Dr. Oetker Organic Muffin Mix and If You Care Baking Cups

If you like muffins (and who doesn't?), we suggest checking out Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mixes.

After all, muffins are good and organic things are good, ipso facto organic muffins must be even better.

Where many baking recipes and mixes contain daunting amounts of butter or other fattening ingredients, the Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mixes require only milk, a single egg and two tablespoons of oil to produce a dozen delicious muffins.

(The mix itself contains no fat or cholesterol, according to the Nutrition Facts info on the box.)

Not only are practically all the listed Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mix ingredients organic, but the box itself is apparently made from 100% recycled paper fibers.

Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mix comes in a wide variety of flavors, but we've only had a chance to try the Apple Cinnamon and Carrot varieties, of which we definitely prefer the Apple Cinnamon. (The that Carrot was horrible, it was just a bit...subtle, and besides, we're suckers for cinnamon.)

Unfortunately, our enjoyment of the muffins was marred by the laborious clean-up stage. Even using a non-stick muffin pan, we spent ages scrubbing and soaking in an effort to clean off baked muffin bits.

Fortunately, we found If You Care's line of 100% Unbleached Baking Cups on a trip to our local cooking supply store. Made in Sweden, these cups require no greasing and their manufacturing process involves no chlorine. If You Care has a nice page on their website detailing why the whole no-chlorine-bleaching aspect is important.

Buying single-use products can often be wasteful, but in this case we feel the unbleached baking cups actually can help the planet by saving loads of water and soap (especially the water) by truncating an otherwise lengthy washing process.

Where to buy:

Dr. Oetker Organics Muffin Mixes (along with other organic Dr. Oetker products) can be purchased online directly through Dr. Oetker's online store (2-pack for $6.78, 12-pack for $38.65) or from e-tailers like Amazon.com (12-pack for for $33.60).

We didn't see a Store Finder page on Dr. Oetker's website, but the products are certainly available offline. We found our muffin mixes in the baking aisle at Whole Foods.

As for the If You Care baking cups, we found ours at a Brooklyn cookware story called A Cook's Companion ($2.75 for a box of 60 cups). If Brooklyn isn't a convenient shopping destination for you, you can also find these baking cups through Amazon.com if you're willing to buy in bulk ($38.88 for 24 boxes of 60 cups. That's just $1.62 per box and should keep you covered for several years of muffin baking unless you're running a bakery.)

UK shoppers can order If You Care baking cups through Ethical Superstore, while a site called Ellie's Eco Home Store seems to carry single boxes of the baking cups for $1.95 each. Surf around any of the major search engines and you should be able to find other e-tailers selling these handy baking cups.

Reynolds Wrap Foil from 100 Percent Recycled Aluminum

Reynolds Wrap® Foil from 100% Recycled Aluminum

After finding about the environmental cost of mining aluminum, I switched last year to using old-fashioned baking paper from If You Care for my baking needs.

But baking paper has its limits. For one thing, I believe that it's not generally supposed to be used at high temperatures (over 400 degrees) or under a broiler.

So I was happy to see that Reynolds Wrap has introduced Reynolds Wrap® Foil from 100% Recycled Aluminum - and packaged this foil in a 100% Recycled Paperboard box for an extra eco-friendly bonus.

You can read more about the benefits of the Reynolds Wrap recycled aluminum foil on the company's website.

And even if you're a little OCD (as I am), don't worry -- the aluminum used to create the recycled foil is apparently heated to more than 1200 degrees Farenheit, which should be enough to incinerate any icky stuff.

Plus, when you consider the environmental benefits of recycled aluminum (reportedly requires 95% less energy than virgin aluminum and elininates the need to mine the bauxite from which virgin aluminum is produced, plus keeps aluminum out of landfills), all the chips seem to fall in favor of a recycled aluminum foil like this new Reynolds Wrap offering.

