Love it! - Macy's Rwanda Path to Peace Project

A year ago I first posted about Macy's philanthropic effort, "Rwanda Path to Peace Project" bringing shoppers exquisitely woven baskets handmade by Rwandan genocide survivors. I just received an email announcing the launch of this season's newest baskets, just in time for Mother's Day! With a larger selection of sizes and color combinations, helping other women earn an honest living, sustain themselves and their family is a gift in itself.

"Established to create a viable, sustainable business that provides economic stability, the Rwanda Path to Peace project promotes an environment of peace to positively impact the future of Rwanda’s eight million citizens. Willa Shalit, an American businesswoman, has spearheaded the four-year effort to develop an American market for Rwandan women’s crafts. Shalit believes that women helping each other can change how Rwanda rebuilds its society, empowers women, and sustains economic security beyond traditional forms of assistance.

Focusing on trade, not aid, the export and sale of these baskets has put real, sustainable income directly into the hands of Rwandan women, most of whom are heads of households and were previously living on less than $1 a day. This income has visibly changed the lives of the weavers in remarkable ways by providing food, shelter, medical care, education, and other necessities, while also imparting a great sense of pride and self esteem. Rwanda has never exported their fine crafts on this scale before. There are now over 2,500 weavers across Rwanda, including both Hutu and Tutsi women, from both sides of the 1994 genocide. These women sit side by side as they talk and weave together, slowly healing themselves and their society."


www.macys.com/rwanda - $35 - $120

Love it! - EARTH DAY! - American Forests Buy A Tree

While "design" is one of my greatest passions, one of my newest has become environmental preservation. Through American Forests, the nation’s oldest nonprofit citizens’ conservation organization created in 1875, you can buy a tree in your name or as a gift in another person's name. EVERY DOLLAR PLANTS ONE TREE! It's very easy to do. On their website, www.AmericanForests.org, click on the "Plant Trees" tab. There you can choose from a number of projects that you want your donation to benefit. Once you choose a project you can make your donation, $15 being the minimum. Then choose if it will be a gift or not. If it is a gift, they will ask you to fill out the address and name of the recipient who will be mailed a certificate saying that you have planted trees in their name - how great is that!

Another really cool program that American Forests initiated is the Historic Trees Nursery. The Nursery, a state-of-the-art facility in Jacksonville, Florida, propagates direct-offspring of trees that witnessed events and lives significant to American history. Hundreds of trees are available including offspring of Tulip Poplars that majestically stand at George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate, or the Oleander that blooms on Thomas Edison's Florida estate. Categories include Presidents, American Revolution, Women, Civil War, African Americans, Native Americans, Veterans, Country Music Artists, Authors, Inventors, and trees of regional significance. Through their Historical Trees website www.HistoricTrees.org , for $39.99 you can purchase a 1-3' tree derived from the original of your choice. Plant it in your own yard - now that's a story to pass on for generations!



More about American Forests:
American Forests' goals focus on assisting communities to restore and maintain healthy ecosystems in both urban and rural areas all over America, whether it's planting trees to restore wildlife habitat, ecosystems damaged by wildfire or working with cities to reverse the decline in urban tree cover. Today, the organization's primary campaigns are "Tree-Planting for Environmental Restoration" and "Reversing the National Urban Tree Deficit". Since 1990, American Forests' Global ReLeaf campaign has been planting native trees in rural and urban ecosystem restoration projects across the United States and around the world. About 85% of American Forests' tree-planting projects occur in the United States and 15% are international efforts. All are conducted in cooperation with local partners, foresters, or natural resource experts. To learn more, check out these links.

www.AmericanForests.org
Historic Tree Nursery

Love it! - Envirosax Bags

So I've been trying to "Green" up my life and while I'm no Al Gore, I'm making strides in my daily life, in my own way. It doesn't happen overnight, but I've made a commitment to myself and that's all that matters, right? There are many little and big things one can do, but one of the easiest things that everyone can do is to cut down on using plastic bags. I myself have a number of eco-bags and net bags that I use when going to the market in place of taking plastic. I also keep small roll-up bags in my shoulder bags so when I make unexpected shopping stops, I just pull it out and tell the store to keep their plastic. These totes by EnviroSax are so great looking and with all their stylish designs, there's something for everyone. You can buy them individually or in sets and would actually make great gifts. The company itself also practices what it preaches by operating under "Greener" conditions and abiding by fair trade laws. Here are some of their stats on plastic bags you might find eye-opening:

PLASTIC BAG FACTS - USA
-Approx. 380 billion plastic bags are used in the United States every year.
-Approx. 100 billion of the 380 billion are plastic shopping bags.
-An estimated 12 million barrels of oil is required to make that many plastic bags.
-Only 1 to 2% of plastic bags in the USA end up getting recycled.
-Plastic bags create pollution and kill wildlife in the USA every day of the year.

