Shopping for Sharks, Penguins, Elephants and Kids? – A Unique Kind of Experience: Eco-Retail and Reusable Therapy! (Part II)

In Part I of this article, an underlying assumption was made that your online eco-shopping experience would generate unique gift ideas, new product purchases, and a psychological uplift whose primary beneficiaries would be yourself, your family, your friends and your pets — and of course the environment itself – – but what if the beneficiaries were perfect strangers – people you had never met before in your life? And what if the gifts you gave them were “used” items? Well, – Welcome to the Eco-friendly World of “Reusable Gift-Giving”!

Once again, the best source of reusable gift-giving ideas can easily be found online through some really cool non-profit organizations many of which were founded by socially-minded entrepreneurs. Let us now take a look at eight of these socially and environmentally progressive-thinking groups and at the same time, take stock of our own closets, bins, storage boxes, and bureau drawers.

1- Sole Responsibility – www.soleresponsibility.org
Gift-Giving Category: Unworn & Slightly Used Running Shoes

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded by a group of women runners in 2005 – Jennifer North of Ottawa, Canada and her running mates, Tracy Clark and Cindy Scott – this non-profit organization collects, washes, and sends unworn and gently used athletic shoes to needy communities in Africa – including refugees, orphan children, the elderly, the disabled, the disadvantaged and the physically-challenged in Africa.

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in collecting running shoes thru your office or school or expanding the number of collection sites?

2- Cell Phones for Soldiers – www.cellphonesfor soldiers.com/
Gift-Giving Category: Used Cell Phones

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded by the Bergquist family of Norwell, Massachusetts in 2004, this non-profit organization collects ‘used’ cell phones, sells them to recycling firms, and takes the proceeds to buy calling cards for deployed and returning troops so that they can communicate with their family cost-free while serving in the United States military.

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in gifting your cell phone to an American service man or woman in remembrance of a loved family member or close friend who made a difference in your life?

3- Cristina Foundation – www.cristina.org/
Gift-Giving Category: Used Computer Equipment & Related Technology

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded by David Bruce McMahan and Yvetter Marrin in 1984, and based in Greenwich, Connecticut, this non-profit organization collects used pc desktops, notebooks, printers, scanners, copiers, keyboards, modems, monitors, software, video cards, and digital cameras -and in turn – donates these used items to schools, public agencies, and other non-profit organizations who help to train people with disabilities, students at risk and economically disadvantaged persons so that they may lead more independent and productive lives.

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in gifting computer equipment so that others in need may have access for the first time to special educational programs and vocational support?

4- Bicycles for Humanity (B4H) – www.bicycles-for-humanity.org
Gift-Giving Category: Used & Unwanted Bicycles & Related Accessories

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded in 2005 by Pat Montani in Whistler, British Columbia, Canada, this non-profit organization collects old and unwanted bicycles, bike parts, clothing, helmets, and shoes and sends them to disadvantaged communities in Africa so that people there are empowered with their own transport.

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in giving the gift of mobility so that others may have better access to healthcare, education, food, water, employment, and social opportunities?

5- Riley’s Toys Foundation – www.rileystoys.org/
Gift-Giving Category: New, Slightly Used & Unwanted Toys

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded in 2009 by then five year old, Riley Hebbard, of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, this non-profit organization collects new toys and slightly used and unwanted toys and sends them to vulnerable children in Africa many of whom live in orphanages, AIDS camps, refugee camps, and various impoverished areas.

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in giving the gift of joy to a struggling child that is toyless and forgotten by creating a smile of hope with your toy?

6- St. Jude’s Ranch for Children – www.stjudesranch.org/
Gift-Giving Category: Used Greeting Cards

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded by Episcopal priest, Father Jack Adam, in 1967 and based in Boulder City, Nevada with two other locations in Texas – this non-profit organization recycles used greeting cards by allowing abused, abandoned, and neglected children residing at their facilities to reconstruct these old cards into new holiday cards and greeting cards for every occasion which are then sold in turn to support their organizational programs and services.

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in giving a teenager “green” entrepreneurship skills and a sense of importance, dignity, and purpose in life?

