Stuff We Found Today - 01.29.13

Valentine crafts for kids

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• Valentine's Crafts for Kids - (Parenting.com) Some great ideas to do with kids...love the paper heart wreath and the heart paper clips. So clever!

Food Stuff

• Blue colors in lollipops present health risk to kids, say researchers - (ConfectioneryNews.com) "Health risks of these dyes are mainly attributed to their inhibitory effects on mitochondrial respiration of human cells." No artificial colors in our food please!!
• Bubble Gum Flavored Apples Hit Grocery Store Shelves - (Inhabitots) WTF!!!!
• Sustainable cocoa: Action needed in two years, not ten - (ConfectioneryNews.com)
• Flaxseed: How to Use This Wonder Ingredient - (MindBodyGreen) Always forget how easy it is to add this stuff to cooking, especially when ground.

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• Top 7 Bizarre Eco-Fashion Stores of 2012 - (Ecouterre) Yup, some of these are crazy.
• "Good Morning America" Finds Traces of Lead in 55 Percent of Lipsticks - (Ecouterre)

Tech & Science Stuff

• Yeti 150: Goal Zero Unveils A Plug-And-Play solar Generator For Emergencies Or Off-Grid Adventures - (Inhabitat) Love this for camping!
• Ingenious 14 Year-Old Invents Solar-Powered Water Purification System for Developing World - (Inhabitat) Love smart kids!!
• Altoids Tin DIY Solar USB Charger - (Instructables) Cool project!
• The ELF: A Half-Bike, Half-Car Solar and Pedal-Powered Urban Vehicle by Organic Transit - (Inhabitat) Would love to try this.
• New Report Finds that Solar Power Could Serve All of the World's Energy Needs - (Inhabitat)

School, College & Student Stuff

• 10 of the best college environmental programs in the U.S. - (Mother Nature Network)
• Headmaster Upcycles Retired Passenger Plane Into Playful Kindergarten Classroom - (Inhabitots) What little kid wouldn't want a classroom like this?

Nature & Environment Stuff

• 2012 Was the Hottest Year Ever for the Contiguous United States - (Inhabitat) Hello climate change!
• Dazzling comet of 2013 may be among brightest ever seen - (Mother Nature Network) "Comet ISON could put on an amazing show when it passes close to the sun in November." Mark your calendars!
• 7 reasons why Arctic sea ice matters - (Mother Nature Network) Just in case you didn't know...
• Sperm Whales Adopt Deformed Dolphin - (ScienceMag.com) Animal friendship...love.
• 2012 The Year The Climate Changed [VIDEO] - (Eco Tube) "2012 may be remembered as the year Climate Change got real for Americans."

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

• Mind-Blowing Paper Sculptures Look Like Gothic Cathedral Windows - (Inhabitat)

International Stuff

• Amazing Tetra Brik Pavilion Made with 45,000 Milk Cartons Wins Guinness World Record - (Inhabitat) Built in Spain to honor World Recycling Day.

Other Random Cool Stuff

• Nation's Second Largest Bike Share Program Coming to Los Angeles This Spring - (Inhabitat) Curious to see how well this goes.

Stuff We Found Today - 02.08.11

Green Valentine's Day Gifts for Kids on Etsy

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• We Heart Etsy: 7 Green Valentine's Day Gifts for Kids - (Inhabitots) OMG... love the little recycled sweater booties!
• Cardboard backpack that converts to a kid's desk - (Inhabitots) Wow!!

Food Stuff

• Monsanto's Roundup Trigger Over 40 Plant Diseases and Endangers Human and Animal Health - (Chelsea Green) When is everyone going to realize that Monsanto is NOT our friend???

Home Stuff

• A Brilliant Storage Idea: Staircase Drawers - (Inhabitat) Such a great place to put your shoes!!
• Where to find coupons for organic and natural products - (Mother Nature Network)

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• Bootie Call - (ecofabulous) Eco-friendly alternative to Uggs... love these!!
• 14 Sexy Sustainable Undies To Set Hearts (And Sheets) Afire - (Ecouterre) Oh la la!!

Tech & Science Stuff

• Top 5 Green Gadgets that Juice You Phone - (My Life Scoop) Diggin' the solar iPhone cases!
• 19 Year Old Teenager Makes Homemade Solar Death Ray - (Inhabitat) Haha...smart kid with too much time on his hands?? Still, pretty cool!
• Wind Energy Now Cost Competitive with Coal - (EcoGeek.org) Take that, fossil fuels!
• Stockholm Train Station Harvests Passengers' Body Heat - (Ecogeek.org) Yes...this is for real!

