It wouldn’t be fall back-to-school fashion season without Gap jeans staring you down on all of your shopping trips. This year, Gap redid their entire line and introduced their 1969 Premium Jeans. While the jeans aren’t made from organic cotton or in anyway green, you can catch an eco accessory in the store windows–Timberland boots.

Timberland Earthkeepers 6″ Leather Boots are the eco-friendly footwear of choice for jean-clad Gap mannequins nationwide. For guys who rock the casual jean look, Earthkeepers finish it off well. The rugged mens boots feature organic cotton laces, solvent-free adhesives, recycled rubber outsoles and recycled EVA inside along with recycled PET lining. While the leather boots are, well, made of leather, they’re not vegan or animal-friendly, but they are organically tanned.

Plus, company-wide, Timberland is an eco-conscious company. Click here to read more

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Trying to stay away from bisphenol A is tricky enough with the stuff lurking in the water cooler at work, the tupperware in the fridge, and even glass baby food jars at the grocery store; but a new announcement from Sigg reveals another difficulty—BPA in products that have a reputation of being BPA-free. Sigg bottles have long been thought of as the BPA-free alternative to the hard plastic Nalgene bottles that were popular before BPA concerns arose in recent years (Nalgene now makes BPA-free bottles), and business has boomed for the company as the aluminum bottles started showing up in the hands of people everywhere, the majority of whom preferred the Sigg bottles for their lack of BPA. Or, rather, who assumed that the Sigg bottles were without BPA.

Sigg CEO Steve Wasik sent out a letter this month alerting Sigg customers to the fact that up until a year ago, Sigg bottles did, in fact, contain BPA in their water-based epoxy liners. Click here to read more

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What if you could run your car on stuff you had lurking around your home? Sounds eco-friendly and budget-friendly, right? Introducing the E-Fuel MicroFueler. It’s Shaq-endorsed and Schwarzenegger-approved. The portable micro-refinery system from GreenHouse is made for at-home use. You can turn organic waste like grass clippings, wood chips, brewery waste, algae and other non-food carbohydrate waste products into high performance ethanol fuel that’ll get your car from point A to point B in a cleaner and more eco-friendly way. And you can do it all right in your own backyard, including fueling up.

Shaquille O’Neal is an investor in the product. After calling himself “Big Eth,” he said “I tried it, I liked it. I flew to Southern California to see it first hand. It’s cost effective and it works. Hopefully, with my presence people will look at (the fuel system) and they’ll try it.”

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was there when GreenHouse unveiled the new alternative energy product and the state is also looking at a pilot program to test it. Notable companies have signed up to partner with GreenHouse, too. Karl Strauss, Gordon Biersch and Sunny Delight plan to convert 29,000 tons of liquid waste using the E-Fuel system.

Rumor has it the sophisticated at-home system costs around $10,000. Click here to read more

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It’s that time of year again and while you might be relieved that you’ll have a little more time alone once the kids are back in school, you’ve still got that pesky task of back-to-school shopping standing between you and sweet post-summer silence. Instead of heading to the local big box to do your traditional dash through the school supply aisles, take a look at our Go Green Back-To-School Kit for Kids below. Picking up one or more of these items will result in a more eco-friendly school year and, in many cases, could save you a little extra cash thanks to reusability. Plus, you can shop for these items in your pajamas while you relax with your morning cup of coffee,  and that’s much more enjoyable than pushing your way through the crowds at Wal-Mart.

1. Fleurville Kid’s Messenger Bag, $49.95

This school bag from Fleurville is made from recycled content and is free of PVC. The messenger bag design (with optional backpack straps) and multiple color options mean it’ll hold up to a few years of changing fashions and that helps justify the higher price tag. An extra bonus sits inside in the form of a reusable insulated lunch bag. Click here to read more

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Send your daughter back to school in eco-friendly style this year with a pair of green shoes. Earlier this week you saw the best eco-friendly shoes for boys and now from sweet Mary Janes to canvas sneakers, we’ve found the best eco-friendly girls shoes for back to school. Make sure your kid knows the difference by explaining what makes her kicks better for the earth before she laces up.

Sugar Kids Chakra Mary Janes: Basic black and white will look just as adorable with jeans at school as it will with a dress on Sunday. This pair gets an eco-friendly pat on the back for being made of natural materials, including a jute-wrapped midsole.

Simple Kids Skippies: Simple Shoes tagline is “Shoes for a happy planet,” and this pair has several features that back it up: the outsoles used to be car tires, the laces used to be plastic bottles and the upper and linings are made from 100% certified organic cotton.  Eco accolades aside, these striped Skippies are so fun that you can believe they’re “shoes for a happy kid,” too.

Camper Kids Mary Jane: These offbeat Mary Janes with are half canvas sneaker, too, but this style is created from organic cotton to give it an eco-friendly twist. Let your spunky toddler or preschooler rock red kicks and she’ll be ready to skip to school every day. Click here to read more

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