7- The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) –
www.humanesociety.org/assets/pdfs/fur/wildlife_rehabbers_fur_donations_list.pdf
Gift-Giving Category: Used Real Furs

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded in 1954 by journalist Fred Myers and his three colleagues – Larry Andrews, Marcia Glaser, and Helen Jones – this Washington D.C.-based organization is the largest animal advocacy organization in the world. Backed by 11 million Americans, the HSUS is dedicated to seeking a humane and sustainable world for all animals that will also benefit people. In its efforts to reduce animal suffering and celebrate pets as well as wildlife, the HSUS now collects used real furs (including fur apparel, fur trims, and fur accessories) and sends them to wildlife rehabilitators so that these furs can then be repurposed as blankets for orphaned and injured wild baby animals they find every year.

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in giving an abandoned or injured wild animal the warmth and comfort of a furry blanket a.k.a. – a surrogate mother?

8- Combat Paper Project – www.combatpaper.org/
Gift Giving Category: Used military uniforms

Gift-Giving Goal: Founded in 2007 by Drew Matott, a paper and book artist and Drew Cameron, a soldier-turned-artist, this San Francisco-based organization administers papermaking workshops all across the USA to assist military veterans to work out, reconcile, and share their personal military experiences by teaching them how to make paper pulp by hand from their old combat uniforms and transforming the pulp into a variety of cathartic works of paper art – giving the veterans “a vehicle to tell their personal stories of military service.”

Ask Yourself: Are you interested in donating a military uniform to a veteran community at one of these workshops so that our military men and women are better able to embrace their military experiences and find within themselves the artistic ability to turn uniforms into combat paper and ultimately books, personal journals, broadsides, and other works of art?

Truly the backstory of these reusable gift-giving ideas is fascinating. You may now want to ask yourself this all important question – are you inspired enough to organize a grassroots chapter of your own within your local area?

Shopping for Sharks, Penguins, Elephants and Kids? – A Unique Kind of Experience: Eco-Retail and Reusable Therapy! (Part I)

You don’t have to be a child to like stuffed animals nor do you have to travel far to see an Emerald Hummingbird, a Sumatran Rhino or a Pygmy Elephant. Instead, you can sit comfortably in front of your home computer screen, go onto the internet, and visit the “World Wildlife Fund Gift Center” – www.worldwildlife.org/gift-center/ – and “Adopt” yourself a real Emerald Hummingbird, Sumatran Rhino, a Pygmy Elephant or any other of a 100+ endangered species! Indeed, this is online eco-shopping at its best – gift shopping that not only makes a transformative lifestyle statement about protecting the planet for future generations but encourages others – friends and family – to preserve the habitats of these endangered animals. As for your eco-conscious purchase – you not only have a memorable photo and an adorably fetching plush version of your favorite adopted animal – but the camaraderie of a world renown conservation organization whose many publications, partnerships, and projects are an added feature to its array of gifts, cards, and soft toys.

But don’t stop your eco-shopping there – Check out Oceana’s online “Marine Wildlife Adoption & Gift Center” – www.store.oceana.org/ – which features a Sea Turtle cookie cutter kit and Penguin cookie cutter kit that includes each of these delightfully cuddly plush animals as well as a scrumptious cookie recipe and a personalized adoption certificate. But don’t rest your fingertips there – Yes, keep shopping! – For there’s “The Nature Conservancy Marketplace” – an online eco-store – www.shop.nature.org/ – featuring not only a wide array of unique Home and Garden accessories, Apparel, Books and DVD’s but globally diverse “Adopt An Acre Gifts” – See www.adopt.nature.org/ – which showcases an array of lost and near lost landscapes around the world where endangered plants and animals still thrive. Here you have the choice to “Adopt a Coral Reef” in the Bahamas, or in the Dominican Republic, or at Kimbe Bay in Papua New Guinea, or off the Pacific island nation of Palau. And if that isn’t exciting enough, you also have the choice to also “Adopt an Acre” in Australia’s Gondwana Link, Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula, Africa’s Grassland and Savannas, and various places in the USA – in particular the Appalachians, the Northern Rockies, and the U.S. Southern Forests. And don’t forget to browse the NRDC’s online “Green Gifts” store address – www.nrdcgreengifts.org/ – whose extraordinary collection of gift ideas includes a Whale Nursery, a Songbird Sanctuary, an Underwater Park for Otters, a One-day Photo Safari in Yellowstone National Park, an escorted One-day Tour with the “Wolf Whisperer” and “Green Teacher Kits”. With over 1.3 million members strong, the “National Resources Defense Council” offers gifts that not only make the environment richer and safer for all of us but rewards the shopper with a greater sense of entertainment, fashion, and travel options and most importantly a greater taste of self-definition.