Nature & Environment Stuff

• 9 Surf Spots That Are Going, Going, Gone - (TreeHugger) Very sad indeed, but fortunately there are people out there fighting for them.

Website Stuff

• The Greener Blue - Cool website for greenies/surfers/beach-lovers...articles, videos, interviews, shops, etc.

International Stuff

• Dubai's World of Islands is Sinking Into the Sea - (Inhabitat) Ridiculous excess...
• China's Big Electric Push: Decides To Setup 10 Million EV Parking Spots by 2020 - (AboutMyPlanet.com)

Other Random Cool Stuff

• Yellow Pages Unveils National Opt-Out Site, Responds to Paper Book Critics - (TreeHugger) Woohoo...just opted out!

Stuff We Found Today - 02.12.10

Awesome e-cards for Valentine's Day

Family, Kids & Health Stuff

• At Target this Valentine's Day: L is for Lead - (Generation Green) Stuffed animals at Target containing lead...READ THIS!!

Food Stuff

• Tell Kraft to Adopt Cadbury's Ethical Behavior - (Change.org) We just signed this petition... will you?
• Take GM Corn off the Shelves! - (Care2) "...International Journal of Biological Sciences has revealed the true cost of these crops...study focused on three GM corn crop...and found that they caused statistically significant rates of kidney and liver malfunction, as well as some heart, adrenal, spleen and blood damage in rats. These crops have been approved for consumption in the U.S. and many countries in Europe without proper research into their affect on human health."
• Michael Pollan on Food Rules: An Eater's Manual - (FORA.tv) "Don't Eat What You See on TV" - check out this video as Michael Pollan talks about food marketing.
• You ask, they answer: Green & Black's - (guardian.co.uk) "...Green & Black's will be online from Monday to Friday this week answering your questions." Ask away!!
• Mom Mouths Off at Child Slave Practices of Chocolate Giants - (The Cocoa Project) This mom gets it!
• Rapunzel's Triple Chocolate Brownies - (Cookus Interruptus) Definitely going to have to try this recipe...mmmmm. (video in post)

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• 14 Sexy Sustainable Undies To Set Hearts (And Sheets) Afire - (Ecouterre) Hot, hot, hot!
• Vivienne Westwood Tells People to Stop Buying Clothes - (Ecouterre) "...get off the consumer treadmill, and start to think..."
• Stop Wating Water Washing Dirty Jeans...Freeze Them! - (Ecouterre) Wow...really!!

Tech & Science Stuff

• Power Up: Batteries Not Included - (TrendCentral) "Innovative energy solutions fuel the fight for a clean environment..."

Nature & Environment Stuff

• The Largest Crab on Earth - (Environmental Graffiti) Ladies & gentlemen... the coconut crab! Wow!!
• 30 Japanese Hornets Massacre 30,000 Bees - (Environmental Graffiti) Craziest thing we've seen in a while! (video in post)

Political, Social & Economy Stuff

• Tell President Obama: No More Offshore Oil Drilling - (Oceana.org) "Renewable energy creates three times more jobs than fossil fuel production and no carbon emissions. Expanding drilling runs directly counter to the President's own policy goal of reducing carbon emissions." We just signed this letter!
• 5 Greenest Companies of 2009 - (Environmental Graffiti) You may be suprised by some of them.

Other Random Cool Stuff

• The Gyre: A Floating Upside Down Eco Skyscraper - (Inhabitat) Gotta check this out...can we say Water World?
• Best {Free} Websites for Valentine's Day E-Cards - (Celebrate Green) These are good!!

Coco-Zen Chocolate Body Treats make for an "Ethical Luxury" gift for Valentine's Day

The gorgeous "diva" over at The Eco Diva chose our Chocolate Body Gift Set: Head-To-Toe as a great way to pamper your sweetheart this Valentine's Day.

