided to use it to make a little bug world to house their bugs. They’ve been working on it slowly, but as you can see above, it’s coming along well and is totally cute. The kids added some art supplies from around the house to make a nighttime bug world. I thought the new box feature was especially creative and a great idea on Artterro’s part.

The kids didn’t need too much help with this kit, but did need a little help figuring out antennae. Some of the little wool balls were hard to attach antennae to and so the kids ended up getting pretty creative with glue and using a needle to make tiny holes first. So far, both kids have made a couple bugs that are so cute, but there are enough supplies for them to make more, so this is a great project for a couple of rainy days.




Overall score:

art kits, Artterro, children’s crafts, crafts for kids, eco crafts, green art project, green crafts, Green Family, green holiday gift, green product reviews

5 out of 5 little trees. Both kids, loved this kit, so I’d say it’s a good choice for boys and girls. Plus, unlike some art projects, this one was almost entirely hands-off on my part, meaning it kept the kids busy without me having to hang around and help out. Also, the new awesome box feature adds a whole other dimension to these kits and really got the kids thinking about what they could do to dress the box up.

Neither kid mentioned any cons about this kit and both said they’d highly recommend this for any other kids. I think these kits, the bug or other Artterro kits will make a wonderful and totally affordable eco-friendly holiday or birthday gift too.

If bugs aren’t your deal, Artterro has many other available kits:

Learn more:

See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-product-review-artterro-wool-felt-bug-kit/feed/ 0 Green Company Review: Bubble & Bee Organic http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-company-review-bubble-bee-organic/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-company-review-bubble-bee-organic/#comments Wed, 07 Dec 2011 19:47:25 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10216

Bubble & Bee is an excellent green company with affordable organic products that everyone in your family will love.

BASICS:

Bubble & Bee Organic was founded by Stephanie Greenwood, who started investigating chemicals in her personal care products, such as parabens, phthalates, and artificial fragrance at the age of 26. After learning that  many (most) body care products contain hidden icky ingredients, she decided to make her own products using healthier, organic ingredients.

After some experimentation, Greenwood enlisted the help of a chemist friend to help her refine her formulas, and soon she had a vast repertoire of her own products including soaps, shampoos, lip balms and deodorants for her family. Thinking people other than her family might enjoy the products, she partnered up with a business partner and Bubble & Bee Organic was officially born.

The current mission of B&B Organic is to sell quality organic and safe products and also to inform others about the importance of staying away from the dangerous chemicals in conventional products.

PRODUCTS:

Bubble & Bee Organic offers an enormous range of body care products. In fact, maybe all the products you’ll ever need to stay clean and smooth. Check out their amazing range in the slideshow below…




Not shown in the slideshow – they also carry organic hair care, organic insect repellent, salt scrubs and more.

COMPANY SUSTAINABILITY PERKS:

Peppermint Vanilla Salt Scrub

  • Bubble & Bee Organic is a certified organic processing facility, certified by the Utah State Department of Agriculture and Food.
  • Recycled all excess packaging that comes to them as much as possible.
  • Uses only recyclable or reuseable materials for all product containers and packaging, such as post-consumer recycled PET plastic.
  • Currently exploring the option of solar or wind power for their facility.
  • When the company runs out of reusable packaging materials, they buy recycled newsprint roll ends from their local newspaper press.
  • The company is cruelty-free - meaning, zero animal testing.
  • Most of their products are free from parabens, propylene glycol, ethoxylated compounds, aluminum, SLS, “fragrance,” artificial colors, micas, oxides, DEA, TEA, Urea and other harmful substances.
  • They offer a helpful archive of articles about harmful chemicals in body care products – thus educating customers.
  • Every single product on their site is clearly marked “organic” or not, and offers full usage and ingredients info, so you won’t be tricked or buy something you don’t want.