Six other online eco-retail stores that capture the shopping imagination include the “Sierra Club Store”, the “National Audubon Society Marketplace”, the “National Wildlife Federation Shop”, the “National Geographic Store”, the “Aid to Artisans Online Store” and the “Global Goods Partners Online Store”. Let us now take a look at some of their best-selling items:

1-Sierra Club Store – www.sierraclub.org/store/

Category: Holiday Cards
– Horses Holiday Card Assortment
– Nature’s Details Holiday Card Assortment
– Crater Lake & Wizard Island Holiday Cards

Category: Books
– “Edible Landscaping” by Rosalind Creasy
– “Nukespeak” by Stephen Hilgartner, Richard C. Bell & Rory O’Connor
– “Desert Song” by Tony Johnston, Illustrated by Ed Young

Category: Eco-Socks – Men’s & Women’s

2-National Audubon Society Marketplace – www.marketplace.audubon.org/

Category: Audubon Mobile Field Guide Applications
For the iPhone, iTouch, Android, & iPad
(Covers North American Birds, Insects, Wildflowers, Mammals, Fish, Trees & More)

Category: Audubon Shade Grown Coffee
(100% Organic & Certified by the Rainforest Alliance)

3-National Wildlife Federation Shop – www.shopnwf.org/

Category: Backyard Decorations
– Dragonfly Tea Lantern
– Dragonfly Wall Plaque
– Pine Cone Thermometer Clock
– Personalized Fairy Garden Plaque

Category: Birdhouses & Feeders
– Hydrangea Glass Birdbath
– Acorn Suet Feeder
– Finch Tube Feeder with Spiral Perch
– Rustic Wooden Birdhouse

Category: Tree Sponsorship – Holidays
– Sponsor a Holiday Gift Tree
– Sponsor a Holiday Gift Garden
– Sponsor a Holiday Gift Grove
– Sponsor a Holiday Gift Small Forest

4-National Geographic Store – www.shop.nationalgeographic.com/

Category: Books
– “Food Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 Extraordinary Places to Eat Around the Globe” by National Geographic

Category: Historic Collectibles
– Irish Pewter Compass
– Handcarved Polish Chess Set
– Roman Cast-brass Horse

Category: Map Puzzles & Gifts
– Custom Nautical Tile Clock
– Custom Nautical Tile Tables
– Personalized Aerial Map Jigsaw Puzzle

Category: Kids Toys & Games
– National Geographic Talking Planetarium
– T. Rex Remote-Controlled Puzzle
– Wacky Wigglers Mechanical Toy Set
– National Geographic Sustainable Earth Lab
– National Geographic Archaeology Kit: Egyptian Pyramid
– Kids Interactive Intelliglobe

As for the next two online eco-retail stores, they are non-profit organizations whose many gift displays provide the only means of revenue for struggling artisan groups around the world who are trying to keep their eco-communities and handicraft traditions alive. Most of these artisans are women living in Asia, Africa, and underdeveloped parts of Central and South America and the Caribbean who are often unable to reach the global marketplace on their own.

5-Aid to Artisans Online Store – www.atawebstore.org/home.php

Category: Sugar Bowls from Mozambique

Category: Green Recycled Glass Vases from Egypt

Category: Indigo Market Bags from Benin

Category: Papier-Mache Patchwork Bull Head from Haiti

6-Global Goods Partners Online Store – www.globalgoodspartners.org/template/index.cfm

Category: Jewelry
– Colorful Beaded Bracelet in Maasai Tribal Style from Tanzania

Category: Accessories
– Textile and Leather Travel Tags from Peru
– Beaded Lion Keychain & Zebra Keychain from South Africa

Category: Home Décor
– African Beaded Bowl from Tanzania
– Indian Candle Holders Made from Broken Bangles
– Beaded Nesting Boxes from Tanzania

Category: Pet
– Rainbow Dog Sweater from Bolivia

Category: Children & Baby
– Handmade Stuffed Cotton Bunnies from Peru

Category: Bags
– Coin Pouches from Peruvian Textiles

Isn’t it time now to do some eco-shopping of your own and find that creative green gift that encourages cultural and environmental diversity and matches your unique individuality?