The Eco Diva: Valentine's Day Ethical Luxury Guide

Stuff We Found Today - 02.01.10

Michael Jackson "Earth Song" Tribute At Grammy Awards

Food Stuff

• Green and Black's go 100 per cent Fairtrade - (Confectionery News) "Organic chocolate maker Green & Black's said it is bolstering its commitment to sustainability by moving its entire global food and beverage range worldwide to Fairtrade."
• Nestle to move on Hershey - (Confectionery News) "Swiss food giant Nestlé is understood to be looking at acquiring US confectioner Hershey, following on the heels of rival Kraft Foods takeover of Cadbury, reports Reuters." Looks like the big chocolate companies are on the move...
• Farm To (Your) Table - (Trend Central) "Fresh, local fare can now be delivered as you like it..."
• Coca-Cola Goes Green - (Forbes.com) Huh??? Can they really ever be green?

Home Stuff

• A no-seat home appliance rebate resource - (Mother Nature Network) "Designed to take the guesswork out of buying energy-efficient home appliances, EcoRebates.com includes a state-by-state rebate database of available incentives."

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• Emma Watson Shows Off Eco-Friendly Tree People Collection - (Ecorazzi)
• 7 Offbeat Eco-Fashion Accessories Made From Upcycled Circuit Boards - (Ecouterre) A little silly, but fun to look at. Check out the the men's undies...haha!

Tech & Science Stuff

• Rubber Material Harvests Energy from Small Movements - (EcoGeek) "...scientists envision the chips being placed next to the lungs to utilize breathing motions for powering pacemakers." Whoa... cool!

Work & Business Stuff

• Great Green Job of the Week: Environmental Education Instructor, YMCA Camp Thunderbird - (EarthFirst.com)

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Make No Mistake: Antarctica is Shrinking - (EarthFirst.com)
• Pandora On EArth: 12 Places And Things That Remind Us Of Avatar - (Ecorazzi) some pretty breathtaking pics...

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

• Green Music Group: Saving The Environment With Sweet Eco-Harmony - (Ecorazzi) "Described as a 'large-scale, high-profile environmental coalition of musicians, industry leaders and music fans' focused on 'using our collective power to bring about widespread environmental change within the music industry and around the globe...'"
• WATCH; Michael Jackson "Earth Song" Tribute At Grammy Awards - (Ecorazzi) Video in post.
• Spider, Ant Species Named In Honor Of Harrison Ford's Conservation Efforts - (Ecorazzi) OK... dumb trivia, but kinda cool!
• Alec Baldwin Ditches Golden Globes For Eco-Charity Sledding Event - (Ecorazzi) Who knew he was such a staunch eco-advocate?!

International Stuff

• 100% by 2020! (350.org) "...the Maldives has reinforced their goal of becoming carbon neutral in the next decade, declaring that they will reduce CO2 emissions 100% by 2020."

Political, Social & Economy Stuff

• Watch the President's call for clean energy and climate protection - (Repower America) "In his State of the Union address, President Obama renewed his call for clean energy saying, 'the nation that leads the clean energy economy will be the nation that leads the global economy. And America must be that nation.'"
• Pentagon to rank global warming as destabilising force - (guradian.co.uk) "The Pentagon says climate change does not cause conflict but it could act as an accelerant."
• Federal Government Will Cut Its GHG Emissions 28% by 2020 - (EcoGeek)

Other Random Cool Stuff

• DIY Valentine's Day cards - (Mother Nature Network) These are great to do yourself or for older kids.

Coco-Zen's Joyce Kushner talkin' chocolate, fair trade and tryin' to be green on Celebrate Green's radio show.

Although she was a little late (mix up on the interview time), Coco-Zen's own Joyce Kushner had a blast this morning on Celebrate Green's radio show. Hosted by mother & daughter team Lynn Colwell and Corey Lipson-Colwell, the segment was all about chocolate, fair trade, and trying to be green.

Have a listen...

Celebrate Green! on Toginet Radio (01-27-2010 show: Joyce's segment starts 18min in)

Thanks Lynn & Corey for having us!

My Shopping Connection features Coco-Zen Chocolate Body Treats in Valentine's Day Guide!

"Valentine's Day is the perfect opportunity to shower a woman with attention and give her just what she needs to feel beautiful, pampered and relaxed... and the Chocolate Body Gift Set is the perfect way to indulge her sweet tooth without the calories."

~ MyShoppingConnection.com

Gifts to Pamper Her on Valentine's Day

Stuff We Found Today - 01.25.10

Wanna see some funny looking sea critters??

