According to Tappi, an association connecting paper making and forest practices, about 300 million metric tons of paper and paperboard are produced each year worldwide.

Frankly, we think that’s too much. That’s why we like companies that recycle. And paper companies that make paper products from recycled paper? Even better.

Ecojot delivers a tree-friendly response to this with their range of 100% post-consumer recycled paper products. The clever designs make you want to get creative, offering whimsical, nature-inspired designs for everything your writing requires.

Developed from an already thriving stationary company, Miragepaperco, the crew harnessed the  emerging eco-trend, developing a range that attuned to the times. Soon, the Canadian-based ecojot emerged, a marriage from the brainwork of sibling team Mark and Carolyn Gavin, with eye-catching prints with eco-savvy design.

We love when companies take an extra step to enhance their greenness, and ecojot is no exception. All of their paper and board is acid-free and chlorine-free; they harness vegetable-based inks and glues; and the paper and board is all acid- and chlorine-free.

They also keep the trees in mind; nary a new tree is used to make their paper, but they really take an extra eco-loving step by using a paper mill powered by biogas.

But it isn’t just keeping it recyclable and renewable that makes ecojot as green as they are. They are big supporters of Evergreen, a national non-profit organization dedicated to developing sustainable societies. A portion of their monthly proceeds supports Evergreen, too.

Principle designer Carolyn Gavin has developed reverberant, colourful designs, with twist of retro, a dab of nature, and a little geometric flair. Colour schemes of sky blues mingle with flashy fuchsias and sun-kissed yellows, each one with its own distinction, making it one-of-a-kind. They also add customization for companies, giving your business or organization a unique flair.

We especially love the Journals and Notebooks. Offered in three sizes, these hard covered, coil-bound books let you record your inner-most thoughts or your daily drivel. They conveniently lay flat when opened, and the heaviness of the paper doesn’t let markers or heavy inks seep through, allowing you to write on both sides. The two larger sizes are lined, keeping your orderly and organized when you just might not be feeling that way.

The rest of their line includes:

Agendas
These coil-bound books lay flat with ease, offering large spaces in their calenders to record the day’s events. We love the elastic that keeps it bound shut, an added bonus when you have to shove in a few to-do notes along teh way.

Calenders
The calenders are nearly a foot long and just a few inches wide, designed as a slim reminder board for your important dates, like your parent’s anniversary and your nephew’s birthday.

Cards
Their cards come in packs of a dozen (with envelopes in tow), flourished with their trademark designs on the front, and a blank inside for your personal messages. With all of the choices of designs, you can find your favourite match for your Spring luncheon with your friends or your cat’s birthday extravaganza. (Even the plastic bag that it comes in, by the way, is biodegradable, naturally derived from corn. Love it.)

Sketchbooks
Heavy duty sketching paper makes up this perfect pad for the budding artist or day-to-day doodler. They also offer a version for your kids’ masterpieces.

Workbooks
Go to school in style with a slim design that can easily go with you to class and slide in the pages of your text book. Coming in a package or two, the colours complement each other, helping you stay  style-savvy, sustainable, and hopefully, smarter.

Ecowrap
When you want to brighten up a gift and newspaper won’t cut it as the gift wrap, their recycled wrapping alternatives are the perfect answer, with their matching recycled “ribbon” and party-perfect designs.

Folders
Make your filing cabinet a little more fun with their nature-inspired file folders. They come in twos, combining a solid colour with their trademark design, making you want to pull open the drawers to dig out old bills.

Not sure which to choose? We recommend the journal to start, with its simple lined paper that can be used for any of your needs.

The ecojot Journal

• 6×9-inches
• available in designs: ecoCOLORS, 3R’s
• 150 lined paged
• $17, with a percentage towards Evergreen

Visit them at www.ecojot.com

Their mission is to educate, inspire and organize people to create justice and peace through nonviolence. We had the chance to chat with the founders of the company to see what drives them to fulfill this passion.

What led you in this direction to create BE LOVE?

We created Be Love to help us fund the Peace Education work that we do through our nonprofit partner Common Peace.

Be Love has been a natural way for us to live our core beliefs.
This work allows us to be creative and express ourselves through inspiring and eco friendly production and design.

What is your most popular style?

All Be Love styles are our favorites, of course! So much of us goes into creating ones that we love. KamGi especially likes our long sleeve organic top in ocean blue with the Be Love design and Kyle digs the new organic charcoal T with the Peace Warrior design. (Note from ecoki: We love the simple, yet artistic, styles!)

Who is your ideal customer?