OTHER COMPANY PERKS:

  • Unopened package return policy.
  • Online shop - no searching all over for their products!
  • The fact that they’re trying to combat the whole toxic deodorant issue is HUGE. Conventional deodorant is a big bad when it comes to toxins, and yet, of all the “natural” and organic deodorants I’ve tried NONE have worked very well. Now, I haven’t tried their deodorants, but, the mere fact that they offer a gigantic range means you’re more likely to find a non-toxic deodorant to suit you.
  • Many products come in tiny sizes that easily slip into a purse or bag or even a pocket. For example their nice lotion sticks allow for organic-on-the-go ease!
  • Adorable packaging, but not so sticky sweet that you couldn’t give these products to a “manly man”. Plus, all ingredients and labels are clearly laid out on their packaging, even on their smallest products.
  • Their product range is appealing to women, men and kids (as you’ll see in my soon to come organic lotion stick and lip balm review). Many organic companies only make products for one type of consumer, but not B&B.
  • Large range of product scents – a perk because it’s hard to find a favorite. For scent-sensitive individuals, there are fragrance-free options as well.
  • Clearly laid out website that’s easy as pie to navigate.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY PRICES:

I think this company’s prices are excellent. Nothing is overly expensive for the average family in my opinion and because many of their products are concentrated, you’re getting a killer deal. Plus the company offers trial sizes of many products, allowing you to spend less to find your favorites. Their higher priced products are comparable to other organic companies, except keep in mind that many so called organic companies up their prices on “natural” not organic products. I’ve highlighted three awesome deal examples below:

Mini Gift Kit

Regular shipping is never more than $6.00 and they have special shipping offers too, such as FREE shipping for sales over $99.00.

COMPANY CONS:

Honestly, I looked and looked and found no cons (unless you consider a non-updated blog a con). This is an excellent company that’s 100%  forthcoming and as healthy as possible.

OVERALL SCORE:

5 out of 5 little trees. This is not a 100% organic company, but they pass my organic fakers test – meaning they don’t say, “Hey this is organic” when a product is clearly not. VERY few companies are selling honest organics, so this is a huge perk.

Organic integrity, partnered with affordable prices, a wide range of products and clear green practices make this a wonderful eco-company to spend your dollars with. No tricks; just lots of awesome body care treats.

LEARN MORE:

See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-company-review-bubble-bee-organic/feed/ 0 Christmas consumerism and spending is out of control http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/christmas-consumerism-spending-control/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/christmas-consumerism-spending-control/#comments Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:58:46 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10125

Here are some consumer holiday spending facts to ponder…

In 2010 consumers spent an estimated $648 million on Black Friday. This year, according to ComScore, consumers spent a whopping $816 million online alone, making Black Friday the heaviest spending day on the Internet so far in 2011. That’s a Black Friday sales increase of about 26% since last year.

However, all the shopping madness wasn’t over on Black Friday. Last year, Cyber Monday sales reached an all time high of $1.028 billion, and Forbes originally estimated that the current trend would hold, thus, this year’s sales would increase. Forbes was right on the money. MarketLive, Inc., the leading provider of enterprise-class eCommerce technology and services, just announced that 2011 Cyber Monday revenue increased 26 percent over last year. According to comScore, this year’s Cyber Monday was the biggest online spending day in history, with revenues of $1.25 billion in the United States.

On top of that… Consumer Reports notes that not only do shoppers spend more than they plan on these mega shopping days, but 45% of Americans who made a budget last year exceeded it and about 14.1 million adults are still carrying debt from the 2010 holiday season.

TOTAL INSANITY! 

The National Retail Federation forecasts that the average American will spend around $700+ on holiday shopping in 2011, and those figures are likely low, since every year many consumers go well over budget. In any case, this is completely unnecessary. Plus keep in mind that these statistics are regarding individuals, not families. Typically, in a family with two parents, research says they’ll BOTH spend that average $700+, so in reality many two-parent families are spending anywhere from $1,400 to $2,000 a year on Christmas. Worst of all, most of this money isn’t even going toward an eco-friendly holiday.

How much I spent in 2010

Last year, I tracked my spending carefully, and I spent about $250 on everything Christmas related, including gifts, food, decor and everything else. Keep in mind that except for one item (Legos), all the gifts I gave were eco-friendly too, so the whole idea of having to spend more for a green holiday is bunk. Had I gotten my act together and made some homemade gifts, I’d have spent even less. This year, my goal is to have a fun holiday while spending even less $.

