eBay, that giant online garage sale, announced today that it will offer a new green shopping hub.

Mandala Record Clock made from an old vinyl album, and sold on eBay

The hub will help shoppers identify products that are green by virtue of being vintage or used; made of sustainable materials or designed to save energy.

The new shopping hub was formed as a response to eBay’s “Green Team” shoppers who’ve taken a pledge to be green. This online community, which eBay says is about 150,000 strong, has “committed to making greener lifestyle choices.”

Concurrently, eBay is partnering with Team Earth, a coalition of NGOs and private sector companies, to protect rainforests. For the first 250,000 people who pledge to reuse on eBay through its “Green Team Challenge” the company will protect an acre of rainforest in their name.

“We are delighted that eBay continues to demonstrate their strong support for the environment by becoming a member of Team Earth,” said Julie Blackwell, Senior Director of Team Earth at Conservation International. “eBay’s passionate community has changed the way we shop and we have no doubt that they can change the way we consume. They are a perfect partner to rally collective action around some of the most pressing environmental issues of our day.”

To stress its point about reusing consumer goods, eBay worked with Cooler, Inc., which calculates the carbon footprint of goods and activities, to develop some comparisons between recycled or reused items and the carbon cost of their new counterparts.

Cooler Inc. found that:

• Choosing a previously-loved leather handbag saves as much energy as a flight from London to Paris

• Selecting a previously owned watch saves the energy equivalent of 39 days of refrigerator use

• Choosing previously-worn leather shoes saves more energy than an average household uses in a day

For more details on using eBay more greenly, and on supporting the rainforest preservation, see the Green Team webpage.

(Photo: Gap)

From Green Right Now Reports

Cotton Incorporated, a cotton-industry funded research and marketing company, announced today that it will partner with Gap to launch a denim-recycling drive in about 1,000 Gap stores across North America and Puerto Rico.

From March 5 through March 14, consumers can donate old denim that will then be given a “new life” by being converted into UltraTouch natural cotton fiber insulation and donated to communities in need.  The two-week denim drive is part of Gap’s “Recycle Your Blues” event, where customers who donate denim will receive 30 percent off new denim purchases from Gap, GapKids or babyGap through March 14.

The in-store program also will be featured on Gap’s online consumer site, as well as at Cotton. From Blue to Green.

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.

Earth Goddess sells eco-goodies at its new store in Allentown, N.J.

Many of these stores, though, are smaller urban hubs that are helping nurture nascent green brands, organic products and alternative ways of life.

Of course, yes, we know, there have always been alternative stores. I have delighted for many years in burrowing through salvage spots, hardware outlets, off-the-track food markets and old-time seed stores that somehow survived the century.

But these new green stores are taking the movement uptown. They’re selling not just raw goods, but eco-stylish clothing, pure spa formulations, health food concoctions and creative, high-concept products that up-cycle  used everyday items. (Some pricey, some a bargain.)

You’re likely to see a sleek salad bowl crafted from a chunk of discarded wood or an artsy organic cotton quilt. At the the Twin Cities Green store in uptown Minneapolis, which we visited a few months ago, we found  everything from pure latex mattresses to a hemp washrags, from soy candles to purses constructed of license plates.

Other stores, such as the Greenheart Shop in Chicago focus on food — serving up raw honey, Fair Trade chocolate and healthful teas — and clothing. The shop, which helps support artisans around the world and human development projects in the U.S., sells gorgeous handbags made from recycled saris and affordable frocks constructed of recycled and organic fabrics.

Still other green purveyors, and there are getting to be many, lean toward selling household goods, rugs made of flip-flop scraps, garden tools and compost.

And leave it to San Francisco, to bring us the leading edge, Green 11: A store that tackles consumer waste. At Green 11, you can refill your existing plastic bottles with organic cleaners, shampoos and personal products.

It’s great to see that the free market does provide. This week, we heard about two more green stores opening, one in Houston and one near Trenton, N.J..

