If you know a green mama or mama-to-be who loves eco-friendly jewelry, than this beautiful and sweet nesting necklace is the perfect gift – or if you’re a mama, this is a nice piece to treat yourself to.

Seriously, how cute are these necklaces?! These are newly redesigned recycled sterling silver necklaces handmade in North Carolina by Rhonda & Elijah Wyman. The necklace will sweetly represent a mama and her little one, or her whole brood as the case may be. The updated design has a wide branch, sturdy connection between the branch and chain, and whimsical leaves on the end of each branch.

There’s also a parent nestling necklace (shown above) that features both parents plus tot or tots, but I like the mama one better for some reason. Due to the handmade nature of these necklaces, the positioning of the birds will vary but the number of baby and mama birds will be correct. Also, because necklaces are made of oxidized silver they may appear darker than pictured.

I love this idea for a green baby shower or green mama new baby gift.

+ Mother & Nestling Birds Necklace

Quick summary: Bubble & Bee is an excellent green company with affordable organic products that everyone in your family will love. The company offers an enormous range of body care products. In fact, maybe all the body care products you’ll ever need to stay clean and smooth.

Company: Bubble & Bee Organic

Parent company (if any): No

Affordable Gift Basket

Type of products:

Body care products including organic facial care, insect repellent, deodorant, lip balms, soaps, hair care, body scrubs and more.

Animal welfare:

This company is not fully vegan but do carry a mass of vegan products. They use beeswax and honey in some products, such as their lip balms, lotion sticks, lotion bars, honey & rosehip facial cleanser, and the beeswax-based deodorant sticks. Shower gels, soaps, pit puttys, face creams, cucumber and pineapple face washes, deodorant sprays, baths salts, salt scrubs, insect repellent, soap nuts are all 100% vegan.

They’re part of Peta’s cruelty-free program and only test their products on humans.

Raspberry Jam Sweetheart Soap

Organic integrity:

Bubble & Bee is 100% forthcoming about their organics – a refreshing change of pace from most companies. When a product is organic, they tell you loud and clear, and it’s the same when they offer a non-organic product.

• Bubble & Bee Organic is a certified organic processing facility, certified by the Utah State Department of Agriculture and Food.
• Produces most of their products organically, and the ones they don’t are clarified in great detail on their website.

Eco-attributes:

• Recycles all excess packaging that comes to them (as much as possible).

• Uses only recyclable or reusable materials for all product containers and packaging, such as post-consumer recycled PET plastic.

• Currently exploring the option of solar or wind power for their facility.

• When the company runs out of reusable packaging materials, they buy recycled newsprint roll ends from their local newspaper press.

Ingredients & safety:

• Part of the Coming Clean Campaign – something I really like to see body care companies on board with.

• Most of their products are free from parabens, propylene glycol, ethoxylated compounds, aluminum, SLS, “fragrance,” artificial colors, micas, oxides, DEA, TEA, Urea and other harmful substances.

• They offer a helpful archive of articles about harmful chemicals in body care products – thus educating customers.

• Every single product on their site is clearly marked “organic” or not, and offers full usage and ingredients info, so you won’t be tricked or buy something you don’t want.

Pricing:

I think their prices are extremely fair, maybe even a little low considering their high quality and their organic certification. A few of their treat-minded items run a bit high, such as 8 oz of 100% Organic Body Butter for $24.95, but that’s to be expected. Lotions tend to run high.

5 typical price examples include:

• 100% Organic Lip Balm - $4
• 100% Organic deodorant – $10
• 8 oz salt scrub – $15
• Nice big chunks of sweet scented soap – $6
• 100% Organic Insect Repellent – $10

Extra perks…

• Unopened package return policy.

• Online shop - no searching all over for their products!

• B&B Organic deodorants comes with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

• The fact that they’re trying to combat the whole toxic deodorant issue is a huge deal, because conventional deodorant is a big bad when it comes to toxins. I haven’t tried their deodorants, but, the mere fact that they offer a gigantic range means you’re more likely to find a non-toxic deodorant to suit you.

• Many products come in tiny sizes that easily slip into a purse or bag or even a pocket. For example their nice lotion sticks allow for organic-on-the-go ease!

• Adorable packaging, but not so sticky sweet that you couldn’t give these products to a “manly man”. Plus, all ingredients and labels are clearly laid out on their packaging, even on their smallest products.

• Their product range is appealing to women, men and kids. Many organic companies only make products for one type of consumer, but not B&B.

• Large range of product scents and for scent-sensitive individuals, there are fragrance-free options as well.

• Clearly laid out website that’s easy as pie to navigate.

