Alice, the creator of Wild Alice Bars, stops by Seven Planet to speak with Summer and DJ about her unique products.

LOOPTWORKS is an urban/outdoor apparel and accessories line made from 100% UPCYCLED materials. Everything we make is from pre-consumer excess – in other words, materials that get leftover at the factory. Instead of using the world’s limited resources to create new materials, LOOPTWORKS uses high quality, never before used excess materials that already exist. Since we do not know how much material we will find, each product is an individually numbered limited-edition item.

Our signature “Bath Bombs” are hand-made in Portland, Oregon, with the absolute finest ingredients from all over the world. Though made in the USA, our decadent bombs can be found in the world’s finest spas, hotels, and private residences and have even reportedly transformed the private bathing chambers of royalty!

Simply put, this is one of the coolest companies in America.  We kid you not.  The moment you learn the LooptWorks story we think you will agree.  The company was founded by Scott Hamlin, Gary Peck and Jim Stutts, with the simple notion of taking excess textile waste (new fabrics that are factory remnants), that was headed for landfills or incineration, and to make brand new clothing and accessories from it.

The numbers are staggering and the new form of “upcylcing”, known as “precycling”, is truly amazing.  For example In 2006, Americans generated more than 11.8 million tons of textile waste, which represents 10 pounds for every person.  Every week, one factory can dispose of about 60,000 pounds of textile waste that goes into landfills.  Again, this is all new fabric and textiles that is perfectly good, but just was not utilized completely in a particular product.

Now a good portion of this same excess of brand new and beautiful fabrics is being designed into limited edition runs of shirts, sweaters, jackets, laptop sleeves, cell phone carries, etc.  Since they are limited edition each item of LooptWorks clothing is designed with remnants in mind and is hand numbered on a loop on the hem of the garment.  All of the products are made from 100% upcycled materials from the fabrics used, to the buttons sewn on, to the string to sew the buttons on, to the hang tags to describe the product.  It is totally amazing and is totally precycled.

Recently the company was the focus of one of our new mindful media videos.  Summer and DJ, who know the company well and who often sport their amazing gear, walk us through the LooptWorks story and the current product line for you to see.  To review the mindful media video simply click here.

Wild Alice Bars are plainly the single snack I eat the most of in the world.  I have probably 2 to 3 of them a week and think that they are awesome.  I eat them so regularly because they are super nutritious, quick to eat, conveniently located in our store and local.  The last two reasons I eat so many of them may not apply to you, but the first two reasons likely do.

What is amazing to me is that nearly every day there is a moment either between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner where a quick, simple, readymade snack that is highly nutritious is needed by the body.  When you are not at home this notion of a quick nutritious snack can be difficult to find or get.  In turn, we often end up just getting whatever is near us that isn’t “too bad for us” or we don’t eat anything at all.  Neither of those choices are ideal.

So now Wild Alice Bars are here and can be a part of your natural habitat.  They are gluten free, vegan, produced in a certified gluten free kitchen, local, delicious and available in two forms including the Wild Alice Bars and Wild Alice Edges.  They are available in two flavors including Cranberry Walnut and Apricot Cashew, both of which are great.  You can order them by the box via our site or stores or individually in our stores.  Either way, you will wish you had a box of them in your cupboard and at your desk.  This is the energy bar of the eco-movement.

Recently, Alice, the creator of Wild Alice Bars, stopped by seven planet to speak with Summer and DJ about her unique products.  She provided some amazing samples to Summer and DJ and in turn we can all learn some of the simple ways to prepare healthy eco snacks using her bars and edges.  To see the mindful supplier interview simply click here.

It is here again, the one holiday a year where we celebrate love, relationships, romance and where we inherently buy one of nature’s greatest gifts…flowers.  It has become a staple in the U.S. to make certain that every February 14th you get a bouquet, an arrangement or at a minimum a single long stem rose for your love.  Many of us wait till the last minute and many of us just go to the closest one stop store where we can get a card, some candies and that arrangement.

Until lately, we at seven planet didn’t think much of this Valentine’s Day purchasing tradition until Josef Reiter, the founder of botanica: floral design (located in seven planet Oregon), told us the “tale of two roses”.  See Josef describes how you can show someone two very similar looking roses, but one is freshly cut, from Oregon, grown organically and not shipped at all.  The other was cut a week to ten days ago, is from Brazil, grown with pesticides and herbicides and was shipped via truck, then via boat, then via a truck again.

Both roses cost a similar amount to us in the end as the consumer, but the local one creates jobs in the U.S., builds the foundation of organic farmers nationally, minimizes CO2 output and builds on localism and community.  The other exports jobs from America, puts workers often in very poorly health regulated work environments, adds immensely to green house gases and does little to nothing for local communities.  For us now, the “tale of two roses” hits home.

So, this Valentine’s Day we are expressing our love for our spouses and loved ones as usual, but also for our farmers, our community, our state and our planet at large by supporting our local botanica: floral design and their mission to rewrite the story of the “tale of two roses”.

