Blogs & Ecology

Photos: Via Nativa.

In our recent How to go Green Holidays, we’ve made the point: this time of the year is not about presents and errands, but about sharing with your beloved. Keeping that in mind, if you still need to get some presents and didn’t find anything in our Green Gifts Guide, here’s a last minute option to shop while doing some good.

Similar to our Eco-Friendly and Vegan Gift Guides, we put together some websites and suggestions for the Fair Trade enthusiast on your list! Or use the guide to purchase gifts for your friends and family who you would love to introduce Fair Trade to!

photo: 1-800-Flowers

After I learned the eco-issues behind the cut flower industry I was never able to look at a dozen roses the same again. No longer was it a symbol of a sweet loving gesture, but rather, the sign of often pesticide laden blooms and an enlarged carbon footprint. However, 1-800-Flowers has introduced Fair Trade flower bouquets. A step in the right direction? You be the judge.

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Hello AP Gang!

Holiday consuming takes over our lives in December, so why not give while you get? You heard me right, Giving is the New Getting! We can’t help but blush and brag about our good friends at eConscious Market.  Founded in 2007, eConscious Market is an online 

I?ve used this laundry for roughly four months now once a week and the bottle is still half way full. ... I like the all-natural fragrance that derives from the eucalyptus, coconut oil and verbena oil. ... The history of the soap nut is simple; it has been around for 3000 years in India and I?m glad it?s finally being used now!

I’ve used this laundry for roughly four months now once a week and the bottle is still half way full. ... I like the all-natural fragrance that derives from the eucalyptus, coconut oil and verbena oil. ... The history of the soap nut is simple; it has been around for 3000 years in India and I’m glad it’s finally being used now!

Image: Guyaki Yerba Maté

Wouldn't you know it? Just as I was about to post something about a great new program from the folks at Guyaki, they decided to offer our readers a special deal at their online store. Serendipity at it's finest.

Guyaki's Yerba Maté is one of the favorite drinks around TreeHugger's virtual break room so we were excited to see them partnering with The Equilibrium Fund to connect with Alimentos Nutri Nutrales, a women owned business based in Ixlu Peten, Guatemala, to directly source Maya Nut for their Java Maté beverage.

photo by Shaman Chocolates

A socially responsible chocolatier and shaman has been giving the profits from the sales of Shaman Chocolates to the Huichol Indians of the Sierra Madre Mountains. The Huichol, declared a national treasure of Mexico, are one of the few American tribes to maintain their pre-Columbian traditions. Chocolate has been a rich part of their tradition for hundreds of years, and the sweet-tasting candy is now being used to conserve their culture and lifestyle. ...

Organic artistic delights such as chocolate chip half dipped cookies, peanut butter and jelly chocolates, nut and fruit truffles and spiced agave walnuts truffles. ... The King Konction is basically a peanut butter and jelly sandwich covered in chocolate and topped with banana chips. ... All of Eat Pastry’s products are organic and come packaged in reusable, recycled boxes covered with biodegradable cellophane, so check them out at their site.

Organic artistic delights such as chocolate chip half dipped cookies, peanut butter and jelly chocolates, nut and fruit truffles and spiced agave walnuts truffles. ... The King Konction is basically a peanut butter and jelly sandwich covered in chocolate and topped with banana chips. ... All of Eat Pastry?s products are organic and come packaged in reusable, recycled boxes covered with biodegradable cellophane, so check them out at their site.

With Paul Newman's death, the world lost a good man, both as an actor and a humanitarian who strongly believed in giving back. ... Newman’s Own Organic pretzels are very good, but like many other products, they taste just like their non-organic cousins. ... I’d stick to Newman’s Own, you get non-GMO products at a decent cost, and by purchasing NOO products you are, by default, giving back to people who need it.

Autonomie is proud to announce that we have been officially certified as a B Corporation! I’m sure there are plenty of you out there wondering what that even means, and we are certainly happy to explain.

Just as the temperatures begin to drop and our minds start to wander towards holiday gift-giving, our new organic cotton collections have arrived from Peru! Hand knit out of 100% Fair Trade-certified, organic cotton by our women’s coop in Piura, our new line of hats, scarves and fingerless gloves are soft, warm, stylish, and as always, ethical! Buy ‘em as a set, individually, or give them as the perfect gift this season.