We are giving away a $50 gift certificate!
That’s right, you have a few days left to enter our $50 gift certificate giveaway with our friends at Fig & Sage. We’ve been fans of Fig & Sage’s great reviews of natural and organic beauty products for a long time, so when we had the opportunity for them to review Natural Luxe we jumped at it.
Here are a few of the products they tagged as their favorites:
BABYBEARSHOP Cheeky Baby Butter$32, On Sale Now $21
We’ve looooved this stuff for over two years now! Check out our review here. This amazing stuff is not just for babies, any dry skin sufferer will adore this butta! I’ve gifted this to several expecting friends and each one raved about it.
Engage Green Recycled PETE Plastic Stars Satchel $45
I bought this for a birthday gift for one of the sweetest people on the planet who also happens to be a tiny, albeit fierce roller derby queen. She loves toting her derby gear around in this retro-inspired bowling bag.
Green Market Girl Natural Eco-Cuff Bracelet $40
I’m more of a cuff girl than I am a delicate bracelet kinda girl. I’ve had my eye on this particular handmade cuff for quite some time. I think it would make a fabulous unique gift.
Small Plum Organics Bridge Certified Organic Bamboo Onesie $25
If you know us at all, you know we like babes dressed in atypical baby attire and this one makes us smile since we’re big fans of San Fran. Check this cuteness out for baby girls. New mamas appreciate unique clothes for their babes. Hey, why not pair this little number with some BABYBEARSHOP Cheeky Baby Butter &/or Mama Belly Oil?! Baby shower gift dilemma solved. You’re welcome.
West Paw Designs Organic Bumper Dog Bed $68
We’re huge dog lovers and have 3 large retrievers between both of us that are part of our families – we just wouldn’t have it any other way. These dog beds come in 5 great colors to match any style or decor in your home. They have an organic cotton exterior and the interior stuffing is made of 100% recycled plastic bottles that is comfy and cozy.
We’ve also given them a special coupon code so check out the full review at Fig & Sage. Good Luck!
Charlotte’s Green Halloween Costume Swap
Natural Luxe was thrilled to partner with Green Halloween this year and bring an eco-friendly alternative to Charlotte’s halloween costume options. Many families have two or three kids Halloween costumes hanging in the closet that have been outgrown or passed down to younger siblings a few times. The costume swap was a great way to declutter closets and save some green in the process.
Five local businesses let their time and energy to helping us collect costumes for the swap. It was a great way for them to reach out to their current customers and maybe meet a few new ones. A big thank you to Beth Smith-Shuey with Keller Williams South Park, Jim Mishoe with Nationwide Insurance, Belly Elan, The Boulevard at NoDa and Atherton Market for helping out this year.
Over 50 gently used childrens costumes were collected and on October 9th we had the pleasure of helping costume swappers pick out something “new” for this year’s trick-or-treating. Looking forward to this event next year with more drop-off locations and of course, more costumes!
Thank you Charlotte for making our 1st annual Green Halloween Costume Swap a successful event!
Your purse is so yesterday
Why thank you! They must be talking about my recycled paper wristlet from Engage Green.
Engage Green takes yesterday’s papers and turns them into eco-chic wristlets, totes and coin purses with vibrant colors and designs. The fabric is created by taking narrow strips of paper and twisting them to create strength. At the same time, yarn is used to weave the fabric. The amazing colors are made with animal free dyes so the collection is also vegan.
A few of the benefits from using recycled paper are –
* Saves 60% to 70% of the energy used in the manufacturing process compared to using virgin pulp.
* Uses up to 55% less water that virgin pulp, and helps preserve our forests.
* Reduces air emissions by 74% compared to virgin pulp manufacturing.
Designer Leoner Mendoza, an award winning artist whose work is part of the Art Museum of the Americas permanent collection in Washington DC, is the creative mind behind Engage Green. Their products represent a consistent commitment to protecting our Earth’s natural resources.
Find your zen in style – recycled yoga bags
I find that I am always more motivated to go to the gym when I have a new outfit to wear or bag to take with me. My new Yogoco recycled yoga mat bag has been just the trick to push me towards more pilates classes. Amazingly, 70% of this bag is made from the discarded scraps of the t-shirt manufacturing process.
