Barley Grass: improve your dog's health naturally

Dogs love grass. They love to roll on it, play in it but when they eat it, many of us think this is a something they shouldn't be doing - that there's something wrong with their digestion.

This isn't necessarily the case. Barley grass, in particular, contains the enzymes, the chloryphyll, the vitamins that dogs need to digest and absorb food nutrients. These are things that processed pet foods may be lacking.

Studies have shown that processed foods can have a negative affect on pets and supplementing their diet with barley grass can improve their coat, increase energy levels and playfulness and even eliminate bad breath.

Read more about the benefits of barley grass here.

While there is much talk about barley grass supplements, we say, why not feed it to your pet fresh? Our Barley Grass Garden in a Bag for dogs contains everything you need to grow organic barley grass - even the leakproof bag. After 5-10 days your seeds will sprout and just weeks later you'll be able to cut the grass and feed it to your dog or sprinkle it on its food. An ideal organic treat to help your dog's health and vitality.

Visit our Vancouver-based online eco boutique Lavish & Lime for the Organic Barley Grass Garden in a Bag and to browse our full selection of herb and flower gardens in a bag. If you have any thoughts or ideas about barley grass or dog health in general, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Get Together: It's Family Literacy Week

We love reading with the kids - whether they read to us or we read to them - and this week there's even more reason to snuggle up with a good story. Family Literacy Day was yesterday, January 27th, which officially makes this Family Literacy Week.

The purpose of Family Literacy Day is to encourage families to read and learn together, but literacy is about more than just books. There are lots of ways to strengthen literacy skills. Reading, writing, playing a game, following a recipe or even singing a song all help prepare children for challenges ahead and sharpen skills for adults.

Encourage writing with animal print pencils made from recycled newspapers or yummy-scented smencil newspaper pencils. Strawberry notebooks made of sugarcane or a pretty pink book made of recycled paper and vegetable-based inks make great Valentine gifts.

Our My First Brain Box memory recall game is a great option children aged 4+ - and with each game taking just 10 minutes, it's great for time-crunched parents too. The eco version of the classic Monopoly, Earthopoly, is an excellent way to encourage both eco awareness and literacy among kids 6+.

With the chilly weather outside - a nice warm throw, a cup of hot chocolate - with marshmallows - and a favourite story are always a great way to spend time together and learn to love to read.

For more eco-friendly ideas to encourage literacy, visit Vancouver-based eco boutique Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts or ideas about Family Literacy Day or literacy in general, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Kids Jewelry from China Found Toxic

We want to indulge them with pretty things, but not put them at risk. Unfortunately, that's exactly what's been happening with cheap necklaces and bracelet charms made by Chinese manufacturers substituting cadmium for lead and selling them for distribution throughout the US and possibly Canada.

Cadmium is a known carcinogen and ranked as No. 7 out of 275 hazardous substances in the environment. Cadmium can affect brain development and doesn't have to be ingested to cause damage. Children can be exposed to low levels by sucking or biting a piece of jewelry.

The US Product Consumer Safety Commission has been conducting tests and Health Canada says it's going to launch an investigation. According to the CBC, jewelry with the highest levels of cadmium has been found to come from three sources: Wal-Mart, dollar stores and girls' jewelry chain Claire's.

But concern doesn't stop with cadmium. There seems to be plenty of lead in children's jewelry too. Health Canada reported in December that half of the kid's jewelry it had tested in 2009 was made of almost pure lead. Apparently, targeted testing of 67 suspicious pieces found 39 had illegal levels of lead.

Read more about the investigation into tainted kids' jewelry here.

There are lots of safer and smarter options - from our own backyard. Our little princesses need not go without. Buying Canadian and buying quality makes sense. So does choosing materials like sterling silver, porcelain and pearls.

This pink cupcake charm necklace and porcelain blue heart pendant come with 1" extenders on the chain, so the necklace can 'grow' as she does. This baby heart charm bracelet and girls' heart charm bracelet come with an additional upsizing option. While these pieces may cost more than their dollar store counterparts, they can last for years and in the long run are well worth the money.

Visit Lavish & Lime for a full range of quality children's jewelry. If you have any questions or comments about tainted kids' jewelry or buying local designs, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.

Biggest Eco Sale of the Year

If you'd like to live life a little greener - or perhaps you've made it a New Year's resolution - you won't want to miss our Big January Sale.

It's our biggest sale of the year! Kick off 2010 with savings of up to 60% OFF! You'll find loads of sitewide reductions across all our categories, but for a limited time only.

Our Big Sale ends midnight this Sunday so hurry - while stocks last!

We've reduced prices on select stock of some of our most popular name brand products: Lunchbots stainless steel containers, Laken water bottles and Envirosax shopping bags.

For little ones there's 30% off select Plan Toys and Sprig Toys plus lots of savings on essentials for baby, like our Canadian-made baby bath apron.

As ever we're always available to answer any questions or provide additional product information - feel free to get in touch via phone 1.877.216.5463 or email us at customerservice@lavishandlime.com.

Top 5 Green Products for 2009

There was a lot of order taking, picking, packing throughout the year and now the results are in. Did you buy one or more of our most popular products? Do you have an eye for what's hot?

We thought you might like to know, so here are our Top 5 Bestselling Eco-Friendly Products for 2009.

5. Natural Crayon Rocks - small pebble-shaped soy crayons that help kids develop their tripod grip in preparation for handwriting - fun + developmental all at the same time.

4. Envirosax Reusable Shopping Bags - they're way more stylish than a store bag, they fold down to the size of a piece of sushi and they're also great for carrying everything from workout gear to library books - what more could you want from a shopping bag?

3. Cleanwell Natural Hand Sanitizer - the H1N1 scare ensured this handy little alcohol-free spray shot towards the top of our list.

2. Lunchbots Stainless Steel Food Containers - a great non-leaching option equally as good for lunch-on-the-go as for storing leftovers in the fridge.

1. Reusable Sandwich Wrap - THE must-have for any waste-free lunch.

Check out these and more unique products for greener living and giving at Lavish & Lime.
Do you have a top eco-friendly product for 2009? If so, we'd love to hear from you. Please leave a comment below.