This isn’t about hating on Christmas

This isn’t about being a Grinch and killing Christmas dreams. I like Christmas as much as anyone. However, I don’t like how it’s become so commercial, so stuff oriented and less about family celebrations.  I’m also not advocating a perfectly stuff-free Christmas. Gifts are nice, it’s all the excessive behavior that gets me. I think consumer holidays are especially detrimental to kids and I also think you can have both gifts and family time without all the super greedy consumerism issues.

* 50 ideas about how to have a nicer, less consumer, more family focused Christmas (coming soon)

Lead image via Flickr user jbhthescots

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/christmas-consumerism-spending-control/feed/ 5 Common behaviors and problems of kids obsessed with stuff http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/spoiled-consumer-minded-kids/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/spoiled-consumer-minded-kids/#comments Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:00:00 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10104

Consumer-driven holidays and kids who are more concerned with stuff than other people seem to have become more commonplace in recent years. Research shows that I’m not the only one bothered by such behavior either. Many surveys show that a large majority of people think that more kids in general, or their own kids in particular, act too spoiled and materialistic.

That said, I think consumerism + kids is an important issue to share facts about, especially for parents interested in raising kids who value more than  stuff. So, here are some facts about the growing problem of materialistic behavior in kids.

Photo © Flickr user James Ellsworth

Kids are getting more selfish and becoming compulsive consumers

You may not like it, or want to admit that materialistic, spoiled kids are a problem, but research shows that this is a very real and growing problem, both here in the U.S. and elsewhere.

  • National surveys show most parents feel like they’re raising overly selfish kids. 80% of respondents in a recent AOL/Time Warner poll said kids in America are more spoiled than kids of ten or fifteen years ago, while 2/3 of all parents admitted that their kids are indeed too spoiled. 
  • A study in the spring of 2007 reported an increase of narcissism (caring much more about oneself than others) of 30% over the past twenty years.
  • According to a national survey commissioned by the Center for a New American Dream, American children aged 12 to 17 will ask their parents for products they have seen advertised an average of nine times until the parents finally give in, with 55% of kids saying their parents will eventually give in. Worse, among 12- to 13-year-olds, 62% say that buying certain products makes them feel better about themselves.
  • University of Arizona marketing researcher Lan Nguyen Chaplin notes that adolescents today have been characterized as the most materialistic generation in history.
  • When Dan Kindlon, author of Too Much of a Good Thing, interviewed more than 1,000 parents, and roughly 650 teenagers, he found that 60% of parents thought their kids were spoiled, and 15% of the teens themselves said they were spoiled.
  • A survey by the Millward Brown global market research agency shows that 8- to 12-year-olds in America are more materialistic than anywhere else in the world. 75 % desire to be “rich,” and kids here in the U.S. are more likely to believe that their clothes and brands describe who they are and define their social status.
  • Commercial Free Childhood notes that a national survey by Consumer Focus found that 63% of parents believed that their children define their self-worth in terms of what they own.
  • Commercial Free Childhood also notes that over half of children surveyed say they would be happier if they had more money to buy more things for themselves. Nearly that many say the only kind of job they want when they grow up is one that pays a lot.
  • Parents are more and more frequently basing their worth as parents on the stuff they can afford to buy vs.the lessons and time they impart. For example, a major UNICEF study shows that many parents have trapped themselves, and their children in a cycle of “compulsive consumerism.” As another, fairly horrifying example, here’s one mother’s account of how, although she earns fair wages and owns two homes, she’s super worried about being able to afford the luxury holiday her kids deserve. This mom goes on to wish that she could do things differently, and have a less-stuffed based holiday but worries that her kids can’t handle less gifts at Christmas and won’t like her anymore if she fails to buy plenty of gifts.
  • Research shows that kids under 14 years of age spend about $40 billion annually on material goods, while teens spend about $159 billion a year – most of it, their parents money.

What’s wrong with kids who are materialistic?

It’s the American dream to want more right. If that’s true, then what’s so wrong with being materialistic and having lots of stuff? A lot as it turns out.