From what I've read, it seems like recycling has made aluminum into a truly renewable resource, since the same cans and foil can be recycled almost indefinitely. When you buy a recycled aluminum product like Reynolds Wrap Foil from 100% Recycled Aluminum, you do your part to support this virtuous circle.

Oh and in terms of our usual hands-on product testing, I can affirm that Reynolds Wrap Foil from 100% Recycled Aluminum does in fact perform just as well in my kitchen from a baking and broiling standpoint as regular Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil. As far as I can tell, there's no reason to buy non-recycled aluminum foil from this point forward.

Where to Buy:

Look for Reynolds Wrap Foil from 100% Recycled Aluminum in the foils, wraps and bags aisle of your local grocer.

Visit the Reynolds Wrap website for coupons, sweepstakes entries and other promotions.

Review - Epicurean Cutting Boards

We've covered eco-friendly cutting boards in the past and are delighted to revisit the topic again with a look at Epicurean Cutting Boards.

Most Epicurean Cutting Boards incorporate eco select paper that Epicurean says comes from trees harvested under the guidelines of the North America Sustainable Forestry Standards.

Epicurean also says that 60% of the energy used to produce the raw materials for its cutting boards comes from renewable energy.

But what really caught our eye was Epicurean's Recycled line of cutting boards made from recycled cardboard.

Like all Epicurean cutting boards, the Recycled series boards are Made in the USA (which generally lowers environmental transport costs), dishwasher safe, knife-friendly (won't dull knives) and heat resistant.

(Unfortunately, the Recycled boards don't have the snazzy "juice groove" from some of Epicurean's other boards...)

They do have a built-in handle that makes carrying and hanging the boards a breeze.

So how did they fare in action? The Epicurean boards took some tough cuts and came out of the dishwasher looking good.

We also have to tip our hats to the copywriter who described the color of the Recycled Epicurean boards as having a "warm, natural nutmeg appearance".

We probably would not have thought of the nutmeg comparison on our own, but once it was in our heads, we could look at the boards without thinking tasty, toasty nutmeg-scented thoughts.

Where to buy:

Buy your Recycled Epicurean cutting board online through the company's own website ($11.99 - $34.99, depending on the size of the board) or through other online retailers like Amazon.com.

Alternatively, find an offline retail location that carries the cutting boards using Epicurean's Store Locator.

Tidbits - Hilton Arc de Triomphe, Scandle, Earth Essentials Room Mists, Vespa S-50, Vectrix VX-1, Zipcar, Pizza Fusion, Preserve Gimme 5 and More!

Here are some eco-friendly product and destination Tidbits that caught our eye this month:

• Ah springtime in Paris! If you're visiting the City of Light, why not opt for an eco-friendly hotel. We've heard that the Hilton Arc de Triomphe is a leading participant in Hilton's We Care European Environmental Programme that emphasizes water efficiency, energy efficiency and waste reduction. The hotel may be functionally sensible, but it's also quite stylish. When we stayed at the Hilton Arc de Triomphe last September, we found that the hotel has a slinky, jazzy Art Deco feeling reminiscent of a 1930s ocean liner. If you're a member of Hilton's HHonor program (or if you've got the dough), try to swing an upgrade to the executive level where you'll have access to a super tasty morning-to-night buffet in the top-floor lounge. Kudos to the hotel for providing some relaxing green space via its lush, tropical and beautifully landscaped Andalusian courtyard.

• Looking for clothing that's comfortable, stylish, classy and organic? Sounds like a tall order, but actually Stonewear Designs has you covered on all counts with its Spring 2009 collection. A member of the Organic Exchange (a nonprofit working to promote organic agriculture), Stonewear Designs offers a range of comfy and flattering tops and pants perfect for yoga, jogging or just lounging around the house. The Stonewear website doesn't have a separate section for organic clothes, but if you browse the site, you'll notice that several stylish items including the Twister Top and Echo Sleeveless Top contain 90% organic cotton content.