As you know we love our seven planet mindful suppliers and the amazing product lines and services that they have brought to market for you and I to make mindful commerce more viable in our lives. This past fall seven planet began on an ongoing educational project called mindful media where we are utilizing, reviewing and educating on the best products and services we provide in our stores and on our site to you.

These mindful media videos are then provided to you and to our suppliers as they are a candid 3rd party review of how their products or services are a better, more eco-friendly solution for the necessity-based products and services we all purchase and use. In these videos you will learn about their company, their brand message, their product or service purpose and of course the unique applications of those products or services.

This most recent mindful media video is on one of our favorite suppliers, the wonderful CleanWell, out of San Francisco, California. Sam DeAth and Dr. Larry Weiss, co-founders of the company, designed their product suite to help provide more eco-friendly and human friendly ways by which to clean. Sam’s son Conor, was born with an auto-immune disorder and so their need was real in regards to creating better cleaning solutions that would not negatively affect Conor’s health. A father’s mission has now led to an amazing product line for us all. To see the mindful media review click here.

At the time, our trademark product was a pencil made from used newspaper, and it accurately embodied what we hoped to achieve. By being made from newspaper instead of wood, the production of our newspaper pencils didn’t damage the environment. And, since newspaper was more durable than wood, the graphite inside was protected better and so lasted longer.

O’BON, which means “Oh Good” in French, today represents a better, smarter and more responsible choice. On a regular basis, we’ll hear “Oh good, you guys make recycled products” as environmentally-friendly becomes more and more popular with each passing day.

We hope that our business model will provide you with the opportunity to help others.We invite you to become a part of the history of ROJO as we seek to begin a legacy of bringing hope to the poor while creating a generation of poverty conscious consumers. ROJO is not just a line of apparel, but a way of living that brings awareness to poverty issues while using our consumption dollars to make a difference.

The proof is in every product we make.

Alchemy is the medieval science of turning lead into gold. More generally, it means magically turning something of lesser value into something of greater value. For them, the value isn’t economical so much as ecological. They look for materials that are normally discarded that might have value with a little bit of imagination and some hard work.

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In a time when electricity use for lighting within commercial buildings and residential homes are two of the leading users of our both traditional and phantom energy consumption, there is a new ray of hope.  They are called namuh Design and they are an eco-focused and innovative company out of Portland, Oregon co-founded by four guys looking to change the world of commercial and residential lighting forever.

We met namuh Design just over a year ago as they were in seven planet Oregon and Eli, one of our team member, Eli, asked them what they did and they stated that they did custom lighting design, product development and installations.  Eli stated that the new store needed lighting fixtures, but that we did not want to take any existing lighting out nor did we want to add any new lighting, but wanted a better solution for our patrons shopping in the store.  The solution they provided was genius as they hung old reclaimed window frames, with eco-prints of clouds and tree branches in the window panes, from our existing ballast.  We get comments on how amazing they are all the time.

The namuh Design team recently stopped by and went through our mindful supplier overview interview where we asked them our standard seven questions for founders of our supplier companies.  The seven questions answered by Erik Newgard, who co-develops all namuh products, just provided further support that namuh Design and the four founders are working to do their part in the movement.  We more than appreciate our partnership with our mindful supplier namuh Design at seven planet.  To see the mindful media supplier overview simply click here.

Knotty is committed to environmentally-friendly manufacturing practices, integrating components of factory scrap, factory overstock or recycled materials whenever possible. They are very careful to insure our products are made in factories that treat their employees fairly because they believe in the end we are all in this together. 

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The SKOY cloth is a fabulous, absorbent, biodegradable and natural multi-use cloth. Our re-usable earth friendly cloth is perfect in your kitchen, bathroom, and on most surface areas in your home or office. SKOY cloth can be used in place of your sponge, wash cloth or paper towels.

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So, as a society we are more likely to set a resolution to “lose weight” than to “be a better person”.  That is pretty telling about how much we want to, and need to, as a society get in better shape.  Our planet has that same need though as mother earth is getting more and more out of shape, because of us.  Unfortunately, for most of us we don’t follow through consistently throughout the year and it turn don’t get the results that we had resolved to get for ourselves or for the planet.  So, why do we set the resolutions in the first place?

It is simple, we want a starting point.  This is just step one though.  We have to then set a specific quantifiable eco goal (like not using any paper cups anymore).  We then have to have a habit set in over 5 weeks.  Then we have to have behavioral change.  We then have to have a lifestyle of only using glass and ceramic cups going forward.  This is the sort of step-by-step progression that we collectively need to make to be successful.

This is because goal setting on its own is just not very viable.  The experts state that statistically “only 3 to 5 percent of people whom set goals achieve them”.  These odds are not too empowering.  That is because setting the goal, or the New Year’s eco-resolution, is just the starting point.  Each of the next steps are even more critical than the previous one.  Let’s go through these steps again:

1. Set a goal, an eco-resolution, a starting point.  It can be anything that is better for the planet.
2. Set a specific and quantifiable eco goal for yourself.
3. Stay with this goal for 5 weeks in total to set the habit.
4. Stand strong with your new behavior of putting your eco goal as a new way of living.
5. Make this single eco move a part of your lifestyle, your social activities, your personality, your daily life.  You will never regret this.

