The Frisco Mercantile brings together a vast collection of vintage treasures and inventive recycled art, furniture and accessories for the home.

Nearly 200 dealers of antiques and collectibles have booths or dedicated cabinet space (see picture) inside the Mercantile, at 8980 Preston Road at the corner of Main in Frisco, Texas. The assemblage fills the former grocery store building. Offerings range from 19th Century hat racks to 1950s lawn chairs; from whimsical Disney figures to sturdy bed frames. In addition, many booth owners actively recycle or re-purpose consumer goods, whether it be reupholstering antique furniture, reclaiming old wood, refurbishing vases and lamps or painting old ceiling tins for new life as wall hangings.

Mercantile manager Brigitte Kelly and dog Ginger oversee operations.

We took a tour of this uniquely green store with manager Brigitte Kelly, who worked for years in home design before opening the Mercantile in November. (Her dog Ginger, shown here, came along.)

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By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now

Everyone knows you can’t shop your way to green. A true greenie is always looking for ways to reduce and reuse. That line of thinking generally doesn’t propel you to the mall, at least not often.

BUT…you knew there was a but… eco-conscious consumers still have needs. Their motivations are just different. They look to buy lower impact, organic products from like-minded companies and retailers. They want fairly produced goods to create a less-toxic home environment, with healthful food, that supports sustainable practices.

Over the past two years, we’ve noticed that the market is bringing us more and more small, green stores that aim to be a nexus for this movement. Take it back. Some are large, like the home supply Green Depot in New York City. They sell lotsa stuff that can really help you dig in to cut your energy bills and remodel greenly.

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Green Right Now Reports

Illinois’ PIRG, a non-profit public interest group, released results of recent testing for toxic chemicals on toys this week, finding that three items intended for children exceeded current safety standards, and two products contact phthalates in violation of federal law.

The tested toys and products can be seen at HealthyToys.org, where they will be incorporated into a much larger list. Researchers at HealthyToys.org are readying a long list of items that will be available before the 2009 December holidays.

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By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

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).

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By Melissa Segrest
Green Right Now

You might have seen Liya Kabede on fashion magazine covers or runway shows.

Perhaps you’ve heard that she was a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization, working to bring attention to health issues in developing countries. She started her own foundation in 2006 to add to that support.

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From Amazon

Earth Day 2009 is April 22, and Amazon is launching Earth Day Savings at www.amazon.com/earthday, where customers can save on organic groceries, home products, CFLs and more. Additionally, learn how to go Extreme Green, Ease Into Green, or be Eco-Chic.

Amazon and ENERGY STAR will also host the Earth Day Sweepstakes. Five first-place winners will receive two ENERGY STAR-qualified powerhouses: a Toshiba laptop and a Brother multifunction printer. Fifteen second-place winners will receive the Brother printer. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter here by April 22, 2009. See Official Rules for details.

You can also celebrate with recycled and repurposed wood and plastic toys. Shop our large selection of eco-friendly toys from Spring Toys, Green Toys, Plan Toys, and more.

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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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From Green Right Now
Brooklyn-based Green Depot,  which supplies the New York area with eco-friendly building and living solutions,  announced it will open a retail space on the Bowery in Manhattan. The store will carry practical “green” do-it-yourself, lifestyle and design products in five categories to help customers choose products that address the aspects of green [...]

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