• Like candles? Like body oil? Get the best of both worlds with The Scandle(R) Body Candle. As the candle melts, it produces a warm massage oil. It sounds a little painful, but actually feels quite relaxing. Scandle says all its candles are made with 100% natural ingredients like soy butter, shea butter, jojoba, vitmin E and essential oils. The 10-ounce candle ($24.95-$25.95 MSRP) comes packaged in a re-usable ceramic container. You can then purchase additional candles on their own at www.abodycandle.com and insert them into the container. The travel size 4-ounce candle ($12.95 MSRP) comes in a metal tin made from recycled materials. FYI, Scandle says its petroleum-free candles use a 100% cotton wick. Purchase Scandle online or search for a store near you.

• It's nice to see eco-friendly products make their way further into mainstream stores. The most recent evidence of this trend: CVS has begun selling its own brand of Earth Essentials(TM) Aromatic Room Mists. Packaged in recyclable 7-ounce aluminum cans, the room mist uses a non-aerosol spray to disperse essential oils. The mist itself is apparently non-toxic, fully biodegradable and has not been tested on animals. The mists are available in CVS stores nationwide and at CVS.com for $3.99. Interestingly, I've been reading lately how essential oils have excellent antimicrobial properties, which suggests that using essential oils to freshen the air could kill nasty bacteria and viruses at the same time... (Here's another related story on the potent power of peppermint essential oil from Discovery.com...)

• Did you shiver through last winter? Or are you looking for a way to lower your cooling bill this winter? Maybe more home insulation could save you money and make your home more eco-friendly by cutting down on the energy required to heat and cool your house. Johns Manville claims to be ahead of the curve in completely removing formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, from its fiberglass attic insulation. Johns Manville also says that it uses the highest percentage of post-consumer recycled glass (20% percent) among all fiberglass insulation makers. Click on the Where to Buy link on Johns Manville's homeowner website to find a contractor near you who carries Johns Manville insulation.

• Alternative eco-friendly and chic transportation option #1 - The Vespa S-50 (MSRP $3,199). Introduced late last year, this scooter offers classic Italian styling, top speed of 39 mph and sips gasoline at 85-90 mpg. Available now at a Vespa Dealer near you.

• Alternative eco-friendly and chic transportation option #2 - The 100% electric 2009 Vectrix VX-1 (MSRP $10,495). An update of the first Vectrix scooter introduced in late 2007, the 2009 VX-1 is highway-legal with a top speed of 62 mph and an approximate range of 35-55 miles. Since Vectrix scooters burn no gasoline, they're much better for the environment than vehicles with internal combustion engines. If the price seems a little steep, look out for the VX-2 (30 mph top speed, 40-50 mile range, MSRP $5,195) scheduled to arrive in Vectrix dealerships by this coming June.

• Alternative eco-friendly transportation option #3 - Scooters aren't ideal for carrying huge loads (although they can manage in a pinch, apparently).
  If you only need a car occasionally, why endure the enviromental waste and expense of owning your own vehicle when you can share a fleet of cars with a bunch of other folks in the same situation. That's the premise behind various car-sharing services including Zipcar, U Car Share, Mint (NYC only) and Connect by Hertz. Save money on parking, gasoline (generally included in the car-sharing hourly rates), insurance, maintenance and more while still having access to a car when you need it most.

• Pizza Fusion is a chain of pizza restaurants with locations in 13 states using organic ingredients in its pizzas, delivering pizzas in hybrid vehicles, offsetting 100% of its energy use with renewable energy certificates, serving food in containers made from corn starch, providing utensils made from potatoes and generally adhering to a lengthy and extremely impressive list of environmentally-friendly practices. How about the taste? It generally gets good reviews on sites like Yelp, particularly from folks who like the vegan and gluten-free options.

• Looking for a way to recycle #5 polypropylene plastic (used in many containers for yogurt, cottage cheese and other dairy products)? Many municipal recycling programs do not accept #5 plastics. That's why Preserve, Organic Valley and Stonyfield Farm have teamed up with Whole Foods to let customers drop off #5 plastics in "Gimme 5" bins at a growing list of Whole Foods stores. Preserve then recycles the plastics into a wide array of kitchen and bath products -- some of which we have previously reviewed here on 1GreenProduct.com.

