The grass is greener on SustainLane
You’ve made the commitment to go green – awesome! Now the hard part; which products and companies are really green and which ones are merely green-washing? The Luxe Report has a great place for you to start your research – SustainLane.
SustainLane is a free, on-line community that features reveiws on over 30,000 products, services and businesses. You can count on an unbiased review because they are submitted from members of the SustainLane community. Check out a company’s green score and see how they rank, too expensive, good for the community, good for the environment, etc.
Trying to shop local? Type in your zip code for an in-depth directory of businesses in your area.
They have also launched the local action challenge in the hopes of encouraging individuals to take steps towards a greener lifestyle. Earn points by completing challenges from your city’s list, each point you earn is an entry into that week’s drawing for prizes from green business sponsors.
Eco-chic gifts to green your Valentine
Valentine’s Day is just a few weeks away and The Luxe Report is here to help you turn your Valentine’s friends green with envy!
Skip the flowers and the candy this year and give a gift that is good for the environment and good for your sweetheart. Here are our top picks ~
Made from renewable cork and organic cotton and hemp, this bag turns heads and is a pretty pick for your sweetheart
Having a heard time ditching the dozen roses? Switch to an eco-friendly soy candle in fresh cut scent, it’s sure to last much longer too!
Recycled scrabble tile pendant necklaces
These are the perfect gift for moms, sisters, BFFs – cute, fun, afforable and of course eco-friendly
Babybearshop all the better to kiss you with lip balm trio
Get ready to puck up! Three luscious flavors, organic and in beautiful recycleable vintage tins.
Don’t forget that hugs and kisses, an unexpected phone call and homemade Valentine cards are the most timeless and appreciated Valentines around. Spread the love!
Now that’s Fierce!
Combine original artwork, organic cotton and babies and you get Fierce Hugs.
Started by friends Tina Fusari and Hani Hong, Fierce Hugs is a welcome alternative to the world of cutesy baby clothes. The bright colors and fun graphics stand out from the crowd, paired with organic cotton and made with fair-trade labor Fierce Hugs is on it’s way to securing a spot on the must have list for babies.
Fierce Hugs commissioned Italian artist Silvia Osella to design the graphics for their spring and summer line. She came up with prints that are both whimsical and edgy, a perfect addition to a green baby’s wardrobe.
We love the unique designs but we also were struck by the gift ready eco-friendly packaging. Cute and convenient!
Natural Luxe is excited to offer Fierce Hugs online and in our Charlotte location. We think you will love them too!
Come sail away
It’s cold, dreary and rainy here in Charlotte today but that doesn’t stop me from dreaming of my next trip to the beach. It helps to carry around a recycled sailcloth tote bag that puts me in the mood for sea, sun and fun.
When Ella Vickers completed her job as first mate on a classic Americas Cup winner, she wanted to keep the memory alive, so she took the discarded sailcloth and created a set of bags. Soon she had folks buying them off her arms everytime she took one out. From that moment Ella Vickers Recycled Sailcloth Collection was born!
All items are handcrafted in the USA using yachts sails from around the world, saving 20 thousand yards of sailcloth from the landfill each year. They make the perfect beach tote or a great bag for a rainy today because of course they are waterproof.
Real Simple Magazine recently featured the recycled sailcloth open tote bag as one of their “Seaworthy beach bags”
Pick one up today and get ready for beach season!
Mad Imports giveaway on WaxMAMA
If you live in Charlotte you must know the WaxMAMA. Daily emails that keep you up to date on everything that is fabulous in the QC (that’s Queen City). This week is Fab Freebie week and we are so excited to be a part of the fun!
We are giving away an awesome multi-colored opal clutch from one of our favorite companies, Mad Imports. Featured in Lucky Magazine, this is the bag you want to carry this spring season, just looking at it makes us think of the warm, sunny days to come.
If you can’t wait to see if you’ve won – check out the entire Mad Imports collection at Natural Luxe.
Engagingly green and gorgeous
Paper or plastic? “Yes, both please!”
When you are asking about the collection of handbags and accessories from Engage Green we will always take both paper and plastic. Engage Green, founded by artist Leonor Mendoza, designs fashionable and eco-friendly bags that are made from woven recycled paper, recycled plastic (PETE), organic cotton/hemp and cork.
It takes 18 post-consumer 16 oz. plastic drinking bottles to make one yard of the material used to make their recycled plastic handbags. Recycling used soda and water bottles keeps billions of containers out of the world’s landfills and oceans, conserves crude oil and reduces harmful air emissions that lead to global warming. Currently only 3.5% of all plastics generated are recycled.
