It’s not your grandmother’s wine box!

This 3-liter tube contains a premium, rich and structured California Cab – the first release by winemaker Barry Gnekow, who went looking for a way to drink outside the box and to entertain without the waste.

“My goal was to produce the equivalent of a $25 bottle of wine that could be delivered to the consumer at under $10 per bottle,” he says.

At $40 a tube, The FOUR Cabernet scores many eco points. It eliminates expensive traditional glass-and-cork packaging, cutting wine bottle landfill waste by 85%. The vino package is 100% recyclable and the label is produced by windpower. The cardboard tubes weigh 20% less than glass and can be transported using less gas.

And it’s not just the package that defies the throw-away mentality. The wine, itself, also endures until all 24 glasses are poured.

“The great thing is that it holds about four bottles worth and stays fresh up to 4 weeks after opening,” explains James Robinson of WineStyles, a retail wine store and tasting club in San Francisco. “Often with red wine, people toss out what they don’t drink after a day or two, because it goes bad.”

Robinson poured me a taste out of the spout, and I found it to be delicious, medium-bodied, plummy and lightly oaked, even on its last legs, about two weeks opened.

The wine maker also promises to deliver white wine in a tube, including Chardonnays, at some point this year.

If you’re sending correspondence through the mail these days, why not design your own stamps to promote your green message?

Many sites, including Zazzle.com, allow you to either select from their designs or customize your own using photos or images downloaded from your computer.

If you decide to make stamps for a special occasion, remember to weigh whatever you’ll be mailing before you order so you can specify the correct postage amount. If you aren’t going the route of Evites or other email invitations, using stamps that say something special, and green, is a great option.

Here are ten designs I found at Zazzle with cool green themes:

1. Six Reasons to Plant a Tree

2. Fair Trade Only

3. Got Bamboo?

4. Dreaming of a Green Christmas

5. Hang Dry

6. Love Your Mother

7. Love it or Leave It

8. Kiss Me

9. Like No Tomorrow

10. Burn Fat Not Oil

Images: Zassle.com

It would be grand to just roll out of bed every morning looking glamorous and fresh, but it requires serious maintenance to stay sexy. Here are eight easy and eco-friendly tricks for dealing with some of the most frustrating beauty predicaments.

Tired Eyes
Everybody knows about sliced cucumbers, but I recently discovered a more effective method. Steep a couple of green tea bags, put them in the refrigerator until they’re cool and place them over your eyes.

Blemishes
Apply a touch of toothpaste overnight and dab blemishes with lemon juice before putting on makeup in the morning.

Oily Skin
If you start your morning off with a hot bowl of oatmeal, this one’s a cinch. Let your leftovers cool, mix in a little bit of honey and apply this homemade mask to your face. Leave it on for five minutes and rinse.

Dull Hair
Next time you pop the bubbly, save a glass of champagne to rinse through your hair for brighter locks.

Bad Breath
Add several drops of lemon juice to that reusable water bottle you carry around all day. When your mouth feels stale, just take a swig and swish. Bad breath bacteria don’t stand a chance against the acid present in lemon juice.

Wet Nails
Who has the time to wait for nail polish to dry, especially after a couple of coats? Dipping them into ice cold water will speed up the process.

Chapped Lips
Lip balm may moisturize, but it doesn’t get rid of dead skin cells. Make your own exfoliating scrub by blending a bit of honey with coffee grounds and massage the mixture onto your lips.

Dandruff
Mix several teaspoons of vinegar with water and massage into your scalp. Wrap your hair in a towel and leave it in your hair overnight. Repeat the process weekly for the best results.

For more beauty suggestions, check out Katherine’s picks for the best organic skin toners, shampoos and sunscreens.

Image: clickflashphotos

Whenever I go shopping for linens, I always have a very specific idea in mind of what I want – flowers just so, or the perfect teal green. The problem is that even after scouring every store in the county, nothing I find ever really matches my mental image. So, taking inspiration from the methods of my favorite designers, I’ve begun to entertain the notion of creating my own. I’m no artist, so I was a little nervous about taking on such a project at first. But with a bit of research I learned this is definitely within the realm of DIY.

If you want to give color-blocking a try, just follow these easy steps:

1. Sketch a pattern onto a large piece of cardboard with a pencil. For the best results, avoid overly elaborate designs and stick to something simple until you’ve done a few pieces.

2. Once you’re satisfied with your design, cut it out with an exacto knife, including any details within the basic outline.

3. Iron the fabric and stretch it taut onto a smooth surface.

4. Fill a tray with eco-friendly fabric paint and use a roller to apply it generously and evenly to one side of the cardboard block.

5. Lay the cardboard block face down onto the fabric and gently cover it with newspaper. You may want to try a test run on a piece of scrap fabric first to make sure you’ll be satisfied with the outcome.

6. Apply pressure to the cardboard block while holding it firmly in place.

7. Pull off the newspaper and gently peel away the cardboard block.

8. Repeat the process until your once plain curtains, tablecloth, duvet cover or cloth napkins are pieces of handmade art. Before you know it you’ll be taking orders, girl!

