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?