In the end New Year’s eco-resolutions are as good as your plan to resolve them.  As stated 95% to 97% of people will not achieve their goals set and in turn these are numbers not worth investing much into.  Invest in the 5 steps listed above and someday you will turn back and state, “I set a resolution ‘to not use paper cups anymore’ and I did it”, because I worked at it.  It is not easy, but it is getting easier with the support of your eco-minded employer, family and friends.

CleanWell hand sanitizers are made with a patented formulation of essential plant oils lab proven to kill 99.99 percent of the harmful germs. CleanWell is the only hand sanitizer that is all-natural and alcohol-free. The ingredients in CleanWell are safe for kids, non-toxic, and come from rapidly renewable resources that grow abundantly worldwide.

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With all of the hustle and bustle of Hanukah, Christmas and the Holiday Season upon us we are all working to make sure to not leave any one in the family without a gift or two to show them how much we care.  The interesting thing is that sometimes there is one member of the family that may be overlooked at this time…and those family members are our dogs and cats.

If you think about it our pets bring us, in most cases, a unique unconditional love and a level of loyalty not often experienced in this world.  They are a staple of support and comfort in various seasons of our lives and this season we can all thank them by taking their health and their food to the organic and natural level.

We recently ran a mindful media product set review of one of our leading mindful supplier’s product lines for cats and dogs.  Castor & Pollux, a local Clackamas Oregon-based company co-founded in 2000 by Shelley Gunton & Brian Connolly, is a passionate, independent, family company that offers a range of natural and organic food, treats and supplies for informed, conscientious pet parents.

The company celebrates the love of pets in the family, and is committed to feeding pets in need.  Through its Pet & Soul foundation, Castor & Pollux has donated more than $400,000 in food, financial aid and volunteer time to organizations including Guide Dogs for the Blind, Project Pooch, and AniMeals, and is a founding sponsor of freekibble.com.  To learn more about this amazing company, their high quality eco-conscious pet food products and their pet product lines, see their mindful media review by simply clicking here.

Every Christmas season Santa Claus only has one primary question.  Were you naughty or nice?  For one company the answer is inherently both.  See Naturally Knotty is one of those companies that is doing all they can for the environment and at the same time have one of the nicest product lines you have seen.  To put it simply, essentially every person that tries on one of their 100% bamboo pashminas wraps falls in love with them.  This is both due to their eco-packaging (which is actually a section bamboo stalk), it’s insanely soft fabric and how light the wrap is around the neck.

The Naturally Knotty team recently stopped by seven planet Oregon and went through our mindful supplier overview interview where we asked them seven questions (of course).  The seven questions asked of Summer Widmer, who heads up sales for Naturally Knotty, were as follows:

1) What is Naturally Knotty?
2) What was the genesis of the company?
3) What products and services do you provide?
4) What are the sustainable elements of your business?
5) How are you changing your industry?
6) What is your definition of mindful commerce?
7) What is your seven planet story?

The answers provided only further reinforced how Naturally Knotty is working to do their part in the movement towards bringing quality, upcycled and life-long-lasting products to the market.  We continue to appreciate our working relationship with the founder and principals of this great mindful supplier to seven planet.  To see the mindful media supplier overview simply click here.

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No, it’s not a real battle and no they aren’t real super heroes, but Green Friday could become a super power in the future and we are working to make that the case.  See, Black Friday, or the 1st major holiday season shopping day of the year lands on the Friday just after Thanksgiving Day and is the day that many Americans begin making a large number of purchases for Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, etc.  It is when consumption and consumerism are at annual highs and mindful commerce can often go out the window.

This is due primarily to a few key factors including: 1) it is the holidays and many of us will make more non-food purchases in the next 5 weeks than most of the previous year combined, 2) stores and sites run promotions with amazing price breaks driving the purchase of more non-necessity-based products, 3) stocking stuffers, or holiday impulse buys, become a very standard part of the purchasing process and 4) seasonal, or currently “hot” products, become in high demand and drive the purchase of more quantity vs. quality products.

For most of us it becomes very difficult to make a mindful and eco-conscious buying decision for each and every product we pick up in November and December each year.  So, at seven planet we are working to make that process a little easier.  With our seven criteria product review process, with our direct working relationships with our mindful suppliers, and with our educational information in our stores and site we hope to make this Friday a Green Friday for you and yours.  The future is green if we collective choose to make it that color.

Bamboo is not a tree-it’s a grass, and it grows like one. Many species of bamboo can grow two feet or more a day. When it’s harvested, it need not be replanted, because it will grow a new shoot from its extensive root system. So bamboo renews itself readily, unlike hardwood trees, which, once cut, are gone forever. Bamboo is an endlessly renewable resource.

This holiday season seven planet and Portland Pedal Power are partnering to create a mindful way of shopping, promoting sustainable, recycled, and local goods.  Green Friday will take place at seven planet in the Pearl on Friday November 26th from 10am-6pm.

seven planet and Portland Pedal Power will be offering prizes and free giveaways all day for those who take part in the Green Friday Geocache.  Geocaching is a treasure hunting game using a GPS and social media to find prizes.
Portland Pedal Power will be at various locations throughout the downtown area with free prizes and giveaways.  Clues will be posted on Facebook and Twitter and whoever finds the PPP bikes will be awarded prizes.  Become a follower and fan of seven planet and Portland Pedal Power to take part in the fun.

seven planet will have sales set at 20% off all products in the store plus an additional 10% off with a donation of five non-perishable food items to support the Oregon Food Bank.  Food samples and hot apple cider will be provided by Nirvahnah Café.