9. One final note: before you wash your new and improved linens, make sure to set the design according to the instructions listed on the can of fabric paint.

For additional helpful instructions, visit Design Sponge.

Image: geishaboy500

Most of us put lipstick on in the morning, but it doesn’t remain on our lips. You’ll see it on your coffee cups, your napkins and your food.  Did you ever stop to wonder how much lipstick you might eat up in a lifetime?

We can eat four to six pounds of lipstick throughout our lives. If you buy standard lipstick, you’re basically chowing down on artificial dyes, lanolin, sodium lauryl sulfates, colors derived from petroleum and even carmine that comes from the shell of a female beetle. Everyone say it with me: ewww!

But not to worry! We can help you find a great lipstick that doesn’t contain lady beetle (or fossil fuels). Check out our look at some of the best organic, vegan and eco-friendly lipsticks on the market.

Organic Lipstick by Nvey Eco

This product promises to deliver both vibrant and natural color selections that are smooth and creamy to the lips. And you know what? It totally does! This is the best organic lipstick you can find – in fact, it is my new favorite lipstick. The colors are rich, and they stay on your lips. It is hydrating and silky. You know how people say lip balm is addictive? You may feel the same about this lipstick. It contains safflower oil, organic castor oil and vitamin E.

Lipstick by Josie Maran

When you try on this lipstick, you’ll be struck by one thought: wowzers, this lipstick is like water! Or silk! Or watery silk! It goes on light and hydrating and offers up a flattering color that hangs around. I highly recommend this product if you’re one who likes a moist lipstick – it really stands alone in its ability to hydrate. It is free of parabens and fragrance, and it is made from organic jojoba seed oil, coconut cream, soybean oil, olive oil and other goodies. It also comes in a tube made from recycled material.

Shea and Aloe Lipstick by Earth’s Beauty

This product goes on smooth and really offers up a pretty shade. The Summer Quartz gives your lips a subtle, natural, lasting shade of pink. It is made from shea butter, candellila wax and aloe vera extract. While I can’t find any evidence that it has organic ingredients, it contains no formaldehyde, phthalates, parabens, synthetic colors or fragrances.

Sheer Organic Shimmers by Kiss My Face

If you want a subtle color, this is a good choice. But it has more of a lip balm vibe: it goes on light, smooth, and it has a nice, subtle minty scent and flavor. (This is the tastiest of the bunch, for sure!) It has a hydrating feel, but you will want to reapply an hour later. It demands almost constant reapplication to keep the color going. Sheer Organic Shimmers contains no parabens, SLS, phthalates, synthetic colors or flavors. Considered 91% organic, it is made with shea butter, sunflower oil and natural vitamin E.

Vegan Lipstick by Hemp Organics

This product offers up a rich, lasting color, but it probably works best as a lip stain. It goes on rather dry and has almost a powdery feeling to it. If you can stand it without gloss, it does work as a nice, matte base. It is certified organic and contains both hemp seed oil and organic beeswax. This vegan lipstick is free of petroleum, wheat and gluten.

Doesn’t matter where you live, there’s always a yard sale, flea market, beach trip or fair to be had where you need to carry lots of stuff. You might not always want to throw these treasures into cheap plastic bags for a host of eco-friendly reasons, so you need options. And while there are lots of reusable and sustainably designed bags out there, how great are these? Just the name sucked me in: Fleabags.

Frustrated by the inconvenience and environmental hazards of accumulating several plastic bags while flea market shopping, Brown University grads Shira Entis, a fashion designer and Alex Bell, a lawyer, craved a convenient and fashionable tote that could fit all their wares.

Fleabags were designed as their ideal solution ““ “dapper, large, lightweight and sturdy carry-alls – that are also eco-minded,” in that they’re sourced in the U.S. and made in New York of certified organic cotton/hemp canvas, vegetable-tanned leather and water-based silkscreen ink. The gals also use no glues or toxic paints for their Fleabags, just good old fashion sewing.

The first run of Original Fleabags are made for Spring/Summer 2009 in Limited Edition by hand and with the Edition Number written on each bag. Four color ways are offered: White, Saddle, Coffee Bean and Pebble.

Newly created with both women still working their day jobs in New York City, they hope the line takes wings (but something bigger than a flea’s wings).

I caught up with them recently.

How do Fleabags work for yard sales/flea marketing/trips to beach?

We actually designed the bags originally for our own flea market trips! We just wanted something hot to look at and eco-friendly and convenient to lug around our purchases. There was a real blank spot in the marketplace. We designed Fleabags to be sturdy carryalls, large enough to fit a lot of things – towels, books, laptops – but still be easy and lightweight enough to throw over your shoulder and run out of the house. The organic canvas we use is heavyweight, and there are nickel feet on the bottom of the bag to protect the leather. The greatest thing about them is that they aren’t precious – you can throw them in the trunk of the car, take them to the beach, and they will hold up perfectly.

What was your main inspiration to design them?