Our customers run the spectrum of old and young, male and female of all colors, shapes and sizes. Be Love attracts customers that love beauty and have a strong desire to buy and wear clothing that represents their core beliefs in environmental sustainability and nonviolence. Our customers support great work through their purchase of Be Love and this is very important to them.

What does the future hold for BE LOVE?

God only knows but we see a continuation of great new designs and purposeful products. We also look forward to growing peace studies and  activism around the principles of nonviolence to create positive changes in the communities we find ourselves in.

How do you live an eco-friendly lifestyle?

We think about the consequences of our actions and how they affect the earth that we will leave to our children grandchildren and so-forth.

We educate ourselves about the issues and challenges we face as people who are stewards of this planet.
We live simply so that others can simply live.

It doesn’t end there, though. We definitely recommend you check out their Peace Studies on their website. This is where we know that the company is driven to making a change, by providing easily attained resources at the tips of our fingers.

We also love that the crew at Be Love donates 10% of all sales to Common Peace, an organization that helps teach the principles of peace, nonviolence, and conflict resolution.  The rest of their profits go toward building nonviolence workshops and funding campaigns of non-violent direct action.

They say their t-shirts communicate a message of strength, compassion, and loving determination for peace and social justice. If that’s not enough, they look good, too.
Check them out at beloveforall.com

BE LOVE GIVEAWAY!

Congrats to debb for winning this giveaway! Please stay tuned for our next one. Communion dresses for girls on sale.

It’s no question why the name Shoo-foo stands for soft and comfortable – two things that bamboo fabric vibrantly features.

With a background in Ecology and Language Studies, as well as having lived in China for ten years, founder Dany Filion knew that she wanted to make a difference, utilizing the tools she gathered from her university and post-academic years.

It was this that made Filion realize the pesticides pumped into the environment from the not-so-sustainable cotton. Research soon led to discoveries about cotton’s affect on the planet; among them their pesticide use, carcinogenic harm on the planet, pollution caused from the clothing industry and contamination caused to soil and water.

Her travel to China also introduced her to bamboo as a new resource. This soon resulted in bringing it to Canada, and building a thriving company highlighting the combination of planet-friendly items developed with renewable, sustainable sources.

Shoo-foo’s mission, they say, is to reduce their footprint on the Earth by delivering high-quality bamboo products to those who love the planet and a healthy lifestyle.

We have had the opportunity to review their Spa Combo – and we couldn’t be more pleased!

The soft, luxurious myriad of towels include a bath towel, hand towel, and face cloth, packaged together in a trio that is a must for any bathroom.

Each towel features detailed stitching across the bottom, delivering that extra oomph of elegance with attractiveness.

But the spa worthiness isn’t just on how it looks, but on how it feels, too. Incredibly soft and self-indulgent, they’re as soft as wrapping yourself in pure luxury.

We also love that Shoo-foo towels aren’t overly full; instead, they are sleek and satiny, hanging elegantly on the bathroom rail, though thoroughly absorbent. The bath towel is a comforting 30×60″, designed to effectively engulf your body with pure comfort that does it’s job to a tee.

The handtowel is a perfect complement to any bathroom, with a choice of eco-inspired natural, latte brown, or sage green neutrals, or vibrant indigo, to correspond with nearly any bathroom decor.

And we absolutely love the facecloth, making nighttime routines reminiscent of a day at the spa, one that you simply cannot understand you ever did without.

Using renewable bamboo, they are also anti-bacterial and hypoallergenic – perfectly suited for bathroom use.

Bamboo is the fastest growing plant on earth, renewing in large quantities, requiring only rain and sunlight to feed it: no fertilizers, pesticides or irrigation. It also improves soil quality from its high consumption of nitrogen and absorption of carbon dioxide, as well as high production of oxygen per square meter.

Shoo-foo has harnessed this, using bamboo naturally grown in China. And we always love to highlight companies that send their items sustainably, too; Shoo-foo is no exception. They manufacture their products on site, ship them directly, and use minimal packaging. Excellent.

Shoo-foo Spa Combo

• soft, absorbent and luxurious towels
• made of 100% bamboo
• 600g/sq metre
• includes: 1 bath towel: 76 x 123 cm (30 x 60 in), 1 hand towel: 33 x 76 cm (13 x 30 in), 1 face cloth: 28 x 33 cm (11 x 13 in)
• available in sage green, natural, indigo or latte brown

Visit them at shoo-foo.com.

Since 2007, Sparrow Handbags have been dishing out designs based on the principle of sustainability, providing style and fashion in an animal-free alternative for the conscious consumer.