  • Researchers on a major study about selfishness noted that narcissistic individuals are more likely to be overcontrolling and exhibit violent behaviors and dishonesty than less narcissistic folks. Research also shows that materialistic kids are less happy, more prone to depression, have lower self-esteem and report more symptoms of anxiety.
  • Kids who are overly materialistic tend to engage in fewer positive environmental behaviors such as reusing paper, and using less water while showering.
  • During one study, researchers presented kids with a pretend windfall of cash.  The more materialistic children exhibited less generosity and said they’d allocate less money to charity than kids less concerned with stuff.
  • Lastly, plenty of research shows that selfish, consumer-driven kids cause family stress, sibling stress and parental stress.

Plus there’s behavioral issues

As George Cohen, MD, a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ committee on the psychosocial aspects of child and family health, points out, “What’s spoiled for one parent may not be for another.” However, there are clearly some recognizable poor behaviors associated with overly consumer-minded kids.

Below are some behaviors of materialistic kids that I’ve noticed, plus some selfishness traits that researchers and other parents on the web have pointed out…

  • Making huge wish-lists of gifts for holiday events that aren’t negotiable.
  • Buying stuff impulsively without giving purchases any thought.
  • Placing value on what things cost, not the thought of the gift.
  • Breaking or loosing stuff they own without regret.
  • Zero expectations of having to help cover the costs of new items.
  • Nagging parents over and over about specific products.
  • Not willing to help out without being paid or bribed – say with chores.
  • Stealing – studies show stealing is much more common among selfish kids than other kids.
  • Not saying thank you when they receive a gift.
  • Getting angry when things don’t go their way.
  • Lack of respect for parents, family, friends and so on, unless they’re out to get something.
  • Not getting others gifts of their own accord – having to be nagged to give.
  • Often acts jealous of what others have.
  • Acting entitled to everything they want and not acting gracious.
  • Low self-esteem or placing worth on stuff they own.
  • Saying stuff like, “Is that all I get?” or “How come so and so got more presents than I did?“
  • Complaining about the gifts they get behind someone’s back or literally to their face.
  • Making fun of people who get them, “shoddy gifts” or “cheap gifts.“
  • Not spending time with others on holidays other than to collect gifts.
  • Putting their own needs before others at most or all times.
  • Disinterest in any holiday event than involves activity or family time.
  • Having a disposable mentality – i.e. so what if stuff breaks, you can always get more.

This affects how kids are treated by others too

No one wants to be around a kid who acts this way. Behavior like this is especially frustrating around the holidays, but can be annoying year-round too. A poor outcome of allowing a kid to act like this is that their behaviors do keep others at a distance. Additonally, if a child is raised in such a way that consumerism and selfish behaviors are okay, they may believe these traits are perfectly fine for the rest of their life.

This is a huge disadvantage to your kids

Some parents think that they’re helping their kids by giving them a million gifts and fulfilling their every holiday or life whim. But these aren’t good parenting practices.

Holidays are supposed to be magical and fun. When you allow holidays to become all about stuff and greed they’re no longer magical, surprising or fun for anyone.

Seriously, what’s the point of all this stuff? Excess stuff simply 100% hardens kids against any sort of real holiday or life meaning beyond having more, more, more. Kid who fail to see meaning in family or celebration beyond what they can get, will likely pass these traits on to their own future children, thus ensuring that a nice cycle of commercial, consumerism driven behavior will continue.

Coming up I’ll have some tips about how have a less consumer driven holiday (and life). For now, if you need tips about how to stop this sort of madness, read the following:

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/spoiled-consumer-minded-kids/feed/ 2 Saving $50,000 in five years by going green: round-up of money saving green practices http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/saving-50000-years-green-roundup-money-saving-green-practices/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/saving-50000-years-green-roundup-money-saving-green-practices/#comments Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:49:35 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=10086

I’m working on an ongoing series here about how to save money by going green – “Live green and save $50,000 in five years“. The point of this series is to find out if the average family of four can save $50,000 in five years, simply by initiating green practices into their lifestyle.

However, it’s been tough going tracking these costs. So, I figured I’d do a little round-up post and keep it updated here. If you want to follow along, bookmark this post so you can return as the savings add up. Don’t forget, if you have more or less than four family members, savings will vary.