I looked at a lot of things – tool bags, vintage luggage – and tried to design a woman’s version of a utilitarian object. Fleabags are vertically oriented, because I wanted them to elongate a woman’s silhouette while she carried it, not widen it as happens with horizontally-oriented bags. My background is in fashion design and I have been working in that industry for the last 4 years starting with an internship at Tuleh. Just like in high fashion, it was important that these bags were seamlessly crafted. When the details aren’t refined, customers notice it.

Yves Saint Laurent recently unveiled “New Vintage,” an eco-friendly capsule collection that is made up entirely of remnant fabric from archived YSL collections.

Unused fabrics from fast fashion houses are a common source of waste for many designers and not only beef up landfills with perfectly usable textiles, but amount to an incredible waste of money for designers who have to buy minimums of fabric for their seasonal collections.

Kudos to French fashion house YSL for making good environmentally with their focused recycling efforts (using their own extra). Their limited edition collection will feature dip-dyed bustier dresses, embroidered trench coats, separates made in plasticized cotton, a Downtown Bag and sandal.

Once again, Barney’s New York will play host to a green collection by being the exclusive venue for the line. Recent Barney’s collaborations with eco-design house Loomstate (Loomstate For Barney’s Green) as well as a Keds, Loomstate and Barney’s partnering has put eco-chic collaborations at the forefront of the higher ended green movement.

We all want fresh, radiant skin, but you don’t have to throw down big bucks for an expensive facial at the day spa to achieve this youthful glow. Using ingredients from around your home (and your garden, too), you can make an assortment of 100% natural facial masks to suite all skin types for a tiny fraction of the cost.

Oily Skin

Mash up a cup of fresh organic strawberries and mix in three teaspoons of honey, two egg whites and a teaspoon of lemon juice. Smooth a thin layer over your entire face, leave it on for 1- minutes and rinse with warm water.

Dry Skin

Pulverize several almonds and thoroughly blend them with a teaspoon of aloe vera gel and powdered milk and a tablespoon of honey. Gently apply this mixture and use warm water to wash it off after 10 minutes.

Combination Skin

Remove the petals from a single red rose, soak them in warm water, pour out the water and crush them into small pieces. Add a tablespoon of yogurt and honey, two tablespoons of rosewater and mix well. Spread this concoction evenly over your face, wait 10 minutes and rinse with warm water.

All Skin Types

Grind a tablespoon of oatmeal to a fine consistency and blend it with a tablespoon of yogurt and a teaspoon of honey. Spread this homemade mask evenly onto your face, let it sit for 10 minutes and wash it off using warm water.

For more natural skincare tips, check out Sara’s ideas for DIY eco facials, Katherine’s picks for the best organic toners and Sarah’s list of 15 herbs for DIY skincare.

Images: audreyjm529, mynameisharsha, fsgm, polandeze

The concept of letterpress first surfaced more than a thousand years ago when woodblock printing became a medium for expressing spirituality in Eastern civilizations. After Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, this technique evolved and became the standard method throughout the 19th century. Although less widely used today, letterpress printing has emerged again as an art form. Fortunately, there are green options.

Here’s a list of the five fabulous resources to help spread the word.

With extensive customization options, Bella Figura is a great place to shop for eco-friendly invitations, save the date cards, baby announcements and more. Powered entirely by wind energy, this green company uses vegetable-based and low-VOC inks and cotton paper, donates a percentage of profits to environmental causes and is a proud member of the Co-Op America Green Business Network.

Members of 1% for the Planet, Smock uses wind energy to print stationery, gift tags, invitations and more on sustainably harvested bamboo paper. Plus, you can find a plethora of information about eco letterpress by visiting their blog.

Offering a variety of handmade stationary and art prints on post-consumer recycled paper, Sweet Beets artisans use 100% post-consumer recycled paper to craft their eco-friendly creations. Check out their blog to find out more about this family-grown operation.

Bird Dog Press prints their paper goods on 100% post-consumer recycled pulp and makes their envelopes from recycled grocery bags. Visit their blog for the latest news, shop on their site or find their work at EcoEtsy.

The Bay Area Business Program considers Julie Holcomb Printers to be an environmental leader, and we can see why. This green company uses tree-free cotton paper for their stationery, recycled paper for their envelopes and recyclable steel-backed plates for printing.

Image: Birch SF

Ease him off his battery dependency one step at a time with the solar radio from Uncommon Goods, which can be recharged by the sun or its built-in hand crank. Now, if only you could update his taste in music as well.

Who wouldn’t be fascinated by a gagdet that runs solely on H2O? The water-powered clock from Think Geek utilizes simple technology to transform electrons from water molecules into energy.

The solar shaver from the Ethical Superstore is small enough to fit in any tote, so whether your dad is camping or on a business trip, he can keep his face super smooth with a little help from the sun.

Call it bad luck, but the best of gadgets tend to die when you’re nowhere near an electrical outlet. Well, that’s not s problem with the portable solar charger from Think Geek. As long as the sun is shining, your pop will have endless power at his fingertips.

If gadgets aren’t really his thing, you could opt for yet another necktie. Or, you could get him these unique and eco-friendly recycled typewriter cufflinks from the talented artisans at EcoEtsy.