Best wishes to:

• One Green Street, opening at 5160 Buffalo Speedway in Houston. Owners Sherry and David Eichberger will be selling personal products like natural perfumes, clothing made from recycled plastic, pet food and . . .  too much to mention. See their products page. Sherry was inspired to open a store devoted to a cleaner lifestyle after seeing two robust adult men in her neighborhood lose their lives to leukemia, a disease that’s been linked to environmental toxics.

• Earth Goddess, 28 S. Main St.,  in Allentown, N.J.., carries candles, reusable bags, purses made from recycled tires and a large selection of recycled and earth-friendly jewelry.  Rick Lobley tells us they’ll be selling everything from fingerless bamboo gloves to cheese boards made from wine bottles to those purses constructed of recycled soda can tabs.

Copyright © 2010 Green Right Now | Distributed by GRN Network

LOS ANGELES (KABC):

THE LITTLE SEED

You’re never too young to go green, so when friends Soleil Moon Frye and Paige Goldberg Tolmach started having kids, they wanted the very best for them and sought out organic, eco-friendly options. It planted the seed for their own business endeavor — a children’s boutique in Los Angeles called The Little Seed — selling all things “green” for little ones.

For more information, visit: www.thelittleseed.com

Men and women who are big on green style and earth-friendly substance have discovered that the Web is littered with natural and free-trade clothes and accessories. You can get vegan shoes for hundreds of dollars, or hoodies and Ts for a lot less.

We’ve combed through online shops to create a very merry Green His and Hers Gift Guide.

HIGH STYLE

Deborah Lindquist uses both  “reincarnated” and new Earth-friendly fabrics for her creations. From her current collection, “Goth Girl Goes to the Country, ” is a vintage cashmere crewneck floor sweeping dress, $394, and silk long-sleeve T-shirt underneath, $185 (above).  You can buy Lindquist’s edgy styles in stores, or directly on her Web site.

Linda Loudermilk, another hot natural designer, offers a striking organic cotton long jacket for him (below). It looks like leather, but it’s not – because the fabric is cured with mud. It has top-quality styling and details, which is good since it costs $2,350. You can take solace knowing that it will last a lifetime.

Chicago’s Greenheart Shop is declaring that Black Friday will be Green Friday this year at their store, which sells Fair Trade, eco-friendly and socially conscious gifts, food, clothes and accessories.

Greenheart, a non-profit cultural exchange and storefront (at 1911 W. Division) will be serving free Fair Trade wine, cocoa and snacks to shoppers. Visitors can also see a make-your-own gift wrap demonstration. The event, on Friday, Nov. 27, when shoppers traditionally swarm the stores keeping retails in the black, will run from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Those who can’t attend can still buy Greenheart products online.

The goodies sold at Greenheart benefit disadvantaged workers, coops in developing nations and support ecologically sound growing methods, like shade-grown cocoa. They include:

• 

  Clutch made of recycled saris.

  Purses and clutches made from recycled saris, such as this one made by a family of artisans near New Delhi, India, through WorldFinds, a Chicago-based organization that partners with fair trade organizations, women’s self-help groups, and small families of artisans in India, Nepal, and Indonesia.

• Beeline Honey, an all natural raw honey produced by (bees and) Sweet Beginnings, LCC, a social enterprise and transitional job program of the North Lawndale employment network in Chicago. The program helps people who face barriers to employment, particularly those with histories of criminal conviction. The Beeline enterprise helps workers establish a work history and learn productive work habits.

• Eco-friendly gift wrap that is 100 percent tree-free. Made out of recycled cotton rags, each sheet of gift wrap
  

  Wrapping paper made of recycled rags.

  offers unique colors and patterns. Customers can specify a color preference for these 22 x 32-inch sheets of wrap made by Artisans at the Eco Friendly Papers workshop in Rajasthan, India, who collect cotton waste, such as rags, and turn it into a pulp.

The shop also sells soy candles, women’s dresses, baby accessories, reusable water bottles, Fair Trade cocoa and more.

To read more about Greenheart and its work around the world, see the history on their website.

The Greenheart storefront is open  M-F 11-7; Sat 11-6; Sun 12-5; products are available online.