• There are lots of hip (and often expensive) organic cotton shirts out there, but sometimes you just want a basic long-sleeve organic cotton t-shirt. For those occasions, Macys delivers in spades with its Field Gear Organic Long Sleeve Tee (MSRP $39.50, but we've seen the sale price fluctuate between $9.99 and $14.99). Given the sale price, we found the shirt is surprisingly comfy and well made. The cotton had a substantial, almost sueded feel and even a couple of grommets under the arms for ventilation.

• Men looking for white organic cotton underwear have an option with the Calvin Klein Naturals collection available in boxer brief, trunk and classic brief styles. (Note - The underwear is technically available in black and willow colors too, but when we tried ordering some black briefs from Amazon.com, we received the white underwear by mistake. When we returned the product and tried again, we got the white underwear the second time too. That's why we think you can have any color you want, as long as it's white.)

• Not satisfied with the expert eco-friendly reviews here at 1GreenProduct.com? You can get loads of reviews from consumers like yourself at Buzzillions.com, a site where verified purchasers write reviews about products they've bought. Buzzillions has lots of non eco-friendly products, of course, but they've also got sections on Energy Star products, products made with recycled materials (more than 300 reviews on the Keen Ventura Canvas shoe!) and organic products. Don't be surprised if a given product, like that popular Keen shoe mentioned above, shows up in more than one category. FYI, Buzzillions said they would monitor this blog and would be happy to get comments/feedback on how 1GreenProduct.com readers like their site. This is your soapbox! Feel free to speak out.

• Should every business strive to be a Green business? In the sense that being Green means reducing waste and figuring out how to improve efficiency, the answer is probably Yes. If you're a small business owner looking for some practical ideas on making your business more eco-friendly in the hopes of saving some money, improving customer loyalty, boosting employee motivation and having a lighter impact on the planet, you might glean some useful information from Daniel Sitarz's new book, Greening Your Business. (FYI, publisher EarthPress says it prints on 100% recycled post-consumer waste paper using soy-based inks and offsets its carbon emissions with the purchase of wind-energy credits used to subsidize the construction of wind turbines on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota.)

ecosource Home and Garden

According to its founders, ecosource Home and Garden aims to make products that are:

• cheap
• fun to buy
• don't feel like a sacrifice
• better for the planet

Looks like ecosource hit all the bases with its new line of grēnware(TM) tableware, bowls and plates made primarily with plant cellulose - mostly rice hulls and coconut fiber. Instead of using artificial dyes or paints, grēnware simply offers the natural earth tones of the plants from which it was made.

What you end up with is one of the coolest collections of Green kitchen products that we've seen thus far. On one hand, grēnware is pretty tough. We like the samples too much to drop them from a great height, but we experimented dropping them from 1-2 feet into the sink and onto the countertop. Not a scratch.

In fact, any guests who didn't know the grēnware secret might think that your plates and dishes were made out of yucky plastic.

The dark Cocoa colored plates in particular almost have the lightness and smoothness of old-fashioned melamine...only without all the associated toxicity. The lighter Natural colored plates and bowls definitely seem a little rougher and more obviously "eco". Personally we like both styles - Cocoa is dressier and fancier, Natural seems better suited for breakfasts or casual meals.

ecosource doesn't call grēnware shatterproof, but it's certainly sturdy enough that I agree with the company's suggestion to use grēnware outdoors at pool parties or picnics. If your grēnware does chip or break at a picnic, you don't even really have to worry about picking up the pieces -- ecosource says that grēnware is designed to biodegrade in as little as four months. (Again, we didn't have a chance to test this claim, but if any readers want to plant a bowl in their backyard and leave us a comment in May, we'll definitely post it!)

