If you live in an area of the country that gets cold in the winter, even if it doesn't snow, then you need to protect your skin from chapping, and drying out. This is not just a cosmetic issue, it is a health issue, because your skin protects your body from catching diseases. Healthy supple skin is important, and of course it also feels good.

I am the kind of person who forgets to put lotion or creams on during the day, and I don't like the way they feel on my hands while I am working, so it was difficult to find something that I could use on a regular basis and that I would want to use. After several years, I found The Body Shop's Body Butters. When they first came out, there weren't too many choices of scents, but it seems like every year now they come out with more. I like to use them after showering in the morning over moist sking, and sometimes in the evening before bed. They come in different skin types all the way to very dry, and they are never greasy. My personal favorite is the mango, but they have many floral, fruity, and natural scents. Best of all The Body Shop is an ethical, fair trade, and eco-friendly company and has been since its inception. Definitely a product to have on hand and a perfect gift for anyone. Totally worth every penny I have ever paid for it.

Keeping Your Skin Protected Against the Cold Weather originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on February 6, 2012.

One of the most clever companies I have come across lately in my research for eco-chic green products is English Retreads.

In their own words:

"At English Retreads, we turn recycling into a bold fashion statement with our unique handbags and accessories. Designed specifically for conscientious consumers and savvy fashionistas, each one-of-a-kind English Retreads product is handcrafted from reclaimed truck inner tubes—right here in Boulder, Colorado.

One hundred percent vegan, our materials are an ecologically sound alternative to animal products. And even though our bags are designed to keep on truckin' forever, it's always good to buy a spare. Following in the tire tracks of Henry Ford's original Model T, English Retreads are available in any color you want—as long as it's black!"

English Retreads gets the inner tubes from truck stops in the Boulder, Colorado area where they are located. And the bags are really cute, and can take a lot of wear and tear.

English Retreads-Recycling Rubber Tires originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on February 4, 2012.

I figured that was just up my alley, so here is the list. Let me know if you agree with the order.

Eco-Chic #1: Sustainable Footwear
Eco-Chic #2: Green Beauty
Eco-Chic #3: Baby Goes Green
Eco-Chic #4: Sustainable Home
Eco-Chic #5: Bamboo and Organic Cotton Bed & Bath
To see the products listed under each item, click here.

I think that I would personally change the order to 5, 3, 2, 4, 1, but that is just me.  I really do like these suggested items, though.

3 Piece Super Soft 100% Bamboo Fiber Kitchen Towels - Pine Green

pb Bamboo Travel Blanket

Pinzon by Crypton Hillsboro Armchair

5 Ways to Be Eco-Chic originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 30, 2012.

These are the Eco-Friendly features per Samsung:

• The Samsung Reclaim is designed with environmentally-responsible components and fully recyclable packaging, including:
• Its bio-plastic material, made from corn, makes up 40 percent of the Reclaim's outer casing. Samsung Reclaim is free of polyvinyl chloride (PVC), phthalates, and nearly free of brominated flame retardants (BFR): three materials commonly targeted on green electronics guidelines.
• The outer packaging and the phone tray inside the box are made from 70 percent recycled materials. The images and text on the box as well as the phone warranty information are printed with soy-based ink.
  The typical thick paper user manual has been replaced with a virtual manual that users can access at www.sprint.com/reclaimsupport.
• The charger is Energy Star approved for meeting the highest energy efficiency standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy. It consumes 12 times less power than the Energy Star standard for standby power consumption and is equipped with a visible notification to alert you to unplug the handset once it's fully charged.

Additionally, $2 of each purchase will benefit The Nature Conservancy's Adopt an Acre program, which supports land conservation across the United States and protects some of the world’s most beautiful and important natural habitats.

For more information on the technical features, click here.

I honestly can't decide what I think of this phone yet. I will have to do some research. Do you know anyone who has tried it yet?

Have You Seen the Samsung Reclaim Phone Yet? originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 29, 2012.

What APOC is doing is fascinating. They are working with construction and demolition experts in deconstructing buildings in order to recycle the reusable wood, bricks, and metal to make into new furniture, and other custom items.

APOC has been successful selling their custom work as well as a burgeoning retail line. To read more about APOC, click here.

Making New Products from Deconstructed Buildings originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 28, 2012.

We have all heard of the one deal per day concept. Now one deal per day has come to Eco-Chic Shopping with Guffly.

If you go to Guffly's website, you will see featured the deal of the day. Today as I am writing this the deal is a wooden and silver bracelet from Kendyua.

How does Guffly describe themselves?

