This Father’s Day go green and sustainable with gifts that support eco-friendly clothing, are made with recycled products or help de-toxify dad’s bath and body routine.

• Whether dad is a rugged outdoorsman or just likes to trek around the ‘hood and occasionally go off-road, he might appreciate these Finn Vegan Hiking Shoes by Patagonia. Made without any animal by-products, they’re topped by a breathable mesh and have a footbed composed of 70 percent recycled foam containing carbon and cork bits to wick moisture and control odor. (Making for a lighter footprint!). The insole board is made from recycled polyethylene and the patented “Vibram Ecostep” outsole is composed of up to 30 percent recycled scrap rubber. Patagonia has been producing green clothing and gear for many years, so these shoes are backed by eco-experience that newer green shoemakers are still acquiring. About $100 at Zappos, which carries many more vegan shoes.

• Exercise is good, but so is relaxation. Any pop would like to hang out on this Envirorope Double Hammock, made from recycled soda bottles. It’s available at Greenfeet, which promises that the Envirope is “softer than virgin polyester and shares the same durability”. It’s mildew- and UV-resistant and measures a generous 5 feet x 7 feet, with an overall length of 13 1/2 feet. So no surprise that it is listed as capable of holding up to 450 pounds for familial group naps (you’ll have to figure out how your family adds up). The Envirorope Double Hammock is made in the USA and the spreader bars are white oak from second growth Virginia trees. $134.95 at Greenfeet, which also sells other hammocks, including a single hammock made of hemp.

• What is it about electronics and guys? They seem perpetually delighted with the latest blinking gadget. This year try giving dad a way to power his gadgets, his iPhone or iPod or handheld game devices, with a Solio Classic Hybrid Solar Charger. The Solio is compact and green, collecting power from the sun to recharge small electronics. A fully charged Solio is listed as able to recharge the average phone once and perhaps twice, or power 15 hours of MP3 music. (The rough calculation is 15 minutes of talk time or 40 minutes of music for one-hour of sun charging time.) You charge at about the same rate of speed as if the gadget were plugged into the wall, except there’s no “charge” because solar energy is free! Great for outdoor excursions, or just use a clear, sunny windowsill to collect the rays. The Solio comes with adaptor tips to fit iPhones, Samsung, Sony-Ericson, Nokia and LG phones and devices. Available many places, including at Green Home for $95.00 

• Get dad started on natural body products with this new Burt’s Bees Men’s Natural Grooming Kit, containing a small body wash, soap bar, sponge, lip balm and aftershave. Good Guide gives Burts Bees products an 8.2 rating, on a scale of 10, for health and social responsibility criteria and notes that the company is a member of Safe Cosmetics and on PETA’s “no animal testing” list. As for the actual ingredients, the Burt’s website lists the ingredients of each product. The body wash, for instance, relies on coconut, citrus and sunflower oils and contains no parabens, phthalates or synthetic fragrances.  $19.99 at Target. Get bigger portions by buying the 12 oz. bottle of  Natural Skin Care for Men Body Wash or the Natural Skin Care Shaving Cream, 6 oz.  These retail for $8 each and are available at many stores.

• Improving the wardrobe — always a good bet and often, necessary. Combine practicality and fun by treating padre to an upscale Loomstate Organic Cotton T-shirt with arty graphics. Loomstate, a collaboration between designers Rogan Gregory and Scott Mackinlay Hahn created in 2004 to create demand for responsibly made, organic cotton clothing, does it better than just about anyone. Check out this breezy “Peace Signs” SS Crew Tee, with whirring wind turbines. It’s $54 at the Loomstate website and there are plenty other designs to choose from.  Loomstate T-shirts, hoodies and shorts are also available at Barneys New York and other retailers.

