The school uniform of choice for tweens and teens is pretty simple: a T-shirt and jeans (or anything denim).

For the student who is a humanitarian or environmentally oriented, we’ve collected a line-up of Ts that are not just made of organic materials and under fair-trade conditions – they carry messages of support for Earth-friendly concerns.

• Common Threadz is a non-profit group working to aid orphans and vulnerable children in Africa. Every T-shirt purchase helps the group pay for a school uniform or food. Check out Orphan Collection – Ts designed by the African children, complete with a picture and some information about each child. In one, Wandile Dindi of South Africa (above, left) displays his design for a T-shirt (above, right). The site provides information about each child. For Wandile: ”His father has passed and his mother is unemployed and cannot support him. . . .” The Orphan T-shirts range from kids sizes ($29) through adult ($38 for women’s and $44 for men’s).

• The World of Good site on eBay offers thousands of items – from art to musical instruments – that are handmade, fair trade and “ethically sourced.” That means lots of holistic T-shirts. Examples: “Make Tea Not War” organic cotton, by The Greater Green, for $22; or a guy’s “Fight Globally” shirt, $28, (right) by AutonomieProject.

• Seattle-based Greenloop features lots of eco-friendly Ts. Everything they sell is made of natural or recycled material, and they say they buy from environmentally friendly and fair labor shops. Project Green Label has a cute Earthy statement on their organic cotton T-shirt ($38), and Andira’s pretty “Rain Forest” sky blue shirt ($38) is graphically pleasing.
  For guys, Sub_Urban Riot makes an energy statement with an organic T festooned with graphic wind turbines ($34). Green Label Organic has a funny “tree mugger” picture (left) on their green ring-spun organic cotton T for $30.

• If artistic and handmade items are what your tween or teen prefer, Etsy is a great place to shop. The site allows creative artisans and designers around the world a place to sell their singular wares. Among their green-statement Ts, the “Peace, Love and a (picture of a bicycle)” ($26) would suit either sex, young or old. It’s made by Lofty Mornings. A flat-out statement of self may suit your student: “100% Ethical” (at left) is the message on a plain white T made of un-dyed organic cotton. The T Shirt Project creation is only $14.
  An environmental message – “In the trees I do believe” – is front and center on Perusha People’s T-shirts for men and women ($23).
  GreenWorks’ “Organic Couture” shirt ($26) is a flashy T for girls. They point out that the graphic’s ink is low-impact and water-based.
  Another commentary – “Local is beautiful” – adorns Rectangle Design’s T ($24). Kitten In The Engine offers up a lengthy statement of our environmental needs (It starts with “It is too bad that we messed things up . . . “) on their organic ring-spun cotton shirt ($24).

• HinixTees has a lovely lineup of women’s earth-oriented T-shirts, such as the “Back to Roots” burnout organic option for $20 (at right). Many of their selections are selling quickly, so check it out fast.

• At California Rising’s website, there are plenty of trendy green messages on men’s T-shirts, although at $65 they’re a bit pricey.

• Edun is a popular clothing line aimed at providing sustainable work for people in developing countries. A guy’s V-neck shirt features the company’s “Freedom Respect” message for $50 (that’s a reduced price). The shirt is made in Uganda.

• If you’re a girl with Zen-like leanings, the Om Girl Freedom Buddha T-shirt of organic cotton at Vickerey will make your mindfulness known (for $44). Students who have opted to stop eating meat will love the Herbivore line, including their uni-sex “Herbivore for Life” shirt (at right, $23).

• Subtle, simple holistic messages (such as “Today matters”) are on Buy Green’s scoop-neck girls’ bamboo/organic cotton T-shirts, on sale for $29. Made by Tees for Change, the shirts are made with low-impact dyes, water-based inks, and are sweatshop-free (they’re made in Turkey).

• Oh Buggy’s line of organic Ts are hot-sellers. They are selling out quickly, but you can still grab the Pandamonium shirt for guys or girls (it’s a “mini-commentary” on the destruction of pandas’ natural habitats) for $30 (below, left).

• And girls will find short- and long-sleeved Ts and tanks that sport their favorite eco-foundation logo at PositiviTee. The company sends 10 percent of the cost of the shirts to their matching charities. For example, the tangerine T with a swinging chimp supports the Jane Goodall Institute and the turquoise shirt with fish benefits Greenpeace. (below, right; $48.95)

Copyright © 2008 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Those pretty knick-knacks and decorative items around your home likely have a history. There’s the crystal bowl that was an anniversary gift from a dear friend, or the candleholder your mom gave you before she died — they all hold great significance.

We’ve found 20 lovely decorative items with their own stories. Our picks come from far-flung nations or close to home, made by fair-trade artisans or creative artists using recycled, natural materials. Take a moment to shop our selections. (Most of the websites selling these goodies have lots of other green items to check out.)

1. A colorful swirl basket from Uganda: This handmade basket, above, is made with coils of natural banana fiber by women in rural Uganda. It’s 15″ wide and 3″ deep, with a loop for hanging. The money you pay goes to employment and training for disadvantaged women, children, the disabled and those with HIV/AIDS. It’s very wallet-friendly, too, at $4.95 from World of Good at eBay.

2. A detailed retabolo photo frame: Artist Alejandro Chavez of Peru hand-makes these Andean life folk art dioramas (above) reflective of life in his country. The lower panel of this one, for example, re-creates a colorful Andean feast. It’s $34, also from World of Good.

eBay announced this week that it will pave the way for eco-conscious consumers with a new marketplace dubbed “WorldofGood.com by eBay”. Designed to help shoppers find green and socially responsible products, the new shopping site will feature items made from recycled materials, organic raw goods and artisan wares produced by people in developing nations.

The partnership between the world’s largest online marketplace and World of Good, Inc., a start-up that aims to bring ethically produced goods to retailers, makes a certain sense.

Much of what is already sold on eBay are used items being launched into a second or third reincarnation, prolonging their life and diverting them from the landfill. Of course, eBay has evolved to include an array of stores selling new items as well, and this move will add another dimension with a bit of irony: Many of the new earth-friendly products on WorldofGood will be first-use products, potentially shinier and newer than that the yellowed, scratched or nicked household gadgets and toys boomeranging around the 24/7 digital garage sale.

Still, eBay, a Silicon Valley Internet success story founded in 1995, will be accomplishing something that may vex other businesses at this time of green growth and introspection: The giant purveyor of personal commerce will be expanding their offerings, but not in an ostentatiously consumptive way.

The WorldofGood site will divide products into “People Positive” and “Eco Positive” items, spreading them around in 15 categories, like jewelry, clothing, food, and offering products increasingly demanded by consumers, such as fair trade coffee and animal-friendly beauty products.

The website also will employ a label for each product – a Goodprint – that helps explain how good it really is and in what ways. It will tag products for empowering local people, conserving energy or being made of recycled materials.

“We created the WorldofGood.com marketplace to enable shoppers to purchase socially responsible products with confidence,” said Robert Chatwani, general manager of WorldofGood.com by eBay, in a news release. “Regardless of the social causes most important to consumers, they can easily shop for items according to a variety of different attributes, allowing them to customize their shopping impact.”

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media