I have just discovered the most unique travel company that I have ever heard of that specializes in exciting travel adventures, called GAP Adventures. GAP stands for the Great Adventure People.

This is a really amazing company that has all kind of group tours from hard core active back roads trips to unusual polar expeditions, to special limited edition trips that specialize in photography or other specialties. Some of their trips are appropriate for familes, and others are meant for just adults.

One of the most interesting things about this company is their dedication to sustainable travel practices.

"As a leader in sustainable adventure travel, Gap Adventures is dedicated to offering low-impact tours that benefit traveller and host alike. We work with local communities, businesses and individuals to develop sustainable tourism opportunities that help local economies while minimizing negative environmental and cultural impacts. While our sustainable tourism policies and operator standards are constantly evolving, our commitment to socially and environmentally conscious travel has been with us since the company's inception."

GAP has several pages on their sustainable travel policies and how they operate. If you would like to read more about it, click here.

If you would like more information, you can subscribe to the GAP Adventures travel newsletter - you'll be among the first to learn about new tours, contests and special offers.

The GAP's website is really interesting and fun to look through.  It is worth taking a look just for that alone.

Are You Looking for a Travel Adventure? originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on February 8, 2012.

Alternation reflects their varied talents. To purchase Alternation, you can link directly to the page on Lake Erie Artists Gallery's website, and I will ship it right to you, or you can buy it directly from Amazon in the U.S. or Amazon in the UK.

Both Shannon and Alexandra are very into recycling and reusing old materials in new ways. Shannon is an expert knitter and crocheter. She has written several other books on both topics, the most well known is the knitgrrl series. For more information on Shannon's books, click here.

Alexandra Underhill (also known as Xan) is most well known as a costume designer, dancer, and stiltwalker. She also is a proponent of eating raw foods. If you see a woman on a pair of stilts, and her hair is blond with other colors mixed in, chances are that it is Xan. This is her first book.

Alternation: The Perfect Eco-Chic Gift for Creative Sewers and Knitters originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on February 1, 2012.

Did You Know? Eco-Chic Green Fact #5 originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 29, 2012.

Throwing things at a newly wed couple is intended to symbolize good luck, fertility and abundance. This bag contains 100% pure lavender buds which are completely biodegradable. It won't harm birds or the environment. Guests can be given small packets of the lavender buds to throw at the bride and groom, and when everyone leaves the ceremony, they will be walking over the fragrant lavender. Another terrific eco-friendly idea from Beaucoup.

For more Eco-Chic Green Wedding ideas, follow this link.

Lavender Wedding Rice Eco-Chic Wedding Favor 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.

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.

This book is so much fun, even the cover is interesting:

Eco Books: Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin

Here are 40 innovative book-making ideas using recycled and green materials! More than just earth-friendly, they’re also beautiful, clever, and witty, stitched with traditional binding techniques. Egg cartons, wood, beer cans, and cassette tapes morph into covers, while brown bags, coffee filters, and discarded newspapers are transformed into pages. Create a boxed set of cereal box books, an exposed stitch sketchbook out of cardboard and remnants, and even a faux leather journal made from teabags.

In addition to how-to drawings, close-up detail photographs, and simple stitch diagrams, a gallery of eco-books from an international roster of artists provides inspiration.

Re-Bound: Creating Handmade Books from Recycled and Repurposed Materials
Re-Bound is a beautiful book on bookbinding with a fun green twist-all the projects use recycled and upcycled materials. This book shows you how to take everyday materials from around the house, flea markets, thrift stores, and hardware stores and turn them into clever and eye-catching hand-made books.

Rejuvenated Jewels: New Designs from Vintage Treasures
In this book, readers learn where to find fabulous vintage jewelry, beads, and artifacts, and how to create stunning one-of-a-kind jewelry pieces using these amazing finds. Rhinestone beads and clasps, mercury glass beads, oxidized metal chains, rosary beads, tiny book charms and more are retooled into fabulous statement pieces that can be worn every day.

Semiprecious Salvage: Creating Found Art Jewelry
Semiprecious Salvage shows readers how to think beyond the techniques taught in traditional beading and jewelry books in order to create found art jewelry. Mixed-media applications like sewing, plasterwork and altering found objects tie together to create jewelry pieces such as brooches, pendants, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and belts. In addition to thought-provoking stories on the origination of some of the found items, Stephanie provides the reader with practical jewelry-making techniques that they can incorporate into their own inspired pieces. A simple, organic approach gives the reader limitless ideas for crafting their own jewelry as well as ideas for locating found items whether it be on a nature walk, one's travels or in the comforts of home.

Each one of these books would be a terrific gift for someone creative on your list.  And there are more similar books.  If you click through the links for each book you will find more books listed underneath each main title on Amazon.

Eco-Chic Green Gifts for Under $25: How to Recycle Project Books originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 18, 2012.

Zazzle is a print on demand company that is partnering with artists and companies to provide custom products including t-shirts.

Respect Earth Exclusive Earth Day T-Shirt by edunLIVE
Browse other This T-Shirts

For more information on Zazzle, follow this link.

For more information on EDUN, follow this link.

EDUN LIVE T-Shirts on Zazzle originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 15, 2012.

If you are a fan of local history or green living, then you should get to know the work of a local Cleveland, Ohio company called A Piece of Cleveland.

A Piece of Cleveland or APOC, is a both a company and a mission. This group is creating a demand for recycled wood in Cleveland, Ohio by creating beautiful wood furniture, accessories, and custom furnishings all out of wood from deconstructed buildings.

For more information on A Piece of Cleveland, follow this link.

A Piece of Cleveland–Recycling Building Materials originally appeared on Eco-Chic Green Fashion on January 14, 2012.