Here’s today’s Mother’s Day giveaway: the iconic Yes bag.

Mom will get plenty of admiring glances when she carries this unique and coloful bag. Crafted from scraps of recycled fabric in a myriad of bright hues, a $64 value. Leave a comment to enter to win. Good luck!

Meet the rubber beach slip-on that became an urban fashion staple: The Flip Flop.

So popular are these rubber thongs, you’ll find barrels full at your favorite boutiques in mod patterns, as well as more sensible Eco versions for the camping set.  College kids (male and female) ride bikes to school in them and teens pair them with dresses..even on winter days. They offer zero support but there is no taking back the craze. The good news is you can store your pile over your closet door, thanks to Organize.

This Bamboo Flip Flop Rack by Jokari® is an over-the-door organizer made from fiber friendly bamboo and can house up to 12 pairs of your favorite zories. The rack comes with two metal hooks on top that mount right over the door and a third hook at the bottom that is attached to an elastic strip to accomodate door height. It fits over any standard size door, and actually looks pretty cool. Since they’re in plain view, you’ll never forget to grab a pair en route to your next pedicure!

A friend of mine wants to keep it hush-hush when her daughter is gifted a hand-me-down dress, as if wearing used garb signifies poverty or shame that might not fly in her affluent social circle.

My friend is a European whose family often struggled to make ends meet. And although she keeps it all in the closet, she accepts these offerings for all of the right reasons: they are clean and usually in perfectly good condition; It’s wasteful to go out and buy a new outfit when you can recycle; people who snub second hand goods are snobs. She may aspire to the don’t ask, don’t tell policy, but she knows better.

In fact, there’s a entire culture of thrifty moms who surf newspaper classified ads, Craigslist and Ebay to locate gently-used clothing and objects for their children. Seizing on this trend, an emerging site called handmedowns provides a one-stop destination condensing all of the shopping sites into one.  It combines the listings from the top five classified sites with original postings from trusted hand-me-down users.

It’s a brilliant idea because recycling clothes is good for us and for the shaky economy. The credit goes to two Hollywood dynamos: Norah Weinstein, a lawyer and mom who also founded The Hollywood Reporter, ESQ, and Jane Buckingham, who authored the bestselling Modern Girls Guide to Life.

“The sites that were out there had some great listings, but were simply not designed with a parent in mind,”  remembers Weinstein, who tired of sifting through torn, stained cast-a-ways on the web. “Our goal is to raise the bar for children’s classifieds and create a more family-friendly atmosphere.”

Buckingham adds they are saving parents time and money by pulling together safe, user-friendly products. Safety, they say, is heavily promoted to stay on top of government product recalls.

When you visit the site, you can click on your location and what you are shopping for (clothing for girls, boys, toys) and the age range. In terms of clothing, from layette to child sizes, you will find everything from shoes to winter outerwear and cute little legging outfits. There also are categories for selling, donating or giving your items away for free.

As the founders put it: “Once you start shopping at handmedowns, it may be hard to buy at retail prices again.”

It’s great news for kids who don’t have older siblings or cousins. I never met a kid who didn’t smile when I handed them something one of my girls had worn, from party dresses to ski parkas. For some, it’s even more special knowing your new posession was loved so well.

Image: manuel

Take Back The Filter has launched a campaign pushing Clorox (the owners of Brita) to either set up a filter recycling program or create a reusable filter with a permanent housing, in which you only have to replace the environmentally-safe carbon granules inside. No plastic to throw away. British company Aqua Select has already done this, but so far no American company has jumped on this eco bandwagon. Take Back The Filter is working to change that, and if you’re a filter-lover like me, you can help them do it.

Bamboo cosmetic brushes are the fashion buzz, being touted in the December issue of InStyle as one of many new little ways to go green. As the magazine observes, “they’re making floors out of this prolific woody plant, so why not hair rollers and makeup brushes?”

The ECOtools, which we featured in a post several months ago, are only $10 for a 5-piece set at various drug stores,including Rite Aid.

You can also buy them online at Paris Presents. While these appear to be the only truly eco make-up brushes around, there are other cool bamboo tools out there, also available at Paris Presents. These include the  loofah face scrubs, a bath bristle brush, and a foot file.

Sometimes my daughter Syd’s drawers smell a bit gamey, like her soccer uniform after a match of  living up to her title as “the finisher”. She’s a darling girl, don’t get me wrong. But she has a frightful habit of  tossing items into her drawers to avoid that exhausting chore of putting them in the hamper. Enter drawer sachets. They give off that happy floral odor that can even compete with dirty socks.

Here are a few nicely packed bundles gathered from from the natural garden.

Show at top, and pretty enough to give as a hostess gift, this lime green natural linen drawer pillow was crafted by graphic designer Lotta Hellberg using safe dyes and aromatic potpourri. $22 for a set of two at Eco Artware.

