Mmmm. CANDY! Just smell the bowl full of those darling, little bars of CANDY. Just look at those chewy bites of CANDY!

Now, walk away. That’s right. Walk away and no one will get hurt.

Halloween is really one of the hardest nights to stay disciplined, to focus on staying healthy and stick to your local, organic fare and not endorse one night a year when it’s okay for kids to rot their teeth and poison their bodies with sugar and trans fats.

We get hundreds of visitors to our suburban-esque San …

Tags: candy , cheating , Chocolage , diet , fair trade , green , Halloween , health , hydration , organic , pizza , sugar , water , water bottles , weight

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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 …

Tags: conservation , earth , eco friendly , endangered species , fair trade , green , hang dry clothing , invitations , mail , messages , paper , post office , postage , postal , recycling , slogans , stamps

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Jewish is going greenish.

It’s a phenomenon I like to call Oy-Soy, the marriage of ethical Jewish values with eco alternatives – everything from the artifacts that help color our heritage to a back-to-nature approach to living more sustainably.

I guess it’s all in line with the goals of tikkun olam, the repairing of the world, which we Jews perform in a variety of ways, from donating to our communities with charity and acts of kindness to taking stock in our resources.

Is being green a blessing? Try these out and see:

Recycled Ketubah

The wedding contract, called …

Tags: candles , Conserve , eco , eco suede , fair trade , Jewish , ketubah , kippot , menorah , organic , traditions

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What’s even scarier than the scariest of Halloween costumes? How about the labor abuses suffered by women and children in third world countries?

This year, little Hannah Montanas and Harry Potters can have a treat up their sleeves as they get out the word about beneficial Fair Trade sales to the homes they visit on October 31st.

It’s called Reverse Trick-or-Treating and allows participants in the U.S. and Canada not just to receive candy from neighbors but also distribute Fair Trade certified chocolate donated by companies. The participants are …

Tags: children , Chocolage , fair trade , Halloween , labor , Third World , women

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Starbucks: people either love ‘em or loathe ‘em. My husband likes their coffee and admires their business brains. I, on the other hand, can’t stand them for their homogenized, yuppie style. Having grown up in grunge-era Seattle, once a land of artsy coffee shops crammed with kitschy sofas and local color, cookie-cutter Starbucks look to me like a department store: void of soul and chock-full of useless merchandise.

But how bad is Starbucks, really? I decided to find out.

1. Clean water is such a precious commodity in the world …

Tags: barista , coffee , corporate power , disposables , drink , fair trade , food and beverage , greenwash , starbucks , waste

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Triple Certified coffee – the gourmet, deluxe, connoisseur’s brew. Coffee that’s organic, fair trade and shade grown. Coffee that’s good for the people, the forest and the birds.

Here’s a guide to the cream of the cup. These sites are worth browsing for the grower’s stories and photos of the people and the farms.

Café Altura
Café Canopy
Café Fair
Caffe Ibis
Café Mam
Coffee-Tea-Etc
Dean’s Beans
The Groovy Mind
Grounds for Change
Heine Brothers Coffee
Higher …

Tags: coffee , drink , fair trade , food , organic , songbirds , triple certified

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Wal-Mart is taking big steps to give a measurable definition as to how green their products are with an initiative to put eco-labels on everything in their stores worldwide, from t-shirts to bicycles.

The idea is to give products a simple, standard rating that allows everyday shoppers to determine at a glance how sustainable a product is, similar to a nutritional label on food.

Understandably, this is a huge endeavor and many wonder if the megachain will be able to accomplish it. If it succeeds, this will change the future of retail …

Tags: Coral Rose , Eco Innovations , Energy Star label , fair trade , Footprint Chronicles , Green Index , green rating system , Love Earth Jewelry , Nike Considered , Sustainability Consortium , Sustainable Action Leadership , Wal-Mart

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How do I know it’s summer? I hear bees and see flowers blooming; I’m working out because that beach vacation is looming. I watch baby birds as they learn to fly; I welcome new beginnings into my life.

And yes, I write terrible jingles that barely rhyme.

Actually, I know summer is upon us because all of a sudden I’m in the mood for dresses. All I want is to bare my legs and to wear strappy sandals. I’ve gathered some of my favorite

…

Tags: Beau Soleil , Doucette Duvall , dress , eco fashion , Eco-Ganik , EDUN , Elroy , fair trade , fashion , FIN , Lara Miller , Loyale clothing , organic , Sublet , sustainable

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First, a link we’ve mentioned before (what’s that called, a relink?) but worth repeating because it’s a foodie’s treasure trove – it’s 50 of the world’s best food blogs. My personal favorite is Chez Pim, where I first learned how to sun-dry my own tomatoes without using the sun – jolly handy for us Brits.

This is upcycling par excellence: yarn created from the unlikeliest of sources including plastic netting, VHS tape, newspaper and human hair! Thanks …

Tags: advertising , americorps , fair trade , lifestyle , news , starbucks , technology

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