green LA girl

Bare essentials green gift guide: Reduce and reuse 2.0

Posted by Siel in environment,holiday (Saturday December 12, 2009 at 7:30 am)

Started toting a reusable bag back in 1999? Sick of seeing “bring your own bag!” blog posts a decade later? Then here’s a green gift guide for you — a Reuse 2.0 guide with new eco-items you never knew were available in reuse versions. Get them now and waste even less in 2010 –

LibreteaBYO tea glass: Libretea. Organic tea lovers — Now you can enjoy loose leaf tea everywhere. If you’ve had to stick to  bagged teas because you sip on the go, get a Libre glass ’n poly tea glass and enjoy a slightly less wasteful caffeinated brew.

This tea glass is made of a BPA-free polycarbonate exterior, with a stainless steel filter that traps tea leaves. Basically, you just need to pour water in the exterior, put tea in the filter, then screw the two together and turn upside down to steep. Twist the lid and filter back off and voila — brewed tea on the go!

I’m not a big tea drinker myself, but my friend Esther of e*star LA recommended Libre to me. Each glass holds about 9 oz of tea. Get it for $24 at Libretea.com. For those who shun all plastic, an all-glass version’s also available — but may be too fragile for to-go use.

reusable organic cotton tissuesReuse-A-Tissue: Better For GrownUps. Common complaint about tissues with high recycled content: They’re not soft. Hankies are a nice alternative, but if you like to have a box of tissues around the house, Better For GrownUps has reusable organic cotton tissues for you. (via Re-Nest)

Order a box and you’ll get 12 organic, fair trade cotton sateen tissues in a reloadable box with a discreet storage compartment for used tissues. Each box with dozen tissues costs $34.95 at Better For GrownUps. Got jealous friends using your tissues and keeping them to use as hankies? Get a refill pack of a dozen tissues sans box for $26.15.

PeopleTowelsBYO hand towel: PeopleTowels. Thought you were green for using the hand dryer instead of a paper towel? Uber-environmentalists in the know are a step ahead of you with PeopleTowels, a reusable alternative to dry your hands in public bathrooms.

I’ll admit — Getting in the habit of using these organic, fair trade cotton towels hasn’t been easy for me. They’re thin and lightweight, but a bit of a chore getting in and out of my purse. Still, I’m working on working this reuse habit into my life. So consider this gift just for already-eco-enthusiasts who are up for a new green challenge in 2010.

Each towel costs $8 — but you can get a free towel with the purchase 2 or more towels until Dec. 31. Get them in PeopleTowels’ online store.

CitizenpipBYO soup: Citizenpip. Packing a waste-free lunch in reusable containers will save you money and reduce trash — and probably be better for your health too. That said, if you want a hot soup for lunch during the winter months, Zojirushi jars were about your only option — until now. A new company called Citizenpip’s come out with lunch kits — complete with an insulated food jar!

Citizenpip offers a full line of waste-free lunch kit products — from food containers to a water bottle to utensils to a set of napkins (unfortunately not organic) — all free of lead, phthalates, and BPA. The one main downside for local labor advocates is that this kit’s made in Taiwan and China.

You can opt for the whole Soup to Nuts kit for $55 — or just buy the insulated food jar for $12 — on the Citizenpip website. If you order before the new year, use the code GREENLAGIRLgives to get a free fork and spoon set with every order over $50.

Earlier:
>> Bare essentials green gift guide: Eco-friendly panties
>> Bag the brown bag: Eco-friendly lunch boxes and totable utensils
>> Bring your own bag: How to BYOB in easy eco-style
>> Bring your own cup and mug: An eco-stylish money-making habit

Images via Libretea, Better For GrownUps, Citizenpip, and PeopleTowels

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