Lavender is always a draw. Just ask the bees. These Sonoma Lavender sachets from Body and Home are $18 and are wonderful for lingerie drawers.

These Eco Seashell bags from Little Things Favors are not just for the bridal party. They’re Florida Coast fresh and add a delicate scent to the closet. $350 each. And for bringing in the great outdoors (and deterring the moths at the same time) the Natural Wild Herbal sachets at Eco Day Spa are $7.99 and tres outdoorsy.

In creating our own traditions, it’s nice to find alternative symbols that speak to who we are, Jewish or Christian, pagan or devout decorator. Here are a few unique items I came across that allow you to  responsibly spruce up your own winter wonderland.

I love these hemp holiday stockings from Amenity in earthy shades of brown, green and silver. Who says red and green rule in December? The organic company also offers beautiful hemp ornaments of balls and birds, and an inventive hemp tree skirt (below).

Recycled soda cans, wire, and beads let Ruldolph lead the way in these fetching handcrafted reindeer from the free trade company, Serrv.

Angels can appear from the sky or from old scrap, as proven by the Tin Can Angels ($29/set of 4) from our green sponsor Viva Terra. Or great the season with a Noel sign from twigs ($69) and an organic pussy willow wreath ($52 to $62). All of these offer fresh takes on old symbols.

Modern and green, these recycled menorahs are sculptural and made of glass from the past, $180 at Vertige Glass.

Eco Artware decks the halls with recycled glass balls ($36); reused record label tree trinkets ($18/set of 3); and an Ever-Green Aluminum wreath forged from traffic signs ($100-$140).

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A move from Berlin to San Diego 10 years ago sparked the creative fire in Micha Kuchenhoff’s mind. The young designer developed a knack for sewing and began to create designs from found objects. Turning vintage materials into one-of-a-kind masterpieces, a loyal following of friends and fans quickly grew. Always striving to be green, Micha uses recycled fabrics, trinkets, and charms for her signature look. Most certainly conversation pieces, you’ll be making a bold statement about your design aesthetic with this jewelry.

Image: Helen Cornell

Okay, Listen up Daddy-O’s. Raise your coconut shells if you’ve grooved on the following: The Tonga Room at the San Francisco Fairmont and its sporadic fake rainshowers; The Audio-Aniamatronic Enchanted Tiki Room at Disneyland; And any of the surviving Trader Vic’s Restaurant (Beverly Hills, Vegas, Emeryville).

If your hand is up, then it wasn’t the grub (rarely is) but the kitschy props (nets, fish, spears, bamboo, totems) that floated your Bahama Mamas. Let’s face it, jungle fever has a place in design, as resurrected in the new decor book, Tiki Modern, by Sven Kirsten.

First of all, you must click on the book at the Taschen publishing site because it pulses to the crazy-like sounds of the Sixties tiki pop beat, complete with exotic bird sounds. You’ll be swaying and snapping your fingers as you preview pages reflecting primitivism in the modern world, from the animal print revival to the shack-like backyard bar.

The author, a music video director and tiki artifact excavator, hunted down props for his productions and emerged as the country’s reigning tiki style expert. One of his unearthed treasures, the two-story high fireplace (below) at the Kahiki Restaurant in Columbus, Ohio in 1961.

Kirsten illustrates how the retro craze (who could forget the bar and bongo lounges in the Gidget movies?) has caught the wave in current trends of mid-century modernism and the opening of tiki-style bars from the beaches of Waikiki to Tokyo.

Mural of Vintage Tiki Iconography

Witco Studio Wooden Tiki Artifacts

It’s also great fun to hop on the jungle cruise tour of the real McCoys, like Hugh Hefner’s Chicago Playboy Pool and Elvis Presley’s Jungle Room assembled by the house of Witco (above) . If you’re like me, this imagery will not just wax nostalgic but have you craving something tall and cool to wet your whistle.  For inspiration, check out  Tiki Drinks  by Adam Rocke. Like Tiki Modern, it packs a punch, and then some.

Teens are getting the message: Our planet needs saving and we must stop trashing it. The future depends on it.

But just in case they need a reminder, Pottery Barn Teen is selling Eco Message Pillow covers ($32 to $39) directing young environmentalists to “add a positive message to your lounge and make a positive imapct on the earth.”

Hey, it works for tee shirts and bumper stickers, so why not room decor?

One tree will be planted by Trees for the Future for every pillow purchased. As to be expected, the pillows are made of 100% organic cotton with a very sweet applique designs.

While the pink and green motif will appeal more to green girls, the blue and orange might have a place in the teenage boy’s hideout. There may even be a spot for the caring cushions in a grown up room.