You can't put grēnware in the microwave or the oven, but ecosource does say that the product is dishwasher-safe. We tested this claim and found that grēnware came through the dishwasher just fine -- although ecosource does say that regular dishwasher use may shorten the product's intended five-year lifespan. (The company therefore recommends handwashing.)

We're sort of head-over-heels this product, but that doesn't mean that we're blindfolded to any potential faults. We'll start with the little stuff -

1) Change the label! Our grēnware tableware samples came with a little barcoded sticker on the bottom that proved almost impossible to remove without leaving behind a sticky, gluey mess. Surely it must be possible to use an easier-to-remove label that still sticks when it needs to? We felt super-guilty at using so much water just trying to get off all that glue residue.

2) Made in China. We generally prefer to buy U.S. products both to support local industry and to avoid the environmental transport costs of importing something from literally halfway around the world. On the other hand, perhaps China has more of the raw materials (rice hulls certainly, not sure about the coconut fibers) than we do, and so therefore perhaps it really does make sense to make grēnware over there...

3) Replace the tableware every five years? This is really our only misgiving - the flip-side of designing a product that decomposes easily is that it probably won't be the most durable thing ever. ecosource notes that you don't need to feel guilty about throwing grēnware away since the product decomposes so quickly, but it still seems a little profligate to buy new place settings twice every decade. We've had the same set of post-collegiate dishes for nearly a decade with plans to keep using them until they get chipped into oblivion. Of course, accidents and rough handling do eventually damage most dishes to the point where you need to get a new set, but we still think that most conventional dishes will last longer than grēnware - unless you're a real klutz.

In summary, if you're looking for some versatile, eco-friendly and beautiful tableware, grēnware rules. If you crave variety in your life and like to change your place settings every 3-5 years, grēnware could be just the ticket.

If on the other hand, you believe the most eco-friendly choice is to buy one set of plates that will last for eons, then you may want to give grēnware a pass.

But even so, definitely take a look at some of the other ecosource products, particularly greenPots - strong, incredibly lightweight planters and pots pre-drilled for drainage. Made from grain byproducts (rice hulls again), ecosource says that these weather-resistant pots contain neither wood nor petroleum, deplete no natural resources and can decompose or be composted at the end of their useful lives.

We don't have a ton of gardening experience, but from what we do know, many pots won't survive all that long outdoors anyway, particularly if they get knocked over by high winds or rampaging squirrels. It's nice to know that when your planter gets cracked, you can simply bury the pieces and that they'll harmlessly go back to the earth. Or if you've been nurturing a plant indoors and are ready to plant it in the ground, you could just break up the pot (to free the roots) and then put the whole shebang in the hole.

Pretty awesome.

Where to buy:

Use the ecosource website to find a retailer near you. (The list is ordered alphabetically within each state, but we'd love to see a tool that would let you search by zip code and then map out the closest retailers. Just a suggestion...) Unfortunately, at this time, it does not appear that either grēnware or greenPots are available for purchase online.

Grohe WaterCare Faucets

IOHO, simplicity is frequently an eco-virtue.

Scrap all the bells and whistles (except for the Jingle Bells) and just give us a product that does one thing and does it spectacularly well.

Maybe that's why we're so enamored with the Relexa showerhead (MSRP $40) by Grohe.

Relexa comes in one color - chrome.

It's non-adjustable, with an ultra simple easy-to-clean design. (A smaller showerhead means less space for dust to settle!)

Grohe uses something called DreamSpray(R) Technology to deliver an even spray from the showerhead. SpeedClean(R) nozzles made from silicone apparently make it easy to erase limescale buildup.

We haven't been testing the Relexa long enough to vouch for the SpeedClean claims, but we can verify that the DreamSpray does deliver a relaxing, steady washing experience.

Even better, you get clean while saving water. Relexa is part of Grohe's WaterCare collection of faucets and showerheads, which means that it uses up to 30% less water than a typical showerhead. Many of the faucets in the Grohe WaterCare collection also carry the EPA WaterSense label. (Apparently, WaterSense standards currently apply to bath faucets only at this point, which explains why the Relexa and other Grohe WaterCare showerheads don't use the EPA label...)