How to save $50,000 in five years by going green

TOTAL SAVINGS SO FAR: $17,121.00

$ left to save: $32,879

If you’ve got any questions or comments about this series, or if you have a green practice you’d like me to consider, leave a comment below.

]]> http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/saving-50000-years-green-roundup-money-saving-green-practices/feed/ 3 Green Company Review: PlanToys http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-company-review-plan-toys/ http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/green-company-review-plan-toys/#comments Sun, 06 Nov 2011 22:00:20 +0000 Jennifer Chait http://www.growingagreenfamily.com/?p=9665

PlanToys is an excellent family-friendly, green and ethical toy company with almost zero cons.

BASICS:

I’m always talking about PlanToys, so I figured it was high-time I did a full company review. PlanToys was founded in 1981 and notes the following, “We create toys that inspire children’s imagination as well as promote their physical and intellectual development. We’re also proving that it is possible to maintain superior quality standards while steadfastly following a path of environmental and social responsibility.”

PRODUCTS:

As you may have guessed, PlanToys, makes, well, toys. Currently they offer toys in the following categories…




PlanToys has also recently launched Plan Education, an organization designed to complement educational programs via ideas, lesson plans, activities and play-centered learning tools.

COMPANY SUSTAINABILITY PERKS:

PlanToys has almost too many sustainable perks to count, but let’s try…

  • All PlanToys are made with clean, natural rubberwood from rubber trees which no longer produce latex. None of the wood is chemically treated. To keep the rubberwood pure, no fertilizer is added to the soil for three years before the trees are cut. To strengthen the wood, PlanToys uses a special chemical-free kiln drying process.
  • Water-based colors that are safe for children are used to color all toys.
  • The PlanToys teams uses a special certified E-Zero glue in place of traditional toxic wood glue. This non-formaldehyde glue, which is non-toxic and totally free from unhealthy formaldehyde emissions is used to assemble all toys.
  • An ongoing reforestation program is in place.
  • PlanToys products are free from dyes containing lead or any other heavy metals.
  • Recycled and recyclable materials are used when possible to minimize impact on the environment.
  • Soy and water-based inks are used on all printed materials.
  • PlanToys packaging has been specially designed to optimize packaging materials in order to minimize storage, increase shipping efficiency and help with waste reduction.
  • Solar energy and low emission bio-fuels are used to power the machinery that kiln-dries the wood and the finished toys.
  • Biomass is also used in the curing and plywood molding process. This form of energy helps reduce electricity usage and waste. The company plans to be using a Biomass Steam Turbine Generator soon.

 

OTHER COMPANY PERKS:

PlanToys meets SA 8000 (Social Accountability Management) industry standards set by Social Accountability Accreditation Services (SAAS). SAAS is an accreditation agency founded to accredit and monitor organizations as certifiers of compliance with social standards, including ethical working conditions.

This means that PlanToys follows rules that help improve working conditions, based on the principles of thirteen international human rights conventions, including eight core elements – health and safety, working hours, child labor, forced labor, discrimination, freedom of association and collective bargaining, wages and discipline.

Also, their website is well laid out and offers plenty of easy to access product info for parents.

FAMILY-FRIENDLY PRICES:

Some feel that Plan Toys are too expensive. I disagree. While some of their larger items do cost more, they also offer a good amount of smaller, less expensive, yet still awesome items. For example, the toys below:

As you can see, PlanToys offers many items under $20 and even has affordable green dollhouse choices.

Plus, honestly, you can buy cheaper toys, but they won’t be as safe or ethically made. Quality costs more, as it should.

COMPANY CONS:

No dedicated online shop, which I like to see. However, they make it easy to find retailers, and you can now find PlanToys just about everywhere.

OVERALL SCORE:


5 out of 5 little trees. I know, PlanToys seems so perfect that you wonder what skeletons are hiding in their closet. However, other than some customers who dislike specific toys (via toy reviews) I couldn’t dig up any dirt on this company. They seem to be utterly on the up and up, both on eco and ethical level. Plus, their products are beautiful, fun, developmentally appropriate and affordable. There’s not much more you could ask for in a toy company.

LEARN MORE:

See my green product rating system and green product rating criteria or read more green product reviews.

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