Favourite top performing eco-products that have stood the test of time

Some ideas I have tried for the sole purpose of having less impact on the environment have not been enjoyable or practical.  However, these products have stood the test of time as being used all the time and loved by my family, as well as a good idea in terms of the environment.

Stainless Steel Drinking Straws

When I visited home last year, my sister-in-law Iris had these.  I loved them, and bought ordered some before I returned home.  They prevent the waste of buying disposable straws, and they don't ever wear out.  Over the past several months, although I also have some plastic coloured twisty straws available, my kids actually prefer the metal straws now.  They are lovely to use, try them!  They look really cool in adult cocktails as well.  They don't really require the cleaner thing that comes with them - just hold them under the tap and the pressure of the water will swoosh them out.  They are of course dishwasher safe. 

The set that I bought were called "Handy House Stainless Steel Drinking Straws", but a few companies make them.  You can order them from Amazon.com, search for "steel straw". 



RethinkNZ Reusable Fresh Product Bags

I still get compliments from fellow shoppers and cashiers whenever they see me using these.  They reduce plastic waste every time I buy veggies and fruit from the grocery store as I don't use the plastic film bags, but they are also preferable in function.  They are strong, breathable, you can weigh your fresh produce in them, and just keep your fruit or veggies in them in the fridge or cupboard if you like.  If they eventually get bits of veggie matter caught in them you can throw them in the wash.

You can get these organic cotton net bags at this NZ website, RethinkNZ.com.

Ginger Pye Reusable Sandwich Wraps

Since we started using them over a year ago, we haven't needed to use any plastic cling wrap (Glad wrap, Saran wrap).  My kids love having their own print to identify their wrap.  I clean them by spraying with a vinegar/water solution and wiping.  Or if I want to get serious, I immerse in water and wash with dish soap and hang to dry.  Happy, fun, responsible.  Unlike the "Glad Wrap" commercials that I hate, I can truly mean it when I say, "Better living, everyone."

You can order these ones in NZ, made by two sisters, at www.gingerpye.co.nz.




Ecostore Lemongrass Soap

I have tried all the varieties of Ecostore Soaps, but I love his one.  It smells  great, doesn't cost that much, contains true and genuine lemongrass extract.  Ecostore was started in 1993 by a couple (Malcom and Melanie Rands) who were living in a permaculture eco-village (growing their own food amongst the forest) and didn't want to pollute their water supply.  They did some research and were horrified by the chemicals that were in the products they were using.  They developed their own products (consulting with medical and chemistry people).  Since then it was grown tremendously, recently expanding into the USA (which will fill a sorely absent niche there).  (I recently saw a short piece on them, which led me to become more loyal to them - rather than just seeing the products on the shelves.)

You can find their products in every supermarket in New Zealand.  If you're farther away just wait a little bit (if you're my family I plan on sending you a sample of all of these great eco-products!)  Their website with all of their products is here: www.ecostore.co.nz

Ginger Pye Reusable Sandwich Wraps - Lunch with Style

My friend Carol bought a few of these for her kids. Then I thought I would be clever and go to Spotlight and buy the plastic to make my own. I couldn't find the right food-safe plastic though! I bought some toxic table plastic covering in desperation but have given up on the idea since then. Why make them when someone has dedicated themselves to a small, local (NZ) business of figuring it out, and they are made with great craftsmanship?

I was thinking of getting the 4MyEarth ones that I saw advertised in Good magazine - but these aren't that much more if you buy 3 - even with postage considered (Ginger Pye per wrap -$16.35 NZ , 4MyEarth $16 NZ) and they are definitely far cooler. Meaning they are colourful, well made, and you can choose from various prints. There is velcro to close the wrap - 1 side is food-safe plastic, and the other is a cotton print. You wipe the plastic off to clean them usually - but can wash them as well (by hand - even just throw them in along with your dishes and set to dry).

Coolness matters - you don't want to "go eco" and end up sending your kids to school always with crappy lunches with sandwiches wrapped up in tin foil like I've been doing (at least it wasn't plastic) - and all kinds of messy inferior shenanigans. If you are on a plastic diet like I am, and you're being "different", it is really important to do it well and with style as you are showing an example to others. Then you are showing a truly better way, not just a skimping way.

Enter, Ginger Pye lunch wraps! I got Luke (soon to be 5) a dinosaur wrap, Troy (soon to be 7) a farmland one, Savannah (soon to be 18) a black stars wrap - and Shane 3 plain blue denim ones (professional at work).

They're beautiful and functional. Shane said it best when he saw Savannah's smart-looking lunch set on the benchtop. He made gestures as if to wrap a sandwich over and over again. "I can't believe how we get stuck in our ways. Cling wrap - cling wrap - cling wrap..."

Now, the sandwiches are sorted - but what should I use now to contain the wrapped sandwich and fruit?

http://www.gingerpye.co.nz/