Eco Event - Greening your Nest: Get Plastic Savvy

Post by Louise

We first met Tanis Frame (aka Mamamaven) over coffee in the Gumboot Cafe on British Columbia's gorgeous Sunshine Coast.

We were so impressed with her knowledge and easy-going, informative style we decided there and then we wanted to work with her, we just didn't know when. Happily, we do now.

Greening your Nest: Get Plastic Savvy
Thursday, March 10th, 7-8pm
Lavish & Lime
272 East 1st Street, North Vancouver
(plenty of street parking - click here for directions)

We're thrilled to host Greening your Nest: Get Plastic Savvy at our warehouse shop in North Vancouver on March 10th. It will be a fab, fun, informative hour with Mamamaven as the featured guest speaker, a FREE eco gift for everyone who attends plus door prizes and discount shopping!

If you care at all about creating a healthy and safe home for you and your family, you won't want to miss this event!

Learn about the research and hype surrounding plastics and find out easy steps you can take to reduce harmful exposure to plastics in your home. You'll leave with an action plan and the information you need to navigate your world of plastics and make smart choices for you and your family. You'll no longer feel bewildered nor overwhelmed with plastics and what to do about them.

About Mamamaven:
Tanis Frame, founder of MamaMaven, has a background in facilitation, research, toxicology and children’s environmental health. She is a popular guest speaker and runs fun and informative workshops designed to help you navigate the information overload on healthy topics.

Tanis has a reputation for removing any guilt or pressure in her presentations and makes the information easy to understand. She immediately puts you at easy with her fun, easy-going personality and trust us, you'll definitely leave feeling you've learned something.

Hope you can make it:
If possible, we'd appreciate RSVP's (just so we have enough chairs!) to customerservice@lavishandlime.com or give us a quick call 778-340-5463. We're happy to answer any questions you might have too!

For hundreds of green living ideas - everyday eco finds and unusual planet-friendly gifts - visit eco boutique Lavish & Lime.

Guide to Going Green: Your Green Family Blueprint

We're all being bombarded with so much information about 'going green' it can be overwhelming - we know.

That's why when we were approached by local BC author Tracy Lydiatt about her new book Your Green Family Blueprint, we got more than a little excited and readily agreed to help her launch this great how-to guide that can really help families live life a little greener.

Tracy's book makes sustainability easy, accessible and interesting. It also reminds us that going green has an impact on our health, how we connect with our community and our family members.

Read an excerpt from Your Green Family Blueprint here.

When you purchase the book between February 16th and 20th and register your purchase – you will have access to over $1400 in gifts and prizes contributed by Tracy’s book launch partners, including us!

Let us know what you think of this book - we'd love to hear your comments - and for more green living ideas, visit eco boutique Lavish & Lime.

Stuffies with Purpose: upcycled pillow pals

It really is amazing how many stuffed animals kids can accumulate. At our house, the stuffie population feels overwhelming at times - despite semi-frequent cullings that more often than not end with 'not that one, I love that one.' That's why when we came across these purpose built Pillow Pals, we breathed a sigh of relief.

Yes, they're adorable, lovable and yes, being handmade of reclaimed wool they're ultra soft, cuddly and planet-friendly. Yet, even more importantly for us - in the realm of stuffed animals - they have a purpose. Each one of these eco-friendly animal stuffies are designed in such a way that a child can really snuggle with them and lay his/her head down on them. Perfect for watching TV, napping wherever or snoozing in bed.

If you're a sewer, a crafter or simply love to follow along with Martha Stewart, you're in luck. The Canadian designer behind our Pillow Pals is featured on marthastewart.com where you can download templates and follow instructions to make your own Pillow Pals.

Or if you're like us and sewing an actual pillow seems rather daunting, you can simply order these adorable eco-friendly stuffed animals handcrafted in Canada by experts and we'll send them to you pronto. Being made from reclaimed wool, each stuffie is unique but you can choose from a happy hippo in generally girl-ish colours or an adorable dog in browns and blues.