Each bag developed in their British Columbia studio is handmade with care and quality – and it shows. We have had the opportunity to review the “Judy“, a shoulder handbag that has loads to love.

A smaller version of their popular “Sophie”, we soon discovered its anything but small. Like my grandmother, I live out of my purse, fitting my Blackberry, camera, two notebooks, wallet, pens, pencils, lists, and everything else with ease. (Okay, it was getting a little snug after all that – but fit it, nonetheless).

The hemp linen bag is a ridiculously vibrant cherry red, a perfect compliment to dissipating any negative disposition. It’s fully lined with black hemp/cotton, giving a durable duo-layer that is resistant to tearing and can easily carry some heavier contents without any stress.

Sparrow Handbags uses two of our favourite materials: 100% organic cotton – which means it’s chemical-free with zero toxicity (we like that, read more here)  and  hemp, a renewable crop requiring no pesticides. They also utilize reactive, low-impact dyes and 100% solvent-free water-based inks, ensuring no harm on you, as well as the environment. No leather, fur, wool and silk to be seen.

We dig the zipper top – something that more handbags seem to be neglecting – ensuring all your contents remain intact. There’s an inside pocket, too, for slipping in your cell phone, a few cards, or a Larabar for an afternoon snack.

The Judy is a smaller version of the Sophie, but don’t underestimate its size! You can fit everything you need in this stylish over the shoulder handbag.

Little details – like the bold black contrast and the shiny side rings, add some extra flair.

We always like to highlight when companies and organizations take the extra step to practice what they preach. Sparrow Handbags is no exception. This vegan company also aims towards preserving our planet through various eco-loving efforts. They strive to minimize waste, reuse when they can, and donate extra material.

Reusing isn’t their only “R”, though. They also use recycled paper, and only print in small quantities and email when possible. Tetra boxes are recycled, too; the crew uses them in their handbags for the bag bottoms. The Sparrow team also uses local goods to reduce their carbon footprint, and feasts on plant-based fields to up the ante even more.

Sparrow Judy Handbag

• 100% SKAL certified Organic Cotton twill or hemp linen
• Fully lined; black hemp/cotton fabric
• Organic cotton batting layer
• Handmade in Canada
• 12″L x 9″H x 2.5″W; Handle, 17″L
• Available in white, natural, grey, black, yellow, red, blue, purple
• $98, available at Sparrow Handbags

Images courtesy of sparrowhandbags.com

Splaff Flopps has been around since 1997, their early days devoted to a mission to create a comfortable pair of sandals developed from recycled materials. Since then, the line has grown to hit other needs, in the form of belts, bags, wallets, guitar straps, and wrist bands.

As veterans in the recycled goods field, designers Cliff Drill and Craig Wallace have continued to develop quality, hand-crafted products that hail out of Baja, California.

We here at Ecoki have had the ultimate pleasure of taking their products for a whirl, and truth be told, the integrity that they strive for in their products distinctly recognizable. This is what we think:

Footwear: The Lazy Boy Natural Flip Flop

– Women’s, Natural

The Lazy Boy is the original, their classic cut that was first developed those years ago. The sole is created from recycled car tires, with straps from leftover bicycle inner tubes. And for the foot bed? You’ve the pleasure of 100% recycled rubber and foam encased in an all natural hemp fabric cushioning every step.

Their website says that they are tested by surfers, so they aimed for sandals that were strong and comfortable, as well as waterproof, slip resistant, and odorless.

These claims, we’ve so far discovered, are more than accurate, but we’ve also discovered a few things that make the Lazy Boy stand out from your average flip flops.

Ease of drivability: Some flip flops offer little give in bending for the brake and the gas in the car, or they’re awkward to maneuver as you try to switch between the pedals. Splaff’s straps hug your foot, making the sandal move  easily with each shift.

Durability: The recycled materials and industrious hemp combine to create a durable piece of footwear. They are heavier than most flip flops, providing a shoe that is sure not to fall apart after a single summery season. And because of their design, we’re pretty sure that, if they slipped off, they wouldn’t get swept away while wading in the water.

Aesthetics: They look cool. They look really cool. In fact, the second we slipped them on, we felt a lot cooler.

So, perhaps we’ve tested them in the chillier weather, and we don’t live near the ocean. However if the Splaff folks want to send me out to Baja to test them out with a surfing lesson, I’ll happily comply.

Comes in Men’s (sizes 6-13) or Women’s (sizes 5-10), Black ($46) or Natural ($50).

