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Looking for alternative ways to recycle your beer bottles? I have good news.

The colorful piece of glass, once destined for a dump, can actually be incorporated into handcrafted designer jewelry. San Francisco based designer, Stefanie Wolf has decided to give traditional jewelery an eco-friendly makeover. Frustrated by the limited availability of gemstones that are guaranteed as ethically sourced, she recently turned her attention to a completely renewable resource: recycled glass.

Stefanie Wolf started her jewelry company as a good excuse for some healthy creative expression. Today, Stefanie Wolf Designs is a small, socially conscious jewelry company, which produces eye-catching jewelery from recycled materials. Her Recycled Elements line is made from recycled glass and reclaimed sterling silver from old jewelry that has been melted down, and from chemical processes such as film developing that leaves a silver byproduct. Stefanie is now working on new lines utilizing fair trade silver, vintage trade beads and locally mined and cut stones. Talk about being resourceful!

A healer by nature, Stefanie believes that since the beginning of recorded time, men and women have worn gemstones for their beauty, power and sheer endurance rather than just for pure adornment. Her commitment to healing extends beyond her personal needs to those of the planet. Stefanie’s business practices are all all about conservation and giving back to the community.

Check out Recycled Elements at multiple San Francisco weekend events. The out-of-towners can even purchase her jewelry online at www.stefaniewolfdesigns.com.

This hot number is appropriately named the Ibiza Rainbow Dress. Why so? Glad you asked!

Ibiza is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to Spain. The island is well known for summer parties that attract loads of tourists. Actually though, I read that the Spanish Tourist Office is trying to shed the prevailing fun, booze and sex image for a more family-oriented draw. Hard goal since it is also home to the “West End” party district of Sant Antoni, a popular stop for playful visitors.

But whether you wear this dress in Ibiza or anywhere else, it spells comfort in the heat. Ecolution® by Pan World Traders, Inc. makes the knit, which consist of 42% hemp and 58% flax, and produces the dress in Romania. Available in what else? — two different shades of green; sizes extra small to extra large.

For hot weather, both hemp and flax hold superior conductive qualities. That means the wearer feels cool, comfortable and fresh in very hot and/or humid conditions. You probably know hemp is resistant to mold. Hence, Ibiza or any salt-water region is a perfect match. The shaft-like structure of the hemp fiber molecule allows it to wick moisture right off the body and dry quickly. Even feel warm when wet in cold conditions.

Hey, — drink hemp beer, dance in a stunning eco-green dress, and get thrown in the water! Who cares?

Hanky Panky is taking its ultra comfortable line eco-chic. Now, their lace trimmed undies (that can convert any thong phobic into a fan) come in all organic supima cotton. Fabulously stylish and shockingly comfy, it’s nice to have one of my favorite lines taking some of their products organic. I’ll hope for the day that all companies take the hint and go ‘all in,’ but for now, I’ll stock up on this organic line (available at Neiman’s) to tide me over.

The company is also debuting their biodegradable wash powder that is hypoallergenic and fragrance free for the most sensitive of skin - perfect for washing your unmentionables. The lingerie wash is available at A Brief Affair for $8.50.

Florida-based, Retroactif, re-purposes promotional banners to craft great looking handbags in a variety shapes and styles. From their sturdy Hobo shapes to their exceptionally useful messenger style bags, these great looking, vibrantly patterned bags make great purses, laptop totes, beach bags and grocery totes for the bold and fashionable.

Fashioned from street banners, billboards and wallscapes used at events and typically made with non-biodegradable materials to withstand wind and rain that would typically end up in landfills, the company neatly cuts and folds the scavenged materials into functional form.

Sustainable bag reporting continues from Part I. There are so many great choices!

Muumuu Heaven is a shop located on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii. The family-run business got so busy producing eco-conscious and original women’s apparel from recycled Hawaiian garments, they decided to collaborate with another designer for bags to stock.

Kauai is a neighbor island, same state of Hawaii, where Denise Tjarks structures new life also from old muumuu, aloha shirts and fabric remnants. Word is spreading so fast, it’s impossible to share an exclusive not sold. But you get the idea from these two illustrations. Above is Maia, the pretty green plant print. Below that is the reverse side, an orange small floral print. Both reversible option sides are made from vintage mu’umu’us circa 1970.
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With the summer coming on strong, I thought of Wheatware(TM) products, which were one of my ‘editor’s’ picks for the 2007 holiday issue of Relevant Times. I was so impressed, I gave literally EVERYONE I knew one or a combination of these great bio-compostable, non-toxic, non-plastic products.

Wheatware is on a mission to save virgin forests and reduce our dependence on oil through the use of surplus wheat to create many items traditionally made from wood or plastic, such as: disposable flatware, guitar picks, golf tees, chop sticks, hangers among other items. AND, they are bio-compostable and are are designed to biodegrade in 45 to 90 days in microbially-active soil or a commercial compost facility. To bring things even more full-circle, Wheatware bio-compostable products are indeed recyclable and they are developing their own process to reclaim and create second generation products that originated from Wheatware.

The disposable flatware and golf tees particularly appealed to me at this time of year.

Does Wheatware have a negative effect on the wheat-based food supply?

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Fairy Tales all natural, organic hair care for children just launched their new “Summer Hair Care” kit.  Fairy Tales Hair Care has created a specialty line of hair care products loaded with fruit enzymes and citrus extracts of lemon, grapefruit, pineapple and orange to help wash away sea salts, minerals and chlorine “green.”  An infusion of aloe, sweet almond oil, jojoba and vitamin A, E and D that deep condition and moisturize the hair leaving it soft and silky even after a day at the beach or pool.

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Travel + Leisure magazine is calling Villa Resort and Spa experience ” a sexy, eco-concious hideaway in  the jungle”.  After reading a recent newsletter from luxurylifestyle.com I thought to myself hmmm…life doesn’t get much better than that, so I had to share.

The Tides at the Riviera Maya had the following to say.  “Enliven your senses with an indulgent massage, facial or body treatment at the Maya Spa, a full-service holistic haven offering privacy, luxury and superlative treatment in a serene indoor-outdoor setting. For the active and athletic, Hatha yoga classes are offered daily in our seaside yoga studio. Playa del Carmen’s fine shopping venues are easily accessible from the resort, as are the area’s golf courses and ancient Maya ruins. More robust recreational activities include scuba diving, cenote diving, snorkeling, horseback riding and deep-sea fishing.”

 The Spa offers a fresh treatment menu using a marine-derived line of skin care products by Osea. The spas new signature treatment is inspired by their dedication to ocean-based and sustainable products, in keeping with The Tides coastal ethos and environmental commitments.

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I tend to worry more about what I put into my body than what goes on the outside. When in fact the chemicals found in lotions, makeup and hair dyes are something I need to consider when using these products on my body.   Recently I have been using the eyelash extensions from “Xtreme Lashes” and I began to wonder how safe this new affection with eyelash extensions really was and was it worth any risks involved?  After researching, I was able to find one of the ingredient’s in the adhesive, “formaldehyde” linked to cancer. Read the rest of this entry »

Lovely Lokta is naturally died paper made from the Daphne or Lokta bushes that grow in the Himalayan mountains. And it IS lovely . . . but it also is made quite sustainably - no trees were harmed in the production of this paper!

Here’s what makes it so groovy and green:

Lokta paper is handmade and sun dried, so there are no machines or chemicals involved;

The bush grows quickly and actually needs agressive pruning or it would die, but the bush also helps stabalize the soil and protect rural Nepalese villages from mudslides during the monsoon season;

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