"Guffly is a one product per day online store and community featuring eco friendly products and fair trade lifestyle goods like home, pet, clothing, office and personal accessories. We've made it our job (literally!) to find only the most stylish eco friendly and fair trade products out there. We happen to think that making purchasing decisions you can feel good about doesn't have to mean committing to a life without style or convenience. We search high and low so that you can bet Guffly’s green products are stylish, fun and attractive – eco stylish if you will."

One Deal Per Day Has Come to Eco-Chic Shopping originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 27, 2012.

Celebrate Green

"Celebrate Green! is a wake up call and it's a fun, engaging read, jam-packed with hints, how-to's and humor. Whether you' re an old hand at thinking green or a total neophyte, Lynn and Corey will help you understand why your choices are so important and energize you, too. You'll discover simple steps to align your life with a healthy Earth, while deepening the meaning and the joy of your celebrations. -- Frances Moore Lappe, author of Diet for a Small Planet."

Appropriate for readers in the UK: Celebrate Green! (Click here if you are in the UK)

"If this book hadn't already been written,it would have to be commissioned! Why did no one think of writing this before? What a brilliant idea and what an attractive and useful book! When do we all consume the most, throw away the most packaging and eat the most sugar? At celebrations! Well, it doesn't have to be that way, according to the mother and daughter authors. (What an interesting combination!)

When I first noticed the book was American, I was afraid it wouldn't have much of relevance for British readers but it does -heaps. I was especially interested in the sections on weddings, Mother's Day (it doesn't have to be all about bought cards and flowers that have been flown half way round the world),Christmas and that American import Halloween. ( I always worry about dishing out stacks of sweets at the door. Well, there are alternatives.)

This book is going to sit on my kitchen shelf -ready to hand. It is completely unpreachy and fun to read with useful ideas and easy tips on living-green and some great recipes but also deeply serious. The authors have done their research and provided facts and statistics to back up their argument for a radical overhaul of how we celebrate special occasions. Acccording to Lynn Colwell, it is "more about people and less about things". I think preparations for Christmas are going to be a lot more satisfying this year!"

Celebrate Green-A Green Halloween and More originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 23, 2012.

In our push to live greener, healthier lives, one of the things we need to do is remind ourselves to buy local and handmade items. Most of us are aware that buying local produce and baked goods means that by doing so our food is fresher because it didn't have to travel as far to get to us, picked when it is ripe, and the baked goods do not have the preservatives that grocery store items often do, because of extending the shelf life. So local foods are healthier and more wholesome that foods that travel. When we buy local, we also help our local economy, because the local vendors will spend the money we pay them locally also. This creates a healthy economic cycle.

What you may not realize that this is true of handmade or artist made items as well. When you buy an item directly from an artist who made it, or from the agent who sells it for them, you are paying the artist directly who will then use the money to pay their vendors to buy more supplies and create more work. The economic cycle is a much shorter one than if you buy a manufactured item. And often the manufactured items are from countries far away from yours, so that your purchase does not even infuse money into your own economy. Think about this when you purchase items this year for the holidays, for birthdays, or for Christmas, because you can support your local economy in several ways while keeping a healthier and greener lifestyle.

Here is an example:
The beautiful pottery above is made by a Cleveland, Ohio area woman, Tracy Shea, who hand makes every piece of pottery she makes. She makes a living from her ceramics work which is how she feeds her family. By buying her work you can own a piece of handmade work or give it as a gift, and she will take the money earned to feed her family locally, as well as use it to buy more supplies to make more pottery. A very economic cycle. The money goes directly from the buyer to the seller and right back to the economy with no middle men. If you would like to learn more about Tracy, you can click on the picture above which will take you to an article about her.

Moving Away from Manufactured and Towards Handmade originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 22, 2012.

I have been spending quite a bit of time lately exploring eBay's World of Good. It is a growing shopping mall for green gifts, and specialty items, and really fun to browse.

I recommend that you browse eBay's World of Good to see what they have to offer and bookmark some items for your friends and relatives. It is always good to know that you are contributing to the health and well being of your friends and family.

Here is one of my personal favorites this week:

Alex and Ani St. Christopher Bracelet
I think that I might have to get one of these for myself.

For my friends, this is a great gift:

Natural Handmade Balm for Dry Skin

To go directly to the World of Good website, click here.

Getting Frustrated Looking for Green Gifts? originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 20, 2012.

Green Nest is a very interesting company that specializes in organic green products for the home with a special emphasis on products to make your home cleaner and pollutant free. Green Nest has an entire line of air purifiers and non-toxic building products as well as home decor, bedding, and other general home products.

Air purifiers are especially helpful for people with allergies, and other immune system compromising disorders but they are also really great for any family. In the winter, when we are cooped up indoors breathing each other's air, it is much easier to catch colds and the flu. With an air purifier you can reduce that likelihood immensely.

Organic Eco-Chic Green Bathrobes originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 19, 2012.