Also available in two open-two styles, the Gladiator and Hipster.

Bag: The Bhoga Messenger Bag

Their Messenger Bag is not unlike their Flopps in its eco-friendly functionality. With plenty of room for a couple binders and a laptop, this is the perfect school solution; or opt to stuff it with your essentials to use as an everyday addition to your body.

It’s constructed from 14oz. hemp canvas and recycled inner tubes, but its durability doesn’t end there. It is also lined with regrind vinyl to keep it moisture-free, no matter where and when you use it. And it can fit an awful lot.

The bag comes adorned with a front zipper pocket, perfect to stash your quick access items, like sunglasses, cell phone, and wallet, while keeping them safe from slipping out when you’re on the run. Two clips keep the large front flap closed, with tons of room to fit all your needs. There’s also a second zipper pocket under the top flap for even more secure storage, and a centre divider on the inside to keep your stuff organized.

But while you’re staying hip, you’re staying sustainable, too, with a durable, earth-friendly and practical bag. The bag measures 14 inches in height, 14 inches across, and 6 inches wide, and comes attached to a 44-inch adjustable strap made from your last inner tube.

They’ve also recently attached a couple strap for your yoga mat on the bottom, but if lugging around a yoga mat isn’t your thing, no problem: they’re a small adornment that offer no hindrence or takes away from your, well, really cool bag.

Available in brown, black or olive green. $70

Belt: Splaff Belt

The Splaff Belt is made of 100% recycled bicycle inner tubes, but it doesn’t look like you just took apart your tires then wrapped it around your waist. Instead, the belt, lined with a natural hemp fabric, is a perfect addition to your wardrobe. We love our thick belt, dotted with grommets, perfectly moldable without the stiffness that some belts leave. The grommets add some extra flair, and the contrasted stitching provides that a little extra soething. It’s waste for your waist. Ingenious.

It’s available in two styles and widths: a thin 1.25″ or thicker 1.75”, in a plain or grommeted style, with a silver or brass buckle (the brass isn’t available for the grommeted belt).

Available in thin, thick, grommets or not, and brass or silver buckle. $24 and $28.

We have to say that we absolutely love Splaff’s goods, and we’re pretty convinced you will, too. (And if they want to take us up on our surfing lesson request, we’ll be sure to let you know).

You can buy these great eco friendly goods at Amazon.com

Check out their goods at www.splaff.com

Want to learn how to surf? This or this or this will give you some tips. cheap stilettos shoes

Images courtesy of splaff.com

Ottawa-based Sweet Violet is one of them, committed to developing and selling non-toxic, paraben-free and sodium lauryl sulfate-free skin and health care essentials. All of their products are made with a pure simplicity, giving you botanical-based ingredients from all natural, organic resources.

Traditional skin care products hold a myriad of synthetic ingredients and chemicals, used for their anti-fungal properties and improving their shelf-life. Sweet Violet gives us the 411: these ingredients, which claim to rid you or wrinkles, soften your dry feet, and free you of aches, pains and discomfort are actually just used as fillers to reduce costs.

By incorporating 100%, all-natural ingredients, Sweet Violet ensures that chemical-allergies are kept at bay, health is improved from the benefits of essential oils, and skin is improved from less irritants from synthetic ingredients. We couldn’t wait to find out.

We’ve had the opportunity to test out four of their products.

Too Hot! Roll On

Too Hot is designed with the woman in mind: specifically those experiencing their mid-life night sweats, hot flashes and other menopause discomforts. In its convenient roll-on container, put your sporadic hot flash episodes at bay by providing your pressure points with a little love.

The verdict? These essential oils live up to their claims. After a few untimely episodes, rolling on the temples and wrists did the trick just fine. We also love its earthy scent.

The ingredients include Sunflower Oil, Jojoba Oil, Cypress, and Clary Sage, all built to have a soothing effect for nervous tension, and a natural connection with balance and female reproductive organs.

Bug Bite Rescue

An all natural solution to sooth and relieve insect bites, this is the perfect answer to keeping itchy, red, and burning blotches at bay. Truly a marriage of its highlighted scents, the lavender and lemon give a fresh and relaxing aroma while giving you protection from the predators.

Ingredients include Aloe Vera Gel Juice, known for its magic to soothe burning skin, Witch Hazel, a must to relieve itching, and a great smelling blend, highlighting an anti-viral, cleansing mixture of Lemon, Lavender, Eucalyptus, and Cajaput.

Compared to popular commercial brands, such as Afterbite, this is a chemical-free alternative, as opposed to the active ammonia in the drug store brands.