PLASTIC BAG FACTS - WORLDWIDE
-It is estimated that 500 billion plastic bags are used and discarded worldwide every year.
-1 million plastic bags are used and discarded worldwide every minute of the day.
-Single use plastic bags made of HDPE remain in the environment for up to approx. 1,000 years.
-Over 100,000 birds, whales, seals and turtles worldwide are killed by plastic rubbish every year.








EnviroSax Bags

Love it! - Sigg water bottles

Enough with the plastic bottles! Go Green and use an uncrackable aluminum Sigg bottle. I'm sure you're seeing them in their fun colors and patterns popping up everywhere. That's because they not only come in a variety of designs to fit your personality, but their special engineered lining combats residue, leaving your drink tasting fresh and metal-free. According to them, Americans add over 30 million plastic water bottles to our nation's landfills everyday - Now that's a wake up call - I carry mine in my tote bag where ever I go!


www.MySigg.com

Love it! - Eco-friendly toothbrush

So the next step in "Greening" up my life was switching to Radius's Source toothbrush. I've been using it this past year and it's great! The brown handle is recycled wood fiber combined with corn-plastic, which is eco-friendly. The lighter Flax color is post-consumer recycled polypropylene. The handle is reversible for left or right-handed, you can attach the head in either direction. Just buy new heads and reuse the same handle. The replaceable head accounts for 1/5 the amount of waste of a standard toothbrush. Imagine the amount of plastic waste that could be reduced if everyone switched to a reusable handle!


www.RadiusToothbrush.com or at WholeFoods Market (I buy my replacements at Wholefoods, they have an entire section for eco-toothbrushes)
Note: The soft head feels softer than the average drugstore brands. So I use the medium.

Love it! - Feed Bag

One of the great things about writing this blog is the gift of sharing not only beautiful products, but ones that mean something, that are socially or environmentally conscious. Designed by Lauren Bush, buying one World Food Program FEED bag feeds a child in school for one school year. The FEED Project is a partnership between the United Nations World Food Program and Lauren Bush, WFP Honorary Spokesperson. The bag is reversible with one side burlap and the other white cotton. No matter how you carry it, isn't it great knowing that you're making a difference just by doing so.




World Food Program Feed Bag $60 - www.Amazon.com
For more info on the FEED organization visit - www.FeedProjects.org

Love it! - Cell Phones for Soldiers

If you follow Dose of Design, you know I post about humanitarian causes wherever I can. My "Design" blog is of course about the home products market, but also an outlet in which I can bring attention to social causes that I find noteworthy. I had seen the story of Cell Phones for Soldiers on The Oprah Show last year and was very moved by their story. I myself am on my third cell phone and donated my two older phones that were just sitting in a draw. Donated cell phones are sold to a company that recycles them. The money they receive from recycling cell phones is used to purchase calling cards that are sent to troops in need. The phones are sent to ReCellular, which pays Cell Phones for Soldiers for each donated phone – enough to provide an hour of talk time to soldiers abroad. Cell Phones for Soldiers was founded by teenagers Robbie and Brittany Bergquist from Norwell, Mass., with $21 of their own money. Since then, the registered 501c3 non-profit organization has raised almost $2 million in donations and distributed more than 500,000 prepaid calling cards to soldiers serving overseas. You can even print a prepaid label through their website if you don't want to front the shipping cost. I think these two teenage founders are a perfect example of the human spirit and how limitless we are in making a difference in the world. It's a wonderful cause that will hopefully touch you all as well!