Also from this designer are our popular reclaimed wool animal puppets - choose from our dog puppet, giraffe puppet, frog puppet or monkey puppet.

For more eco-friendly gift ideas for kids, visit Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts or ideas about eco-friendly craft projects, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Plastic Sandwich Bag Lands Quebec Boy on Wrong Side of Eco Fence

The recent story of the Quebec boy who was excluded from a kindergarten draw because he had a plastic sandwich bag is unfortunate. It's also a great lesson about the key role information plays in generating positive change.

Special school activities around planet-friendly practices can have a positive, memorable effect on learning as long as they're backed up with education and adequate advance information. Incorporating background lessons into the curriculum and sending notices home or posting on the school website are great ways to inform everyone involved - including parents - and get some buzz going about the activity so the kids are excited about participating in it.

In the case of six-year-old Felix from Laval, Quebec, somehow the information didn't reach everyone.

As reported in the National Post, Felix's father, Marc-Andre Lanciault says he'd heard nothing of the draw for a stuffie for students who did not bring plastic sandwich bags to school or anything about the school's environmental policy until his son was begging for his sandwich not to be put in a plastic bag.

"Felix explained with lots of emotion and tears in his eyes that there was a simple condition to entering the drawing: Don't use a Ziploc bag in their lunch," Lanciault wrote on his blog, Notre Vie (Our Life). "Seeing the use of a ziploc by his Mum, Felix reacted as if someone had slaughtered a pig for slicing into his ham sandwich," wrote Lanciault.

Normally, Felix takes Tupperware to school, but on this occasion it was all in the dishwasher so his sandwich was packed in a plastic sandwich bag.

When questioned about Felix's exclusion from the contest because of a plastic bag, his teacher said, "You know Mr. Lanciault, it is not very good for the environment, we have to take care of our planet, and the bags do not decompose well, etc."

Education and encouragement through positive reinforcement are undoubtedly the better choice over penalty and preaching. In this case, while the kids in Felix's class who didn't bring a plastic sandwich bag that day were rewarded positively with entry into the draw, the unfortunate plastic sandwich bag faux pas landed poor Felix on the other unfriendly side of the environmental fence.

Should Felix be held responsible for his parents' actions at such a young age? No. A good alternative is to run activities by class, especially at the primary levels. 'Waste-free lunch days' or 'walk to school challenges' run as a competition between classes within a school rather than between individuals can be effective without singling out students in a potentially negative way.

Are activities like contests the proper vehicle for educating kids about environmental responsibility? Yes, if they're backed up by an educational component and the science behind it - naturally at a level the kids can understand. A contest is far more interesting and memorable than hearing the same message from the teacher.

And if our child tearily begged us to pack a reusable container that was in the dishwasher? We have to say, we'd probably take a few minutes to wash one by hand.

If you have any thoughts or ideas about eco-friendly activities in schools or generating positive change, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

For the latest waste-free lunch gear, including the bestselling reusable sandwich wrap - a great alternative to plastic sandwich bags - visit eco boutique Lavish & Lime. Packed with hundreds of everyday eco finds, Lavish & Lime is a great source for ideas about greener living.

Hopscotch Natural Nail Polish Valentines Giveaway Winner

Congratulations to Anna - winner of our Hopscotch Kids Natural Nail Polish Valentine's Giveaway who says she really likes the colour Miss Mary Mack (black).

Please email us at customerservice@lavishandlime.com with your shipping information so we can get your nail polish + natural nail polish remover out to you in time for Valentine's Day.

Big thanks to everyone who entered. Watch out for our next giveaway...

Hopscotch Kids Water Colors Safe Natural Nail Polish is available at Lavish & Lime. For adults, check out our Scotch Naturals Watercolors Nail Polish, from the makers of Hopscotch. For more greener living ideas, please come by and browse our eco boutique at www.lavishandlime.com.

