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Rough, Tough and Green

brush.gifAround my place, we eat a lot of veggies—especially carrots and potatoes, which means a lot of scrubbing and cleaning of said vegetables. Thankfully, we found the Tampico scrub/vegetable brush by the good people at GreenBoatStuff.com. (This family-owned company has a range of green products, with particular emphasis on boating and watersports, and proudly asserts its Earth-friendly nature in its name.) What I adore most about this rough brush, though, is not that it makes vegetable-cleaning a hundred times easier and quicker than, say, a toothbrush, though it really does; not its great price (a steal at $3.25 plus shipping); and not the health factor of having well-cleaned versus inadequately cleaned veggies. I love the green denominator best: It’s plastic-free and constructed to be as biodegradable as possible, even if it were to accidentally make its way into the marine ecosystem! The bristles are made of Tampico fiber, which is a vegetable fiber from a plant indigenous to Mexico, and the handle is of finished hardwood. A few of the other great things about Tampico are its capacity to store and release water, its resistance to heat and oils, and its abrasiveness, which makes it ideal for other applications on and off the boat and around the house. Although not the sleekest, most fashion-forward brush (but who needs form when you’ve got oodles of function?), it more than gets the job done—sans chemicals!

Find It Here: GreenBoatStuff.com

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Does Your Vacuum Cleaner Suck?

vacuum_cleaner.jpgIf you’re like me, an undomestic goddess of a kingdom comprised mostly of pet hair and assorted baby stuff, any help in biting back the dust is welcome. National Geographic’s Green Guide recently published an article on vacuum cleaners, including product comparisons and buying pointers. I dug that they say vacuums are super-easy to repair but that seldom happens. It could, however, probably save you some money, not to mention please Mother Earth (and who doesn’t like to keep on HER good side?) to try having the vacuum repaired or parts replaced (or do it yourself!) before you donate it to a thrift store, charity, or even “freecycle” it.  But if it’s time for a better vacuum or your household includes an asthma-and-allergies sufferer (like mine), take heart because today’s vacuum cleaning market lends credence to the idea that there’s a sucker born every minute—but this time, it’s in a good way! Some models with HEPA filters (sometimes pricier, sometimes not) even help whisk away and imprison the brain cell-killing chemicals in flame retardants, the hormone-tampering phthalates as well as the carcinogens and pesticides that sneak in from the outside world. I take safeguarding the environment seriously but I can’t resist one final pun—peruse The Green Guide and, for a more comprehensive list of vacuums’ green ratings, Consumer Reports. With these helpers, it’s sure to be a wind-wind situation when you choose your next vacuum cleaner!

Find it Here: The Green Guide

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Green Your ‘Ween

141.jpgThis Halloween, think green. Naturally, that means monster skin, toads — and chocolate. Chocolate! How can chocolate possibly be green, you ask? It’s easy with Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates. The chocolates crafted by this California company are 100% organic and fair trade. Sweet Earth offers everything from wedding favors to green gifts and Halloween-themed candies, including their 65% chocolate, which is also vegan and lecithin-free and are available in “Very Scary Halloween Chocolate” (the skull variety, of course) which sounds wicked good. I can’t wait to tickle my sweet tooth with these boooo-tiful chocolates!

Find It Here: Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates

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To Market We Will Go!

bomm_logo_color.gifIf you’re in Missouri—St. Louis, to be specific—this weekend, put a green star on your calendar for the Best of Missouri Market, an annual event sponsored by the world-renowned Missouri Botanical Garden. On Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 4 and 5, the MBG will sprout anew with more than 120 Missouri-based vendors, crafters, and producers offering everything from non-toxic wooden children’s toys to jewelry to organically grown produce and herbs. The show will go on, rain or shine, from 9 to 5 p.m. daily, and children’s activities will also be available. And even if you don’t have the chance to attend this special event, if you’re ever in the Midwest, don’t miss the Missouri Botanical Garden, a true ecological wonder nested in the heart of a city!

Find It Here:  Missouri Botanical Garden’s Best of Missouri Market

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