More information and details will be posted on seven planet and Portland Pedal Power’s Facebook pages.  Join us in promoting an environmentally friendly way of consuming and enjoy some great discounts and free prizes throughout the day!

To-Go Ware’s founder, Stephanie Bernstein, was then a college student at the University of Michigan, watching as “to-go” culture began to emerge and find its way into the practices of local businesses. After enjoying some ice-cream “for-here” with her sister, she found it disturbing that even though she had not left the establishment, she had still been served in “to-go” plastic, and was expected to throw away her dish and spoon. Inspired by the college students who diligently carried their reusable coffee mugs around with them, she believed you could encourage people to expand this practice and use more durable, reusable methods for food as well as beverage, allowing for on-the-go convenience while remaining responsible citizens of planet Earth.

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As you know we love our seven planet mindful suppliers and the amazing product lines and services that they have brought to market for you and I to make mindful commerce more viable in our lives. This fall seven planet began on an ongoing educational project called mindful media where we are utilizing, reviewing and educating on the best products and services we provide in our stores and on our site to you.

These mindful media videos are then provided to you and to our suppliers as they are a candid 3rd party review of how their products are a better, more eco-friendly solution for the necessity-based products we all purchase and use. In these videos you will learn about their company, their brand message, their product or service purpose and of course the unique applications of those products.

The initial mindful media video is on one of our favorite suppliers, the amazing Alchemy Goods, out of Washington state. Eli Reich and his team have built a company on upcycling used bike and car parts waste and have created an amazing line that looks like gold from lead. To see the mindful media review click here.

Lifefactory fuses modern sensibility, eco-friendly composition, and exceptional utility to produce glass baby bottles, glass beverage bottles, and teethers that are free of known harmful chemicals including BPA, phthalates, and PVC.

It is a European made product and 100% biodegradable because it is made from a natural cotton and wood-based cellulose pulp.  SKOY cloth is a chlorine-free product using water-based colors and inks.  After an independent composting test, SKOY cloth broke down completely within 5 weeks.

The SKOY cloth is a durable product due to the reusability factor and can last months.  Using a SKOY cloth is equivalent to using 15 rolls of paper towels in an average home.  With the high cost of paper towels, as much as $2 per roll, SKOY cloth is the obvious choice for your wallet and the environment.

The SKOY cloth has an absorption factor of 15x its own weight.  As a result, producing the most superior cloth product available.  Imagine using 15 sheets of good-quality paper towels at once… This is how a wet SKOY cloth will feel in your hand.

My wife  let me know the other day that for being a seven planet House (a house that loyally works to purchase as many of its necessity-based products and services from seven planet in return for deep discounts) we use way too many paper towels.  She was right, we were using them to wipe the counters, dry our hands, to clean the kids’ faces and we were going through a roll every few days.  But they are so convenient and so effective…how could we not use them as much?

Well, the answer was and is SKOY Cloths.  This brand new product that two stay at home moms in Encinitas, California discovered that helps replace the highly non-renewable paper towels we all use and are much more absorbent and effective than traditional washcloths.  We kid you not when we say they are amazing.

SKOY Cloths are 100% biodegradable because they are made from a natural cotton and wood-based cellulose pulp.  They are also a chlorine-free product that uses water-based colors and inks for its cool shades and they break down completely in the environment within 5 weeks.  Each one is equal to about 15 rolls of traditional paper towels in regards to the life you will get from it (which is months by the way).  We even heard that for some people the SKOY Cloths will last upwards to 6 months or longer.

Some people even use a technique of cutting of the corners of the cloths to identify if they are for the kitchen (1 corner), garage (2 corners), bathroom (3 corners), etc. so that they don’t get them mixed up and so that they last longer as they downgrade them from the kitchen to the garage for example.

For us it was all about finding a more mindful way in which to clean up our kitchen and our kids and this product has done it.  We aren’t cutting the corners of them yet, but do feel like we are finally not cutting as many corners when comes to the planet.  Thank you SKOY Cloth for making that easier to do.

Well yes if you want help alleviate even more plastic from entering into our landfills and waterways. It is simple though I promise. Most of us have been carrying canvas, or some other type of reusable bag, into the supermarket for years now. You know the drill, you keep them in the trunk or easily accessible in the kitchen and then you take them into the store with you. In turn, you never have to bring out paper bags with weak handles or plastic bags with limited carrying capabilities and reuses.

So, this has been the status quo for some time, but if we think about our collective movement towards more healthful, local, vegetable and fruit rich diets, then we see that we are back in the game of collecting plastic bags.

Essentially every grocer and supermarket (even organically focused stores) utilize plastic bags for taking home our fruits and vegetables. In turn we naturally utilize them for carrying our greens out of the store.

