Snow is starting to make an appearance around the country this week, which means new boots and snow shoes are either being broken in for the first time this season or people are running out to find the right shoes! I’m a big fan of KEEN footwear, and their just-launched website where you can buy shoes, bags and gear directly from them is a definitely go-to place for winter (and summer, but let’s talk snow for now). Here’s what I love most about KEEN - their products are top quality, and beyond that, they take great pride in being responsible not only with their products, but for the planet and community as well. Here are some green points about KEEN I think you’ll appreciate:

*KEEN’s shoeboxes are made from 100% recycled post-consumer waste;

*Their line of Harvest Bags features recycled shoe manufacturing components, such as rubber and aluminum;

*KEEN shoes use either water-soluble glues or vulcanized rubber instead of glue;

*Natural cotton (grown without pesticides) are used instead of treated canvas;

*KEEN uses leather only recommended by the Leather Working Group, a watchdog for environmentally safe tannery practices;

*Their successful social efforts, including the KEEN Hybrid.Stand campaign, where sustainability entrepreneurs were awarded (collectively) $125,000 for their humanitarian and eco-efforts! And don’t forget to visit KEEN’s HybridLife community page, where you can read about and nominate people and groups who “Stand Out” and make a difference worldwide.

So, how does all of this wonderful information translate to you, dear readers? This week, one very lucky commenter can win ANY one item from KEEN! ANYTHING - shoes for you, your little one, your better half, a bag, anything. Comes right on time, doesn’t it? Here are the rules - leave a comment here with an answer to this: What KEEN item would you love to give/get for the holidays? Please visit KEEN and leave the item name in your comment. This contest will be open until next Sunday, December 14th until midnight, PST. One winner will be chosen at random; open to US residents only.

For an added bonus, use the code TEENSYGREEN for free shipping now through December 14th! Good luck!

I think it’s safe to say I took the weekend off, and I’m excited to see how the next month brings articles and discussions about the holidays! It’s coming faster than you can say “HappyMerry Chanukistmaswanzaa” (insert your favorite multi-cultural holiday word here). I have some amazing giveaways reserved for some holiday giving-goodness, so let’s get started, shall we?

I was sent a LeapFrog Tag ages ago, when my family took a lovely, ten hour roadtrip to South Carolina. I hid it for most of the trip, since I didn’t want to deal with the girls fighting over it. I had originally wanted to test it out with my now six-year old, since the books I had for the Tag were pre-reading and more her speed. Of course, she loved it, and much to my surprise, found myself buying a second one for my three-year old…

Let me backtrack - the LeapFrog Tag is one of the hot, new items LeapFrog has recently rolled out. They’ve seriously done their homework! The way I’ve been describing the Tag is, it’s like a chunky, digital pen (the official term is “talk-and-touch reading device”). Special Tag-related books include everything from Dora to Dr. Seuss to one of our new faves, Olivia, and are “read ” through the Tag after a bit of modern magic. Install the Tag’s included CD, and download the contents of your books onto the Tag (the Tag holds up to five books at a time). Once the book is downloaded, and as soon as you touch the Tag to the book, the real magic happens! Kids can choose to have the story read to them, plus they can press the point of the Tag onto just about anything on the page to hear sound effects or other fun extras to embellish the story. There are also games included in many of the titles. All are educational, fun and completely absorbing for kids. I mean it, I can’t tell you enough how easy and exceptionally entertaining the Tag is!

Another aspect of the Tag I fell in love with is the Learning Path system, a free online tool which allows you to see what your child is working on with their Tag (and other new LeapFrog toys as well). Just set up an account, plug in the Tag often, and the Learning Path will give you detailed information on particular skills engaged and progress made. Kids can also unlock “rewards” see how they’re learning without even knowing it!

I am beyond excited to offer a Tag for one lucky winner, as well as two Tag titles - Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin (a real belly-laugher in our house) and The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss! You won’t be disappointed, I promise. So, the rules are: Please leave a comment at this post by next Sunday night at midnight, PST with an answer to this: What do you think will be your child’s (or any Tag recipient’s) favorite Tag book? Please, one comment per person! One winner will be chosen at random. This contest is available to US residents only. Good luck!

My six-year old’s birthday party may have been full of paper plates and juice boxes (we’ll leave that for another post), but I felt good knowing her invitations were made from recycled paper - and totally unique from anything else I found. My big thank you for these awesome invites goes out to Kate Rosenthal, the brainchild behind eco-art supplies and stationery shop Stubby Pencil Studio. Based in Portland, OR, Stubby Pencil Studio is chock full of super fun and simply lovely artsy goods for kids, as well as personal paper and invites for your birthday needs (see pic above for the front of my daughter’s art party invite!).