www.CellPhonesForSoldiers.com

Love it! - Reversible tote bag

I hope everyone is having a nice holiday thus far! In honor of going Green and refusing plastic bags, we'll be needing a whole lot of tote options, won't we?! Well this one by Thomas Paul sold through BurkeDecor.com is classic - literally! It's reversible so you can either show off Apollo or Artmetis. And for only $36, you can live like a God (or Goddess!)



www.BurkeDecor.com

Love it! - Fish Lips recycled wrapping paper

Wrap your presents with a clean conscience! Fish Lips' environmentally friendly wrapping papers are printed in the USA on 100% Post-Consumer recycled paper with soy-based inks. These high quality, designer papers are a gift in themselves!






www.FishLipsPaperDesigns.com
$4/per sheet 22" x 33.75"
($20 minimum, any combination of papers)

Love it! - Rwanda Path To Peace

After seeing these gorgeous baskets I couldn't wait to tell you all about them! Each one is unique, tells a story in it's design and a tradition passed down for centuries. Sponsored by Macy's and handmade my women in Rwanda, each sale goes to sustain their livelihood. To be able to buy such a stunning piece of functional art and at the same time enable these women to earn an income is a true gift.






The Rwanda Path To Peace Collection
Only at www.macys.com/rwandabaskets
Baskets $40 and up (each is unique, colors and sizes vary)

Love it! - Green Dimes

So I just signed up for a really great service that I just had to share with you all. It's called GreenDimes and it serves to end 90% of the junk mail you receive in the mail - the unsolicited offers, generic "Dear resident" mail and unwanted catalogs of your choice - all wasted paper that you end up throwing away. Since its start in September 2006 - they've helped 185,888 people, have stopped 492,400 catalogs, saved/planted 969,115 trees and stopped 3,096,813 pounds of junk mail. It only cost $20 for the year and in addition to ending your junk mail, with that $20 they will also plant 10 trees on your behalf through non-profit tree-planting partners. For each household address, you can list all the names you don't want receiving junk mail. It does not automatically cancel your catalogs, for that you would sign in to your account that you create after paying the $20 and then you can individually list the catalogs you don't want to receive. Green Dimes will have your name(s) removed from those mailing lists.

Please consider it or at least visit the website and check it out for yourself, it is sooooo easy to do! I signed up in 5 minutes and the site is really easy to read, understand and use. The actor Matt Damon who received the service as a gift from a friend was so impressed that he joined the company's Board and has helped to promote it. Please forward this posting to your friends as well, together we can make a difference!
www.GreenDimes.com

Love it! - Heifer International

So you want to give a gift that keeps on giving? Well consider Heifer International. Targeting world hunger and poverty since 1944, they've helped millions around the world in more than 125 countries. By providing livestock and agricultural training, they are helping the impoverished become self-reliant. Once given an animal, each recipient agrees to pass on one of that animal's offspring to another person in need and so on. If you go to Heifer's website, you can choose from a variety of animals and agricultural tools to donate towards. If you can't afford the entire animal, they give you the option of buying a share of one. For instance, one heifer would cost $500 or $50 for one share. Likewise, one goat costs $120 or $10 for one share. You can buy multiple shares of the same animal or you can buy shares of a variety of animals. And since this is the season of gifting, you can make your donation in honor of someone else. Once you make your purchase online or by phone, Heifer will automatically mail you an "Honor Card", which is a certificate for you to fill out and give to the recipient letting them know what you've donated on their behalf. What an idea!




www.Heifer.org
800-422-0755

Love it! - Preserve toothbrush

The Preserve toothbrush by Recycline is constructed with environmentally friendly materials to let you replace without the waste. The Preserve's materials, all of which are completely recyclable, have been selected from the highest quality post-consumer and pre-consumer recycled plastics. The handle is made of polypropylene which was chosen for its strength and flexibility. Presently their main source is from recycled Stonyfield Farm® yogurt cups. And the best part is that when you're done with it, simply return it in their postage-paid envelope assuring that your used brush will be turned into plastic lumber. No waste!



Preserve Toothbrush - www.Recycline.com
Available through their website or retailers like Wholefoods, Walmart, Trader Joe's

Love it! - Plastic-free Push pins

Is anyone else bored with those typical plastic push pins at every office supply store? I am, which is why I love these eco-friendly plastic alternatives. For a look that's a little more high-end and rustic, try wood or aluminum.