A quick look through the rest of Grohe's online WaterCare catalog shows that the company has an array of water-saving faucets capable of matching the style in any kitchen or bathroom. Depending on the faucet, you can also choose an array of finishes including chrome, SuperSteel, RealSteel, brushed nickel or oil-rubbed bronze.

Whether you prefer the traditional Seabury (MSRP $384+), modern Atrio (MSRP $604+) or sleek single-handle Talia (MSRP $361+), you'll know that you're helping with the crucial task of water conservation.

If you choose a Grohe WaterCare faucet, you'll also benefit from high-end technology like Grohe's SilkMove(R) teflon-coated cartridge that is designed to deliver friction-free and maintenance-free durability. Again, we didn't have our sample faucet long enough to vouch for longterm durability, but we can say that Grohe delivers on its ease of use marketing claims. We really were able to easily control the single-handle Talia faucet with just one finger.

FYI, the Grohe faucets and showerheads we tested were made in Germany and seem to have the high quality that one would normally associate with German consumer goods (cars, wind turbines, solar panels, sausages, etc.).


Where to buy:

Use the Showroom Locator to find the closest place where you can examine and select a Grohe WaterCare faucet or showerhead. Since Grohe products are not carried in big-box retail stores, your other option would be to place an order through a designer or plumbing contractor.

Fire & Light Recycled Glass Dinnerware & Giftware Review

Happy Halloween!

What's more appropriate on a holiday like today than to celebrate products that have been brought back from the dead and given a new life?

I'm speaking of course about Fire & Light, a company that makes beautiful, handcrafted dinnerware, giftware, candle holders, vases and more by recycling old glass bottles and jars.

Buying Fire & Light products supports a company that's turning "waste" into beautiful works of art. The company's website explains it this way:

Fire & Light hand-poured colored glass tableware has a way of drawing the eye, enchanting the viewer with the unique play of light that filters through its rich spectrum of colors and textures. This enchantment is not simply a quality of the glass or its pigmentation, but of the very way in which it is made, the very hands that pour and press it, the beliefs and spirit that drive the people who craft the product, and the community from which it originates.

It all sounds a little dramatic, but when you hold a Fire & Light glass up to the light, you really do feel like you've brought a bit of art into your daily experience of eating and drinking.

Ladling out some food onto one of Fire & Light's Moonstone plates gave our humble chicken dinners a bit more pizzazz.

And the chunky Tumbler instantly become one of our favorite glasses for iced tea and other cold drinks.

Made in California, Fire & Light's products are dishwasher-safe, but they are not recommended for use in the microwave.

Eco-consumers take note - Fire & Light products come in a wide array of colors, but not all of the colors have the same percentage of recycled content. Most colors have more than 91% recycled glass content, but due to color sensitivity, the Lavender and Citrus colored pieces can use only a small percentage of recycled content.

Where to buy:

Use Fire & Light's Retail Locator to find a store near you that carries Fire & Light products.

Can't find a convenient retailer nearby? You can call 800-844-2223 or email the company to place a direct order.

Looking for a treat?

Why not enter our ongoing LaLicious bath and body products Sweepstakes? Lots of sweet all-natural products like the Vanilla Body Butter ($24) and the Peppermint Sugar Souffle Scrub ($34) - and all with zero calories since they're for external use only!

Preserve

As hard as we try to minimize our use of plastic, there are always some corners of our modern lives where plastic endures.

Consider the toothbrush. Odds are, we're all using a plastic one.

(Random thought - What were toothbrushes made of before plastic became a common material? Where there wooden toothbrushes? Thanks to Google and Colgate, I now know the most advanced toothbrushes of the late 18th Century were made of cattle bone with swine-neck bristles. Yum!)