Summer Fun: Rescuing the Earth by Re-evaluating Junk or The Joy of Eco-cycling Your Way Thru the Best Flea Markets in the World!

For me, summertime means a series of flea market adventures.  Numerous books have been written on the subject and others eulogize its bounty of second-hand offerings in ‘Shabby Chic’, ‘Thrifty Chic’, ‘Vintage Look Collecting’, and ‘Flea Market Decorating’ tips along with copious notes on ‘Behind-The-Scenes Treasure Hunting Secrets’.  And along with the explosive growth of  eco-chic outdoor flea markets across the USA, Europe, and now globally around the world comes a flood of trendy articles on ‘eco-renovating’ and ‘eco-accessorizing’ your home with old flea market finds and exotic craft work. But amongst all this ‘flea-bitten’ obsessive literature, I still have yet to find one critique that colorfully addresses the paradoxical joy of culling thru unusual time-worn objects of flea market junk in order to rescue one’s own personal junk from being thrown out – another words – the joy of being both environmentally responsible and artistically creative by combining eclectic junk materials found at flea markets with your own well-worn, imperfect junk at home.  And in the process creating your own masterpiece of cultural second-hand treasure – an “eco-makeover gift”.

But what constitutes an “eco-makeover gift”, you ask?   A little homework, yes, a few magazines to energize your imaginative juices, yes, but above all – a sharp shopper’s eye for discerning under-rated and over-looked junk.  Hence, the best way to start is to make a list of small to mid-size objects that you currently own around you that you consider hopeless – either out-of-date or out-of-place or just badly damaged or perhaps missing a part or section.  The key here is that you are hesitant to throw it out – just yet.    That’s good – your instinctual knack for conserving is working fine!  Next, check with your local library or your local bookstore and the internet as well for a few “Do-It-Yourself” and “Ready Made” magazine issues and ‘simple lifestyle’ type magazine issues such as “Country Living” and “Living Crafts”.

Next, whilst looking thru the many picture pages of these magazine issues, see if any of the home objects on your ‘misfit’ junk list have potential worth that you may have not considered before and then consider the range of flea market possibilities that might do well in conjunction with your own items which would give them added value.  If you can make this connection, you have then made – theoretically-speaking that is – an “eco-makeover gift”.

These are but a few examples of my favorite handcrafted “eco-makeover gifts”:  1) a vintage lamp assembled of odd and end saucers and teacups accumulated from home and my local flea market 2) a ‘geeky’ serving platter and teenage table top covered with old computer keyboard buttons, typewriter keys, scrabble tiles and misplaced domino pieces collected from home and my local flea market 3) decorative paper table runners, garlands, and posters and photo frames made from discarded easy-to-recycle children’s books, science fiction novels, and old college text books found at home and used book markets and 4) curios of one-of-a-kind hats, necklaces, pillows, napkin rings, and coasters made from stitching recycled linens and woollen sweaters together with a stockpile of lost buttons, pins, earrings, key chains, cuff links, and broken wrist watches from a myriad of flea markets and my own home.

So instead of waiting to shop at the end of the year for that perfectly labeled, monogrammed and personalized holiday gift – start now, this summer, and save money, (and your own garbage disposal) and have fun creating your own gifts by eco-cycling your way thru the Best Flea Markets in the World – and don’t be surprised who you might meet next to the table full of hand-me-down toys – for Santa Claus has gone green and is now ‘flea-ing’ as well!