Copyright © 2009 Green Right Now | Distributed by Noofangle Media

• Aramark — cuts print waste with better devices, software
• Burt’s Bees — undergoes green IT makeover
• California Academy of Sciences — reaps efficiencies through network convergence
• California State University East Bay — turns to green tech to fend off power crisis
• Con-way Freight — slashes annual fuel consumption by 4.9 million gallons
• Digital Realty Trust — sets new standard for green datacenter design
• GlaxoSmithKline — sheds nearly 6 tons of e-waste
• HD Supply — achieves ecodreams through array of green-tech initiatives
• Intel — finds significant savings by pushing the limits of free cooling
• Niagara Catholic School District — turns to e-docs to cut paper and transport costs
• Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — proves just how smart a smart grid can be
• Procter & Gamble — finds a green alternative to travel in telepresence
• Raytheon — reaps green success from sowing sustainability seeds
• U.S. Navy — enlists virtualization to supercharge sprawling intranet
• U.S. Postal Service — taps optimization software to slash transportation costs

After the Environmental Working Group released research on toxins in beauty products showing that teen girls could be especially vulnerable (see our blog), we took a closer look at alternative beauty supplies. These products opt for botanicals and other natural and organic ingredients over the suspect synthetic chemicals — phthalates, parabens and made-made fragrances — that can lurk in your body butter and play games with your hormone or immune system.

The happy news: Natural products are gaining ground in stores. We found everything listed below at Main Street outlets like Target, Walgreens, Ulta, Drugstore.com, Amazon.com., and Whole Foods. And the labels are getting quite explicit, many note when they’re paraben- and phthalate-free. While we can’t scientifically endorse the samplings below, we can say we have used most of them and found them to be effective — and as pampering and great-smelling — as many of their conventional cousins.

Ready to transition to more natural stuff? Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Jason brand shampoos and conditioners. This company was founded in 1959) giving the brand solid cred with natural product users. Jason’s scented hair products derive their fragrance from natural extracts. Want, or need, to skip the fragrance? Jason’s Fragrance Free Daily Shampoo and Conditioner are fresh-smelling (probably the aloe vera), certified organic and can each be had for under $10 for a 16 oz. bottle. Want a little more smell-good in the luscious locks? Jason’s offers some naturally scented shampoos.

• Desert Essence Organics is another botanically infused line of body care goods with some strong contenders for your hair care. This relatively new line is owned by the 30-year-old company (Avalon Organics) that claims to have brought Tea Tree Oil products to the United States. The environmentally minded company pledges that the natural ingredients they use support sustainability around the world. We like the awesome smell of the Red Raspberry Shampoo and Conditioner, scented with raspberry leaf extract. Retail price: $8.99 per 8 oz. tube.

• Yes to Carrots facial moisturizer. We’ve only sampled this, but it looks promising, feels great and is popping up on shelves everywhere. The moisturizers come in three varieties aimed at dry, normal and oil skin: Yes To Carrots with carrot seed oil and carrot juice; Yes To Tomatoes with, yeah, you guessed it, and Yes To Cucumbers. All three have vitamins and antioxidants. Yes to That.

• Alba creams and moisturizers, such as the Aloe & Green Tea Moisturizer. This slinky light cream works for all skin types and all ages. Its perfect for teens needing a little relief from sun exposure or a daily skin protector. It comes with green tea to fight free radicals. You can feel good about Alba’s environmental attitude, which extends to how it runs its solar-powered shop, by recycling paper, planting trees and carbon counting. As for what’s inside the stuff, Alba follows the EU Safe Cosmetics guidelines, which are more stringent than those in the U.S., and has been transitioning over to become paraben-free this year.

• Burt’s Bees Replenishing Lip Balm. Still a leader in its field after a couple decades, Burt’s keeps churning out new stuff and improving standbys, like their lip balms, tints and glosses. We like the lip balms made with honey, especially the one with Pomegrante Oil. It’s so smooth and not greasy. Lips seeking color will find it in Burt’s lip shimmers. Veteran (if not beautifically named) Burt’s also features a guide to buying natural products on its website. Their Herbal Blemish Stick with tea tree leaf oil is worth a look. We’re not absolutely sure it works as well as its conventional competitors, but we think it comes close. Our sales helper at Ulta says it flies off the shelf (testament either to teen-age blemish angst or it’s effectiveness?). The label shows that it contains Willowbark, a natural salicylic acid.

We’ll save war paint for another day. There are some problematic ingredients, like aluminum, in items that involve colorants, though they’re not the highest toxicity. We don’t want to travel too far into toxic-land on this one trip.

In the meantime, you can check out how your mascara, eyeliner, blush and foundation measures up by checking the toxicity scale on EWG’s Skin Deep.

Copyright © 2008 | Distributed by Noofangle Media