Anyway, these days if you can't avoid brushing with plastic, at least you can brush with a recycled plastic toothbrush. A company called Recycline® makes the Preserve® toothbrush by recycling Stonyfield Farm yogurt containers. (Containers that once held organic yogurt, natch.)

When your toothbrushes wear out, instead of chucking them in the trash, you can send them back to Recycline in a postage-paid package (download the label from Recycline's website). Your old razors will be reborn as plastic lumber for park benches, decks and other sturdy objects.

Recycline also makes Preserve razors. Not only is the handle made from the same type of recycled plastic as the toothbrushes, but the blade cartridge can be popped out and changed. (So you don't have to throw away the whole razor when the blade wears out.)

The newest Recycline products bring Preserve into the kitchen with cheery colanders, cutting boards, mixing bowls and storage containers. Most of these made-in-the-USA products are made from 100% recycled plastic and are also dishwasher-safe. The amazing Paperstone™ cutting boards are created from a combination of natural resins blended with 100% post-consumer recycled paper.

Frankly, the design rocks on all the Preserve products - especially the kitchenware. Credit the folks at Evo Design who partner with Recycline to give all the Preserve products an organic feel plus great functionality. Especially with the new kitchen products, everything looks great and is easy to use. Little cutouts in the Paperstone cutting boards, for instance, make it a pleasure to grab and carry a wet cutting board full of sliced scallions over to a pot of bubbling chili.

Or to give another example, consider the apple-inspired food storage containers. Yes, the design is adorable, but it's also well-crafted. Lots of storage containers use a pop-off lid, but the screw-top lid on the Preserve containers seems to fit more snugly. You'll probably preserve your food better and are less likely to make a mess if someone drops the container accidentally.

In regular use, all the Preserve kitchen products performed great while brightening up the kitchen. My only small gripe is that the the regular cutting boards seem to scratch a little easily. Recycline calls these boards knife-friendly, so maybe the softness is supposed to help your knives last longer? Anyway, I preserved the feel and the endurance of the Paperstone boards certified by the Forest Stewardship Council. (Plus it's just so cool to think you are cutting on a board made partially out of paper!)

One last bonus -- since Preserve tableware and kitchen products (except for the Paperstone) are all made out of 100% recycled #5 plastic, they can all be dumped straight into the recycling bin -- provided of course that your community recycles #5 plastics. Unfortunately, not all communities recycle #5 plastic, so you may have to search a while to find a way to get these items into the recycling stream. (Hint: Put "#5" and your location into the Earth911 search box to find someplace near you that takes #5 plastic!)

Where to buy:
Recycline says that Target has started carrying the Preserve toothbrush nationally (though we couldn't find it on Target's website yet). For now, Preserve Kitchen products are available exclusively at Whole Foods. If you're looking for anything else, check out this store locator and then call to make sure the product you want is in stock.

Price Pfister Ashfield WaterSense Faucet

From a green standpoint, the ideal faucet is the one that does the job (washes your hands and other objects) while using as little water as possible.

Ladies and gentlemen, we present a top contender for ideal green faucet: the Price Pfister Ashfield WaterSense model.

Water shortages are no laughing matter. In recent months, major U.S. cities like Atlanta have faced the specter of pipes running dry. Worldwide, rising populations are putting ever greater stress on fresh water supplies.

There are little water-saving tricks that can help conserve this most precious resource. Ever since Mrs. Symington's high school biology class, I've learned to turn off the water while I'm brushing my teeth, for instance. And I'm in awe of those who somehow manage to take 3 minute showers. (Personally I'm a 15-20 minute shower guy...)

Anyway, Price Pfister is making it easy for us to take a giant step toward water conservation. The beautiful trough design of the Ashfield faucet limits the faucet to a maximum of 1.5 gallons per minute (gpm) of water flow versus the 2.2 gpm industy standard. Despite cutting water volume by 30%, the faucet still promises not to compromise "the user's water experience."

Think the Ashfield trough would be out of place in your sleek modern home? Stay tuned for another Price Pfister faucet with the same water-saving advantages, but modern-inspired lines coming later this summer.