BEST FLEA MARKET DESTINATIONS BY COUNTRY

ARGENTINA

Buenos Aires – San Telmo Flea Market at Plaza Dorrego

AUSTRALIA

Sydney – The Rocks Flea Market

BELGIUM

Bruges – Bruges Flea Market

Brussels – Place du Jeu-de-Balle Flea Market

Ciney – Brocante Fair

Waterloo – Waterloo Flea Market

CANADA

Ottawa – ByWard Market

Saint Eustace (near Montreal) – St. Eustace Flea Market

Toronto – Dr. Flea’s Flea Market

Vancouver – Vancouver Flea Market

CHINA

Beijing – A) Panjiayuan Weekend Flea Market

B) Hongqiao Market

DENMARK

Copenhagen – A) Norrebro Flea Market  B) Israels Plads Flea Market  C) Gammel Strand Flea Market  D) Fredericksberg Flea Market  E) Lyngby Flea Market F) Kongens Nytorv Arts-and-Crafts Flea Market

ENGLAND

London – A) Portobello Road Market B) Camden Lock Market C) Camden Passage Market D) Petticoat Lane Market  E) New Calendonian Market or Bermondsey Market

ESTONIA

Tallinn – Balti Jaama Turg

FRANCE

Lille – La Grande Braderie de Lille Flea Market

Nice- Cours Saleya Flea Market

Paris – A) Marche aux Puces de St.-Ouen Porte de Clignancourt B) Le Jules Valles Market C) Le Marche Serpette  D) Porte de Vanves

GERMANY

Berlin – A) Die Nolle @ Nollendorfplatz B) Museum Island Flea Market  C) Mauer Park Flea Market D) Moritzplatz Flea Market E) Arkonaplatz Flea Market F) Strasse des 17.Juni Flea Market

Munich – A) Theresienwiese Flea Market B) Auer Dult Flea Market & Crafts Fair @ Mariahilfplatz

GREECE

Athen – Monastiraki Flea Market

HUNGARY

Budapest – Esceri Flea Market

INDIA

Goa – A) Anjuna Flea Market B) Mapusa Friday Market

IRELAND

Dublin – Blackberry Fair Flea Market

ISRAEL

Tel Aviv – Jaffa Flea Market

ITALY

Alba – Mercantino di Torino

Arezzo – Arezzo Flea Market

Florence – Mercato Delle Pulci Flea Marketd @ Piazza Del Ciompi

Lake Maggiore – Borgo D’Ale Flea Market

Milan – Cormano Flea Market

Rome – A) Porta Portese Flea Market B) The Underground

Turin – Carmagnola Flea Market

JAPAN

Tokyo – Ameya Yokocho or Ameyoko

MALAYSIA

Singapore – Sungei Road ‘Thieves Market’

MEXICO

Puerto Vallarta – Puerto Vallarta Flea Market

MOROCCO

Tangier – Casa Barata Flea Market

NETHERLANDS

Amsterdam – A) Albert Cuyp Market B) Waterlooplein Flea Market  C) Noordermarkt Flea Market

POLAND

Krakow – Sunday Flea Market @ Plac Targowy Unitarg; Warsaw – Kolo Flea Market

PORTUGAL

Lisbon – Feira Da Ladra

RUSSIA

Moscow – Izmailovo Souvenir Market

SPAIN

Barcelona – A) Placa de la Seu Flea Market B) Mercantic Flea Market

Cap de Creus (Catalonia) – Cadaques Market

Madrid – El Rastro Flea Market

THAILAND

Bangkok – Chatuchak Weekend Market

TURKEY

Istanbul – A) Sahaflar Carsisi B) Grand Covered Bazaar C) The Egyptian Bazaar D) The Arasta Bazaar

URUGUAY

Montevideo – ‘La Feria de Tristan Narvaja’ Flea Market

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Dubai Flea Market

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

CA – Alemeda – Alemeda Flea Market

Long Beach – Long Beach Antique Flea Market

Pasadena – Rose Bowl Flea Market

San Francisco – Alemany Flea Market;

San Jose – San Jose Flea Market

FL – Daytona Beach – Daytona Flea & Farmers Market

IL – Chicago – Maxwell Street Market

Wheaton – All-Night Flea Market

IN – Shipshewana – Shipshewana’s Flea Marke

MA – Brimfield’s Outdoor Antique Show

NY- New York City – A) The Antiques Garage B) Hell’s Kitchen Flea Market C) Brooklyn’s Flea D) GreenFlea

TX – Austin – Austin Country Flea Market

Canton – First Monday Park

127 Corridor – Jamestown, TN – North Covington, KY –  Gadsden, AL – World’s Longest Outdoor Market and Yard Sale – Covers 630 Miles and 5 states