Congrats to Stubby Pencil Studio for being featured in Cool Mom Picks’ Safer Toy Guide! To celebrate, Stubby Pencil Studio is offering $50 worth of goodies for one lucky winner! So many of SPS’s products are perfect for stocking stuffers and a winner for one Chanukah night. What will it be - Holiday Smencils, the fun-smelling pencil made from recycled newspapers; amazing metallic EcoPencils my daughter can’t get enough of; or my new favorite, wink ‘n curtsy’s eco-friendly personalized stationery for kids? The rules stay the same - please visit Stubby Pencil Studio to answer this very tough question: What product would your little artist love to get their hands on? Leave a comment here after your browse this wonderful shop! This contest will be open until next Friday, November 14th at midnight, PST. Good luck!

Is it holiday time yet? Walking around the mall today (and with a chill in the Florida air this week), it almost felt like it should be late November/December. Even though Halloween isn’t until Friday, holiday lights are starting to pop up and my daughters’ eyes are tuned into the sights and sounds of the season. One thing I know many people are starting to organize are holiday cards, often a major part of the year-end tradition of sending good wishes and words of joy and love.

One new line of card I was recently turned on to is Paper Shouts - with their funky name and equally unique “shout” cards for virtually every occasion, I was immediately hooked! Paper Shouts cards come in modern, traditional and vintage styles, and for someone like me who is a total stationary addict, this is a new favorite place to browse.  They’ve also announced that all designer shouts are from now on to be printed on 100% PCW recycled, heavyweight (110#), uncoated paper and are shipped with 50% recycled envelopes (30% PCW/20% VF)! Good move, I say! Plus, from now through November 5th, all proceeds from their Holiday Shouts line will go directly to Our City Forest (OCF), an urban forest renewal/education organization created to cultivate community through urban tree planting.

This week, Paper Shouts wants you to start your holiday planning early with an awesome giveaway! They’re offering a $50 gift card toward any Paper Shouts product - whether it be for holiday time, a new baby or your daughter’s Sweet 16. The rules go like this - please leave a comment here with an answer to this question - what Paper Shouts “Holiday Shout” would you love to send to your loved ones this holiday season? Choose from Christmas, Chanukah, Feliz Navidad and Holiday party cards, many of them with room for a lovely pic of your family offering friends and family good cheer this year. This contest will be open from now through next Wednesday, November 5th at midnight PST, so get shouting!

Additionally, Paper Shouts is offering 10% off your order! Please use the coupon “teensygreen” at checkout!

It’s offcially baby season! I have so many friends having babies from now through the spring, I’ve toyed with the idea of doing a “babies only” eco-site to keep up with all the products I’ve been researching! For now, I thought I’d kick off celebrating all the new bundles of joy with a great giveaway from a hot eco-friendly company.

The husband and wife team behind the super-stylish company Itzy Ritzy wants to bring a bit of celebrity to you and your baby! Their “baby bamboo” fabric is incorporated into many of their products, giving softness and eco-loveliness to blankets, car seat covers, highchair covers, nursing covers and burp cloths. Bamboo is naturally anti-bacterial, deodorizing, with a silky feel that’s indulgent yet practical (meaning, machine washable). One thing I love about Itzy Ritzy is their amazing array of fabric choices, so I can send gifts to friends who have all kinds of style preferences. From girly to rocker to traditional, there’s seriously something for everyone here.

This week, Itzy Ritzy wants you to win their beautiful Ritzy Nurser in Vintage Floral and Baby Bamboo fabric! How much do I wish these were around when my daughters were born? These nursers are not your big t-shirts thrown over your shoulder. It also makes a great shade cover for baby carriers as well. To enter, please leave a comment here with an answer to this - which Itzy Ritzy product would you give to your best friend, family member (or yourself) during baby season? Find your favorite and let me know! This contest will be open until midnight, PST on Wednesday, October 29th. Good luck!

PS - Itzy Ritzy is also offering 20% off your order! Please enter the code GREEN when asked during checkout.

Hi all! I hope everyone had a great week! While we were so happy to spend Rosh Hashana with family out of town, it’s great to be home and back on track with teensygreen.

On to some exciting news! I’m so thrilled to be a part of a new - the Mommy Go Green Blog Tour! The wonderful-ness that is Green & Clean Mom has organized this ingenious method of getting the word out about new eco-products we think you’ll all love! The best part is, there’s a great giveaway included.

The first MGG Blog Tour and giveaway is hosted by ecoBrain, a wonderful e-book library that provides “Green Books for Green Living”. ecoBrain has brought hundreds of green titles in one place, saving thousands of trees by simply reading books on your computer instead of purchasing them. ecoBrain features the latest green titles as well as classic books, including titles on the environment, sustainability, health and wellness, local green, virtually everything and anything that involves green living. Your first reaction may have been the same as mine - it’s tough for me to read books on my computer, so how can ebooks benefit me? But after checking out the site, I can honestly say I’m hooked on ecoBrain. There’s so much to I’ve already downloaded - cookbooks, gardening and nature guides, activities for my kids - and many more on my “to read” list. Many of the titles offer samples pages to preview, and if you sign up from now through November 1st (it’s free to sign up), you’ll receive a $5 credit towards your first ebook!