Not any more… Flip & Tumble has a wonderful Product Bag Set product that includes 5 bags that when not full can easily be put into one bag and thrown in your laptop bag or purse or existing canvas grocery shopping bag. It is estimated that with regular use each set of 5 produce bags will save 1000 plastic bags from entering landfills. This is a massive positive impact for sure.

My wife starting utilizing the Flip & Tumble Product Bag Set after we received them in the seven planet Oregon store and found that not only did they help us avoid bringing home any paper or plastic bags from the grocery store, but that we were able to keep our vegetables in them in the fridge as well. So, now every time we take out the celery or the carrots they are in the Flip & Tumble bags, which gives us another reason to talk to people about how amazing they are and how well they work…which is a great way to spread the message of mindful commerce.

This past week we had a bride to be call seven planet with interest in planning a unique and eco-friendly gift for her bridesmaids.  She specifically loved the Naturally Knotty Bamboo Pashmina Wraps and wanted them for everyone on the bride’s side of the wedding party.  These soft and comfy wraps have been a best seller in the stores for some time and it is clear why as they are warm, softer than you can believe and super sustainable.  Bamboo is easily one of the most scalable plant-based materials in the world and is being leverage to build water-bottles, paper products, clothing and housing materials.

This was a great moment for the company and for our mindful supplier Naturally Knotty as this is the future of mindful commerce.  Working to provide alternatives for products, a wrap for bridesmaids for a potentially chilly outdoor wedding, that are a more earth friendly options and that are crafted to last a life time.  

For us at seven planet, quality and sustainability go hand in hand.  We work to carry products that are precycled, upcycled, recycled and closed looped, but we also work to carry products that are built like how our grandparents built products…to outlast any of us.  This is the ultimate product form factor, 1) made from a sustainable materials in a eco-friendly fashion, 2) sells at a comparable price to past solutions, 3) lasts a life time or more and 4) naturally degrades should it ever need to be or 5) is upcycled into another product going forward.

If every company in the world built products with mindful commerce as their base, we would rapidly decrease consumption of what we all purchase and pass off into the wasteland.  We are glad that one bride and one wedding party is putting a wrap on it.

compact
about the size of a peach
roomy
holds 2x a plastic grocery bag
strong
ripstop nylon, so load it up with a bowling ball or two
good clean fun
machine washable

This is the question that our parents have been asking us for years.  We now ask our kids the same question essentially every day.  Up until recently the “YES” answer to that question usually required that some chemically-based soap, detergent or cleaner to be in the equation.  Not anymore.  It is often difficult to find products that even purists would say are as eco and human-friendly as possible, but CleanWell and their team have created some.

We initially were introduced to their products by my wife’s best friend down in the Bay Area when we were driving to dinner and our son was covered in a food mask.  She passed us the CleanWell Sanitizing Wipes and my wife was hooked.  She read about them on the package and then went to their site that night and read the back story on why the products were created.  It is an inspirational story of a father working to provide his immuno-depressed son with effective cleaning options that would not add burden to his health.

The story made us loyal users and seven planet ordered the CleanWell line for the stores and for the site.  We are working daily to introduce eco moms to these simple and effective alternatives to some of the “leading” sanitizers, soaps and cleansers that are dominating their purses, car consoles and junk drawers.  So, we hope you try CleanWell’s full line of products and help change the question to, “Is It CleanWell?”…as that is all you need to know.

Green Toys Inc. makes an awesome line of classic children’s toys constructed from recycled plastic and other environmentally friendly materials. This helps reduce fossil fuel use and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improving the overall health and happiness of the planet.

It is pretty clear…the simplest products are the best products.  Think of the value you get and the simplicity of using a pencil or a Frisbee or a pair of sunglasses.  Each provides a critical utility (i.e. pencil = communication; Frisbee = activity; sunglasses = visibility), but each is a highly simplistic product that can last for decades and essentially anyone can find value in them.  Welcome the newest great simple product…the Lunchskins, the permanent sandwich bag replacement.

We have been talking a lot about this product and the company that invented it, 3 green moms, ever since we were their initial distributor in Oregon.  The product is available in the three primary sizes of sandwich and snack bags, are dishwasher safe and are made of certified food-safe fabric.  They are lead-free, bpa-free and phthalate-free and are hand-sewn in the USA.  Finally, they are beyond affordable, especially since you will eventually break even on them.

seven planet patrons starting buying the Lunchskins at a pretty good pace in 2009, but this year it has been insane.  Every mom that walks into a seven planet store or that visits the site seems to get them.  They then love them so much they tell their friends and they walk in and get a set or two.  In turn, this simple little product has become our bestseller both in the stores and on the site.  Last month alone we sold over 30 sets on our site to moms all over the country and even internationally.  We ran out of stock just once…we won’t let that happen again.

It is truly the next great simple product.  So, just like the Frisbee, the name of the product that launched a new product category, we think Lunchskins will be name by which all permanent sandwich bags will be called.  We think they can do it…we are just here to help.

West Paw Design manufactures the highest quality dog and cat toys and bedding available, made in beautiful Bozeman, Montana, in the good ol’ U.S. of A. We are a small but mighty company dedicated not only to creating safe, fun, and durable products for your pets.