One of the best things about Engage Green’s products – the price! Handbags range from $28 to $90 (told you we would take both!)
Be the change with just $25
One of our favorite quotes at the Luxe Report is
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world” – Gandhi
Kiva.org offers you that opportunity for only a $25 investment. Kiva partners with microlending institutions throughout the world to gain access to entrepreneurs in need of small business loans to start or grow their business. Sign up for an account, browse the available giving opportunities and click donate and your contribution of $25 is added to their loan account.
What we love most about Kiva is the updates from the field – written accounts of how your money is working, what your entrepreneur has used it for and how it has changed their life. Seeing a photo of the person you have helped really hits home that you have passed on an opportunity. When your entrepreneur has repaid their loan you are able to reinvest that $25 again and again!
Here is an example of one of our entrepreneurs –
Srey’s third loan from Maxima, in the amount of $600, is being repaid on schedule as of April, 2008.
She used the loan to purchase silk for weaving. The white silk she purchased, she then died purple and pink so intricate designs could be woven into her fabric. She says the fabric she purchased will last her 3 months, and she will be able to save enough from her production to continually restock her supply.
Srey chose to borrow from Maxima after her health became poor. When she ran into health problems, she has to stop weaving and use her money to purchase medicines. Her husband and daughter took over the weaving when she was sick and finished the loom she was working on. Her loan has enabled her to take up her business again and prepare a new loom for silk production.
She says her income is increasing everyday- she can now afford to buy more rice and has enough money to play tontin (a Khmer ‘game’ where money is invested in group savings).
Kiva is a great gift for others too – they offer gift certificates so you can spread the word to family and friends.
Mudlark papers saves the handwritten thank you note!
The famous thank you note: you love to get them, always put off writing them, and no, a quick email will never take its place.
Luckily we have found Mudlark Papers. They design beautiful recycled note cards that make the perfect thank you card. Mudlark was founded in 1994 as a little family owned business before recycling was so popular. They didn’t use recycled materials to be “green” or “recycled”, they just did it because it was the right thing to do. Mudlark products are made from post-consumer content and soy-based inks and are packaged in air pillows to avoid Styrofoam packing peanuts, which are not biodegradable.
Each set of recycled note cards comes with a beautiful keepsake box with an inspirational quote on the inside cover.
“If we could see the miracle of a single flower, clearly our whole life would change.” – Buddha
Order a set today and let your friends and family know how much you appreciate them!
Dogeared Jewelry gives back
Giveheart – GiveGreen – GiveBack = GiveBetter.
That is the movement that Dogeared Jewelry would like you to join this year. Based in California, Dogeared Jewelry specializes in jewelry and gifts that spread positive energy into the world. Their popular karma and make a wish necklaces have been a favorite of ours for years and can be seen in tons of magazines and TV shows.
This year they have started the GiveBetter campaign. We love the idea of gifts that give twice! Here are a few examples:
The Grateful Heart Limited Edition Necklace
100% of net profits from the Grateful Heart necklace are donated to one voice
One Voice is an outstanding non-profit organization dedicated to directly affecting and changing the lives of people in need. They have various programs devoted to helping families living at the poverty level within the Los Angeles community.
Their amazing efforts include a scholars program, which sends inner city youth to some of the best colleges in the country, as well as family assistance and holiday programs that draw a remarkable 2,000 volunteers each year!
Find a Cure Breast Cancer Make a Wish necklace
Net profits from the sale of the Find a Cure wish necklace are donated to Los Angeles Breast Cancer Alliance
Make your gift giving even more special with one of Dogeared’s GiveBetter gifts!
Buy a Tee = Plant a Tree
Wow, we didn’t even get our hands dirty with this one!
Tees for Change is is an eco-friendly apparel company dedicated to the power of positive thinking. Adorned with uplifting messages such as LAUGH OFTEN, TODAY MATTERS, DREAM BIG and CHOOSE HAPPINESS, our organic cotton and bamboo tees are super soft and have a great fit. So what makes Tees for Change different from the other eco-tee comapnies out there?
They plant a tree for every t-shirt they sell. Partnered with Trees for the Future, they’ve already planted 10,000 trees since the company started in 2007. The last tree planting Tees for Change participated in helped to plant over 5000 trees in Cameroon. What have your tees done for you lately?