Not so perky…

Honestly, I looked and looked and found no cons about Bubble & Bee. This is simply an excellent company that’s 100%  forthcoming and as healthy as possible.

Products I’ve tried:

• Bubble & Bee Organic Coconut Lime Lotion Stick and Lip Balm

OVERALL COMPANY SCORE:

5 out of 5 little trees. This is not a 100% organic company, but they ARE NOT organic fakers – meaning they don’t say, “Hey this is organic” when a product is clearly not. Very few companies are selling honest organics, so this is a huge perk.

Organic integrity, partnered with affordable prices, a wide range of products and clear green practices make this a wonderful eco-company to spend your dollars with. No tricks; just lots of awesome body care treats.

Connect with the company:

• Bubble & Bee Organic Company Website
• Join Bubble & Bee Organic on Facebook
• Friend B&B on Twitter

Take a look at my green product review criteria or read more company profiles. 

This adorably sweet Carnelian Brass Cherry Necklace would look great this summer with a cute little red or white dress.

Handcrafted in South Africa, this brass necklace is made by Brass Images. Brass Images, established in 1988 is a Fair Trade company that employs people from the local community to help create high quality jewelry. This necklace is particularly pretty, featuring red carnelian stones in a cute hanging cherry design. The coloration of this 18-inch long necklace with 2.5-inch extension chain and brass hook closure is achieved with high heat rather than paints and dyes.

+ Carnelian Brass Cherry Necklace

In appalling, “way to go” Gucci news, they’ve just started a new program that is being touted as a “new eco and ethical” program. The idea – Gucci is offering their famous Jackie, Hobo and Tote bags with a new detailed cow ‘passport’ that tells you all about the ‘the precise history’ of the cow the bag was made from, all the way from birth to the final product.

If you didn’t know already, leather goods cause a large amount of rainforest destruction. Many cows raised for leather goods (Nelore cows) come from Brazil. Nelore cows are beautiful creatures who are sought after due to their folds of skin around the head and neck – which apparently made some moron think, “Hey, this might make an ideal handbag.”

The problem, from a eco-point of view, is that raising these cows ruins a ton of land. In fact in 2009, the Greenpeace report “Slaughtering the Amazon”- a three-year investigation into Brazil’s cattle industry, states that raising this cattle is, “The country’s chief source of CO2 emissions and the largest single driver of deforestation anywhere in the world.”

To cut back on deforestation, Gucci’s new bags are crafted exclusively from cattle raised on Brazilian ranches that do not affect the fast-disappearing Amazon rainforest. The bags are further embossed with the Green Carpet Challenge brand. Green Carpet is a project founded by Colin Firth’s wife, Livia, that’s meant to raise ethics in the global fashion industry. Talking to the The Guardian, Livia said, ’This is the future of quality fashion and credible brands. Taking responsibility for the supply chain from beginning to end. I think that’s a beautiful thing.”

Well, the cows are a beautiful thing I guess, so on that point Livia hit the mark – you know until you slice these cows up to make a bag. Then the situation gets a lot less pretty.

The absolute worst part of this entire situation is that everyone is claiming that this is an eco + ethical program, giving Gucci and Livia Firth all kinds of kudos. It’s sickening. Articles with titles like “Gucci fighting for cows” are all over the place. One decent thing to come out of this is that Gucci is donating €50,000 from this program to the National Wildlife Federation to support their anti-deforestation initiatives, but is it enough to make up for the harm they’re doing?

Here’s the thing – you don’t need a leather bag. You just don’t. There is nothing ethical or eco-friendly about slaughtering cows so you can carry around lip gloss and a wallet.

It’s not eco-friendly. It’s not ethical. It’s completely asinine that anyone would believe this. At leather slaughterhouses, these lovely animals routinely have their throats cut and some are even skinned and dismembered while they are still conscious. Futhermore, Leather is in no way eco-friendly. For the most part, leather does destroy the environment, not only by eating away land but via the pollution caused by the toxins used in tanning leather.

If you want a stylish bag there are many options that don’t involve killing an animal. This idea totally missed the mark, is a total fail and Gucci and Livia Firth would do well to be very ashamed for claiming this is in anyway ethical.

All images via International Workshop on Solutions to Deforestation and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Caused by Cattle Expansion

Homemade organic body care is one of the better, less expensive ways to avoid the toxic ingredients found in most store-bought body care products. Still, just because a product is homemade and has fewer chemicals, it doesn’t mean it’s perfectly safe for every individual.

Many homemade body care products have essential oils in them, and essential oils, even certified organic oils, are not for everyone, so before you use them, read the following safety and purchasing tips.