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Yes, it’s a cube. Yet once you put this most-basic Way Basics piece together, you’ll find dozens of uses for it. It’ll be a cubby to store toys, magazines, DVDs or books in. Use it as a source for your creative genius by decorating with storage bins, stickers and more. The Cube is fun, functional and the first building block to creating your own customized furniture ideas.


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All of Little Green Radical’s products are made with the highest quality 100% Fair Trade-certified organic cotton and are completely Fair Trade.


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The designer of Alchemy Goods had a problem: his messenger bag was stolen and he needed a new one. Instead of purchasing one, he designed and sewed a new bag out of what was lying around his apartment – inner tubes. This creative alchemist turned useless into useful. We appreciate AG’s commitment to upcycling as well as the detail, care, and incredible design that goes into each item they make. To date more than 150,000 inner tubes have been reclaimed in to eco-friendly accessories!


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Soft, natural and eco-friendly, these luxurious wraps are made from 100% renewable bamboo. These generously-sized luxurious wraps are made from bamboo pulp fabric. Choose from a and elegant palette of 5 colors. Unlike other, more expensive wraps, they will not pill or fade and are extraordinarily soft.

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Once our brightly colored nested set of Preserve Mixing Bowls joins your household, it will be difficult to imagine life without it. The easy-to-grip handles and funnel spouts make stirring, mashing and pouring a snap. And because the bowls are made of heavy-duty recycled #5 plastic, they not only stay steady on the countertop, but also can handle thousands of washings.

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Over the last year and a half my wife and I became regular coffee drinkers.  For those of you who drink coffee on a daily basis know what this means.  We have never been the 3 to 6 cups a day type people, but rather are one single cup a day.  However those individual cups are nearly always a sizable specialty coffee (e.g. 16oz. half-caff vanilla latte).  So it is pretty much the quantity, cost, and caffeine impact of a couple of traditional cups.  So, we really started seeing the impact both to the pocketbook as well as to the planet.

We found ourselves having to recycle, and even throw away, paper coffee cups and sleeves on a daily basis.  We found ourselves spending up to $7 a day (that is $210 a month and about $2500 a year) on the beverages and we found ourselves in line for many minutes a day (that is hours a week and about two days a year).  What would we do with $2500 and two days back at the end of a year if we stopped drinking coffee?  Well the answer is that we would simply find another way to spend those dollars and would fill the time with more things already neglected in our lives.  Besides, we were not ready to give up coffee as it is one of our beverage treats that keep the day and life more enjoyable.

However, it got us thinking about bringing our coffee making “in house”.  To start with we got a simple and inexpensive coffee machine, which we probably broke even on within two weeks.  Then we had find an amazing coffee that was equal to, or better than, anything we have received at our regular spots.  We wanted a coffee that would have a positive impact on the planet and that had the earth and the people that farm it as its primary priority.  Fortunately, Panagea Organica was at seven planet and they are local, organic and fair trade.  They have an amazing founding team, supports local community events and their coffee is superb.

So, we started going to seven planet and getting our custom blend of half caffeinated (roasted utilizing a hot air bed) and half de-caffeinated (de-caffeinated through a water process that is 100% chemical free) Panagea Organica blend for around $11 and it lasts for about two weeks.  We have one very large and very delicious cup a day and all we add is organic creamer and some organic pure cane sugar.  It sincerely tastes as good as any specialty cup we have had and we can sip it on our back porch in a ceramic mug passed down from a friend.  We are now saving a ton of coin, a lot of time and a little bit of the planet all in parallel.

Are you ever slightly baffled at how many plastic bags pop up in the nooks and crannies of your house? Between all the different types of plastic bags we use, the number really adds up fast, even if you’re diligent about taking your reusable grocery bags shopping. One type of bag that I’ve never been able to think of many alternative uses for is the laundry garment bag—they rip when they get stuck on hangers, usually don’t accommodate more than a few garments, and when was the last time you properly recycled one of these bags?

Our friends at Eco Drycleaner have an eco-minded philosophy that extends beyond the non-toxic methods they use to get your stains out. Besides utilizing wind power and recycling all their materials (including hangers!), to name a couple, Eco Drycleaner shows their dedication to sustainable practices by providing customers with a reusable, sturdy laundry bag to use for all future orders.

As this article mentions, who really knows who can truly be credited with the idea. What we do know is good environmentally-friendly ideas should be shared amongst all of us on the planet and utilized in a joint effort to help reduce the amount of plastic entering our landfills. At seven planet, we partner with businesses in the area that share our idea mindful commerce, which is why we serve as a neighborhood drop-off and pick-up location for Eco Drycleaner. Have an office or home near Chinatown? Swing in with your first round of dry cleaning and we’ll get you set up with a discount on your first order.

In 34 years on planet earth I think I have probably owned approximately 15 or so backpacks in my life.  They started as a way to get all of our school materials to class in grade school, then they became fashion items in junior high, and then they moved to definitive statement of who we thought we were in high school.  Once in the working world they often lose their place and make way to laptop bags, messenger bags and briefcases.  Not for me though, I have been utilizing hybrid backpack/laptop bags for about a decade now.

