If your idea of eco-friendly bedding only includes lightweight organic cotton sheets (in earthy tones) and pricey bamboo sets, it’s time to expand the list. Why? For one thing bamboo is heavily debated as eco-friendly bedding. There are certainly some bamboo options that are made without heavy processing and those would get a green stamp of approval, but there are also versions that have been so chemically-processed to get to their soft state that it’s hard to say if they’re any greener than their conventional cotton counterparts. And when it comes to organic cotton, if you think a variety of patterns and feels don’t exist, you’re missing out.

As things get chillier, one of the best under-mentioned eco-friendly bedding options is organic flannel, which is made from woven organic cotton. It’ll hold up to colder temperatures and help you resist the urge to reach for the thermostat (and every time you say no to that you’ll save big bucks). The Organic Charcoal Flannel Bedding from Gaiam is one of our favorites for its luxe materials and its far from New Age-y look. Click here to read more

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Living in a small space (read: any apartment that’s Manhattan-sized or similar) may be better for the environment, but it doesn’t always feel great. Maybe you want to separate yourself from your roommates—two in a one-bedroom seemed like such a good (and cost-effective) idea when you moved in—or maybe you just don’t want to look at your kitchen sink while you’re in bed in your studio apartment. Either way, being a renter means you’re limited on renovation options. And if your trying to save a little cash with your small space, chances are you’re limited in the budget sense as well. Enter the Bamboo Screen from Gaiam.

We’ll admit that at $299 the bamboo room divider isn’t the cheapest thing on the market—especially if most of your furniture was picked up by the cheap and green method of scouring the sidewalk—but it’s worth the extra money. This room divider is made from eco-friendly, pesticide-free bamboo stalks and can conform to any space, meaning you can curve it around that any weird features of your apartment or just arch it to create a pseudo-bedroom. And because the bamboo screen is so flexible (and strong, like bamboo itself) you can roll it up and store it if you want a break from the look. Click here to read more

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With the real estate market down it’s not a bad time to pick up a condo, but if your budget is down like the dollar, you may want to look for something a little smaller, say a condo for bees. Sure it won’t have the features that you’d look for in a new home, like stainless steel kitchen appliances and insulated windows, but it will support the survival of the dwindling bee population and even the agriculture of the United States.

Bees have been a buzzword in the world of environmental causes lately (even Haagen-Dazs has a bee campaign) and that’s because their populations are shrinking so suddenly and in such shocking numbers (bumblebees are lingering near the endangered list) . Scientists haven’t been able to determine the cause yet, but it’s thought to be a number of factors, with global warming and pesticide use as two main concerns. The weather variations caused by global warming can prevent flowers from blooming and, in turn, bees from surviving. Rampant pesticide use, on the other hand, results in pesticides accumulating in the layers of the honeycomb and has been linked to reduced longevity for bees. Click here to read more

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A good knife is the one tool that all chefs cite as most important. Or, better yet, a good knife set that will enable you to slice and dice and make quick work of mounds of vegetables (or whatever else you’re chopping). In fact, knives are so important in the chef world that most chefs carry their own from job to job, never relying on what may be available in the next kitchen. So if you’ve been using an old set from Ikea that was purchased purely for bargain purposes or have been making do with a steak knife for all kinds of kitchen cuts, investing in a new set of kitchen knives can boost you to a whole new culinary level. And you can even stay eco-friendly with your new purchase.

The Rada Cutlery Knives at Gaiam are made with recycled aluminum handles and high-carbon stainless steel blades, making them a greener alternative to many of the plastic handled and new material knives out there. Don’t worry about these knives being eco-friendly but less effective, either; Rada Cutlery knives are a fan favorite in the foodie world for their balanced design, lasting sharpness, lifetime warranty and modern look. Click here to read more

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It’s lights out for incandescent bulbs in the European Union, with a ban on the old fashioned light bulbs underway and aiming for full completion by 2012. While many countries have announced future plans for incandescent bulb bans, the European Union ban is the earliest widespread ban and its goal date of no incandescent bulbs by 2012 matches the planned start dates for incandescent bans in many places.

Instead of an immediate ban on all incandescent bulbs, the EU opted for a phase out that will see the worst energy offenders off shelves the soonest. The first incandescent bulbs to disappear will be the frosted incandescent bulbs in the highest wattage (100 watts), which cannot be purchased or imported by stores, although they can be sold until stock runs out. Replacing a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb (CFL) can mean the use of 80% less energy, and the change could result in an annual savings of 40 terawatt hours in the European Union—the same amount of terawatt hours used in total, annually, in Denmark. Click here to read more

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