When Jessica Alba commited to getting environmentally friendly for the sake of her then unborn daughter, Honor Marie, she received a lot of attention and praise for the decision. Now, with a eco-conscious home renovation complete, she’s proven that it wasn’t just talk and she’s walking the eco-walk. Alba recently opened up her home to InStyle and the photos show a house that is not only gorgeous but green.

Most of the furnishings are second hand, with her designer, Kari Whitman, not only praising the eco-friendliness of the items but also the quality craftsmanship on older pieces. They opted for sustainable wood flooring and rugs instead of often-toxic carpeting and chose renewable materials like bamboo, cork and jute. They even bought artificial turf made from recycled plastic and tires for the lawn (to cut down on water consumption and avoid pesticides). And when all the green goods get dirty, there’s a closet full of natural cleaners like Mrs. Meyer’s to get things sparkling again. Click here to read more

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With the way the world is going, it’s becoming clear that we have to work more with what we’ve got–and that’s why we at Greenzer love it when designers make use of reclaimed wood for their wares. Like in the case of this Lazy Daisy Reclaimed Wine Barrrel Lazy Susan from Uncommon Goods.

Made from white oak wine barrels that have aged past the point of wine-purposes, the Lazy Daisy is as functional as it is earth-friendly, and we’re not just talking about using it as a base for a cake, either (although you’d probably feel classier than ever applying frosting to a cake resting atop this earthy lazy susan). Click here to read more

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Bamboo, like hemp, is so often praised in sustainability circles that it’s possible to get a little jaded about the stuff. Yes, it’s amazingly strong, versatile and renewable. Yes, it looks great. Yes, you love it. But this really is a magical material, and it does deserve its credit…even if we’re now discovering that although bamboo is a very green item in itself, the process to transform it into floor boards, furniture and the like is not always a green one. Processing aside, the renewability aspect of bamboo is unlike almost anything else and it can be put to good green use.

One place where there’ll be no shortage of bamboo love, however, is at the American Bamboo Society’s annual meeting, held November 7th and 8th at the San Francisco Zoo. It’s a prime event to venture to if you’d like to learn more about what bamboo can do for you and what others are doing with it–the presentation on Brazilian bamboo architecture by Celina Llerena is sure to awe and inspire. Click here to read more

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Daily Greenz #57

We’ve mentioned toys that are good for the environment, made of toxin-free materials and all that good stuff. Uncommon Goods does you one better by creating toys that are made from all recycled materials, so that they actually reduce waste in the world. Their collection of toys is fun, educational, and engaging, like the zippy Kimochi Emotion Dolls. Each doll is equipped with a unique personality and a full-ranging set of emotions. Kids can express what they’re feeling by popping an "emotion’ mouthpiece into their doll’s mouth, helping parents to better understand their kids. Buy one of these lovable rascals for $55 at uncommongoods.com.

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