Christine V.'s Profile
"If Only There were 25 Hours in a Day..."
Member since October, 2006
User stats
21 reviews
8 useful ratings
12 listings added
6 friends
Location
North Beach, San Francisco
My affiliations
SustainLane
Last great book or movie
Kite Runner
My Dream Product
paraben free deep conditioner
How we'll get around in 20 years...
teleportation
Offline, find me...
traveling, reading, hiking, cooking
My heroes
my grandmother, any and all organic farmers, Alfred Portale, Majora Carter
My non-green guilty pleasure
my cat's self cleaning litter box
Good Alternative to Plastic But Not My Fav
Sorry but I CAN taste the metal aftertaste with the Klean Kanteen even though i sounds like most other people don't notice it. I prefer my Sigg water bottle since it has no metal taste. I also saw someone's comment about the wide mouth opening and I totally agree, I usually spill it especially if i use it while working out. If you are choosing between plastic and a Klean Kanteen then its definitely a good choice but looking at that boring silver bottle on my desk makes me feel like I am at Girl Scout camp or at some kind of military facility. At least with my Sigg, i get a nice splash of color, I don't spill all over myself and there is no aftertaste.
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Handcrafted Vodka in Sustainable Packaging
We recently had a vodka tasting in the office and had some great 360 Vodka sea breezes and some other amazing concoctions involving agave nectar, rosemary and lemon juice that were surprisingly good . Beautiful packaging, great taste and a new vodka to impress all your friends (if they are impressed by that sort of thing). Good all around and highly recommended. This would make a great gift too!
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Great Design But What About the PAPER?
I recently received an Ecopod as a gift and was very excited to get all my recycling in one place. The Ecopod has several departments for aluminum and plastic bottles, glass containers and plastic bags. The main problem is that I make a big effort to NOT buy items packaged in plastic so most of my recycling is glass and a ton of paper. The glass portion of the ecopod is only enough for a few wine bottles and there is no area for paper. It would also be great if they could design this to include a composter, then it would truly be an all in one system assuming they added much larger compartments.
It looks great but I wouldn't spend the money on this one even though it looks beautiful. The retail price on this is also over $300 so I think that is a bit steep for a garbage can with compartments.
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Blue Bottle Coffee Now Open Downtown
Blue Bottle coffee just opened their first cafe near the old Mint building on 5th and Mission. The cafe is on Jesse Street and is serving breakfast and coffee now and will be serving lunch soon according the folks over there. All food, coffee, ingredients are from local, organic, artisanal suppliers. The coffee is amazing and the location is beautifully designed.
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Natural Make Up with No Preservatives
After reading so much about parabens and preservatives in makeup, I have been wondering about alternatives. Bare Escentuals is a mineral based make up/foundation that replaces foundation. I tried the started kit which includes the mineral foundation, bronzer, brushes and mineral veil which is a finishing powder. Overall, its a great product but dried my skin out a little. The bronzer is my favorite and I will definitely continue to use that but will probably use a more moisturizing product in the winter. One great added benefit is that the product has no preservatives and has a natural SPF.
keywords: makeup, powder, mineral makeup, foundationDid you think this review was helpful?
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Organic Waffles-Fun to Eat & Fun to Make
This has to be the greatest invention since they put wheels on a suitcase. The Batter Blaster is pancake/waffle mix in a pressurized can (kind of like whip cream or cheez wiz). Not only is the product organic but it tastes great. I have used premixed pancake batter or mixes that only required water and they always end up tasting pretty bland. The company is also environmentally friendly, both the can and plastic tip can be recycled and its rated USDA organic. My family recently got 30 cases for their school's charity pancake breakfast and all the kids loved it! GENIUS!
keywords: organic, pancakes, waffles, breakfast, slumber partyDid you think this review was helpful?
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Dangerous Chemicals in Toys, Lotions, Electronics
The full title of this books is: Exposed: The Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Products and What's at Stake for American Power. You may have heard about the dangers of parabens in cosmetics or phalates in childrens toys but did you know that many US companies manufacture the same products they make in the US for the European Union WITHOUT those dangerous chemicals? The EU countries have chosen to innovate and find alternatives to these chemicals while other companies create two different product lines - one for the America and other countries with lax requirements and one for the EU. These are major cosmetic companies like Revlon, Loreal, etc who would rather save money than make healthier products for everyone.
This book gives an overview of some of the most dangerous products and chemicals and what the FDA is doing (or not doing) to protect us. The only downside is that there is not much we can do other than make smarter consumer choices in the products we buy.
Here is an interesting article on the book, the author was also recently featured on NPR and you can find more on that website: http://www.alternet.org/healthwellness/59714/
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Like Patagonia but More Stylish
This is a new clothing line based in Portland that makes casual clothing using recycled and environmentally friendly fabrics. I recently ordered some yoga pants and t-shirts and love the fabrics and style. The only downside is that they are a bit pricey.
They also have a great website, check it out at Nau.com
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Simple Book on Herbal Medicine
My mom sent me this book when I was in the Peace Corps and I still consult it weekly. It covers 10 herbs, most of them are commonly available like garlic, onion, ginger, cayenne, peppermint and a few that you need to visit a health food store to get (yarrow, chapparal, etc).
I have used recommendations in this book for my boyfriend, friends, relatives and co-workers for everything from sprained ankles, gout and digestive problems. This book explains everything in simple language and has several stories about actual people (some of them are very funny).
If you have medical issues or problems and are looking for alternatives, I would highly recommend this as the first book you buy.
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For $7 Pangea Should Stand Outside My Shower with a Warmed Towel
I recently bought a $7 bar of soap from Pangea. While the packaging was really beautiful and the soap seems to work (its lathers and smells nice), i don't know if its worth $7. I actually tried to make my own soap a few years back and did a lot of research which made me understand why natural, vegetable types soaps are really important (it all absorbs into your skin) but $7?
Maybe it I knew they gave some of that money to a good cause it would feel like the price was worth it. Or if the box was something i could use as a decoration. Or maybe if that cute guy who works at Pangea had his photo on the box! Then i might not feel like I got slightly ripped off but right now I think I will stick to the $.99 glycerin soap at Whole Foods...
By the way, the people who work there are incredibly nice and not too bad looking either.
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User Comments:
Jenn A. says:
Wow - that is expensive for a garbage can with compartments! I can see how something like that might be useful for apartment dwellers with no yard space but that price should come with some sort of customization... more »