Heart of the Matter: Raising Awareness of Heart Health Month

What's the number one health threat for women? Heart disease. According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, women are more likely to die from heart disease than any other disease. That's why when we were approached by Woman's Day Magazine to support their 8th Annual Red Dress Awards next week, we said yes.

February is Heart Month and it's all about raising awareness and funds for research into heart disease. The Red Dress Awards is an event held in New York to honour those who’ve made a significant contribution to the fight against heart disease in women. Barbara Walters is among this year’s honorees and the event itself features Natasha Bedingfield, Charice and is co-hosted by Mario Lopez, of Dancing with the Stars fame.

We're pleased to report we've teamed up with Cleanwell, makers of our popular natural hand sanitizers and liquid soaps, to support this worthy event. Among the goodies in the VIP swag bags will be a Cleanwell natural hand sanitizer spray in the yummy vanilla orange scent. WIN your own hand sanitizer spray - see details below.

Let's face it, women are - in many respects - head of the household. To take care their families, they need to look after themselves. Ever notice what happens to the running of the house when Mom gets sick? Raising awareness about heart disease means raising awareness about prevention and the importance of making smart choices to lead a healthier, greener lifestyle.

What is heart disease?
The term heart disease can mean any one of a number of different heart problems. The most common kind of heart disease is coronary heart disease. This happens when a fatty substance called plaque clogs the blood vessels that carry oxygen and nutrients to the heart. If a blood vessel becomes completely blocked, a heart attack can happen.

Eating healthy, being healthy and exercising regularly can go a long way to helping fight heart disease. While menopause, family history, race and socioeconomic factors are key, so are high cholesterol, physical inactivity, hypertension, excessive weight, diabetes and tobacco smoke - things we can aim to control.

Taking steps to live life a little greener in terms of what you put in your body and what you do with your body is a great start.

WIN 1 of 5 NATURAL HAND SANITIZERS! Tell us how you keep your heart healthy in a comment below or on our Facebook wall and you could win a Cleanwell hand sanitizer - just like in the VIP swag bags at the Woman's Day Red Dress Event. Random draw will take place this Friday, February 11th. Be sure to leave your email address so we can get in touch if you win!

For more information, check out these sites:
Heart and Stroke Foundation
Womenshealthmatters.ca
Dietitians of Canada

For more green living ideas, visit eco boutique Lavish & Lime. If you have any thoughts about heart disease or living a healthier, greener life in general, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!

Lifefactory Love: 5 Reasons to use 450ml Glass Water Bottles

Six new additions to our popular line of Lifefactory glass water bottles have just arrived - and we think you're going to like them as much as we do.
It's the smaller 450ml glass water bottle in six great cap-and-bottle matching colours, four of which are new. Choose from: Raspberry Pink, Spring Green, Pearl White, Turquoise, Royal Purple and Graphite Grey. If the colours themselves aren't enough to make you want to snap one up, here are five more reasons you might want to rethink your current water bottle.

Our glass water bottles are not only gorgeous, but we really like them because:

1. They're free of BPA, Phthalates and PVC. These water bottles are made of good old-fashioned glass and are 100% non-toxic - and recyclable too.
2. The colourful, funky and most importantly - protective - silicone sleeve makes these glass water bottles virtually unbreakable so they not only look good but are practical too. View our glass water bottle drop test video here.
3. There's no metallic taste.
4. The 450ml size fits most car and stroller drink holders.
5. The wide mouth is ideal for ice cubes, fruit slices, etc.

This new version of our 650ml glass water bottle is smaller all around and works particularly well for older kids and seniors.

Lifefactory 450ml glass water bottles are available at eco boutique Lavish & Lime. For more green living ideas, visit www.lavishandlime.com. If you have any thoughts about glass water bottles or water bottles in general, please leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!