Then about three weeks ago, I purchased an Alchemy Goods (Ag) backpack from seven planet.  It was the 1st of the shipment that Ag had sent to Portland.  We opened the box and we were stunned at how amazing they really were.  We had seen the founder, Eli Reich, carrying a prototype many months earlier and we knew they were the future of backpacks.  Let me just give a simple overview.  It is made primarily of upcycled bicycle inner tubes, upcycled car seat belts and billboard materials.  It is actually made of 82% upcycled/recycled materials.  It is a deep bag with multiple storage compartments and is completely water proof.  It is lined with a new standard backpack material that helps complete its look.

Because each of them is a one of kind and because no one has ever seen a bag like it I have been asked more times about this backpack than any I have ever own.  It inherently leads to a discussion about Alchemy Goods, their work, their products and the difference they are making to save the planet.  It is a walking billboard for change.  It is amazing.  This bag is one that I will keep for life…literally.  I can tell it will outlast me…though I too am willing to be upcycled as well (I am an organ donor).

In 14 years of dating and 9 years of marriage I have never consistently gotten my wife flowers…until now.  botanica: floral design, a local and organic flower shop, moved into seven planet Oregon in April of 2010 and since then my wife finally has flowers in her life.  This is due to a couple of reasons including the convenience of getting the flowers right at the store, knowing that the flowers are truly local and grown by organic farmers and it is Josef, the proprietor of botanica:.  He has a great solution for busy men wanting to provide their spouses with flowers regularly.

Let me focus on this last feature of botanica: as they have a series of “Executive Flower Package” that you can buy in advance that provide you 5 to 7 floral arrangements over the course of a year synched with major holidays (Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mother’s Day, etc.).  It is amazing as you define the holidays that matter to you and your spouse and then the level of floral arrangements you want (“Apprentice” to “Chairman of the Board), and if you want custom cards and local vegan chocolates with them.

Your arrangements are custom designed by botanica: and packaged with your cards and you can either pick up them at seven planet Oregon or that will be delivered to your offices if you are in the greater downtown Portland, Oregon.  It is amazing because even if you tell your spouse that you are utilizing the program they still love the fact that these beautiful bouquets show up on the holidays and that you have some yummy treats and a card that you wrote yourself.  It honestly puts the process around providing flowers.  That may not seem too romantic, but then again never getting flowers anymore is often the alternative.

Three months ago my wife stated that we needed to return our garage into a usable space for the household.  The house we moved into 4 years was a brand new Energy Star home with an insulated and finished garage, so it was a highly valuable living space from day one.  First it was a game room, with the electronic dart board and a ping pong table, then it turned into a fitness room with an elliptical and free weights and then it eventually became the catch all room.

My wife wanted it to be a room that we would use more than just for a year or a season and I wanted the same.  She had just had our 2^nd son and was tired of cleaning up the living room every day after they were done making train tracks, building cars, etc.  So, one day my son and I cleared out the garage, donated the fitness equipment to a local company and turned it into a half playroom, half storage unit.  The playroom half would have all the toys, the circus tent, the artwork, etc. and the storage unit half would have the electric mower, shovels and the bikes.  

The key thing was to easily separate the room into two distinct areas without building any walls and then to also have a ton of storage space so that nearly all of the toys and art supplies could now be in the playroom.  The answer was Way Basics Eco Shelving and specifically the Tribecta Shelves, which are available in a series of colors and were the easiest self-assembly furniture I have every worked with.  The founders of the company have refined their product over the last decade to be an eco-modular furniture that is made of recycled cardboard, but with the look and strength of laminate wood.  Then instead of utilizing names, screws or metal connection systems, they utilize an amazingly strong sticker system that allows for you to simply line up and “glue” the sides and the back of the units together.

My 3 year old son helped assemble four separate Tribecta Shelve units and within 1/20^th the time it would have taken to build a permanent wall.  Instantly we had a colorful, eco-friendly and highly functional room separator that really makes the playroom.  Each unit is customizable so you can make the shelves on each of the levels whatever width you want to store different items (as seen above with the three crazies running in front of the shelves).  This was one of the most valuable parts of the product, that it was completely customizable, and it ended up being an interactive educational opportunity with our son.  He loves the playroom and my wife states, ”we have another room in the house…one that can get messy without any worries”.

You wouldn’t believe how significant our annual budget for our dog is and the environmental impact he has based on our decisions for him.  He is a part of the family and obviously costs us dramatically less than any of us humans in the house, but it is still nothing to balk at.  So, about two months ago we committed to getting 100% of our dog’s food, treats, toys, beds, etc. through seven planet.

In just two months we purchased two beds made of recycled soda bottles from West Paw Design that were badly needed, a 50 lbs. bag of organic and local dog food, and a box of dog treats, from Castor & Pollux as well as a new dog toy for him again from West Paw Design.  When I brought all of this home and made two trips into the house with the products, for the 1st time ever I knew we were making good decisions for the planet on behalf of our dog.

In the end we were simply never thinking about the additional responsibility of owning a pet as a family member in regards to the impact on the planet.