Onto the giveaway! ecoBrain and publisher New Society want you to win the ebook Radical Simplicity. Great title, right? Think about it - you may be recycling, composting, growing your own veggies and buying natural products. But, are you ready to take a step further? Is it possible, even “radical,” to truly live “simply” in this crazy day and age? Written by John Merkel, a former military engineer who quit his job after the Exxon Valdez disaster to pursue a balanced, more sustainable life, Radical Simplicity is part workbook, part memoir, and part pure inspiration. It provides practical tools to guide you through seemingly impossible changes, to not only help you reduce your ecological footprint, but help you truly get in touch with Mother Earth.

This giveaway will run for one week, through Sunday, October 12th at midnight, PST. Please leave a comment here with an answer to this question - what ecoBrain ebook peaks your interest the most? Good luck and happy reading!

I don’t know about you, but it’s going to be baby city in my world shortly. Not from me, but I have a good number of friends adding to their family, and I’ve been on a gift hunt to prep for all the little ones! Since one of my favorite things to write about are shops and products from parents just like us, how excited was I to find Olive and Bean, a beautiful green store to help get kids off to a great start!

Olive and Bean’s brick and mortar store in Las Vegas (of all places, and Amen!) is chock full of eco-modern products for babies and toddlers, including such brands as Dwell (linens), Spot on Square (furniture), Erbaviva (skincare) and Pediped (shoes). The on-line shop is vibrant and so much fun to browse, with both practical and whimsical gifts. I think it’s an amazing spot to find the perfect baby gift - categories are broken down not only by product, but how much you want to spend. I have my eye on these adorable, non-gendered soft blocks by QCollection Junior for a few of the babies my friends are having this fall and winter!

Click around and pick your favs! This week, Olive and Bean is generously giving away three gift certificate for three winners! Two gift certificates are for $50, and one is for $25. Please leave a comment here with an answer to this - what would buy with your Olive and Bean gift certificate? Winners will be chosen at random. This contest will be open until next Friday, October 3rd at midnight, PST. Good luck!

This contest is now closed! Thanks so much for participating!

I love love love the Fall season for books. When I worked in publishing, the push for big books after the lazy summer season brought energy and excitement to our office, and my reading queue! This Fall, there’s definitely no shortage for eco-based books for kids. Here’s what I’ve found to bring green reading to your child’s library:

Planet Earth Gets Well by Madeline Kaplan (BookSurge Publishing) - First time author Kaplan takes on global warming in a unique and sensitive way - through the eyes of mother and child. This time, however, Earth is the child, suffering from a runny nose (ice caps) and a fever (global warming). How are we going to help Earth feel better? Mother Nature encourages people to nurture the Earth instead of taking advantage of it, and being more conscious about their actions.

By personifying the Earth, children can relate much better to its concerns and solutions. The friendly illustrations speak volumes to kids, and they’ll take a lot away from this whimsical yet grounding book.

Little Green Books (Simon and Shuster) -  S&S is making a wonderful commitment to green education through their Little Green Books series. These easy to read, well-priced books focus on very specific aspects of the environment, which is great for not overwhelming kids when teaching them about sensitive subjects. Titles such as The Polar Bears’ Home: A Story about Global Warming is geared towards kids ages four and up, and are paperbacks made from recycled paper with soy ink. The adorable Little Panda and “Little Monkey” books for younger kids are cloth books made from 50% recycled materials, and are machine washable! There will be more Little Green Books published about recycling, gardening and endangered animals from now until next Spring, so keep checking back with your bookseller!

Michael Recycle by Ellie Bethel (Worthwhile Books) - My husband saw this book and had to get it, probably because we’re big recyclers. My girls, however, love Michael for his silly colander-hat and ability to fly through the clouds. This is a fun book about a lazy town whose garbage is about to reach the moon! Michael swoops in and teaches them how to separate trash and reuse materials so they won’t be buried under their trash. There’s also a great resource guide to recycling, reminders about how easy it is to help save the planet, superhero or not!

10 Things I Can Do To Help My World by Melanie Walsh (Candlewick Press) - My girls love this book for it’s simplicity and interactivity. Walsh takes ten very doable tasks that kids can take on to become very responsible earthkeepers, such as turning the water off when brushing their teeth, or using both sides of a piece of doodling paper. The modern illustrating and kid-centric writing makes this a wonderful library addition for kids ages 4-8.

This week, I have THREE copies of Planet Earth Gets Well for three lucky readers! In addition to the book, Eco-Libris will plant a tree to balance out the books printed (and yes, all the books are printed on post-consumer recycled paper). Leave a comment here with answer to this - how do you help Planet Earth get well? This contest will be open until next Tuesday, September 23rd at midnight. Good luck, and happy reading!