Rummaging through sweaters? Trying on last year’s jackets? Tired of that same old gray hoodie? It is possible to make a fashion statement this fall and express concern for artisans of the world with an assortment of fair-trade apparel. Your choices range from high-end big-name designers to small, globally conscious entrepreneurs. We’ve piled up a lot of crisp, autumn goodies for you to sort through.

Start at the top of the fashion pecking order with some pieces from Stella McCartney’s collection. In addition to being a lifelong vegetarian (and Paul McCartney’s daughter), the fashion-forward designer uses no leather or fur. Some — but not all — of her offerings are made of natural materials by workers co-operatives in Senegal and Burkina Faso. Sticker shock time: her boucle Porrima motorcycle jacket (above, left) is $1,645, and her shaped gray wool Olesia coat (above, right) is $1,795.

School groups, sports teams and others, may want to consider going organic with their group shirts this year.

It’s easier than ever before to take your organization into greener territory.  Now organic Ts, ready for imprinting by your group, are available in reasonable prices from more vendors than ever.  Edun Live, the company formed by Bono and his wife Ali Hewson, now sells bulk organic cotton Ts made by workers in Sub-Saharan Africa. Assisi Garments also produces organic cotton T-shirts and other clothing, all made in Fair Trade shops in India.

One T-shirt we’re fond of is the Anvil organic cotton tee, because we know it to be soft and reasonably priced. Anvil, based in New York with factories in the US South and Central America, also is proactive in this area. The company is trying to help cotton farmers transition to organic practices by developing signature shirts, such as the new AnvilSustainable (shown at left), made of recycled plastic bottles and cotton from farms that are in the midst of going organic.  These farmers’ first crops can’t be certified organic until their land has been chemical-free for three years.

Each AnvilSustainable T-shirt is made from the fibers from three 20-oz recycled PET plastic bottles (soda bottles typically) and cotton from transitioning farmers.

This unique shirt will be on display this week at the Magic Market apparel trade show in Las Vegas. (Their booth will be in the North Hall in the Eco section.)

Anvil Knitwear  is the largest domestic purchaser of U.S.-grown certified organic cotton and was ranked by the Organic Exchange as being the sixth-largest purchaser of organic cotton worldwide in 2008. Its eco collection includes 15 T-shirts, fleeces and bags made with 100-percent organic cotton.  The company also developed the AnvilRecycled tee, which is made with pre-consumer recycled cotton (factory scraps) and is certified “carbon free” by the Carbonfund.org.

Buy Anvil products at BuyAnvil.com for individual t-shirts, or through wholesale distributors for bulk purchases.

By Hosea Sanders

CHICAGO (WLS) — Now you can look good while protecting the planet. Clothing made from bamboo or plastic bottles may not sound appealing — or comfortable. But once you experience it, you might be pleasantly surprised. >> Read the full story

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

Satchels, messenger bags and lunch containers seem to be magnets for green innovation these days. We’ve seen them made of PET plastic, gum wrappers, vegan materials and adorned with solar collectors. Why not fashion them from rice bags?

A group of women in sustainable coops in the Philippines thinks these colorful receptacles should get a second life (and we agree). The women recycle large rice bags, and other post-consumer materials, weaving them into shoulder purses, carry-alls, messenger bags and lunch boxes. A stateside retailer, A Healthy Green Home, sells the bags and donates some of the proceeds to the Lymphoma & Leukemia Society, in honor of Ray Molina, husband to Rebecca Molina, a leader of one of the coops.

The “Magnolia” purse (shown at left; $48) has a certain panache. It’s slick surface wipes down easily and the bag is foldable for travel.

Also offered: A rice sack lunch bag ($12.50) and a juice-wrapper tote ($58; below).

A Healthy Green Home describes itself as “a multi-platform licensing and entertainment portal dedicated to the design and manufacture of accessible and affordable green products”. HGH brings designers and manufacturers together to “ensure that our customers are purchasing quality products that are value oriented and environmentally friendly”.

We like the recycled credentials of these bags, and that they support Philippo artisans. Value-oriented? You’ll have to be the judge.

The online retailer is a subsidiary of Danger Management & Media Inc., a branding and media think tank based in Miami.