Scraps from the T-shirt making process are collected, sorted by color and blended. This significantly reduces incinerator and landfill use. The cotton fibers require no new dying, saving on water while adding no new pollutants. Furthermore, as no new cotton is grown, there is no land use, no water intensive irrigation and no fertilizers or pesticides used.
The resulting cotton-like fabric has an organic feel and is used as the fabric in the large mat section of the Yogoco recycled yoga mat bag, as well as much of the towel section and piping.
These beautiful bags come in six different designs with vibrant colors and patterns putting you in the mood to find your inner peace and your toes. Take a look at the entire Yogoco recycled yoga mat bag collection - see you on the mat!
In search of – cool reusable coffee mugs
We love that everyday more people consider making their morning cup of coffee at home to save money or bring their cup with them to their local coffee shop to save the planet. The problem is finding a cool reusable coffee cup that you want to take with you. Most of the ones we have found our plain or covered with a corporate logo; or they are made of plastic that make our coffee taste horrible.
The search is over – we have found cool reusable coffee mugs made by Vessel Drinkware. Made of double-walled porcelain, these cups don’t require a coffee sleeve and my coffee tastes great. Add in the fact that they are dishwasher and microwave safe and the designs are cute, cool and a little funky – we are sold.
If you take a mug to your local coffee shop instead of using a to go cup, you will save 2555 trees every single year – pretty amazing. A lot of stores are now offering small discounts if you bring your own cup too.
Green My World Earth Day Giveaway
We are so excited to be a part of the 2010 2nd annual Green My World Earth Day Giveaway sponsored by the Eco-Office Green Gals!
Take a look at the great “green” loot that you can win –
◦EcoStore USA – Gift basket with 10 products
◦Affordable Mineral Make Up – $25 Gift Certificate
◦Naked Binder – Set of 9 project binders (one of all colors)
◦Ely Organics – $25 eGift Certificate
◦Recycled Bottle Cap Necklaces – recycled bottle cap necklace of their choice
◦BuyGreen.com – $50 Gift Certificate
◦Watercheck.biz – Niagara Conservation XSWEK07 Indoor Water Conservation EcoKit
◦Kir DeVries – $25 Gift Certificate
◦Ecominders – Ecominders Gift Bag – A reusable tote with packages of all 3 Ecominders product lines – Home, Office and Kids & Schools, along with organic cotton adult & children’s Ecominders t-shirts
◦Barefoot Books – One World, One Planet Gift Collection
◦weeBgreen – 1 kidzsack
◦Project GLO – very adorably wrap 3 sets of 5 pens made from biodegradable cardboard and corn plastic!
◦Cactus & Ivy – Body Souffle
◦Sarva Soap – $25 gift certificate plus 15% coupon off first purchase
◦Intention Kits – 1 Intention Kit made on Recycled Paper
◦Natural Luxe – $25 eGift Certificate
Why is this such a great giveaway? One person wins all of the prizes on Earth Day, April 22nd.
Take a look at the official rules, enter today and please tell a friend! Good Luck!
From Rice to Nice! Recycled rice sack totes are hot!
Give credit to Marty Stevens-Heebner of Half the Sky Designs for inventing the recycled rice sack handbag. She had the idea of taking rice sacks and recycling the colorful, funky designs into gorgeous tote bags, clutches, even yoga mat bags.
Armed with a rough idea of the concept, she went to the Philippines to track down rice suppliers and purchased the used sacks and yes; they thought she was crazy! When she returned to the States, her company Rebagz was born
Rebagz Rice Sack Graphic handbags are sturdy, since they were made to carry 50 or 100 lbs of rice. So if you get dirt or liquid on your bag, just wipe it off with a damp sponge and it’s as good as new. Love it!
The recycled rice sacks used for the bags have those amazing graphics already printed on them, any screen printing is uneccessary. They’re just that gorgeous all on their own. Rebagz are made under fair labor conditions over in the Philippines with Green America’s Seal of Approval so you know that your are getting a wonderful bag and helping others at the same time.
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!
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!
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!)