His impact on our floors, on our yard and any stuffed animals he has gotten a hold of was very clear.  However we are now thinking about his impact in regards to his carbon paw print. We are now working to play our part on his behalf and supporting some amazing eco-focused companies in the process.  He name is Blu, but he is now our favorite green pet.

About Namuh Design
At Namuh we extract modernist philosophies and pair them with today’s design archetype. Designing from a platform of form equal to function, sustainability and loyalty to brand, we create our vision.

Environmental
Namuh’s philosophy is to design products that inflict minimal impact on the planet yet leave an ever-lasting impression on you. We are creative, conscious and consistent in our choice of materials and product development

ecoShuttle™ is a Portland transportation service that offers environmentally friendly transportation for an evolving travel industry. By utilizing 100% biodiesel from waste grease, a non-toxic, biodegradable, and carbon-friendly fuel to power our fleet, customers can truly enjoy guilt-free charter bus services. By researching the latest fuel technologies, ecoShuttle promises to continually explore upgrading as it becomes available. Recently, our 25-passenger mini-bus was converted to run on Straight Vegetable Oil “SVO”.ecoShuttle™ offers two kinds of shuttle services to the communities of the greater Portland area.

An employee and student commuter service, also called the Enivonmental Commuter Options™ (ECO) Program and an entertainment, limousine-style charter and tour service. Each service provides a driver and a versatile mode of transportation that is both good for the environment and convenient and safe for the customer.We believe in the creation of an ecologically aware lifestyle, where green is not a new fad but an every day part of life. Offering a convergence of amenities and conveniences, the customer receives a safe alternative to driving and an experience that will last a lifetime. The customer service goal is to have passengers walk away wowed by a friendly shuttle driver and understanding the value of paying a great price for a good, honest company.

There are no additional costs associated with our quotes! You get clean vehicles, personable drivers, and customer service with a smile.”-William Sampson, Co-owner

botanica floral design is an eco-friendly full service custom floral studio located in beautiful Portland OR. We specialize in organic, fair trade and sustainably grown flowers for weddings, corporate functions, private parties special events, holidays and daily deliveries.

botanica floral design prides itself in being as eco-friendly as possible. There is so much waste produced and many dangerous chemicals used in the commercial floral industry that we decided to strive towards building a sustainable, ecologically sensitive, socially conscious and non-toxic floral service.

botanica sources its beautiful flowers both locally and internationally. We are blessed here in Oregon in that we have several local cut flower growers, both sustainable and organic, and we make every effort to buy from them whenever possible.
Best of all, it doesn’t cost more to be eco-friendly! Our arrangements are affordable, and our pricing is very competitive. We believe that everone deserves to have fresh flowers no matter the size of their budget.

botanica floral design services the Portland and Vancouver metropolitan areas, Wine Country and the Gorge and is a proud member of the Portland Area Business Association(PABA)

Owner Josef Reiter has been gardening and playing with flowers since he was kid and has worked in many different areas of the floral/nursery industry including florist shops, a catering & event company, a greenhouse, garden center, as well designing gardens for private clients before venturing out on his own with botanica floral design.

Ok, I love when Corporate America uses their dollars and influence to do some good. Especially when it comes to helping preserve this great Earth.  I stumbled upon this program sponsored by Odwalla (the Juice Company). They are promising to plant a tree in a state park in the state of your choice.  Sounds great right?! I’m totally backing this and just shared it with all of my friends and family on facebook and twitter and I encourage you all to do the same.

The Website is totally fun and really beautiful – congrats to the who ever designed the site. If anyone out there knows I would really like to know.  I’ve attached some screenshots so you know what to expect when you get there.  Here is some quick info I grabbed from the site:

For the past 2 years, along with your help, Odwalla has made a commitment to our state parks by donating money to help plant trees. It’s pretty simple. We provide the trees, and you get to decide how much support each state gets. To plant a tree, follow these steps:

Pretty great right! I planted my tree in Oregon and it looks like we are doing pretty good. My tree was the 424th tree so far so I hope to see some more in the next few days. See how your state compares below! I really hope other companies start to replicate this promotional model when considering new marketing techniques.

I am a big fan of promoting Mindful Commerce – the idea of buying only what you need or buying items that will reduce your consumption on disposable items with short lifespans but I can’t deny that I am an avid coupon cutter. Maybe the coupon gene was passed down to me from my Grandparents who were children of the Great Depression and saved everything they could. Anyway, my age group and generation makes me way more likely to seek out deals online rather than cutting out those flimsy coupons that come inside the Sunday Funnies. Not to mention the environmental benefit of not using paper coupons. Anyway, my point is I’ve been saving a lot of money lately by using online coupons and right now one of my favorite sites to find the best deals and coupons is Hip2Save.

Check out their Website at http://www.Hip2Save.com – you can thank me later!

Have a great weekend everyone.

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Eco-boutiques are popping up all over the web thanks to visionary retailers willing to take risks. While the debate over green consumption asks tough questions (is marketing lots of green stuff the answer to our consumerism woes?), it is clear that when it comes to eco fashion, the mantra is quality over quantity.

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