Meanwhile, if you want to save water without switching faucets, Price Pfister has Eco-Pfriendly™ aerators that can be added to existing faucets - saving up to 2,200 gallons of water per year by Price Pfister's calculations.

Note that the Ashfield faucet has EPA WaterSense certification.

Where to buy:
You can find the Price Pfister Ashfield WaterSense faucet nationwide at major home improvement retailers including Home Depot, Lowes and Menards.

GreenPan Cookware

I have to say I'd be pretty offended if someone told me that I was a pot calling the kettle black (i.e. a hypocrite).

But if someone wanted to call me a GreenPan™, well I'd be mighty flattered.

Maybe because GreenPan Cookware stays cool under pressure thanks to its patented ceramic-based Thermolon™ non-stick coating.

Most non-stick pans are coated with a coated with a compound known as PTFE. But PTFE-coated nonstick pans have several drawbacks. First, the nonstick coating tends to melt and give off harmful fumes around 500 degrees Fahrenheit. There are numerous reports on the Internet about the fumes killing birds, but even in people the PTFE fumes may have at least temporarily harmful effects.

Second, the manufacture of PTFE involves another chemical compound abbreviated as PFOA. The Environmental Protection Agency has begun working with manufacturers to phase out the use of PFOA based on the fact that the chemical seems to persist in the environment - not to mention the bloodsteam of the general population.

GreenPan says that Thermolon contains no PTFE and that the process of making Thermolon requires no PFOA and produces less CO2 than the process of making PTFE.

Now I do have to admit that I have cooked with PTFE-coated nonstick pans for years. I love the fact that I can fry something and not leave half my meal stuck to the pan.

But I've also worried about the coating on the pans. In particular, I noticed that in cleaning the nonstick pans, I'd inevitably leave scratches. I feared that bits of nonstick coating might end up in my food (though presumably at least they wouldn't stick to my intestinal tract if I did swallow anything).

Anyway, I had just thrown away an old, scratched-up nonstick pan when I got the chance to test the GreenPan frying pan. So far, I have to say that it has exceeded all my expectations. If you thought nonstick pans were slippery, you'll be blown away by the low friction quotient inside the GreenPan.

I used to add a dollop of olive oil to my old nonstick pans for good measure, but I'd still suffer a bit of stickiness, especially say if a bit of fried egg splashed onto the un-oiled side of the pan during the egg-breaking process.

With GreenPan, I skipped the olive oil and still slid my fried egg out as easy as pie.

Other fun attributes of the GreenPan include the fact that the pan is oven and stovetop safe up to 850 degrees Fahrenheit.

GreenPan claims to be more scratch and abrasion resistant than the old PTFE-coated nonstick pans. It's still early in the game, but I'm inclined to believe this claim is true based on the look and feel of the Thermolon coating. Plus since nothing sticks to the pan, I don't even use the rough side of my sponge - making scratches highly unlikely if not impossible.

So far, the GreenPan's claims of even heat conductivity also seem to hold water, not to mention fried eggs.

I'm slightly more leery of two other GreenPan advanced performance claims. The 'heat-resistant' stainless steel handle gets a bit warm to the touch for my tastes, but then I'm used to cooking with handles coated in plastic or silicone. If GreenPan had gone that route, it would have probably invalidated the whole 850-degrees heat resistance benefit.

GreenPan also touts the pan as lightweight. Again, I feel like some of the PTFE-coated nonstick pans I've used in the past are a bit lighter, but the heft of the GreenPan doesn't bother me. In fact, it makes the pan feel solid and meant to last.

GreenPan says its pan is dishwasher safe, but since not much food sticks to the pan, I'm perfectly happy to give it a quick rinse and soft sponge bath in the sink.

Though I only tried one frying pan, GreenPan does make several different varieties of frying pans and sauce pans. You can find GreenPan products online at HSN and at other fine retailers starting this summer.