Introducing Gifts for Coffee Lovers

If you're a regular--or even an occasional!--reader of this blog, you'll know that one of my favorite things to write about is a unique Etsy shop. Barbara's Design Solutions on Etsy is a cool shop that has a variety of home decor items as well as fashion and gifts, but it also has a special section of Coffee House Blend gifts that sets it apart.

Barbara brings you a variety of unique handcrafted items, including home decor products, home fragrances, unisex fashion, auto accessories, stationery, and bed and bath products--all made in America. She has put together a pretty incredible array of products, especially those related to coffee. I would say this is a great place to find a one of a kind gift for the coffee lover in your life.

What really makes an Etsy shop stand out in my mind is when someone finds an interesting niche and creates a variety of products around their theme. Well, if you like coffee and/or if you have friends who like coffee, I think you'll enjoy Barbara's Design Solutions on Etsy. You can also find the Coffee House Blend items on their own website at www.coffeehouseblend.com.

Her Etsy shop has several different categories such as fashion/accessories, wedding related items, and ceramic or glass mugs and tiles. The largest category is for art for home and office, and you will find a wide selection of big and smaller pieces to hang on your wall, including removable peel and stick wall art and eco-friendly fabric art. When it comes to coffee, I especially like her coffee-related t-shirts, wall art, and jewelry (such as a cute coffee cup necklace).

You can learn more about Barbara's products by watching the video below.

By the way, Barbara also does a lot of custom items. This can range from buying an item with a monogram to buying a completely unique and customized piece of art made just for you. Check out her sites and contact her if you have an idea that you'd like to make a reality!

Meet Naina Vaish, CEO of Green N Brown

Green N Brown offers eco-friendly and organic products that let you make better choices for yourself, your community, and the planet. They believe that for a better and sustainable future, conventional products have to give way to "Green" (eco-friendly) and "Brown" (organic) alternatives.

Naina Vaish, Evangelist N CEO, drives this company. She has been an active environmental steward herself and now wants to not only encourage individuals to adopt a Green lifestyle but also excite and expose them to this lifestyle through her blog. Naina is a strong believer that "Change needs to happen bottoms up--it is the individuals who need to drive the Green Revolution in their everyday lives."

1. What inspired you to start Green N Brown?

We are a firm believer that change has to happen from the bottom up--it is the individuals who have to make little/subtle changes to their everyday lives to make this world a greener place to live. With this in mind, we created Green N Brown with a conscious decision to present a ubiquitous online store that offers Green i.e. eco-friendly and Brown i.e. natural alternatives (hence Green N Brown) to people across several product categories that they can access from the comforts of their homes.

2. How do you choose the suppliers and products to feature on your site?

Each of our products undergoes a rigorous process before selection. All the products available on site have been hand-picked and thoroughly analyzed by our in-house research team for its eco footprint.

  3. Could you tell us a little more about the fair trade, artisan created, handmade jewelry available on your site?

The wide range of fair-trade jewelry and hand made décor on our store are sourced from across nations: Haiti, Kenya, Africa, and Asia. Fair trade provides under- and unemployed artisans with an opportunity to earn vital income and improve their quality of life by establishing a sustainable market for their handcrafted products. We bring the best from several countries to the American consumers when it comes to Green. People can access all these products which were not accessible to them before from all these countries right from their homes.

4. Your hemp backpacks are also a popular item. What makes hemp a good material for book bags, laptop bags, and similar products?

Yes our hemp bags and backpack are one of the best sellers. What makes hemp bags so popular amongst the customers is that hemp grows well without the use of herbicides or pesticides making it environmentally sustainable.

1. It is one of the most durable natural fibers that exists and has very high tensile strength.
2. Hemp softens with use and yet remains hard-wearing.
3. Hemp fabrics dye very effectively and retain color well over time.
4. Hemp has good resistance to mold and is fire-retardant.

With a huge range of hemp bags for every walk of life, you are sure to find the style and color you want. 

5. What else would you like readers to know about your business?

While people are aware of the benefits of green lifestyle and are willing to adopt it, they are often short of alternative products that are greener than the conventional options. At Green N Brown, we carry a diverse range of green products across several product categories in a bid to offer enough green options for consumers to pick and choose from. We are a one stop shop for green products for a healthy lifestyle

Thanks!