Hardwood & Aluminum Pushpins - The Container Store

Love it! - www.GreenDimes.com

So I just signed up for a really great service that I just had to share with you all. It's called GreenDimes and it serves to end 90% of the junk mail you receive in the mail - the unsolicited offers, generic "Dear resident" mail and unwanted catalogs of your choice - all wasted paper that you end up throwing away. Since its start in September 2006 - they've helped 185,888 people, have stopped 492,400 catalogs, saved/planted 969,115 trees and stopped 3,096,813 pounds of junk mail. It only cost $20 for the year and in addition to ending your junk mail, with that $20 they will also plant 10 trees on your behalf through non-profit tree-planting partners. For each household address, you can list all the names you don't want receiving junk mail. It does not automatically cancel your catalogs, for that you would sign in to your account that you create after paying the $20 and then you can individually list the catalogs you don't want to receive. Green Dimes will have your name(s) removed from those mailing lists.

Please consider it or at least visit the website and check it out for yourself, it is sooooo easy to do! I signed up in 5 minutes and the site is really easy to read, understand and use. The actor Matt Damon who received the service as a gift from a friend was so impressed that he joined the company's Board and has helped to promote it. Please forward this posting to your friends as well, together we can make a difference!
www.GreenDimes.com

http://doseofdesign.blogspot.com/2008/02/love-it-wwwgreendimescom.html
(Copy this link to send your friends directly to this posting on Dose of Design)

Love it! - Provence coffee table

If you have the space for it and love a romantically rustic look, this might be the coffee table for you. Aged to perfection, it's constructed of recycled wood, with graceful curves and rustic old world appeal. It even has 4 hidden table extensions for added functionality.


Provence Coffee Table $998 - www.RoomServiceHome.com

Love it! - French wool blanket

The guy in your life will love this masculine throw. Made from wool of the sheep that roam the Pyrénées hillsides in France, it's washed in clear spring water without any chemicals, dyes or bleaches. The color you see is the natural color of the wool. Faithful to tradition, the French weavers have turned this beautiful wool into blankets perfect for getting cozy on the sofa or in bed. The leather strap is great for carrying it to a chilly football game or a Fall picnic in the park.


Cozy Pyrénées Throw 48" x 71" $220 - www.QuelObjet.com

Love it! - Rwanda Path To Peace

After seeing these gorgeous baskets I couldn't wait to tell you all about them! Each one is unique, tells a story in it's design and a tradition passed down for centuries. Sponsored by Macy's and handmade my women in Rwanda, each sale goes to sustain their livelihood. To be able to buy such a stunning piece of functional art and at the same time enable these women to earn an income is a true gift.






The Rwanda Path To Peace Collection
Only at www.macys.com/rwandabaskets
Baskets $40 and up (each is unique, colors and sizes vary)

Love it! - Year of Seeds

Perfect for the horticulturally-challenged, or apartment dweller, or just a fun project to do with your kids. These easy to grow windowsill kits come with 12 different seeds and a matching pot illustrating that flower, such as petunias, marigolds, pansies, lobelia, alyssum, zinnias, impatiens, baby's breath, dianthus, cosmos, poppies and sweet peas. Plant one each month and fill your year with continuous color!


Year of Seeds $70 - www.RedEnvelope.com

Market Profile - Prairie Rugs

If you're looking for an area rug, whether it's for your living room, bedroom or kitchen, you might want to consider these environmentally friendly and extremely affordable rag rugs. They're hand-made from recycled cotton rags (pre-consumer) that were originally intended to make bedding and acquired from textile mills in India. The rags are sorted and the best grades are washed with a bio-degradable soap (no bleach). The rags are dyed using high quality low-impact organic dyes and the cotton strips are then rinsed three times in separate tubs of fresh water. This triple washing removes the residual dye and helps prevent color transfer. The residual dye water is used to irrigate vegetables and mango trees that surround the manufacturing plant. After drying in the sun, the colored rags are woven by hand on manual looms. No child labor is used and the workers are paid fairly with healthcare for their families. Knowing how responsibly these rugs are made just enhances their beauty!






A 6'x9'retails for $199
Available in 5 sizes and a variety of colors.
Contact www.PrairieRugs.com for local retailers.
612-865-8595