So far, the year started with a bang, and time is going by faster than I can count the days.  Its a beautiful today because unlike in other parts of the country, the weather has been very mild (50’s) and sunny… in Portland!  I actually had to break out the sunglasses if you could believe it!  I hope it stays that way, at least for another day or so.

Did you know you can recycle your old bras instead of tossing them?  Ecouterre tells you why and how in Recycling Old Bras, Eco-Fashion Dire Straits, Faux Fur Pas

Its amazing how much food we as a nation trow away.  David of  The Good Human talk about the Environmental Implications Of The Food We Throw Away

Do you want to know how to How To Boost Your Metabolism In 3 Minutes 29 Seconds? My favorite fitness blogger, Kat of Body Incredible will tell you how! Trust me, you will not be disappointed – (wink wink!)

Is it realistic to have a home office space this clean?  Is yours?  Maybe at the end of the day after you clear off your desk and throw everything in a box, I suppose.  A Showcase of Minimalist Workstations by Web Designer Depot leaves me a little disoriented.

Win a Dandelion Earth tote bag from Focus Organic: Giveaway! Dandelion Organic Cotton ‘Keep it Green’ Tote Bag. Giveaway ends February 20th.

Vegan Leather Handbag with Pleated Pleather

I am proud to officially launch Cherry Berry Handbags at Green and Chic!

I fell in love with Cherry Berry when I won a handbag from a giveaway hosted at  Be Blushless blog (which is also an eco-friendly wedding dress shop, by the way!)  I was first introduced to vegan leather handbags and accessories when I became an owner of my first Matt & Nat vegan leather purse several months prior. My initial fear was that “vegan leather” would look and feel too much like plastic, and it would be a compromise on quality.

Cherry Berry (and Matt & Nat) handbags is far from “cheap”.  The  materials on my “Vegan Leather Croc Handbag“ doesn’t look or feel much different than any of my leather purses.  When I first took the brown handbag out of the cloth sack, I actually had to smell it to make sure it wasn’t leather!  In terms of quality and durability, I know  it will stand the test of time – something that is very important to me when “investing” in a bag or purse.

When you order a handbag from Green and Chic, shipping is aromatically free!

Learn more about the brand, check out the handbag collection at greenandchic.com, and let me know your thoughts!

Cloth napkins I recently made

Envelope I made from a paper grocery bag

Over the past year, I have done a pretty good job reducing the use of plastic in my day-to-day life. There are a few areas I need to work on, like the use of plastic produce bags at the grocery stores and farmers markets, but overall, I’ve done better than I have in years past.

For 2010, I decided to make an effort to cut back on the amount of paper I use .  I am usually mindful of my paper usage when it comes to eliminating unnecessary magazine and catalog subscriptions, junk mail, grocery stores bags, and reducing office and shipping paper. My use of miscellaneous paper products like napkins and facial tissue can be excessive at times, though I only buy 100% recycled paper products.  In an effort to reduce the amount of paper I use, I started using cloth napkins at the dinner table and handkerchiefs instead of facial tissue. I normally only use cloth napkins when I have guests, but whats stopping me from using them everyday?  Thankfully, I haven’t purchased a roll of paper towels in months, so that’s also a good start!

Have you made an effort to reduce the amount of paper and/or plastic in your life? Do you have any other ideas aside from what I mentioned?

I am happy to introduce a new promotion at Green and Chic:

Get $5.00 off purchases of $30.00 or more (before shipping and tax) with Google Checkout.*

Though this only applies to purchases using Google Checkout, this is good for any and every product I carry at Green and Chic, including the new Cherry Berry vegan handbag line (which I will soon blog about).  No codes required, just click “Google Checkout” in your shopping cart and the discount will be automatically applied.

*Limit 1 per person. No resale. Offer available until Monday, May 31, 2010 1:00:00 PM PDT

This is my first “link love” post of 2010 and I admit, I haven’t been doing many of these posts over the past…six months.  I recently found a few ‘must read and save’ links to start the new year off on the right foot.

Blogging (what else?)