Green Cleaning Products from EcoSierra

Are you interested in finding the best green cleaning products? EcoSierra, a company based in Madison, Wisconsin, has a great-looking line of eco friendly cleaning products, and they specialize in reusable, refillable products. Check out this video to learn more about their cleaning products such as all purpose cleaner, kitchen cleaner, bathroom cleaner, and glass cleaner.

I used to work with a woman who had spent many years as a chemist, and she was very careful about her choices in cleaning products because conventional products could send her into a terrible reaction because of her chemical sensitivity. It makes me glad to see this line of health-friendly products made from natural ingredients because they not only help us maintain our physical health, but they also help us preserve the environment.

EcoSierra is known for their custom "squeasy pouch" refills for their cleaning products. This system saves money and resources and sends fewer materials into landfills. The series of photos below shows how the squeasy pouches work.

I've always liked the convenience of spray products, and EcoSierra has developed their line of cleaners so that you can use the optimal product for each of your cleaning needs. Or if you prefer to just use one cleaner throughout your home, they have an all-purpose cleaner, too. The products come in gentle scents such as cucumber and grapefruit. Visit EcoSierra's website to learn more.

Bashford Jewelry, an Eco Friendly and Fair Trade Company

There's always more to say about a unique independent business, so after interviewing Mildred Stephens, the CEO and founder of Bashford Jewelry, I decided to do a follow up post with more info about this fair-trade company--and share more photos of their jewelry.

Bashford Jewelry has worked to establish a reputation as an eco-friendly company. In addition to selling only conflict-free diamonds, they use recycled golds. The process of gold mining produces a lot of toxic waste and pollution, so it's great news for the environment to find a jeweler who is using recycled gold instead.

The mission of Bashford Jewelry is to create timeless and stunning jewelry using ethical labor and environmentally responsible sourcing. The company does research on the origins of all of the diamonds they use, in order to protect and preserve the environment and improve the livelihoods of the people who participate in mining--and live in areas where mining occurs. The diamonds used by Bashford Jewelry all come from Canada and Russia.

The company has a very nice line of engagement rings. They have a variety of classic and modern designs, many with diamonds but others with different stones for those who like sapphires and other stones. There's a nice selection of both white and yellow gold as well.

Finally, the company gives back to the community in other ways. With each purchase, they donate money to charity, and their website includes information on the different charities they support. The scope of their community support ranges from local (such as a rehabilitation center for adults in need of therapy and housing) to international (such as efforts to prevent human trafficking).

I think we'll be seeing more from Bashford Jewelry as their reputation both online and offline continues to grow. From my perspective, it's great to see a move toward eco-green practices in the jewelry industry!

Meet Fun Panda, A Creative and Eco-Friendly Company

Fun Panda is a company that makes iPhone cases that are both fun and eco-friendly. Their most popular products are custom iPhone cases where customers can upload an image of their choice and it will be laser engraved onto the case.

The people at Fun Panda also donate a portion of their proceeds to worthy causes like The Beautiful Dream Society.

1. What are some of the benefits of working with bamboo?

Well, bamboo is a highly renewable resource and very eco-friendly and can be made into all types of things, even clothes. To be honest I'm surprised bamboo is not more popular that it already it is.

2. What are some of the options available for people who want to customize their cases?

If you're interested in customizing your case, all you need to do is upload your image to our website and you'll get to see a preview of what it's going to look like. You can use any type of image you want. We've seen a lot of interesting things come through here, and it's cool to see people's creativity.

3. Do you sell locally or only online?

Both and we've also had some interest from people wanting to sell our products on their site or to get custom cases done to sell in their store. In that case, those designs are exclusive to that store and we wouldn't sell them on our website.

4. Could you tell us a little bit about the charitable organizations your company supports?

Currently we are mainly focused on the Beautiful Dream Society, which is a great organization dedicated ending human trafficking both in Oklahoma and Uganda. Human trafficking is a worldwide problem and they need all the help they can get.

The two other charities we like are much more well-known, and they are The Nature Conservancy and St. Judes. We alternate donations every so often and give at least 5% of our proceeds to them. More info can be found at http://www.funpanda.com/charities-we-support.

5. Are you envisioning additional creative products for the future?

We will be adding iPad cases in the near future and possibly the iPod Touch. We've also been planning a design contest to help add more designs to our collection. The details aren't in stone just yet, but it's something we're really excited about doing. As I said before, I really love seeing other people's creativity and the things they can come up with.

Thanks, Fun Panda!