Food Stuff

• Kraft pledges to honour Cadbury's Fairtrade sourcing commitments - (guardian.co.uk) "Fears that US food company would stop selling ethically-sourced products after a takeover allayed, but expansion of Fairtrade agreements remains in doubt..."
• London's Unpackaged Grocery Shop Eliminate Wasteful Packaging - (Inhabitat) Wish we had one of these here!
• Fairtrade KitKat goes on sale across Britain - (The Press, York) Still waiting for one of the "big brands" to go Fair Trade here in the US...
• Ecologic Sustainable Milk Container Debuts with Straus Family Creamery Organic Milk - (Sustainable is Good) Great idea, but how do you recycle this... with paper or with plastic?

Home Stuff

• Building Cheap And Stable House Out Of Recycled Bottles - (World max Travel) Check out the before and after pics...amazing.

Beauty & Fashion Stuff

• Ten-Year-Old Eco-Friendly Fashion Maven - (Sierra Club: The Green Life) Love kids that make a difference!
• Toxic Children's Jewelry: Lead and Cadmium Recalls - (TheDailyGreen) "See why authorities say you should avoid cheap children's jewelry, and check all the latest toxic toy recalls."

Tech & Science Stuff

• Eolic: A Foldable, Portable Wind Turbine - (Inhabitat)
• Apple gadgets going solar? - (Mother Nature Network) "3 new patents just filed by Apple indicate the company is getting into the clean energy business."
• EcoSnoop: Environmental Activism With Your iPhone - (The Good Human)
• GreeningOfOil.com - Big Oils Ultimate Greenwash - (Twilight Earth) Are they kidding us?!!

Nature & Environment Stuff

• Stephen Colbert on Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining - (Colbert Nation) If you didn't catch this last monday... hilarious! Gotta love the sarcasm. (video in post)
• 8 bizarre newly discovered deep sea creatures - (Mother Nature Network) Wanna see some funny looking sea critters??
• You Can All Stop Worrying About It - The Planet Will Be Fine. - (The Good Human) Hello people... the planet's not going to disappear... WE ARE!!

Arts, Entertainment & Travel Stuff

• Jean Luc Cornec's Re-purposed Rotary Phone Sheep - (Inhabitat) Cool upcycling into art... but scary to think of all those old rotary phones we grew up with that are most likely now in sitting in landfills. Does new tech just create more waste... something to think about.
• Michael Jantzen's Towering Eco-Hotel Sports a Ski Slope - (Inhabitat) Calling all skiers... this is pretty cool!

International Stuff

• Did China block Copenhagen progress to pave way for its own dominance in cleantech? - (Grist) "...unless the United States rapidly caught up, 'we are going to gradually cede this industry to Beijing and the good jobs and energy security that would go with it.'"

Political, Social & Economy Stuff

• Coal ash first real test of Obama commitment to health and safety regulation - (Grist)

Other Random Cool Stuff

• UC Berkeley Students Imagine a New Life for Old Bay Bridge Span - (Inhabitat)
• A fair trade Valentine's Day - (Mother Nature Network) "Now that fair trade certified wine has hit the market, socio-eco-conscious activists are celebrating with a triumvirate of fair trade products: Chocolate, flowers and wine."
• TerraCycle will begin upcycling pens and markers - (Mother Nature Network) First chip bags, now markers... awesome!
• NYC Cab Driver Returns $21,000 to a Passenger - (Seeing Good) This cabbie is due some seriously good karma.

Coco-Zen Chocolate Salt Scrub in Feb Issue of Vegetarian Times

The folks over at Vegetarian Times are showing us some love once again! Their beauty editor has picked our Chocolate Salt Scrub for their Valentine's Day roundup. Check out the spread in their February issue...

Eco-Beauty: Chocolate Bliss

VIDEO: Valentine's Day Special - ZapRoot

"Valentines Day Special: Go green this Valentines day with these eco friendly gift ideas."

*Warning: Some adult content - NOT for kids.

Food411 Lists Coco-Zen's Truffles-To-Give in Their Valentine's Day Picks

"Food411.com is the ultimate food resource for everything on the Web related to gourmet food finds, online food shoppings; gourmet foods online, ingredients, recipes, regional specialties, food blogs, unique food gifts, and meals delivered--each and every listing has been carefully reviewed & hand-selected."


We were tickled pink when we received an email telling us that our Truffles-To-Give was chosen for their Valentine's Day Pick List in their February newsletter.

Food411 Hearts Valentine's Day