If you have a blog, what are your blogging goals for 2010? Barbara Swafford with Blogging Without a Blog poses the question in her post: Looking Forward

If you have an eCommerce business, do you really need to blog?  This article: Do I Really Need a Blog For an eCommerce Business by Nate Moller of Thou Shall Blog gives you the answer you’re looking for.

Are you having a hard time just getting started with writing/blogging? Joanna with Confident Writing gave us a list of resources to help us get started (or continue) in 10 Posts to Help with Getting Started.

Fashion, crafts and green living

Though I try to avoid buying anything, if possible, I still love browsing online stores and boutiques. Top 10 Online Eco-Boutiques by Ecosalon kept me occupied for a while.

I’m currently on a sewing binge and Fab Fabrics: 2009 Retrospective by Crafting a Green World gave me additional ideas and inspiration for 2010.

Just Say No to Plastic - We all know just how toxic and destructive plastic is.  The problem its everywhere and its sometimes easy to forget that we should avoid it.  Lisa Sharp asks, “what are you doing to reduce plastic this year?” and offers a few suggestions.

Happy Hump Day!

Green and Chic on Facebook

Green and Chic has had a pretty hit or miss presence on Facebook over the past year. It seems like a small, insignificant  thing, but I am now committed to keeping my page updated.

I will post Green and Chic product updates, sales and Facebook only coupon codes.  Join us today!

When it comes to buying environmentally friendly products, we generally think of cleaning supplies, other household items, organic clothing, and more.  But what about what we use to write with?  Though I personally prefer pens, I still use pencils from time to time, and I’m sure if you have children, they probably go though a lot of them in the course of a school year.

Though pencils are a way of life for many people, we rarely think about the environmental impact of conventional pencils.   According to Forest Ethics, there are still manufactures that clear cut forests in California and Sierra Nevada to get wood for pencils.  In addition to that, 14 billion of these pencils are made in polluting factories every year.  What is the alternative?

Earthzone is proud to launch the world’s first environmentally friendly pencil. Earthzone pencils are non toxic and made from 100% recycled newspapers. The erasers are even latex free. I was sent a few packs of pencils and sharpeners to try out, and I must say, I am very impressed!  I was skeptical at first. I was expecting them not to be sturdy since they are made from…paper, but they act and feel just like a regular pencil.  The pencils sharpen easily, and do not break.  They actually feel and write better than traditional wood based pencils. In terms of how they look, the recycled newspaper is incorporated in the design, which looks pretty cool!

Earthzone offers a variety of pencils, including, HB, colored pencils and a pack of “artist series” pencils.

Do you buy pencils for yourself and/or your children? I guess I assumed most pencils were made from “recycled wood”, but I was wrong!  Have you thought about where your pencils come from?

skinnyskinny
Organic Body Oil

In addition to the store wide Green and Chic sale, you can also save on

skinnyskinny and True Body products until January 1st!

True Body Soap
Was: $4.99
Now: $3.00

greenandchic.com

Its hard for me to believe that we are already at the end of the year! Green and Chic has seen many changes in 2009.  Since the store is only fifteen months old now, major changes are typical and I don’t see it ending anytime soon.  To not evolve is to parish or fail.

The year started out pretty slow which is common for online stores just starting out.  There were times when I though about giving up and focusing on my full-time day job.  Running Green and Chic and working was kicking my butt to say the least, and I had a tough time managing both.

Around the same time, personal health challenges forced me to slow down a bit.  I could no longer ‘do it all’ as I initially planned.  It felt like the blog and store was coming to a screeching halt at that point.  As time went by and I was able to manage my time better, and business slowly started to pick up.  I found out what changes I needed to make on my website and marketing efforts.  Executing these changes is not easy to say the least, but change is always exciting. Relocating this past September brought on a whole new set of challenges, but I am so glad I made the move from the Bay Area (where I was born and raised) to Portland, OR.

I would like to take a moment to thank everyone who supported me this past year, and I’m looking forward to what 2010 will bring.

Happy New Year!

Erbaorganics Baby Body Wash
Was $12.00
Now $9.00
(no code needed)

From now until December 31st
get 15% off everything at Green and Chic

code: HOLIDAY09

greenandchic.com