No More Monsters

This roll-on is designed for children to aid in easing their nighttime anxiety. Say goodbye to nightmares with a healing mixture of Lavender and calming Chamomile. It’s rich Lavender scent is often used for insomnia, anxiety, and stress relief, without popping your little ones pills to ease their worry.

Studies have shown that a lavender scent increases deep sleep, giving you a perfect solution for that tossing and turning.

Although we didn’t have any kids experiencing nightmares to test it on, the soothing scent combination was a perfect relaxing roll-on for evening evacuation from the real world.

Earth Angel Body Polish

Less is more in this concentrated mixture that smells incredible, exfoliates your skin, and leaves you feeling supple smooth.

The body polish is a mixture of oils, Shea Butter, Dead Sea Salt and Essential Oils to create the perfect at-home spa experience.

The scents include Bergamot, a citrus-derived oil that is reminiscent of orange, known to combat those days where you are just feeling a little off kilter. Rosewood, too, balances the body while lifting your spirits. Combined with Pink Grapefruit, which purifies oily and acne prone skin, it’s a winning combination.

And you can keep it eco-friendly: the label easily removes for a handy reusable container after the scrub is finished.

We especially love the gentle citrus scent and our fresh and smooth heels as we step away from the winter months.

Sweet Violet’s all-natural answers to our every day needs are a perfect combination of sweet smelling scents and effective, chemical-free solutions. We love the ones we tested, and have our eyes on some more!

Too Hot! Roll On – $10
Bug Bite Rescue – $13
No More Monsters – $10
Earth Angle Body Polish (60g) – $25

Available from their website, sweetviolet.ca

But we soon learned that snuggling with baby in a Bamboosa makes the experience that much better.

As their name indicates, Bamboosa is a bamboo-driven eco-friendly clothing company, making options for men, women and babies. We’ve had the opportunity to review their baby hooded towels, the perfect snuggler for post-bath cuddles.Each hooded towel is made from 80% viscose from organic bamboo with 20% recycled soda bottles made into polyester (rPET). This recycled material is one we don’t see too often with bamboo clothing (most often it’s organic cotton instead) – and perhaps the secret addition that gives it an undeniably extravagant softness.

Surrounding your baby in a Bamboosa towel ensures that they aren’t enveloped in chemicals. Their fabric is free of chlorine and formaldehyde, and the EPA and FDA have ensured that PET bottle material has nary a harmful effect. All dyes used are eco-friendly, too; their whole line is completely natural and chemical-free.

Each towel is double layered, upping the maximum absorbency that bamboo fabric already has. They measure 30 x 30 inches, so it will definitely last your little one past their first year. Gift sets, too, make the perfect package for new parents.

If baby is getting fussy and the job needs to be done quick, bamboo towels absorb for times better than cotton does, and they are fast drying, getting you through the process in a breeze. And if baby screams for your attention, tossing the towel to the floor and forgetting about it for awhile is no problem – the material is anti-fungal ensuring it bacteria-free for the next use.

Bamboosa has harnessed this remarkable fabric not just because of its small eco-impact; bamboo is comfortable, soft, hypoallergenic, anti-microbial, and even provides a natural UV protection.

We love when companies take it an extra step forward, and we always note it in our reviews. Bamboo is no exception. As a sweatshop-free company,  its clothing is produced in a factory in Andrews, South Carolina. The bamboo they use is planted and grown on family-owned farms China, and they ensure its done sustainably. Read more about it here.

It doesn’t end there. They’re also a sustainable company in other ways, actively working alongside Change Round-Up, an organization that uses the concept of a spare change donation jar in the e-commerce market. Bamboosa uses their donations from this project to assist with the following organizations:

• Healthy Child Healthy World helps educate others with combating health and developmental issues in children caused by toxins in homes, schools, and communities.
• Diligent Hands…Gracious Hearts is dedicated towards providing the  elderly and sick with free home and lawn care.
• OCEANA‘s mission to to provide ocean protection by reducing pollution and preventing harm to sea life.

They also ship their packages in 100% recycled paper, another planet-friendly plus.

We’re just left wondering when they’re going to come out with an adult-sized.

BambooBaby Hooded Towel

30×30
80% viscose from organic bamboo
20% recycled polyester (rPET)

Available in:

• purely natural with tahiti blue
• purely natural with pale pink
• purely natural with sprout green
• tahiti blue with purely natural
• pale pink with purely natural
• sprout green with purely natural

$30; available from bamboosa.com