Basic organic essential oil safety tips:

I’m not going to write “organic essential oils” nine million times, but “organic” is what I mean when I say essential oil below. There’s no reason on earth not to purchase certified organic essential oils instead of conventional. Not only are organic essential oils are readily available but they’re a better, more eco-friendly choice than conventional.

• Most of the time, when you use essential oils they must be diluted in a carrier oil (sometimes called the base oil in recipes). I like sweet almond oil as a carrier but if you’re allergic to nuts try apricot kernel oil instead. Look for a super light carrier oil that won’t clog your pores. In a pinch you can use organic olive oil as a carrier oil. In fact, olive oil works better than light carriers for some sugar scrubs.

• NEVER use basic cooking oils in place of a real base oil (you’re not food!). Cooking oils include: canola, corn and so on. These are not as good for your skin, feel slimy and smell icky.
• The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA) recommends that you never ingest (drink) essential oils when another application such as massage will work just as well. It’s always better to put oils on, rather than ingest them. Various homemade personal care recipes, some that include essential oils, call for you to use the mixture as a mouth rinse – say for example a mixture for a sore throat or breath freshener. I personally don’t suggest putting essential oils in your mouth unless an expert in holistic essential oil therapy discusses it with you first.

• Keep oils out of the reach of children. When my son was young, he loved how essential oils smelled and little kids can confuse yummy scents with yummy treats. Your child might think it would be awesome to drink a bunch of oil and that’s not safe. Treat essential oils like any other medication or household product and call poison control if your child gets a hold of some.

The dab-test:

Before using essential oils in a homemade beauty product be sure to do a dab test.

For a dab test, take a dab of a homemade product or a drop of a straight essential oil and rub it on your inner arm. Cover the dab with a bandage. If you develop red, burning, itching, pain or any other issue you may be allergic or sensitive to the product and should toss it or tweak the recipe  to make it safely work for you.

Organic essential oil buying tips:

• Real essential oils can be therapeutic. For example as a treatment for dry skin, acne or another body issue. However, the only time an essential oil is truly therapeutic is if it’s a pure essential oil. There are also perfume-minded essential oils on the market – which you don’t want. These can be blends and usually aren’t pure, sometimes full of fake fragrances or chemicals you don’t need.

• You can easily tell if you’re getting a pure oil based on the oil price. For example, various pure essential oils go for very different prices. Orange, lavender, peppermint and geranium oils for example, differ widely in cost. If you see a shelf of essential oils that are all priced $10 skip that brand because most likely, they’re not pure oils. These are probably just fragrances with a bit of essential oils in them.

• Reputable sellers will always bottle essential oils in dark glass to protect the essential oil from sunlight. Sunlight degrades an essential oil’s therapeutic properties.

• Most pure essential oils aren’t actually all that oily – weird right? When shopping, take blotter paper with you. Most pure oils will quickly evaporate when dropped onto a bit of blotting paper, while a fragrance (not-pure, fake oil) tends to leave an oily mark.

Where to buy real, pure organic essential oil:

• Mountain Rose Herbs has one of the nations largest selections of certified organic essential oils along with massage oils and much, much more.
• HerbTrader carries many base oils and aromatherapy accessories.
• Kalyx carries carrier oils (in bulk even) and some organic essential oils.
• Abe’s Market has some carrier oils.
• From Nature With Love offers a nice selection of certified organic essential oils, CO2 extracts, vegetable oils (fixed/carrier oils), butters, hydrosols and other certified organic ingredients you can use for skin care, hair care and other applications.
• Starwest Botanicals currently offers 22 organic essential oils in the most popular varieties, such as lavender, peppermint, eucalyptus, sweet orange and more. They also offer aromatherapy accessories and aromatherapy diffusers along with carrier massage oils.
• Bramble Berry has many certified organic essential oils and even some kits.
• Earth Mama Angel Baby sells products made with certified organic essential oils – if making your own body care products seem daunting.

Great books about essential oils:

My favorite essential oil book is The Complete Book of Essential Oils and Aromatherapy: Over 600 Natural, Non-Toxic and Fragrant Recipes but there are some other nice ones too. Really, if you get this one, you won’t need another though.

• The Aromatherapy Bible: The Definitive Guide to Using Essential Oils
• The Essential Oils Book: Creating Personal Blends for Mind & Body
• The Essential Oils Handbook: All the Oils You Will Ever Need for Health, Vitality and Well-Being
• Aromatherapy: A Complete Guide to the Healing Art

More resources:

• TONS of essential oil safety tips from the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy – specifically see pregnancy and baby essential oil safety if you’re a parent (or soon-to-be parent).
• Are Essential Oils Safe?
• Herbal educational programs