Next week I’m due to have a baby so I’ll be a bit quiet on the Greenfoot front for the following few weeks or so.

I’ve been reading a book called Raising Baby Green, which has some interesting tips on how to have a green baby. It’s American so some of the information is not so relevant to Australia but some interesting tips never-the-less.

One thing I’m planning to do once my baby is born is to try out some of the newer cloth nappies on the market. These days cloth nappies have come a long way since the good old square white, towelling ones, which we used with my son. We also experimented with other more eco friendly disposable nappies, however, this ended up getting pretty expensive.

Carly over at Buddlebums kindly sent me a sample of her cloth nappies, which I will definitely be trying out.

I’m sure there are loads of great cloth and eco alternatives to the regular disposable nappies out there. Please if you know of any let me know in the comments below so I can check them out.

Cheers and see you soon.

Since it’s World Environment Day today, it seems apt to be thinking about recycling and reusing. Being a huge supporter of the R’s, I’m always on the look out for imaginative ways to give life to old or unusable items.

Cool Hunting Green is a book dedicated to designers who are doing just that but in a much funkier and trendier way than I ever could

The book focuses on designers who are creating, reusing or recycling items to produce greener products for fashion, gadgets, stationery, the house, transport, outside and even the afterlife.

Each item featured is accompanied by a website where you can get more information and buy the product.

Some of my favorite sites are:

http://www.rebeccawardjewellery.com/

http://www.souls-australia.com.au/shop.html

http://www.greenknickers.org/index.html

http://www.ecoist.com/

Eight years ago I travelled to Sweden and was impressed with how the supermarkets did not provide free plastic bags to shoppers. Instead, shoppers could buy durable, biodegradable brown paper bags or bring their own.

A few years later I lived in the Netherlands and the supermarkets there provided durable plastic bags but for a price. These bags lasted forever and encouraged shoppers to bring their own bags. No one batted an eyelid; it was just the “done thing”.

I think the recent decision by Australian environment minister Peter Garrett to ban plastic bags, or impose a levy on each them, is a move in the right direction.

Plastic bags are made from polluting petrochemicals, detrimental to landfill and can be deadly to wildlife.

Already, many Australians are using recycled bags for their shopping but I think if we are charged for plastic bags then many more people will make sure they recycle.

The bling of the Christmas lights in my neighbourhood is making me dizzy. Well at least reminding me that I need to get myself sorted for Christmas.

Yep I’m writing my list and checking it twice and like every year the 25th is quickly approaching and I’m trying to sort out presents, holidays, parties and catching up with family and friends before the year is out.

Christmas is fun but it’s also a time of mass consumption. But there are ways to give people gifts that have meaning and support a worthy cause.

Check out Greenpeace Giving or Oxfam Unwrapped for unusual and quirky virtual gifts that help fund the organisations’ work. WWF, The Wilderness Society, and the ATA also have online shops. The ACF provides some other great ideas for a low consumption Christmas.

I’m sure there are loads of other great charity sites out there that provide good Christmas gifts. If you know one, please suggest it in the comments section below.

Happy shopping.

Lately I’ve been battling the dreaded lurgy so I apologise for my sparse postings.

However, through my sleepy, fuzzy, throaty amblings I came across a new magazine at my local newsagent called Green.

The magazine launched this month, is published quarterly and focuses on sustainable architecture and landscape design. However, Green is also packed with loads of useful tips such as retrofitting your home, new products, green innovations and growing food locally.

Definitely worth a read and its website is great for a visit.

I don’t usually blog about products that we can’t get here in Australia but being a bit of a recycling junkie I just can’t resist this one. And who knows, maybe one day it will be available in Australia.

Thanks to Your Abode, I have found out that blue jeans: “are becoming a much talked about insulation product in the US. Bonded Logic manufactures a product called UltraTouch which is manufactured from 85% recycled jeans.”

According to Bonded Logic, the company uses post-industrial denim and cotton fibers sourced from denim manufacturing facilities. What a great way to give jeans a second life and prevent them from going to landfills. Not to mention a great way to recycle all those Diesel “global warming ready jeans” when they go out of style ;-).

You know when climate change has hit the big time when the fashion industry jumps on the band wagon. Over the past few weeks I’ve noticed a Diesel advertisement on many buses in the city.

The ad features a sexy looking couple lounging on top of a New York City skyscraper. In the background skyscrapers are submerged in water and it is clearly a hot day. However, the couple doesn’t seem concerned and the tagline is: “Global Warming Ready”.
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Ever since I had my son two and a half years ago there has been a growing pile of plastic on our balcony. The pile started off as a box of soft toys and things to chew on but soon grew into two overflowing boxes of plastic toys, things that make noise, blocks, balls, teddies and books. My husband and I don’t really buy a lot of toys; most of the things have come as presents from generous family members and friends.

As I watch the pile grow I am becoming more conscious not to buy my son extra toys that he doesn’t really need. Not because I want to deprive him but just that a lot of the toys he has he doesn’t really play with. Or he plays with them briefly and then discards them for something else.

Besides his prized Buzz Lightyear doll (which is made of plastic) his other favorite toys live in our kitchen drawers - a pair of cooking tongs, which he refers to as a crocodile, and chopsticks, which he swings around like a sword and then flings into our garden.

One way I have managed to keep our toy collection down is to provide him with things around the house. The cardboard roll inside an aluminum foil container makes a great pretend telescope. I also filled some washed out plastic milk bottles with a variety of dried pulses and pasta. These make great rattles for older babies to shake and also work well as tenpins to bowl over when baby grows a little older.

However, one of the best resources I’ve found is the local toy library. It’s part of the normal library - just an extra room full of great toys (mostly wooden) that focus on helping children up to six develop their skills. At my library I can borrow a toy for up to three weeks, which is probably just enough time until my son gets bored. Then we just take it back to the library and get another one. It’s an excellent way to provide young children with the experience of playing with lots of toys but not having to keep them. The kidspot.com.au website has a handy listing of toy libraries in Australia.

Well green certainly is becoming the new black as I noted in a previous post. Not only are Australian publishers producing more green themed publications but television networks are also getting involved. An upcoming Network 10 program is asking Australians to go on a carbon diet to help save the Planet. The program COOL AID: The National Carbon Test will highlight how all Australians can act on global warming. The show will feature four Aussie celebrity families plus provide ways for viewers to calculate their household’s carbon emissions. Cool Aid airs on Network Ten, Sunday, March 4 at 8.30pm. The ABC is producing a series called Carbon Cops where environmental scientists help six Melbourne families determine their carbon output. In April SBS will release Eco House Challenge where eco coach Tanya Ha assists two families produce a more sustainable footprint. Cable TV channel Sky News is also launching a new environmental program this weekend called Eco Report. I was lucky enough to be involved in one of the segments, so check it out if you can.

If you’re in Melbourne this weekend check out the Sustainable Living Festival at Federation Square in the city.

The three day festival (Feb 16-18) focuses on social and ecological sustainability with loads of interactive displays, demonstrations, artworks, exhibits, designs, films, multimedia and live performances. The theme for this year is: how do you do it? It looks pretty good. Being a Sydney-sider I won’t be there but if anyone goes please comment on what it was like. Watch the promo video on YouTube.