Green Right Now

By Tom Kessler
Green Right Now

Television manufacturers are using this week’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to debut new eco-friendly products and designs. In some cases, the new digital TV sets surpass the federal government’s Energy Star 3.0 requirements.

Japan’s Sony is unveiling a series of energy efficient televisions. The company says its new BRAVIA VE5-series models (pictured) will offer substantial power savings by using a zero-watt standby power switch, along with motion and light sensors that minimize energy usage.

Irvine, Calif.-based VIZIO is rolling out seven new EcoHD LCD HDTVs that consume less energy and exceed Energy Star 3.0 requirements by as much as 25 percent.

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By Melissa SegrestGreen Right Now

Plenty of Hollywood celebrities profess their love of the environment and their green lifestyles. That ardor extends to their children’s clothes, but of course just any old socially conscious onesie won’t do. Thus, the rise of ultra-trendy kiddie clothing lines with an environmental bent.

Tiny Revolutionary T-shirts have shown up on the children of Sheryl Crow (with son Wyatt, left), John Travolta, Matt Damon, Courtney Cox and more. The makers say their kiddie T-shirts are “100 percent sweatshop free and earth-friendly” organic. Because a big chunk of the cost of a T goes to organizations such as Africa Aid and Hands to Hearts, these simple shirts can cost as much as Mommy’s Calvin Klein T ($40). And they’re funny, too. Among their cuter offerings are the Ghandi T proclaiming “Be the Change you Want to See in the World,” and the “More Milk, Less War” T-shirt.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

You’ve got party plans. And your regular dinnerware just won’t accommodate the crowd. What’s the green solution?

There are several options on the market, including recycled plastic plates and pressed paper plates that will biodegrade (shout out to Chinet; who knew?). But there’s only one product we’ve seen that covers the green spectrum like moss on rocks: Verterra disposable dinnerware.

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By John DeFore

One of the most buzzed-about Green Tech items over the last year has been the Kill A Watt, a gizmo that tells you exactly how much power is being used over time by any single appliance you plug into it. (We covered it last year in the context of multiple “know your footprint” ideas.)

Now the device’s makers have given it a serious upgrade, a tweak offering enough everyday usefulness that one can envision it being used by folks who don’t think of themselves as green freaks. The Kill A Watt PS, after all, functions at one level just like any other surge-protecting power strip you might use to protect a half-dozen computer peripherals or home-entertainment components while only using one power outlet.

It does so, though, with the power-conscious features of the earlier tool built-in. It measures the amount of power you use, not just for a single device, but for a whole room’s worth of gear, letting users easily find out how much, say, a month’s worth of Monday Night Football really costs them. It stores data, so totals aren’t lost during power outages, and warns users when their electrical load is higher than a circuit should have to bear.

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By John DeFore

Gifts for kids come from everywhere along the Earth-friendly spectrum, from things that will be landfill fodder in months (be they easily broken or tie-ins to passing fads) to those that are actually toxic.

Among the sturdy, built-to-last variety, though, some consider the environment more than others. Board games, for instance, will often be kept around and enjoyed for years — if they’re fun — and my guess is some readers will share my childhood memories of playing the decades-old games my parents enjoyed in their school days.

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By John DeFore

Gifts made from recycled goods tend toward the hip and funky, but not all are incompatible with dressier occasions.

Ecoist, the company that has made a name for itself with reclaimed-material handbags ranging from happily garish to chic, recently started offering a small selection of jewelry, made from recycled glass, that displays a similar range of styles in only a handful of products.

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There are plenty of pre-made gift baskets, and sure, that is easier on you. But if you like being one of Santa’s elves, if you like filling the sleigh with cool green gifts that pre-made baskets can only dream of - and being sure of their content and origins - then you are in the right place.

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By Diane Porter
Green Right Now

Really, we shouldn’t think of them as gift baskets. We should think of them as stockings for adults, overflowing with fabulous presents for good girls and boys who have been green all year.

There are plenty of pre-made gift baskets, and sure, that is easier on you. But if you like being one of Santa’s elves, if you like filling the sleigh with cool green gifts that pre-made baskets can only dream of - and being sure of their content and origins - then you are in the right place. (Elves wear green, you know. It’s documented.)

A spa basket fit for Mother Earth

You know exactly who you’d give this to. The woman in your life who makes time for others (but not always for herself); who thinks of the extras (and acts like it’s nothing special); who gives and gives (yet rarely takes). She needs a reason to stop and breathe. Let’s put an assortment of those reasons into an eco-friendly gift basket that will soothe her skin, tickle her senses and tell her you’ve noticed.

The healing properties of a good long bath are nothing new - ancient peoples and modern marketers alike have rhapsodized about it. Bubble bath or bath salts make the water spa-worthy, and these products make it organic as well. Nimli’s In the Raw Bubble Bath ($38, pictured above) is infused with oils in seven scents (mango, lemongrass and sage, lavender and orange, grapefruit and tangerine, creamsicle, coco mango, and ginger and lime). The cork-stoppered bottle holds a generous 18 ounces.

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

The Eco Gift Festival in Santa Monica set for next week claims to be the biggest green gift convention in the world. With a projected attendance of 15,000 and 150 vendors, it may well be, we’re not sure, but it certainly promises a big presence with sellers offering gifts made from garbage, recycled silver and gold, bamboo, plant-based medicinal oils (hey, it’s LA), and even poop.

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By Shermakaye Bass and Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Want to stay safe, avoid toxic toy recalls and make your toy selections a little greener this season? There are no guarantees but here are few ideas:

• Maybe your toddler (19 months and up) would enjoy Plan Toy’s delightful preservative-free rubberwood Pull-Along Snail or the equally cheeky Dancing Alligator (both about $19). Plan Toys are green and made in America.

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By Shermakaye Bass
Green Right Now

It’s the giving season once again, and already we’re decking halls, basting turkeys, stringing lights and scratching our heads over what Santa might send down the chimney. It’s a tough call this year, considering our less-than-merry economy. Even old St. Nick is tightening his belt.

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By Barbara Kessler and Julie Bonnin
Green Right Now

Tis’ the season to be…conservative? Afraid so. As the economic downturn and the need to better care for our planet converge into a new aesthetic, we are facing an unusual holiday season. We can show we care with holiday gifts that help us all to consume less.

This might seem the antithesis of consumerism, too bah humbug to be any fun. But we think you’ll see that we’re talking about smarter consuming; buying durable goods that cut out the disposables, forsaking chemical-laden items and making some of your own stuff, whether its soda or energy. Read on:

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